~~~ A Norwegian Christmas Luncheon ~~~

Hello my dear friends.  Here I am writing about Christmas and we're having temps in the high 80's today!  I'm still not used to being in  California for Christmas.  Last week my beloved Daughters of Norway lodge held their Christmas luncheon.

Our dear member, Gerd, opened up her home to host the luncheon for us.  The tables were beautifully decorated with the holiday theme.

The tree was aptly decorated and we placed our exchange gifts under the tree.

Our hostess had many beautiful Christmas scenes throughout her home but I loved seeing these Nissemen in their holiday finery.

Some of our members wore their Bunads, the national dress of Norway.  Pictured above is Berit on the left along with Carla.  Berit brought Carla her bunad from Norway this past year and it fits her perfect.  I love the embroidered designs and the bag.  The style of the bunad is based on what part of Norway you come from. 

There were more tables set up in the kitchen where all the food and activity was taking place.  We had pickled herring on brown bread for appetizers and it was yummy.

It was soon time to take our place at our assigned table.  Pictured in the glass dish is lingonberry sauce from Scandinavia.  It went so well with the entree.

We sang table grace in Norwegian before beginning our meal.

Speaking of food, here is what we feasted on; Norwegian meatballs with brown gravy, pork sausage, boiled red potatoes, browned cabbage, red cabbage, and a lovely Christmas colored salad with fresh vegetables.  It was delicious.

After our main course, we had dessert and coffee and then departed to the living room to have our gift exchange. 

It was such a lovely afternoon, spent together with dear friends and to continue the experience of Scandinavian customs.  Being Danish, I'm going to have this same menu for my family on Christmas Eve.  It's a tradition that we have had for many years, dating from the time when I was young and my Danish grandma would be in charge of our Christmas Eve meal.  I warms my heart to be able to carry on this tradition for my family and my grandchildren.

If you are of Scandinavian descent and are interested in joining a lodge, please take a look at Daughters of Norway or the  Danish Sisterhood of America.  They have lodges throughout the United States and are most welcoming to new members.

Do you realize that Christmas Eve is two weeks from today?  My home is decorated, the presents wrapped and now I will start my Christmas baking - my favorite part! Have a blessed week everyone and I will be back again to share some more happenings.  And, Lilly, my cat is doing very well.

With my best wishes,

Pat

PS Thank you dear Heidi for my new blog design.  The header photo is from my beloved Gig Harbor, Washington. 

A Norwegian Birthday Party

Greetings  my dear blog friends.  I hope your week has been going well.  My week started off attending a birthday party on Monday for my dear friend Laila.  Laila is the cultural director for my local lodge of Daughters of Norway.

Gerd from our lodge hosted the party for Laila.  She had her house all decked out with the Norwegian flag along with our American flag.

The table(s) were set beautifully in anticipation of the guests arriving.  I love the Norwegian napkins as they add a special touch to the setting.

Laila was seated at this special table setting since it was her day to celebrate.  All who attended brought a dish to share for the potluck luncheon.  It was so nice to be together with friends and enjoy our afternoon.

Before the birthday cake was cut, we (all) sang this Norwegian birthday song.  It's a good thing that we have quite a few members from Norway whose first language is Norwegian!  Our lodge is planning on having Norwegian lessons for us other members.  It should be a fun adventure.

Ta Dah!  The special marzipan birthday cake.  It was layer cake filled with whipped cream and marzipan; heavenly.

And, to add to the festivities, Astrid, one of our dear members made this kransekake cake.  Someone had already nibbled a piece from the top!

Laila enjoyed opening her gifts.  Her favorite color is turquoise hence the wrappings.

And, here's the birthday girl opening her gifts.  Isn't that plant beautiful?  It was one of her gifts, too.

This is one of the gifts Laila received.  It's a handmade art card featuring hardanger embroidery.  This type of embroidery is very traditional in the Scandinavian countries.  It employs counted thread and drawn thread, usually white thread on white even weave fabric.   This lovely piece was made by Bonnie, one of our members.  Bonnie is so talented in this type of needlework. 

