Christmas Eve 2012--Anika's First Doppa i Gryta

The Freeman family has an awesome tradition that started in "the old country," and which Anika's great, great grandparents Emma and Rudolph brought from Sweden to Minnesota.  It's called Doppa i Gryta.  I've always been told this means "dip and give thanks" in Swedish, but I'm pretty sure (because the internet never lies) that it really means "dipped in a pot."  In Freeman in-law parlance it has come to be called by a different, less glamorous name: "Swedish Slop."  As much as I like the idea of giving thanks, and appreciate the wit in the in-laws' nickname, dipped in a pot is about right.  Doppa i Gryta consists primarily of bread and broth.  In a good year, the family used to have meat as well, though now every year is a good year, and we regularly have beef and and pork.  It's a tradition that I love and cherish.  If my calculations are right, the Freeman family has been celebrating Christmas with Doppa i Gryta for more than 50 years, and if I have anything to say about it, it will go on for hundreds more.  Given that I'm having only moderate success at inspiring Alicia to appreciate Doppa i Gryta, I'm resorting to the next best plan.  If I can inspire Anika, I think I can inspire Alicia (and Anika's future siblings) and then the next 100 years will be secure.  Anika is the key to the plan.

This is Anika suiting up for her first Doppa i Gryta.  We didn't want to soil her beautiful Christmas sweater, so we went with her full-body bib.

This is the bread, the broth, and the "pot."  Because Anika is still toothless, we skipped the meat.  That and Anika wanted to experience the old-school, authentic Doppa i Gryta just like they used to eat it on the farmstead.

Lots of anticipation.  Bite number one.  Many thousands more to come!

Mmmm...mmmm...good.  Anika was quite pleased.  She is committed to showing up her many, many cousins, who somehow manage to get away with eating chicken nuggets at Christmas.

This is the next generation.  Owen, on the far right, was clearly upset about being deprived of Doppa i Gryta.