In their new book, “Fika”, EcoSalon’s own Foodie Underground Anna Brones and Johanna Kindvall explore a slightly less known but no less intriguing food culture from Sweden: the eponymous fika.

If the obsession with lifestyle books about why French women don’t get fat has proven anything, it’s that a food culture is about so much more than its recipes — and if the popularity of these books proves anything, it’s that people care about it.

Fika, the authors, who are both of Swedish extraction, explain, roughly translates to “coffee” or “coffee break.” But they quickly dispel any similarities with an American coffee break, highlighting the importance of taking the time to enjoy fika according to the Swedish tradition. “The essential thing is that you do it, that you make time to take a break.”

Fika is as much about comfort, togetherness and tradition as it is about the cake and cookie recipes that so traditionally accompany it. Coffee isn’t fika without a little something to go with it, and the cookbook makes this clear through lengthy introductions to each chapter, detailing, amongst other things, the history of coffee in Sweden (and why it was once a boys’ club!) and more modern approaches to fika. Each chapter is accompanied by a series of appropriate recipes, from contemporary go-tos made easy for busy bakers after the modern fika chapter, or more celebratory cakes like advent pepparkakor following an in-depth description of the tradition of name days and other Swedish holidays. Reading this book is a pleasure whether you’re looking for a recipe or not.

That being said, the book is also keen to explore the Swedish baking tradition, starting with an ingredient guide outlining basics, which the authors recommend you buy organic, and specialized Swedish ingredients as well as possible substitutions. That being said, the authors also highlight that because many of these recipes are intended to be everyday affairs, individual bakers can adapt as they see fit. When I made the chocolate slice cookies, I didn’t have the pearl sugar called for, but I did have some chocolate sprinkles languishing in the cupboard. They weren’t organic, but they did make a tasty chocolate topping for the already rich, fudgy cookies, which paired perfectly with an afternoon cup of coffee.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the lovely illustrations; in the days of food porn obsession, it’s difficult to find a cookbook that doesn’t rely on photos of the recipes within to sell it, but “Fika“ goes down another charming path, with drawn illustrations by Johanna Kindvall: from a cute and comical drawing of flipping Swedish pancakes to detailed illustrations of the various rolling and shaping techniques for traditional Swedish saffron buns, these drawings add to the fanciful nature of the book.

Throughout “Fika”, the authors highlight the ways in which fika can be assimilated into daily life — at the end of the day, it’s as much a book of recipes as a book of culture, and in encouraging its readers to take advantage of a moment to share coffee and cake with friends, it also provides ways to do so: packing coffee and cookies for a post-hike pick-me-up, inviting a friend over for a pot of tea or coffee and a slice of cake, or even making a homemade fruit cordial and enjoying it at the beach for midsummer. “Fika” positions itself as a how-to guide for in-the-moment living, and it makes good on its promise.

Related on EcoSalon

Baking and Celebrating Swedish Cinnamon Rolls

Sunday Recipe: Swedish Apple Cake

Mustard Herring for Swedish Midsummer

The post Book Review: ‘Fika’ by Anna Brones and Johanna Kindvall appeared first on EcoSalon.

 

“The rules for living well, if you can call them that, are simple and a pleasure to follow. Eat local and mostly plants. Ride your bike, even on rainy days. Say yes to dinner invitations. Always bring your signature dessert. Invite people on picnics. Bike in the sunshine. Follow a morning ride with a strong French press.” – “The Culinary Cyclist” by Anna Brones

EcoSalon’s own Foodie Underground, Anna Brones, has penned a cookbook for bike-loving foodies that’s full of creative, delicious and healthy slow food recipes alongside tips for successfully stocking your kitchen and transporting culinary masterpieces on two wheels. As founder of the taste bud tantalizing blog Foodie Underground, Anna has incorporated her Swedish heritage, time in the Pacific Northwest and current life in Paris into this guide for hedonistic, healthy and bike-heavy living. You’ll find gluten-free recipes like sea salt chocolate cake and baked eggs in avocado halves alongside instructions for shopping in bulk with a bike, gracefully hosting a dinner party and picnics by bike.

The pages are riddled with Anna’s anecdotes on the development of her recipes as well as Johanna Kindvall’s charming illustrations, which are a treat in themselves. Following an amazingly successful Kickstarter campaign, pre-orders of the book can be placed via Foodie Underground, with delivery estimated for August 2013. We caught up with Anna to hear more about the inspiration behind the book and to give you a taste test of her thoughts on slow food, cycling and good living.

Leena Oijala: What was the inspiration behind “The Culinary Cyclist”?

Anna Brones: My publisher-to-be and I met up last fall to discuss various projects we were both working on and in the course of the conversation we started talking about food (I am known to talk about food quite regularly!). I told her she should think about publishing a book about food and bikes, she responded with, “why don’t you write it?” It was impossible to say no.

LO: This book will be quite the resource for the modern-day city cycler. Why do you think it hasn’t been written already?

AB: I am sure there is a book somewhere out there that has touched on the same topics. Most people know how to ride a bike, most people know how to make something edible to put on the table, I’m just hoping that this book inspires people to step it up a notch, not because they have to, but because they want to.

LO: Which country’s culinary culture most influenced the recipes you chose to include in the book?

AB: I would have to say that most of the book’s recipes come from my mother. She was born in Sweden, so she certainly has had a more European approach to cooking, but she also likes to experiment. She taught me to not be afraid in the kitchen, rarely use exact measurements and to change recipes whenever possible. So most of the recipes in the book don’t have a regional influence, just an influence of an attitude towards eating and cooking. There’s also no doubt that I have been influenced by living in locavore-centric Portland where it’s easy to shop locally and seasonally, and where no one will ever raise their eyebrows at you for brewing your own kombucha.

