I am a Minnesota-born-and-raised girl with the heart of a Swede. I feel totally at home either place, but regardless of whether I’m in Minnesota or Sweden, my heart aches for the OTHER place. How’s that for a dysfunctional personality?
In daily life I am a worship director, piano teacher, volunteer at the local high school and nursing home, care-giver for my brain-injured husband, and probably wear a few other “hats” in addition to those. 😊
I spend every possible moment talking with my kids (who are both married), snuggle my new (and perfect!) little granddaughter, and always have a couple dream trips marinating in my mind. I love to be silly, laugh, thrive in the outdoors, and try to live a life with no regrets. I have traveled to 28 countries on 4 continents, and most of the United States. SOME day I will make it to Hawaii, Asia and South America.
My husband and I built a house in the most idyllic setting – – – in the woods, on a lake, surrounded by wildlife and silence – – – totally my inspiration for creativity.
This blog is a labor of love — there are no advertisements, no affiliate links, and does not generate any income. The blog is simply about good food and good stories. The name “Culinary Concerto” describes two of my passions — cooking and music. But most importantly, my mission in life is to love people well with love that can only come from the One who loved me first.
I hope to get the opportunity to hear all about you as we sip coffee (or tea) and relax by the fireplace (or lake).
Carlotta….Love, Love, Love your blog!! Great job!
I have never followed any “blog” before the fabulous Culinary Concerto…it is wonderful!!! Great recipes!! Thanks, Karin
Thank you, Karin! Now that we are finally back online, I’ll try to catch up on the blog. 🙂
Your mom just directed me to your blog. Love it and hope to have some time to spend reading more of it and trying some of your recipes. I think Kari would love it also and will let her know. Thanks!
I’m glad you found the blog, and hope you enjoy some of the stories, pictures, and recipes. (And let me know if you have any of the Pink Tower dishes.) 🙂
Hello Carlotta! Wonderful, wonderful blog! I feel so lucky to have by chance found it.
I was surfing around with lasagna on my mind… and ha!, I found a great lasagna recipe and a whole lot more!
I’m in! Look forward to your future posts. Eliza
Thanks, Eliza!
You totally make me laugh — it’s good to know that I’m not the only person who surfs “with lasagna on my mind”! I hope you come back often.
I can’t wait to explore your website. Wow. You have incredible talent!
Carlotta
Hello, Carlotta. I “found” you through YUMMLY. Although I have only read a few of your recipes, I am hooked on you! Great recipes and dialog! Keep it up. Best regards. Tama
Hej,
I just found your blog. I was looking for a flourless Kladdkaka to make for a friend. I was so excited to see your blog. My heart jumped when I started reading your words. I live in Colorado, but am married to a Minnesota Finn. My grandparents were from Sweden and I grew up going to Minnesota for summer vacation. My son and grandkids now live in St. Paul. So my heart is really in Minnesota, but my husband is a skier now, so we won’t be moving to MN anytime soon. But I make lots of trips. I have a daughter that lives here, and my youngest is married and has a 5 month old, and they live in Italy. He is stationed there with the Air Force. So now that we are quarantined, I figure I could be anywhere so I have been pretending I am in Minnesota!! But seriously, we did live in MN one year, my husband taught at Bethel for a one-year sabbatical replacement. That is where he did his undergraduate work and our son went there, which is why he is still there. Currently, I am a potter and since I have a studio at home I have been busy during this quarantine. But I am looking forward to trying your recipes!! I have a friend whose husband is having heart surgery on Wednesday and I am taking a meal to her and her girls Wednesday night, and I thought Kladdkaka would be perfect, but she is GF so I’m excited to use your GF flour blend. It’s been nice to meet you!! Hej hej!!
Hej Karen!
How fun to hear from you – it sounds like we have a lot in common! I would love to see some pictures of your pottery. That is an art that would be so much fun to try, but I’m probably safer at the piano. 😄
This time of “quarantine” has been crazy-busy for us as our daughter moved home and we try to create a new plan for her spring wedding.
Have fun exploring new GF recipes, and let me know if you have any questions. (It is a different way to bake/cook!) And let me know when you make it back to Minnesota! We should meet for coffee!
Sounds good! What is happening with your wedding plans? I’m making the Kladdkaka today.
