Smorrebrod

Smorrebrod is the Danish word for open sandwiches. They are a major part of the Scandinavian diet but no where else as much as in Denmark. Danes often enjoy Smorrebrod for lunch but also hold smorrebrod parties instead of smorgasbords. Smorrebrod literally translates as buttered bread but this is an understatement as the bread is often hidden totally by the topping. This is not to say that the toppings are heavy in fact they should be light.
Smorrebrod when prepared should be attractive and tasty, the topping varies according to the occasion.

Ingredients

Bread (used for each type)

• large slice of dark rye bread, buttere

Herrings on Beetroot Puree

• 2 Roll mops or other cured herring fillets
• 1 small cooked beetroots or canned beetroots, peeled and pureed
• 1 slice of gherkin

Gravalax

• 4-5 thin slices of gravalax (see recipe (wr))
• 1 lemon wedge
• 1 dill sprig

Elemental

• 2 thin slices of elemental cheese
• 2 thin slices of cucumber
• 1 lambs lettuce or iceberg lettuce leaf
• 1 small pickled onion, sliced in half (optional)
• 1 cherry tomato, quartered

Paté

• Paté (shop bought or see recipe (wr))
• 3 cucumber slices
• 1-2 red grapes, quartered

Roast Beef

• 3-4 slices of roast beef
• 3 small gherkins sliced in half
• small handful of mustard cress

Rolled Veal Sausage

• 3-4 slices Rolled Veal Sausage
• 3-5 finely sliced red onion rings
• 1 tsp finely chopped dill

Method

Herrings on Beetroot Puree

1. Spread the beetroot puree over the bread. Place the roll mops or herring fillets on the bread. Garnish the smorrebrod with a gherkin in the centre.

Gravalax Gravalax can be purchased from many supermarkets and delicatessen or you can make your own. If you prefer smoked salmon simply use it instead of the gravalax.

1. Overlap the gravalax slices on the bread. Garnish the sandwiches with a lemon wedge and dill.

Elemental

1. Place the lettuce leaf on the bread. Place the cherry tomatoes and pickled cucumber in one corner of the bread.
2. Place the elemental slices on the bread and garnish the cheese with the cucumber slices on the bottom corner of the smorrebrod.

Paté

1. Spread an even layer of the pate on the bread. Overlap the cucumber slices in the centre of the bread. Garnish the pate with the grape quarters on the top right hand corner of the bread.

Roast Beef

1. Overlap the slices of the roast beef on the rye bread. Fan the gherkin slices in the centre of the roast beef. Garnish the smorrebrod with the cress on one corner of the bread.

Rolled Veal Sausage This rolled meat is sold in delicatessen, food shops and supermarkets through out Scandinavia. You can make your own (see recipe) or replace it with a similar sliced cold meat.

1. Overlap the slices of rolled veal sausage on the bread. Place 3-5 red onion rings in the centre of the sandwich. Sprinkle the dill over the smorrebrod.

The Emperor's New Clothes

Emperor’s New Clothes

Adapted by the 2010-2011 Beta/Gamma Class

 Characters:

Narrator                                               

Emperor                                              

Weaver One                                         

Weaver Two                                        

Minister                                               

Emperor`s Friend                                

Officer of the Court                              

Person on the Street 1                         

Person on the Street 2                         

Little Child                                          

Little Child’s Father                             

SCRIPT:

Narrator: Many years ago there lived an Emperor who cared so much for fine clothes that he spent all his money on them. He had a new coat for every hour of the day and spent his time riding through the streets so that everybody could see his beautiful clothes. One day there came to the city two rogues who set themselves up as weavers.

Weavers One: We know how to weave the most wonderful cloth in the world.

Weavers Two: The patterns and the colors are beautiful!

Narrator: But they said that the cloth could not be seen by anyone who was stupid or unfit for the emperor`s office.

Emperor: I must have some clothes made from this cloth. When I wear them, I will find out what people in my empire are not honest. Those weavers must be brought to me at once.

Narrator: So the weavers were brought to the emperor´s presence.

Weaver One: Yes, your majesty.

Weavers Two:  What can we do for you?

Emperor: Here, take this money and make me some clothes out of that fine material; but you must work quickly.

Narrator: The weavers immediately put up two great looms, and pretended to be working. They called for the finest silks and the brightest gold, but these they put into their pockets. They worked steadily at the empty looms until far into the night.

