Scandinavian Kitchen

Kuckelimuck Cake - what is it?

Jonas' Aunt Inga, bless her soul, is the inventor of our infamous Sticky Swedish Chocolate Cake - a recipe we guard carefully.  When Inga passed on, we got all her old cook books and we do enjoy reading them from time to time.

The other day we found this recipe in there.  Mainly, we just like the name:  Tart a la Kuckelimuck.  Nobody really knows what Kuckelimuck means, but it sounds like a nice thing.

Someone said it is from a book by Astrid Lindgreen about Karlsson on the Roof:  he is a little man with a propeller on the back who visits kids and his gives them Kuckelimuck Medicine whcih is basically candy.

This recipe has no candy in it, so maybe it is not really kuckelimuck (see how many times we can get that word in this blog post?!). 

The recipe, translated, is basically sugar, egg, flour and butter.  A bit boring.  No flavour, no nothing.  So, Michaela made it yesterday - and guess what?  It is lovely.  Still, a bit boring in taste so we're going to work on it a little bit.  One of the ideas is to add a proper kuckeliuck topping of candy.  We think we can do Karlsson proud on this one, so watch this space:  we have our work cut out for us over the holidays.

Blossa glögg and all the trimmings...

The glogg has arrived. Yahoo.  Blossa glogg is the most popular mulled wine from Sweden - a wine ready to heat with spices such as cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and dried seville orange.

Bottles start at £8.95 for the normal Blossa Glogg - we also stock the stronger versions and those flavoured with cognac and rum.

We do recommend that you reserve yours as we will most likely start to run out at some point towards the festive season - so mail usyourorder to iwantfood@scandikitchen.co.uk

We are also selling the very popular mulled wine spices.  Our friend Annika in Gothenburg makes the most amazing mulled wine and she has shared her recipe with us.  Every year, people flock to her house to sample her mulled wine and ginger biscuits over a chit chat about this and that.  IT's really easy to make your own glogg - just add a bag of her spices to some red wine, add a bit of sugar and off you go. Easy peasy.

Love, The Kitchen People x

Crown Dill - kron dill

Last year, we were inundated with requests for Crown Dill for crayfish parties.  Now, you see, crown dill is not usually grown in the UK and it is extremely hard to get hold of over here (read: impossible), unless your mum happens to be flying in from Sweden or Finland on the day you happen to need it.

Never the less, last year we promised to sort something out for this year - and we have kept our promise.  So, if you need crown dill, you can order it from us now.

Crown dill is much more aromatic and pungent than normal dill - and is used for many things, but especially in crayfish preperation for the season.  It is also used as decoration.

We're selling it as of today - only £1.50 for a nice, big bunch.  Pop by and stock up.

Upcoming Wine Tastings at SK with Ray O'Connor

Ray is our wonderful wine expert - and he really does know his stuff.  Vote the Young Wine Writer of the year last year, he has worked as a head sommelier for Gordon Ramsey as well as for Decanter Magazine and The International Wine Challenge. 

For the past year, Ray has been doing monthly wine events here at SK - for all levels and abilities - and we've really enjoyed his courses. 

The next three coming up are:

October Tues 13th

How to buy wine - reading behind the label and an introduction to wine & food matching £20.00

November Tues 10th

Wines from Spain - exploring Spain's regions and varietals, including a special review of Sherry £20.00

December Tues 8th

Christmas wines & Fizz £24.00

 

Start times - 18:45, canapes and snacks included in price. 

 

Ray is not affiliated to an one brand or shop and his events are always unbiased and broad in selection of wines, which makes these events very different to most wine tastings around (where someone is always trying to flog you a case or two - we do not.  Ever).    We also believe that by keeping the price and the attendees small, we all get to enjoy a wonderful evening and learn new stuff and get to meet new people.

 

We always operate on a first-come, first served basis for spaces (always limited to 15 people per session), so pop your name down now for the ones you want to attend: liz@rayoconnorwine.com

 

We're also planning an accredited 8-session course for wine beginners - dates and times still to be confirmed, but if you are interested, let us know and we'll keep you updated.  This course will be slightly different in that you will be awarded an official certificate at the end from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.

Crayfish party / kräftskiva supplies - only £9.95 per box of crayfish

We stock the exellent Chineese JUMBO crayfish this year - they did really well in the annual "Best in Test" in Sweden.  In fact, the exact ones we've got in this year did THE BEST out of all:  it got 5 out of 5 stars.  So there.

Price is only £9.95 a kilo (that's per box) - and there's around 18-22 crayfish in a box. 

We also stock the hats and bibs - a 4pack is just £1.50.

Don't forget we also stock lots of different kinds of aquavit - from OP Andersson to Skaane to Hallands to the excellent Danish Red Aalborg - and many more.

We have stock now in store - but it is always best to reserve to guarentee availability, just in case.  Just mail iwantfood@scandikitchen.co.uk and we'll sort you out with all that you need for your annual crayfish party.

Love, The Kitchen People

x

Swedish Crayfish party / Svensk kräftskiva / Finnish Rapujuhlat in London 2009

Crayfish / Kräftor will be available from 18th August onwards in our shop.  Book yours now to guarentee availability.

Ahhh, those lovely little things, kraftor (Crayfish).  We're taking orders now for boxes of crayfish for August/September Crayfish party season - due to high demand, we need to ensure orders come in early or else we cannot guarentee availability.

If you know you'll be wanting some, mail iwantfood@scandikitchen.co.uk and let us know how many boxes you want as well as your phone number so we can get hold of you.

We'll then contact you nearer the time to take payment over the phone (due to cost, we require advance payment) and to make sure we get the right amount of boxes in for you.  And hats.  And bibs.  And aquavit.

Boxes are £9.95 - there's about 16-18 crayfish in a box, which serves 1 1/2 - 2 people.

 

 

Kalle was such a happy crayfish.  And then he met a bunch of hungry Scandies.  Destiny is a cruel thing.

Crayfish / Kräftor will be available from 18th August onwards in our shop.  Book yours now to guarentee availability.

Ahhh, those lovely little things, kraftor (Crayfish).  We're taking orders now for boxes of crayfish for August/September Crayfish party season - due to high demand, we need to ensure orders come in early or else we cannot guarentee availability.

If you know you'll be wanting some, mail iwantfood@scandikitchen.co.uk and let us know how many boxes you want as well as your phone number so we can get hold of you.

We'll then contact you nearer the time to take payment over the phone (due to cost, we require advance payment) and to make sure we get the right amount of boxes in for you.  And hats.  And bibs.  And aquavit.

Boxes are £9.95 - there's about 16-18 crayfish in a box, which serves 1 1/2 - 2 people.

 

 

Kalle was such a happy crayfish.  And then he met a bunch of hungry Scandies.  Destiny is a cruel thing.

Crayfish season is upon us..

It's that time of year again and for the next few months you'll hear us going on about crayfish, aquavit and wearing silly hats.

However, before all the fun can start, those of you who are planning to host traditionla Crayfish Parties need to think about ordering in your crayfish in advance.  Like, around now.

£9.95 pre-order price if order is placed before 1 August.  Price is per kilo  of frozen crayfish - more details on the specific crayfish when we have them (but we promise, as usual, to choose the good ones). E-mail us iwantfood@scandikitchen.co.uk to place your orders and we'll get it sorted.

Last minute Midsommar FAQ's

Morning.  Ready to go to the park and to dance around the pole?  We are.

We're getting a lot of calls this mornign already about what we have in stock, so here's the low down in case you are planning to come into town to pick up stuff for the Midsummer party:

• Meatballs.  Yes, we have lots left.  We sell them frozen (they are SCANS meatballs).  If you're on your way to the park we can also do portions of cooked, warm meatballs for you to take with you.
• Mustard herring.  We still have mustard herring in stock, yes - it is lovely and home made.  We also have plenty, plenty of other kinds of herring (ABBAS and other brands).  And yes, lots of Matjes herring also.  Last year we saw two grown men fighting over a jar of herring, so we ordered lots extra this year to avoid a herring fight.

