A Christmas Fika in Singapore

A Fika in Singapore

Knäckebröd, kalles, chokladbollar, and of course coffee!

The holidays are a perfect time to make some yummy sweet treats for your Loved ones

The holiday season have gotten more commercial lately and it really feels like everyone is so focused on getting the perfect gift. Personally, I think its unfortunate. The holidays a commodity that can be bought and sold. My favorite holiday memories were not spent shopping in crowded shops. I stopped buying holiday gifts for people many years ago. Not because I did not love them any less, but simply because I preferred homemade gifts and spending time with my friends and family. 

Several years ago while I lived in New York, a close friend of mine came over on a cold winter's day and we spent the whole day in my kitchen making holiday sweets. We made peppermint bark, cookies, fudge, peanut brittle and placed them in beautiful tins we purchased from Bed, Bath, and Beyond (if you are from the US, you know this is a staple store for all things Home related). We laughed at our mishaps, quality girl talks, and made delicious confections to take with us to our various family gatherings. I brought these sweets to Thanksgiving dinner and presented them as gifts to my ex-boyfriend's family. They were so touched and beyond happy to have edible treats. From that point on, I would always make homemade gifts or host dinner parties in lieu of actual gifts. 

The environmental impact of all that plastic, packaging, paper, etc. and the wasteful culture of consumption is hurting us all in the long term. 

Over the holiday season, I hosted my first-ever Fika in Singapore and invited some friends over to try my different chokladbollar. I made classic kokosbollar (coconut), rombollar (rum balls), jultidschokladbollar (Christmas chocolate balls), dubbelchokladbollar (double fudge stuffed chokladbollar), and vegan chokladbollar.

In addition to the various chokladbollar, I also made a cucumber dill salad from  Scandikitchen's cookbook, saucisson and various hams, knäckebröd, fish eggs, boiled egg, and kalles (a fish egg paste). 

Whether friends are old or new, the holiday season is for simple gatherings and quality time.