Tea Time!

As I near graduation I've decided that I'm not going to become another stressed out American. In Europe they don't even consider "serious" jobs until their 25 or 26 so I shouldn't either. I'm 21 and in Sweden most guys are starting their first year of college. I remember my "partner" at my first gasque was shocked when he found out I was ending school as he was beginning. Don't worry I don't plan on panhandling downtown but I won't let my happiness succumb to my ambition. I'm going to follow the Europeans and learn to enjoy breaks.

One country that does breaks tastefully well is England. I don't know if afternoon tea originated in England but they've made it an english tradition known around the world. Their menu can consist of more substantial foods such as tea sandwiches and desserts or only sweet treats. If your looking for the latter than I recommend a trip to Miette to stock your party. They have cookies, cakes, cupcakes, macaroons and other delicious treats. Any time I take a trip to the ferry building farmer's market I make a pit stop by Miette and pick up some goodies. Last time I picked up these walnut shortbread cookies that were the perfect mix of sugar and butter. They have crunch but crumble and are the perfect addition to a cup of tea. I couldn't taste the walnut but I barely noticed and it didn't bother me. They have other flavorings that would complement specific teas and the ladies that work at the store are friendly and helpful. They often comment that their cupcakes are better than Kara's cupcakes (another SF fav) so I think next time I'll pick up one those.

www.miette.com

VALBORG!

After living in Europe for 9 months I can say without a doubt, that the Europeans party harder than the Americans. Depending on the part of Europe one is in will also determine their party schedule. In Barcelona, dinner is late, followed by a siesta and then arriving at the club somewhere between 2-3 a.m. and dancing until the sun rises. In Amsterdam the schedule is similar to Americans, pre-gaming between 9-11 arriving soon after and dancing till 2. But the Scandinavian countries are unique. I never felt like more of an alcoholic until I moved to Sweden. To combat the dark, cold winter the Swedes start drinking around 5 or 6 depending on how depressing the weather is that day and dancing between 9 to 1 at the club. As the cold fades and the days become longer this changes a bit but it doesn't officially change until Valborg!

Valborg? Walpurgis, in English, is celebrated every April 30th as the arrival of Spring. What if the weather does not resemble Spring? Well then you have even more of a reason to drink! Valborg is a three day fest that involves Kvalborg, Valborg, and a national hangover the day after. May 1st is a national holiday in Sweden because EVERYONE in Sweden drinks on Valborg. Nowhere is this more evident then in Uppsala where the largest Valborg celebration takes place. As parents walk down the street they push the stroller with one hand and drink an Öl with the other and toast other families that have a champagne picnic at 9 a.m. Yep that's right, Valborg is an early celebration.

Uppsala is separated by the Fyrisån and during Valborg students ride rafts they've made down it. It is one of the highlights of Valborg and forces everyone to wake up...still drunk..and trek down to the river at 8 a.m. to find a spot and start their Champagne breakfast/picnic. Breakfast consists of pannkakor, crackers, salmon, cheese, nutella, and loads of fresh fruit. Each person also drinks an entire bottle of champagne or beer if you prefer. This means that your now intoxicated enough to stand in line for a champagnegallop. But you have to be careful because being too intoxicated could cause you to fall and get crushed by the towering Swedes. The champagnegallop is an outdoor party with loud music where you buy at least two bottles of Champage, one to spray and one to drink. It's outrageously fun and by the end of it your ready for your afternoon nap. Everyone goes home and naps for about two hours before they wake up and start getting ready to go to the nations or parties in their buildings. They then party till around 4 a.m. and sleep or fika the next day. To sum it up..It's the highlight of my year abroad.

Naturally my fellow Uppsalaites and I celebrated re-created Valborg in RoPo for another day of drunken-ness. For Kvalborg we went to Yacht club and danced the night away. We woke up with hangovers and got rid of those by drinking champagne. For our champagne breakfast we made pancakes, and had a Swedish lunch of meatballs and potatoes with lingonberry jam. Swedish meatballs are amazing and have a rich flavor to them that tastes great with the jam. The first time I ever ate Swedish meatballs in Sweden was in Ikea (ironic?) but I ate homemade ones that tasted similar to the Ikea ones. I've never tried to make them myself because Ikea sells frozen ones, but if your up to the challenge then give it a shot. I recommend trying the meatballs at any American Ikea just for the experience but they give you mashed potatoes instead of the traditional boiled potatoes, very depressing. Anyways enjoy the rest of spring and be thankful that you never experience weather that makes you drink to celebrate the end of this.

