Me want - Lejondolken flemish tapestries

Hi all, usually I don't pick up text verbatim but I want to highlight a great company that sells a variety of beautiful home objects made in Sweden that are inspired by Flemish weaving, a long tradition in Skåne, the very Southern part of Sweden.  Check out their website and let me know what you think about this unique company: http://www.lejondolken.se/home.html

History of Flemish Weaving in Sweden  During the 16th century many Flemish weavers moved into the city of Lund and its surroundings. Their skills and inspiration made the art of weaving flourish. They brought patterns and new ideas on how to weave, the locals soon adapted and made Flemish weaving a part of the culture in Skåne. It was the weaver Jürgen Münther and his wife Alhed that introduced Flemish weaving and tapestries to the manors and castles of Skåne. The old patterns were changed over time och became more colorful and distinct. Quite different from what can be seen on foreign textile art. The patterns from Flanders were infused with local images of biblical stories and fantasy animals. Popular patterns were the dove of Noah, the garden of Eden and the Unicorn. Only very few of the original tapestries still remain. But several of the weavings that followed are known to us and almost all of them stem from the southwest counties of Skåne around the city of Lund. Lund is since several hundreds years a city of the clergy, perhaps that is one reason why there are so many biblical motifs found in these Flemish weaving. The richest and most typical Flemish weaving from Skåne are from the counties of Torna and Bara, but also Oxie, Skytts, Harjager, Ljunits och Vemmenhög counties. Flemish weaving with very similar patterns to those found in Skåne can also be found in both Denmark and Norway.

Salad days of summer

If you're like me you like a nice salad for the dog days of summer.  This recipe I found in a Swedish tabloid a while back and I make it often.  You'll have to eyeball some of the measurements because they were in metric.  I usually wing the dressing and it comes out tasting delicious but for those of you who need a better gauge, I've added a dressing that will taste just as good and uses cups. Too bad I didn't take a picture of it last night.  It is as pretty as it is tasty, and it's paleo.  Enjoy!

From Iowagirleats.com (not my salad but looks similar) :-)

Mango chicken Salad for 6

Ingredients 

chicken (I used the grilled chicken from local grocery store)

cayenne pepper or chili pepper (you can skip it)

2 - 3 mangos

3 avocados

salad - preferably different sorts of lettuce but I used bib

Sugared nuts for topping

cashews

butter

sugar

cayenne pepper or chili pepper (you can skip it)

Dressing

1 dl olive oil*    * 1 dl = 0.4 cups so about a half a cup

2 tablespoons sugar

1/3 dl apple cider vinegar (0.14 cup)

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt

Melt butter and saute nuts for a couple of minutes, add sugar and cayenne.  

Either cook chicken fillets or cut pieces off pre-made grilled chicken.  Add spices (salt, pepper, chili) to chicken fillets as you wish.  Chop the mangoes, avocados and put on a bed of lettuce.  Add chicken and then nuts. Drizzle dressing over, eat! 

 Dressing using cup measurements below - you can substitute sugar for honey

CLINTON KELLY'S DIJON VINAIGRETTE

• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard (leftover in jar)
• 2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Shallots (finely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon Honey
• 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper 

Lenny Rocked His Pants Off!

This dude is too cool, after splitting his leather pants in two while rocking "Fly Away", he quietly exposed waaay too much and left the stage to change.  Hey no "boob pop out scandal here" it happened in Sweden!  See Gröna Lund in Stockholm here - so sorry to have missed it!  We were at Gröna Lund a couple of weeks ago and I pointed out to hubby that Lenny Kravitz was headlining.  He is a true rock and roll star and at age 51 is still putting on a great show.  (I'm sure he'll wear underpants next time though.) Read more revealing tidbits here. Ha!  :-)

Gröna Lund at night, Stockholm, Sweden

Party! (crayfish party)

Happy August!!  I'm back home in the States and I have to say the sun feels goood!  It reminds that summer is the time to relax and have a couple of friends over either for a barbeque, or if you're in Sweden, a crayfish party.   Called a kräftskiva it's an easy meal to make with boiled crayfish, bread, cheese, snaps, maybe some potatoes and lots of dill.  And beer.  So a link to the crayfish recipe is here, and I'm sure the other items you could easily get.  Just don't forget to sing!!  More on that is my old post on snaps.  Skål!

Hej då!

This trip to Sweden is now over, and with it I collect all our things and memories, stuff them in bags for sorting, cleaning and reviewing over the coming year.  The weather was not on our side, but I'm sure with us leaving it will quickly improve! ;-)  Nonetheless, we had a marvelous time, and look forward to coming back.  For now WOW (airline) is waiting and home, with all its things to do and our friends and family there.  I just wish that I could pack my Swedish loved ones and bring them home with me too! 

“You lose sight of things… and when you travel, everything balances out.” – Daranna Gidel

Off we go to the Stockholm Archipelago!

I've always dreamed of visiting Stockholm's archipelago -  I have a thing about islands and having grown up with repeats of Astrid Lindgren's "Vi på Saltkråkan" on tv (see below) - I wanted to see it for myself!

So Friday, the sunniest day of the week we headed off to explore Vaxholm which is the island closest to Stockholm.  (Hey, we have two kids and only one day to explore so cut us some slack.)  The boat ride,which was very comfortable, left at 11:00 from the pier near Kungsträdgården (the Kings's garden, in the center of town) and the trip only took an hour.  There are many other departure times and islands to discover ( about 30,000 in all!) but the company we used was http://www.waxholmsbolaget.se

We bought our tickets onboard (150 krones/adult) and settled down for some coffee and picture taking.  I can't wait to share them with you!  The sea is beautiful with pines and pretty houses dotting shores along the way.  Once at Vaxholm we went for lunch at Magazinet and a long walk along the shore.  Some sunning on the rocks and playing in the water, a little mini golf and ice cream at a nearby park, then checking out stores on the main drag was pretty much all we had time for before heading home on the 4:00 boat.

It was a lovely day and very relaxing.  It felt a little like Martha's Vineyard but slower paced.  From what I understand each island has its own character and they're all worth exploring I'm sure.  More info in English here.

friends, silver and gold

For our Stockholm friends...
Xo