I’m sharing my great-grandmother’s recipes for Swedish meatballs and rice pudding. Christmas dishes that are no longer reserved for Christmas because we like them that much.
Family Recipes
Tradition: A Swedish Cranberry Dessert
Thanksgiving on the Farm As my family and I sat down at the table to celebrate Thanksgiving, I felt a warmth wash over me as I gazed around the room. Here we were, sitting around the table as a family on the farm that my Swedish ancestors homesteaded in 1884, our chairs sat on the wood floors that my great-great-grandparents walked on over 100 years ago, “Come Lord Jesus” is a prayer that we would soon be reciting together – a prayer that was said by my ancestors, and the delicious homemade food we were about to eat came from recipes that have stood the test of time. Traditions Tradition: “the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction”. Traditions are more than things that are passed down through the generations. Oh yes! They are much more than that. Traditions have a way of dredging up memories, of allowing you to live in the past – if only for a fleeting moment, and of surrounding you with warmth, happiness, and contentedness. My son and I were both diagnosed with celiac disease (part of our Swedish genetics we’re not so fond of), so for the past three years we were unable to eat stuffing, green bean casserole, and cranberry salad due to the gluten in the dishes. Because of this, Thanksgiving didn’t feel complete. Over the past few years, my family has learned to make all things gluten free, so this Thanksgiving, my son and I would get to indulge in the foods we had been missing. Finally! A complete Thanksgiving meal. A Cranberry Treat The cranberry salad was the dish I was looking forward to eating the most. This salad is more of a dessert, so I’m not sure why we call it a salad. Although, I have a feeling this article explains it well: Minnesota: Land of 10,000 Dessert Salads. Or, maybe we simply call it a salad so it sounds a little more appropriate to serve as a side dish with the main meal (as we serve pumpkin and apple pie for dessert). Sneaky, I know. Hey! We only do this once a year. Layers of crumbled graham crackers, jellied cranberries, and sweetened whipped cream make this sweet, but tart dish a treat. My mother recently told me that my great-grandma Falk served this dish at Thanksgiving, and the family has continued to make it every year. After hearing this, I Googled the ingredients that are in my great-grandma’s cranberry salad, and read that this particular dish is a Swedish dessert. Research is one of my favorite hobbies, so I contacted a few relatives who live in Sweden to ask about this cranberry dish. One was able to confirm that our favorite cranberry salad is in fact an old Swedish dessert called “giftas” (pronounced ‘yiftas’). So, maybe the recipe was actually brought over to the United States by my great-great-great grandparents when they emigrated from Sweden. Either way, giftas is a special dessert – a Thanksgiving tradition that evokes warm memories, satisfied smiles, and allows us to step back in time for just a moment. I leave you with my great-grandmother’s giftas recipe (or is it my great-great-great-grandmother’s?): Giftas Recipe Crumble 10 oz. of graham crackers (about two packages of regular graham crackers). My kids and I made homemade gluten-free graham crackers. If you would like the recipe for the gluten-free crackers, you can find it here. We crumbled the entire recipe, and had about 1/2 c. of graham cracker crumbles left over. Our chickens enjoyed a little Thanksgiving treat. Growing up, my family used to crush the graham crackers using a rolling pin, but now a food processor finishes the job in less than a minute. Tecnhnology – a blessing or not? Whip a quart of heavy whipping cream on high until soft peaks form. Sweeten the cream by adding a 1/4 c. of powdered sugar, and 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract (or in our case – 3-4 teaspoons as we can’t get enough vanilla flavoring). Mash three – 14 oz. cans of jellied cranberries. Using a clear serving bowl, layer the graham cracker, cranberries, and whipping cream, paying particular attention to making sure the layers show on the outside of the bowl. Finish the gifta with a layer of whipping cream and add sprinkles of graham cracker crumbs on the top. Ingredients 10 oz. of graham cracker crumbles (about two packages) 1 qt. heaving whipping cream 1/4 c. powdered sugar 2 t. pure vanilla extract 3 – 14 oz. cans of jellied cranberries Do you have favorite traditions or foods that make your holidays special? I would love for you to share them. Skål! – Cheers!