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/63/4f/b1/the-botanical-gardens.jpg

p.s. thats during the daytime

Ärtsoppa och Pannkakor

When most people hear about pea soup and pancakes their first reaction is Yuck!; but then they taste the unique combination and they're hooked or obsessed (like me). I'm sure you're wondering who would have thought to eat pea soup and pancakes together and I have no clue but I'm so thankful they did. What I did learn in Sweden is that pea soup and pancakes is the traditional lunch served on Thursdays. Schools follow this, homes follow this, even the army serves this.

I first learned about this yummy meal when I attended the reccegasque at my nation, Snerikes. At Uppsala University every student has to join one of the thirteen nations named after various regions in Sweden. When the university was originally founded these nations served as homes and communities for the students of that region. Nowadays students no longer have to be from that region to join the nation, except for Sodernmanlands-Nerikes (Snerikes). The nations have also evolved into clubs, pubs, and restaurants along with choirs, orchestras, and sports clubs. Since the exchange rate in Sweden is terrible the nations were an awesome alternative to regular clubs and restaurants and they are only for students. But lets go back to my first experience with pea soup and pancakes.

The Reccegasque is a dinner where new members of the nation learn the traditional etiquette for formal dinners called gasques. I was slightly nervous when I looked at the menu and saw pea soup and pancakes but I was seated at the table with most of the leaders of the nation and didn''t want to see like a ridiculous American. I mean I ate pea soup before I arrived in Sweden it couldn't be that different right? Well it was. The peas pureed as they are here but I think it give it more flavor. I was taken aback when the soup was served with vafflor(waffles) but when along with the Swedes and waited for the pancakes. The pancakes were served with ligonberry jam and cream. This night also began my obsession with ligonberry jam. In case you've never had Swedish pancakes they are similar to crepes not fluffy American pancakes. After my first taste of pea soup and pancakes it wasn't long before I was going to lunch every thursday at Stockholms nation for them. And if I couldn't make it for lunch the grocery store sold pea soup and I could easily make the pancakes. It became a weekly craving that I couldn't resist and have desperately missed since I returned. I've tried several brands of pea soup but the closest I've found is Amy's Organic Split Pea soup. It's the closest in flavor and consistency. And it's easy to find a recipe for Swedish pancakes on the internet because they're made of flour, eggs, and milk and the key is to make them thin. I was never a fan of the cream so I leave it out when I make it but ligonberry jam can be picked up at Ikea.

If your still skeptical then try it and I swear you'll change your mind.

Happy St. Patty's Day..A few days late

St. Patty's Day is my second favorite holiday of the year, after my birthday of course. Yes, that's right I enjoy St. Pat's more than Christmas. And yes one of the reasons is the green beer that you see in the picture to the left. But the main reason I love St. Patrick's Day is because I celebrate it on two days and have been for most of my life.

Like most major cities San Francisco has a parade the weekend before St. Patrick's day or on the actual day and it is a day of festivities and celebrations. I remember going a few times as a kid but ever since high school I've gone every single year. (With the exception of last year, when I was in Sweden but I made sure to celebrate hard.) In the years since high school it has become a sort of reunion where all us San Francisco kids take a break from college life and return to remember how we all became friends in the first place. Yet this year St. Patty's day meant more to me than wearing green, getting drunk and celebrating with old friends. This time it brought me back to that crazy weekend in Dublin with my newest friends.

I still remember when Adam called me and asked if I wanted to go to Dublin for the weekend. I was working on my first paper of the semester, suffering from writer's block when this opportunity started ringing. Ireland was on my list of places to go so I jumped at the chance and bought my plane ticket. We wanted to find some more people to go with and as luck would have it my two crazy Aussies, Sunil and Michael, were already going that weekend. I instantly knew this would be an AMAZING time.