LO: What is your favorite recipe in the book?

AB: Ack! That is a touchy question. If I had to choose I would say the Quinoa Apple Spice Cake recipe. It’s a personal favorite because when you tell people you can make a cake with quinoa they look at you like you’re crazy. But I happen to have a thing for putting odd ingredients in recipes, so I guess that’s normal.

LO: Your book includes mostly vegan and gluten-free recipes. Why do you think so many people have begun to gravitate toward these types of diets?

AB: I think it’s because people have started paying attention to what makes them feel good. For some people that’s a meat-heavy diet, but I think a lot of us have found that a diet of lean proteins and low dairy intake does us quite a bit of good. I am not vegan, vegetarian or even 100 percent gluten-free, I just cook the kind of food that I know is healthy for me and makes me feel good. At the end of the day, everyone has to choose their own eating habits, and most of the time it’s a matter of trial and error to finally end up at the type of eating that works right for you. It’s not necessarily about what we eat but being conscious about what we eat; where it comes from, how it makes us feel, etc.

LO: Why do you think food brings people together?

AB: No matter who you are or where you are from, you have to eat. Food brings us together because it’s a unifier; it’s something that we all do no matter our race or gender. If you look at various cultures around the world you will find that food is quite often the cornerstone of celebrations and traditions. Our ancestors sat around a fire and ate what they had hunted or harvested. Today we sit around the table. It’s a way of connecting not only with other people, but also with the place that our food comes from.

LO: Why do you think our relationship to food has changed so much in the last five decades?

AB: We have opted for larger economic profits instead of health, and because of it we’re in a system where we’ve externalized all the costs so that unhealthy food is the cheapest option out there. I love the term that Michael Pollan used in “Omnivore’s Dilemma,”– “irresponsibly priced food”– meaning that you can look at a certain product and think that it’s cheap, but the price you pay at the checkout isn’t the real cost of the food to the environment and society. We live in fast, modern times, and many of us don’t make the time to eat well because, unfortunately, we don’t see it as a priority. But if you force yourself to remember that the only thing that’s keeping you going every day is what you eat, you can’t help but want to do better.

LO: If you could choose anyone in the world, who would you invite to dinner?

AB: Ah, the ideal dinner guest, good question. In terms of an interesting conversation about food, I would love to sit down with Marion Nestle, PhD. She has been such an influence in the world of food politics, and I think the dinner conversation would be more than enlightening. It’s one thing to talk about wanting to change the food system, and it’s another to actually do it. She’s one of the people that’s doing it, and that’s inspiring to me. Although, I would be super nervous about what to cook!

Images: Johanna Kindvall

The post Interview with Anna Brones on Her New Slow Food and Slow Living Cookbook ‘The Culinary Cyclist’ appeared first on EcoSalon.

The perfect complement for afternoon coffee or tea.

Put two Swedes who love to cook in a kitchen together and there will be an immediate discussion of what baked good needs to be concocted for afternoon coffee. After all, we don’t mess around with our coffee breaks, and a serious coffee break deserves a serious pastry. So we settled on mazariner.

Mazariner are the darling of Swedish cafes, a balance of buttery pastry and almond filling topped with a thin layer of icing; the type of thing you bite into and wonder where this food has been all of your life. They’re just fancy enough that you don’t keep them on hand at all times, but you don’t have to put them on a serving tray.

Made in small oval tart tins, they can seem daunting to make, but as it turns out, are easy enough that you don’t need to cruise to your local IKEA to track down the mass produced version – although they do have them if you’re in a Swedish food pinch.

Our recipe search started with a few Swedish cookbooks and a call to my mother who was immediately reciting the ingredients from a page she had ripped out of a Swedish magazine sometime in the late 80s – when you come across a good recipe, you hold on to it. Johanna, being a more skilled pastry “chef” than myself did a creative combination of the many versions, and we both decided that plain icing just wouldn’t suffice. Add a little orange juice and you have a real masterpiece.

Make a batch of these, brew a French press and it will almost be like you’re sitting at a cafe in Stockholm. Almost.

Mazariner

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 7 oz butter (almost 2 sticks)
• 2 cups regular flour
• ¼ cup sucanat or organic cane sugar
• 2 teaspoons whole cardamom (crushed in a mortar, or slightly ground in a coffee grinder)
• One small egg

Filling

• One cup blanched, ground almonds (can be replaced with almond meal)
• 2 bitter almonds (about 1 teaspoon almond extract, or more depending on how strong you want the taste)
• 2.5 oz butter
• ½ cup sucanat or organic cane sugar
• 3 small eggs

Icing:

• Juice from an orange
• ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

Dough:

In a large wide bowl cream together butter, egg and sugar. With your hands, mix in flour – this can be done either in the bowl or directly on a clean counter top.

Crush the cardamom with a mortar and pestle as fine as you wish. If you don’t have a mortar or grinder, you can use pre-ground cardamom. Add it to the dough and blend well.

Let the dough sit in a cool place for at least 30 minutes to chill and harden.

Filling:

While the pastry dough rises, blanch the almonds by pouring boiling hot water over them and letting soak for a few minutes. They are ready when the skin slips off easily.

Skin all of the almonds and grind them into a fine meal in a food processor.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and set aside to cool.

