LutefiZk and a very true Christmas dinner in Ballard

Kristine hinted in early December that we'd be invited to a "LuteFisk" party on December 28th at her house. An honor in itself, but due to snow in Seattle some other stuff got in the way, and she rescheduled for tonight.

But what an Amazing Party in Ballard! We expected only a small dinner, with some fish that taste like "snot" (quoted from a good friend), but upon arriving we entered in to something that much better can be described as a Scandinavian cabin at Christmas - with the bonus of being filled with fun and interesting people!

After a few hours of mingling, hanging around the wonderful woodstove (there is NO BETTER heat than the one generated by a wood stove - I don't care what others say), we eventually got seated.

And, expecting "just" lutefisk" we were treated to a full Scandinavian "julmiddag" with not much missing. I am NO FAN of lutefisk (memories of grandma's tasty but a fish so bony you could not eat it still hangs around), but was positively surprised when having a really good bite of this "sloppy" fish in early December at Sons of Norway up in Bothell. Kristine was up for a challenge, especially when declaring she had never cooked lutefisk before...

So, after a very tasty "sill sallad" (once again, a first since I never liked this dish at home), the fish came out and it was GOOD! I even had a few extra servings, on top of the meatballs, the beer and the wine. Coffee, prinsesstarta, an excellent selection of schnapps, and great friendship made this a night to remember.

(all photos are a tad "retouched" due to the dark environs, resulting in more visible images but pretty poor photo quality)

Finally back HOME from "Zvenska" land

Short notice, but we are back home after two weeks in Sweden.
Probably never felt as good in coming BACK HOME as it did this time. More about that later, but there were a number of details that drove me nuts in Sweden this time.
Just needed to get a small entry in here, since it has been a tad stale lately.

Cleaning up the deZk...

Spent the past days cleaning up the desk, filing away papers, paying bills, and generally getting the office closer to being just that, an office. Sometimes I wonder I how I managed to keep it in order when I was traveling all the time (but I did).

By the way, swung by the Swedish Cultural Center for the first Pancake Breakfast of 2008. Always yummy!
After that took the dogs for a walk through Pike Place Market and downtown. Phoebe just loves to venture where there's tons of (friendly) people. As it is January in Seattle, it started squalling after a while and we ventured back to the car and home to make a fire. I bet however that this was a great day on the slopes, but no point in heading up during the weekend, fighting the crowds when the week seem to be even better - and less crowded.

Less crowded, one of the better skiing days of late, was up in Alpental on Superbowl Sunday 2006. Empty slopes, sunny skies, and perfect snow. Can it be better? All football fans couched in front of their TVs, leaving the mountain for "us" to enjoy!

MidZummer in Zeattle

A few days late compared to Sweden, but earlier than past years, today was the day for the great traditional Scandinavian Midsummer fest up at S:t Edwards State Park. It is all organized by the excellent Skandia Folkdance Society.

A good crowd, nice weather when it mattered (before and during), Swedish "fika", "Sill o Potatis", +everything else Scandinavian, made this into a nice Sunday! There were tons of dogs in the park, a couple of black German Shepherds nicely decked out in flowers just what the day called for!

And, just as a traditional Swedish midsummer, the afternoon ended with a huge rain storm pulling in over the park. Luckily most had already left, but is sure looks gloomy.

Enjoy the pictures:

Zwedish Cultural Imperialism...

...can one read about in in today's Seattle Times:

It is a little story about a very loved dish on the Swedish Christmas table...