Emperor: I can hear them working. I want see my wonderful clothes!

Narrator: He decided to send someone to find how the weavers were getting on. But he remembered that no one who was stupid or was unfit for his office could see the cloth. He decided to send his faithful old Minister to the weavers.  For the minister was a very clever and honest man.  He will tell the emperor how wonderful the clothes are. So the good old Minister went into the room where the two weavers sat working at the empty looms. He stared and stared, and opened his eyes wide.

Minister: Mercy me!  I can’t see a thing.

Weavers One: Step a little nearer

Weavers Two: Is not this a beautiful pattern? And the colors – are they not wonderful?

Narrator: And they pointed to the empty looms. The poor old Minister put on his spectacles, and bent over the looms; but he could see nothing, for there was nothing to see!” However he was worried that he was not honest or clever.  He could not possibly say that he cannot see the clothes.

Weavers One and Two: Well, what do you think of it?

Minister: Oh, it is beautiful. The colors are gorgeous and the pattern is very fine. I shall tell the Emperor how beautiful it is.

Weavers One and Two: We are glad you think so.

Narrator: They went on talking of the cloth. They named the colors, and described the peculiar pattern. The old Minister listened carefully, for he wished to repeat to the Emperor all that was said. Then the weavers came to ask the King for more money for more silk and more gold thread to use in their work.   But everything that was given to them they put into their pockets. Not a single strand of silk was ever put on the loom. The Emperor sent another faithful friend to see the cloth and inquire how soon the clothes would be ready. But this person fared no better than the Minister. The friend stood before the empty looms, and looked and looked and looked, but  saw no cloth.

Weavers One: Is not this beautiful cloth?

Weavers Two: The colors are gorgeous!

Emperor´s Friend: Dear, dear! Surely I am not stupid. It must be that I am not clever or honest. That is very strange. But I must not let it be known.

Narrator: Then he said that the design is most unusual; and the color is marvelous. Soon everyone in the city was talking about the wonderful cloth that the two weavers were making. The Emperor thought that he would like to see the beautiful cloth while it was still upon the looms. With a number of his friends he went to visit the two weavers, who were weaving rapidly day after day without any thread. Among them were the two friends who had already been there. They thought that the others would see something upon the empty looms, so they began to cry out at once.

Minister:  Look, your Majesty. Do you see the beautiful design?

Emperor´s Friend: And the color – isn’t it gorgeous?

Narrator: The Emperor smiled and nodded his head, and stared at the empty looms. His friends, too, looked and looked, but saw no more than the others. Yet they all cried.

Emperor and Emperors Friends: It is wonderful.

Narrator: They asked the Emperor to wear a suit made from this cloth in a great procession that was son to take place. The Emperor gave each of the weavers a royal badge to wear, and called them the Imperial Court Weavers.

Weaver one: The day of the parade is getting near.

Weavers Two: We have to fast.

Narrator: Through the shining windows the people of the empire could see them hard at work. They took yards of nothing down from the empty looms. They made cuts in the air with big scissors. They sewed strong stitches without any thread; and at last they said.

Weavers One and Two: The clothes are ready.

Emperor: This is wonderful! Let me put on my new suit.

Narrator: The weavers lifted their arms as if holding something.

Weaver One: See! Here is the coat! Here is the cape! Here are the trousers!

Weavers Two: You may move as freely as if you had nothing on. That is the beauty of it.

Emperor’s Friends: It is marvelous.

Narrator: And yet all the time they saw nothing, for there was nothing. The Emperor took off his clothes, and the weavers pretended to put on each new garment as it was ready. They wrapped him about, they buttoned and they tied.

Emperor’s Friends: “How well his Majesty looks in his new suit!”

 “What a becoming style!

What beautiful colors!”

Narrator: The Emperor turned round and round before the mirror, and looked and looked, and nodded his head

Officer of the Court: They are waiting outside with the canopy which is to be carried over your Majesty during the parade”.

Emperor: I am ready.

Narrator: The man who was to carry the train of the Emperor stooped down to the floor, as if picking up something; and then he held his hands high in the air and moved forward. He did not dare let it be known that he saw nothing. The Emperor marched along under the handsome canopy.

People in the Streets: How handsome the Emperor’s clothes are! 

