semiswede

Shortly after I posted about fläderblomssaft (elderflower cordial) last June, I learned that you can also make a drink out of lilacs, but it was too late. The lilacs were gone. So I have been waiting patiently since last spring for the lilacs to bloom again. 

Pink, pink, pink. I have just come off of a pink high for my 5 year-old’s princess birthday party and now it’s nearly Valentine’s Day which means more pink. My mother reminded me that I wasn’t a fan of pink or hearts as a little girl but now that I have two girls of my […]

I had a bit of a hard time coming up with a title for this post because Swedish saft isn’t exactly a syrup, or a drink, or just juice. It is fruit and/or berry juice boiled with sugar to create a concentrate that becomes drinkable when water is added. In British English it is squash or […]

It’s black currant time in Sweden and I have eagerly been awaiting this moment. Last year I tried my hand at making crème de cassis (black currant liqueur) and it was so tasty I couldn’t wait for the next black currant season to arrive.

Before discovering the elderflower syrup in the food section at IKEA, I had no idea that elderflowers could be used for anything other than producing elderberries. The first time I mixed up a glass of elderflower juice I fell in love with it straight away. The intoxicating floral aroma is sweet and subtle with a hint […]

We had such a long, cold, rainy stretch of spring and then last week it turned to summer overnight. I am still a bit in shock with the sudden change, but now June Is Bustin’ Out All Over and I am nearly dancing on the rooftops like the folks in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel “because […]