Here’s a recipe for tasty Norwegian fishcakes. These are a specialty of my friend’s father, Ragnar. He makes the forcemeat, and Hilde’s mom Vivi fries them off. I gave Vivi a break, and was fry cook for the day. In this recipe they are fried in butter, but the mousseline forcemeat is very versatile, and… Continue reading Ragnar’s Norwegian Fishcakes: Ragnars Fiskekaker
My last night in Norway was a blustery one to say the least. The windows of Hilde’s sister’s house in Os were pelted with torrential rains, and the wind howled, as I packed my little carry on and purse for my next adventure. I always get a bit anxious when I’m about to shove off… Continue reading Let’s raise a glass to Norway and World of Beer. Skål!
It’s a pretty special thing how people take me into their homes, and into their lives. I’m really just a food-mad foreign girl who carts tart pans and thermometers halfway across Earth, and yet people never cease to amaze me with their open hearts and eagerness to share. Grimstad: Randi and her family brought me… Continue reading Grimstad and Kvamskogen: Little House in the Big Woods
I packed up my little bag, helped my local pal Hilde load the car with the necessary snacks, clothes, bedding, musicals, and Redbull, and we were on our way to Grimstad; off to visit Randi, Hilde’s college buddy, and her family. The ride took about 5 hours and included a few ferries, an hour long delay… Continue reading Grimstad: Berries and History
I have had quite the last couple of days! I joined my teacher friend Hilde’s fourth grade class for two days. The first day, I got a marriage proposal from a little boy during his singing practice, and I had about 5 students tell me I was pretty. I was also entrusted with a hot… Continue reading Bergen & Stavanger: Norwegian Towns with Style
We had a lazy Sunday! We were meant to clean the construction dust from Hilde’s little brother, Ola’s, house. When we arrived, it wasn’t ready for our bucket and mops, so we happily retired to making bread, watching Midsomer Murders, taking naps, and drinking buckets of tea. I made two loaves of a very plain… Continue reading Spelt bread, Cinnamon wreath, and Apple braid: Speltbrød, Klippekrans, Epleflette
Plum pie and venison stew. Life is tough. These are two easy-peasy recipes that get a lot of bang for their buck, pun intended. Aaanyway, if you get your hands on venison, as I seem to, this is a tasty simple stew. Hilde happened to have the meat of a red deer, a really big… Continue reading Plum Pie and Venison Stew with Kålrot
We went fishing today! Hilde’s father set the nets yesterday, and after a breakfast of tea, cottage cheese and strawberries, and bread and brown cheese (brunost), we set out to pull them in. I’m the wimpiest Alaskan alive, and Hilde saw me well outfitted. I was wearing stretch pants, wool long underwear, a tank top,… Continue reading The North Sea’s Bounty: Fishing up a Storm
We ate this tasty stew today. It might be simple, but it is very worthy of a try. Hilde’s mom started the stew, and her father put the finishing touches to it. I learned later, while washing the cars outside, that it’s Uncle Ola’s recipe. Note to self: washing cars in 2˚C, while wearing a… Continue reading Uncle Ola’s Fisk Stew: Onkel Olas Fiskegryte
On our evening walk, we came to a little cove in the fjord around the island called Møkstrafjorden. It was absolutely gorgeous, and so I rushed down to the water where I saw a wide array of beautiful seaweed. I was squealing like a little kid. I counted over five varieties. Hilde had no idea… Continue reading Møkstrafjorden Seaweed and Bekkjarvik Gjestiveri
apron notes: 