Tjälknöl and me bitching about my week

This week I've managed to stick to my diet, but it has really been more about just surviving rather than enjoying myself eating exotic food. My husband has been sick so I've been taking care of stuff at home, not managing to get to the gym. On top of that the washing machine has broken down, leaving us in a sea of dirty laundry and, worst of all, my youngest is having some kind of phase, sleeping no more than an hour in one go. So this week, every few spare minutes that I've had for myself, I've just dived for my bed, hoping for a few minutes of blissful sleep.

Foodwise, we made this Swedish type of roast, named Tjälknöl, at the beginning of the week. It was huge, so we've been eating of the same piece of meat, just varying the veggie preparations to go with it. Good if you've other things to see too than cooking.

Tjälknöl

1 frozen roast, I've tried this on beef and elk.
lots of salt
a little sugar

The night before eating, remove the roast from the freezer. Put into a 75 degrees C warm oven and let it roast in there over night (12 hours). No need to bother yourself with doneness, pink meat or any of that stuff. The meat will have shrunk to 2/3 of its original size and be very dry and sad looking in the morning. That's ok.

Fill a pot, big enough to the roast to fit into 1/2 way up with water. Make it boil. Solve as much salt as possible in there. It should be saturated saltwise. Add a few tablespoons of sugar as well. Chill.

Dump the meat into the saline solution, let soak for 6 hours.

The meat will be tender and have a nice salty tang to it. Cut it in thin slices and serve it as you would serve any type of cold cut roast.

I didn't manage to get a photo of the Tjälknöl, but here are some veggie preparations that went with it:

Easy bean salad with celery, tomatoes and white beans.

Asparagus with egg, butter and lemon sauce.

Armenian chickpea and spinach stew. Same as last week.