I've been told that Savory Morsels isn't accepting comments. I'm not sure how to fix this, so I'm switching my food blog to a new site:
cake walk
You can still find my regular blog, The Icing, at its normal home since the comment feature works there. And, of course, you can still read blog entries past here. Who knows, I may figure out how to fix this problem and come back!
Two important words: moose heart.
Before I get to that, however, this week I've been on my first road trip; I've been in Hedmar, a rural county in eastern Norway close to the Swedish border. Trysil, the first city I visited, is home to one of Norway's ski resorts. I arrived on a rainy, cold afternoon and checked into my hotel, the Norlandia-Trysil hotel, which is known for having one of the "best kitchens" (to quote Silje) in Trysil. After settling into my room, I met the English teachers from Trysil VGS for dinner at the hotel. I had perused the menu before, deciding to try a regional special, the sour cream porridge (Rommegrot og Fisk) which was served with trout. However, everyone praised another hotel specialty, the Stenbiff, so I decided to try that instead.
Stenbiff is thinly sliced beef served raw at the table.
The diners cook the meat on an extremely hot, salted stone which is also brought to the table (after having been in the oven for 24 hours). Diners can withdraw the meat at any point, depending on how well cooked they like it.
Four different sauces were also served: sourcream sauce with garlic, peppersauce, herb-butter and bearnaise. I liked all of them, although if I had to choose a favorite, I'd probably go with the bearnaise. Side dishes included a nice mixed salad and "gratinated potatoes" (potatoes, cheese, and cream . . . for you Utahns, think funeral potatoes). I enjoyed trying a regional special--and getting to know the Trysil teachers on a more informal basis.
So what does this have to do with moose heart? Nothing really. Moose heart came into my consciousness the next day. After talking with a group of students first thing, and then the English teachers for a little more than an hour, it was time for lunch. Norwegian high schools usually have vocational/apprenticeship programs in addition to a more traditional college preparatory track. Trysil's programs include carpentry and . . . cooking (a school after my heart!). Silje had arranged with this program to prepare our lunch. We walked into a nicely appointed room, complete with white table cloths, candles, and artistically folded napkins. The students served each of us a platter of beautifully arranged food: cheese, egg, meat, and fruit. The platter included a darker meat that I assumed was reindeer so I took a bite. The meat was flavorful, a little chewy, but quite enjoyable. Almost as soon as I had swallowed the first bite, I was informed that I had just eaten . . . that's right, MOOSE HEART! By that time, though, I realized that it was quite tasty, so I had about 6 more bites during the course of the meal.
Yeah, I'm trendy now. I eat offal.
Thursday, Tove, Jennifer, and I traveled to Halden (two hours south of Oslo) for meetings at the Norwegian Centre for Foreign Languages in Education at Østfold University College. We ate lunch at the university cafeteria (egg sandwiches, yum) and talked with everyone involved with the center. Jen and I also did presentations for a group of teachers (which included students studying to be teachers). The participants were a little quiet, but they eventually responded well to the trickster story we were discussing.
After our presentations, Karin invited us over to her house for dinner. She made a traditional Norwegian dinner for us--and it completely erased my not so enjoyable experience at Kaffistova. Karin put her own twist on recipes that she'd been taught by her mother, and she is really a wonderful cook. We sat in her beautiful home built in the 1930s, looking out the window over Halden. The table was lit with candles (a very Norwegian practice, especially during the winter).
The first dish that Karin brought to the table was creamed cabbage. The mild taste complimented the dark, gamy meatballs made of moose. We ate these meatballs with a cranberry like sauce--and the combination filled my mouth with a rich, meaty flavor. I've never eaten moose before, and this was a perfect introduction. Karin also had made cooked carrots, fresh potatoes from her garden, and some wonderful mushrooms with herbs. For dessert, we had ice cream served with cloudberries, another delicious traditional Norwegian dish.
Everything smelled, looked, and tasted delicious. I appreciate Karin's desire to help a couple of Americans understand the rich culinary traditions of her country.
I arrived in Amsterdam Monday evening and went straight to a vegetarian restaurant for dinner. I was hungry but not starving, so I ordered a salad with herb dressing, hummous, and a juice made of cucumber, apple, ginger, and lime. The food was so good that I returned to Golden Temple my last night in Amsterdam.