Whisk the eggs together with sugar to a porous batter and add in almonds, almond extract (if you didn’t use bitter almonds) and butter. Stir together until well blended.

Grease small tartlet tins* (see illustration above) with butter. Line the molds with a thin layer of dough (about 1/8”) and fill them almost to the top with the almond mixture. If there is any leftover dough you can freeze it and use it some other time.

Bake in the oven at 400°F for about 15 minutes. The cakes should have got a slightly brown color on top. Let them cool a little before removing the cakes from the mold.

Icing:

While the mazariner bake, prepare the icing. In a small bowl add the confectioner’s sugar and drip in some orange juice. The icing should be a little thick but still easy to drizzle over the mazariner. Wait until the mazariner have cooled before icing them.

Serve the mazariner for an afternoon tea or coffee break, you’re sure to make some new friends if you pull these out.

*If you don’t have small single cake molds as described you can use mini muffin trays or similar forms. In Sweden, disposable aluminum forms are often used, but stay away from single-use containers and do the best with what you have. We always encourage creativity!

Illustrations by Johanna Kindvall

The post Mazariner: A Swedish Pastry Classic appeared first on EcoSalon.

EcoSalon’s Marketing Manager and resident foodie Anna Brones shows us how she plans to accessorize her favorite little black dress this summer.

Ever wondered how our editors channel this season’s trends to complement the favorite pieces in their own wardrobes? Well, look no further. Here’s how our Marketing Manager Anna Brones is planning to accessorize her favorite dress by Horny Toad this summer. A consummate foodie and playlist maven, Anna also has a crafty side, which she uses to create beautiful earrings from used bike tubes. Anna’s style is simple and laid-back with a distinct feminine vibe, she likes to stick to simple basic clothing and let the accessories to the talking.

Mulu: Black and White Striped Infinity Scarf by Raven + Lily
This light and airy scarf is the perfect choice for summer. Made from locally sourced cotton and hand-loomed by Ethiopian women who were former fuel laborers, this black and white infinity scarf wraps one, two or three times. Through Raven + Lily’s partnership with Connected in Hope Foundation, the women receive economic and educational opportunities, enabling their families to thrive.
$57, Raven + Lily

Upcycled Leaf Earrings by AB Designs
These pretty leaf-shaped earrings are made from upcycled bike tubes by Anna herself. She carves the shapes by hand and cleverly lets the natural curve of the tubes be part of the design.
$19, AB Designs/Etsy

Prairie Underground Undone Shrug
A great layering piece like this is a must have for those cold summer evenings. The edges are raw and unfinished and, instead of buttons, it’s got fun string ties. Do like Anna and wear it over a dress, or pair it with denim for a more casual vibe. Made in Seattle, from 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton.
$128, Embodies

Shannon South ReMade in the USA OOAK No.1 Clutch
Color-blocking is a trend that is still going strong. The similar hues in this one make it a highly versatile choice.The OOAK is a one of a kind clutch that, like all Shannon South’s designs, is made from vintage leather sourced from old jackets. This one has a vintage suede lining, brass zipper and a knotted leather pull.
$195, Shannon South

Gold Leather Slit Cuff by Fahmina
This cuff by Topanga-based eco-designer Fahmina is a great way to add some flair to an outfit. Metallics are highly versatile since they tend to go with everything, which means you can get by with less. Wear it on the outside of your sleeve to really show it off. Made from upcycled pre-consumer leather waste, salvaged from factory cutting tables.
$96, Fahmina

El Naturalista Senda Sandals
Anna’s not afraid to add a pop of color to her wardrobe. The best way to dress up a simple outfit is to add a distinct pair of shoes, preferably in a bright color like these from Spanish shoe label El Naturalista.
Approx. $150, El Naturalista

The post EcoSalon Editor’s Picks: Anna Brones appeared first on EcoSalon.

The best of EcoSalon’s stories this week.

How do you want to come across to a new acquaintance – strong and dignified, or whiny and self-obsessed? As The Hunger Games goes ballistic at the box office, we celebrate a better cinematic role model for women than a certain “emo teenager pining for her hybrid werewolf-vampire boyfriend”.

How did you originally find EcoSalon? A certain staffer delves deep into our analytics in search of outlier search engine queries, with predictably disturbing results.

Can you imagine greeting the dawn from within one of these gorgeously minimalist Zen retreats?

Congratulations for sustainable fashion designers Everlane – they may have just upended the traditional, relatively wasteful model of industrial clothing production.

Finally, our resident foodie’s column turned two years old this week. Go join in the celebration of Anna Brones and her hit column, Foodie Underground (there’s cake!).

The post The Friday 5: Making a Good Impression Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnGood food doesn’t have to be pretentious.

It has happened again. You’re surrounded by smoke-infused drinks in mason jars and salads with shaved fennel, all paired with a group of friends that can’t stop raving about the local biodynamic wine they serve at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that you’re all so lucky to have discovered before the rest of the city does. You’re in foodie central and there’s no escape. Fortunately the beet and goat cheese salad is delicious. “Can I have another one of those cocktails with the cardamom bitters?” you ask the waiter, fully embracing a semi-cliche role that feels like it’s straight out of a Portlandia episode.

Write a food column and people immediately make certain assumptions about your eating habits.

“Well, I mean, I doubt you’ll be writing about this,” one friend prefaced with self deprecation before serving up a homemade dinner that was quite frankly better than anything I had made that week. “You want me to choose the restaurant? Oh god, that’s so much pressure,” another responded.

