Sun, beach and picnic

There are going to be many pictures today, as I loved them all and could not decide which once should be skipped. Sweden is spoiling us with nice weather and since I was shopping for new picnic dishes the other day, a picnic was on order. We went to the beach near by and had some splendid couple of hours with nice food, lovely scenery and crab fishing (something super exciting for my son...and my husband...and me actually too).

I made some halloumi cheese sandwiches with grilled bell pepper, simple baby spinach and arugula salad, warmed up some of the köttbullar (Swedish meatballs) and baked couple of vanilla blackberry (which I have been collecting this morning in the woods) muffins for dessert. All packed into the old fashioned picnic basket from my mother in law. We grabbed our son, the cameras, some equipment for the crab fishing and made our way to the beach. 

As soon as we arrived there, I started to look for a nice spot to make some pictures, not really paying much attention to the people around. In one point a man came over to see what I was doing as he was wondering why I would making so many picture of a certain spot from different distances and from up and down. He saw the picnic basket and was smiling, my husband jump in and explained to him what I was doing.... I guess there are not many people around here, who actually do many many pictured of their food before they are eating. This habit however became a tradition in our house already, even my son knows that and something when I would skip to make picture, he would wonder why not.

Halloumi cheese and grilled bell pepper sandwiches

• halloumi cheese
• bell pepper (red or yellow)
• Swedish polar bread (or any other bread you like)
• cream cheese
• chives
• fresh arugula

Preheat your oven to 180C (use grill function if available). Cut the cheese in slices. Wash the bell pepper, deseed and cut in half. Put everything on a baking tray and sprinkle some olive oil, salt and pepper over the bell pepper. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Take the cheese after 10 min, it should be golden brown and crisps on the top by then. 

Spread some cream cheese on both bread slices, sprinkle some of the chopped chives on top. Now put some of the cheese slices on one f the bread slice, top it with some fresh arugula, lay the grilled bell pepper and top it with the second bread slice.

Easy baby spinach and arugula salad

• baby spinach
• arugula salad
• hand full cherry tomatoes
• parmesan cheese
• 1-2 limes
• olive oil
• salt, pepper
• honey
• mustard

In a bowl put together baby spinach and arugula salad leaves together. Wash and cut the tomatoes in half, add them into the bowl. Shave some of the parmesan cheese.

Prepare the dressing in a small maison jar. Zest and juice the lime/s. Add some olive oil, salt, pepper, teaspoon of honey and 1-2 teaspoons of mustard. Close the jar with a lead and shake it till all ingredients are well combined. Taste it and adjust if needed. Take the dressing and pour it over the salad, shortly before you are going to eat the salad.

Vanilla blackberries muffins

• 3 eggs
• 100 g sugar
• 60 g butter melted
• 2 teaspoons yogurt
• vanilla sugar
• 150 g flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• hand full blackberries

Preheat the oven to 180C. Beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla sugar till doubled in size. Add melted butter and yogurt, mix briefly. Sift in the flour and baking powder, Combine all the ingredients. Finally fold in gently the blackberries. Distribute between the muffin tins and bake for about 20-minutes, till golden brown on top. Dust it with some icing sugar. 

Emjoy!