Photo of the day: Caviar snack

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Marte Marie

Delicious, delicious caviar!

I posted a bit about this favorite snack of mine here, and here is another way to serve caviar as a snack.

I was again reminded of how much I love the ocean, the sound, the smell, the light and all the lovely things you can eat that thrive in it’s waters when American boy and I landed in L.A yesterday.

Blue sky, beach, sun, and ocean, light blue ocean as far as the eye can see, so of course we had seafood for dinner.

I heading out for a run on the beach before it gets too hot, but here’s a taste of caviar, the Norwegian way for you;)

PS:

For my travel concierge service that I launched here, I’m planning a trip to Rome for a couple that are getting married in August, and I’m bursting with excitement while planning their 5 day getaway.

They left the itinerary pretty open for me to set up a sweet little romantic introduction to the city for them.

I love planning these trips and can’t wait to see them off for their romantic Roman getaway!

Have a great day, and yes, I’ll give you some sun through posts about our stay here and some sweet spots for you to visit in Santa Monica, CA.

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Afternoon walk: Avignon

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Marte Marie

Did you see the little behind the scene afternoon walk in Malta I posted on our facebook page yesterday?

This is how I travel.

[Not always with a Bob Dylan soundtrack playing in the background;)]

If I have time, I slowly take it all in and explore areas off the beaten path.

It’s much like letting this new place introduce itself to you as you introduce yourself to it.

And to be able to really get the feel for a place you have to give a bit of yourself to get something in return.

When I speed through and place, checking off the list, seen that, done that, the place really has no time to get under my skin you know, and so you leave oftentimes as empty handed as when you arrive.

I don’t just want the photos to remember the moment in this place, I want to feel the pulse of it too, dance to it’s music, meet it’s people, explore it’s history and delight in it’s food.

On this afternoon In Avignon I was with my niece and we celebrated her 14th birthday in a beautiful place in the south of France, which I’ve written about here and here.

We took our time, walked, biked, talked and ate great french food on our petite houseboat.

The boat rocked us to sleep and we woke up to the sun licking our faces.

When time permits, this is my ideal way of visiting a new place.

This Sunday, simply join me for an afternoon walk in the South of France.

Bon Voyage!

[PS: feel free to swing by the travel concierge site if you're planning a trip to Europe and need a little assistance.]

Posted in France, Travel | Tagged | 2 Comments

Bread of the day: Swedish Rye bread

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Marte Marie

This bread makes me giddy and happy just talking about it.

It’s the type of bread I grew up with and I’ve secretly been longing for it for quite some time now.

However on my recent trip to IKEA, I went a bit shopping mad and filled up a cart of food in their small food shop by the check-out area.

I’ve been on quite the nostalgic food kick lately and this bread is of course no exception.

Normally I would not bake or cook from “bag or box” food, the pre-mixed kind where you add water or milk et voila, you have cookies or bread.

I’m sure they’re great, but I try as much as I can to make things from scratch as I love the process of making food and believe in the benefits from making it yourself.(i.e less needless ingredients, preservatives and color.)

Having said all that the above bread is 100% made from a pre-mixed dry bread mix. All I did was adding the magic ingredient called water and shake the box.

Of course the magic is in the shaking, non?

I took a close look at the ingredient list on the back of the box and found nothing I wouldn’t add myself. No preservatives, no extras and the yeast was from dry sourdough.

It may be the only bread I’ll ever make from a pre-mix, and if it is, I think I’ve hit the jackpot, because when you’ve made this whole grain rye bread, there’s no going back;)

And if you feel like throwing out the window all the ‘I don’t like IKEA’ preconceptions, head on over

here

to see the most delightful IKEA kitchen (yes, I’m in love), and

here

to find their ‘Homemade is best” cookbook with such great food styling.

Happy Thursday!

Posted in Bread, Food, Sweden | Tagged | 3 Comments

Little secrets: Hotel Bramante

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Marte Marie

One of the contributing factors to a wonderful travel experience to me is falling asleep in a charming little hotel room with soul.

So whenever I pack my bags and head out in the world I make sure there’s time for meandering down quiet streets to scout out hidden gems.

Hotel Bramante is such a gem.

On my last visit to Rome I spent some time around the Vatican looking for charming hotels.

On a deadened street with green ivy clinging to the old vatican walls, is this small, quaint, personal hotel located that has hundred year old thick wooden beams in the ceiling that dates back to the 1500′s.

Around the corner and some is the Vatican, around the other corner and some is the old Castel San’t Angelo, and around the bend after a corner or two is the majestic Tiber river, which has rustic walkways down by the riverside and historic filled old bridges connecting the two riversides with friendly handshakes.

