Food - It's in EVERY culture! (by Martha)

It's nearly the holiday season, and in Sweden, if you go to the bakery, some special buns appear. Those are Saffron Buns, and they are delicious with a hot cup of coffee. Would you like to make some? Here is a recipe in English, and accompanying photo from a Swedish cookbook. The buns are most typically eaten on Lucia Day, December 13.

What is t is the story of Lucia? There was Saint Lucy, and she was to be burned. But, the fire did not consume her, and she became a saint. The current tradition in Sweden is traced to the 1700s. In that time, it was a celebration marking the long days of winter, and the soon return to having more light. It also marks the beginning of Advent, and the opening of the Christmas Season. So, some light fluffy buns are just the perfect thing! 

Here is a recipe for you to try, it makes 16 servings if you make loaves, but see the photo below for some ideas about shapes:

Ingredients

• 1  cup  hot water
• 1/2  cup  golden raisins
• 1/4  cup  dried currants
• 1/4  cup  sugar, divided
• 1/2  teaspoon  saffron threads, crushed
• 1  package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1  cup  warm 2% reduced-fat milk (100° to 110°)
• 3 1/3  cups  all-purpose flour, divided (about 15 ounces)
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 3  tablespoons  butter, melted
• 2  large eggs, divided
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Combine 1 cup hot water, raisins, and currants in a bowl. Cover and let stand 10 minutes or until raisins and currants plump. Drain and set aside. Dissolve 1 tablespoon sugar, saffron, and yeast in warm milk in a small bowl; let stand for 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 3 cups flour, remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add raisins, currants, yeast mixture, butter, and 1 egg to flour mixture; stir until dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 3 times. Divide dough into 3 equal portions, shaping each portion into a 16-inch rope. Place ropes lengthwise on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray (do not stretch); pinch ends together at one end to seal, then braid them,  pinching the other loose ends to seal. Cover and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size. Then, preheat oven to 375°. Lightly beat remaining egg in a small bowl. Gently brush dough with egg. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan; cool on a wire rack.

 

The names mean things - the bottom left, for example, is Priest's Hair. The shape above that is the Flattened Lucia Crown. The bottom right is The Boy, while the most usual shape, the Lucekatt, is the second from the top on the left. These are the ones you would see in a bakery. 

On Lucia Day, Swedes get up early to watch a Lucia pageant at the famous Zorn mansion (Zorn was a painter, made many portraits, has one in the White House!) and then they often have other Lucia pageants. These photos show the Lucia Pageant at my school in Sweden. Lucia (a woman named Anna) walks at the front of the procession, with live candles on her head, and is followed by her attendants. At my school, they come to the dining hall and everyone sings, then we have Lussekattor (those yummy saffron buns) and then we go back to class, alas!

 

Food and Language as Culture (by Caroline)

According to Don Mitchell, one way of defining culture pertains to a way of life of a people, including “language, dress, food habits, music, housing styles, religion, family structures, and values.” As such, exploring a country’s language and food habits offers one way of exploring the values of a particular place in time, or what Doreen Massey calls the boundaries and naming of a particular space-time. Working and studying far away from my country of birth has enabled me to experience various time-spaces. Interestingly, moments where I felt the most homesick were usually triggered by my inability to properly communicate in a foreign language, or because I missed home cooking. To me this suggests the important role played by language and food in constituting a particular space-time. Working on this collaborative project gave me the opportunity to return to my roots and to share some European recipes. I have included a dessert recipe from France, my country of origin, as well as a soup recipe from Portugal, a country where I spent summer vacations on a yearly basis.


In contrast to the United States of America, milk has not come to represent “nature’s perfect food” for France, as related in E. Melanie DuPuis book by the same title. While milk drinking is not part of daily social practices in France, yogurt and cheese consumption are highly rated and enjoyed. Some French recipes do contain milk, such as the dessert detailed below. Cooking home meals tends to be part of social practices in France, even in today’s busy and fast-paced environment. Many French individuals and families enjoy cooking, sharing a meal and good conversation with family and friends, as a means of bonding and celebrating life.

“Cuisiner suppose une tete legere, un esprit genereux et un coeur large”
(Paul Gauguin)

The recipe presented below is called “Clafoutis aux Cerises.” Its origin is heavily contested between natives of the Limousin and those of the Gapeau Valley. Both of these regions are part of Provence, which is constituted by multiple sunny regions, situated in the southeastern corner of France. The joy of cooking, and what can be described as the cuisine of the sun, remain characteristics of Provence. I translated this recipe from French and converted the metrics.


