Scandi hello 23rd Nov 2011: Where Santa lives, the BLOSSA mulled wine is in - and why we're all so good at English

oh holy Blossa. 

Ho ho ho, friends.

Let Christmas begin with us asking the question:  Where does Santa really live?

The Danes will claim he lives on Greenland, where as the rest of Northern Europe says Lapland.  In America they claim he lives in Alaska, but we know they are all wrong about that.  The Dutch think he’s from Spain, of all places.   Anyone care to enlighten us?  How do we spin this as to not offend anyone?

Pimp it up, baby

Everyone’s doing it, you know.  Rebekka’s submitted her very own X-Factor Gingerbread house.  The people from the BBC News Quiz with Ms Toksvig have made a house, Thomas who is just 5 has made a cool house with Chebacca guarding the eggs – and loads more coming in.  What’s yours going to be like?

Enter the Pimp My Gingerbread Competition before 15th December and be in with a chance to win a trip for two to the moon.  Actually, that is a lie but the prize really IS good:  lots of food and sweets. 
More here on how you can enter http://xurl.at/65z

Glögg, glögg, glögg

Sit still, all your über-excited Swedes:  Yes, the Blossa mulled wine is here.  Yes, we’ll have several different kinds, including the vintage 2011 with (wait for it) coffee flavour.  From today onwards you will be able to satisfy your cravings and stuff yourself full of ginger biscuits at the same time. 
We’ll also be stocking our own spice mix – as well as the Danish mulled wine extract.  Oh, and brunkager, pebernødder and klejner are in this week too. 

Check out the online store for more goodies www.scandikitchen.co.uk/shop

Three Yule facts to bore your colleagues with this afternoon

1.    The reason Scandinavians celebrate Christmas on Christmas eve and not the 25th is from the old Viking belief that “a new day starts at sun down” – so we get to celebrate it as soon as darkness falls on the 24th. 
2.    There was no tradition with Christmas presents until about 80 years ago. 
3.    Santa is the only one in the world who likes mince pies (probably).

Lovely Lucia

We love celebrating Lucia in Scandinavia.  Every year on 13th December, trains of girls and boys march in the darkness, carrying candles and sing Christmas carols.  In Denmark we eat æbleskiver (little pancake dough balls) and in Sweden we eat saffron buns called Lussebullar. 

Lussebullar will be available from the cafe from next week.  Æbleskiver will be available when we find out where the Christmas gnome has misplaced our pallet.  Last seen in Aarhus on Friday.  Let us know if you encounter someone who looks like he’s eaten over 2000 little dough balls; we’d like a stern word.
Tickets for Lucia at Scandi Kitchen are still available – here’s how you get your hands on yours http://xurl.at/648

This and that and a bit of other stuff

•    Knitted by Grannies in Denmark http://xurl.at/660
•    Sweden’s Royal Family is now on Facebook.  Go on, de-friend them, just because you can  http://xurl.at/661
•    No show for snow in Sweden so far http://xurl.at/662
•    Bananadrama in Sweden http://xurl.at/663
•    The people in The Killing swear too much http://xurl.at/664
•    Why us Scandies are so good at English http://xurl.at/665
•    Rebekka wants one of these calendars http://xurl.at/666

See you in the kitchen soon

Bye for now

The Kitchen People

Scandinavian Kitchen – good food with love from Scandinavia
61 Great Titchfield Street W1W 7PP

p: 0207 580 7161 e:iloveherring@scandikitchen.co.uk
www.scandikitchen.co.uk
Find us on Twitter @scanditwitchen or on Facebook: “Scandinavian Kitchen”.