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February 13, 2012 | 1 Comment

Valentine’s Day (Alla Hjärtans Dag) – raspberry lingonberry smoothie

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 […]

February 5, 2012 | 58 Comments

Crisp coconut cookies with fleur de sel

Five ingredients, easy to make, gluten-free, and addictive. This is a recipe I come back to again and again despite the fact I typically lack the patience for the monotonous repetition of baking cookies. These couldn’t be easier to make and are a great baking project to do with kids.

January 26, 2012 | 12 Comments

PINK FOOD WARNING! Open-faced meatball sandwich with pickled beet and apple salad

There are beet-lovers, and beet-haters. If you are the latter, I’m not going to pretend this is the recipe to win you over to the beet camp. You are better off with baby steps and the Swedish classic Biff à la Lindström. This recipe is a decidedly beet-lovers moment and even for that crowd adjusting to […]

January 23, 2012 | 4 Comments

Mixed greens with blue cheese, currants, toasted hazelnuts, and honey vinaigrette

This is one of my all-time favorite salads and whenever I share it with others it gets rave reviews. The honey vinaigrette in combination with the tang of the blue cheese, crunch of toasted hazelnuts, and sweetness of the currants is heavenly. I kid you not. I can’t get enough of this salad and I’ve […]

January 20, 2012 | 32 Comments

Shortcut Swedish meatballs (köttbullar)

As much as I appreciate the crust on a beautifully pan-fried meatball, I just don’t have the time or the patience to stand over the stove and fry up all of those little darlings. My Swedish grandmother (born in the U.S. to Swedish parents) used to make her meatballs a “shortcut” way by broiling and baking […]

January 6, 2012 | 11 Comments

Saffron bread pudding with cognac sauce

I still have a mother lode of golden Lucia buns burning a hole in my freezer and the holiday season in Sweden officially ends on the 20th day after Christmas or tjugondagknut (which happens to be Friday the 13th this year…how cheery). In my efforts to come up with creative ways to use all of […]

December 28, 2011 | 46 Comments

Ostkaka (Swedish cheese cake)

Ostkaka, literally cheese cake in Swedish, is a specialty of the Småland region. Historically its earliest mention is in the 1520s in a list of foods served on New Year’s Day in the household of Bishop Hans Brask in Linköping. Today you can buy it ready-made in any supermarket making it an easy and popular […]

December 21, 2011 | 13 Comments

Bringing light to the dark

Today is the winter solstice. The day of the year with the least amount of daylight hours. With an impressive north to south distance this day in Sweden means a range of no daylight in the northernmost reaches of the country to 7 hours of daylight at the southernmost point.

December 14, 2011 | 6 Comments

Roasted chicken with saffron bread stuffing and gravy

As promised, this is a quick follow-up to my Lucia and lussekatter post. In my efforts to provide a great recipe for Lucia buns that are common for the Lucia celebration on December 13th in Sweden, I tried two different recipes. The results left me with around 55 good-sized sweet saffron buns for a family […]

December 13, 2011 | 15 Comments

Lucia and lussekatter

Filled with candlelight, white robes, singing, and saffron buns, Lucia in Sweden has evolved into a unique tradition that is observed throughout the country on December 13th. Although it isn’t an official holiday, Lucia celebrations are prominent from schools to universities and small towns to big cities. The origins and history of Lucia are quite […]

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