• Dill and chives - yes, we sell both.

• New Swedish potatoes - we have a few bags left (8:30 am) but don't wait if you want potatoes, they will go quickly.

  Jordgubbstarta - we will serve this in the shop today, yes, but limited availability

• Skagenrora - we will be serving it on open sandwiches today AND we will be selling it to take away in pots too

• Beetroot salad - yeps, pop by, we have stock. We also sell home made potato salad for your picnic.

• Gravad lax - yes, we still have

• Dill chips ostbagar and dipmix - yes and yes and yes

• COLD aquavit - we chilled a whole bunch of bottles so if you ask nicely, we can give you one of those if you're on the move to the park already.  Very limited availability, though.

We open at 10 and close at 18. 

Happy Midsummer

The Kitchen People

x

National Hot Dog Day - 15th June (Denmark)

We were ve to have missed an opportunity to attend the Danish National Hotdog Day of the year yesterday, but have aleady mentally started preparing ourselves for next year, where we hope to include ourselves in one way or another.

Alternatively, apparently the American Hot Dog day is on 23rd July so there's still hope for Seb who suggested we only serve hot dogs all day long.  Yum.

Here are some pics from the event in Denmark yesterday - yes, we're also wondering what on earth those green hotdogs are.  We'll try to find out for you - or, if you happen to know, do help us clarify.

http://politiken.dk/fotografier/soundslides/article732615.ece

we don't know why, but we want one of these...

New Danish Potatoes from a little farm...

Bronte's Dad has been out helping the neighbour dig up potatoes this summer and they will be here on Tuesday 9th June (the potatoes, not Bronte's dad, that is...).  Here's a picture where the potatoes come from.  It's about 200 metres from the beach in a rural area of West Zealand, Denmark.  Well, tracing the origin of your veg does not get much more personal than that, does it? 

Pop by and get your Danihs potatoes - we only have one lot coming in, so when they are gone, they are gone.

Ray's wine tastings

Hello all you wine buffs

It was a fantastic wine tasting last time and we all learnt loads about how to tell the differences between grapes and stuff - and we got to taste some super fancy stuff too.  Yummy,

Just to let you know the next one is planned for 16th June - first come, first spots.  Mail iwantfood@scandikitchen.co uk to pop your name on the list.  This session will be about summer wines - you know, the ones perfect for picnics in the park.

Be there or be square.

New Scandinavian Potatoes - coming in June

We bet your Mum always told you to eat up your potatoes when you were a kid.   Ours certainly did – not that we minded, especially in the summer when the potatoes were new, fresh and from the farm down the road. 

Today, the taste of Scandinavian summer still starts with the first new potatoes of the year, boiled and dressed in melted butter and chopped parsley.   Perhaps the taste of summer to you is Midsummer’s eve, eating matjes herring with potatoes, chopped chives and crème fraiche...  Either way, it is the taste of home for most of us.  And yes, they DO taste different than English potatoes.

Either way, good news:  we’ll be stocking Scandinavian potatoes again this year.  Not in great amounts, mind you, so if you’re clever, you let us know if you are interested so we can make sure we order enough for you.  We’ll have Swedish potatoes and we’ll also stock some nice potatoes from West Zealand in Denmark (from some nice farmer down the road from Bronte’s mum and dad’s house.  They have an annoying dog that barks all the time and the farmer himself has a scary mono-brow, but man, they grow nice tatties).

They’ll come in early June, in time for Midsummer parties...  Prices depends on local seasonal prices, we’ll keep you posted.

New stuff for foodie lovers...

We've just started stocking some nice new things this week.  Next time you pop by, give these a try:

Malmo Nordic Dining: Rosehip jam, Swedish rapeseed oil, wild blueberry preserve and lovely handbaked crisp bread - all from small producers in Southern Sweden.

We also have mature prast ost cheese from Arla - a bit more of a kick than your usual prast cheese.

We've also been stocking the amazing Löfbergs Lila brand of coffee for a while now - so do give that a try when you are next in too - it is really yummy.

 

Ray's wine tasting: 20th May 2009 at 18:30

There are spaces on our next wine tasting event on 20th May 2009 at 18:30.  As per usual, Ray the Wine Expert will come along and teach us about his chosen wines - this time, with a twist, though:  we will blind taste them.  So, it will not be based on any possible pretence of "yes, I know St Emillion Grand Cru is good and therefore I'm going to say I like it" but purely on "I like this wine because..."

Ray has promised to put in some wonderful wines - and a few ones to catch us out.  The reason we're doing a tasting like this is because quite an overwhelming majority from the last session thought it could be really good fun to try tasting wines this way to find out what we really like in a wine and how we judge them.

Price per head £18 - this includes all your wine (usually around 8 kinds) and snacks/canapes. 

Please note we're all levels and backgrounds - from Scandiland and UK, some are novices and some of us have been drowing out noses in Bordeaux for years.  All are welcome.  We have a limited 15 spaces, so be quick as many are already reserved.

Ray O'Connor is an educated wine teacher and expert and was Young Wine Writer of the Year last year.  He's worked as a head sommelier for Gordon Ramseys and has worked for Decanter magazine as well as the International Wine Challenge.   Basically, he knows his stuff.

To get a space, mail iwantfood@scandikitchen.co.uk

Danish St Bededag tomorrow, Friday 8th May

Back in the day, three weks before Whitsun was always the big day of prayer. Even the baker wasn't allowed to work on this day, so tradition had it that the evening before, everyone would go and buy warm wheat buns and eat them.  These buns are called "Hveder" - and many Danes still bake/buy/eat these nowadays.

Here's a recipe (Danish only) for these buns if you feel like getting baking later today:

http://www.arla.dk/Karolines-Kokken/Opskrifter/varme-hveder/

 

Scandinavian Kitchen catering

Did you know we also do catering?  Indeed, we serve lots of fantastic companies across the capital with Scandinavian food - from traditional open sandwiches to lighter snack lunches to canapes and breakfast meetings. 

It is not only Scandinavian companies that use our services - we've catered for hundreds of different companies, from the BBC to film production companies and banks such as Goldman Sachs - and big events like "the International Wine Challenge".  We count all the Scandinavian Embassies and Chambers of Commerce amongst our customers - as well as big companies such as Bang & Olufson, Kvadrat, Handelsbanken and many, many others.  On top of that we have lots of regular private customers who use our services catering for big family events and parties.

In a recent survey to our customers, 100% said they would use us again.  (Parp, parp, that was our trumpet blowing.)

If you fancy chatting to us about our catering, give us a ring or send a mail to iwantfood@scandikitchen.co.uk and we'll get back to you promptly. 

Party catering can be bespoke - as is breakfast meetings and buffets.  Here's a taster of our lovely open sandwiches and canapes (again, we can amend to suit your particular event):

For canape suggestions click here  and for open sandwiches click here

'I used the Scandinavian kitchen delivery for an important presentation to clients and everyone absolutely loved it! The food was great quality and the presentation prefect! We are a Danish company so it was complete package! Thanks again, Julie at www.egecarpet.com"Excellent canapes. Good service from staff prior to event and canapes delivered on time.

"Excellent canapes. Good service from staff prior to event and canapes delivered on time."

"The food was excellent and there was only a couple of pieces leftover.  Everyone said how good it was.  We will definitely use you again. 
Sally at DnB NOR Bank ASA"

 
tags: danish, food, catering, swedish, norwegian, london, corporate

Addicted to SMASH and Nugatti

Our Norwegian delivery just came in this lunch time and we're busy putting all the stuff away and re-filling shelves.  We've got a few new things in this time - one of them has proved to be an immediate hit amongst all of us here at Scandi Kitchen:  it's called SMASH and is a chocolate covered corn snack.  We know, it sounds strange, but it is SO good.  And it has nothing to do with powdered mashed potatoes at all, nor aliens.

