Cecilie's Journal

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Shrove buns.. food tradition...

In the Christian calendar today is Shrove Tuesday, the English name for the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which in turn marks the beginning of Lent. In Ireland, Australia, and Canada, Shrove Tuesday is known as 'Pancake Tuesday', while in Britain it is popularly known as 'Pancake Day'. In both regions the traditional pancake is a very thin one (like a French crêpe) which is served immediately sprinkled with caster sugar (superfine sugar in the United States) and a dash of fresh lemon juice or alternatively drizzled with Golden syrup. In the Canadian province of Newfoundland.. household objects are baked into the pancakes and served to family members. Rings, thimbles, thread, coins, and other objects all have meanings associated with them. The lucky one to find coins in their pancake will be rich, the finder of the ring will be the first married, and the finder of the thimble will be a seamstress or tailor. Children have great fun with the tradition and often eat more than their fill of pancakes in search of a desired object. Pancakes are eaten to use up milk and eggs, which are not eaten during Lent, and would otherwise spoil during this period. In Iceland the day is known as 'Sprengidagur' (Bursting day) and is marked with the eating of salt meat and peas.

In Sweden Shrove Tuesday is known, just as in France, as 'Fat Tuesday', or Fettisdagen in Swedish. The day is marked by eating traditional Swedish pastry, called Semla. A semla is a traditional Swedish pastry. The name derives from the Latin semilia, which was the name used for the finest quality wheat flour. There are many different ways to eat a semla and several different names for it, but the most common way today is to have the bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream and a lid of the bun covered with icing sugar. It is traditional that the pastry is consumed on 'Fat Tuesday', but it is seasonally available from New Year's until the start of Lent. Each Swede consumes on average five pieces of the pastry each year.. not including the ones that are home made. King Adolf Frederick of Sweden died of digestion problems on February 12, 1771 after consuming a meal consisting of lobster, caviar, sour cabbage, smoked herring and champagne that was topped off by 14 servings of his favourite dessert hetvägg, which is a semla served in a bowl of hot milk.

Semlor have a culture all to themselves. They are so much more than just a bun. In fact there are fiercely-contested 'Best in Test' competitions pitting city cafés against each other in a kind of annual regional semla Oscars. A winning semla should be a light golden brown bun and about 10 cm across. The 'lid' is preferably triangular and properly sprinkled with powdered sugar. It should sit squarely on its cream bed. The whipped cream shouldn't overspill the edges and should rise 2-3 cm.. just so your nose doesn't dip when eating. But aesthetics will only take a semla so far.. the proof is in the taste test. According to experts.. the bread mustn't be too dense and should be lightly sweetened. The whipped cream ought to be hand-whipped and lightly sweetened as well. Traditionally the cream is unsweetened but our modern aficionados seem to have developed a sweet tooth. The almond paste of about 2 teaspoons should be placed in the dead centre and should absolutely not be bitter. There's even a semla academy in Gothenburg. They have their own established minimum standards.

The National Encyclopaedia asserts that the semlor we know and love today were first introduced in the early 20th century. Originally in the 18th century buns were boiled in milk which gave way in the 19th century with the addition of sugar and cinnamon. Before the evolutionary jump at the beginning of the last century, the wheat buns lacked the whipped cream but were served with warm milk instead. This tradition of serving semlor in a bowl of warm milk is still a favourite semla-eating rite. Perhaps the ultimate mark of the humble semla's place in Swedish tradition is that they have a food conservation regulation exemption all to themselves. Normally all baked goods containing cream must be refrigerated.. but not semlor. And anything which can run roughshod over Swedish bureaucracy like that is far more than just a cream bun.. it's a national treasure.

Posted at 7:38:42 am by Sophie Cecilie
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Friday, February 24, 2006

Smear campaign.. by Social Democrats...

