everyday life

lussekatter

The holiday season has begun and I have started to prepare for the upcoming holidays of Advent, Lucia and Christmas. Today I made Lussekatter - a  saffron bun, - lussekatt in Swedish (literally "Lucy cat", after Saint Lucy). This bun is the most popular bun during the Christmas season in Sweden. You can buy it in every food store/ supermarket in the country and most people makes their own.

the yellow dough will turn into delicious buns

 

Lussekatter

Want to make your own?

Lussekatter
(Makes about 50)

75g/3oz fresh yeast or corresponding quantity instant dried yeast
2 tbsp water
500ml/18fl oz milk
150g/6oz butter
2 eggs
1kg/2 ½lb fine, plain white flour
1g saffron, finely ground
150g/6oz caster sugar
1 tsp salt
100g/3oz raisins
To glaze:
One egg

Method:

Crumble the yeast in the lukewarm water into a bowl. Melt the butter and pour in the milk and warm until tepid (37° C/98° F). Mix together and add the whisked eggs. Pour some water over the saffron and stir it together. Add to the mixture together with salt and sugar and half of the flour and mix until smooth. Add remainder of flour (keep some for making the shapes) and knead until smooth and pliable, but not too firm (approx.10 min). Cover and leave in room temperature to rise until double in size.

Turn out on to a floured work surface. Divide dough into four parts, which in turn divides into 12 pieces. Roll each part into 15cm/6” finger-thick sausage and shape into a letter S. Press on a few raisins as decoration. Place the buns on buttered or baking paper-lined baking sheets. Cover and leave to prove until they look light and puffy, about 30 min.

Brush with beaten egg and bake in the centre of a 275° C/525° F oven for 8-10 min. Place on a wire rack and cover with a cloth. Leave to cool.

Eat - and drink cold milk or hot Glögg. Coffee and tea work fine as well!

Since my neighbour down under has a hell of a party tonight - and I'm not invited - and I'm can't go to bed, so I'm sitting in the sofa watching dvd movies. At the moment - Top Gun.

helgen v. 48 -weekend, week 48- is here

Helgen v. 48 is a great song with a great Swedish group - bob hund. The song is from the 1998 album Jag rear ut min själ! Allt ska bort!!! And this is the weekend of week 48. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

winter wonderland

This is what Stockholm looks like these days.. A lovely Winder Wonderland! During the past days it has snowed a lot. Some parts just outside the city got as much as 60 cm/ 24 inches snow in 24 h, my neighborhood "just" got about 30 cm/ 12 inches in 24 hours.

late monday afternoon

But now its getting warmer now and the snow has started to melt away. I was out on a walk on my lunchbreak and I came home with these pictures:

cars with snow

 

boats with snow

missy

new trailers

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince did not make it to the theatre's Nov 21 as it was said at first. We have to wait to July to see it, but they released a new trailer..

 

 

knitted items in use

Stina is very happy about her new mini tote. During our lunch break we had a photo session on the court yard outside our office. In the heavy snowfall.

the mini skull tote

And Stina was also wearing the pink Calorimetry I knitted for her earlier this year.

pink calorimetry

mini skull tote - before felting

I am done with the knitting on the Mini Skull Tote and at the moment the bag is rolling around in my washer.. I'm a bit nervous to see the end result... But here is the bag before felting.

Stina's Mini Skull Tote
Yarn: Drops Eskimo Colours : In black and bright pink
Needles: 7 mm KnitPicks Harmony wood circ.
Pattern: Hallo Yarn
Design: Adrian Bizilia
Started: November 17, 2008 Finished: November 23, 2008
Yarnsource: Ljungkvists garn, Odenplan

snowy day

Yesterday evening I was out with the girls. You know, couple of pints, food and lots of laughter. A great time! Anyway, when we stepped out from the pub, it was snowing. And when I got up from my underground station my world was totally white, and it's still are. And it's snowing.

  the view from my bed room window, around 8.15

My plans today is to go Hampus birthday party - he turned 2 this week and later this party will turn in to a house warming party, since he and his parents just moved in in a new flat.

But till the parties begin,I will sit in my sofa and knit. I have been doing a couple of rows in the Mini Skull Tote for Stina, this morning.

the mini skull tote

And I have recruited another person to the cult of knitting..My co-worker Stina, who is paying for this skull tote, bought yarn on Thursday and started to knit her first scarf..  She may even be a guest writer on this blog next week, to show off her scarf... I hope so anyway.. ;-)

not ready to make nice

I have been a fan of the Dixie Chicks for a long time now. And I do love their latest album Taking the Long Way (2006) and the one before Home (2002).  And my favorite songs are Not Ready To Make Nice and Travelin' Soldier.

I recently saw the documentary Shut Up & Sing . The film follows the all-woman Texas-based country music trio, the Dixie Chicks over the three years while they were under intense scrutiny, physical threats, and pressure from more conservative political elements in the United States after lead singer Natalie Maines publicly criticized President Bush - she said that the band is ashamed that the President  is from Texas - in a 2003 concert in London. Swedish television broadcasted this documentary in their series about the US election early November/late October.

And I can't believe the impact of that sentence, Maines told between two songs, in London (and basically everybody in the audience agreed with her) almost ended their career.  But in the long run, they won.

Not Ready To Make Nice was written by all three band members (Maines, Emily Robison and Martie Maguire) along with Dan Wilson, is a statement of how they feel over the controversy, the banning of their songs from country music radio stations, and freedom of speech ("Freedom of speech is fine as long as you don't do it in public

"And how in the world can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they'd write me a letter
Saying that I better
shut up and sing or my life will be over?!"

 

snow

The winter season has begun here. The first snowfall in my neighborhood came Sunday aftersoon, it melted as soon it hit the ground but for a while the snowflaked where big.

 When I left work today it started to snow again. And still there are a thin, thin layer of snow on the ground.

  Kungsträdgården, Stockholms city.

I hoping we get some more of this white stuff! It's getting colder everyday now and the weather men talks about even colder this weekend.

Now it's time for some football! And Happy Birthday Claire!

on the needles

Last 6 months I knitted on one project a time. But recently I have more than one thing on the needles. I started one project this morning on my morning coffee break... A mindless and fast project for a knitting café or infront of the telly.

sock

And yesterday I cast on for Stina's Mini Skull Tote. I think this will be a fast knitting too, but I need peace and quite when I knit this one, because of the skull pattern.. I have done the handles and are about to start on the skull pattern.

the yarn for the stina's mini skull tote

And the then I also is working on Mrs B mohair shawl .. It's an easy pattern, but so far I can't manage to learn it by heart... So I mess it up from time to time, and have to ripped a bit  - so for now I let it rest.. It's my weekend knitting ..

the mrs b mohair shawl

And I need to start a couple of other projects too.. The Holiday season is here!