Hermano!

Vacation-greatings to you by this post.

Am down at our summerhouse while typing this very post, as of 1 week back. Am to stay a few days more, before returning home to start working again.

Weather has been very warm over here for several weeks. Temps reaching and marginally rising above 90 degreese F, is something us Scandinavian "polarbears" have a slight problem really being comfertable with, if being for more than 1 single day only. So by the fact that it has been between 80 - 90"+" for over a week now, makes me greatfull my wife has made homemade strawberry lemonade, with strawberrys she and our daughter went out and picked themselves by their very own hands. (Have to wonder however, how many strawberrys went straight in to our daughters mouth, instead of down in to her strawberry-basket.... Chuckle!).

Hot weather has made me somewhat less eiger to make all the BBQ I had planned to do down here. Something I often do when down here, is to make up "new dishes" of BBQ:ed things. Seafood, and especially shell-animals such as crayfishtails, has for the last few years been what I have homed in on. Generally, in line of the Cajun-cuisine, stylewise. Really like for example putting tigershrimps-zucchini-fresh mushrooms-fresh yellow paprica ("pepper" in English?) on a stick, and then on the grill. Brush it with oliveoil flavoured with cayenne-fresh squeezed lemon-herbs-largegraines seasalt. Making a cold sauce of "creme fraiche" or sourcreme, by same flavouring as the oliveoil previously described, and serve with rice. To drink with, if wanting white wine instead of plain water or a "long neck", I would most definitly recommend a "Riesling". (If unable to get a Riesling, then perhaps a Gewurtztraminer, allthough make certain if a latter, the "clock" showing its "sweetness" does not exceede "2 o'clock". Most Rieslings will go very well with strong-spiced shellfood, as they are thicker/more boddied than for example "Chablis"-wines. Rieslings are produced in several countrys, allthough I have yet to find such from CA, in our store overe here in Sweden. If not wanting 1 from France (primarily of the Alsace-region), I can definitly recommend looking at ones from either New Zeeland (Marlborough county, NZ), or actually Austrian Rieslings. Had an Austrian such just the other day, and it was well in class with the famous Alsace-bottlings!

A lot of "culinary-writing" above... Allthough always interrested in cooking, while being down here, it is by grilling that I mainly make up and try new dishes. This, since while at home, grilling is "banned" due to home being in an appartment-complex area. So our summerhouse is my grill/BBQ-retreat so to say.

Despite the horrific situation in the gulf, with BP's oilwell spewing out thousands of gallons of oil even by each single hour, I yet hope that you well still have an enjoyable summer. You, aswell as all of those you hold dear.

T G C! ( = Take Good Care! )


Sincerely
A.B