Christmas is now almost at its end, with just two more days of my holiday left. Most of it has been spent with Jo’s mum in the north of Sweden, doing as little as possible and trying to relax. Thankfully we were in a perfect place to take it easy. Few distractions and a few days of minus twenty degrees saw to it that I spent many an hour either film watching, playing the ukulele or reading.

There is a downside to this luxurious living. In fact, there are a few. Like having no internet connection and a lousy, painstakingly slow 3G connection. Or having to wash dishes in the bathtub. Or having the nearest shop be fifteen kilometres away. Inconveniences that, had we stayed there for a longer period, would have become major points of irritation. As it was, they were bearable problems.

Of the presents that were received or given, my favourite ones are the cookbooks: three in total. I got A Vegan Taste of East Africa and Chloe’s Kitchen, both of which I had asked for. The East Africa cookbook does not look so inspiring, with many recipes using the same five or six ingredients. I am, however, hopeful that some good can come of it. Just because the ingredients are simple does not necessarily mean the recipes will be bland. Chloe’s Kitchen is more appealing from the start, offering slightly more complex recipes, like jalapeño cornbread poppers with whipped maple butter or eggplant timbales. All of which brings me to the actual point of this entry.

Jo tried a recipe for vegan liver pâté whilst we were there. A recipe that she had found on gronaskafferiet.se who, in its turn, had found it from a cookbook dating back to the beginning of the forties, where wartime rationing led to some inventive usage of available goods. While the list of ingredients does not sound inspiring, the end result was fantastic: a mild tasting pâté set off by the pungent yeast (we used 50g, but for the next attempt I think we will use 25-30g, for no other reason than to compare).

5dl oat milk
75g melted margarine
2dl rolled oats
1dl breadcrumbs
1dl fresh parsley
1dl chopped onion
30-50g fresh yeast
1tbsp soya sauce
¼-½ vegetable bouillon cube
½-1tsp dried marjoram
2ml ground cloves
salt (possibly)

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and let it stand for a few minutes to allow the yeast to activate. Mix with a hand mixer to a smooth consistency. Pour the mixture into an oiled bread pan. Bake for one hour at 175 degrees.

Both Jo and I love the taste, whilst the girls may need a little more convincing (less yeast, maybe?). Hopefully in the near future we can do away with the pricy Tartex spreads that the girls like so much.