Geoff Stahl
Saturday we got up slowly, eventually taking one great looking elevator (see previous entry) up to Johan’s place where we got to savour some good Swedish cheese (rare, apparently) and yet more coffee (Nordic/Scandanavian countries consume ridiculous amounts of coffee - “most in the world,” you’ll hear often. Having witnessed the voluminous coffee intake in both Finland and Sweden, I can believe it). With all of us hopped up on caffeine, Johan gave us an animated tour of Södermalm, which was a pleasant way to while away the wonky weather. From one edge of the island you get a great view of Stockholm and some Swedish rock star’s palatial digs. A nice dramatic way to spend an hour or two. Plagued by that bizarre weather, we headed back to SoFo and took a pit stop at String, a twenty-something hangout that Johan and Hillevi are quite fond of (actually, I think for Johan the cakes trump the people, so it could have been anywhere, really). We went our separate ways eventually, and Sirpa and I headed out West, towards the other boho hangout in Stockholm, Vasastaden, spending our night in a comfy Italian resto. We returned to Södermalm and finished the night at the Södra Teatern bar that provides you with a spectacular view of the city, which we would have seen if the blizzard hadn’t interfered. We closed it with a couple of glasses of proper Scotch and walked home in the blizzard, warm and cozy.
This one’s for Anthony and Michelle: The image above is of semlor (pl; singular is semla). Over the last few years, my sweet tooth has decayed to just about nothing, so desserts are no longer as big a part of my meals as they used to be (I still eat plenty of them, but nothing like I did in the past - let’s just call my current rate of ingestion a “modest intake”). I pay attention though, when I hear the words “almond paste, cardamom and whipped cream.” Semlor are seasonal buns, typically appearing in January (they were originally served before and sometimes during Lent, typically on Tuesdays, hence their nickname of the Shrove Tuesday bun) and hanging around until Easter or thereabouts. They’re made with a cardamom-scented flour, whipped cream and almond paste (not quite a marzipan; rather, it’s thinner in consistency but still as delicious). I’m partial to the Finnish voisilmapulla (butter-eye-buns), which are not as rich as these but are still full of cardamom and are available all-year round (thus, they win). So far, I’ve indulged in my fair share of semlor cakes and buns and have even done the proper thing, which is to have them with a hot bowl of milk.
Having no semlor-flavoured music, I give you the next best thing, which is some sweet Swedish girl punk, from 1979: Usch - LTO.
Iso G.