Tried and Tested: Sylterull number 2 or Norwegian Pork Roll 2

I am really pleased with the result of this year's pork roll recipe. Here is my other version of how to make it. This version was simple, straight forward, little mess and it is nice and firm.

 

I got the recipe from MatPrat.No and here is the English version of how I made it:

 

You need an approx. 1.5 kg slab of pork belly

No bones and preferably not scored, but it doesn't matter too much

You might need to go to a butcher to get a big enough piece

 

Cover it completely with water and let it simmer for about 2 1/2 hours

 

In the meantime, mix in a bowl and set aside:

1 1/4 table spoon salt

1 tea spoon ground pepper

1 tea spoon ground clove

1 tea spoon ground all spice

1 tea spoon ginger

3 tea spoons gelatine powder - equivalent of one sachet of gelatine powder from Dr Oetker

(the recipe called for 5, but I put in three and it is ample!)

 

Take the meat out of the water and let it cool so it can be handled

 

Take the skin off in as whole pieces as possible

 

Bring out a bread mould and generously line it with cling film letting the ends hang over the sides so you have enough to cover the meat at the end

 

Take the skin and put a layer with the outer side down in the bread mould

 

Sprinkle some of the spice mix on the skin

 

Cut up the meat - it says to do it in nice slices, but mine crumbled no matter how I cut it and it doesn't seem to matter too much

 

Put a layer of meat on the spices

 

Alternative putting the spice mix and the layers of meat

 

Build it as high as possible in the mould

 

 

End with a final layer of the skin, this time the outer side out

 

 

 

Cover it with the clingfilm

 

 

 

Put it in a press (of 2-3 kg) or use a heavy frying pan/books/etc and leave it in the fridge till the next day.

 

It is now ready!

 

I decided to divide mine in two and freeze them, but you can also put it in brine to keep it in the fridge.

 

Bring on the mustard!

 

 

Falling Out of Rhythm...

Let me start by wishing all Norwegians everywhere "Gratulerer med dagen".

17 May is the Norwegian constitution day and celebrated and revered by all. Yet again, I am not able to be in Norway on this day, but I am there in spirit!

 

♥

It has been a while since I wrote on the blog and my only excuse is 'life'. I have missed the blog and reading about what people get up to and getting inspiration from so many. But it has been a hectic month, both at work and at home with exams looming for Our Boy. In addition, I have been struggling with a bad back since Christmas and have tried to get this under control with physiotherapy sessions and daily walks which does wonders for both body and mind. I hope to be back on the blog more regularly now!

 

Here are some picture from what I have been up to the last couple of weeks:

 

Capturing the chestnut tree in bloom in the street behind my office...

 



Business meeting in London...

 

Afternoon tea with Our Boy

 





Fundraising event at work for the children's charity Barnardos

 



Another course to learn to make leather-wrap bracelets

 



A glimpse from my daily walk by the river.

A little piece of heaven on earth

☺

 

Recommended Reading: Beatles

 

Filling in the "gaps"...

 

I guess we all have 'gaps' in the list of books we would have liked to have read. Working my way through my 'list', I am currently reading the Norwegian/Danish author, Lars Saabye Christensen's book "Beatles" (published in 1984). I read his book "The Half Brother" (2001) when it was published and loved it. The same goes for "Beatles".

 

The book is set in the 1960s and the story is told through the main character, Kim Karlsen (Paul). Kim and his friends, Gunnar (John), Sebastian (George) and Ola (Ringo), played football together, collected Beatles records and stole attributes from cars. Kim is the notorious liar, while Gunnar is the truth-seeker. Ola is the stuttering fat one, and Sebastian is a spiritualist. The four boys mature during the political struggle of the 1960s, and end up as left-wings, inspired by people around them. Although they are at least 10 years older than me, there are many familiar flashbacks to childhood memories, feelings and growing up in Norway in the 1970s.

 

Beatles has two sequels, Bly (Lead) and Bisettelsen (The Funeral).

 

So, my list goes on...

Which books are on your 'must-read' list?

♥

Shout Out For A Friend!

Be patient - it won't be long before we can enjoy this again...

