Strawberry dessert

Tags

Cream, Dessert, Norwegian Cuisine, Norwegian Food, Norwegian tradition, Recipe, Strawberries, Summer, Whipped cream

I think one of the most common and simplest desserts in Norway during the summer is fresh strawberries with cream and sugar. So delicious, so fresh and so extremely easy! This time served with a dash of whipped cream (with a bit of vanilla added to it). Remember to rinse the strawberries properly, they do grow very close to the ground!

The Day Before the Big Day and Risboller

Tags

Christmas, Food, Norwegian Cuisine, Norwegian Food, Norwegian Traditions, Recipe, Traditions, Yule

It’s the day before the big day for everyone except my wee brother: today is his birthday. He’s turns 23 today and is not very happy having his birthday the day before Christmas eve. He complained when he was younger that the reason it wasn’t cool having his birthday the day before Christmas was that his hands hurt so much after spending two entire days unwrapping presents. Anyway, a wonderful brother to you wee brother! May you crush all your opponents playing Fifa.

The day has been spent hurrying to get everything ready in order to spend the evening with the family. Today is called ‘little Christmas eve’ in Norway. In our family the tradition is to decorate the tree, with the tv on in the background. On tv is the annual christmas show on the state-owned national channel (à la BBC) playing christmas tunes  and discussing ways to cook the perfect ‘ribbe’. The pinnacle of the evening is the wee film ‘Dinner for one’ which is always shown at around nine in the evening.

A few cookies were served during the day, making sure the kids were high on sugar as well as high on life in general. Son did not go to bed voluntarily tonight!

One of the cookies served today were ‘risboller’ (ris=rice, boller=sweet rolls). These are in no way related to sweet rolls though. Think chocolate covered, puffed rice. Again a type of traditional and seasonal cookie, as good as it is simple.

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of sugar

Whisk this until it’s fluffy. Melt the other ingredients:

• 100 grams chocolate
• 85 grams of coconut fat
• 3 tablespoons of coffee

And add with the sugar and egg. Then add as much puffed rice as you please, but make sure you are able to cover everything with the chocolaty goo. Place about a tablespoon full of mix in muffin cups and store somewhere cold. Enjoy 🙂

Norwegian cuisine – Chinese apples and rice

Tags

Cream, Dessert, Norwegian Cuisine, Norwegian Food, Orange, Recipe, Rice

Now, I don’t really now if this should be classified as Norwegian cuisine, but as I’ve never had it anywhere else, I’ll be so bold as to at least add it to the recipes from my kitchen, making it at least slightly Norwegian…

This is a simple dessert made from rice, oranges, and whipped cream. The unjust title is due to the Norwegian name for orange (appelsin /a:pelsi:n/ that is with a back vowel /a/) which is borrowed from Dutch, which has again just translated from French ‘Pomme de Sine’, which means ‘Apple from China’. The Norwegian name for this dish is ‘appelsinris’ (orange rice), and thus: Chinese apples and rice.

This is what you make for dessert when you have leftover rice from dinner (or make extra rice when you want this for dessert). And it’s dead simple. Peel and dice the orange, whip cream (add a bit of sugar to weigh up for the healthy dinner) and mix it together with rice. I would say even portions of rice and cream, but that depends on how you like it. Sugar also depends on your sweet-tooth. I add about one teaspoon pr decilitre (about two teaspoons pr cup). Serve cold. Enjoy 🙂

Norwegian Cuisine – Lapper

Tags

Food, Lapper, Norwegian Food, Pancakes, Recipe

“Lapper” are small pieces of paper or cloth. Write someone a “lapp” means to write someone a note, and passing “lapper” is frowned upon at school (passing notes between students without the teacher knowing). “Lapper” is also a Norwegian pancake-like food which has become Son’s favourite these past weeks.

The recipe is actually my great-grandmother’s, it’s been in the family for at least a few generations, and it’s as good as it is simple.

First a note on the dairy product: kefir. Kefir is apparently called kefir in English as well. I’ve never come across it outside the Norwegian borders myself, but how common it is is beyond me. It can be substituted with any type of sour dairy product, but buttermilk is probably the best substitute.

• 5 dl kefir
• 5 dl flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• vanilla or vanilla sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons of sugar

Any pan is good for making these, though I must recommend something with a slip-let surface. If you don’t have one you should consider adding a bit of fat to the pan while cooking.

Make sure the pan is warm, on medium heat, before you pour a small ladle worth of batter in the pan. When the surface of the “lapp” bubbles and dries out, the “lapp” is ready to be turned. Looking for bubbles has become one of Son’s favourite past-times.

Anything can go into a lappe-batter. Leftover rice from dinner? throw it in! Earlier this week I made “lapps” with grated apples and cinnamon – delicious! And, if I make these as a meal, instead of as a desert/snack, I use mostly whole-grain flour, works perfectly fine, but I would recommend the finely ground type.