Archive for the ‘Love from Sweden’ Category
How to Celebrate Swedish Midsummer (A Free Zine)
This coming weekend marks the celebration of Swedish midsommar. In honor, I made a zine that you can download, print, and fold at home. It even includes a recipe for a strawberry and cardamom cake. If you need help on how to cut and fold this zine, you can find instructions for that here (as well as a zine about another favorite Swedish custom of mine: fika).
Want more inspiration for celebrating Swedish midsummer? Here are a few ideas for planning a Swedish Midsummer dinner, which includes some additional links to recipes.
To download the zine click here. It is designed to be printed on a 8.5×11″ piece of paper.
This zine is free to download and print, but in exchange, I would like to ask you to consider making a donation to the Black Food Sovereignty Coalition, or any local organization in your community that’s focused on the intersection of race and food. I have always loved celebrating midsommar because it’s very much a celebration of seasonal food, and given the ongoing inequities in access to food and access to land for BIPOC communities, I think that this is a great time to highlight that food justice is racial justice.
Happy Birthday Fika!
Three years ago today, Fika The Art of The Swedish Coffee Break came into the world. Over the last three years, it has been so much fun seeing all the places that this book ends up. I love hearing from readers when they bake a recipe or give the book as a gift to a friend. I think we could all use a little more fika in our lives, and I am happy to see so many of you doing exactly that.
In honor of Fika‘s third birthday, I am doing a special giveaway of signed copies of both Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break and my latest book, Live Lagom Balanced Living the Swedish Way, as well as an original fika-themed papercut (unframed).
This fika papercut was done as a sample for some new templates that I made for Paper Artist Collective (if you’re in the mood to try your hand at papercutting, you can snag them here) and I think it deserves a space on someone’s wall!
How to enter? All you have to do is subscribe to my newsletter. I’ll draw a random winner next Friday, April 13, 2018 so you have a week to get yourself signed up and entered.
Preorder ‘Live Lagom’ U.S. Edition
Earlier this year I wrote a book called Live Lagom: Balanced Living the Swedish Way, published by Ebury Press in the U.K. I am happy to announce that it’s hitting the U.S. market this December thanks to the wonderful team at Ten Speed Press. It’s officially out on December 26, 2017 which means that you could consider it a belated Christmas present, or also, a kick off to the new year.
What is lagom? It’s a Swedish word that roughly translates to “the right amount.” In other words, not too much, not too little, just that perfect middle ground. It can relate to food, fashion, health, work, social life and beyond. I wrote a little more about the book when it came out in July, which you can read here.
The book is beautifully photographed by Matilda Hildingsson and Nathalie Myrberg and I like to think of it not just as a lifestyle guide about Scandinavian living, but a look at how slowing down and finding balance can help all of us.
Ask your favorite bookstore to order it for you, or preorder it online at your favorite indie retailer (mine is Powell’s.)
Kanelbullensdag – Swedish Cinnamon Bun Day
In Sweden, the cinnamon bun gets its very own day: October 4th. Celebrate with a fika today!
I like making cinnamon buns (and more importantly, cardamom buns) with sourdough. Here’s a recipe for sourdough cardamom buns with pear and hazelnut filling to try out.
Or you can try the traditional recipe in my book Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break. Check out #kanelbullensdag on Instagram for inspiration.
New Book: “Live Lagom: Balanced Living the Swedish Way”
Today marks the release of my new book Live Lagom: Balanced Living the Swedish Way. I love book birthdays because they are the ideal time to give a little backstory on the book and what it meant for me to write it.
Lagom is a Swedish word that doesn’t have a direct translation in English, but means something along the lines of “just right.” As the title of the book would have you believe, it’s a look at how the concept of lagom translates into various elements of Swedish society, and identifies some of the lessons that we might be able to incorporate into our own lives.
But you don’t need me to tell you what’s in the book; you can buy it to get that story! You’re here for the inner look.
A Strawberry Cake to Celebrate Swedish Midsummer
Summer solstice marks the longest day of the year, and that’s cause for celebration. This week is one of sunshine stretching into the evening, carpets of wildflowers in the midst of grassy fields, bare feet and picnic blankets.
For me, it marks the celebration of Swedish midsommar, which will be celebrated this Friday. The traditional midsommar spread of food is one of my favorites, featuring some of my favorite dishes like marinated cucumbers, pickled herring (which you can even use in a savory cake), and plenty of knäckebröd.
But my favorite part of midsommar has to be dessert. Strawberry cake is one of the most common desserts on the Swedish midsommar table, and it puts seasonal berries front and center. It’s a simple dessert, topped with plenty of whipped cream and bright red berries.
I like to make the cake with cardamom, and even marinate a few strawberries in honey and cardamom to use as the center filling. The cake is cut in half, so that you can layer it, but if you want to make an even fancier cake, consider making two of them and layering them.
Celebrate Lucia Day with Swedish Saffron Buns (or a Cake)
December 13th marks the celebration of Lucia Day, an essential tradition on the Swedish holiday calendar. This is where all of the photos of children dressed in long white dresses with red sashes and wreaths in their hair come from. Ultimately, it’s a celebration of light – which is no surprise given the dark, Swedish winter – and whoever is crowned Lucia wears a wreath of candles in her hair.
The traditional treat served on Lucia Day is saffron buns. Bright yellow from the spice, these sweet, yeasted buns are formed into a variety of shapes (some of which are pictured in this vintage illustration) and served with a cup of coffee or mug of glögg.
Want to celebrate Lucia Day yourself? Here are a few recipes to help:
Swedish Saffron Buns – This is the classic recipe, complete with a few more illustrations of different forms that you can make.
Saffron Cake with Hazelnut and Whiskey Filling – I always like making a cake out of the saffron bun dough, and filling it with almond paste. This year I did something a little different and made the filling out of hazelnuts. With a dash of whiskey for good holiday cheer!
Saffron Bun Cookies – A gluten-free recipe, inspired by the traditional saffron buns. The cookies are made with rice flour and ground almonds, then twisted into the classic saffron bun shapes.
Glad Lucia!
Images: Anna Brones, Viriditas
Glad Midsommar!
Today is the celebration of Swedish midsummer, my personal favorite holiday of the year.