We've also finally got NUGATTI in stock - it's like Nutella, but loads better.

Note that we're closed on Bank Holiday Monday but we're open today Friday and Saturday as per usual, so pop by and stock up for the weekend.

We'd be quick on those SMASH crisps, though, as Bronte has declared "this is my new craving" and she can get through a lot of stuff now that she's pregnant.  In fact, the rest of us hardly get a look in now a days.

A little repeat of frequently asked questions...

Welcome to lots of you new guys reading our blog.  Last year we posted these FAQ's but we feel ti is now time to re-post them.

_{What day of the week do you get delivery?}

_{Tuesday afternoon is the weekly delivery day from Denmark and Sweden.  We get deliveries from Norway slightly less often - do check in with us if you are after something in particular. Next one from Norway is due in in April.}

_{Why do you sometimes run out of products?}

_{We try to keep a good level of stock of all products, but sometimes (especially on short shelf life products) demand fluctuates greatly.  If you let us know what you are after we can put stuff aside for you and we're happy to do weekly standing orders on products you buy regularly. Just pop us an email and we'll sort it from there.}

_{I'm after a very particular product - can you help?}

_{Yep - but if it is quite specific there is a minimum quantity you need to buy.  Note that order time varies and we need a good lead time to get the right stuff in for you. Ask us iloveherring@scandikitchen.co.uk}

 

_{What products do you stock?}

_{We stock over 600 food products from all over Scandinavia - from remoulade, rugbrod, leverpostej for the Danes to Filmjolk and Kalles Kaviar for the Swedes. Norwegians can enjoy anything from Bamsemums to Stabburet Makrel and brunost.  Finns love popping by for Fazer chocolates and salmiakki liquorice.  Let us know iwantfood@scandikitchen.co.uk what you're after, we'll be happy to let you know price and availability.}

_{Is Henrik Rock Star single?}

_{You have to ask him that yourself.}

_{Why do you have more Swedish products in your store than any other?}

_{There are double the amount of Swedes living in London than any other Scandinavian nationality.  On top of that, a lot of Scandinavian products are very similar across the Scandi borders and most importantly, cheaper for you if we buy the Swedish version in - so we do our best to focus on value for you as well as a broad selection. Just ask us if you are looking for something particular and we might just have that product from another country.}

_{Do you deliver and offer mail order?}

_{Officially, no.  We will do in the future, though.  Currently, we try to help out where we can so do ask us.  We charge a small surcharge plus cost of posting/courier (£7 for under 5kg, £10 for 5-15 kg, 24 hours).  We do mail chilled goods, but strictly on receiver’s responsibility.}

_{Do you offer office catering and catering for private functions?}

_{Yes.  Click here for more info.}

_{Where did I put the remote control?}

_{It's behind the left cushion on your sofa.}

_{Do you sell snus and booze?}

_{We have a large selection of Scandinavian aquavit - from OP Anderson to Rod Aalborg, Gammel Dansk and Koskenkorva - as well as beers, from Lapin Kulta to Tuborg.}

_{It is currently illegal to sell snus in the UK - we're not happy about it either - so you'll need to ask your neighbour to send some over to feed your habit.}

_{What day of the week do you get delivery?}

_{Tuesday afternoon is the weekly delivery day from Denmark and Sweden.  We get deliveries from Norway slightly less often - do check in with us if you are after something in particular. Next one from Norway is due in in April.}

_{Why do you sometimes run out of products?}

_{We try to keep a good level of stock of all products, but sometimes (especially on short shelf life products) demand fluctuates greatly.  If you let us know what you are after we can put stuff aside for you and we're happy to do weekly standing orders on products you buy regularly. Just pop us an email and we'll sort it from there.}

_{I'm after a very particular product - can you help?}

_{Yep - but if it is quite specific there is a minimum quantity you need to buy.  Note that order time varies and we need a good lead time to get the right stuff in for you. Ask us iloveherring@scandikitchen.co.uk}

 

_{What products do you stock?}

_{We stock over 600 food products from all over Scandinavia - from remoulade, rugbrod, leverpostej for the Danes to Filmjolk and Kalles Kaviar for the Swedes. Norwegians can enjoy anything from Bamsemums to Stabburet Makrel and brunost.  Finns love popping by for Fazer chocolates and salmiakki liquorice.  Let us know iwantfood@scandikitchen.co.uk what you're after, we'll be happy to let you know price and availability.}

_{Is Henrik Rock Star single?}

_{You have to ask him that yourself.}

_{Why do you have more Swedish products in your store than any other?}

_{There are double the amount of Swedes living in London than any other Scandinavian nationality.  On top of that, a lot of Scandinavian products are very similar across the Scandi borders and most importantly, cheaper for you if we buy the Swedish version in - so we do our best to focus on value for you as well as a broad selection. Just ask us if you are looking for something particular and we might just have that product from another country.}

_{Do you deliver and offer mail order?}

_{Officially, no.  We will do in the future, though.  Currently, we try to help out where we can so do ask us.  We charge a small surcharge plus cost of posting/courier (£7 for under 5kg, £10 for 5-15 kg, 24 hours).  We do mail chilled goods, but strictly on receiver’s responsibility.}

_{Do you offer office catering and catering for private functions?}

_{Yes.  Click here for more info.}

_{Where did I put the remote control?}

_{It's behind the left cushion on your sofa.}

_{Do you sell snus and booze?}

_{We have a large selection of Scandinavian aquavit - from OP Anderson to Rod Aalborg, Gammel Dansk and Koskenkorva - as well as beers, from Lapin Kulta to Tuborg.}

_{It is currently illegal to sell snus in the UK - we're not happy about it either - so you'll need to ask your neighbour to send some over to feed your habit.}

Mum, where does ryebread come from?

Ryebread, like babies, are made from people having special hugs and making something beautiful.

We've had a lot of enquiries lately about ryebread, following all the press about Nordic Diet.

At Scandi Kitchen we stock many different kinds of bread and most contain some from of rye - from rye flatbread to Finnish rye bread buns to the Swedish Lingongrova and many, many more.  However, the one that most people are asking about is the Danish style rye bread, which is usually (or, at least, quite often) made from sourdough culture and contain no yeast.  We stock two kinds of this variety - both a light no seed and a multi seed version.

The ryebread comes in fresh daily and is wheat free as well as yeast free.  On top of that, it is also organic - and baked by a Danish baker in London.  Price per loaf is £3.50.

We do bring in quite a big stock every day - however, it does sell out quickly so if you want to guarentee availability then send us a mail either the day before or in the morning and we'll keep a loaf aside for you.  Bigger orders need 24 hours notice.

Scandinavian Cook book - signed copies

We love Trina Hahnemanns book, Scandinavian Cook book.  So much so that we've decided to get it back in stock.  The lovely Trina has popped by to say hello and to sign some copies - these will be on sale from next week onwards.  The book is in English and is not only visually stunning but also very practical and contains some seriously fantastic recipes from all over Scandiland.

 

New Nordic Diet

Phew, there is a buzz in the food world at the moment and it is all because of something labeled "New Nordic Diet".  A research team at Copenhagen University is doing a study into the Nordic diet and are willing to make a claim that this is potentially better for you that say the Mediterranean diet that has dominated during the past two decades.   You can read more about the big study here

Because of this study we've been asked lots of questions about the Nordic diet in general - we love answering questions about food and are very passionate about this subject - as we also believe the Nordic was of eating is a very sensible and healthy diet.   We will always do our best to help you source things you may need to change to a more Nordic inspired diet as well as advise you on food stuffs that may benefit.

