LearnSweden Blog

Spicy Red Pepper Soup

                             

It has returned to the cold again and no matter what I do I can't seem to get warm. So today we shall have some red pepper soup. Guaranteed to warm one up.

• 1 can of chickpeas
• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 long red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 long red chile, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried mint
• 1 tablespoon of pomegrante juice
• 5 plum tomatoes
• 11/2 of chicken stock or water
• 3 ounces coarse bulgur
• 1/2 cup of shredded mint leaves
• 1 tsp salt
• juice of 1/2 lemon

                           

Wash and strain your chickpeas
Heat the oil in a large sauce pan. Saute the onion, red pepper, chile and mint over a medium heat for 5-8 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add the pomegrante and continue to saute for a couple more minutes.
Add the chickpeas to the pan with the tomatoes and the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Add the bulgur to the pan and simmer. If it is looking dry add a little water. This should be like a stew.
Add the lemon juice and shredded mint and serve hot from the cooking pot.
Happy Eating.

                        

      

To Space and Beyond.....

......all from the little Swedish town of Kiruna. From the time I was 5 or 6 I have dreamt about space travel. As a family we would envision ourselves being launched into space discovering new worlds, and of course vacationing on the moon. Maybe we had overactive imaginations but now it is sort of becoming a reality.

     

I read in the local, of which we are a sponsor of, that the creators of the ice hotel in Kiruna Sweden have opened their ticket counters to start selling Virgin Galactic tickets to space. The galactical spaceport opens in 2012 and will be the main hub in Europe for recreational space travel. I can't believe I just used the words recreational and space travel in the same sentence.  Chomping at the bit are we? Each round trip ticket starts at just $200,000 dollars. Don't want to wait until 2012 ? Well why don't you catch the earlier flight from New Mexico in 2011.

Though I won't be on those first flights, I know that like anything extraordinary it will one day become ordinary. Soon after the launch of touristic space flights, it is projected that suborbital flights will cut down long distanced global flying times into a few hours. I wonder if I'll be able to use my frequent flyer miles ?

A huge thank-you to Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin Mega-Brand for coming up with the idea of space tourism and making it a reality.

    

If you are wondering why Kiruna , way up there in the sunny North? Well we wouldn't want our space tourists to miss out on the Aurora Borealis would we ? I went all the way to Iceland last year just to see this amazing light-show. Now I'll be able to see it from my spaceship. :) Isn't living in the future amazing? To get your tickets and to have a look at Virgin Galactic go here.

          

The Richest Reading

                  

There are moments when unexpected people persevere despite opposition and challenges. This week The Palestinian Tamer Institute for Community Education was awarded children's literature's richest and largest prize, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.   

                 

For the last 20 year The Palestinian Tamer Institute for Community Education has diligently worked to promote reading in the West Bank and Gaza strip.

Set up in 1989 during the first Intifada, the Tamer Institute started working with children and young people to develop supplemental learning and alternatives to their dire circumstances.

The Astrid Lindgren judges lauded the center's"perseverance, audacity, and resourcefulness, which has stimulated Palestinian children's and young adult's love of reading and creativity."

Under difficult circumstances, the Institute carries out reading promotion of an unusual breadth and versatility. In the spirit of Astrid Lindgren, the Tamer Institute acknowledges the power of words and the strenth of books, stories and imagination as important keys to self-esteem, tolerance, and the courage to face life."

 

The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award was set-up seven years ago in memory of Sweden's beloved writer and her"deeply humanistic spirit." Each year the award is given to an author,illustrator,or organizaiton that encourages reading and increases an interest in children's literature.

Along with The Tamer Institute other nominee's were Quentin Blake, Michael Morpurgo and Eva Ibbotson.

Previous winners have included Philip Pullman,Maurice Sendak and sonya Hartnett. Crown Princess Victoria will present the award and prize of 5 million Swedish kronor on June 2nd.

       

Photos of Astrid Lindgren are stock photos.

 

It's Waffle Day!!!

  Yep, you heard me right. Today is waffle day in Sweden. Big and small alike feast on the wonderful heart-shaped waffles. The holiday was originally a religious one marking the annunciation of Mary, therefore for some this day is called,"Maria Bebådelsedag ". For those of us not celebrating a religious holiday it is simply known as Våffledagen. Here's a look at our celebration. Many people put jam and powdered sugar on them but there as many varieties of toppings as there are people. So do it your way. The recipe is included. Enjoy!

   

Each family has their recipe. This is my families recipe for traditional heart shaped waffles. You can use a traditional waffle iron as well but honestly I need my heart shaped waffle iron on this day.

                      

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of ground cardamom
3 eggs
¼ cups of sugar
2/3 cups of sour cream
3 tablespoons of melted butter
Butter for brushing the waffle iron
Powdered sugar
Jam and fresh berries to serve with your waffles

Mix flour and cardamom together and set aside. In a small bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together at a high speed for 10 minutes until the mixture is forming ribbons when you pick your beaters up. Take your flour mixture and sprinkle it over you sugar and egg mixture. Stir the sour cream until it is really smooth and then add it to your flour and egg mixture until your batter is smooth. Take your melted butter and fold it into the batter.