Mom’s Quick and Easy Homemade Tomato Soup
By the middle of May, here in Minnesota, our average high is 70F. This weekend we had several inches of rain with temperatures between 40F and 50F. Now, I’m not one to stay inside on a typical day, rain or shine. In fact, I very much believe in dressing for the weather and enjoying the outdoors regardless, but the cold rain this weekend (after we had beautiful, sunny weather in the 80’s) seemed to incapacitate me. All I could think of was Mom’s homemade tomato soup. The perfect comfort food on a chilly, rainy day. Family time, family history, and family traditions have always been very important to me. Family recipes are just as special. There is nothing better than those delicious family recipes that have been passed down through the generations. They are special not only because they are delicious (Hey, we keep them around for a reason, right?), but because of the memories that come along with those recipes. I grew up in a family that always enjoyed having a vegetable garden. We spent our short, Minnesota growing season planting, weeding, harvesting, and enjoying the fruits of our labor. Tomatoes were one of our favorite, and we were always sure to harvest all of the green tomatoes in the fall before the frost touched our precious fruit. After harvest, we would let them ripen in the sun on the deck and bring them in at night to protect them from the freezing temperatures. This practice has always led to an over-abundance of tomatoes in the fall. Definitely more than we could eat. Alas, have no fear! Once our harvest ripened on the deck, we would wash, core, and freeze our mass of tomatoes. What a treat it was when Mom took a package of frozen tomatoes out of the freezer in the middle of winter to cook them up in her delicious tomato soup! Today, I enjoy doing the same for my family. Homemade tomato soup is one of my family’s favorite meals, and they were all more than happy to sip the delicious soup on this cold, rainy weekend. Last year, we had a great growing season for tomatoes, which evidently resulted in quite a few extra tomatoes. Here it is the middle May and we still have a drawer full of frozen tomatoes in the downstairs freezer. Alright, onto the tomato soup. To begin the soup, pick 8-10 tomatoes and remove the skins. My favorite part about working with frozen tomatoes is a trick my mother taught me back when I would help her make tomato soup: All you need to do to remove the tomato skin is run the frozen tomatoes under warm water and the skin will literally fall off. How easy is that? Dice up one onion. Start heating four cups of milk at a low temperature and add one-to-two tablespoons of flour. Meanwhile, cook the tomatoes and onion at a simmer until the mixture is reduced by at least half (or, if you let the tomatoes thaw before cooking, you can dump out the water before cooking). Once the milk begins to boil, add a pad of butter and boil for a few more minutes. As soon as the milk mixture and tomato mixture are ready, add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to the tomatoes and stir until well-mixed (the soda will neutralize the acid of the tomatoes so the milk will not curdle). Enjoy the bubble show that ensues (my children love this part)! Once the tomato mixture is all bubbly from the baking soda, slowly pour the boiling milk into the tomato mixture and stir. Immediately remove the soup from the heat (heating the soup after the milk is added could also cause the milk to curdle). Salt and pepper the soup to taste and serve immediately with your favorite soup crackers! The taste of homegrown tomatoes in the winter and spring is something that is very hard to come by in MN, so this soup is especially delicious when vine-ripened tomatoes are locally unavailable. The next time you have more tomatoes than you can eat, freeze them, and enjoy them in a hot, homemade bowl of tomato soup! Recipe Ingredients: 8-10 tomatoes, skinned 1 onion, diced 4 c. milk 1-2 T. flour rubbed smooth in very little cold milk 1 T. butter 1/2 t. baking soda salt and pepper to taste Directions: Put the skinned tomatoes into a stew pot with the onion and cook until soft and reduced by half. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat the milk over low heat and add the flour (rubbed smooth in very little cold milk). Add butter when milk begins to boil and continue to boil for a few minutes. Next, add the soda to tomato mixture once reduced. Stir well and add the boiling milk. Do not cook after milk is added. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with crackers. Enjoy!