On my first day in Ireland I went to Powerscourt House outside of Dublin. It's a centuries-old estate with beautiful gardens that range of Asian influence to English roses. After spending an afternoon wondering around Adam and I decided to grab lunch at the terrace cafe that lets you overlook the huge lake on the grounds. Everything in the cafe looks wonderful but I couldn't resist the scones. I definitely enjoyed my decision. I don't know about you guys but I have a hard time finding really enjoyable scones in the U.S. Most of the time I don't think they are flaky enough, or they're too sweet. Like the starbuck's scones definitely not flaky, more like crispy and since when do scones come with a glaze? After that first scone in Ireland, I decided to utilize my time in the land of scones to find other delicious scones. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. But I began to think about when the next time I would be treated to flaky, buttery, fruity scones and realized either next time I came to Ireland or as soon as I returned home.

Home? you may be thinking..Yes home because I know of a wonderful Irish bakery about 10 blocks from my house. John Campbells's has about 5 different types of scones, irish soda bread, mince meat pies and just about any other type of Irish food you could want. O and if your thirsty it's right next to a bar called the Blarney Stone. Every so often I'll take a stroll down to John Campbell's and get an egg custard tart or scone but on the day of the parade I rushed down there. I wanted to make sure I started out my celebration of St. Patrick with the proper Irish food and a little something in my tummy to absorb that alcohol. I meant to take a picture of my blueberry scone to share with you all but I inhaled my scone in my excitement. :) Guess you'll just have to wait until I go home again or next time your in SF venture to the SAVenues and treat yourself to a taste of Ireland.

Swedish Cravings

This week I was experiencing two things...Swedish cravings and a lack of money. Well actually I'm saving my money for the upcoming St. Patty's day festivities but it through a kink in my blog this week. Anyways so I had to think of a cheap way to get over my swedish craving and realized Ikea could solve this problem. Ikea sells some of the few key staples in any Swedish diet and is the perfect place to go when your Swedish meatball craving becomes worse than appendicitis. The best part is that Ikea's meatballs are amazing so you never leave feeling unsatisfied or you can buy a bag of frozen meatballs so your craving can be satisfied anytime.

When you order meatballs, it is served with boiled potatoes and ligonberry jam. If you've ever ordered swedish pancakes anywhere in the US then you may have been introduced to ligonberry jam or butter and i'm sure your hooked. If you haven't then RUN to ikea so that you can be introduced to the joy that is ligonberry jam. It can be eaten with meat, potatoes, pancakes, bread whatever it is just really delicious. When I lived in Sweden I would go through a jar a month because I would eat it constantly and I'm devastated that it's not widely available here. Sometimes I think to myself that I should harass my local Safeway into carrying it but I'm a little too shy for that.

After enjoying my ligonberry jam, I snacked on some pepparkakor. Translated pepparkakor means ginger cookie and they are gingersnaps. These cookies are sold all year round in the stores but they are most popular during the Christmas season. I used to eat them every thursday after I finished my pea soup and pancakes. Every thursday I would go to Stockhoms nation and eat pea soup and pancakes and for dessert have coffee and pepparkakor. The swedes eat pepparkakor with everything from butter to bleu cheese (yes bleu cheese) but it's delicious all on its own. I bought a massive tin of pepparkakor at Christmas time from cost plus and my roommates and I have been enjoying it ever since. Now the amount of pepparkakor is dwindling but never fear there are plenty of stores that sell gingersnaps such as Cost Plus, Ikea, and some Safeways.

I wouldn't say my Swedish craving is completely satisfied, my stomach is begging for pankakor so I think tomorrow morning I'll whip up swedish pancakes with ligonberry jam and maybe this week you'll get a two-for-one on the blog posts!

Gelato

If you can't tell from the picture or the title of the blogpost this weeks goal was to find gelato that took me back to the million times I had gelato in Italy. Gelato is the ice cream of Italy. It has a few differences from regular ice cream that I don't care to get into on the blog but to sum it up, it is a lot creamier than regular ice cream. I also think that you can taste the flavors more than most types of ice cream except for Swedish ice cream which is the best in the world. Anyone that's been to Italy will tell you that YOU NEED to try gelato in Italy, but be warned you will become addicted and possibly substitute real food for gelato or just go Eat, Pray, Love style and gain 10 pounds.

