[Bonus] Scenes from a Swedish Midsummer Celebration
Asa Johanson and I harvest produce for our Midsummer luncheon. In this part of the garden, new shoots from last year's asparagus were showing up here and there. The thin, tender shoots were incredibly juicy and delicious. –Per Styrergard
Here we are on our way to a picnic at the Great Alvaret. It's only a short bicycle ride from Capellagarden, and to my mind it is one of the most serene natural spaces in Sweden.
Asa and Anna Olsson in the Capellagarden kitchen, getting ready to start making lunch.
The aquavits, or snaps, that I made for our Midsummer lunch. I'm carrying (from left to right) one infused with the flowers from bird-cherry and elderberry trees; a nonalcoholic drink infused with elderberry flower, rhubarb, mint and lemon; vodka infused with sloe berries; more nonalcoholic snaps; and a fennel-vodka infusion.
As Asa barbecues the meats for dinner, we all gather around the grill in anticipation. Barbecue dinners are popular in Sweden. More often than not, they're potlucks, where the host supplies salads and sides, and everbody else brings meat to grill
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Nina Stenby, dressed in a traditional folk costume, holds one of many trays of pickled herring going up and down the table.
The Midsummer lunch table almost ready. A friend brought a selection of local beers to add to our sipping pleasure.
Dinner at sunset! As the sun slowly sets, the evening becomes slightly chilly and damp, but blankets and red wine keep our spirits up.
