Holiday Traditions

From Sweden to America…

Best things about Christmas and holidays are traditions that carry meaning and create memories for generations.

Baking with friends, watching carolers.. are some of our faves 😊 

Whipped up some matcha cookies!

Peanut butter chocolate melting snowmen. Trying to decorate these will definitely entertain you – try it!!

Mix was the easy part!

Klicha – our traditional spicy sweet for Christmas time made the whole house smell cozy and ‘love’! 

We kicked back after an entire day of baking — adoring the tree and magic of friendship, traditions, and holiday.  
Happy Holidays!!!

Park City – Utah!

Hello from… Park City, Utah! 

What a cute town this is, it stole our hearts during our week visit. Incredible mountains and views, nature…   

We knew it was very popular during winter for skiing but just realized how beautiful it is during summer.  Hiking at 8-10K altitude anyone?  

Horseback riding on mountain paths with a cowboy…   

We even paid a visit to the Olympic park and watched future Olympians practice – how inspiring!  

The town also has great restaurants and a cute Main Street filled with shops.  
So next time you want an extended weekend or weeklong quick getaway… think Park City!!

Mira Spiaggia Spa – Sicily, Italy

Another spa another different experience!

From different kind of massages we choose the one with karite butter candle which heals the skin and of course with our luck we meet Rosy and her experienced hands they know exactly how to massage not too hard not too light just as it should be and her positive energy also change the athmosphere and how you feel, her smile too was relaxing and of course the warmth of melted  karite butter was amazing.

You can gift some of this relaxed moments to your friends via this aromatic candles.

Rosy’s special karite butter treatment started with emotional shower then continued with bagno turco (hamam) and sauna then soaking in jacuzzi….

If you like you can relax few minutes before having your massage and finally the healing hands and karite butter of Rosy gives you the massage.

Also you can have very special dinner for two or cocktail at the roof top of the spa with wiev of San Vito beach and San Vito lo capo too. You only need simple reservation before to make sure it’s available too book. For a 3 star hotel their food is pretty much 5 star so enjoy the beauty of San Vito and Sicilian food.

Riserva di Zingaro

To go or not to go? Yes! Go! 

We took a 4 hour tour of the Zingaro by boat. It is refreshing to go by boat and see all the different coastal spots of this reserve.    

You will see rock formations, old caves, secluded white beaches… and Bella Mare!  At this particular excursion they let us swim in two spots, we saw many fish and jellyfish. No, that did not stop us from swimming.  

Take a big excursion boat. We took a small one, it was ok but they were not well equipped, no fins, no food, no snorkel gear… It was too bare bones. If we could do it over we would go with a bigger boat.   

Go and enjoy the natural beauty of Sicilian coast!! Buona Giornata!! 🇮🇹

Buon Giorno from San Vito Lo Capo!

We are posting from the beautiful beach of San Vito Lo Capo today!!

This is the best beach in Sicily and arguably in southern Italy.  If you are a beach lover and can’t go to Maldives, this will do for now.   For our Maldives paradise adventures see our past posts :))  

The sea is clean, clear and gradually getting deeper. Buoyancy is high, the water is very salty. We love it like this!

The sand is very fine and light yellow. To rent a one um fella and two chairs roughly will cost you $12 euros. There are zones on the outskirts that you can just put your own chair and towel – but we recommend renting since they are situated in the best zones of the beach. 

🇮🇹 Ciao!  We must go swimming now 💦🏊 

Cooking with Lecce’s best Chef Gianna !

We had been waiting for this cooking experience for weeks. It was important to us to make this travel a learning experience since we love to cook and eat. 

Chef Gianna and Giorgio gave us the full experience of cooking in traditional Lecce style.  We met in the early evening by Piazza del Duomo.  We strolled together to the market in a leisurely way while getting to know more about each other.  We all have a passion for cooking, eating, and enjoying good company as a common characteristic.   

Market experience was fun, we watched how Gianna and Giorgio selected cheese, tomatoes, and other ingredients. The market owner and staff were great.  This is an integral part of feeling and breathing the whole experience.  These are the kinds of memories that are priceless.  We loved it!! 

 

We arrived at the beautiful Cooking Experience kitchen. This is where they cook and entertain the guests.  

 

It is lovely, comfortable, fully equipped with anything needed for cooking a great meal.   