                     

Heat your waffle iron on a medium heat until a drop of water sizzles on the waffle grid. Brush the grid with butter and spoon in the batter. Close the waffle iron until golden brown. Please read your waffle irons manufacturer’s instructions for length of time until done.

Serve immediately.

                        

 

        

         

   

                         

                                                                

       

and who loves waffles the most ? Well if it isn't Rebecca aka Rebi Tucker.

       

Who's waiting for waffles?

      

Would someone please give that poor dog a waffle. Here ya go boy.

   

    

Spring came just in time for the Royal Palace Sprint

                       

       

On Wednesday, the 18th of March spring came to Stockholm. The sun was shining warmly and everywhere you looked you could see people enjoying the sun at cafes and anywhere else there was a place to sit in the sun.

      

I ended up going to the Royal Castle to see all of the great skiiers compete in the last part of the Ski Championship Cup, which ended last weekend in Falun.

     

  

  

Nearly 200 hundred skiiers from all over the world were skiing around the Royal Castle where they had brought in snow to manage the day. Totally there was 1030 meter of ski slopes.

         

       

 A lot of people were enjoying the sun and the skii competition, and then the crowd started screaming loudly when they saw the Swedish ski queen Charlotta Kalla wearing the number 17. 

        

                     

The King of Sweden opened the skii competion and surely where watching all the skiiers from a window somewhere in the castle. The former skii king of Sweden Thomas Wassberg was walking around everywhere controlling the snow and the slopes. He was the organizer of the event.

         

            

 It was a great event and wonderful day to just get out in the sun. Today the snow and grey is back but we are hopeful that another sunny day is coming soon our way.

Shane's 1-3-5 method for learning swedish

Another huge thank-you to Shane who wrote today's blog. Please be sure and visit our friend Shane's blog at www.letmetellyouaboutsweden.com . We are back now from all of our travels and we'll be posting again tomorrow. Take Care!

          

Each of us as individuals have different ways of learning. I have tried different ways of learning Swedish with varying success.

Of course its much easier to learn Swedish when you are living in Sweden, though my office is English speaking as my colleagues are from all over the Nordics. Also many Swedes answer you in English when you ask for something in Swedish, its not them being rude, they like the chance to speak English or they feel they are helping you.

So I have to come up with inventive ways to expose myself to Swedish.

When I first moved here I used to strike up conversations with anyone, even with folks on the checkout at the supermarket! Seriously. They always say 'hej' as they start scanning your shop but its not a heartfelt 'hej' its very robotic. So I always say 'Hej, hur mår du?' This always brings out a look of surprise and usually a laugh and they answer and say 'själv', its nice in a way as most of the staff in my local Hemköp know I am not fluent but they think its fun to speak along now.

I had wrongly assumed that just by living here I would suddenly wake up fluent. Well this may happen in 10 years or so but without some application its not going to happen in the short term. So I set up myself up with a 1-3-5 Goal. Its something I use professionally to manage my goals and I thought it would be fun to apply it to Swedish. This works for most things in life, whether it be career goals, sports goals etc. Why not give it a try?

1 Goal -            Fluent Swedish

3 reasons why: Integrate Better in Swedish life
                       More Commercial opportunities
                       More social opportunities.

5 actions -        One hour of Swedish study each weeknight
                       Translate two newspaper/magazine/web articles each week and publish them on my blog
                       Watch one Swedish language DVD each week
                       Watch or listen to Swedish News each day
                       Read a Swedish newspaper each day


DVDs is an interesting one. Unfortunately the Swedes dont bother to dub English language films so I have been buying Swedish made ones and put the Swedish subtitles on.

 I have watched some Swedish classics like Lasse Åberg's 'Sällskapsresa' which was very very funny, I also watched 'Göta Kanal' - these are both comedy classics that the Swedes themselves love!

I recently bought a Bamse DVD, Bamse is the worlds strongest bear and is known by nearly every Swede who all read it as kids. I read the comics as well as another good way of learning but not in public! The funny thing with Bamse is that each story ends on a moral for the kids and its a very egalitarian family in the true Swedish way! The enemy was Vargen (The Wolf) but even he eventually becomes Bamse's friend after being treated kindly by Bamse, the only villain who couldnt be turned was Krösus Sork a crude Capitalist who will do anything for money...told you this was espousing Swedish values ;-)

I watched 'Beck' for the first time this week. Its a cop show based in Stockholm. I bought four of the Beck films to be getting on with and I really enjoyed the first one I watched this week. Only snag is there is a lot of slang which isnt in my dictionary. For instance they kept talking about a 'torsk'. Now my dictionary translates that as 'cod. So I couldnt work out why they were calling someone a cod. I asked a Swedish friend who explained that its slang for someone who picks up prostitutes, told you it was educational!

