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10 Reminders That I Live in Sweden…

caviar

I know I’ve been living in Sweden when:

  1. Someone I know plays golf and votes for the Left Party
  2. I’m wearing red pants and I don’t think twice about it (I also have a pair of bright green and light blue slacks.)
  3. I’m no longer uncomfortable with long periods of silence
  4. But I wrap up converations with a strange “ummm” that starts low and ends mid range, signalling to the other Swedes that this conversation is over
  5. I walk past a slide at a playground that’s shaped like a caviar tube
  6. I have an adjustable desk at work so I can stand up (Employers are required to provide stand-up desks.)
  7. I took five weeks off this summer — two weeks of vacation and three weeks of paternity leave
  8. There’s an election coming up, and I just passed a sign for a political party called: The Pirate Party
  9. I have opinions about Swedish meatballs and have gotten used to robotic lawnmowers
  10. I feel a bit emotional when I hear Öppna Landskap
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Olives For Breakfast

It was pitch dark this morning when my son began screaming at his younger brother for stealing the olives off of his plate with such an intensity that you’d think the olives were the last memento from an old lover who’d just died.

Why was he eating olives for breakfast?

Funny that you ask. My 10-year-old daughter decided she was going to eat olives together with her omelet and knäckebröd. Where I come from, we called this type of crispbread Wasa bread, which is actually a brand.

Swedish language alert: Knäck means to snap or crack. So, knäckebröd is bröd, or bread, that cracks. (The son of a friend of mine used to call knäckebröd kick a bird:-)

At 7:25 this morning, my daughter was jamming her arm elbow deep inside of a black olive jar when her younger brothers looked over. This was interesting, they must have thought. We don’t usually see olives at this time of the day.

They wanted some olives too. With a cup of coffee in my hand trying to break out of my Nyquil-induced trance from the night before, I swayed on the other side of the bar and watched with fear to see what would happen.

My daughter reluctantly began to share the olives. But at some point, the middle child felt slighted by his share of olive handouts and began to protest, loudly.

At that point, I could have used an olive branch, but the juice had already spilled.

Photo: Alpha from Flickr

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Eating Swedish meatballs? Don’t forget lingonberries — a new superfood that could prevent weight gain

Swedish food
Swedish lingonberries are eaten on blood pudding

Everyone knows Swedish meatballs are a hardy meal that will keep you energized in all seasons. But today, a lot of people are talking about that little red condiment that’s jammed between the meat and the potatoes — Swedish lingoberries.

Scientists at Lund University in Sweden have discovered that Swedish lingonberries can almost completely prevent the weight gain caused by a high fat diet. If you don’t know, lingonberries are like a more bitter version of cranberries — generally eaten with meatballs and other meaty Swedish food.

Continue reading “Eating Swedish meatballs? Don’t forget lingonberries — a new superfood that could prevent weight gain”

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Join the contest! This Swedish candy could be yours

Swedish candy, Swedish food
Now, this is Swedish candy

Do you want to eat some real Swedish candy?

I’m not talking about some lame version of Swedish fish you get in your hometown.

I’m talking about the real stuff, the good stuff. I’m talking about salty and sour licorice, the cars, the bars. I’m talking about the creamy chocolate and the fishermen’s pipes. What? Yeah, you heard me right — pipes. Curious?

If you are, then get ready — because I am officially launching From Sweden’s first official contest — the Real Swedish Candy Contest.

It’s really simple.

All you have to do is tell me why you are interested in Sweden.

The person who has the best — the most entertaining, the funniest, or craziest, or most interesting story — will in no time at all be chomping down on some real Swedish candy.

Just write in the comment field below or post a video on YouTube and attach the link. Or, if you know how, send a sound file.

The lucky winner will not only get real candy, from Sweden, made by Swedes. But you’ll also get a chance to tell your story.

So, why not take a few minutes now to share with us why you love Sweden, or why you hate Sweden, or why there’s just something about Sweden that has got you all pumped up?

Do you have Swedish ancestry? Maybe you read the “Millennium Trilogy” and got hooked? Are you dating a Swede or do you want to come here to study or work?

Tell us your story.

The Real Swedish Candy Contest runs until the end of April. (I, and I alone, will pick the winner.) And I personally will send the lucky winner a package of Swedish candy.

P.S. If you don’t like this offer, then you can continue to eat the old, boring “Swedish” fish sold at your local supermarket.

P.P.S. If you want to learn more about the crazy world of Swedish candy, check out this introduction to Swedish candy at the Lost in Stockholm blog.

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Make Swedish meatballs and speak Swedish

“They’re just called meatballs in Swedish,” my wife told me, after I asked her how to say Swedish meatballs in Swedish.

That was just one of the thousands of dumb American moments I’ve had since living abroad. I think my wife still loves me though, otherwise she would never continue to make this classic Swedish comfort food for me. I also think she thinks it’s cute when I speak Swedish (My accent is brutal).

At the risk of getting on the bad side of my mother, I have to admit that she also made Swedish meatballs when we were growing up. She, however, covered the meatballs with Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup. Don’t get me wrong, they were good, but they weren’t Swedish meatballs.

The video and recipe that follows is the real deal, plus you’ll get to learn Swedish.