Guest blogger, guest taster

Hi friends! It's been so long since I've posted anything on this blog that it feels kind of like a cameo appearance. I have been pressed into duty tonight because Sam is busy chopping garlic in the kitchen to make falafel. She has a garlic clove roughly the size of Delaware that she's mincing, and that is keeping her adequately busy.

Today started for me in a bit of a confusing muddle. I woke up to find an empty bedroom and looked at my watch to make sure I hadn't way over slept.  Nope, it was still early in the morning but Sam was nowhere to be found. It turns out that she was being a diligent photojournalist and was out documenting the thick rime that has been coating Uppsala these past few nights, making the roads dangerously slick and the forest paths eerily beautiful. She's been up early a few days this week, driving home the point that she's a early bird and I'm a layabed.

And this is why my butt is cold when I get to work

Crunch Crunch Crunch

Perhaps you are interested in hearing how our holiday food tasting is going? Well, last night we rolled up our sleeves and set down two glasses full of Christmas beer. They looked identical in the glasses, both had the same rich brown color as cola, but one sniff was enough to tell them apart. Both glasses had a citrus-y scent, but the three hearts beer was overpoweringly fruity. This observation was greatly reinforced when you hazarded a sip. It was hardly distinguishable from Julmust mixed with alcohol. Neither Sam nor I cared for it much, and I'd say it earned just about 1 partridge in a pear tree out of a possible 5 golden rings. I am hoping that turning the remainder into holiday beer bread will be enough to salvage its crummy rating.

Let's the great experiment begin!

The Uppsala Julöl was much more what we were expecting and Sam found it to be eminently drinkable without being overly memorable. She probably won't be adding it to her letter to Santa anytime soon, but that being said, there's none left over to turn into bread either... so take that how you will. Not being fully aware of my rating method, Sam has tried to give the Uppsala Julöl a 3 1/2, I will happily translate that into about 4.5 french hens out of a possible 5 golden rings.

Now though, let's get to the review that I'm sure you've been waiting for. Pepparkakor! Naturally, I was fully devoted to finding the truth about these thin crispy cookies. The Swits brand heart shaped cookies came out on top in my book (after thorough research, I assure you) as they were very crunchy with a buttery feel and quite light as well. When compared to the Anna's star chaped cookies, the Swits were a little bit bland, with a notably less intense ginger flavor, but the Anna's cookies had a strong and I think unpleasant aftertaste (I find all Anna's cookies to have the same taste, it may be just me) which even the strong ginger and cloves could not mask. Sam prefered the Anna's cookies, and we both enjoyed the fact that the box had a braille label to go along with the visible label. I enjoyed looking up the braille alphabet on wikipedia, and learning what a braille hyphen feels like.

 

This hyphen feels like having a cookie!

So to wrap up the rating of the delightful ginger cookies, I give the Swits cookies a strong 4 calling birds and Sam, in a fit of generosity, gave both types of cookies a rave with 5 golden rings each! Ten rings in total, and I predict there will only be about ten cookies left at this time tomorrow!

Now, as I wrap this post up, and get ready to chow down on some falafel, I'll leave you with a bit of a teaser for the next Christmas food themed post. More beverages this time, a fine Sigtuna winter lager and a cinnamon apple cider (for me, because I'm not a big beer drinker).

We, who are about to be consumed, salute you

Any predictions from you faithful readers out there? Which will be most highly rated? What creative and loving ranking system will we use next? Will Sam ever give me permission to blog on this site again? Tune in next time to find out!