Here’s a little known secret: despite my love for the aforementioned cocktail with cardamom bitters and an obsession with any kind of dark chocolate and sea salt combination, most days it’s bowls of quinoa and kale, and on other days, some tacos. Fine, there’s some homemade kombucha thrown in there for good measure (I have to keep up these Foodie Underground standards somehow) but ultimately I just want good food and, despite what my friends think, it doesn’t matter if it’s served with a drizzle of truffle oil or not.

In the aftermath of the Paula Deen diabetes debacle, Frank Bruni wrote an article in The New York Times analyzing what chefs “really” eat. It was mostly focused on the austere ability of people in the food world to stick to healthy plates and portions, even if what they’re known for are gourmet delights. “Especially during my five years as a restaurant critic, I ate with many of them — and can assure you that people in the food industry are among the least likely to clean their plates,” wrote Bruni.

There is something to that statement. On an everyday basis, food isn’t meant to be consumed in crazy proportions. Food media would have us believe otherwise, making it seem like decadent meals are the norm on every table, and if you’re not aspiring to culinary greatness, something must be wrong with you. Why do you think cookbooks do so well? We’re seduced by the idea of complex dishes and exotic ingredients.

This is all well and good. Once in a while. But we must eat everyday, and if there’s one thing about food, it’s that it should always be enjoyed, and that can be done just as easily with a bowl of quinoa and kale as it can with a luxurious spread of foods with French names.

The same idea can be applied to the overdose of foodie elements. In the ultimate search to one-up each other, the food world, and in turn foodies, have gotten so caught up in the minute details, like crazy emulsions and how much coriander they can infuse into a sauce, that we risk losing track of the bigger picture. We all need to eat – every single day in fact – so what happened to the beauty of the simple meal?

This weekend I found myself hanging out in the New York City kitchen of Johanna Kindvall, my fellow Swedish foodie partner in crime. We were talking about food writing and about some of our work on EcoSalon. “But my recipes aren’t even healthy,” Johanna laughed, as she put a pan full of root vegetables and rosemary into the oven. What she meant was, she uses a lot of butter and eggs, which in a society on omega-3 and low fat overdrive can at first glance come off as seemingly unhealthy.

Her unintended irony was not lost on me. Here is a woman that loves good food and she was worried that her recipes weren’t healthy enough. Why? Because they didn’t involve a tablespoon of flax and chia at every turn? This is just like my friends prefacing a dinner with, “Well it’s only [insert really good, homemade dish here]…” Just because you’re not pureeing kohlrabi and parsnips doesn’t mean you’re not putting good food on the table. If it’s made with good ingredients and you enjoyed cooking it, you’re just as much a “foodie” as the next person.

The food world is full of assumptions. If you’re a foodie you must be a snob. If you’re eating a fancy meal, you must have a bank account to back it up. If you’re not vegan, you don’t care about the environment. If you spend a weekend trying to perfect a Swedish recipe for almond cakes, you’re never going to settle for a regular batch of homemade brownies. When it comes down to it, eating should simply be about food for food’s sake. Not what you sprinkle on top or what you serve it in, but essential ingredients that are good for you. Is that so elitist?

I am reminded of last month’s issue of Bon Appetit, where there was a spread on three classic recipes every cook should know. The article pointed out that you can tell a good cook by the simple things: how they beat their eggs, their methods of measuring and pouring, and what kind of a salad dressing they can whip up at the drop of a hat. Ultimately, it really is all about simplicity. Just like the chefs and food editors who know what they need to eat to stay healthy, excellent food, at its very core is about good ingredients in good proportions.

Ask yourself this: are you adding anise to your scones because that’s the cool new thing to do? Who cares? Does it taste good? Yes. There’s your reason. The same goes for fennel, dill, cardamom, artisanal goat cheese, wrapping things in bacon and all those other things that have come to be snarkily equated with foodie-ism. If it tastes good, eat it, not because some food blog told you to do so – except for maybe this one of course.

Combining olive oil and sea salt in a cake certainly gets me some eyebrow raises and the occasional “of course you put those ingredients in a cake,” comment, but it’s also one of the easiest things I know how to make. Good food that impresses and is almost easier than something out of a box? There’s nothing better.

Well, except a cardamom bitter cocktail.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Images: Anna Brones

The post Foodie Underground: It’s Not All Food Snobbery appeared first on EcoSalon.

Bringing in a sustainably fashion forward new year with…The Box!

Our exclusive EcoSalon shopping must-have, the curated product assortment known as The Box, is back. We’re offering $500 in eco-goodies for the New Year for just $99 and these won’t last. That’s a guarantee.

Just because we’re stuck in the middle of winter doesn’t mean we can’t look good and feel good. Slip on your new designer shades, crack open a thick novel and do some DIY…or indulge with a gift certificate or two! Regardless, of what you do with it, this is a curated collection you won’t want to miss and keep all for yourself or share with some friends.

(If you do miss out this time around, our friends at The Frisky are hosting a giveaway for the last remaining Fashion Box standing. Head on over to their site and register to win!)

Just look at what we have in store for you this time around:

Eco by Modo

Designer sunglasses? No, we’re not kidding. Eco by Modo pushes innovation and promotes sustainability with sunglasses made of recycled stainless steel and plastic to bring a radically new perspective into eyewear without sacrificing quality, design or price. All of the sunglasses capture attention by featuring the iconic Eco logo, a circle on the temple tip, which connects directly with the 360°-approach to sustainability throughout the entire product life cycle.