A member of staff at the Social Democrats' party headquarters was behind an e-mail smear campaign targeting the leader of the Moderate Party. The Social Democrats' party secretary has apologised, but the opposition leaders have said that they believe the campaign was organised.. and that they fear a dirty election fight. From a sender called 'The Week's Gossip', a series of emails accused the leader of the Moderate Party, Reinfeldt, for tax fraud, false financial declarations and of getting his political position only with his father's influence. The campaign has been going on for several weeks and began with messages to Reinfledt asking for a comment on the allegations. Then the emails began streaming in to political journalists and newspapers' letters pages. The objective was clearly to discredit the Moderates' leader and to identify the sender, the party turned to the Swedish parliament's security department. They examined Reinfeldt's computer and went into a web site where you can search for IP addresses. There they found that it was an address linked to the Social Democrats' headquarters.

Yesterday the Social Democrats tried to trace who at the party HQ was behind the campaign. With help from the Moderate Party the Social Democrats have been able to ascertain that it was unfortunately a colleague at the Social Democrats' party office who has sent this email. According to the party secretary, only one person was involved. She was unwilling to reveal whether it was a senior worker or what the consequences would be. She apologised and said that the incident was completely unacceptable and 'contrary to the party's political culture and ethical rules'. Reinfeldt viewed the campaign as more sinister. He said it was a 'definitive' sign that the election would be dirty and that the Social Democrats would try to attack him personally. And he was not buying the suggestion that the e-mails were produced by a loose canon in the Social Democrats. Reinfeldt stated that this has been an organised campaign and that it has been ongoing for a long time. The other conservative party leaders expressed their suspicions. The Christian Democrats' said he found it hard to believe that one individual alone was behind the e-mails. The leader of the Centre Party agreed that the campaign was probably coordinated from on high.

According to several news polls.. if Sweden went to election now, the alliance would win the election and Reinfeldt would be mantling the leadership. This incident did more damage than good to the Social Democrats to win votes.

Posted at 12:46:39 pm by Sophie Cecilie
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Thursday, February 23, 2006

Equality legislation leading to.. increasing reports of discrimination...

The number of Swedish men who believe they have been discriminated on the basis of their gender has increased dramatically, according to the equality ombudsman's office, Jämo. On July 1st last year an amendment was made to the law against discrimination, specifically banning gender discrimination. This has led to a rapid rise in the number of incidents reported by men, who were previously under-represented. Of 56 cases reported under the new amendment, 45 concerned complaints made by men. Added to a series of complaints under the previous legislation, Jämo is now handling a total of 82 incidents reported by men in 2005, compared to just 23 the year before. The complaints include different age restrictions for men and women for entry into bars and higher prices for dating services. 13 complaints concern Sweden's social services, labour market policies and unemployment benefits. However, none of them has yet been brought before the courts. In total, Jämo received 235 reports of discrimination last year under the three laws which the ombudsman is responsible for supervising. 171 of those complaints were made with reference to equality legislation. 65 incidents concerned employment conditions, usually salary. That is a marked increase on the year before when only 36 such matters were reported.

Most cases still centre on women who are dissatisfied with wage differences in their workplace. The next largest category, with 55 complaints in 2005, deals with companies' recruitment procedures. Trial periods cut short, dismissals and transfers accounted for 27 complaints, which included cases of women who were not able to return to continue their work due to pregnancy. Jämo closed 197 cases last year. In 79 of those the conclusion was that there was no discrimination.. or no evidence of it. Four cases were brought before the labour courts. Jämo won three of those and lost a case where a female employee of the army claimed to have been bullied by her colleagues. It's interesting to see the statistic rise among men reporting discrimination since the amendment last year. But most cases are still made by women and overall have the number of reports on discrimination in total increased.. which may lead to the conclusion that the equality legislation seams not to be that effective as it suppose to be, unfortunately. Or if we look at it in another angle.. due to the amendment people can exercise their right because it covers more areas and thereby the increasing reports of discrimination.

