"Australian" sandwiches

I was born in the end of March and demand flowers for my birthday. No, not in vases (even though it is nice of course). The main thing is they should grow, from the soil, together with the grass. Under the hot sun. Coltsfoot (tussilago) is most important for me, but also crocus and the delicate white snowdrops, I didn´t find the word in the dictionary so that is a direct translation. Well, well - the spring seem to be lurking somewhere faaar away right now and also for the upcoming weeks. The forecasts say at least one more week with degrees much below zero and lots of snow. And I don´t mind, it is absolutely stunning to see Stockholm in winter. But how will there be time for all the snow to disappear and the flowers to come in just a couple of days, in time for my birthday? I am just asking.

Until then I dedicate to the winter´s joys, like standing on the lake (yes, 30 cm of ice) in the blazing sun which just has begun to warm a little on my face and eat "Australian" sandwiches and drink hot chocolate. The quotation marks means I am not sure it is Australian with grated carrots in sandwiches, but I have never seen it since I was there. It is great, really, to substitute a little pile of grated raw carrot instead of using the boring tomatoes you get here in winter. It is cheap, tasty, crunchy and the sandwiches don´t get soggy. Our sandwiches (wholemeal polar bread) also contained smoked ham and cheese. Nothing special, but everything tastes so fantastic when you eat outside! We also got to try A´s new ice-drill and saw, which we used for making a hole in the ice. He has built a sauna by the lake, see, and we need somewhere to cool off! But that´s another story, cooking for winter-bathing...

P.S. Ice-drills are *very* sharp! Make sure you bring some plasters if you want to try exactly how sharp they are D.S.