 What a perfect fit!

What marvelous colors!

Narrator: The people in the streets would say that they could see nothing, for that would have proved that they were not clever or honest. No clothes of the Emperor had ever been so much admired.

Little Child: But he has nothing on!

Little Child´s Father: Hush! Hush! You should not say that.

Narrator: But the people began to whisper to one another what the child had said.

People in the Streets: He has nothing on!

A child says he has nothing on!

He has nothing on!

Narrator: The Emperor heard what they said, and he shivered, for he knew that their words were true. But it would never do to stop the procession; and so he held himself stiffer than ever. And behind him his officers carried the invisible train.

The End

Øresundsbroen

The Øresund Bridge (Øresundsbroen), which opened up for traffic in July 2000 is unique since it connects two countries, Denmark and Sweden.  For more than a houndred years the two countries planned a fixed link between Malmø and Copenhagen but one obstacle after another stopped the plans, until now. The bridge is a combined bridge and tunnel and one of the largest constructions in Europe with its 8 kilometre bridge, 4 kilometres artificially made island, called Pepparholmen, and a 4 kilometres long tunnel.

COPENHAGEN

Over one thousand years of history is written in Copenhagen's cobbled squares and copper spires, its buildings, streets and parks.  Copenhagen is a traditional city. There is only one skyscraper downtown, but it's a classic!

Hans Christian Anderson

Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), Danish author and poet, wrote many poems, plays, stories and travel essays, but is best known for his fairy tales of which there are over one hundred and fifty, published in numerous collections during his life and many still in print today.

http://andersenfairytales.com/en/main

LEGO

In 1932 Ole Kirk Christiansen, master carpenter and joiner in the village of Billund, Denmark, sets up business. His firm manufactures stepladders, ironing boards - and wooden toys. In 1934 the company and its products now take on the name LEGO, which is formed from the Danish words "LEgGOdt" ("play well").  In 1947 the LEGO company is Denmark's first to buy a plastic injection-molding machine for making toys. In 1949 the company produces about 200 different plastic and wooden toys, including Automatic Binding Bricks, a forerunner of the LEGO bricks we know today. Introduced in the United States in 1962, the first LEGOs came in loose sets of bricks. By 1966, however, LEGO kits were guiding young hard hats in snapping together all kinds of buildings, trucks, planes, and ships.

http://www.lego.com/en-us/Default.aspx

THE LITTLE MERMAID

The Little Mermaid symbolizes the fairy tale by Danish author and poet Hans Christian Andersen, the story of a young mermaid who fell in love with a prince who lived on land, and often came up to the edge of the water to look for her love.  The Little Mermaid statue was a present from brewer Carl Jacobsen (The Carlsberg Breweries) to the city of Copenhagen, made by a then little known sculptor called Edvard Erichsen. The Little Mermaid was unveiled at Langelinje in 1913, as part of a general trend in Copenhagen in those days, selecting classical and historical figures to be used as decorations in the city's parks and public areas.

Tivoli Gardens

Tivoli Gardens has been woven into the life of Copenhagen since 1843. Tivoli is right in downtown Copenhagen, between the city hall and the central railway station. While much of Tivoli is devoted to gardens, restaurants, theaters, and a tiny lake for pleasure boating, there are 25 fanciful rides, spangled with lights day and night. The kids can try out a merry-go-round of tiny Viking ships, a Ferris wheel with cars shaped like hot-air balloons, a set of dragon boats, and the Flying Trunk, where you wheel past wooden-doll scenes from Hans Christian Andersen stories.  Profuse flower beds, fantasy pavilions, tiny twinkling lights illuminating it at night -- the entire fairy-tale effect is magical, just what you'd expect from the homeland of Hans Christian Andersen. 

http://andersenfairytales.com/en/main

DENMARK

We will be spending a lot of time over the next few weeks learning all about Denmark, its people, its customs, its history and so much more!  Our classroom will be turned into a little version of Denmark and the Beta/Gamma class will be expert tour guides!

VELKOMMEN!!!

Welcome to Denmark: The happiest place on earth!  The Beta/Gammas will be your guides through this remarkable country.  We will learn all things Danish these next few months in preparation for our annual World Tour celebration here at El Paso Country Day School in April.  More info will be posted as we move closer to the celebration.  So keep checking in on our World Tour 2011: DENMARK blog!