Posted at 8:13:26 am by Sophie Cecilie
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Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Solving old crimes with.. advance DNA testing...

The coat worn by Swedish prime minister Olof Palme on the night of his assassination 20 years ago is to undergo advanced DNA testing in Britain and Germany, was reported last week. Palme was strolling down a busy Stockholm street on the night of February 28, 1986, with his wife Lisbet after an evening at the cinema when an unidentified assailant gunned him down. According to witnesses, Palme's murderer approached him from behind, and laid his hand on his shoulder before shooting him. Police now believe that Palme's coat could bear traces of the killer's DNA and adding that this could lead to his identification. The coat will be analyzed with help from the Forensic Science Service in Birmingham, England, and Germany's central police laboratory in Wiesbaden. The attacker fled up a stairway over a tunnel. Despite tons of thousands of tips and leads since the crime, the murder has never been solved and the weapon.. a 357 Magnum revolver, has never been found.

It's really interesting how the DNA testing has developed during the last few years and how unsolved crimes several years later might be solved by this advance technique. DNA evidence was used in the solving of Helene murder case and the man is now in prison. Palme's case being solved two decades later is and would be something amazing in Swedish crime history. It has also been talk about changing the 25 year period of limitation on such cases like murder.. to not have a limitation at all. I think that's reasonable, because if a killer can be convicted he/she shouldn't get away with it due to that the time has run out. I hope there'll be enough of DNA on the coat so the murder will finally be solved.

Posted at 7:13:25 am by Sophie Cecilie
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Tuesday, February 21, 2006

One more week until it's.. Shrove Tuesday...

Shrove Tuesday is a day of celebration as well as penitence, because it's the last day before Lent. Lent is a time of abstinence.. of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself and to use up the foods that aren't allowed in Lent. Giving up foods.. but not wasting them. In the old days there were many foods that observant Christians would not eat during Lent... foods such as meat and fish, fats, eggs, and milky foods. So that no food was wasted, families would have a feast on the shriving Tuesday and eat up all the foods that wouldn't last the forty days of Lent without going off.

The need to eat up the fats gave rise to the French name Mardi Gras.. meaning fat Tuesday. Pancakes became associated with Shrove Tuesday as they were a dish that could use up all the eggs, fats and milk in the house with just the addition of flour. The origin of pancake racing are thought to have begun in 1445. A woman had lost track of the time on Shrove Tuesday, and was busy cooking pancakes in her kitchen. Suddenly she heard the church bell ringing to call the faithful to church for confession. The woman raced out of her house and ran all the way to church.. still holding her frying pan and wearing her apron. One of the most famous pancake races is held at Olney in Buckinghamshire over a 415 yard course. The rules are strict; contestants have to toss their pancake at both the start and the finish, as well as wearing an apron and a scarf. The race is followed by a church service.

Shrove Sunday is celebrated seven weeks before Easter. The official Shrovetide starts two days later, on Shrove Tuesday (US Mardi Gras). The next day, Ash Wednesday, is the beginning of the 40 weekday Lent for Easter, which has been followed by Roman Catholics since the 600's. Although The Reformation removed the demand for Lent in Sweden and Shrovetide became more like a peasant celebration, many traditions, beliefs and customs related to Lent, remained with the Swedish people. Men where not allowed to handle edged tools or make noisy work and women had to stop household duties early, as it was believed that this would ensure household activities would run smoothly for the rest of the year. Food on Shrove Tuesday had to be fatty. The more fat that shined on peoples fingers, the more fat the pigs would become during the year. The Continental celebrations for Shrovetide came to Scandinavia in the 1500's. Masquerades do not take place here as much as in Central-Europe, but it is not an unknown tradition. Nowadays, the most common tradition for Shrove Tuesday is to eat delicious Shrove Buns.

Posted at 7:18:37 am by Sophie Cecilie
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Saturday, February 18, 2006

Europe's sexiest male and female vegetarians...

