THE BLOG
Pickled Rhubarb
Rhubarb season happens to be right now, a sure sign that spring is in full effect. When I was little, rhubarb grew wild in the backyard of our house in Norway, and many people considered it a weed. To me, it was exciting to see things just pop out of the ground...
A Soup for Potato Lovers
I love making creamy soups from butternut, potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower, particularly during colder winter months. It’s simple, quick, nourishing and filling. In this recipe, I cooked potatoes in vegetable broth with a little sautéed onion and garlic and puréed them into a beautifully rich and silky soup. My secret trick is to add in some pre-baked potatoes, which I find adds an extra depth of flavor.
Sweet Orange and Vanilla Custard Buns for Easter
In recreating the wonderful memories of Easter, I couldn’t think of anything more festive and delicious than these sweet, fluffy buns filled with decadent vanilla custard and a glaze made with fresh orange juice. The key to the deliciousness of these buns is to press your own orange juice for both the dough and the glaze from fresh oranges. The flavor is just so much better (and sweeter!), plus you can also save the orange zest and add into your tea or even add some into the dough of the buns.
VILTGRYTE — A Vegan Hunter’s Stew
One of the most popular stews in the fall and winter months in Norway is jegergryte, which can also go by the name of viltgryte or hjortegryte. Respectively, they translate to ‘hunter’s stew’, ‘venison stew’ or ‘deer stew’. Not particularly vegan…but I veganized it!
Brennsnut
A recipe for a popular Norwegian soup called brennsnut, which translates into “burnt snout,” because the soup is to be served piping hot. This is a specialty from my region of Sunnmøre, and every household has at one time or another incorporated this dish into their weekly dinner menu.
A Jelly Doughnut Called Berlinerbolle
Fastelavn (our Fat Tuesday) has come and gone, but they always remind me of berlinerboller. These deep-fried no-hole doughnuts are made from sweet dough, are often filled jam or vanilla custard, but sometimes have no filling at all, and then rolled in sugar. I love these way more than I love the traditional cream puffs (fastelavnboller in Norwegian, semla in Swedish). I don’t often make or eat fried food, in fact, if I make these once a year, that’s often, and I suppose why these decadent pastries are even more satisfying.
Food Culture and Traditions in the Fjords of Norway
This post is sure to be the first of many parts where I dive into Norwegian food culture, and what makes it different, special and unique. Having lived in multiple countries, I am fascinated with both differences and similarities among countries, which is what inspired me to write a few words on this topic.
A Summery Lemon-Vanilla Cake with Strawberries
I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that Norwegians hold a record as one of the most enthusiastic cake bakers in the world. We also love to eat cake more often than not. I find our cake culture very special, particularly in Sunnmøre, where I’m from. This is where the tradition is particularly strong. It’s not uncommon to see 20 different cakes being brought out to the table at any one festivity such as baptisms, confirmations, weddings or holiday celebrations.
Easy No-Knead Bread Recipe
I can’t imagine a world without bread. Perhaps it’s the Scandinavian in me, but I feel tremendous happiness in enjoying a big hunk of bread, slathered with butter or some other topping, paired with a nice glass of wine. Give me that, and that’s all I knead (pun intended).
Celebrating Midsummer with Norwegian Rømmegrøt
Jonsok, or Sankthansaften, is a midsummer marker traditionally celebrated on June 24th and historically a Catholic holiday. Jonsok / Sankthans is named after the baptist Johannes, whose Danish saint name is St. Hans. Religious history describes how Johannes baptized Jesus in the Jordan river, and was the first one who recognized him as the Messiah. The word Jonsok is an Old Norse word which translates to “waking night for Jon” (short for Johannes).
Creamy Cauliflower Soup
One of my favorite memories from my childhood in Norway is when my mom would make a simple, creamy cauliflower soup for dinner. She would also buy a baguette (white bread—a luxury in my home) and we would slather it with butter and eat the soup with my mom’s homemade saft (a fruit concentrate blended with water) that were pressed from red and blackcurrants we grew in the garden. Nothing could be simpler, but yet it seemed like a really special meal to me.