Here's our Top Ten Tips for following a Nordic style of daily diet:

1.     Swap the wheat bread for rye and fiber crisp bread. You’ll eat less as it is slow releasing and filling.

2.     Make open sandwiches.  Less bread, focus on what you put on top.  No need to big lumps of mayo to hold it all together.  You spend time to make it look pretty – eating with your eyes is also surprisingly filling. 

3.     Get into Herring.  It’s a great little friend and it tastes really nice and has loads of omega 3.    Try the Scandinavian pickled herring – it is less sour than German and Dutch varieties and more tender.   The good news is there’s lots of herring around in the sea still.

4.     Mackerel is a fantastic fish any way you prepare it.  It’s also reasonably cheap and a great alternative if you’re not ready for herring – but still contains buckets of omega 3 oils.  Try mackerel in tomato on dark rye bread as an open sandwich.

5.     Eat your porridge.  If you don’t like porridge, eat muesli with lots of oats, barley and rye flakes and some tasty dried berries such as blueberries and cranberries.  Make your own muesli in a jiffy by buying the ingredients in a health food store (tip: add a spice to make it exciting, such as a sprinkle of cinnamon). 

6.     Be friends with the berries, especially seasonal ones where they are bursting with flavour and nutrients.  Be concerned about food miles out of season, but know that frozen berries are also excellent and do not lose much of their nutritional values at all so you’ll still get great anti oxidants and vitamins.   

7.     Cabbage is your new friend.  It may make you let out a few sneaky ones in the beginning if you’re not used to it, but your body adapts and you’ll feel great.  Pickled red cabbage is great as a side dish with your evening meal, shredded white cabbage in your salad.

8.     Catch a moose.  Oh well, this might be a bit tricky.  But when you choose meat, try to include some game in there, and ask your butcher for meat that is proper free range and not intensely farmed.  Yes, it’s a bit more pricey but so full of flavour you don’t need as much.  A lot of specialty butchers can order in game for you.   Game meat is very low in fat.

9.     Eat sitting down.  Don’t rush.  Don’t eat on the go.  It’s not very good for the digestion and you’ll never catch a Scandinavian trying to munch an open herring sandwich whilst waiting for Bus 38. 

10.  Don’t be too strict about it. It’s not a quick fix diet, it’s a way of eating better and giving your body what it needs in order to function well and for a long time.    

If you have any questions, you can contact us on 0207 580 7161 (ask for Jonas or Bronte).

Enjoy your herring

Love,

The Kitchen People

x

(c) "Top ten tips for a Nordic diet" Scandinavian Kitchen 2009, note the above is our opinion and is not part of any official study.  We just love herring.

Our recipe for semlor. Yum yum.

Due to popular demand, here's a nice recipe for Swedish lenten buns: Semlor.  We recommend that you use a really good quality marzipan for this - and that you use fresh yeast.  If you cannot gethold of fresh yeast, tryusing active yeast (needs to be activated in water before use).  Dry yeast is the last choice - but if using that, add to the flour and not liquid.

Swedish Semlor

Makes 12 buns

Ingredients:

25g fresh yeast

75g butter

200ml milk

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of cardamom powder

500 ml  sugar

700 ml plain flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

For the filling and topping, you need:

Good quality marzipan/almond paste (mandelmassa, 50% is the best to use)

Whipping cream (around 500 ml)

A bit of vanilla custard (about 100ml)

Icing sugar to dust

Melt the butter in a saucepan; add the milk so mixture has lukewarm temperature (between 35-42 degrees).

Crumble the yeast into a bowl, and add some of the liquid to dissolve the yeast.

Add the remaining lukewarm liquid, add salt, cardamom, 1 egg, sugar and 600ml of the flour.

Work the mixture into a dough.   You can do this in a mixer on dough hook or by thorough mixing with a wooden spoon.  Cover with a cloth and leave to rise for around 30 minutes.

Sift the baking powder and remaining flour and work into the dough. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and stops being sticky – either in the machine or on a flour dusted table top.

Cut the dough into 12 pieces, roll into equal sized buns.

Put the buns onto an oven tray lined with baking paper and allow them to rise for 35-40 minutes.   Beat the other egg and use a brush to glaze the tops of the buns.

Heat the oven to 250 degrees C and bake the semlor in the middle for around 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and cover the buns with a cloth and allow to cool on a wire rack – you want the buns to stay quite soft on the outside, which is where the cloth helps.

Prepare the semlor before serving:

Cut a circular “lid” off the top of each bun. Scoop out 1/3 of the inside of the bun.

Mix together the marzipan with the crumbs from inside the bun, add the vanilla custard to make a smooth mixture and use this mixture to fill the holes.

Whip the cream and spoon the cream on top of the bun filling.

Replace the lid of the bun and decorate with icing sugar.

Recipe by Bronte Blomhoj 2009

St Lucia day of celebration

13^th December every year is the celebration of St Lucia (or St Lucy) – a festival widely celebrated across Scandinavia.  Girls dress in white robes and carry candles in a long procession and sing the hymn about Lucia. The candles symbolise the fire that refused to take St. Lucia's life when she was sentenced to be burned.   Traditionally a Catholic festival, it is thought that this tradition survived in Scandinavia because it is celebrated during the very dark days of winter.

Some people believe that back in the day when us Scandies celebrated Yule (or Jol) at Winter Solstice, it was both a season of giving, kindness and celebration - but also a season of fear of dark forces – the scariest night of all at that time was called the Night of Lussi – Lussinatta.  Some believe that the festival of light is from this time to fend off the evil forces.

Whatever you choose to believe, for us it is really all about saffron buns and trying to persuade Henrik and Seb to wear Lucia costumes and crowns of candles.  So far no luck.

In Sweden, a traditional kind of bun, Lussekatt ("St. Lucia Bun"), made with saffron, is normally eaten on this day.  It’s rather yummy – and we’re serving these all week in our little store so do pop by for your fix.

 

 

Julbord

Hello all

Just a reminder link about our Julefrokost / Julord options

http://scandikitchen.typepad.com/scandikitchen/2008/11/traditional-julefrokost---scandinavian-christmas-lunch.html

We are totally booked for this week coming but have a few free spots still for week beginning 15th December

New stuff just in...

The Christmas deliveries are starting to come in... Some of the new stuff added this week includes:

• Gløgg spices

• Vortmix

• æbleskiver

• Brunkager

• Pebernødder

• Klejner

• Swedish Chrsitmas beer and Swedish Chrsitmas aquavit

•  

Den Danske Klub i London / The Danish Club in London

Did you know that there is a Danish Club in London?  Indeed - and it's been there since 1863 and is the oldest Danish club outside Denmark. 

Located in the prestigious Arts Club in Dover Street, the club organises events for Danes and Friends of Denmark throughout the year and provides a great meeting place in the centre of London for both grabbing a bite to eat (they have monthly Danish Buffets and serve daily smoerrebrod's platter too).

This autumn they have their annual Danish Club Fair - it's this Tuesday 18th November and it is open to both members and non members.  You can buy stuff from Denmark including Danish food and hampers - in fact, we have a little stand there so if you fancy stocking up on kjejner and curry herring before Christmas, then it is a great opportunity to come along and see what the club can offer you - and maybe even end up becoming a member yourself.

When:  Tuesday 18th November from 14:00-16:00 and from 18:00-20:00 in the Garden Room.

See you there.

More about the club here http://www.danishclub.co.uk/

Traditional "julefrokost" - Scandinavian Christmas lunch

The Scandi Kitchen Flat-packed Christmas Lunch (julbord / julefrokost)

Want to serve a delicious authentic Scandinavian Christmas lunch for your friends or at the office at excellent value with adding your own finishing touches?  This might be the solution for you.