When I was in Italy for 2 1/2 weeks I definitely had the best gelato in Florence. I can't remember the name of the place but it was near the Duomo and off the main street. Hopefully with those vague descriptions you'll find it and be in heaven. If not, chances are the store 2 blocks down is just as delicious! I wish I could say the same for America, but there aren't gelato stores every few blocks and even worse it's not as delicious.

This week I went to a gelato store in Rohnert Park called Del Secco's on the recommendation of a friend. She's been to Italy and said that this gelato was just as delicious but I'm sorry she lied. I went there with one of my roommates, another italian gelato lover and she was also disappointed. While the flavor of the gelato is amazing the texture is the turn-off. Rather than creamy, it tasted grainy which may or may not have been added sugar. I'm debating whether or not to give this place another shot or just try Powell's in Petaluma. Who knows? I may even try it this weekend so look out for an update!

Pizza Napoletana

Sorry the picture is a little blurry but I was so excited to eat the pizza that I forgot to take a picture before I started eating and did it in a rush! Now onto the details!

Naples is the birthplace of pizza. I'm not exactly sure when it was birthed but "Google" pizza and I'm sure a Wikipedia article will show up explaining it all. In my opinion pizza is one of the greatest culinary dishes of all time because it's base is dough and and you can literally add anything you want on top and call it pizza. Nowhere in the world does this better than Europe. I remember my third night in Sweden where I went to dinner with my friends and we were going to split a pizza until a swede informed us that it may be better to share two since these pizzas were thin. If we wanted thick crust they had it but it was called Americansk pizza. Yes thats right, pizza wasn't intended to have thick crust, that was one of America's takes on this dish. Anyways, they have so many different types of pizza that it's impossible to choose because of the random combinations but there is nothing compared to the classic Margherita pizza. A Margherita pizza is just mozzarella, basil and tomato sauce; it's simple but sensational! Naturally since Naples is the birthplace of pizza when I visited Naples in December 2008 I HAD to try pizza Napoletana. Ironically, when I visited Naples with my friends Leah and Alex we stayed with some Americans in the Navy so we got an Americanized Naples experience. This also made it difficult to try some pizza because we were busy enjoying all the American amenities we missed the past 4 months. Finally, on our last night we got that taste of Neopolitan pizza. We hopped in the car, sped down the highway because people drive like maniacs in Naples and took a turn toward the country. As we traveled down this country rode I started thinking about how many people the mafia has buried here because I recognized this area as being out in the boonies. We continued along and passed a castle the French had built when they occupied that part of Italy and drove until we saw this sign for a farm. This farm also had a restaurant and all the food served there came straight from the farm. Every single dish was delicious and in true family-style fashion, the portions were made to share. Yet the pizza was devoured by Leah and I mostly because we were so excited for it and it was worth every carb. I am happy to say I have found another pizza closer to me that is also worthy of being true Neopolitan Pizza.

Tony's Pizza Napoletana is in North Beach in San Francisco, Ca. This restaurant opened in 2009 and had high expectations since Tony's pizza has won awards in the Pizza World Cup, in Naples Italy for several years. The restaurant opened to rave reviews and last Friday I went home to try it. By the way, even if you don't live in San Francisco this pizza is so amazing that it is worth the drive. The prices range from $17-$51 dollars for a pizza but that is expected for delicious pizza. The ambiance didn't bring me back to Naples but the people at the restaurant were friendlier than the people of Naples so it makes up for it. Besides nowhere in the world is like Naples so I doubt anywhere could recreate that ambiance. The pizza is perfectly thin and the crust is not too thin. Through the flavors of the pizza it is easy to tell that all ingredients used are fresh. In addition to trying the margherita pizza, I tasted the truffle pizza (the most expensive pizza on the menu) that featured truffles imported from Italy and Cowgirl Creamery cheese. It was delicious as well, but it was a rich pizza. Overall I say that on your first trip order the margherita pizza because it's amazing and it's important to try the pizza's from the wood-burning oven. Also be sure to get there early because it get's packed reallll fast.