{Go here for an afternoon over these Roman bridges}

If you happen to be in Rome anytime soon, this is a charming hotel that I cant wait to go back to!


Posted in Hotel, Insiders guide, Italy, Rome, Travel | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Snack of the day: Caviar

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Marte Marie

I think it’s my inner scandinavian fish that all of a sudden craves some sea salt and the sound of ocean. And when these cravings occur there is no alternative, no substitute and it’s quite urgent.

I need a healthy doze of caviar and I need it yesterday!

Luckily, my beloved mother sends me the classic Norwegian caviar mix, and most of the time there’s also an IKEA nearby and I can ease my Scandinavian heart with the stronger Swedish version with a dash of some black caviar on top for an amazing doze of the ocean;)

Now, there’s lots of caviar out there, some more expensive than others, the ones I’m talking about are the everyday tube caviar that you find all over Scandinavia, with the occasional more expensive small glass jar of black caviar.

I lean back, close my eyes and as I take a bite of crisp-bread with caviar I swear I can hear the waves of the ocean softly dance back and forth on the beach.

 

If you live in the US swing by IKEA and head to their food store on the first floor to check out their assortment of Scandinavian food.

————-

I’ve been cooking and styling all weekend that I’ll show you next week. It’s been so much fun revisiting familiar rye bread recipes, creating new ones and styling it all.

I had a good long chat with my beloved mother too, and got so excited for the upcoming trip home this summer. I cant wait to cook with eggs from our chickens, herbs from the garden and fresh fish from the ocean fished by…me!

She told me she had bought some new all black chickens and with the brown and white ones we have already there’ll be lots of different shaped and colored eggs.

I can walk barefoot around and pick vegetables, go for afternoon swims and spend time in mon petite studio.

I simply can’t wait!

What are you looking forward to this summer?

Do you have any upcoming trips or projects?

I love the anticipation and excitement that follows when you have planned something, small or big that dangles like a carrot in front of you sheering you on.

But let’s not forget to have fun in the moment too;)

Photo and styling by Marte Marie Forsberg

 

Posted in Food | Tagged | 2 Comments

Weekend retreat: Sausalito

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Marte Marie

Last year, one of my brothers came to visit and we spent five sunny days exploring San Francisco and it’s surroundings.

It felt so incredibly wonderful to be able to share “my” new city with him and to finally be in the company of family.

One afternoon when I was busy he took the ferry out to Sausalito just 30 min from downtown San Francisco.

It’s an idyllic seaside town with beautiful houses ‘much like’ Positano in Italy that cling to the steep hillsides.

( Nothing really compares to Positano, but this truly is a gorgeous place;)

There he took these photos of The Inn Above Tide, that I think would be a perfect getaway for a weekend.

I love the use of shingles, the lush plants that embrace and hug the walls of the Inn.

The view is breathtaking, especially when the famous bay fog rolls in and wraps it all in mystique gray.

In fact most the times when I’ve visited this place its been partly foggy with the sun revealing its face every now and then, and to me this is part of the attraction of this place, the ever-changing weather and the fog.

Sausalito’s a perfect place for afternoon strolls and has many charming and unique shops, cafes and restaurants all in walking distance to the Inn.

On my next visit to San Francisco I think I’ll book myself in here.

And whenever I need that big city fix, I can hop on the ferry two min away, glide past Alcatraz with a great view of Golden gate bridge and arrive at the Ferry-building right at the beginning of Market St downtown SF.

I love the fact that you’re on this breathtaking Island where you can charge you inner batteries, yet at the blink of an eye you are smack bang downtown and have the big city at your feet.

Perfect, non?

Wish you all a great weekend!

Photos by Simen Michael Forsberg


Posted in San Francisco, Travel story, Weekend | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

A petite road-trip: Desert landscape

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Marte Marie

The other day we felt a twinge of the travel bug and since we only had one afternoon, American boy and I hopped in the car and took off to explore a part of our neck of the woods we had not previously set foot on.

A great soundtrack for the car ride is a must, and we listen to everything from Mozart to Andrew Bird to the Chemical brothers, it all depends of the scenery.

Then a light snack or a picnic would have been perfect, but neither of us were prepared so we ended up completely starved at the end of our trip, and decided to pigg-out to delicious Mexican food at this fantastic place.

But before we ended our little road-trip, we simply relaxed in each others company, took small walks here and there and felt the haunting peace of the Utah desert.

I completely fell in love with the subtle colors and the temperate spring wind that made the dry grass say…shhhhhhh.