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Riskrem: A simple, yet decadent dessert
I’m a big fan of the “cook once, eat twice” concept, or in other words—repurposing a dish into a second meal to both save time and money. This is why I love the classic Norwegian dessert riskrem…Riskrem literally translates to ‘rice cream’, and is a great way to make dessert from leftover risgrøt, a traditional dish in Norwegian homes.
A Soup for Potato Lovers
I love making creamy soups from butternut, potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower, particularly during colder winter months. It’s simple, quick, nourishing and filling. In this recipe, I cooked potatoes in vegetable broth with a little sautéed onion and garlic and puréed them into a beautifully rich and silky soup. My secret trick is to add in some pre-baked potatoes, which I find adds an extra depth of flavor.
Sweet Orange and Vanilla Custard Buns for Easter
In recreating the wonderful memories of Easter, I couldn’t think of anything more festive and delicious than these sweet, fluffy buns filled with decadent vanilla custard and a glaze made with fresh orange juice. The key to the deliciousness of these buns is to press your own orange juice for both the dough and the glaze from fresh oranges. The flavor is just so much better (and sweeter!), plus you can also save the orange zest and add into your tea or even add some into the dough of the buns.
VILTGRYTE — A Vegan Hunter’s Stew
One of the most popular stews in the fall and winter months in Norway is jegergryte, which can also go by the name of viltgryte or hjortegryte. Respectively, they translate to ‘hunter’s stew’, ‘venison stew’ or ‘deer stew’. Not particularly vegan…but I veganized it!
Brennsnut
A recipe for a popular Norwegian soup called brennsnut, which translates into “burnt snout,” because the soup is to be served piping hot. This is a specialty from my region of Sunnmøre, and every household has at one time or another incorporated this dish into their weekly dinner menu.
A Jelly Doughnut Called Berlinerbolle
Fastelavn (our Fat Tuesday) has come and gone, but they always remind me of berlinerboller. These deep-fried no-hole doughnuts are made from sweet dough, are often filled jam or vanilla custard, but sometimes have no filling at all, and then rolled in sugar. I love these way more than I love the traditional cream puffs (fastelavnboller in Norwegian, semla in Swedish). I don’t often make or eat fried food, in fact, if I make these once a year, that’s often, and I suppose why these decadent pastries are even more satisfying.
Food Culture and Traditions in the Fjords of Norway
This post is sure to be the first of many parts where I dive into Norwegian food culture, and what makes it different, special and unique. Having lived in multiple countries, I am fascinated with both differences and similarities among countries, which is what inspired me to write a few words on this topic.
A Summery Lemon-Vanilla Cake with Strawberries
I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that Norwegians hold a record as one of the most enthusiastic cake bakers in the world. We also love to eat cake more often than not. I find our cake culture very special, particularly in Sunnmøre, where I’m from. This is where the tradition is particularly strong. It’s not uncommon to see 20 different cakes being brought out to the table at any one festivity such as baptisms, confirmations, weddings or holiday celebrations.
Easy No-Knead Bread Recipe
I can’t imagine a world without bread. Perhaps it’s the Scandinavian in me, but I feel tremendous happiness in enjoying a big hunk of bread, slathered with butter or some other topping, paired with a nice glass of wine. Give me that, and that’s all I knead (pun intended).
Celebrating Midsummer with Norwegian Rømmegrøt
Jonsok, or Sankthansaften, is a midsummer marker traditionally celebrated on June 24th and historically a Catholic holiday. Jonsok / Sankthans is named after the baptist Johannes, whose Danish saint name is St. Hans. Religious history describes how Johannes baptized Jesus in the Jordan river, and was the first one who recognized him as the Messiah. The word Jonsok is an Old Norse word which translates to “waking night for Jon” (short for Johannes).