semiswede

What is Halloween like in Sweden? It was basically imported from the U.S. and started to catch on during the 1990s.

I recently wrote an article for http://www.thelocal.se (the Swedish news in English) about the developing Swedish wine industry. Before stumbling upon a bottle of Swedish rosé this summer at the local systembolaget (the government controlled liquor store) it hadn’t even occurred to me that Swedish vineyards exist.

IKEA has a mouse problem. I was shocked when I ran into this today.

Whole crawfish are a big part of Swedish culture with the kräftskiva celebration that takes place in August. But year round you can find crawfish tails in a dill brine in the supermarket. They are tasty little morsels that are infinitely easier to use than dealing with a whole crawfish.

There is a saying “as American as apple pie,” but I think you could just as easily say “as Swedish as apple cake.” It’s everywhere and I certainly see it on menus here much more than I ever see apple pie on a menu in the U.S.

Designed by Ludvig Lofgren – photo from Kosta Boda I love Halloween and shiny things so to celebrate the upcoming holiday I’m giving away a Kosta Boda Still Life Votive (the clear glass, as pictured). Whether you are into Halloween, pirates, or human anatomy, this votive is pretty great.

Here is a bit of a Scandinavian twist on good ‘ol applesauce. My in-laws have a fantastic apple tree that lost a lot of apples in a wind storm. We gathered two bags full of apples just from what had fallen and there are still loads of them on the tree.

On my first trip to Sweden in 1998 I fell in love with prinsesstårta (PRIN-sess-TOHR-tuh). The spongy layers of cake alternating with jam, vanilla custard and whipped cream topped with a thin layer of bright green marzipan had me hooked from the first bite. But it wasn’t until recently that I really started to wonder about […]

In the recent rose hip jelly post I promised a rose hip glazed chicken recipe. This is inspired by Hank Shaw. His blog is absolutely fascinating with a wealth of information about foraging and hunting and how to cook up the bounty.

  One of the easiest, and most gratifying foraging finds in Sweden are wild rose hips, particularly the large rosa rugosa. From beaches to front yards the bright vermillion-red hips are generally ripe from August to October. There are masses of them to be found at Lomma Beach on the southwestern Swedish coast. In just […]