Fastelavn in Norway Many cultures celebrate the days leading up to Lent with a big feast or celebration like Mardi Gras, Fastnacht, and Carnival. In Norway and other Nordic countries this is Fastelavn. While the 40-day fast period of Lent largely lost significance in Norway after the Reformation, Norwegians have…
-
Continue ReadingMy friend Lisa celebrated her birthday here in Bergen last week, and she kindly let me bake a cake for her birthday party (so that I could share the recipe on this blog). Lisa is allergic to nuts, and I quickly realized that most of my favorite Norwegian cakes contain…
-
Continue ReadingNorwegians make a lot of different kinds of pancakes, but probably my favorite are their thin and eggy, crepe-like pancakes. These are incredibly versatile and can be filled with all sorts of different things. They can be served sweet for dessert, or savory. While I’m usually more of a Norwegian…
-
Continue ReadingI grew up in the US, but my mother is Norwegian so my family would often spend our summer vacation in Norway, which I loved. Well of course I loved it, because I eventually moved to Norway. I loved the mountains, I loved the fjords, I loved my grandparents’ dog…
-
Continue ReadingLapskaus is secretly one of my favorite Norwegian dishes. I say secretly, because I suspect that lapskaus might be considered old man’s food. At least, when I worked in a supermarket our kitchen would make lapskaus, and it always seemed to be the older, single male farmers who would buy…
-
Continue ReadingHappy New Year! I spent my New Year’s Eve in Edinburgh with my friends Catriona and Samantha, dancing the year away at a Scottish ceilidh dance. And yes, I ate all the haggis. I’ve written all about my visit to Edinburgh on my travel blog here. Now I’m back home…