The collection carries a UL Environment Validation, certifying that the products are made from a minimum of 95% recycled stainless steel and plastic. Thanks to the One Frame One Tree initiative, for each pair of Eco by Modo frames purchased, Eco by Modo plants one tree together with Trees for the Future, a non-profit organization that has been helping communities around the world plant trees since 1989. So far over 600,000 trees have been planted…and counting.

We have 15 in black and 15 in Tort Gold just for you (above). First come first serve, so specify in comments when paying!

(Retails for $160)

P.S. – I Made This…

It’s a movement. It’s a call to action: reimagine, reuse, and reinvent. P.S. – I Made This inspires and encourages us to embrace the concept of I see it, I like it, I make it. Part designer DIY, part fashion and lifestyle inspiration guide, P.S. – I Made This was born from Erica Domesek’s wildly popular website of the same name. Domesek’s collection of unique projects will tempt any green fashionista who’s ready for serious DIY style.

The book features more than 25 projects inspired by iconic fashion looks, runway trends, and celebrated style mavens for readers to create themselves. The user-friendly “Designer DIY” projects, ranging from lucite bangles to faux-fur vests to studded heels, are featured alongside inspirational, vivid fashion montages and clear, easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions.

Erica’s projects have been featured in publications such as Glamour and Teen Vogue, among others. Based in New York City, Erica has styled numerous campaigns for big-name fashion brands.

(Retails for $18.95)

Recycled Leather Tote

Edgy street style and a designer price point, yours in this edition The Box. This buttery-soft leather bag has rectangular chevrons and pockets galore for women on the go who need a bigger bag. Large snap pockets fore and aft hold books, your trusty Moleskine or that new vegan lip gloss you just got while two stash pockets wrap around the sides. Toss the adjustable strap over your shoulder, or remove it and slip your fingers around the comfy handle. Perfect for the organized fashionista in us all.

(A $279 retail value!)

Roux Maison Laundry Detergent

Roux Maison’s eco-luxe laundry line includes custom formulated, fabric-specific laundry detergents and a stain remover.  They are all made with the finest natural ingredients and are designed to be both gentle and highly effective. Full-sized, super concentrated formulas allow for 40 loads of laundry with just 16 oz of detergent, regardless of type of washing machine used. Most of Roux Maison’s detergents are currently available in two bespoke natural fragrances, Sweet Tea and Ambrosia, that are both exclusively made from 100% pure and therapeutic-grade essential oils, with no artificial fragrances or additives. Detergents are also available in fragrance-free versions with absolutely no masking ingredients added at all. Enjoy a full-sized vibrant Lavender version in this edition of The Box.

(Retails for $14.99)

$50 Gift Certificate to Soleone + 25% EcoSalon Exclusive Promotion

Soleone garments are crafted from bamboo fibers, which makes them both incredibly soft and luxuriously comfortable. The signature fabric has built-in properties to wick away odor and moisture, keeping you dry. Besides being better for you, bamboo fiber is better for our planet. A sustainable resource grown without pesticides or fertilizers, bamboo is 100% biodegradable, while being hypoallergenic and wrinkle resistant. Stock up on fresh new year skivvies and deliciously silky-smooth lounge wear with your $50 gift certificate and an additional 25% off on any purchases beyond $50 with promo code SoleoneEcoSalon.

(Retails for $50)

$50 Gift Certificate to Future:Standard

Future:Standard is an online boutique that provides ethical clothing and accessories (eco-friendly, fair trade, locally made, and anything made with respect to the planet and those who are making it). Owner Jessica Althoff explains it best: “is waiting for the day that what we purchase does not need to be described as sustainable or fair trade. This assumes that all products are made in the most sustainable way possible and with concern for those making the products. That all of this is standard. This is our Future:Standard.”

(Retails for $50.00)

United by Blue Shark Fin T-Shirt

United by Blue founder Brian Linton attributes “The Blue Movement” to deepwater explorers like Jacques Cousteau, “an avid diver whose own passion for the underwater world transformed a generation,” and to Dr. Sylvia Earle, “whose groundbreaking research continues to inspire a new generation of scientists and discoverers.”

With Cousteau an obvious pick for inspiring ocean love and research, who are the new Blue Movement pioneers? They’re people like Linton and his United by Blue team, who not only sell sustainable apparel and jewelry that contribute and support their cause, but get down and dirty themselves. For every product sold, UBB removes one pound of trash from oceans and waterways through company organized and hosted cleanups.

This super cute shirt is a little longer than most tees, perfect for layering or wearing on its own and flattering to all figures. Specify S, M, or L – first come, first served!

(Retails for $25.00)

AB Designs Upcycled Bike Tube Earrings

From afar, these bike tube earrings look like they might even be made from metal, but in actuality they’re flexible and incredibly lightweight, just the thing for when you want an easy-to-wear statement piece. Handmade in Portland, Oregon out of old bicycle tubes, these earrings represent upcycling at its most stylish.

(Retails for $19.00)

Fisherman’s Daughter Organic Cotton Head Bands

Fisherman’s Daughter is a Cape Cod-based boutique as well as house for sustainable designer Taylor Brown Armour, whose line Fisherman’s Daughter is made from all sustainable materials. Armour’s unique collection of handmade organic clothing  and accessories give a strong nod to ocean themes and is collected by women all over the U.S. who appreciate her one-of-a-kind and bespoke pieces.

(Retails for $36)

Wildlife Works’ Mraba Scarf

Wildlife Works’ mission is to harness the power of the global consumer to create innovative and sustainable solutions for wildlife conservation. They call it Consumer Powered Conservationism. When you buy a Wildlife Works product, you become an agent for conservation. You’re wearing the brand that says you won’t sit quietly by while the last wild things in the last wild places disappear forever.

