Sunday, March 01, 2009

Happy birthday, grandmom!

mormor100

My grandmother, Astrid, would have been 100 years old today. She passed away quite a few years ago though, but I think of her often. All my early food memories are of her food - she often babysat when I was little, and often cooked for our whole family. So, today, we decided to have a real grandmom-dinner in her honor. We hung a photo of her at the head of the table, lit candles and had some lovely tulips, which was one of her favorite flowers. I made Swedish kroppkakor and we ended the meal with a very basic meringue swiss which was a real treat whenever I spent the night with her.

When my mother and aunt were little, ice cream wasn't widely available so then it was just meringues, whipped cream and homemade chocolate sauce, but when I came along, ice cream was definitely added too. Her chocolate sauce is incredibly simple, but so good - just take equal proportions of sugar, cocoa powder and cold water and whisk until smooth.

Happy birthday, grandmom. I miss you very much.

4 comments:

Dagmar said...

What a beautiful thing to do in your grandmother's honor!

Unknown said...

Hi Anne,
I am doing a Swedish no- hands- on cooking class here in Toronto in a couple of weeks. More a cooking demonstration I guess. What would you want to teach Canadians about Swedish cooking?? I am contemplating the kroppkakor as one thing. I have done gravlax and jansson's for this group before otherwise they are two good dishes to make. I am just looking for some inspiration and would appreciate input from anyone! Thanks in advance!!

Anne said...

Dagmar - we thought so :)

Anna - ooh, if you do choose kroppkakor, definitely give it a go right beforehand. I had major problems with the amount of flour today, it really depends on the potatoes you're using. I'm sure granny was laughing at me from up above, I was pretty grumpy for a while... Another idea for you is Swedish meatballs or pancakes, perhaps. :)

Anonymous said...

A beautiful woman with a beautiful name and a beautiful granddaughter. I'm glad you have such a wonderful grandmother and wonderful memories!