Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, I met a friend of a friend….
And we immediately became great friends.
I love this friend so much that we named our daughter after her: Kristina/Stina.
Over the past 35 years we have visited back and forth – on both sides of the Atlantic – with each visit becoming more precious.
Stina is one of those people that brightens every room. Her smile is contagious, her compassion is admirable, and her passion/zest for life makes people nearly hungry to be with her.
Speaking of hungry….
While visiting Stina and her family this summer, we ate all sorts of delcious meals – often out on the patio, where we could enjoy the beautiful summer weather of northern Sweden. This is the view from said patio in the charming village of Öhn, about 10:30pm:
Here’s a little of our history:
We met in the mid 1980’s – Stina was a gutsy girl studying hard and living on her own in the big city. I was student at a small Bible college tucked far away in the country.
Most of our adventures together were simple – and inexpensive, since we were poor students – but even today we make every event fun and exciting. Even drinking bubble water at the Taco Bar. 😂
When I arrived at Stina’s home this summer, she served some incredibly tasty “crackers” which were gluten free, healthy, and a perfect snack. Preparations are simple:
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and prepare 2 additional pieces of paper (things move really fast, so you want to be ready). Preheat the oven to 300F.
In a large bowl, stir together all the seeds and corn meal. Stir in the boiling water and oil, just until blended.
Quickly divide the dough between the 2 pans, lay a second piece of parchment paper over the dough, and begin pressing it out (or use a rolling pin) until very thin.
Gently peel back the top pieces of parchment paper. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into cracker-sized squares. Sprinkle with large flake salt.
Bake for one hour.
Once cool enough to handle, snap the squares apart. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. 
Here is the recipe in English, and in Swedish:
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- 1 cup cornmeal
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- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
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- 1/4 cup crushed flax seeds
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- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
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- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
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- 1 cup boiling water
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- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- Large flake salt
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- Preheat oven to 300 degrees, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and prepare 2 additional pieces of parchment paper to cover the baking sheets
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- Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl
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- Stir in the boiling water and oil
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- Quickly divide the dough between the two papers, cover with the extra parchment paper, and press with hands – or with rolling pin – until very thin
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- Remove the top paper, cut into squares, and sprinkle with flake salt
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- Bake for one hour
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- When cool enough to handle, snap squares apart
- Store in airtight container at room temperature
Fröknäckebröd – Nut & Seed Hardtack
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 dl majsmjöl
- 1 dl solroskärnor
- 1/2 dl sesamfrö
- 1/2 dl krossade linfrö
- 1/2 dl pumpakärnor
- 2 dl kokande vatten
- 1/2 dl rapsolja
Instructions
- Blanda alla torra ingredienser i en bunke.
- Tillsätt vattnet och oljan, och rör ihop.
- Bred snabbt ut smeten på två bakpappersklädda plåtar.
- Lägg ytteligare ett bakpapper på smeten och tryck ut med händerna så att det blir tunnt.
- Ta bort övre pappret, skära i lagom stora bitar, strö över flingsalt.
- Grädda i mitten av ungnen 150c i circa 60 minuter.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
I want you to see how beautiful this plate is. Remind me to ask Stina about its history. 😁