The reason it is called ‘Flat Packed’ is that it is just that:  nicely packed in a box.  Think IKEA principle: we keep the prices low by not charging you for things you don’t need.   We’ve removed the fancy trays, the frilly garnish that so many restaurants these days bulk up their prices for – and simply chosen really great authentic ingredients, prepared these to traditional recipes.

What this means is that everything you receive is sliced, prepared and cooked.  You herring will be packed in tubs as will you salads, your meats will be sliced and wrapped – delicatessen-style.  Your warm items will be pre-cooked and ready for you to pop into your own oven at home or at the office to re-heat just before your event.

You need to supply your own trays, plates, bowls, serviettes, cutlery and guests.  

In return, we can supply your Scandinavian Christmas lunch for just £17 per person. Without compromising on quality or authenticity at all.

Who’s this option great for:  people who just want the food and want to do the serving and arranging themselves at home.  Credit-Crunch Aware offices where you don’t mind spending half an hour before the event arranging the food the way you want it to look - and heating the few bits that need to be served warm. 

Little FAQS:

We don’t have an oven at our office, can you deliver the food warm?  No.   However,  everything we send can still be eaten cold as well – and most things can be re-heated in a conventional microwave if needs must.

I want brown potatoes/potatoes/gravy with mine – can you do this?  We are not able to supply things such as gravy or brown sugar fried potatoes with this offer.

I want to add more meatballs/other stuff to the order – can I do this?  Yes.  You can either add extra per person (we can send you the “extras” list by mail, just ask) or you can also add groceries from the shop to the order.  For example, you want 3 extra jars of herring, we’ll charge you shop prices and send them as they come – or if you want everyone to have double salmon, we’ll charge you this extra per person.  Or why not do a bit of Christmas shopping and we’ll pop your pre-paid bags of shopping along with the order providing you give us plenty of notice.

What’s the minimum amount of people I can order this lunch for?  6 people

How much notice do you need?  Minimum 24 hours but if you’re nice you give us 48 hours plus.  We have a limit on how many we can prepare for in a day so best to book as far ahead as you can.

Can you send aquavit and beers along with the order? Yes, no problem.  As long as you’re over 21.

I want the event at your store, can you do it?  We have very few evenings where we are doing private parties this year – these are minimum 25 people per party and the buffet menu for this is slightly different and is at £25.50 a head.

Traditional Danish Christmas Lunch £17 per person / flat-packed / min 6 people

Curry herring with egg and chives

Marinated herring with onion

Egg and Scandinavian Prawns

Fried Danish plaice fillets w/ remoulade and lemon wedges

Danish meatballs (Frikadeller) with red cabbage

Danish roast pork (Flaeskesteg) with red cabbage and asier

Danish Liverpate (Stryhns) with bacon and mushrooms

Rare roasted beef with horseradish and remoulade

Home made Potato salad

Home made Beetroot and apple salad

Green salad

3 kinds of Cheese (Riberhus, Danish blue and Brie) with biscuits and crisp bread

Ris a la Mandes with cherry sauce

Organic dark rye bread, organic light rye bread, soft white bread

 

Traditional Swedish Christmas Lunch  £17 per person / flat packed / min 6 people

Mustard herring with egg and chives

Matjes herring with onion

Janssons Frestelse

Cured Salmon (Gravadlax) with hovmastersas, dill and lemon wedges

Swedish meatballs (kottbullar)

Prinskorv (Swedish sausages)

Swedish Christmas Ham with mustard

Swedish Liverpate (Skaansk) with Gurka

Home made Potato salad

Home made Beetroot and apple salad

Green salad

3 kinds of Cheese (Prast ost, Danish blue and Brie) with biscuits

and crisp bread

Ris a la Mandes with cherry sauce

Organic dark rye bread, organic light rye bread, soft white bread

The Flat-packed option is for delivery or pick-up only and does not include any events held at our store.  We are not able to change the main menu offered or make substitutions, although we do reserve the right to substitute items (with suitable alternatives) if we are out of stock.  Prices do not include VAT or delivery (external courier, charged at cost).  Deliveries to central London only unless agreed with us.  Payment must be received in advance by credit card or BACS.  For bookings of 20 persons or more we reserve the right to ask for a 50% deposit at time of booking which is non-refundable should a cancellation occur within 48 hours of the event.  Staff is not supplied with this offer.    We use an external courier service to deliver so you need to be there at delivery point to pick up your package.  If goods are non delivered and the fault is at your end, the invoice is still fully payable by you.  Further terms and conditions apply.

All I want for Christmas is a big, fat ham

All I want for Christmas is a big, fat ham

If you are celebrating Christmas this side of the North sea, it is now time to order your Swedish hams and your Danish pork (flæskesteg).  Both are £8.95 a kilo – usual weights are between 2 and 3 kg.

As always, we have limited supply so the clever ones of you order in advance and safeguard your Christmas iwantfood@scandikitchen.co.uk. 

We’re still finalising prices for pinnekjøt and lutefisk, so bear with us a while for these.  We’ll also be getting in the first Yuletide stuff this week and next so do pop by and stock up on pebbernoedder, glogg spices and marcipan. 

Scandinavian Christmas Fairs in London

Every year there are several organisations that hold Christmas fairs for both the Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Finnish communities in London.  These are really great events for all the ex-pats living in the UK and for a non-Scandi to attend it's a real cultural introduction.

Here's the low-down of this year's fairs and when they are taking place (this list will be updated as we find out more)

Finnish Church Christmas Fair            21-23 Nov and 26-29 click here

Danish YMCA &Church Christmas Fair  29-30 November click here

Swedish Church Christmas Fair           20, 22, 23 November click here

Norwegian Church Christmas Fair        21-22 November click here

These events tend to get rather busy but are really good fun and is a great way to not only met Scandinavians but also to support the community organisations that work so very hard all year round making sure people who come to the UK are not left alone and provide excellent fascilities ofr mother's groups, au pairs, elderly people and so on.  Do pop over and have a look and pick up some goodies.

Other Fairs to note:  This year the Danish Club in Dover Street will be holding a fair on the 18th of November - this is a fantastic opportunity to pop down to the club and meet old friends or indeed if you've never been, this is an open event and you can pop over and just have a nosy round to see if being a member is something you feel like doing. 

At this fair you will be able to buy lots of Danish food and goodies - from herring to remoulade to sweets - there'll even be hampers full of Danish food click here to be Danish - we'll be there and you can order stuff for Christmas or buy on the day.

There's also a fantastic Swedish Christmas fair in Barnes this year on 22nd November click here - we'll be exhibiting there and you can buy all the stuff you need or Christmas (if we run out, you can place orders).

Scandinavian Shopping Day in Barnes 22nd November

Saturday the 22nd of November 2008, from 10am to 3.30 pm at Kitson Hall in Barnes (South West London) there will be a veritable smorgasbord of Scandinavian treats on sale.

Ideal for the homesick Scandi or anyone who wants a new take on Christmas shopping. Swedish baby and kids shoes and clothing, arts and crafts, wallpaper, women fashion - high quality designer gifts and contemporary accessories for you and your home - typical Swedish food and delicacies.... and lots more. Address: The Kitson Hall Kitson Road, Barnes, London, SW13 9HJ

We'll be doing the food - and yes, we'll be selling all the usual suspects of grocery goods too.  We'll also be taking orders for Christmas food and deliveries.  So do pop by for your filmjolk, prinskorv and maybe a hug or two if you're lucky.

read more here

Wine tasting 6th November: Australia

Just a bit more about our next wine tasting:  6th November at 18:30 it is Australian Tasting session.

Ray O Connor works for the International Wine Challenge (a bit like the Oscars of the wine industry) and has worked at Decanter Wine magazine.  He was voted the Uk's Young Wine Writer of the year last year.  On top of that he's worked at Head Sommilier at places such as Gordon Ramsey's MAZE. Fancy stuff indeed.