Last but not least, as a single guy in my thirties I of course love my Xbox, but even that can help. I now play the soccer game FIFA 09 with the Swedish commentary, this is a really good way of getting my ear into it and of course these are important words to know when talking football down the pub!

My Swedish needs a lot of work but I am hoping with the 1-3-5 goal and bags of enthusiasm I will crack the language soon!

Thailand,Swedes new favorite country part 4

Koh Lanta, the Swedish island. As I said earlier, the island Koh Lanta, which is a dream island with white beaches, palm trees and turquoise water is crowded with Swedes.

         

Why? It isn't like the emmigration when the Swedes went to America in the 19^th century, but a lot of Swedes move here Some stay just for a couple of months,others for a year, and some  for a whole lifetime. Most stay here all year except for the Swedish summer, when there is a lot of rain and winds here it is a perfect way of living, 12 month of summer and a very calm life. Many Swedes sell their houses and move here because it is cheap to live. If you got enough money for your house in Sweden you can live her many many years without working. On the island there is a Swedish school, svenska skolan. You are studying Swedish subjects and get Swedish grades.

      

Many Swedes come here just for a vacation and a lot of people come her to get married. A romantic and cheap wedding at the beach.

     

 

When I was here I visited a wedding between two Swedes. It was so beautiful and romantic. A lot of flowers on the beach and the sun setting on the horizon. Then I saw them making the table, preparing for a romantic dinner on the beach.

          

         

         

         

         

Thailand,Swedes favorite new country part 3

Most houses in Thailand don´t have kitchens. People make breakfast at home and then it is much cheaper to eat out. You can have a lunch for about $4 and a dinner for just a few dollars more. And when I say lunch and dinner I have had different platters at the table where you take from all platters and mix spicy dishes  of fish, seafood, vegetables and meat together with rice or noodles. It taste delicious and if you don´t like spicy food, you can always ask for non spicy dishes. To drink it is mostly water or a cold domestic beer, like Singha.

                          

As my experience is just from one island here, it may be a lot of different in the rest of the country.

Just as I am writing this, in the car going to Krabi we are at a ferry and the ferry is stuck in the mud. So a small boat had to come and help the ferry out of the mud and finally we are on our way again. As I went out, as all others, to see the small boat working, there were many more things to see. Just beside us was a lorry full of garbage, flowers and bags and in the middle a live cow standing. In front there is a lorry loaded with fresh pineapples and there is also three men sitting with one cock each going to a cockfight. So all the time you catch new things .

                               

                               

              

             

Thailand,Swedes favorite new country part 2

      

It was a lovely car trip in an air-conditioned  car and a lot of things to see during the way, including two ferries.

                        

Thailand is something between Bali, India and Japan. The weather and climate is like Bali, hot, wet and the same temperature all the time. The clear blue water is so warm that you have to take a cool shower afterwards.  The water is so salty you just can lay back and float.

                           

                       

 It is like India, because of all cabbage everywhere and how people drive, cars, bikes, and mopeds. There is one big difference in Thailand compared to India. In Thailand you don´t use the horn and in India you use it all the time. The prices are also equal to India and I was able to use my bargaining skills while making purchases.

                        

                        

                     

The likeness to Japan is the friendliness. People are so polite and they just want to do everything for you, serve you, help you and one is never afraid here.

 Swedes like the country because of all those things and that Swedes are a bit layed back as the Thai people.Just so you know that language isn't a problem here because most everyone speaks English.

                         

                           

                       

Thailand, Swedes favorite new country part 1

This is my first visit to Thailand, so these are my thoughts about the country and what I have seen and been doing during my days here.

     

It was a very short visit to this Asian country. I went away Thursday afternoon and came back the following Wednesday and as the flight time here with changing planes is nearly 20 hours, two days went just being in the air or at the airport. 

                          

My first experience was the heat, coming from a snowy and cold Stockholm it was a big difference leaving the plane in Bangkok with a temperature of over 30 degrees Celsius. Then I had to wait for six hours at the airport, a long time but too short to go into the town. So I just had to wait. Then an hour and a half to Krabi, were I took a taxi to a resort were I had already  booked a room. The sky was open and in the dark it was like a shower outside, so instead of taking an indoor shower you could have just stayed outside. And then suddenly the rain stopped and the night was quiet and calm. This happened once a day, a rain shower for about 10-15 minutes and then sun again. 

       

Then just some fruits and a night sleep , it was a bit early in Swedish time but as the clock was midnight here, I just had to sleep, so I would could get in the right time zon. Early tomorrow after breakfast I was to be picked up and driven to Koh Lanta, which is the goal of my trip. A small island with 18.000 inhabitants and a paradise for Nordic people, mostly Swedes but also Norwegians and Danes.