Europe's sexiest female and male vegetarians have been crowned by PETA. A big congratulation to Stéphanie Rebato (France) and Ross Minett (Scotland). To see all the others in the competition visit PETA.. click here. Are you thinking about going veggie..? Why not order the vegetarian starter kit for free.. click here.

Here's an easy made vegetable gulasch (2-3 servings) that I like to do at this time of the year.. with following ingredients... one can with crushed tomatoes, 2 1/2 dl cream, 1/2 dl water, one vegetable stock cube, 2 tbs balsam-vinegar, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1/2-3/4 tsp salt and 3 dl chopped fresh or frozen vegetables of your favourite choice. Quick to do and the hot gulasch taste delicious a cold winter's day. Try it out...

Currently listening to:
At Last
By Cyndi Lauper

Posted at 2:43:08 pm by Sophie Cecilie
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Science.. dolphins and fashion...

Do dolphins have a sense of humor..? Yes, according to new science the mollusc are almost like we humans. It sounds like a whistle when they giggle and it was first recorded by a underwater microphone connected to a speaker, but the dolphin giggle can actually be heard by ear. Also when a dolphin is angry it apparently gives a short squeaking sound. Another news with dolphins are their ability with ultrasound. Pregnant women swims with dolphins in Peru. The ultrasonic waves are alleged to stimulate the unborn baby's brain. It's a new kind of high-frequence dolphin therapy which can be registered by the baby's brain, when he/she is lying in the womb. The sound is supposed to stimulate the baby's brain activity and auditory organ. This sounds really interesting, but the research is still in its early phase.

From one science to another.. fashion. At the Stockholm university students will be able to take a master course in fashion science. Isn't that pretty cool or what. According to the professor, fashion is not only something superficial.. it's a part of our culture and has an own language too. The course will be transgress and contain history of art, social anthropology and business economics. A donation from the family Erling-Persson's fund of 30 million Swedish kronor has made it possible for the university to start this new subject. The donation covers the expenses for a seven year professorship that will research on what factors are setting the trends. Will be interesting to read the dissertation on this subject when it's finished.. in spring 2013.

Posted at 7:10:02 am by Sophie Cecilie
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Friday, February 17, 2006

Jail for Marcus Gabrielsen's killers...

Three men have been found guilty by the Svea Court of Appeal of causing the death of the 29 year old Marcus Gabrielsen on Kungsgatan in central Stockholm last spring. The men were sentenced to four years' imprisonment for serious assault and manslaughter. On May 9th 2005 Marcus and a friend were chased after asking one of the attackers not to urinate in a doorway on the busy Stockholm street. They ran from one side of Kungsgatan to the other, where Gabrielsen was either brought to the ground or fell, hitting his head on a concrete wall. Witnesses told police that they saw several men kicking and hitting Gabrielsen as he lay on the ground. Despite the fact there were many people on Kungsgatan at the time, nobody came to Gabrielsen's aid and he was left unconscious. He died in hospital two days later.

In the original trial a 19 year old man was sentenced to a year's imprisonment for assault, after he admitted kicking Gabrielsen when he was on the ground. But there was no murder conviction due to a lack of forensic and witness evidence at the trial. Another 19 year old was given a suspended sentence for assaulting Gabrielsen's friend, while the third man was freed.

In the appeal trial, the prosecutor again attempted to show that the men were guilty of murder. However, it was not proven that the three defendants had caused Gabrielsen to fall. On the other hand, they were all shown to have taken part in the deliberate attack which led to his death. But it was not certain that the men would have continued the attack on Gabrielsson if they had realised that he would die. Intent to kill could therefore not be proven, said the Court of Appeal in its verdict. Violent blows to the head do not carry the same risk of causing death as, for example, use of a gun or knife. But, wrote the court, they nevertheless present a considerable risk to the victim's health and life.

To read prior entry on the Marcus Gabrielsen case I made in July.. click here.

