What a busy last couple of days. I wish I could say that it was all happy Christmas preparations, but alas it involved some stress on the family front, but hopefully that will resolve itself in time.

The Lucia concert on Wednesday evening was beautiful and we were lucky enough to get a front row seat, so to speak and enjoyed listening to the girls singing. This year, they chose to stay with only the Swedish traditional favourites and that decision was a big hit with those of us there. The girls sang unaccompanied and had fine, strong and sweet voices as well as perfect harmony. We came away feeling very uplifted and at peace, enjoying our walk home under a cold, clear and star filled sky.




Yesterday began with a series of phonecalls and the upshot of those is that we will have to drive 600 kilometres to Malmö between Christmas and New Year in order to help out one of Lars-Göran's daughters. This is a terrible time of the year to drive as it gets dark so early, the roads can be wet, icy or snowy and I really don't want to go. However, as every parent knows, there are some times when you have to help out and this is one of those times.

So the afternoon was spent trying to arrange a car and seeing if one of our friends down there could let us stay the night. That is the only bright spot in all of this - the chance to see my friend Liz and her family. They stayed with us a couple of years back and we went down once for Thanksgiving, so it will be great to say hello again, even if it's just for the night. And I know one little girl in Flyinge who will be over the moon at the thought that Lambi will be staying.

No sooner had we finalised all of that, when we learned that Lars-Göran's mum was back in hospital. I haven't spoken about her since we got home, but she has not had a happy time. First, the home carers managed to break one of her ankles several weeks ago while dressing her, requiring a trip to the hospital and having plaster applied. A couple of weeks after she got home from that, they failed to secure her properly in her wheelchair and she slid off it, falling to the floor and hitting her head on the table on the way down. Another trip to hospital with concussion, bruising etc.

Yesterday was meant to be a routine trip to x-ray the ankle and see if the plaster could come off. But they discovered that her hip was also broken! We suspect that this was the result of the fall from her wheelchair three weeks or so ago as her bones are so brittle. How it was missed then, I'll never know, but she was terribly upset that she faced another stay in hospital. There is no doubt that these trips drain her and leave her a little more vulnerable and fragile.

Today we learned that they will not inset a screw but instead plaster her from hip to toe and she will have to be transferred from the hospital to a nursing home for several weeks (or months!) for recovery. Poor, Evy! She is one of the kindest people you could ever hope to meet and I feel so sorry that she has had such a run of injuries at her age (79). She is most upset over Christmas and we are trying to see if there is some way that we can arrange for her to join us all. Just another headache for Lars-Göran and his brother, I guess.

I found it hard to concentrate on anything, so I thought I'd start making some of the goodies that we can nibble on while we gather for Christmas Eve. Today, I chose the two easiest ones - knäck (Swedish toffee) and ischoklad (ice chocolate). As usual, I had the expert supervision of Head Chef Lambi to ensure it was all properly done. The ingredients are all here:




Knäck (pronounced "kn-air-ck") is really basic and easy if you own a microwave. I read some stove top methods that involved a lot of stirring for ages and using sugar themometers etc and I thought "No way!". However a friend gave me this recipe and I've successfully made it every year.

1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup of light syrup (golden syrup is a good substitute)
1/4 cup blanched, chopped almonds
small paper cases

Method:
Set up the paper cases on a tray (you need about 50)

Mix together the cream, syrup and sugar in a glass bowl that is microwave proof.

Microwave at 600 W for 8 minutes.

Stir in the chopped almonds.

Spoon quickly into paper cases.

This is traditionally made to eat on Christmas Eve while you watch Kalle Anka. The paper patty cases are tiny ones - the sort you would use for petit fours or truffles. Easy and really delicious!

A couple of tips: Do not microwave in a plastic bowl as the sugar heats to over 120C and the bowl will melt, leaving a very unpleasant mess. Glass or pyrex is best.

Don't be tempted to double the recipe as the toffee hardens quickly and you will not have time to fill the cases. It's better to do it in two batches.

Next I made the ichhoklad, which is even more simple as there are only two basic ingredients.




100 g copha (Cocos fett in Sweden, Palmin in the States)
200 g good-quality, dark chocolate
small paper patty cases

Optional flavourings:
1 tbs instant coffee powder
grated peel from 1 small orange
few drops of pepperminy oil

Break the chocolate into pieces and put them in a deep heatproof bowl. Add the chopped, copha and put the plate over a small saucepan of boiling water. Allow the chocolate and copha to melt. Stir well. If adding a flavouring, you can mix it in now. Remove from the heat and spoon into the little paper cases. Leave them to cool completely.




Once they are set, you can store them in airtight containers with a sheet of greaseproof paper between each layer. And if you husband is a candy rat like mine, you had better find a good hiding place or there will be none left by Christmas! I suspect they won't be the last batches I have to make this week.

I've spoken to my sister-in-law tonight and we have divided up the Christmas cooking. I'll be in charge of providing the vegetarian food (half of the guests are vegetarian) and I'm thinking of using some of the recipes on the Christmas site at Coop. It's only in Swedish, but what an interesting selection of Christmas tables, especially the multicultural one. So I'm off to make up my shopping list and cooking schedule for the next week. I like to enjoy the actual day in relative peace, so I prefer that most of the food be prepared in advance. My only concern now is that Lars-Göran's mum will be well enough to join us all - after all, being with family is what Christmas is all about.