20 September 2023

Linnea, Gustav, Grahame and I spent a lot of the day just sitting around chatting. The weather was a little wet and cool, so it was nice to just hang out in their home, catching up on events of the last 7 years.

We chatted over breakfast, we chatted over lunch and we just kept on chatting over dinner.

From Family News, the Wedding, Politics, Religion, Health Care, Work, Travel, and Pandemics to Movies, Musicals and “Ted Lasso” , we covered it all.

The weather started to lift around midday and we headed off for a walk down by the nearby lake and to lunch at a Cafe just out of town.

Now, I feel it’s time to discuss something of National importance. The Swedish National Dish!! I thought it was Meatballs, but Linnea and Gustav introduced us , last night to what is considered the current national dish. Pizza! And in particular, Kebab Pizza!! A combination of Italian and Middle Eastern Cuisines, it has “reached a position of cultural prominence in Sweden”. (Google) The pizza base is topped with kebab meat and other ingredients. Last night ours had a lot of lettuce and a lot of chips. Sadly I didn’t take a photo but a Google image search came up with two that were close.

Who’d have thought??? Anyway, it was fabulous!!!

For Fikka (afternoon cake and coffee time) , we were introduced to Punschrulle, a Swedish small cylindrical pastry covered with green marzipan with the ends dipped in chocolate, with an interior consisting of a mix of crushed biscuits , and cocoa. It was pretty good!

However, the best is yet to come!!!

Tomorrow is Gustavs birthday and he wanted Smörgåstårta. It’s a type of “Sandwich cake” and it’s left me a little bit gobsmacked, quite frankly. Linnea assures me that it is a common dish, often served at group meetings or get togethers. She did attempt to order one from the cafe, but they only made it in a size that was far too big for us.

So the plan was to make it ourselves. Now it is a work in progress. The finishing touches will be added in the morning. But it goes something like this…..

8 slices of toast bread with crust removed. 1: Spread Liver Pâté over the first layer of bread and sprinkle on chopped pickled gherkins, 2: Add another layer of bread with more pâté on the underside and a mixture of Creme fraiche , chopped ham , grated apple and a pinch of salt on top, 3: Place another layer of bread, this time time topped with Creme fraiche mixed with curry and another pinch of salt, 4: Final layer of bread 5: Coat the whole “cake” in a mixture of Creme fraiche , sour cream and dill.

And that ain’t all. At the moment this wonderful creation is chilling in the fridge, waiting for the final embellishments tomorrow. Small prawns, tomatoes and cucumber.!!! I can’t wait!

Watch this space!! Who knows? More Veggies???