Category Archives: Jon

Fried Beans

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Stockholm has recently started giving out a number of two year licenses to twenty food trucks. Until this decision came about, the people of the city had to put up with a dirge of hot dog vendors, causing some discussion amongst carnivores about the state of fast food, and causing dismay amongst the vegan community about a similar (if not in different terms) thing.

Since Stockholm Council has issued the golden tickets, we have tried a couple of them, the most recent being El Taco Truck. We sampled the refried beans in mini tortillas, which turned out very nice, if not a little expensive for what was offered. It was enough for me to come home and dig out a recipe for fried beans that I saved.

2 x 190g cans kidney beans
½ dl neutral oil
1 silver onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ red chilli, finely chopped
2 tbs creme fraiche
1 sprig coriander
salt and black peppar

Fry onion, garlic and chilli on a low heat until onions are soft. Add beans and creme fraiche, heating up whilst stirring. Mash bean mixture, adding lime, coriander and seasoning to taste.

The recipe is exceptionally simple to make, giving a wonderfully mild taste. Definitely worth while doing again, maybe next time with pinto beans.

House Stompin’

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As the last days of our summer holidays become shadowed by our impending return to work, we leave our house in a state of repair that we had not imagined. For the better.

A few weeks ago, Jo said without warning that she would like to begin renovation of what is to become the living room. Looking at what needed to be done, I told her to go for it.

At the same time as Jo was scraping, sanding and preparing, we decided to go to Ikea and buy a number of simple kitchen units. Our idea had originally been to find something second hand, but we soon gave in to Ikea, wishing to save time. The kitchen has been an empty shell for many years; It felt like it was time to get something done, so the family could start to spend more time there, instaed of relying on Mormor’s for cooking our meals and watching television.

Jo’s hard work in the living room has taken us a huge step nearer a completed room. My attempt at installing the kitchen units went, for the most part, well. And thanks to a carpenter friend of Jo’s brother, it looks like we may have a bathroom before Christmas.

Considering the situation just twenty days ago, our house is coming along very nicely. Providing the local workers can fulfill their end of the bargain, we could have hot water and electricity where it is most needed.

Inspired By A Book

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For the last few days I have been strumming my current favourite song on the uke: It’s A Long Way To Tipperary. My usual method of gaining new songs is via the various ukulele song sites or, because of the instrument’s popularity, searching guitar tab and chord sites. This time, however, my initial interest came from reading a book.

The First Casualty is the tenth novel by famous writer and one time stand up comedian, Ben Elton. The book is a World War 1 historical drama played out during trench warfare in Flanders. I read the book for a second time recently and, despite the very different style of writing Ben Elton uses compared to his nine previous novels, I really enjoyed it. Probably more than the plot, I was moved by the vivid description of trench life at that time. So much so, that it gave me a very different feeling for the conscripts that were forced to give their lives in the most tragic and macabre ways.

Anyway, one of the popular songs of the war amongst the soldiers was It’s A Long Way To Tippereary. I had to transpose the key to F in order to be able to sing the higher notes without straining the voice. I have also only concentrated on the chorus thus far, and probably won’t learn too many, if any, of the verses. Favourite part musically? The chord change in the line “Farewell Leicester Square”.

There are some choice songs to be found if one spends the time looking for them. Especially so if one concentrates one’s search on the 1920’s – 1940’s. My first gem came from that era, the wonderful I like Bananas (Because They Have No Bones) from the Hoosier Hotshots.

Jämtland Bean Burgers

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Our summer holiday in the north of Sweden has been, thus far, more like a rainy autumn week. We have ventured outside as much as we dare, though the inclement weather has given Jo the justification she requires to continue the renovation of our house.

We have also taken time to evaluate the contents of mormor’s fridge, freezer and food cupboards (I believe her house is old enough to include a “pantry”). She has accumulated far too much food for her own requirements, so I have taken it upon myself to decrease the amount of extra ingredients she has, at the same time making cheap meals for the family.

I get a good feeling from making food out of otherwise forgotten bags, packets and tins that lie hidden away. Some of the items found have gone past the best before date. This does not overly concern us, as long as any item looks, smells and tastes ok. There have been a few, however, that have not got to the taste test, being some eight to ten years old.

The other day I tested a burger recipe that was very loosely based on a few recipes I had seen, using up some leftover bulgar and a couple of packets of precooked beans. I cannot remember exactly the quantities, as I was not convinced the recipe would a) hold together when fried b) taste nice. I was greatly surprised that the burgers were tasty enough that even Freya liked them. As a note to myself, the recipe goes more or less so:

Fry half a finely chopped onion and add to 2dl bulgar (precooked with a bullion cube). Add tomato paste, garlic salt, dried Italian herbs and one packet each of half mashed black beans and butter beans. To make the correct consistency, add breadcrumbs. Form burgers to falafel size and fry on medium heat with a little oil.

Tofu Salad

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I’ve recently been trying a number of new recipes that held the promise of entertaining the tastebuds. Sadly, many of them failed to impressive, leaving disappointment as an aftertaste. One recipe that did have Jo and I wanting more came from The Sexy Vegan Diet, which in turn got it from rawfoodchef.com: Tofu Salad. The recipe is not strictly raw food because of the inclusion of tofu, though we are not complaining.

2 packets of tofu
2½ dl vegan mayonnaise
4 tbs finely chopped onion
1¼ dl grated carrots
¾ dl parsley
4 tbs nutritional yeast flakes
1 tbs dijon mustard
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

I think that the above amounts make the recipe to heavy, so I take less mayonnaise and add a bit more carrot. The end result is still rather stodgy, though. I also omitted the parsley, having none at hand. We have also tired it with black salt powder (kala namak), to give it an eggy taste, which works very well.