I take comfort in the fact that when that travel bug bites, no matter where I am in the world, there’s nothing like rediscovering your own back yard even if your heart longs for Paris;)

Now, if Paris is indeed where you want to go and you only have one afternoon, head on over here or here or here, or simply hit up Paris in my search button and see what you find from my trips to the city of lights!

Have a lovely day!


Photo by Marte Marie Forsberg

Posted in Inspiration, Road trip, Salt Lake City, Travel story | Tagged | 6 Comments

Food memories: Norwegian boller {part two}

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Marte Marie

 

The sun is up and the snow is melting!

I’m about to head out in the warmth for a run, but this morning I realized that since many of you may not be familiar with the Norwegian sweet rolls, you may wonder what to do with it once it’s out of the oven.

Traditionally, we eat them as a snack bare naked and warm.

However, for the left overs the next day, we part them in two and have them for breakfast, lunch or evening snack like an open faced sandwich.

But we don’t just eat anything on these precious rolls.

Normally we use jam and or brown cheese and maybe butter.

Here are some examples, but of course why not switch it up, toast them, melt salted butter, and have them on the side with an omelette?

As the rolls grow a day or two old though they tend to lose their flare and toasting is a great way of elongating their life.


Now, what is that brown cheese I’m talking about above?

It’s a Norwegian cheese made from goat milk and has a caramel like flavor that is ideal for snacks, sauces and even in creme brulee!

I’m making creme brulee with brown cheese tonight and I can’t wait to see how that goes;)

If you want to know more about the brown cheese go here.

(You can buy this cheese in the states in specialty stores but I have found the red packaged brown cheese in both Smiths and Albertson’s, so it shouldn’t be too hard to come by).

Styling and photo by Marte Marie Forsberg

Posted in Food, Food memories, Norway | Tagged | Comments Off

Food memories: Norwegian Boller (Updated)

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Marte Marie

There’s some changes going on on the blog, as you may have noticed, and it will take a while till it will be tweaked into what I’d like it to be, so I hope you’ll be patient with me as I slowly get there;)

But while we wait let’s have some delicious, simple and tasty Norwegian Boller (sweet rolls) shall we?

This is a recipe I grew up with and love.

It’s very simple and subtle in flavor, but nevertheless a real treat.

I remember how the rain would be pouring down outside, the wind blowing and my beloved mother would light the fireplace and start a batch of sweet rolls.

The aroma from the ‘boller’ baking in the oven would infuse our home with sweetness.

That cardamom and sugar smell is to me the perfume of motherly love.

Countless times in the winter would I walk the 2km home from school, tired and cold from wading in the snow I would lay down on the warm tile floor in the hallway when I reached our home.

The heat would slowly melt my cold little body as my beloved mother took off my boots and winter clothes, layer by layer until I was in my light stockings and a t-shirt ready to snuggle up in front of the fire place just in time for the “boller” to be golden and ready in the oven.

Back then I may have taken my beloved mothers sweet act of love a bit for granted, today, however, I cherish those memories and make sure I thank her as often as I can for showing her love for me through homemade food from scratch;)

(PS: The tbs measurement above should be tsps.

Thank you Sara Nielsen for pointing that out).

I know the recipe is with european measurements, but you can easily convert the grams to cups online, go here.

PS: If you have a food memory and or a recipe you’d like to share with me go here for more info.

Photo and styling by Marte Marie Forsberg

Posted in Dish of the day, Food, Food memories, Kitchen | Tagged | 6 Comments

Beautiful things: Macaroons

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Marte Marie

Yesterday was a glorious day!

My sweet friend Ann Marie from the blog ‘Age old tree’, called and wanted to know if I’d help out styling a macaroon shoot for a friend.

Yes!

And,

Yes!

I could hardly wait to get there and arrange these sweet goodnesses.

Her friends is starting up a macaroon shop and needed some images for her website, I’ll reveal more about her as her shop goes live, but as for now, here’s a bit of a behind the scene of how our afternoon went down.

It was a perfect evening with soft sun beaming through the windows, and just the three of us.

Just the way a food shoot should be, non?

Wonderful conversation flowed, macaroons were styled, photographs were taken and three little hearts shared a sweet spring moment.

I hope we get to do this again soon.

Although these are just my iPhone shots, I hope they tell the story of our afternoon, and maybe, just maybe, Ann will share some of the real photos with us soon;)

Happy Friday!

Macaroons made  by Merches, whom I’ll tell you more about as her site goes live.

Styled and iphone photographs by Marte Marie Forsberg

The real photos were take by Ann Marie Whittaker


Posted in Beautiful things, Food, Kitchen, Marte Marie Forsberg, Table decoration | Tagged , | 1 Comment