Scandinavian books

 when we were planning for St Lucia day & our Swedish smorgasbord, i came across some great books & cookbooks.  FYI, all of these books are available here.

the above book is: Lucia Child of Light: The history and tradition of Sweden's Lucia celebration by Florence Ekstrand, it's older (1989) & more difficult to find, yet is filled with lots of information about the history of the saint & how Swedish people set aside a day to honor her.

 Lucia Morning in Sweden is by Ewa Rydaker

 the first part of the book is an elaborately illustrated children's story...

 then the last few pages there is a brief history of St Lucia, recipes...

 & patterns & instructions on how to sew your own Star boy & St Lucia costumes.

 D is for Dala Horse: A Nordic Countries Alphabet is by Kathy-Jo Wargin

S is for St Lucia (& smorgasbord), that page contains a very brief explanation of how Scandinavia celebrates St Lucia.

 Hanna's Christmas is by Melissa Peterson

 it is a very cute story to read to young children, towards the end of the story the daughter serves her parents breakfast in bed a la St Lucia fashion.

 Kirsten's Surprise: A Christmas Story is by Janet Shaw, again St Lucia day is celebrated by Swedish tradition.

 Swedish Christmas Crafts is by Helene Lundberg & all of the projects are simple & uncomplicated

 St Lucia wreath & apple candle holders

 bundles of cinnamon

 small green wreaths

 The Swedish Table by Helene Henderson was the best Swedish cookbook i found (& it was really interesting to read about the author, her background & experiences growing up in Sweden).  for our Swedish smorgasbord we used the Swedish Meatballs with Gravy & the Baby New Potatoes with Sea Salt & Dill recipes.  you will also find recipes for: Saffron & Raisin Buns (Santa Lucia Buns), Glogg, White Bean Salad with Roasted Red Peppers and Cherry Tomatoes, Swedish Pancakes.

 Sweet and Savory Swedish Baking by Leila Lindholm was the best Swedish baking book i found (& again very interesting to read about the author & her background).  the photography in this book is gorgeous !

 i must try this GF chocolate & hazelnut torte !

 i think this chocolate chip walnut brownies recipe could easily be made GF...

 & maybe these almond cakes could be made GF, too ?

 a couple of the 'baking without an oven' treats looked yummy & either were already GF or could be made GF.

 and just for fun i thought i'd throw in a couple of Scandinavian craft books: Scandinavian Needlecraft by Clare Youngs contains 35 sewing projects &

Scandinavian Stitches by Kajsa Wikman has 21 whimsical projects ~ just look at how bright & cheerful the cover is !  anyway i will blog more about these 2 crafts books in February when i blog all about 2010 craft books & what i created from them :)

St Lucia smorgasbord

 it is Swedish tradition that the oldest daughter in the family wakes up on St Lucia day (December 13), makes Lucia buns & coffee, & then serves them to the rest of her family.  well, since our daughter is only 3 years old & too young to do that, we thought we would have a Swedish smorgasbord to celebrate instead.  we also enjoy trying new foods, especially gluten-free ones, so this was a great opportunity to try more Scandinavian foods & recipes. 

 our St Lucia Swedish smorgasbord consisted of: Swedish meatballs with gravy, 2 different types of smoked salmon, 4 different kinds of Scandinavian cheese, bread, Lingonberry jam, fish balls with dill sauce, Swedish potato sausage, baby new potatoes with sea salt & dill, for dessert: ginger snap cookies, Swedish fish, chocolate Dala horses, almondy tarta, & to drink: glogg.

i discovered with Swedish cooking that when in doubt, add dill :)

 St Lucia paper napkins.  we used the Swedish Meatballs with Gravy recipe from The Swedish Table, but we made them gluten-free.

 2 cheeses from Norway: a type of Swiss cheese & Gjetost (brown cheese !   have you ever eaten brown cheese before?)  & 2 cheeses from Denmark: Tilsit & Havarti creamy

 fish balls with dill sauce, how do you eat them cold or warm?

 non-alcholic glogg recipe found here

 ginger snaps can be found in different flavors at the grocery store

 chocolate Dala horses can be bought here

 Almondy Tarta (which is gluten-free) is from IKEA

 i also made a St Lucia banner to make our smorgasbord more festive, to make it:

what you need:
:: red card stock, 2 sheets 8.5" X 11"
:: white pigment stamp pad
:: 7 chipboard letters: s, t, l, u, c, i, & a
:: paper cutter
:: double sided adhesive
:: 51" of white binding
:: white thread
:: sewing machine

 what you do:
:: with red card stock & paper cutter, cut 10 3" X 3" pieces
:: with sewing machine, sew the 10 squares & binding together by leaving 6" at each end & spacing the squares 1" apart
:: press the chipboard letters into the white ink, might need 2 coats, let dry completely
:: attach the chipboard letters to the banner with double sided adhesive

 this is the Legend of Santa Lucia inside a card i bought last year

& this is a St Lucy card from a local Christian store

Happy St Lucia day !

St Lucia program

 C & i went to a St Lucia program at a castle where we met some friends

C wore this dress with a red ribbon... we enjoyed listening to a story

 then together we made a St Lucia crown

 if you would like to make something similar, you will need: green card stock approximately 22" by 7", scored at 1.5", 3.5". 5.5", white craft foam 4.5" by 1", small pieces of yellow craft foam, large glue dots

 to make it: fold the green card stock in half, cut up to the score line at intervals 1" apart, fold card stock so that triangles form, to form a ring tuck one tube inside of the other, attach yellow flames to candles with glue dots, then attach candles to crown with glue dots (the candles could be attached to the inside or outside of the crown, but if they are attached to the outside, some of the card stock needs to be cut off)

 & then together we made Lucia buns out of Crayola Model Magic (you could make these out of Play-Doh, too)

 after the program we went to the play area

 in the play kitchen we pretended to bake & eat Lucia buns (which were carved out of wood)

 C decorated a child sized Christmas tree with Swedish ornaments, she had so much fun that day that she wanted to back the next day !

Happy St Lucia day on December 13th !

St Lucia crown/wreath centerpiece

i was inspired by the St Lucia celebrations that they have in Sweden & wanted to make a crown/wreath.  i think what i created will make a nice centerpiece for the Swedish smorgasbord that we plan on having this next week.

this St Lucia crown/wreath centerpiece is super simple to make...
supplies needed:
:: 6-inch wreath, i got this one from Michael's (for only $0.79!)
:: 4 white wooden chime candles, can be bought here
:: green felt
:: tear drop shaped leaf pattern
:: glue gun

 how you make it:
:: with tear drop leaf pattern, cut out 24 leaves from the green felt
:: with a glue gun, put glue on the bottom of the wooden chime candle & tuck it into the wreath so the candle will stand up straight
:: with glue gun, attach all the 24 leaves around the wreath

Happy St Lucia day on December 13th !