I love Christmas! This is what ours looked like…
Merry Christmas everyone!
Christmas Eve
Category: SWEDEN
Snow, snow, snow
I realise I was lucky to catch my flight without delays on Friday… Although it was freezing cold when I had to wait for the train in Copenhagen, I can appreciate the beauty of snow, when it looks like this. Photos from my parents’ garden.
Time to go home for Christmas!
Tonight, if everything goes according to plan, is it time for me to fly home and give my parents a big hug. ‘My bags are packed and I’m ready to go…’Â Fingers crossed the snow won’t manage to stop me. If so, it’s not the first time I would spend several hours waiting in an airport, but it would be nice if it all went according to plan. đ
It feels great going home already now, and having a week until Christmas. It feels like I can see my friends more before the holidays than in between.
As usual when I’m going home, I am looking forward to all the nice food. This time it is especially smoked eel, my mother’s soft rye bread and our version of rice pudding I’m looking forward too. My best friend Emma and I, will also have our own little Christmas, but wit shellfish. Yum! đ  And this Sunday I’m going to see lots of my friends at the same time when they’re coming over for lunch.
I will continue to blog from Sweden, but want to take this opportunity to say: MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone. Only a week left now… đ
Rosen in Malmö, Sweden
Since I left Malmö and Sweden two years ago, the town has changed a little. In the old part of the town, the west end, a new hotel has been built. I was very sad when they announced it as they had to tear down the old Saluhall (food market) to do it. I loved that food market, even though there weren’t many shops left, but nice cafĂ©es and restaurants. This west part of the town is my favourite, with old houses, nice cobbled streets and a very cosy feel to it. The new development still houses one of the old restaurants, a nice fish restaurant called Johan P, a new TGI Fridays and Malmö’s first five star hotel.
Even though I was against this development I can’t hold a grudge to something I haven’t experienced, and according to another blogger, the bar Rosen, the rose, in the hotel serves Malmö’s best cocktails. I met up with my friends here last Friday for a drink before dinner. Some chose a glass of cava, and some of us tried the cocktails. Claes went for the classic dry martini and it was served in a very original way, a glass cone holding the drink, but down in a bowl of ice to keep cool and olives scattered in the bowl. I went for an Elderflower Fizz, because one ingredient was my favourite liqueur. The drink was lovely, but I couldn’t really taste the elderflower in it. A shame.
The bar was quite full up at 7 pm, a good sign, and people seemed to enjoy themselves. I didn’t think the bar looked very fancy for being a five star hotel, but maybe we want it a bit understated in Sweden, here in England it is a bit more full on with the decoration.
Wonderful Sweden
It has been quiet here the last week, I went back to Sweden for a few days and didn’t feel I had time to sit by the computer when I see my friends and family so seldom. It was lovely to see them all and catch up.
When I arrived on Wednesday my dear mother had made meatballs for dinner. So much easier to make in Sweden where you can buy mixed beef and pork mince. On Friday I went out for dinner with my friends and on Saturday we had some lovely fish with scallops and the best sauce for fish ever (will post the recipe later).
I also got to spend a whole day with my best friend, and it was great to go shopping, walking around town, have lunch and chat a lot. We don’t see each other that often but when we do, we certainly make the most of it.
I also managed to sort out all my things I have packed in boxes since I moved here, and found the two things I’ve been looking for for two years. Silly things really, but needed; steak knives and a rotating grater. I’m so geeky, haha. đ
It was lovely to take some time off, and it actually felt like more than a week, which is great.
A trip home to SkÄne, Sweden
Even though we just got back from Devon last night, I am going home to visit friends and family in Sweden today.
It will be lovely to have dinner with friends, enjoy my mother’s lovely cooking, spend a whole day with my best friend, go for walks in the woods and just chill out in the quiet countryside.
I promise to post updates about Devon and the supperclub when I have a little more time to spend in front of a computer.
Natalie pÄ Pers Krog in Malmö
The day after we had a crayfish party, we could only think of one thing to eat for dinner: meat, potatoes and preferrably bearnaise sauce. đ And I knew just where to find it, so we went to Natalie pĂ„ Pers Krog in Malmö. The food they serve there is classic Swedish dishes influenced by the French kitchen. You can either sit outside on the veranda where they have heaters and blankets even though it has both walls and a roof, or you can sit inside and eat fondue. We chose the a’la carte menu and sat on the veranda.
The food is classic, tasty and comforting. Some of the waiters have probably worked there a long time and aren’t too enthusiastic, but the younger staff were really good. The interior of the restaurant would benefit from some restyling, but the old definitely has its charm.
For starters mum and I had Toast Walter, which is similar to Toast Skagen but has some horseradish in it as well. We were given very generous portions and it tasted wonderful. Dad chose spicy prawns cooked in butter, garlic and chilli, served with bread. Christopher went for snails and was very pleased with his choice. For mains mum and dad chose fillet Oscar, which is steak with a lobster tail on top and served with both jus and bearnaise sauce. Christopher chose tournedos Rossini; steak with foie gras and truffels on top, with jus and potato gratin. I chose plankstek; steak served on a plank of wood, with potato mash, bearnaise sauce and baconwrapped green beans. A real classic! We were all very pleased when we left.
Swedish pizza!
Something I have been longing for is Swedish pizza. Instead of chip shops we have pizzerias in every village in Sweden, where you can get pizzas, kebabs or the nice combination of both; kebab pizza.
I have really missed these greasy non-Italian style pizzas. They are the perfect way to cure a hangover and you usually have a choice of 50 or so pizzas.
These ones we picked up in Beddinge close to our summer house. Yum!
To the left my choice of ham, cheese, tomatoes, beef, garlic, onions and bearnaise sauce. To the right Christopher’s pizza with spicy sausage, salami, pickled green chillis, bacon and more.
Swedish fika in Ystad
Ystad is a nice town on the south coast in Sweden and only a 40 minute drive away from my parent’s summer house where we were staying on our trip back home. The weather wasn’t amazing on the day we went there, but we still had a good time looking in shops and having fika. Fika is the Swedish word for coffee and whatever you have with it, savoury or sweet. We have a lot of fika in my family! đ
When in Ystad we went to Hartman’s cafĂ© and had some Swedish classics, sooo yummy! Below you can see a prawn sandwich, a cinnamon swirl, a Danish with apple and a small cake. Really really good!
Midsummer!
Today in Sweden it is Midsummer, Midsommarafton, which we of course celebrate with food and drink. Compulsory is pickled herring, new potatoes, chives, meatballs, beer and snaps. For dessert it is always strawberries because they are in season, so it could either be strawberries and cream or a strawberry gateau.
Most people dance around a maypole (see left) and most girls make a garland to put in their hair. The reason for these celebrations is the pagan tradition of celebrating the summer solstice, this time of year was believed to be magical…
Glad midsommar, everyone!
For more info, have a look here.
Scandelights 