Chasing Butterflies Daily

Pancakes have a long history of being consumed on Thursdays in Sweden. Since the 1700s medieval families (who had the means) would eat all their nicer food on a Thursday. Meats were only allowed to be eaten on Thursdays by the Catholics of the day. Fridays were a day of fasting and so they'd fill up on meat and pea soup in wealthier homes. Pancakes were a popular dessert as they were a luxurious treat as white flour, eggs, lard and fry pans were commodities. The religious connection is long gone for most households but the tradition has still stuck over the centuries. Instructions:  1. Mix the flour with half the milk until smooth. 2. Add the remaining milk, eggs and salt. 3. Leave to rest minimum 10 minutes.  4. Melted the butter on medium/high and mix into the batter. 5. Fry in the already hot pan - making thin pancakes. I prefer using a smaller pan as I find it easier to flip. And I've found that making 2/3rds of the batter is just the perfect amount...

This weekend it's midsummer. In Sweden it's a long day and night full of laughter, games, songs, eating and drinking - in many parts of the country the sun doesn't set at all, and where it does it's not for very long. Midsummer's Eve is a huge celebration for Swedes and also the time for lots of traditions. Many of them which are incredibly bizarre. Top two are: our midsummer pole and singing and dancing a song about frogs (små grodorna - the little frogs). I was approached by my eldest's beaver leader to teach the kids a game in Swedish, online of course as we are still in lockdown here in Scotland. But with midsummer looming I asked if it was ok to do a dance instead. This really is one of the most quintessentially Swedish traditions we have along with schnapps songs and smörgåsbords. The song talks about how funny frogs look and then sees children and adults alike imitate frog sounds and jump around. We have a lot of other songs for everyone to ge...

Today has been Saint Lucia's day in Sweden (there's a link to a post with more facts about the day at the end of the piece) along with Midsummer it is one of our biggest celebrations during the year so I went in to our eldest's nursery class during the afternoon to share with them some traditional snacks, music and stories about Swedish Christmas with her classmates. This morning I had asked if she wanted to wear her gingerbread dress (one of the common outfits for the younger children to wear for the Lucia procession - you'll see her younger sister happily donning her dress a bit further down) but she wanted to be "more beautiful" and picked another dress. She's a little girl who knows her will very clearly and so I let her pick what she wanted to wear, apparently she'll wear her gingerbread dress tomorrow... Last year her nursery teacher had made little clay candle holders with them for Lucia (I was in the midst of pregnancy sickness) and our e...

Saint Lucia is celebrated on the 13th of December across Scandinavia (and in Italy to some degree) however it's definitely a bigger tradition in Sweden than any of it's neighbouring countries. Although it has its roots in celebrating the Christian virgin & martyr, St Lucia, who is said to have brought food in the darkness to the poor, carrying a crown of candles on her head to light the way to leave her hands free to carry as much food as possible. There are of course, as is want with old tales, many varying versions of events. From being engaged to a pagan who then shunned her for giving her dowry money to the needy to the Church trying to kill her with a bonfire that failed before beheading her. What remains of her life in Italy doesn't matter or relate much to the celebration that is held in Sweden today. Both the Protestant and Catholic church hold Sankta Lucia processions, but as with a lot of Swedish traditions it is the pagan aspects that seem to sit stronger w...

  Saffron buns, known as Lussebullar in Swedish, are traditionally baked for the 13th of December when we celebrate St. Lucia, however they are consumed throughout the Christmas period and it really isn't Christmas without them in my opinion. Ingredients 50 g fresh yeast / 14 g dry yeast 500 dl milk 180-200 g butter (melted) 1-1.5 g saffron 0.5 tsp salt 150-200 ml sugar 1 egg 1500-1700 ml flour    Garnish Raisins or "pearl" sugar / large coarse sugar alternatively you can use almond flakes Egg for brushing over Method Crumble the yeast in a big bowl. Heat milk and butter to finger temperature at 37℃. Try to be precise with the temperature as the yeast starts to die at 50℃. Pour the mixture over the yeast and stir till it has dissolved properly. Mix in the saffron (if the saffron isn't ground already grind it down with a mortle  and a tsp or two of sugar). Add salt, sugar, egg and almost all of the flour (I'd star...

Swedish saying goes: "Av pepparkakor blir man snäll" "Of gingerbread biscuits one becomes kind." Just as gingerbread biscuits are a big part of Christmas in a lot of countries around the world, they are an important part of Swedish Christmas. You'll find them in most Swedish households during the festive period, I have however never been much of a fan of them. There is a brand of gingerbread called "Annas pepparkakor" that are light, fluffy and they just melt in your mouth and their biscuits are the only ones I've enjoyed; sharing names with the company undoubtedly played a part when I was a child and I love the special edition tins they come out with at times. I don't particularly enjoy ginger in other foods either, and silently detested anyone who tried to get me to eat ginger things to ward off nausea during any of my pregnancies. Because I get hypremesis gravidarum and would do anything to stop feeling sick I have tried it in numero...