Dec. 10 was the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony and Feast with 5 awards: Medicine, Literature, Chemistry, Physics, and Peace. The Peace award is given in Oslo (I think Oslo used to be part of Sweden when Alfred Nobel decided how the awards would be given out). The prize money comes from his inheritance and it never runs out because it earns so much interest! There is a last award, Economics, but that is not an official Nobel Prize. Rather Sweden's Riksbank pays for that award, also awarded in Stockholm by the king.
Dec. 21 was the shortest day of the year, the Winter Solstice. The sun rose at 9 am and set at 3 pm. 6 hours of daylight.
Dec. 25 and the days before and after were spent in Varmland, south central Sweden, famous for its natural beauty, with Hans's parents and sister. I went on daily hikes in the frost covered pine forest. Every speck of water was frozen and the landscape was silent and stunningly gorgeous. I got to witness a spectacular sunset on Dec. 31 with a bright magenta-red drenching half the sky. The temperature varied between -4 to -15 deg C (24 to 5 deg F). I was told that it wasn't really cold though, because when it is REALLY cold, the insides of your nostrils stick together when you breathe in :) and if it's REALLY REALLY cold your eyelids get stuck together momentarily when you blink!
a frozen stream
some frozen grass
Dec. 27 was an extremely memorable day. It started at 5am. Lars, Hans's best friend and an organic baker, picked me up but not before I got to savor the clear star-studded sky. We went to his bakery and as soon as I walked in the warm smell of cinnamon buns hit me. Mmmm. I got to see how he makes his dough for the different kinds of bread he bakes, how his wood burning oven works, how to properly knead bread, and of course I did some tasting!
Then I got another view of the landscape as I rode with the brödbil (bread truck) for about 1 hour as we made a few bread deliveries. Frozen lakes and white tipped evergreen trees, a clear blue sky, and the sun was shining.
Afterwards, Lars and I went to his house where Ann-britt had cooked a yummy traditional Swedish lunch for us. Soon after, we walked to Lars's dad's house where we slaughtered one of Lars and Ann-britt's lambs. The word slaughter sounds violent but it was quite a gentle process actually and definitely much more humane than it would have been at a slaughterhouse. Lars let me cut out the organs (it reminded me of anatomy class and I couldn't help thinking of fascial planes).
Then Ann-britt and I spent some time with their cow, Klara, and calf, Saga, their goat, Lisa, and the rest of the sheep. Ann-Britt fed them their evening meal and it was...old organic bread! They seemed to love it.
Dec. 31's highlight was the evening meal, cooked by Lars (he also used to be a chef in one of the finest restaurants in Stockholm) and Ann-Britt. 5 courses. Slow Food.
1. Appetizer: sliced Kringlor (a freshly baked German bread), organic butter, and champagne
2. Soup: wild yellow chanterelles blended with cream and ginger served with an organic croissant (baked by Lars of course), and white wine
3. Main Course: Perch and Pike Perch served with grated horseradish, a burnt butter sauce, parsnips, grated potatoes, broccoli and another white wine (Chablis)
4. Cheese Plate: 4 organic cheeses, 2 from cow milk and 2 from goat served with knäckebröd (a typical thin, crispy Swedish bread), baked by Ann-Britt, using Lars's recipe, and red wine
5. Dessert: a Roasted Oatmeal Muffin served with freshly whipped cream, wild raspberries, cloudberries, and another type of champagne
Yumm!!!!! It's hard to complain when one of your friends is a gourmet cook and invites you over for New Year's Dinner :) I should also mention how cozy Lars and Ann-Britt's cabin is. They have sheep skins over all the chairs around their dining table. They also have no running water or central heat (on purpose). They get their water from a nearby well which they heat up for washing dishes and they have a wood burning stove for heating the house. And still, they serve 5 star dinners!
Happy New Year to all!
No comments:
Post a Comment