The menu was focaccia, orecchiette, stuffed eggplants, and pastacciotto , which is the local custard desert.  

   
 Drinking wine 🍷🍷 while we cooked made the whole process even more fun. Chef Gianna is full of great tips and lessons. We made the entire dinner from scratch!! 

  
 

Learning how to make the orecchiette was amazing. We made eggless pasta dough that could be used for any type of pasta. Chef Gianna showed us in detail how to make the pasta.
  

We tried our best to follow Chef Gianna’s instructions. Yes! she did use the pasta we made for dinner. She was gracious and kind to say we did well.  We think we need more practice 😉

The fully hand on experience was very satisfying. We made everything together. Giorgio assured us not to worry about taking notes since he send the precise recipes to all the students. This helped us relax, concentrate and have more fun. 

 

Voilà!!   the finished pasta… it was as delicious as it looks.  What’s remarkable is that time flew by, we had great laughs, and a great meal while learning without any strain or intimidation.  Giorgio and Chef Gianna have this easy going style that makes any level cook feel comfortable.  
While we did only one day, you can customize and book several sessions with Chef Gianna.  Start planning your cooking experience; contact Giorgio for details at cookingexperiencelecce@gmail.com 🇮🇹
 

Restaurant Hopping in Lecce – Italy

So, if you find yourself in Lecce and need to eat… you have many choices. Since none will tell you the truth about which restaurants are good or not, we will!!

Avoid rooftop restaurant at Risorgimento Resort hotel. Food is mediocre at best and expensive.  Service was ok. So instead go up there for drinks, desert and the view.  Food was so bad that I actually got sick from it.  We loved the view, but regretted having dinner there. 

 
Take a chance at Nonna Tetti. Cute little restaurant in home cooking style. Food is great, relatively cheap but… ignore the rude staff if you can. Tell yourself you are here just for the food.  The pasta sagne was especially delicious!!  Make sure to order the house starter plates; they are small plates of side dishes like fried eggplants, pickles, beets and other yummies. 

Best place we had dinner at was Blu Notte! Everything we had was fresh, delicious, and memorable. We had pasta, fish, octopus, muscles, and desert. It is not cheap but not too expensive either.  Staff was well trained, friendly and efficient.  You might also get lucky and find a table without reservation, like we did. We recommend that you don’t take the risk and make a reservation.

 
 

Maybe you are wondering about paninis, sweets, and gelato — well, come back another day for our special focus on these dolci!!

Italian Adventure: first stop Brindisi! Lecce!

Our journey started in Stockholm, Skavsta airport. This is the first time we are using this airport and RyanAir.  Skavsta is known for cheap and direct flights to places in Europe.  Since it is cheap go ahead and treat yourself to a Business Plus upgrade!  

We found RyanAir to be basic, entertaining, and efficient. They had food, duty free, and lotto on board. Yes you can indeed play the lottery while flying :)) 
Total flight was three hours long. Went by quickly.  You can imagine our excitement when we saw the land as we approached… we knew out Italian Adventure started!!   

As we travel the Puglia region and other surprise locations, follow us along!! Ciao 🇮🇹 

Holiday Treats and Surprises

Yet another holiday has come and about to pass. These annual rituals give the human life meaning, structure, creating connections, eat and laugh together.

Across three countries we share what we cooked and baked.

Surprise Christmas Eve dinner: crab legs!! why not surprise your guests with something non-conventional and oh so easy to make 😉

Beet, Arugula, Orange… salad:

Skinka! That’s Swedish ham:

Klicha; a sweet bread very similar to Challah

Mmmm… apple filled tart:

Saffron cookies anyone???

Zaatar bread, fresh out of the oven

So enjoy yourself and the loved ones, life is about our connections and making memories. We wish everyone in the world peace, love and again PEACE!!

LaBote: Fresh into and out of kiln!

We have been busy, as in busy like Santa’s workshop 🎄🎄🎁🎅

So we have been making a lot of items for our Christmas and holidays sale. Here is a glimpse of what’s going in and coming out of the kiln:

Owls, butter dishes, and fun modern porcelain vases:

Luminaries in making: just pop in a candle and watch it glow and cast shadows on your walls


Interested in anything you saw here drop us a line: surprisesaffron@gmail.com 📩 or visit us at our Etsy shop.