Instead of the big church wedding our daughter was planning, we are having a tiny backyard service and eventually a reception – once the covid19 restrictions are lifted. Praying for beautiful weather for them, and recruiting help from friends to make our yard as nice as possible. 🌹
Let me know how you liked the kladdkaka! We have some chilly weather coming, so I’ll be doing more baking….
Confused about “Chicken with Butternut Squash and Bok Choy” recipe:
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp black pepper
Are these ground powders? Whole dried pieces? Or freshly grated? No description and no pictures of ingredients makes it impossible to know.
Yes, they are all dried and ground spices. Sorry for the confusion!
About the crockpot creamy chicken & wildrice soup – gluten free recipe:. How many people does the recipe serve? I see that I can go 1x, 2x, 3x on the recipe. I was just wondering what the 1X recipe served.
Hi Suzanne!
I would say that the single recipe makes 6 entrée-sized servings. More if you serve “cups” of soup. Because of how rich the soup is, there’s no need to have bread to fill people up. I hope you enjoy it!
Carlotta
Hej Charlotta
Hittade ditt recept idag på rotmos. Det skall jag testa. Lite ovanliga ingredienser men ser väldigt gott ut. (Sötpotatis och vitlök)
Jag hoppas att du tycker om receptet! Jag serverar rotmos så pass ofta att jag borde uppdatera fotografierna. 😄 Kanske går pandemin över så att jag kan resa till Sverige igen…
Sköt om dig!
I’m about to make the bone broth. I have a crock pot. Do I first bring everything to a boll and then put in crockpot. Or do I skip the boiling part and start out slow in crockpot?
Toni, I’m so sorry that I missed your comment! Hopefully you got the bone broth going already. In a crockpot, the broth will come to a boil in its own sweet time. Just leave it on low for a couple days. It’s the low heat and apple cider vinegar that draw the collagen out of the bones. Hope you enjoy it!
Hi Carlotta,
I’m interested in making your gluten free limpa, and wonder if you’ve tried substituting runny yogurt for the filmjölk. I have easier access to yogurt than filmjölk (or kefir) — we make it at home, and our most recent batch ended up runnier than usual.
Thanks!
Anne
Hi Anne!
I have not tried baking with runny yoghurt, since I make my own filmjölk , but I don’t see a problem with it. The only thing that would make me hesitant is if the yoghurt is sweetened. That might not work so well.
It is such delicious bread, you inspire me to bake today. 😊
Carlotta
Thanks for your reply! I’ll try this out this weekend.
Hi Carlotta, I’m interested in your recipe for filmjolk using siggis. I can’t find the plain flavor near me, just vanilla sweetened with agave nectar or strawberry or blueberry flavored with cane sugar. Will the recipe work? Or will it be spoiled with added sugar. I know it will not be authentic. Thanks!
Oh my. I don’t know that answer to that question! I’ve always been able to find the plain siggis at Whole Market, and never tried with sweetened. Another thought is to find plain kefir — Trader Joe’s sells that, and some of the local small-town grocery stores in our area. Kefir and filmjölk are similar enough, and I have followed the same directions with plain, unsweetened kefir with great success. Let me know how it works for you!
Thanks so much for the Vitamin C – hyaluronic acid recipe. No wonder it stopped working for me — the recipe I used made no mention of making new serum on a regular basis.
I just ordered the products needed and am looking forward to using it again.
I was considering some laser surgery before my upcoming 69th birthday, but I will be using your serum instead.
The beauty of making your own serum is that it is so inexpensive, you can be generous with it, and make a fresh batch every few weeks. As the serum chills, it begins to thicken on top. Just give it a good shake or stir. Remember to start light on the vitamin c, and increase as your skin gets accustomed to it. Moisturize on top of the serum. It really is amazing stuff, and time for me to make another batch. 😊
Hey Great Job on the recipes. But Since I lived in Alaska for 20 yrs I NEED to point out that
Soldatna is NOT the correct spelling…its Soldotna ! I would know I lived there.
Oh my goodness. I am so glad that you caught that! I’ve never been there, but will definitely get the spelling corrected. Maybe when I visit my sister next month we can make the trek to Soldotna. 😊
Hi my mom was asking me to search for a recipe for “sally cookies with molasses and used a spam container.” She’s been saving a spam container for years to make these. I found your gluten free recipe. She’s excited to make them again. Do you have the original non-gluten free version someplace? She’s open to trying the gluten free version but would like to try the original.
I will add a photocopy of Grandma Sally’s original handwritten recipe to the post.