But first, I tried broodjes (Dutch sandwiches made on nutty brown rolls) and french fries with mayonnaise, two things that are very typical of the Netherlands. My favorite broodje contained pesto, cheese, and tomato. And, on Esther's orders, I tried fries served with Dutch mayo--which was surprisingly quite good, just as Esther had promised.
I had soup a couple of times for lunch. I tried the Dutch pea soup which was just okay (I think I ate at the wrong cafe). But I also stumbled upon de Soepwinkel and had their borscht which was the best borscht I've ever eaten. The pinkish translucent broth; the chunks of beet, carrot, and celery; and the striations of sour cream combined to make this such a satisfying experience. I'll go back to de Soepwinkel whenever I return to Amsterdam.
Esther also ordered me to eat Indonesian food. My guide book said good things about Tujuh Maret so that's where I went. I wanted to try the rijsttafel which includes a number of very small dishes, but Tujuh Maret only serves this for two. Instead, I had the vegetarian platter which allowed me to try four different vegetable dishes: kale and tofu, mixed vegetables, green beans, and a tempeh/bean sprout mix. This was also a really good meal--it was so nice to eat cooked vegetables (I really need to do this more at home) and I loved that each dish had a different flavor due to the type of sauce used.
But Thursday night after a pleasant but really rainy day, I made my way back to Golden Temple. Just the smell of the chamomile tea as I cradled the cup was enough to make me feel warm again. For my mezze, I chose falafel, broccoli/tofu kebabs, pita pizza, and a yogurt salad. This meal was divine. The portions were quite small, but so well prepared. The falafel pieces were actually delicate but flavorful in their lemon tahini. The tofu was meaty and the peanut-soy coating was amazing. Golden Temple halved a pita (their version is quite thick and dense) and covered it with a feta, tomato, olive, onion, and parsley mixture. They also broiled it briefly. The yogurt salad was made with organic yogurt, coriander, cumin and small chunks of cucumber. I usually find couscous to be too dry, but this version had been cooked in vegetable broth and had tiny slivers of cauliflower, carrots, and zucchini. I combined the couscous and yogurt to create a moister dish. This was the best meal I had in Amsterdam.
I think I miss vegetarian food. I've already visited Oslo's one vegetarian restaurant, Krishna's, which is just okay. My last favorite vegetarian restaurant was Pita Jungle in Tempe, Arizona. New Star in Fresno is good, but it's too focused on creating dishes that resemble meat. I loved that Golden Temple serves delicate, delicious food that is unabashedly vegetarian. I also loved that it includes a couple of tasting menu options. Golden Temple is my new favorite vegetarian restaurant. I just wish it was in Fresno or Oslo.
Looks like I've started my own Oslo tradition: the Sunday afternoon walk and early evening meal. I know in the U.S. that would seem like a senior-citizen-early-bird-special tradition, but here in Oslo it seems so cosmopolitan. Young and old flock to cafes and sit outside people watching, conversing, and otherwise enjoying the weekend. These are my kind of people!
Today, I walked down to Aker Brygge to watch the last marathon runners finish their race.
A number of my family members have decided to train for a marathon; I'm so impressed with their dedication and hard work! As I watched these runners finish the route, I imagined Diane, Ted, Emily, Steven, Carrie, and Matt (the runners in my family) and how good it must feel to achieve a difficult goal.
I walked around the finish line, enjoying the sight of hundreds of banana peels and tired athletes getting massages. I admired those whose bodies had already started stiffening up yet who still had a long trip home on public transportation ahead of them. They looked tired but proud.
But my stomach was rumbling, so I walked down to where all the restaurants are. I finally decided to go to Olivia right by the last leg of the route. On the waitress's suggestion, I tried the pizza with chicken, olives, arugula, and a sundried tomato pesto.
I have to say, Norwegians understand pizza. The thin, charred crust was perfection. And the mix of the peppery arugula and the concentrated tomato taste of the pesto was soooooooo good. The chicken was pretty bland and there was very little cheese (maybe a sprinkling of parmesan), but the other ingredients more than made up for that.
I hope this isn't the end of my tradition. By the time I'm able to do this again, it will be mid-October. At the end of my dinner today, I was beginning to get cold--and it looks like this week the temperature will drop another 10 degrees. Although I'm told that Norwegians go to cafes in dead winter, huddling by heaters and wrapped in blankets, I think that might be a little much for me.
Of course, I could sit inside where it's toasty warm right by a window . . .