Posted at 1:15:20 pm by Sophie Cecilie
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The deadly H5N1.. knocking on the Scandinavian door...

The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu will likely arrive in Sweden with migratory birds in a couple of months, the head of the National Board of Health and Welfare wrote in a statement earlier this week. The bird flu will probable be discovered among the thousands of migratory birds that will be caught and tested on the Baltic Sea island of Öland this spring, according to the general director of Sweden's national health board. In addition to the danger from migratory birds, which could potentially infect Sweden's tame poultry stocks, the national health board cautioned that smuggled birds or humans already carrying the virus could also bring the deadly bird flu strain into the Scandinavian country. The H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus has killed about 90 people in Asia, Turkey and northern Iraq and has recently been detected in wild swans in Italy, Greece, Bulgaria and Slovenia. It is not unthinkable that we soon will have cases of H5N1 even closer to Sweden, and there is a risk that the virus will reach our country, the national health board stated.. going on to call for the deadly bird flu strain to be included on the Swedish list of communicable diseases that must be reported to authorities. H5N1 is a dangerous disease, both for birds and humans.. and needs to be regarded as such.

Just two days later after the statement by the National Board of Health and Welfare... it has been confirmed that two dead swans found in the Baltic Sea 100km from the southern tip of Sweden were carrying the deadly H5N1 virus. The discovery by the German authorities on the island of Rügen was swiftly followed by a decision by the Swedish Board of Agriculture to introduce emergency measures from Wednesday morning. All Swedish poultry which is not already indoors must be taken inside. If that is impossible then they must be fed and watered protected under a roof. There will also be restrictions on the display of poultry.

The virus has reached the vicinity of Sweden earlier than expected and it can't be ruled out the possibility that swans from Sweden were on Rügen. Experts had expected the H5N1 virus to arrive in the Baltic between mid-March and mid-May. Therefore it's remarkable that the disease is already here. It could be that the cold in the Balkans has made the birds migrate earlier, but it could also mean that the virus is more widespread than the experts thought. The restrictions in Sweden apply not only to commercial poultry but also to all private owners of hens and other fowl. The H5N1 strain, which has killed about 90 people in Asia, Turkey and northern Iraq, has also been detected in wild birds and poultry in Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Croatia, Italy and Greece. No human cases have been reported so far in Europe. Sweden also ordered poultry inside late last year after the deadly disease first arrived in Europe, but at that time the restrictions only applied to the Stockholm region in the east of the country and the Gothenburg region in the southwest.

Posted at 7:22:39 am by Sophie Cecilie
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Thursday, February 16, 2006

Swedish prize for.. Aung San Suu Kyi...

Myanmar's imprisoned pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be awarded the Olof Palme Prize 2005 for her democratic efforts... 'Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is awarded the Olof Palme Prize 2005 for her unyielding fight for a democratic Burma (Myanmar)', the Olof Palme Memorial Fund said in a statement. The prize, which was established a year after Sweden's then prime minister was shot dead on a busy Stockholm street on the night of February 28, 1986, is usually awarded on Palme's birthday, January 30. But this year, due to the 20th anniversary, the prize will be handed over on the day of Palme's death.

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won elections in 1990 but was never allowed to govern. Its offices have been shut down by the country's military junta and she has never had the opportunity to receive the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize awarded her in Oslo in 1991. Suu Kyi has had virtually no contact with the outside world since her last detention period began in May 2003. Her house arrest was last extended by six months in December. She have invited Aung San Suu Kyi to come, but due to her house arrest she will not be able to. Suu Kyi's first cousin and the prime minister of her exiled government, Sein Win, would accept the award and the prize money of 50,000 dollars (41,400 euros) on her behalf. Previous winners of the prize include former Czech president Vaclev Havel and human rights group Amnesty International.

Waking up to:
The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner
By Ben Folds Five

Posted at 7:15:31 am by Sophie Cecilie
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