Where does the time go?

It doesn't help that the days are oh so much shorter but the extra hour of sleep is quite welcome! It seems like only a short while since that first day of school and beach gear being packed away and suddenly it's November! At least the weather has been good, right? I am as previously mentioned blessed with terrible weather memory and simply assume the weather's been quite decent. Please don't correct me if I'm wrong!

I do however vividly remember the Scandinavia Fair at London Olympia a couple of weekends ago. It was so lovely to see all of you who stopped by to say hello, and gave suggestions. So many new names on our emailing list, we're over the moon! And not a crumb of crispbread left! We don't want to say too much yet, but you may be able to see more of us at a Saturday market in the new year. Just watch this space!

Great Entertainment
Those who have been in London for a few years may very well have experienced this before, but it is a true gem. The Swedish University Chalmers in Gothenburg comes over with a fabulous show each year, playing for 2 nights only at the Swedish Church on Harcourt Street, November 12-13 they descend on London. For more information and tickets, go to Swedish Church website www.swedishchurch.com/ Proceeds go to supporting the Swedish Church in London (which receives very little monies from The Motherland, we should add) and is always a great evening.

Christmas is a coming...
Sorry, didn't mean to freak you out but as we established in the beginning of this letter, time flies! On November 18, 20 and 21 (n.b. not the 19th!) the traditional Christmas Fair at the Swedish Church on Harcourt Street.

And speaking of Christmas - if you haven't sorted your Lucia tickets yet, it's high time! The Westminster tickets are gone, baby, gone but the same lovely singers will be just as good at the Swedish Seaman's Church and at Ulrika Eleonora, so give your support to the Swedish Church and get a lot of Christmas cheer back!
 

Swedish Caviar (Löjrom, not the breakfast spread)
Have you tried it? It's a delicacy and if not quite as fancy as real caviar, it still holds it's own. In most recipes it's paired with soured cream or creme fraiche if you prefer, finely chopped or sliced red onion, a sliver of lemon and fresh dill. Lovely on blinis, lovely in a cold sauce to go with broiled salmon or almost any other mild fish. On your jacket potato, in those little vol-au-vents or just on a piece of white toasted and buttered bread, with the crusts off... Fresh from our own fishmonger in Kalix!

Pat-cake, pat-a-cake...
Or even better, bake some bread to go with autumnal soups and stews, or with this month's mushroom risotto recipe. We have a lot of Swedish speciality flours, as well as fresh yeast, dry yeast, various grains and lots of interesting spices. And if you still prefer to bake cakes, we have a gorgeous Cake book: Leila's Cakes!

Recipe of the Month
Chanterelle risotto
Serves 6 as a starter, or 4 as a main.
1 litre (2 pints) of stock. Preferably chicken or veal but if you want to keep it vegetarian, use good vegetable stock, but you may have to adjust the seasoning.
Olive oil
3 shallots, finely chopped, or 2 medium onions
2-3 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped
Sea salt and fresh black pepper
400g risotto rice (arborio or my favourite; 3 grain with rice, barley and spelt)
1 small wineglass of dry vermouth (extra dry martini bianco or dry, white wine)
250g mushrooms, either fresh, dried and reconstituted or tinned. 1,5-2 tins of chanterelles are just right.
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp fresh thyme (1 tbsp dried)
1/2 bunch of fresh, flat leaf parsley
1 pinch of chilli
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
70g butter
100g freshly grated parmesan.

First prepare the mushrooms. Chop and put straight into a very hot, dry pan, preferably iron. Don't put it all in at once, do them in batches, so the liquid drains away. Put the mushrooms to the side and put a generous lug of olive oil in the hot pan. Add thyme and garlic and let fry 1 minute or so. Stir so it doesn't burn. Then add the mushrooms, salt and chilli and let it fry for another couple of minutes. Take the pan off the heat, add the lemon juice and some of the parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning according to taste.

Now for the risotto. Use a nice, heavy pan and put olive oil, onion and celery in. Let it sauté until translucent and soft. Pour your glass of vermouth or wine - no tasting! - and place it next to the stove. Add the rice and crank up the heat. Stir continuously s o it doesn't burn. It's supposed to go all dry and almost crackly. When all the oil has been absorbed, add the vermouth and keep stirring. When all the fumes are gone and it's starting to look dry, it's time to add the first ladle of (warm) stock. Turn the heat down and prepare to stir and stir and stir until the risotto is done.

As you've put in your first ladle of stock - you can of course pour it in directly from a pitcher should you prefer - also add the mushrooms. When the liquid has been absorbed, add more. A little at the time and stir. It releases the starch from the rice and makes it go all creamy, rather than grainy like pilau. The slower you make it, the creamier it'll get. When most of the stock is gone, after about 20 minutes, try the rice. It's supposed to be quite firm. Add the last of the stock, turn the heat off and when that last stock is gone, add the butter in cubes, together with the fresh parmesan (and really do use fresh, that powdered stuff is vile!) and the rest of the parsley. Put the lid on, take the pot off the stove and let it rest 10-15 minuter. Serve immediately with a fresh green salad and yummy bread. It really has to rest those extra minutes, but don't save it for another day - it'll never taste as nice!

Win tickets to a movie premiere!
Swedish film maker Lukas Moodysson's first English language feature; Mammoth is released on November 5th at Odeon Covent Garden and you have the chance to be there!

Gael García Bernal (Amores Perros, Babel) and Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain, Shutter Island) star as Leo and Ellen, a successful affluent New York couple who on the surface appear to have it all until a business trip in Thailand makes them examine their own lives and their place in the world.

Lukas Moodysson has won world wide acclaim for his films "Together" and "Lilja 4ever".

Soda Pictures have a couple of tickets to the opening night to give away and a Lukas Moodysson box set. For a chance to win, simply answer this question - What was Lukas Moodysson's directorial debut? Email your name and contact details to competitions@sodapictures.com - and include your answer in the subject header. The competition closes on Monday November 1.
Lycka till!
 

Christmas is nearly here
Christmas will be here very soon and whether you are Swedish living in London, or any Londoner who has fallen for Sweden and everything that is so wonderful about our culture, we hope that you will find what you want at TotallySwedish. Here you can buy your Swedish Christmas presents to surprise your friends with. And, of course, you will find the typically Swedish Christmas food here. Please email shop@totallyswedish.com to get the Christmas order form sent to you and it will soon be up on our homepage.

Greetings from all the staff at TotallySwedish!