Welcome!

Finally, my new blog! To start with,  the first picture you see on my blog is not my home but it would have been great if this cape dutch house at Blaauklippen winery in Stellenbosch, South Africa was my residence. I live in New York city, a 1br apartment in Manhattan with my husband and my miniature schnauzer Betsy. I add and subtract numbers while dreaming of creative projects and travel during the day,  and I spend most of my spare time with my little family, nesting around at home, making long trips and short trips to various places and dreaming big of my future house, a house on the country side with chickens that provide me with fresh eggs in the morning, a herb garden, lemon tree, avocado tree, bird bath, a back yard for my dog…and so on…. For now, I try to find pleasure and enjoyment in life by doing what I feel like doing!

My name is Hermina, at least that is what my husband calls me, I was born in Sweden by my Japanese mother, I live in New York city and I am married to a global man who doesn't know where he is from. The intentions with this blog is to make me more active and productive in my life and to share it with others!!!!! This blog is going to be a great mix of home decor, cooking, baking, travel and maybe some things about fashion and other fun projects. What ever floats my boat will posted right here! 

Before i start, I'd like to share some of my cooking influences:

My father has a culunary background and cooked pretty much every single dinner at our house when I was growing up. He refused to buy baby food or any processed or ready to eat food. He made his sauces froms cratch, the pancake batter from scratch and all his marinates from scratch. Although he is not practicing anything close to cooking these days my heart still remembers his ribs, port cutlets with creamy mushroom sauce, oxtail casserole, meatballs and pancakes! If I asked my dad about any of his recipes I am sure he would throw out some key words on how to make thecook but I doubt he actually remembers the small details that were just the extra touch to perfect he flavor.  I hope to incorporate some of his recipes in this blog.

My mother however, hated anything that had to do with cooking but also learned almost everything she knows about cooking from my father. Eventually their cooking styles were the same but the focus was different. My dad always planned for the day while my mum planned long term. She would cook big pots of curries or meat sauce and freeze them in portions together with their starch so that my sister and I would always have homecooked meals easily accessible. My mum would always make sure there was a big salad or some other yummy vegetable side dishes with the meal. She was always about nutrients and thought we should gain all the vitamins and minerals from the food we eat and not from supplements. Although not always practices in our house but often desired by my monther, she strongly believed that each meal should consist of 7 different dishes. This is one of japanese golden rules when it comes to food!

My mom used to love spending time with her friends in the forest picking blueberries, lingonberries and various mushrooms. She would make jam, juice and pies from the berries, and creamed mushroom on toast. She would dry some of the mushrooms and use them in sauces in winter. 

My mom is pretty much a vegatrian and is an experit in making exciting salads. I personnally think the cherry on the ice cream is the like the dressing on the salad. My mom has never bought a pre-mixed dressing. She makes all her dressings from scratch which is usually a perfect blend of various herbs, or herb mix, oilve oil with vinegar or a generous amount of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Everytime I am standing at the dressing isle in th grocery store I hear my mum’s voice..... Why don’t you make you own dressing?!  

Growing up I was not very interested in cooking and no one ever expected any of my dished to come of scrumptious or even eatable....... In university I started cooking to save money and to eat healthier. My now husband and I loved and still love to spend time in bookstores. I was always stuck in the cooking section while he was browsing the music shelves. Getting inspiration from all the Asian influenced students and restaurants in Brisbane (where we were both studying) I began my serious interest in cooking! 


I am lucky to have a husband who is always hungry so I can experiment with different ingredients and dishes. He will eat everything put in front of him except for anything zucchini looking! 

I hope you will enjoy  the blog! 

-Hermina