Svenskarnas Dag Midsummer's Eve

Everyone has heard of Shakespeare’s play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in which a dream cycle consisting of imps, fairies and lovelorn characters gets mixed up in the woods on Midsummer’s Eve. As usual, Shakespeare manages to intertwine wise philosophy with ancient human foibles in an entertaining setting.


He was drawing on an ancient celebration of Midsummer’s Eve; ongoing in Europe for centuries. It began as a pagan celebration of the Summer Solstice and merged with St. John’s Day as Christianity took hold in Europe. Many countries throughout the world still celebrate with festivals and bonfires—usually on the night of June 23rd and the day of the 24th. Now in Sweden and Finland, the Saturday between the 21st of June and the 28th is the official day of celebration—so today is the day!

The Svenskarnas Dag observance of midsummer is celebrated in Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis annually. On Sunday the 26th of June right down the river in Stockholm, Wisconsin Midsommer Festival will be celebrated. Swedish delicacies are planned by Bogus Creek Café and Bakery in Stockholm to be served in the park accompanied by other fun and festivities. Swedish meatballs, Swedish pancakes with lingonberry sauce and Rhubarb crisp are on the menu.

This sounds like a great excuse for a Midsummer’s Day picnic to me—I’m always game for a picnic. If we want to be traditional, a cookout (with an open fire) sounds right. I really love weenies on hand-hewn sticks and later, marshmallows. Just so the celebration isn’t too simple, add plenty of rye bread (homemade is best) which is de rigueur for all Scandinavian countries, but especially Sweden and Finland. I think a Swedish potato salad, some pickled herring, deviled eggs and the above-mentioned rhubarb crisp would round things out perfectly.

Swedish Potato Salad

6 cold, boiled potatoes, sliced
2 Tbsp. chopped onion
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
2 Tbsp. chopped chives
2 Tbsp. diced pickled beets

Dressing

2 Tbsp. wine vinegar
6 Tbsp. olive or vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper

Arrange potato slices in salad bowl. Place onion, parsley, chives and beets in rows on top. Mix dressing ingredients and pour over potatoes. Chill 1-2 hours. Toss once or twice before serving.

The Minnesota Ethnic Food Book by Kaplan, Hoover and Moore says this about the Swedish Limpa bread, “Similar to a Finnish bread, this slightly sweet loaf is popular at both sacred and secular times of year.” Sounds like the perfect bread to bring to our midsummer feast.

Limpa

1 pkg. dry yeast
¼ cup water (105 to 115 degrees)
1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. shortening or lard
1/3 cup molasses
2 cups warm water
½ tsp. crushed cardamom seed
½ tsp. crushed anise seed
2 cups rye (or medium rye) flour, spooned into cup
4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into cup
2 Tbsp. vital gluten flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar and set aside. Combine salt, shortening, molasses, water, cardamom seed, anise seed, and rye flour. Mix well. Stir in yeast mixture. Stir in 4 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 cup at a time. Continue to add flour slowly until dough can be kneaded on a lightly floured board. Knead for about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. You may need to work in more flour to eliminate stickiness. Allow dough to rise in a well-buttered bowl, covered, until double in bulk. Punch down and allow to rise a second time. Punch down well and divide dough in half. Form into 2 loaves and place in well-greased pans. Allow to rise in the pans until double in size. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake bread for 35 to 40 minutes or until nicely browned. Brush with melted butter. Remove from pans and cool on racks.

This is the Bogus Creek Café and Bakery Rhubarb Crisp recipe—excellent as is or, if you like, you can add 2 cups drained sour cherries in place of two cups of the rhubarb.*

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup quick cooking rolled oats
½ cup melted butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups sliced rhubarb (see above note)*
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla

In mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, oats, butter and cinnamon; mix together until crumbly. Press half of the brown sugar and oats mixture into a buttered 8-inch square baking dish. Top with the sliced rhubarb. In a saucepan, combine 1 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, and the 1 cup of water and vanilla. Cook together until clear, the pour over rhubarb. Top rhubarb with remaining crumb mixture and bake at 350 for 45 to 55 minutes.