FOCUS OF FOOD

Our kitchen has always been the hottest room in the house — a 1920s bungalow in the heart of Aberdeen. Even after we had a brand new HVAC system installed about a year ago, the kitchen remains stuffy, with little air flow. While the air conditioning, usually set to a pleasant 72 degrees, has you reaching for a throw blanket in the front room, you’ll be wiping sweat off your brow just a few feet down the hall in the kitchen, with or without the oven on. It’s a mystery that apparently cannot be solved, but it’s a good reason to keep our cooking and baking to a minimum this summer season.

Fortunately for us, my German upbringing has taught me how to turn bread and a few simple ingredients into a satisfying meal. Sure, sandwiches — the American way of life — are quite filling, but it’s not the same experience as having a slice of stout pumpernickel or rye bread layered with exquisite homemade spreads, decoratively presented on a plate right in front of you, begging the question: Do I need to use a knife and fork with this?

While Germans have a firm grasp on Brotzeit, which literally translates to “bread time,” with liverwurst, pickles, crackling lard and other rustic ingredients, Scandinavians have a more exotic variety. Skagenröra, one of the most popular dishes in Sweden, is a simple seafood salad made of shrimp, crème fraîche, mayonnaise and dill. Most people use tiny shrimp, but we like to cut up larger shrimp, which doesn’t hurt the flavor in the least.

Skagenröra shrimp salad neighbors well with smoked salmon as well as other spreads, egg salad being one of them. For either one — shrimp or egg salad — you can lighten up by substituting a portion of the mayonnaise with yogurt, or ditch the mayo and use a combination of yogurt and plain hummus.

However you plan on spending “midsommar” — the longest day and shortest night of the year — keep the kitchen cool and try Skagenröra for a simple but worthy solstice snack.