Vört Limpa and porter beer with classic Svenska Kottbullar
Ever wanted to eat lots of good bread and drink lots of great beer all at once??…well, the answer lies in Vört Limpa or Swedish Limpa Rye bread. The Vört Limpa is a traditional swedih rye bread that is made during the holiday season…in other words, it’s a realy party bread! Port beer, orange peel, rye flour, carraway seeds, anise seeds…what doesn’t this beer, I mean bread have in it??!! This bread is good enough to have its own tv […]
Categories: Baking, Breads, European Cuisine, Scandinavian cuisine, Swedish Cuisine • Tags: Porter, Rye, Swedish Limpa, Swedish meatballs
(Ski) Queen of Cheese and King of Flatbreads
Tortilla…roti…lefse, a flatbread by any other name would taste as great! Lefse is traditionally a potato based flatbread popular in Norway. A particular variation is the Møsbrøm Lefse that hails from the Salten region of Northern Norway. This flatbread is rolled out with a groovy rolling pin (it literally has grooves) and is eaten with sauce made of a Scandinavian brown whey cheese called Brunost. Oh Brunost, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… Brunost (or Mesost in […]
Categories: European Cuisine, Norwegian Cuisine, Scandinavian cuisine • Tags: Brunost, Geitost, Mosbrom Lefse, Ski Queen
Karjalanpiirakka…Now say that 3 times!
I had a little crush on this Finnish word. I liked to let the word slowly roll off of my tongue and pretend that my fresh acquaintance with this single Finnish word, somehow won me some bona-fide Scandinavian credentials (We figured that looking up the translation in a foreign language for the words I Love You just did not cut it anymore these days.) So the two of us would be driving in the car and we would play a game of […]
Categories: Finnish Cuisine • Tags: Aki Kaurismaki, egg butter, Finnish Cuisine, Karelian Rice Pasties
Dessert for breakfast, anyone?
Ever wanted to eat breakfast and almost feel like you were enjoying a light dessert? Then allow us to tell you about Puff the Magic Porridge a.k.a Klappgröt (known in Finland as Vispipuuro.) Klappgröt is a Swedish porridge made with semolina flour and and the water from boiled lingonberries. It has everything you would want in both a breakfast and even in a dessert sans all the decadence…so pour some cream or milk on it, adorn it with those rubies […]
Categories: Scandinavian cuisine, Swedish Cuisine • Tags: Klappgröt, Lingonberry, Porridge, Vispipuuro
Of Cabbages, Kings and the Kåldolmar
“The time has come…to talk of many things” – The walrus and the carpenter And how about some stuffed cabbage for a conversation starter? As a rule, I am resolutely indifferent to coleslaw and a limp meh floats up to the surface at the idea of sauerkraut. Also, I am pretty sure I have some repressed memories of a very ugly incident involving cabbage soup diet. So at best, cabbage and I have a tentative but mostly peaceful relationship with […]
Categories: Personal Favorites, Recipe, Scandinavian cuisine, Swedish Cuisine • Tags: cabbage, Kåldolmar
Kjötsúpa and the land of lamb worship
Iceland has some of the darkest Nordic winters ever with just 4 hours of daylight and and harsh conditions, but that doesn’t deter this country from producing some of the best sheep in the world. Icelandic sheep are cultural ambassadors of this country. They represent everything that Iceland stands for…right from its history rife with the Vikings’s exploits to building of the first farms and establishments. Sheep farming seems almost like a form of worship for Icelanders and is practiced […]
Categories: Icelandic cuisine, Scandinavian cuisine, Soups • Tags: Iceland, Kjötsúpa, Lamb, Scandinavia, Vikings
Cloudberries and Cloud Nines
Imagine yourself being a part of a psychological test where you are asked to mention what comes into your mind when you hear the word “Scandinavia“….ummm…let’s see…IKEA, ABBA, Bjork and the “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” trilogy? This, my friends is not even the tip of the iceberg. Scandinavian culture is very promising and has so much to offer, right from the cuisine, to the tradition. Our insatiable desire to experience Scandinavian cuisine first hand, became a quest that had […]
Categories: Restaurant Reviews, Scandinavian cuisine, Wine & Drinks • Tags: Aquavit, Cloudberry, flatbrød, Herring, Lingonberry, Pläj, Skagen, Skåne, Swedish meatballs
Pork with Clams – Alentejo Style
Holy Sweet Red Pepper Paste! I think we have a winner here…folks! We grabbed a bottle of Massa de Pimentão from our local Portuguese (and Brazilian) grocery store. Massa de Pimentão (sweet red pepper paste) is a Portuguese pantry staple. Though primarily used in dishes from the Alentejo region (south-central Portugal), this paste/condiment finds its way into a multitude of Portuguese dishes and is a mainstay of the cuisine. In it’s most basic version, it is a combination of red peppers, […]
Categories: European Cuisine, Portuguese Cuisine, Recipe • Tags: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, massa de pimentao
Massa Sovada – a.k.a That Thing That Derailed My Diet
If I were to have an epitaph someday, it should read “She tried.” I know this is all getting off to a morbid start…but wait, I am getting to the point. The point is my chronic inability to diet. I have had courtside seats to witnessing some of the truly awe-inspiring, supremely-motivating weight loss missions that my friends have undertaken. They have passed with resounding success, the kind that makes you want to thump your chest and pump your fist. […]
Categories: Baking, Breads, European Cuisine, Portuguese Cuisine, Recipe • Tags: bread, massa sovada