This is a shout out for an "old" friend of mine - Cathrine Rød Gundersen - who just published a book called "Boat Friends" (Båtvenner).The book came about when she was looking for a gift for a friend. The sea is obviously a big part of this sea faring nation and many Norwegians spend their spare time roaming the coast and exploring the many little islands scattered around. As the cover picture of the book shows, these long summer evenings are really quite magical.

♥

Cathrine wanted a book depicting life in the boats, but she couldn't find anything except navigation books. So, this energetic lady wrote her own! This 200 page book (in Norwegian) is full of lovely pictures of various boats, the families enjoying them, recipes and loads of tips and suggestions.
A super idea for a gift!

 

Gratulerer med boka, Cathrine!  

Recommended Reading: "Child Wonder"

I just finished the Norwegian author Roy Jacobsen's book "Child Wonder" (or "Vidunderbarn", in Norwegian).

 

The book is set in a suburb of Oslo in the early 1960s -  a time when 'men became boys and housewives women'. It is the year the Berlin Wall was erected and Gagarin became the first man to travel into space. The book is about childhood, intensely social-democratic life in Norway in the 60s, and the effect of painful memories. The book is a gripping and unsentimental portrait of childhood and a very uplifting novel. And the story stops at the right place. There is a form of closure and you sense the potential for a new story.

In another book.

♥

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Lilyhammer - A Norwegian-American Series Now in the UK!

 

Last night the Norwegian-American series "Lilyhammer" aired on television here in the UK. It is not every day I get to see Norwegian series here (plenty of Swedish or Danish like Wallander and Borgen), so Our Boy and I sat down to watch with great anticipation. The series followed a documentary on the Vikings, so we were really getting our fill of Scandinavia last night!

 

"Lilyhammer" is about a NY mafia snitch - Giovanni/Johnny - (played by Little Steven from Bruce Springsteen's band) who gets relocated to Lillehammer in Norway. Apparently, he chose Lillehammer as he fell in love with it during the Olympics in 1994 (I also went to see the Olympics in Lillehammer in 1994 and I walked into Prince Albert, but that is another story).

Well, I won't reveal more from the series except there were some funny cultural misunderstandings.

 

I am however, a little concerned with the portrayal of most of the Norwegian characters as rather gullible and stupid oafs... I guess it is for comic effect, but it doesn't sit well with me fearing that this is the impression the world gets of us...

 

Oh, I also have to 'admire' Giovanni/Johnny's ability to learn Norwegian so quickly...

Yeah, right!

 

Ok, I will put these objections aside and have an open mind and look forward to the next episode next Tuesday!

17th of May In My Corner

Flag and candle at the breakfast table this morning (no, the flat isn't on fire...)

The Norwegian Consitution Day!

Gratulerer med Dagen!

Just a quick update on the day from my corner of England:

I have been working AND celebrating.

I had a (loooong) lunch with some of the Scandi-ladies I have gotten to know recently
(I brought the flag with me to the restaurant)

☺

Tonight a friend will be joining myself and Our Boy for a dinner out.

Although there has neither been any childrens' parades, flag waving, hot dog consumption, ice cream/cake eating nor wearing of my bunad (it would look a bit odd in the office...), it has actually been a typical day of celebrating 17th of May with food, drink, family and friends!

I hope you have also enjoyed the day, no matter where you are!

♥

Replacement and New Creations

for some reason it doesn't look quite straight on the picture, but it is!
☺

OK, I know we are hoping to do without scarves soon, but given how the weather has been here the last couple of weeks you would be forgiven for thinking we were on the other side of summer... 

 A few years ago I knitted a scarf out of eyelash yarn. I loved this scarf and was devastated when I lost it at work one day. I briefly forgot it in the common room one day and although I went back a few minutes later it was gone!

Imagine stealing a scarf!

So, I popped in to a craft shop when I was in Norway last weekend and got some new yarn. With 33 stitches, size 4 needles and just plain knitting it is such an easy project to do in front of TV or while listening to music so this is was done in a couple of evenings!

I don't mind if the weather improves and the scarf won't be needed for another 6 months though!

