Thursday, October 11, 2012

Swedish Smorgasbord

Sweden...what to say?

We spent 4 weeks delving a bit into this country, and I feel like we barely scratched the surface.

The history was complicated but straight forward. If you just look at Sweden and what happened there-it's straight forward. If you get into the whole marauding Viking thing, it gets a bit more complicated.

We were able to connect with some old friends of mine who are missionaries to Sweden. In addition to stalking their FB albums to see what sights they've seen, the kids also sent them an email, and received a very nice reply.

We drew maps, and flags, and timelines. We prayed for Sweden.

But the icing on the cake, or the herring on the Vasa, would be our visit from the Bs, our friends from Chicago.

L, is a real, genuine article, Swede. She was born here, though her parents hadn't been in the States very long.

L speaks Swedish and belongs to Swedish societies. She has visited Sweden many times. And she has a beautiful heirloom Swedish crown that all the female relatives have worn with their wedding veils.

So they drove up on Friday for our Swedish "last hurrah". And, we had an amazing weekend together.

L went all out. She brought up her picture album from their last trip, and took time to explain the pictures to the kids. She spoke Swedish, and taught the kids a fun game.

She brought up her own Swedish costume, that had belonged to her mother. And she brought kerchiefs, aprons, and scarves for the girls. She made bread, and brought herring and ligon berries. She brought her own tried and true recipes.

And she blessed our socks off.

Swedish bread for tea.

chocolate cake. It had no eggs, so I was rather nervous about the outcome.
Delicious and pretty nice looking too.

N in a bonnet, waiting for dinner

from scratch Swedish meatballs. 

Poached salmon.

a Dutch-Irish lass awaiting her Swedish cuisine

boiled red pototoes

the 3 older girls, decked out in Swedish gear

a sampling of the smorgasbord. The salmon was topped with Hollandaise and tarragon.

Mrs. B was so sweet to bring costumes for all the girls.
This is stuff she wore when she was a child.

Mrs. B, our authentic Swede.

The aftermath...not pretty. So thankful for a dishwasher!

the other counter. Not quite as bad.

"Bluebird, bluebird through my window..."

Cousin sleep over. Just woke up...

Final 2012 visit to ArtPrize. It was freezing!

The Barefoot Hippies and our lovely friends!
Next stop...Spain! Who's in?

Make sure you check back tomorrow for the Swedish Meatball recipe. It was easy and delicious!



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