it’s now down to the weekend before the 24th-and my mom sent me out on a mission to get food for eve of christmas. i also just watched one of the worst adaption of a book possible, theGoldenCompass!

Yuck. talking animals and a plot that you couldn’t even follow as they kept introducing new aspects of the book without explanation. when it was finished my BF and i both agreed that the movie can only be watched and drinking shots. What is goingOn with the (talking polar bears, flying witches, gypsies and the little girl who has the compass….) these where largest plot twists in the movie and they all came with No explainationby the characters. did i mention that in the origional book a child is sacrificed(in a kids book!)

save yer ten bucks.

oh yeah, i began writing about the pickled herring chronicles; an old tradition in scandinavia that has to do with it being Very coldand pickled fish kept in the cold weather along with the herring. i grew up eating lamb and lutefisk for christmas dinner, sometimes we had both if we traveled up North. i am no fan of lyed fish, that has been dried, smoked and cured-and Lyed. to me it’s like eating babyFood. usually the fish is so salty it’s hard to eat. going back the Why.

most food in Scandinavia is bland but very salty because it kept food in cold conditions and made it easier to store in the ground. my grandmother once cured trout in her bathtub after we had gone fishing. for 2days we where camping in her house while we waited for the fish cure; my dad immediately went out and bought coolers for my grandmother so everyone could use the Only bathroom in the house.

i am no fan of salt and barely use it in my own cooking, i am a big fan of black pepper and other seasonings in replacement of salt. i tend to like the pickled herring that we eat in all varieties each christmas. i have been asked why it’s so important-i compare it to whatever big meal you eat, ham or turkey or pasta for christmas. us Scandinavians have our smorgaasbord the day of christmasDay; over-shadowing the lamb we eat the night before.

the smorgaasbord is a spread with enough protein to match a atkins diet. there is always meat, cold and hot; my swedishMeatballs, ham and of course theHerring. i developed a reallyGood swedishMeatball recipe last year that was the Biggest hit at my christmasParty; more popular than my mulledwine.

i’d like to wish everyone who reads this: God-Jul og Godt Nytt Aar!(merryChristmas and happyNew Year.)