semiswede

Melodifestivalen begins this weekend with a six-week long competition that will grip the nation until March 9th when we find out who will represent Sweden in the 2013 Eurovision song contest. Founded in 1956, Eurovision is the top-ranked program in Europe with 125 million viewers tuning in annually to watch musical performances from roughly 40 nations. […]

Every year on October 4th it’s Kanelbullens dag in Sweden. Time to break out the flour, yeast, and cinnamon, or buy kanelbullar (KUH-neel-BOO-lahr) at your favorite bakery. They are so entrenched in Swedish culture that you will even find them in gas station quick marts and in “convenient” little bags to go. But unlike in […]

September 30th is apple day in Sweden this year. It’s time to take advantage of the peak of the season with classics like Swedish apple cake with vanilla sauce, a twist on a classic – lingonberry laced applesauce, or perhaps it’s time to try something new like apple chutney, a specialty of my mother-in-law.

photo by Britt-Marie Sohlström, April 30, 2011 in Böle, Jamtland, Sweden We are coming to the close of another long weekend. The last one was for Easter and this time it’s Valborgsmässoafton on April 30th. It’s a song, speech, and bonfire-filled ringing in of spring named for Saint Walburga. And it flows right into the […]

I’m a big fan of the spectacular Swedish spettkaka. Ribbons of batter piped onto a conical form make-up the unique confection sometimes called a pyramid cake in English, probably because the literal translation of spettkaka is spit cake. That’s a bit unfortunate, but makes sense when you learn the cake is baked on a rotating […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Pea soup on Thursday has been a tradition in Sweden since the Middle Ages. It stems from the Friday fasting historically observed by the Roman Catholic church as a reminder of Jesus’ suffering and death on Good Friday. Thursdays had a somewhat festive aura and peas were considered a luxury item.