semiswede

Several times I have been asked about Swedish gift recommendations, so here are 10 of my favorites. Lightweight and easy to pack, these teas are available in most Swedish supermarkets and come with some very Swedish ingredients. On the far left is Vit Fläderdröm, a white tea flavored with elderflower and apple. In the center […]

Spring has been a long time coming this year. It seems that cloudy and cool has prevailed which makes it hard to believe it is the end of May with the temperature stuck in the 50s and 60s (12-18C). But there is one thing that reassures the fact we are headed into summer, and that […]

Now here is a riveting post……baked potatoes in Sweden. What could possibly be so different? Well, for someone who grew up in northern Utah bordering Idaho Russet potato country, the answer is….a lot. I miss fluffy Russet baked potatoes so much that they are always on my list of “must eat” when I travel back home. […]

I am just going to squeak this post in before Waffle Day 2013 is over! Last year I wrote a post about the history of how Waffles + The Annunciation = Waffle Day. It all seems to be a bit of a word mix-up that Waffle Day ended up being on 25 March, but so […]

This past weekend my five year anniversary in Sweden came and went without much more than the thought of “huh, today it’s been five years since I moved to Sweden.” Five years is kind of a milestone though, so I have been giving some thought to my half-decade here and my gradual Swedification. It ranges […]

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. […]

In Sweden, Knut is considered the final day of the Christmas season. Knut was a Danish prince who was murdered on 7 January 1131 by his cousin. In 1169, thanks to his influential relatives, he was canonized by the Pope. By the end of the 1600s the name day of Knut was changed from the Epiphany […]

Trettondagen literally means “day 13” and is the thirteenth day after Christmas, i.e. January 6th. Known in English as the Epiphany, it commemorates the revelation of Jesus as the Son of God, and when the Three Wise Men came to the Manger in Bethlehem. In Sweden it is a red day (an official holiday) with […]

Despite the fact it’s extremely dark in Sweden during December, in my opinion, it is a really lovely time to be here. The season is full of Christmas lights, the julbord, glögg, seven kinds of cookies, and complete with dancing around the Christmas tree holding hands. The celebration essentially lasts from the First of Advent […]

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.