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Swedish food prices continue to increase

Lower global prices for cereal and energy have not yet helped to reduce prices in Sweden, where prices are also increasing faster than in neighboring countries. Swedish food prices rose 17.2 percent compared to the level in October 2021. In Denmark, Finland and Norway, food price inflation in October was lower than in Sweden. If you compare the entire 2000s, Swedish food prices have risen 2.2 percent per year, Danish and German by 2.1 percent, Norwegian by 1.7 percent and Finnish by 1.6 percent.

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Sentinel over art, humanity awarded

Subscriber and University of Kentucky art alumna Helene Steene, in collaboration with the University of Kentucky, was awarded the 2022 Collaboration of Design + Art (CODA) award in the education category for her piece “Moon Sentinel.” CODA recognizes outstanding projects that integrate commissioned art into interior, architectural or public spaces. The 10th annual international design competition announced winners across 10 categories as well as two People’s Choice Award winners.

“To receive the CODAaward is a great honor, as artists from around the world are considered for this competition,” the Swedish born artist said. This year’s 406 CODAaward entries represent over $94 million in commission fees. A jury of 18 esteemed members of the design, architecture and art worlds evaluated each entry on three unique criteria across 10 categories: - The integration of commissioned artwork into site-specific projects, completed since January 2019. - The strength of the collaborative process among the creative teams, commissioners and industry resources. - The art and design seamlessly blended to create a place as art rather than a place with art.

Steene’s piece, “Moon Sentinel,” was also recognized in The Cornerstone’s inaugural call for art. The call for art focused on two themes: Black Lives in the Bluegrass and Kentucky Confronting COVID-19.

“The ‘Moon Sentinel’ was a painting I had already painted, and the inspiration for that is obviously my fascination with the moon,” Steene said. “To see my 7-foot-tall painting enlarged to 55 feet at The Cornerstone was a great thrill. I’m grateful that UK had the technical skills to do something that I myself never could have achieved. It’s wonderful when classical painting skills can be combined with modern tech skills like this LED installation.”

The competition included not only the piece itself but also considered the format and location of its display, and both Melody Flowers, executive director for strategic analysis and policy and Chelsea Brislin, associate director for the Gaines Center for the Humanities, were listed as collaborators on the project.

Helene Steene’s work has been published, exhibited, and collected in both private and public collections in the United States, France, Greece, Spain, Great Britain and Sweden, and she has won numerous awards for her work. For more info on the artist, see www.helenesteene.com

Anyone who visited the Christmas Market at for instance the Nordic Museum in Seattle (above) couldn’t miss the Swedish glögg on display. Made of Swedish California grapes from Napa Valley’s Sjoeblom Winery this wine based glögg is a nice addition to any holiday bar, well balanced, mildly spiced and with a core flavor of wine. In case you did, sign up at www.gloggclub.com to order your own wherever you are.

Årets julklapp 2022

The hand knit garment is the Christmas gift of the year 2022. We live in a troubled world. The war in Ukraine has caused rising inflation and increased energy prices. At the same time, we also see a renewed interest in crafts and art making. HUI has therefore appointed the home-knitted garment as this year’s Christmas gift. In a time of figurative and literal cold, as a result of unrest in the world, the Christmas Gift 2022 represents a warm hug in product form to give to loved ones. For the 35th year in a row, HUI has designated a Christmas gift of the year. Recent years have been marred by unrest. When the pandemic restrictions were released at the beginning of the year, war was started in Europe, we had record high inflation with rising food and electricity prices and increased interest rates which created uncertainty in Swedish homes. When the money we have buys less, we have had to adapt by taking measures such as lowering the heat in our homes, schools and workplaces. In a time of cold and restraint, we look toward the safe and traditional at Christmas - the hand knit garment is therefore needed more than ever. The interest in art and handicrafts has been revived. Traditional crafts such as knitting in particular have found a new, young target group who use needlework as recreation and as a way to express their unique identity. The hashtag “#knittok” on Tiktok has almost 400 million views and contains short inspiring instructional videos. Yarnbombing - knitted graffiti in public environments is trending in several big cities, and the English swimming jumper Tom Daley, who became a knitting inspiration for many when he was seen knitting during the Olympics in Tokyo, has launched his own knitting kits. For more info, see Handelns utredningsinstitut/The Swedish Retail Institute (HUI) www.hui.se

Reduced sales during ‘black week’

Home electronics attracted more Black Friday shoppers than usual this year, but overall sales decreased during the sale week. According to a forecast manager at Swedbank, sales fell by 10 percent adjusted for inflation. At the same time, home electronics shopping increased 142 percent compared to before the sale. It is the highest increase during the week since 2019.

The author and baker Jonni Hegenderfer in her kitchen

A lifetime of smörgåsbord

Lifelong foodie and baker Jonni Hegenderfer loves to entertain and share her passion for cooking with guests. While on a trip to Sweden to visit family, she put her cousins to work unearthing family recipes, but her findings inspired much more than a dinner party menu. “I realized these recipes represent a lifetime of memories for our family, and I wanted to capture and preserve them,” Hegenderfer said.

As a former marketing and communications professional, Hegenderfer knows the importance of sparking joy - which is exactly the sentiment she hopes to ignite with her new cookbook. In A Swedish Family Cookbook, Hegenderfer shares the story of her grandmother who emigrated from Sweden to America in 1895. Combining her recipes together with the treasured handwritten recipes of her grandmother, mother, aunt and cousins, she presents a smorgasbord of recipes overflowing with the flavors and traditions of Sweden. “This collection is the embodiment of a warm kitchen filled with beloved family and friends enjoying a fika or a meal and conversation with one another,” Hegenderfer said. “I truly believe there is much to be learned by sharing a meal with new friends in new places. The world would be a kinder place if we all engaged in a global policy of international dining diplomacy.”

A Swedish Family Cookbook is available for purchase online at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.

About the author

Jonni Hegenderfer owned a boutique public relations agency for 25+ years, serving McDonald’s, Hershey’s, Jim Beam, ConAgra, and other Fortune 500 companies. She is now retired and di-

A Swedish Family Cookbook: From Farm to Fabulous by Jonni Hegenderfer ISBN: 979-8-88590-926-6 Publication Date: Available online on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

vides her time between homes in Bonita Springs, FL, Downers Grove, IL, and Grand Beach, MI. When not creating new recipes (or getting new recipe ideas from reading Nordstjernan), she enjoys travelling to explore the food, traditions, and cultures of other places - from Stockholm to St. Tropez to Sydney to Shanghai.

For samples of recipes and information on Jonni’s way of cooking with a taste of Sweden, visit www.swedishfamilykitchen.com