(Retails for $28.00)

PACT Organic Socks

The PACT organization partners with lots of different causes to promote awareness. Their current Share the Love collection helps bring awareness to Citizen Effect. Citizen Effect is driven by the idea that anyone can make a real and significant impact in the world. Their mission is to provide Citizen Philanthropists the tools and networks they need to work directly with communities in need around the world.

In partnership with Citizen Effect, PACT is sharing the love all over the world. When you buy PACT this Spring, you’re helping them raise money for community projects in Uganda, India, and America. PACT thinks what the world needs now is a little love. And no better place to start then your underwear. And in this case, your socks! Super comfy, one size fits most women’s feet.

(Retails for $10.00)

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The fine print: Please note there will be an additional $30 flat charge which covers all shipping, handling and sales tax fees. Packages are processed and shipped with love within 7 business days of ordering via UPS Ground. We cannot ship internationally (we wish we could!). You’ll receive a confirmation email once your order has gone through. Due to the extremely limited nature of these special assortments, we regret that refunds are not possible if you change your mind. If any items you receive are damaged, the participating brands and EcoSalon are happy to replace them for you as soon as the item(s) is available. If the exact item is not available, one of similar value will be offered. Enjoy your assortment of green goodies! We’re excited to send them your way.

The post January Fashion Box: ‘This Is My Year to be Sustainably Sexy’ Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

Swedish Advent coffee gatherings and the must have baked good of the season.

The season of Advent is upon us. In Sweden, Advent is holy, not just because it represents a religious tradition, but more practically it celebrates and honors light. Every Sunday through Christmas a new candle is lit, until the four long candles in the Advent candlestick are burning in unison. Throughout the month of December, windows blaze with the traditional triangle shaped candelabra, bringing a hue of gold to the otherwise dark and long winter nights.

Just as candles are an integral part of celebrating Advent, so are pepparkakor. Gingerbread cookies are the staple of Swedish Advent coffee gatherings and celebrations and the must have baked good of the season.

I grew up, every December, carefully rolling out gingerbread dough. In the early years, it was an awkward dance of pushing and pulling a rolling pin about half my size. Flour tended to go everywhere, and I would end up grinning with dough pieces stuck all over me. Yet my mother simply left me to it, and if I rolled too hard and the dough got stuck to the countertop, I was forced to find a solution myself.

Dust with flour, roll, pull up dough, flip over and repeat until just the right thickness to slice into with a Swedish cookie cutter. These cookie cutters were carefully kept in a large tin – which had at one point in the early 80s held Danish butter cookies certainly purchased at duty free on one of her connecting stops in Copenhagen. Hearts, pigs, Christmas gnomes, the classic gingerbread couple; I loved, and still love, sorting through and picking out my favorites. Feeling lazy? There were always the Franska Pepparkakor to make, a much simpler process of rolling out a log and slicing the cookies. In fact, if Swedish Jul for Dummies were a book, this recipe would be in it.

But pepparkakor are one thing, and a pepparkakshus (gingerbread house) is quite another; same dough, same concept and yet when you move from cookie to house, baking takes a completely different level of culinary creativity.

Enter, my father. Not known for his kitchen prowess – to his credit he is well versed in the world of exotic, black teas – gingerbread house making was his turn to put his carpentry and mathematical brain to use in an area normally left to my mother and I.

In his mind, a pepparkakshus was a serious matter. This is why, two decades later, we still have the same designs, meticulously drawn onto graph paper and cut out with an X-Acto knife, kept in the same, yellowed folder, “Jul” marked in red pen on the outside.

He put the same energy into crafting our annual pepparkakshus as he put into building our own house. Case in point: the pepparkakshus was always constructed with melted sugar, a binding agent that no child under the age of 12 should ever play with. But once dad had constructed the house, I got to decorate it, and he would watch as I sloppily poured icing all over the top, at first attempting to make a design and later resorting to the excuse “I just wanted to make it look like it snowed on the roof.” Fortunately like any good father he was never upset at his daughter’s decorative destruction of his architectural masterpiece.

Of course every kid-friendly holiday treat has to have an adult alternative, and beyond the pepparkakshus, my father’s other seasonal claim to fame is a mean batch of glögg, Sweden’s mulled wine. Whereas expertly crafting gingerbread houses was probably more of a fatherly duty, glögg was a personal masterpiece, picked up at about the same time that he wandered into the Nordic lands and stumbled upon my enchanting mother.

There has never been an Advent that I can remember that he didn’t have a batch brewing in our cast iron, red enamel pot- a kitchen item that’s probably as old as I am. During the month of December it sits there on the back left burner, ready to cook up another round. For not being a man of the kitchen, I can call my father at any given moment and he can rattle off his well-mastered glögg recipe as if he were reciting multiplication tables, which is helpful since even in a studio apartment, December is not December without the smell of glögg warming and a plate of pepparkakor.

Two years ago my father sent me a gingerbread house kit from a trendy grocery store that will remain nameless. The result was disappointing. No planning and no process, without even getting to the taste issue and the fact that the kitchen didn’t smell like spices. Tradition requires commitment, and for the month of Swedish Advent that commitment is making a good batch of pepparkaksdeg (the dough) and baking out a batch of cookies and constructing a house, no matter how old you are.

Now to find the glögg mugs.