We've been doing tastings for a while now - and this time around, by popular demand, Ray's chosen to do "Australian wines" - having just returned from a  long work trip Down Under where he sampled more wines than he ever expected!

 

The price varies from time to time - all the cash goes to Ray and the wine - and this time it is £18 per head.  For that we also make some nice snacks and canapes.    Rest assured you'll never have a rubbish wine - Ray doesn't work for any one company, so he is completely objective in what he chooses.

 

Some comments on our previous tasting evenings:

 

"I felt totally at ease and assured that Icould ask any question I wanted - and because of that, I learnt loads.  Great environment, great people".

 

"Ray really knows what he is talking about - and I really learnt something.  I look forward to the next one."

 

We strictly limit the number of attendees to 15 - we like to keep the classes small and informal.

 

Mail iloveherring@scandikitchen.co.uk for more details and booking.

 

The London Cookbook

We love Jenny Linford - she wrote a book years ago called the Food Lovers London and it was whilst reading this that Bronte and Jonas decided to open a Scandinavian Deli.  Awwwww....

Jenny has now written a new book and this time it is a cookbook with recipes from lots of great delis and smaller cafes in London.  Guess what?  We've got a copy to give away.  And not only a copy, but a signed copy - Jenny is popping by to have a cup of coffee during the week and she'll sign it.  So if you win it and want it to be dedicated to your Aunt Agneta in Uppsala, then she might do that (we'll ask, but no guarentee)

To enter the draw for a signed copy of Jenny's book, answer the following question:

Which one of these bands are not Scandinavian?

1)    A-ha

2)    Jumpers

3)    Cardigans

Answers on email please, as per usual, to iloveherring@scandikitchen.co.ukby Saturday morning latest, please (1st Nov).  Terms and conditions apply - such as "no cash alternative" and "prize cannot be exchanged for open sandwiches".  Oh, and there's only one winner as we only have one book to give away, so to be fair we will put all names in a hat/sock/box or whatever is handy and we'll draw the winner.  Winners will be notified by e-mail and we'll pop the book in the post if you’re too lazy to come pick it up. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions...

_{What day of the week do you get delivery?}

_{Tuesday afternoon is the weekly delivery day from Denmark and Sweden.  We get deliveries from Norway slightly less often - do check in with us if you are after something in particular.}

_{Why do you sometimes run out of products?}

_{We try to keep a good level of stock of all products, but sometimes (especially on short shelf life products) demand fluctuates greatly.  If you let us know what you are after we can put stuff aside for you and we're happy to do weekly standing orders on products you buy regularly. Just pop us an email and we'll sort it from there.}

_{I'm after a very particular product - can you help?}

_{Yep - but if it is quite specific there is a minimum quantity you need to buy.  Note that order time varies and we need a good lead time to get the right stuff in for you. Ask us iloveherring@scandikitchen.co.uk}

 

_{What products do you stock?}

_{We stock over 600 food products from all over Scandinavia - from remoulade, rugbrod, leverpostej for the Danes to Filmjolk and Kalles Kaviar for the Swedes. Norwegians can enjoy anything from Bamsemums to Stabburet Makrel and brunost.  Finns love popping by for Fazer chocolates and salmiakki liquorice.  Let us know [email link] what you're after, we'll be happy to let you know price and availability.}

_{Is Henrik Rock Star single?}

_{You have to ask him that yourself.}

_{Why do you have more Swedish products in your store than any other?}

_{There are double the amount of Swedes living in London than any other Scandinavian nationality.  On top of that, a lot of Scandinavian products are very similar across the Scandi borders and most importantly, cheaper for you if we buy the Swedish version in - so we do our best to focus on value for you as well as a broad selection. Just ask us if you are looking for something particular and we might just have that product from another country.}

_{Do you deliver and offer mail order?}

_{Officially, no.  But we are in the process of setting this up.  Currently, we try to help out where we can so do ask us.  We charge a small surcharge plus cost of posting/courier.  We do mail chilled goods, but on receiver’s responsibility.}

_{Do you offer office catering and catering for private functions?}

_{Yes.  Click here for more info.}

_{Where did I put the remote control?}

_{It's behind the left cushion on your sofa.}

_{Do you sell snus and booze?}

_{We have a large selection of Scandinavian aquavit - from OP Anderson to Rod Aalborg, Gammel Dansk and Koskenkorva - as well as beers, from Lapin Kulta to Tuborg.}

_{It is currently illegal to sell snus in the UK - we're not happy about it either - so you'll need to ask your neighbour to send some over to feed your habit.}

The Scandinavian Cookbook by Trina Hahnemann

Danish Trina has written a great Scandinavian cookbook - with some really stunning photographs by Lars Ranek.  Trina used to live in the UK before returning  to Denmark again where she's currently writing for Alt for Damerne and runs catering for the cafes inside the Danish House of Parliament.

There are plenty of Scandinavian cookbooks - but most are written in Scandinavian languages.  Trina's book is being published in English.  The launch of her book is on 21st October at the Danish Embassy and one lucky Scandi Kitchen blog reader can win a ticket to go to the official launch as well as a signed copy of this fantastic book.  Two runners up will win signed copies of the book.

To enter the competition, all you need to do is answer this question:

Which one of these  is not a traditional Scandinavian dish:

a)    Crayfish with dill and vasterbotten cheese

b)    Linguine Carbonara

c)    Meatballs with cowberry jelly and cream gravy

Mail your answer to iloveherring@scandikitchen.co.uk before 13th October.  Terms and conditions apply.  Only one entry and prize per person.  There's no cash alternative to the prize and it cannot be exchanged.  Winning the entrance to the Danish Embassy do does not guarentee Ferrero Rochers free-for-all: just because the advert says that all ambassadors eat them doesn't make it true, you know.  We will draw the winner from all correct entries on Monday evening.

 

Pinot Noir wine tasting at SK

 Ray the Wine Expert struts his stuff on the dancefloor.

Wine tasting?  I thought I was going out for rye bread...

It was such a drag, but we got through it: No less than 8 different kinds of Pinor Noir wines for Ray the Wine Expert's special tasting event the other evening - and now we all know our New World Pinots from our Burgundy Pinots.  For those of you who do not know, Ray the Wine Expert works for the International Wine Challenge and was voted Young Wine Writer of the year last year.  He is incredibly passionate about hwat he does and we really enjoy his lessons.

As you know, from time to time we have a few events on at SK - it being wine tasting or Scandinavian Mother's evenings or networking events.  Let us know if you have something you think needs an event and we can talk.

For now, we're buying large qualities of good Pinot at our local wine merchant and pretending we know more than we do when we're at the pub.

For those interested, the Pinot that got most talk throughout the evening was a 2006 Californian pinot by none other than Francis Ford Coppola.  And they say that a name doesn't sell?  Actually, it was lush. 

Next lesson is November 6th and will be "Australian" - space are, as per usual, very limited.

Welcome to our new additions

Yum yum.  Mums mums, as they say in Sweden.  Welcome to our homemade Princess cake -  Prinsesstårta as it is called in Swedish - a wonderfully indulgent sponge layer cake with raspberry coulis, creme patisserie and whipped cream, all wrapped up in a thin layer of marzipan.  Green marzipan, at that. 

We have also added home & handmade Kladdkaka - directly translated this would be splat-cake or sticky cake, but that doesn't sound too good so we're instead going to tell you that it is a bit like a really gooey brownie - expect richer, more gooey and served with a dollop of cream.  In fact, it's a little bit like if you image a brownie crossed with a chocolate fondant.  Voila, the Swedish infamous Kladdkaka. 

We make these cakes daily at our shop here in London - but when they are gone, they are gone.  £2.50 a slice to eat in.

