Waffles, Hot Dogs and Herring
I think one thing Americans are very well known for worldwide is our love of food. I've started my own little project of learning how to cook(this goes back to my mission of trying to get Arild to eat like a normal human being) and so I bought a Norwegian cookbook and have been trying some recipes from it. So far most things have turned out okay with the exception of some potato dumplings gone horribly wrong.
For the most part the cookbook is filled with fish recipes. I'll skip that. Then there's some more very Norwegian dishes like reindeer this and that. I won't even express my opinions of reindeer stew or even lamb. :-) So far, I've been interested in the potato recipes (there are so many!) and bread and dessert recipes. Of course!
I have recently been enlightened on how spoiled (that is the best term I can think of) Americans are when it comes to food choice. It does make sense though! America is probably one of the most if not the most diverse country in the world. Food has strong ties to culture. Therefore with large people diversity we have large food diversity. For example, when we went grocery shopping I had to carefully look at everything there. I was expecting a cereal aisle. An entire aisle like the one at Walmart filled with 60 different types of cereals! Nope. Not even close. They have some of the same brands, but maybe a selection of 10-12 types of cereal. When I saw this I was certain there had to be more cereal somewhere so I asked Arild, "Is this it??!!?" Sadly it is. So now I'm making a food list of everything I'll miss. Weight Watchers frozen foods, Special K chips, Dean's Tru Moo chocolate milk (that stuff is heavenly, isn't it?) my grannie's cooking, V8 fruit and vegetable juice. This list goes on. Not to mention granola bars! I am a PROUD granola bar enthusiast! I'm almost certain I've eaten at least one granola bar a day for the past several years of my life! I never seen these in Norwegian grocery stores. I asked about them and no one knows what I'm talking about! Norwegians are deprived of the deliciousness of granola bars!!!!! I had to google this and found no results of granola bars existing in Norway. I did find.... an American expat's recipe for homemade granola bars. *sigh* On the bright side, I have no choice but to get creative and experiment with cooking. :-) It's about time!
While I was there I noticed something that would be unusual in Kentucky at least. Waffles are everywhere. Even in convenient stores. I didn't see maple syrup to accompany this, but I did see people put butter and sugar on their waffles. The waffles are thinner and I did see some people roll them. Now that I'm here I'm wondering why I never tried a Norwegian waffle! Most people probably already know this, but if you're cooking impaired like me then here is a recipe from my cookbook (Doub, S. (2002). Taste and Tales of Norway.) for waffles or vafler:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 eggs
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1) Melt butter. Pour in bowl.
2) Add eggs, sugar, vanilla sugar, milk and flour. Beat until smooth.
3) Let stand for at least 15 minutes. Heat waffle iron.
4) Spoon 1 tablespoon batter into waffle iron. Turn until golden brown on both sides.
"Serve with sugar, jam, or sour cream."
I have been wondering one thing... Do people use grocery coupons in Norway? If so, where do you get them?
Another amusing thing I've realized is how peanut butter is an American thing. I had no idea peanut butter could be disliked! Other than people with peanut allergies that is. I can't seem to wrap my head around this. How can anyone not like peanut butter? Thankfully it is sold in Norge! On the other side of things, I've also noticed how popular licorice is over there. There's licorice ice cream even! We turn our noses up at licorice and they turn their noses up at peanut butter. Generally speaking of course.
I'm sure in months to come I'll be posting all sorts of recipes and pictures of food or attempts at what could be called "food."
For the most part the cookbook is filled with fish recipes. I'll skip that. Then there's some more very Norwegian dishes like reindeer this and that. I won't even express my opinions of reindeer stew or even lamb. :-) So far, I've been interested in the potato recipes (there are so many!) and bread and dessert recipes. Of course!
I have recently been enlightened on how spoiled (that is the best term I can think of) Americans are when it comes to food choice. It does make sense though! America is probably one of the most if not the most diverse country in the world. Food has strong ties to culture. Therefore with large people diversity we have large food diversity. For example, when we went grocery shopping I had to carefully look at everything there. I was expecting a cereal aisle. An entire aisle like the one at Walmart filled with 60 different types of cereals! Nope. Not even close. They have some of the same brands, but maybe a selection of 10-12 types of cereal. When I saw this I was certain there had to be more cereal somewhere so I asked Arild, "Is this it??!!?" Sadly it is. So now I'm making a food list of everything I'll miss. Weight Watchers frozen foods, Special K chips, Dean's Tru Moo chocolate milk (that stuff is heavenly, isn't it?) my grannie's cooking, V8 fruit and vegetable juice. This list goes on. Not to mention granola bars! I am a PROUD granola bar enthusiast! I'm almost certain I've eaten at least one granola bar a day for the past several years of my life! I never seen these in Norwegian grocery stores. I asked about them and no one knows what I'm talking about! Norwegians are deprived of the deliciousness of granola bars!!!!! I had to google this and found no results of granola bars existing in Norway. I did find.... an American expat's recipe for homemade granola bars. *sigh* On the bright side, I have no choice but to get creative and experiment with cooking. :-) It's about time!
While I was there I noticed something that would be unusual in Kentucky at least. Waffles are everywhere. Even in convenient stores. I didn't see maple syrup to accompany this, but I did see people put butter and sugar on their waffles. The waffles are thinner and I did see some people roll them. Now that I'm here I'm wondering why I never tried a Norwegian waffle! Most people probably already know this, but if you're cooking impaired like me then here is a recipe from my cookbook (Doub, S. (2002). Taste and Tales of Norway.) for waffles or vafler:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 eggs
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1) Melt butter. Pour in bowl.
2) Add eggs, sugar, vanilla sugar, milk and flour. Beat until smooth.
3) Let stand for at least 15 minutes. Heat waffle iron.
4) Spoon 1 tablespoon batter into waffle iron. Turn until golden brown on both sides.
"Serve with sugar, jam, or sour cream."
I have been wondering one thing... Do people use grocery coupons in Norway? If so, where do you get them?
Another amusing thing I've realized is how peanut butter is an American thing. I had no idea peanut butter could be disliked! Other than people with peanut allergies that is. I can't seem to wrap my head around this. How can anyone not like peanut butter? Thankfully it is sold in Norge! On the other side of things, I've also noticed how popular licorice is over there. There's licorice ice cream even! We turn our noses up at licorice and they turn their noses up at peanut butter. Generally speaking of course.
I'm sure in months to come I'll be posting all sorts of recipes and pictures of food or attempts at what could be called "food."
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