Pepparkakor (Gingerbread Cookies)
(About 75-100 cookies)

¼ cup (50 ml) heavy cream
2/3 cup (150 ml) light syrup* or molasses
Almost one cup (200 ml) sugar
3 ½ oz (100 gram) butter
One tablespoon ground ginger
One tablespoon ground cloves
One teaspoon ground cinnamon
One tablespoon ground cardamom
One teaspoon baking soda
3 cups (700 ml) flour (+ some for the rolling out)

Melt the butter and the syrup on low heat. Let cool before adding the other ingredients. Work the dough well. It’s important that the spices are freshly milled. Let the dough rest overnight in a cool place so the spices have time to fully develop their aromas. The resting will also make it easier to roll out the dough.
Roll out the dough and cut out shapes with gingerbread cutters. Bake in the oven at 375ºF (190ºC) for about 6-8 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they burn easily.

This dough can also be used for a gingerbread house. Just roll it out slightly thicker. Have fun!

This recipe is a modification of the original at the Swedish shop Svensk Hemslöjd in Stockholm.

*You can buy light Syrup (ljus sirap) at Ikea. You can also use ”Lyle’s Golden Syrup” that you can find in British food stores.

Franska Pepparkakor  (French Gingerbread Cookies)

1 cup (almost 250 ml) almonds, chopped
7 oz  (200 g) butter
1/2 cup  (120 ml)  sugar
1/2 cup (120 ml) molasses
4 tsp ginger
4 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp ground nutmeg
4 tsp cardamom
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups (700 ml) flour
Cream butter, sugar and molasses.

Mix dry ingredients with almonds, then combine with butter, sugar and molasses. Knead together with your hands.
Roll dough into cylinders, about 12 inches long and wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Cut dough into 1/4 inch slices. Bake at 380 for 10-12 minutes.

This recipe is adapted from the Swedish classic: “Sju sorters kakor.”

Illustrations by Johanna Kindvall

The post Pepparkakor: Swedish Gingerbread Cookies appeared first on EcoSalon.

Just in time for holiday shopping and gift giving: The Box is back!

Our exclusive EcoSalon shopping must-have, the curated eco product assortment known as The Box, is back. We’re offering $500 worth of holiday eco-goodies for just $99 and these won’t last. That’s a guarantee.

From soy candles to handmade rugs, our Holiday Shelter Box is crammed full of swanky products to bring modern style into your home – with enough cool goodies included to give things away as gifts, too. Featuring full-size gorgeous green goods, hop on this now or miss out!

(If you do miss out this time around – supplies are extremely limited – our friends at Curbly are hosting a giveaway for the last remaining Shelter Box standing. Head on over to their site and register to win!)

Just look at what we have in store for you this time around:

Set of Two Wolfie & The Prints

In the dead of winter, these U-Pick Apples and Fresh Eggs prints from Wolfie & The Sneak will remind you of warm mornings spent perusing farmers’ market. Hang them on your wall, and you’ll instantly brighten your mood. The 5″ x 7″ prints are printed on 8″x 10″ French Paper, 100% post consumer recycled paper, produced in a hydroelectric-powered, family-run paper mill in Michigan. With inks guaranteed to last 98 years under regular glass, you’ll be enjoying your fresh produce for years to come.

(Retail value of $40)

Guerrilla Gardening Seedbomb Kit

Change the world, guerrilla style. That’s the idea behind Seedbomb from Greenaid, and the Guerilla Gardening Gift Set ensures that you have all the tools to make the world a greener place. Know of an unused lot nearby? Throw a few seedbombs in. A barren intersection that could use some foliage? Seedbomb away! The packaging is perfect for your guerilla gardening exploits, complete with a handkerchief and slingshot for ensuring that your 12 seedbombs get launched far and away. Seedbombs are hand-rolled in Culver City, Calif. using local materials, sustainable packaging, and socially responsible labor.

(Retail value of $20)

Stencil1 Bird Stencils

Put a bird on it. Your wall, that is. Make your own decorative aviary with these six bird silhouette stencils from Stencil1. You can stencil any one of the six designs onto cards, shirts, even your furniture; the possibilities are endless. And fun.

(Retail value of $19.99)

Wishbone Paperweight

With a busy social calendar in the month ahead, it’s good to keep a few presents on hand, and this striking paperweight from VivaTerra is the perfect item – and a good reminder to make a wish. You never know when it might come true.

(Retail value of $39)

Wishbone Ornament

Hang your wishes up so everyone can see! An match to the Wishbone Paperweight, or perfectly fine on its own, the Wishbone Ornament brings a little cheer to its owner. The ideal go-to gift for anyone who needs a little pick-my-up this holiday season.

(Retail value of $15)

Music for the Planet by 1% for the Planet

Produced by non-profit 1% For the Planet, Music for the Planet is a collection of 41 songs that supports the environment. The album features exclusive and rare tracks by many well known artists including Josh Ritter, Mason Jennings and Rosie Thomas. All proceeds from the album go to supporting environmental causes, so we won’t be surprised if you love the music so much that you’re inspired to buy another one for a friend.

(Retail value of $9.99)

Crash Candles Soy Candle

Every cozy home needs a few candles burning, especially in the winter months, and these hand-made soy candles from Crash Candles are the perfect option. Poured in a glass tumbler you can use when the wax runs out, the candle features the designs of one of our favorite Scandinavians, Lotta Jansdotter. No not only will you bring a little extra light into your home, but you can be happy knowing that they’re eco-friendly and supporting the work of contemporary artists and designers.

