“Lefse uten gomme er som grøt uten salt”.
(Lefse wthout gomme is like porridge without salt)
Gomme goes by many names, including gumme, gubbost, and dravle. It’s created by cooking down fresh milk – curds and whey and all – to achieve a soft and spreadable sweet cheese. It’s been around for centuries, perhaps one of the older desserts known, and has had a central place among Norwegian milk dishes. Life on a self-sustainable farm meant a limited supply of cow’s milk during certain parts of the year. Therefore, since gomme was made of fresh milk, it is reasonable to assume it was a highly treasured dish that was reserved for special occasions and high holidays. (more…)
There is an intense ruggedness at this time of year when autumn is holding on tightly before winter sweeps through for good. The sky is more often than not a grey hue with gaps of blue sometimes piercing through. The landscape is subdued, quiet even, as it slowly paces toward the end of another season. The fog comes rolling in with more vigor, covering everything in its path in a billowy embrace. It’s a magical time; a window between the end of one period and the start of a new. 
In the bright of the day, looking toward the bay, the water sparkles as the sun’s rays reflect off the waves with an intense luster creating an almost magical atmosphere. This reoccurring picture and likening to glitter is what gave inspiration for the name of a farm in Rollag three generations ago. It would, in recent times, be the inspiration behind the name of the baked good so loved and so often served at this farm, by the hands of Maj-Lis. 
One of the great things about holiday baking is that everyone has their own traditions and favorites. Recipes which span for generations, recipes that cross continents, recipes that adapt and evolve in one’s own kitchen. Each recipe with a history and a story.
Change is in the air. That time again when the sun stays a little longer each day and the once, all-white landscape has become a collage of earthy tones. We are edging towards spring and that means we are also edging toward the cusp of lent with the celebration of Fastelavns, ‘the fast evening’.