Cakes can also be made to order - lagkage as well (Danish layer cake) - price on request - email bronte@scandikitchen.co.uk for details.

Crown Dill

We've had quite a few enquiries lately or Crown Dill - Kron dill.  Crown dill is a version of dill used for Krafskiva / crayfish parties - it has a much stronger flavour and is also the dill used to cook the crayfish in when they have been caught and is what gives the crayfish its strong flavour that is so important.

Now, we couldn't find any so we turned to Danny, he is the dude that sources our fruit and veg from across the UK and he is very knowledable.  Even Danny felt that this was a big challenge - crown dill is siply not used in the UK in any shape or form and in the 20 years in he's been in the business he had never been asked for it.

Danny, however, doesn'ty give up so easily and he went to see a herb farm and chatted to them for a while.  As it turns out, Crown Dill is the dill after it has flowered, but all dill over here is cut several weeks before it reaches that stage.

It's too late this year for crown dill to get ready in time for your crayfish party but we will definitely be stocking it next year as Danny has made special arrangements for a Scandi Kitchen Crown Dill Patch at the dill-farm. 

Postcard from Heather & Jo #5

 Stockholm Culture Festival "Carnival"

All good things come to an end and so it was time for us to leave. Following the grand finale of the Culture Festival on Saturday night, we awoke to the pouring rain (being British I believe it is my duty to always talk about the weather) and the knowledge that team GB were third in the Olympic medals table. Go team GB!

On reflection, we think Sweden has the answer to London's knife crime problem - Swedish female police officers; that is if the two we saw are a good representation. Gone would be the thoughts of knifes, in the hope of being searched thoroughly by a female police officer!

Our final day took us to Stockholm's City Museum where we learnt about the city's "filth" and "prohibition" - even chocolate was banned and servants could be jailed for wearing silk! The horror!

As we stocked up on choolate with Daim (no longer prohibited), Stimorol chewing gum and Swedish literature, the call came for us to reluctantly catch our flight. I did try to take SK to new heights of the mile high club (not that one!) and serve tea in my SK t-shirt, but was not successful. I think I lacked the lucky SK mug, so will try again next time. In retaliation I ripped a page out of SAS's 'Scanorama' magazine, to help plan my next holiday to Sweden. If I were to only travel to Sweden for my annual holiday every year, I would be very happy.

Until next time....

Postcard from Heather and Jo #4

Enjoying my Polkadrom ice cream

As we discovered on our final morning in Göteborg, where we thought we were getting away without paying for things, everything during the culture festival is in fact put on for free! An excellent idea we thought, especially for all the travelling families we saw. We opted to explore the city museum in our final hours and what a fantastic place this is! Most reccommended thing to do in Göteborg after the "Hagabulle". The viking exhibition with the only viking boat on display in Sweden was excellent, as was the history of family life in the city.

As the rain comes down on our last day in Stockholm, we are greatful for the better weather that this wonderful city has given us over the last two days - warmth and sunshine.

Our train journey from Göteborg was swift and we arrived at our hostel to find ourselves in a strange room with no windows or ventilation, however, it did have a proper matress and not a slice of foam to sleep on! That said I at least, have slept better here despite these factors. Although it's very disconcerting every morning waking up in pitch black!

Since arriving in Stockholm, we have spent our hard earned money in Gamla Stan, on Drottingholm and in it's vicinity. We have solved the mystery of the cover of the new Stig Larsson books (why does the first English translation have the cover of the second Swedish book in the trilogy - the clue is in the direct translation of the Swedish title!) and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Although sadly the chance to eat some crayfish has not presented itself, I'll have to tuck in back at SK. Any chance you can put some aside for me?!

Like Göteborg, Stockholm has it's Culture Festival this week, which we have been able to enjoy in Gustav Adolfs Torg seeing a concert by Che Sud Aka, that had us dancing on the streets and last nights finale of Opera selections, which was to be followed by a carnival featuring three different themes; Brazilian, Latino and Caribbean. Whilst the opera was great, sadly the carnival was billed to be more than it turned out to be, no carnival costumes except on the three lorries and just a mass of Stockholmers, mostly the young following each lorry in normal clothes, as the Ung08 festival had just finished. Most disappointing of all, no fireworks! Ah well, we can't have everything.

A trip to Sweden is never complete without an escape to the archipelago and we took the boat to Fjäderholmen, with it's craft shops, Swedish whisky and restaurants. What has, after 2 pieces of Princess Torta, 2 vanilla buns and half a hagabulle each, become a "cake tour" of Sweden, was in Fjäderholmen, supplemented with a "Polkadröm" ice cream (picture to be added tomorrow). Whilst expensive, it was a sight to be seen and very delicious. Perhaps it could be used as a template for SK ice cream? - Flavours to include blueberry and elderflower, we suggest.

We have been looking out for words that read funny in English, but have failed to come up with anything new. What does make us smile is the sight of young Swedes in groups looking "hard and cool" (gosh I sound like my mother!) which they do well, until they start speaking Swedish! It's too nice a language to listen to and just doesn't have the right effect!

Time to enjoy our final hours in Stockholm. Last postcard tomorrow.

Crayfish are in! Kräftor are here!

Our crayfish have arrived early - and are now in the shop.  Time to party and arrange a kräftskiva, we say.

Price for non pre-ordered boxes are £9.50

The babies are on general sale in our shop from Friday noon on 15th.

Postcard from Heather and Jo #3

Heather, SK t-shirt and the elusive "Hagabulle" - Can I have a semla this big please?!

We awoke to sunshine and a new day, although by the end of breakfast it had already clouded over again. Nevertheless, off we headed Jo, SK t-shirt and I in search of the elusive 'Hagabulle'. So much had been promised by the information book in the hostel and thankfully we were not disappointed. It was huge (see photo above) and we had to share it (although we were not prepared to share it with the wasps, who were stalking us yet again!), too much for one person after breakfast! I challenge Tobias to make a giant semla for my birthday in February!

Our stomachs very full we headed off to the guided city walk, which was part of the Göteborg Culture Festival (previously the Göteborg Festival, but too many Swede's used it as an excuse for getting very drunk and so the word 'Culture' was added!). Our guide from the Stadsmuseet was very funny and in summary, we learned that all you need to know about the history of Göteborg is that there was a fat man, a man who brought potatoes, it burnt down several times (although they were told to re-build in brick the Swedes did not, hence multiple burnings!) and that it was built around the same time as Cape Town, New York and Jacarta, by the Dutch and so the streets are on a grid pattern in the centre at least!

Our swift history of Göteborg complete and having escaped with only a spitting of rain so far, we went in search of willow weaving only to find not only was it not on, but that it cost SEK100 entry fee.....we think not, cheap skates that we are we are saving our hard earned pennies to spend in SK! Mildly disappointed we headed off to the Konstmuseet to look at Scandinavian art and were mightily impressed, especially when we got away without paying the SEK60 entry fee to the special exhibition that was on!  We do not endorse such activity of course, but hey, no one asked for tickets, who could blame us and that's 3 pieces and a drink in SK! We left into the glorious sunshine we had not seen since Copenhagen, but this soon set and we were left cold again and still being hassled by the damn wasps and we didn't have any food or drink this time. Time for dinner. As the rain pours down outside, I don't think we will be heading out again!

Svensk kräftskiva season in London

NOTE ADDED 15/8 - Crayfish are in!  Kräftor are here!  Available in shop now - get yours before they go.

This post refers back to an older post as well

Kräftor : It is  the season as we're really getting into the mood at Scandi Kitchen.   Yahoo.

We're still taking orders for Crayfish - we're getting the first delivery on 19th August (we may even get some next week already, but we'll keep you posted about that if it happens). 