Clafoutis aux Cerises or Cherry Pudding
Serves 6
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
1 ½ pounds black cherries
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
5/8 cup flour
1 cup milk
Vanilla sugar
Wash the cherries and remove the stems. The pits are not removed because they add a nice nutty flavor. Place the cherries in a buttered (you can also use Canola oil cooking spray) baking dish. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Mix 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk and the sugar in a bowl. Add the butter, flour, milk, and mix into a smooth batter. Pour the batter over the cherries and bake approximately 40 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle with vanilla sugar.

Voila!



Portugal is a sunny, colorful country located on the southwestern corner of Iberia, near Spain. Its people and cuisine are very different from neighboring Spain, partly because Portugal remained isolated for centuries from the rest of Europe. During the 15th century, Portugal launched Europe’s Age of Discovery. The Portuguese charted the west coast of Africa, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, discovered Brazil, the Azores and Madeira. These discoveries brought precious spices, tea, rice, coffee, beans, pineapples, tomatoes and potatoes to Portugal. It is precisely the creative combination and use of New and Old World ingredients that distinguishes Portuguese cooking from the Spanish, and that gives it a deliciously homey taste.
Here is a recipe for a soup that is quite popular in Portugal.


Sopa de Feijao Verde com Hortela or Green Bean Soup with Mint
Serves 6
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes


2 medium yellow onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1 pound tender young green beans, washed, tipped, and cut
1¼ cups water
Salt
Black Pepper
2 tablespoons chopped mint

In a large saucepan, sauté the onions and garlic in the oil for about 5 minutes, add the potatoes and cook, stirring for approximately 3 minutes. Pour in the broth and simmer for 40 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Meanwhile cook the beans in water with salt over moderate heat for 25 minutes until very tender. Drain the beans while conserving their cooking water. Add the cooking water (from the beans) to the onion/garlic/potatoes saucepan and puree the mixture with an electric blender.

Add the green beans and bring to serving temperature. Before serving, add mint as well as salt and pepper according to taste.

A vossa saude!


Another way of exploring the concept of culture relates to the way in which we use language. For Stuart Hall, language is the privileged medium used to make sense of things, which suggests the key role played by language in the production and circulation of meaning. Cultural meanings have real practical effects and consequences, particularly on the process of representation. This leads me to the following question: how do we represent to others our thoughts, ideas, and feelings when we have to communicate in a foreign language? As meaning is constructed through dialogue between individuals speaking a foreign language, what is shared? What is left out?

As an individual communicating in a second language, I constantly experience the limitations of adequately conveying my ideas, thoughts, and feelings. Working on my capstone project also enabled me to witness the struggle faced by my interviewees, for whom Pashto was their first language, as they tried to express certain concepts and ideas in English. Again, what might have been left out, misunderstood, misinterpreted as I collected my data?

As a cultural worker, I have become more conscious of my responsibility in the representation of a particular constituency. The language used, and the way in which I select to represent my interviewees have effects on the type of knowledge produced, and can ultimately result in real-life consequences. Regardless of the language barrier, the production of meaning remains an eternal process of translation and negotiation.

Roots and Comparisons (by Martha)

 

Where was this photo taken? What time of day is it? 

The answers to these questions inform my Capstone, believe it or not! This is a picture of a road in Föllinge, northern Sweden, at 1:30AM, in mid-July 2005. I had met two teachers, school teachers, in Sweden, and I started to question my future. I also began to understand my connection to Scandinavia, which comes not from familial roots, but from music and dance, and to see that this was my future. I knew that somehow it would be connected to Sweden.

One of the symbols of Sweden is the dalahäst. Not only is found here, in giant size, by the side of the road in Avesta, Sweden, but it's also found in the Folk Arts Trunk that belongs to the Nordic Heritage Museum in Ballard. I chose to put a dalahest in the trunk because it is such a strong cultural symbol, understood across cultures, yet it is still hand made in a small town in central Sweden.  It is clearly folk art, although it also serves perhaps as a toy.



Another way to think about customs is to ask what is the same.

Det är jag, efter sista konsert i programmet, och jag har fått en roz. Det är samma i Amerika, att vi får blommen när vi har spelat bra eller...den här roz jag fått från min vännina, Ulla. Jag har spelat solo, men andra studentar har spelat bara i gruppen.

Translation
This is me after playing the last concert in the program, and I have received a rose. This is the same in America, that we get flowers when we have played well or... This rose I received from my friend, Ulla. I played a solo, but the other students chose only to play in groups.

My capstone is based on learning in informal learning environments like museums and being able to share culture and history within classrooms that are formal environments, like public schools. My job is to evaluate the outreach programs at the Nordic Heritage Museum, programs that do the aforementioned functions.