☺

But as I also got new glasses (progressive glasses for the first time...!) this week I have taken advantage of being able to see small details and made some more bead bracelets out of beads I have had lying around for a long time.

Can you tell I love purple (and pearls)????

☺

♥♥♥

The First Visit...

And another week has passed since I devoted any time to the blog…

It has been an intense week with a long weekend back to Norway where the main purpose of the trip was to visit my mother’s grave. She would have been 80 years old last week and it was the first birthday since she passed away last summer.

It was an emotional visit, I have to admit.

But more emotions followed when I went to Oslo to see dear friends. The court case of the century is on going after the horrible events last summer. We walked downtown to see the Court House and the bombed out government quarters.  It hit me a lot harder than I expected to actually SEE the devastation.

We saw the flowers that people are placing around the Court House.

And outside the church.

And on the fence in front of the government quarters.

Serious, serious times.

A time where we all need a lot of reflection.

But the visit was not just nostalgic and serious.

I got to see many friends and relatives, and to celebrate my niece’ birthday. While in Oslo my friend and I went for a walk around the lake Sognsvann and then for a walk in Frognerparken. Both favourite spots of mine and great places for having good conversations with a friend.

So, in short, that is life

– sorrow and happiness go hand in hand, some times.

Tried and Tested: Purker

This time I am offering you the recipe of a traditional recipe from my hometown, Halden, called "Purke".

In essence, they are large, flat, slightly sweet buns.  It is said that the idea must have come with Swedish workers coming across the border as sweet bread is more common in Sweden than in Norway, but to my knowledge they are only found in Halden and none of the other neighbouring towns. I don't know the origin of the name, but the direct translation is actually "sow" (female pig)...

☺

I remember we used to buy them from the bakers after school...

We ate them without adding anything to them, but some have them with cheese/ham/tomato and lettuce and I have even heard some enjoy them with butter and syrup (!)...

This very moreish recipe makes 16:

50 gram yeast (or 2 teaspoons if you use dried yeast)

5 decilitre luke warm milk

100 gram sugar

10 gram salt

1 kilo flour

1 large egg

150 gram soft butter cut in squares

1 whisked egg for glazing

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl except the butter.

Knead well for 8-10 mins.

Add the butter and knead for another 10 minutes till it is all well incorporated.

Cover the bowl with plastic and let it rest for 1 hr.

Divide it into 16 pieces and roll them to smooth balls which you flatten

They should be about 15 cm in diameter.

Place them on a greased baking tray (you will probably fit 4 or 5 on each tray) and

let them rest again for about 45 minutes.

Glaze them with the beaten egg

Bake in the middle of the oven (200 degrees) for 12-15 minutes.

When they have cooled off open them like a pita bread and fill them with cheese/butter/jam/etc.

Or simply just enjoy them as they are.

♥

It Doesn't Take Much...

to make me happy...



'Fiskeboller i hvit saus med kokte poteter og raspede gulrøtter'

(fishballs in a white sauce with boiled potatoes and grated carrots)

is not exactly common fare over here, so edible gifts from kind friends are very welcome!

♥

Actually, this traditional Norwegian dish almost ended my relationship with The Professor before it even started! The first dinner I invited him to in my student flat 27 (!) years ago was 'Fiskeboller'. Years later he confessed that he had almost decided to stop pursuing me as this was the worst thing he had ever eaten...!

☺

Well, he didn't stop pursuing me and found out I could cook other types of food, too (which is good as he is not particularly interested in cooking himself)...  

But I only make 'fiskeboller' when he is not home.

Fortunately, Our Boy has got more of his mother's food taste so we really enjoyed it last night.

And there are leftovers for today!

A real treat - two days in a row!!!

♥

Luxury Dilemma..

What a luxury dilemma!

To my amazement I won two round-trip tickets rail tickets in the Norwegian rail line's Christmas calendar

from anywhere in Norway to anywhere in Norway!

And now the dilemma - where to go and what to see!

Aaaaah - there is so much choice and soooo hard to choose!

The tickets are valid till the end of 2012, so there is plenty of time to plan a great trip!

Any good suggestions?

☺