ColumnA down and dirty guide to a night of pickled herring and aquavit.

It’s summer solstice this week, which means it’s high time for Swedish midsommar, the best of holidays. Why? Because it’s a classic Swedish tradition that celebrates the longest day of the year, with food and drink at the center. In other words, an event to celebrate the sun. Put good food, a few glasses of aquavit and a table of friends together and you have yourself a party.

I’ve got Evert Taube on the stereo this week and pickled herring marinating in preparation, because if you have an ounce of Swedish in you, you simply can’t miss this holiday. And any self-respecting foodie wouldn’t turn down the chance for an aesthetically pleasing, minimalist Scandinavian event now would they?

Fortunately, you don’t have to be in Sweden to celebrate midsommar; throwing your own midsommar party is easier than putting together an IKEA cabinet will ever be. All you need are some key components, which is why we’ve put the Swedish Midusmmer 101 Guide.

Let’s kick things off with this video by the Sweden.se:

What

A celebration of the summer solstice. In Swedish this is called midsommar. The real celebration take’s place on midsommarafton, Midsummer’s Eve.

When

Midsommar was originally celebrated on June 24, but in 1953 was moved to the nearest Saturday – after all, good parties are always thrown on Fridays.

Drinks

You will need some nubbe or snaps, otherwise known as the alcoholic drink that goes with pickled herring and other traditional celebratory foods. If you’re going the full Scandinavian route, be sure to pick up a bottle of Aquavit. You can get the imported stuff, or you can check out two artisanal brands stateside, North Shore Distillery in Chicago, Illinois and House Spirits Distillery in Portland, Oregon. Pair your nubbe with a light beer, and be sure to put a few bottles of sparkling water on the table as well.

Food

Swedish midsommar essentials are potatoes, salmon, pickled herring and any dessert that involves ample amounts of strawberries and whipped cream. There’s always a basket of hardtack on the table along with some cheeses, and you might as well throw in some cardamom for good measure.

Sample menu:

• Toast Skagen
• Boiled fingerling potatoes with dill
• Several varieties of pickled herring
• Gravlax (dill cured salmon)
• Marinated cucumbers
• Swedish strawberry meringue layer cake

Songs

No midsommar celebration is complete without a few snapsvisor, songs that are specifically meant to be sung in conjunction with the consumption of nubbe. If you can only commit to one (Swedish isn’t the easiest language to master in just a few days) opt for Helan Går, which goes a little something like this:

Helan gor sjung hop for a la la la la ley
Helan gor sjung hop for a la la la la ley

Och den som inte helan tar han inte helle halven for

Helan gor sjung hop for a la la la la ley

Confused? Here’s a video to help.

Phrases

Now that you have mastered the singing, you will need some key Swedish phrases that relate to midsummer.

• Glad midsommar! Happy midsummer.
• Mer sill tack. More pickled herring please.
• Finns det mer gravlax? Is there more cured salmon.
• Jag tar gärna mer jordgubbar. I would love to have some more strawberries.
• Är det svensk snaps som vi dricker? Are we drinking Swedish snaps?
• Jag älskar Sverige! I love Sweden.
• Ska vi lyssna på ABBA ikväll? Are we going to listen to ABBA tonight?
• Skål! Cheers.

Now find a farm table, a group of friends, a Swede or two, flowers to turn into head crowns, a good supplier of pickled herring and you’re good to go. Skål och glad midsommar!

The post Foodie Underground: Swedish Midsummer 101 appeared first on EcoSalon.

A weekly roundup of EcoSalon’s top stories.

As one of the most sustainable cities in the U.S., it’s not hard to fall in love with Austin. In fact, the love is so strong that 1,500 people move there weekly. In Austin: Texas’ Most Sustainable Oasis, our new EcoSalon writer, Shira Levine tackles all the reasons why people do consider it an oasis and what her own trek was like while there recently.

Since 1995, Japanese artist SASAKI has been creating portraits from human heartbeats, which he does by spraying a steady stream of paint to the sound of beating hearts. HeARTbeat columnist Dominique Pacheco writes in HeARTbeat: Sasaki connects with heartbeat Portraits, “What can one expect from a live Heartbeat event? During a recent 6-day workshop, Sasaki gave us a taste by creating ‘Heartbeat Portraits’ of 139 participants. A pulse monitor was attached to the finger of each individual and the measured signal was output as audio in real time through a set of speakers – the sound and rhythm echoing and reverberating throughout the space.” The result is a multi-sensory experience unique to all involved.

In Part 3 of The Post-Recession Fashion Industry: A Return To Nature, we again look at how the fashion industry is emerging from its cocoon post-recession, a changed sector where consumers are more cautious, manufacturers are on their toes and designers are struggling to stay afloat doing business as usual. In this five-part series, we take a hard look at the fashion world, speaking with industry leaders, luminaries and experts. This week we asked: Now more than ever, is eco-fashion inextricably linked to conscious connections with land and place?

This week marked the summer solstice, and if there’s any place that knows how to celebrate this time of year, it’s Sweden. Foodie Underground columnist Anna Brones writes: “Its northern latitude makes the winters dark and long and the summers light and short, which means there’s plenty of reason to celebrate the official start to the summer season which kicks off at midsommar.”

In Foodie Underground: Celebrating Midsommar, we learn all about this Swedish food fest and even learn a few recipes.

EcoSalon Senior Editor Kathie Butler writes, “If you are an American woman who decides to get married, you will likely change your name. In fact, three million American women do so every year, roughly encompassing the 90 percent of women entering matrimonial bliss. This leaves the 10 percent of women who decided to keep their birth surnames, or the men who decide to change their own, navigating an interesting cultural landscape.” In 7 Reasons Married Women Keep Their last Names, Butler makes us reflect on the history of how this whole tradition even started.

The post The Friday Five, Vol. 17 appeared first on EcoSalon.