Imitation and Flattery

Goodies from Sverige

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I cat sat for a classmate while he and his sweetie traveled to Sweden.  In return they brought me back all sorts of wonderful treats that are not available in America.

Bitter Almond Extract

Vinegar

Cheez Doodles

I heard about the bitter almond extract from Daisy who told me that regular almond extract is a poor substitute when baking Scandinavian specialties.  My Swedish professor Lena first told me about the vinegar (Swedish vinegar is so high in acidity it will take the paint off a ceramic bowl).  And I learned of Cheez Doodles while watching an episode of Svenska Hollywoodfruar (Swedish Hollywood Housewives).

Svenska Hollywoodfruar is a Swedish knock-off of the Bravo Housewives series, yet it is so much more!  There is Anna Anka, the skeletal surgically-taut abusive (soon to be ex)wife of aged pop star Paul Anka.  There is equally skeletal and surgically-taut Agnes-Nicole Winter whose glory days starring in B- movies are far behind her (although throughout the series she searches desperately for her next big break).  And there is Maria Montazami, a daft but appealing cheez doodle-loving sweetheart who spends her days watching her children surf and staging homes for her husband's reality business.  Teresa and Caroline pale in comparison to these girls (although Anna doesn't flip any tables on camera, I can imagine her doing some serious damage once the flim crew leaves her house).

Those of you who know me well are probably aware of my Cheeto addiction.  So strong is my love of the Cheeto that I limit myself to one bag a year, on my birthday.  So when my favorite "fru" asked her brother to bring her a bag of cheez doodles when he visited from Sweden I was intrigued.

Ethan warned me that opening the doodle bag would release fumes akin to foul gym shoes, but that once the odor subsides the snack is pretty darned awesome.  He was right. 

The Swedes have imitated Bravo and Frito-Lay and upped the ante on both accounts.