The price is £8.50 for pre-orders pr box and the price in the shop will be £9.50 if you have not ordered - but we strongly suggest you put an order in as these babies tend to jump off the shelves.  Order yours by sending a mail to iwantfood@scandikitchen.co.uk

If you're planning a Swedish kräftskiva / Svensk kräftskiva, then you need the following:

• Crayfish / Kräftor - you need about 11-12 per person for a main course - so if you budget 1/2 box per head then you'll probably be ok.  The crayfish the Swedes usually buy are cooked and then frozen - so all you need to do is defrost them (be aware, though, that they need about 24 hours in the fridge to defrost properly so take them out the day before).
• Aquavit - to be authentic, have a "drink for every claw".  We also stock different kinds of aquavit at SK.
• Bread - lots of toasted white bread and lots of crisp bread - we are really into Leksands at the moment, but stock abotu 30 kinds so there's plenty to choose from.
• Beer - We prefer the Scandinavian Carlsberg or Tuborg, but then again, any lager is good lager as long as it is cold...
• Västerbotten cheese - a year old aged cheese, not unlike parmasan but without the smell of feet.   The cheese is eaten inbetween to fill up - you are unlikely to be full from just 12 crayfish and with all that aquavit you'll need something to soak it up.  You can also make something called Västerbotten pie - it is a bit like a quiche lorraine without all the other stuff (i.e. the lorraine bit) you normally put in, just with the cheese.
• Silly crayfish hats and bibs and lanterns depicting the Man in the Moon
• Nutcracker or seafood cracker to get to all the good sluff in the claws...
• A good bunch of friends and an entire evening - a Crayfish party is not a short event, it can go on well into the night.

When you pop by the shop to pick up your stuff, you can ask any of the people who work here and they'll be happy to help you out with anything you need.  They are nice like that, you know.

Arrange the crayfish in a big bowl in the middle of the table and decorate with lots of fresh dill...  Serve cold.

What do the Scandinavians miss from home? (apart from the weather...)

We are often asked by our local London customers what our best selling Scandinavian products are. Well, we did a bit of looking in people's shopping baskets over the past week or so and here are the result:

• Danish food:  Remoulade (a curried mayo based piccalli dressing, goes with beef, fish or chips), Koldskaal (buttermilk soup) and Stryhns liverpate (a coarse porc pate, great on rye bread)
• Swedish food:  Kalles kaviar (creamed cod roe, you put it on egg sandwiches), filmjolk (soured milk, eaten every morning) and ahlgren's bilar (marshmallow sweets)
• Norwegian food: Staburet Makerell (mackerel in tomato sauce), leverpastej (liverpate) and bamsemums (chocolate covered marshmallow bears)
• Finnish food:  Reissumies (special Fazer rye bread rolls with an obscene amount of fibre in them) and any salmiakki liqourice, the stronger the better.

Swedish Crayfish party / Svensk kräftskiva / Finnish Rapujuhlat in London 2008

NOTE ADDED 15/8 - Crayfish are in!  Kräftor are here!  Available in shop now - get yours before they go.

Ahhh, those lovely little things, kraftor (Crayfish).  We're taking orders now for boxes of crayfish for August/September Crayfish party season - due to high demand, we need to ensure orders come in early or else we cannot guarentee availability.

If you know you'll be wanting some, mail iwantfood@scandikitchen.co.uk and let us know how many boxes you want as well as your phone number so we can get hold of you.

We'll then contact you nearer the time to take payment over the phone (due to cost, we requir advance payment) and to make sure we get the right amount of boxes in for you.

Boxes are £8.50 - there's about 16-18 crayfish in a box. 

Little Johnny the Crayfish in the "before" picture...  To be continued....

Scandi Kitchen on Sveriges Radio

We've been featured on the excellent MENY program in Sweden on the national radio, Sveriges Radio.  You can listen to the programme here - note that you have to go to 23.10 minutes to listen to the bit about us.

In Swedish/Danish only

Midsummer in London 2008

Phew, lots of stuff happening.  Whether you're looking for a Danish Skt Hans event or a Svensk Midsommar / Swedish Midsummer, you're in luck.

Here's the lowdown:

• Swedish Midsummer Party - the main one is in Hyde Park, organised by Swedish Chamber of Commerce.  Bring your own food and drink and dance around the Midsummer pole, pretending to be a little frog. Entry Free
• Dansk Skt Hans, KFUK are organising it and will be lighting a bonfire and selling hotdogs.  Entry £6
• The Finnish Church in London is having a Midsummer BBQ in the Church Garden
• Scandinavian Party is having a Scandi Midsummer event - entry only by ticket in advance (£5-10) - click on their site for details on how to buy.

Other links to our pages about midsummer here, here and here

If you don't fancy any of those events, make your own party at home - we stock everything from farskpotatis - new Swedish potatoes - to gradfill and prinskorv and salmon - and of course, Kims and Estrella chips and dipmix.

Whatever you decide to do - we all hope you have a great time this midsummer.  We'll certainly be celebrating the long evenings Scandinavian style.

Scandinavian new potatoes

Midsummer is hugely important to many Scandinavians.  It signals the beginning of summer - and with the beginning of summer comes new potatoes.  Well, we know you can buy them at Tescos, but honestly, they just don't taste the same.  Nope, you can't convince us.  They don't.

So, we're getting in a very limited amount of Swedish new potatoes (and for you Danes, yes, they taste very much the same as Danish ones) - so, your midsummer celebrations are saved.  All you need now is some butter and some dill and you're in business.

The babies arrive on Tuesday afternoon.  You can reserve yours by giving us a bell on 0207 580 7161.

People say nice stuff about us...

Lately, we've been really busy with our office catering.  Tobias (Superhero a la Danoise) is rushing around the kitchen making our special TLC smørrebrød, which stands for "Tender Loving Care" open sandwiches - they are called this because when we prepare food for your business meeting, we take extra care to make sure the open sandwiches look the part - whether you are looking for authentic Danish smørrebrød or a selection of mixed Scandinavian sandwiches to impress your clients with.  You can peek at our fancy pancy menu here.  Sometimes, Tobias sings to the sandwiches just to make sure they stay happy and lovely.   Recent happy customers include the Danish Embassy in London, Sandi Toksvig (very funny BBC lady), Innovation Norway, Swedish Chamber of Commerce, Arup - to name but a few only out of a long list.

We've also been doing a lot of our new-style Scandinavian canapes lately - not a sausage or spring roll in sight, we promise.  Our canapes are easy to eat standing up, making the ideal for when one has to balance a glass of champagne as well as stuffing food in one's gob all at the same time as being introduced to a potential new customer.  We've helped out places such as the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Swedish Church, Flawless online, BoConcept, Aram furniture store and the BBC.  The menu for the Scandinavian canapes is here

Here's some stuff people have said about us lately:

"Scandinavian Kitchen delivers all you'd expect if you're looking for the very best in authentic scandinavian cuisine, prepared with style, enthusiasm and great care with exceptional attention to detail - thank you! Philip Johnson, Danish Embassy, London"

"Thank you very much for the delightful lunch you sent us. The collection of smørbrød both looked and tasted wonderful.  We were also very pleased with the friendly and efficient manner in which our order was handled."  Berit Scott, Royal Norwegian Embassy.

Rat-tat-tat - that was our trumpet blowing a bit.      

Swiss cheese - from Finland?

We love this ad from the 1970's Finland.

Scandinavian Party - double bill

The nice people from Scandinavian Party are really going for it - there's a double bill party on Saturday 14th June starting at 16:00 with the football (Sweden versus Spain) and then the usual Scandi Party starts afterwards and goes on until 3 am. If you work that out in beer terms, well, it's a lot of beer. 

The party takes place at the Zoo bar in Leicester Square.  To get your ticket, mail guetlist@scandinavianparty.com - you can find more info on www.scandinavianparty.com