Mother nature has been busy these past few days. Our snow has almost entirely melted and our skies have been clear and bright. The sunrises and sunsets have been a vibrant aura of orange, red, yellow, pink and purple hues. Temperatures have been higher than normal and it almost feels as though spring is just around the corner. The weather has a calmness to it, like the stillness of a snow globe when it rests on a shelf, unsuspecting of change. Seemingly ignorant that at any moment everything could change. (more…)
Tag: Salads
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Rutabaga & Apple Salad (Kålrabi Salat med Epler)
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Norwegian Spring Potato Salad (Potetsalat)
The roosters and hens have given a whole new meaning to the term ‘free range’ these days. Making their rounds, they circle up into the woods and around the kitchen garden just before sunbathing and slumbering below my kitchen window. They continue on following a makeshift pathway down a small slope to the main lawn and heading back to their coop for another siesta. They make this journey a couple of times a day and the roosters crow every once in awhile as if to give me some sort of sense that their journey under the sun is going well. Very well.
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Cucumber & Radish Salad (Agurksalat med Reddik)
Spring is on the horizon, and I’m beginning to see green amidst all the snow lying heavy over the farm. The tulips, perched near the windowsill, are blossoming as the rays of sunshine cover each stalk & petal. The days are longer, the sun is brighter and the seasons are blending into one another.
It’s around this time of year that a certain fruit makes its start into full-time production mode, thanks to a little help from greenhouses everywhere. The humble, and very popular, cucumber. Each year, Norway produces around 16,000 tons and imports 8,000 tons to meet the high demand of Norwegians everywhere. Norwegians will consume close to 25,000 tons of cucumbers per year.∗ And while cucumbers thrive in the summer months, the demand is such that they has become a year-round commodity. A permanent fixture in the Norwegian home.
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Pan-Seared Fish & Radish Salad with Slow-Fried Potatoes
It’s that time of year when winter seems to be letting go of its grasp upon the terrain. The daylight sojourns longer and the trees aren’t wrapped in a constant blanket of snow. It’s that time when you start to anticipate an early spring, even though you know full well winter is not quite ready to say its farewells. And like a passionate game of tug-a-war, you go back and forth between the stronghold of winter and the up and coming burst of spring.
Instead of serving up a hot lapskus/stew or heartier fare, the plate yearns for something which resembles a longing for spring, but yet still understands its place in the winter. And this salad – a warm & substantial salad – does just that. With fish and almond potatoes from northern Norway at its center, it is dressed up in simple greens, seared radishes and fresh dill. A salad befitting of both seasons. Something to bring harmony to the in-between. Simple, yet complex. Elegant, yet rustic. Light, yet satisfying.