(Retail value of $24)

Klean Kanteen and NAU Stainless Steel Pints

Move over, Mason jars. So last year. Especially if you have a reusable option on hand. Perfect for outdoor picnics, concerts or even a birthday party, these pints ensure that you’ll never have to go disposable again, and unlike many glass versions, these won’t break. This exclusive four-pack of Klean Kanteen pints is discreetly printed with the simple NAU logo and made of 18/8, food-grade stainless steel. Durable, versatile, reusable, and dishwasher safe.

(Retail value of $39)

EcoSystem Journal

A blank journal is a blank slate, waiting to be filled with your thoughts, drawings and lists. These blank ecosystem journals have a flexible cover and are filled with pages of 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Sized at 7 3/8″ x 9 7/8″, you’ll have plenty of space to let your creative spirit fly, or encourage someone else that they do the same.

(Retail value of $18.95)

Paper Culture Gift Certificate

Haven’t gotten to your holiday greetings yet? That’s okay – now you can use this $25 Paper Culture gift certificate to customize your own holiday cards. Already ahead of the game with your cards? Your gift certificate can also be used for any product on the site from personal stationery to bamboo wall art. With a motto of “be modern. be eco” Paper Culture uses exclusively 100% post consumer recycled paper for card and envelope and a portion of all proceeds go towards supporting non-profits that focus on education, family and sustainability.

(Retail value of $25)

Recycled iPhone Re-Case

Any busy girl is sure to put her phone through the ringer, which is why you need to make sure it’s properly protected. The Re-Case from Miniwiz is made from 100% trash (rice farming byproducts and post-consumer thermo-plastics to be exact), though from the sleek design, you’d hardly know it.

(Retail value of $24.95)

Plywerk Gift Certificate

Every time you go on a trip you take your camera. In fact, you’ve taken so many photos by this point, your photographer’s eye is actually getting good. But what do you do with all of those photos? Don’t leave them in the hinterlands of your hard drive, print them so everyone can enjoy your work. The masters at Plywerk mount your photo on eco friendly bamboo, eliminating the need for a glass frame. Their easy-to-use website allows you to upload your photo, choose your size, and almost before you’ve had the time to hit send, you have a gorgeous mounted photo waiting at your door.

(Retail value of $20)

Angel Face Botanicals Aromatherapy Shower Steamer Set

In the midst of holiday parties and planning, any good hostess needs to take some time to herself and recharge. These delicious scented Shower Steamers from Angel Face Botanicals make the perfect hostess gift, a little “thank you” for throwing a dinner or cocktail hour in the busiest season of the year. The sampler set comes with Lavender Mist, Juicy Citrus, Peppermint and Eucalyptus, so you could even divide them among your deserving friends. Or if you’re feeling in need of an energy boost yourself, turn your shower into aromatherapy central and enjoy yourself.

(Retail value of $20)

VivaTerra Flowered Thermos

Your friends will be thrilled when you bring a batch of hot cider along on your winter excursions. This beautiful, double-walled, 34-oz. thermos from VivaTerra is perfect for transporting hot and cold drinks alike and with its floral enamelware design, you’ll be serving in ultra current style.

(Retail value of $55)

Verde Lifestyles’ Bamboo Rug

Bring a little zen into your home. This 2’x3′ dark brown bamboo rug from Verde Lifestyles is beautiful and durable, and with a mixture of earthy wood and red undertones provides an ideal dose of warmth to modern, rustic and contemporary settings. Perfect for welcoming guests in your entryway.

(Retail value of $24.75)

Lucky Bowl

A small bowl that can serve as a nice positive daily reminder. This 3 1/2″ inch ceramic bowl by Paloma’s Nest is handmade in Austin, Texas and is a beautiful little keepsake for any friend whom you feel lucky to have. Each piece is made out of pure white clay and has a matte finish.

(Retail value of $22)

Elephant Plantable Pocket Notebooks

If you’re like us, you have a few notebooks lying around, all full of to-do lists and great ideas. But what do you do when they’re full? If it’s a Plantable Pocket Notebook like these ones from Botanical Paperworks, you can take it right outside and put it in your garden. Filled with plantable paper, come springtime you will see a vibrant collection of wildflowers sprout. Perfect for sticking in your purse and jotting down quick notes, or passing along to the friend who always seems to be coming up with good ideas but never has a place to put them.

(Retail value of $9.95)

Grain Utility Card

This card really can say it all. Designed by Grain, with its word search puzzle the Utility Card contains over 100 different wishes, from Happy Hannukah My Love to Howdy Friend, Happy New Year.

(Retail value of $4)

The post The Box: Gimme Shelter Edition! appeared first on EcoSalon.

An entire book series devoted to centuries of food writing.

400 years of food writing in nine different books is enough to make any food lover go crazy. Penguin Book’s new Great Food series is a special collection exploring food writing through the ages. With works from Alexander Dumas and A.W. Chase, and cover designs that are just as much of a feast as the writing inside, it’s hard to go wrong.

This isn’t your average foodie writing packed full of cutting edge expressions and thoughts on emulsions. In these pages, printed on FSC certified paper, you will find great recipes like “Pigeon eye with spinage” (Recipes From the White Hart Inn, William Verrall, originally published 1759), and lines as good as, “Seeds must be gathered in fair weather, at the wane of the moon…” (The Well Kept Kitchen, Gervase Markham, originally published 1615).

Bon appetit!

Available from Penguin Books, $12 per title.

Look for Lustables daily at EcoSalon. 100% gorgeous green finds, and never sponsored. Submit your favorite to tips@ecosalon.com

The post Lustables: Great Food Book Series appeared first on EcoSalon.