Maybe some of you are wondering about Daughters of Norway?  I'd love to share a few things about this group...

1.  The mission of the group is to unite into a sisterhood those who wish to preserve their Norwegian* heritage.

2.  The organization was started in 1905 with the first three lodges being in Washington state.  There were a lot of Norwegians who immigrated to western Washington at the end of the 19th century/beginning of the 20th century as there was waterways and they were experts in this field.

3.  In those early days, the lodge meetings were held speaking Norwegian.  It's quite fascinating to see how things changed as the years went by.  Today, we have many Norwegian/Americans whose grandparents immigrated from Norway.

4.  The Daughters of Norway are a vibrant and growing organization with over 1,600 members nationwide.  New members are joining monthly and lodges are continuing to be formed.

5.  If you are interested in learning about a lodge in your area, please check out their list of lodges. 

*As you may already know, I'm not Norwegian but Danish.  Lucky for me, the Daughters of Norway embrace all with Scandinavian heritage.  

As I think back about this organization, I find it quite fascinating that well over 100 years later, this group that began back in 1905 is still flourishing.  I'm also a member of the Danish Sisterhood of America.   The lodge closest to where I live meets about 60 miles away so I have not been able to attend since moving to California.  The Danish Sisterhood has similar beginnings at the end of the 19th century.  And, they too are still growing and thriving; getting new members every month.

I hope you have enjoyed this little glimpse into my Scandinavian clubs.  I grew up in a Danish farming community and after getting married, I moved to a "new" area where there were no immigrant families.  I missed my Danish heritage.  When I moved to western Washington about 20 years ago, I found these two organizations and they have brought back so many wonderful memories for me as well as increasing my knowing of my Scandinavian heritage.

Thank you for visiting today and I wish you all the best!

With my best wishes,

Pat

Linking with:

Amy's Five on Friday . . . 

Five Cakes Including Syttende Mai "17th of May" Kransekake

Baking is near and dear to my heart.  I love cooking and creating in my kitchen.  I also love sweets, so anytime I have a excuse to make a cake, I take the opportunity!  I thought I'd share with you a new recipe and my link to How To Make a Kransekake which is so appropriate if you are going to celebrate Syttende Mai (Norway's Constitution Day). 

I was on a mission the other day to make a proper tea cake.  But, first  I needed (wanted) a specific type of cake pan and then a recipe that would work.  Does it ever happen to you that you see something in the store and you don't buy it and when you go back, you can't find it?  That's what happened to me in regard to a cake pan.  I had wanted to buy a 7" round cake pan.  It's a bit of a unique size as most are 8" or 9" round cake pans.  Instead, I found this fun little pan which measures about 7 1/2":

From one of my favorite blogs, I found a recipe and then converted the ounces to cups but it didn't turn out well at all....it was so, so dry.  Then I found a recipe from Nigella.  I love her recipes as there's a little "switch" that converts it to cups.  Here's what I made today...

 Do you see the little "cup" at the end...you can sample what you baked!

Pat's Orange Cardamom Tea Cake

1 cup softened unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon cardamom
2 T finely grated orange peel (I used tangerine)
dash of salt
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sifted self rising flour
1/3  cup plain flour

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Grease and flour either a loaf pan or a 7 1/2" round cake pan (I line the bottom of the cake pan with a piece of wax paper or parchment paper).

In large mixing bowl, cream the butter and the sugar.  Add in cardamom, orange peel and salt.  Mix in one egg at a time, adding in a little flour as you go along.  Add in remaining flour and mix until mixture is well blended.  (Be careful not to over mix or you will end up with holes in your cake).

....notice my old, old kitchen center mixer?  I received it in 1984 as a gift from my dear parents and I still love to use this mixer.......

Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.  Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes then take out of pan and let cool on a wire rack.  

 

I love the fine texture of this cake.  It's not too sweet and goes great with a cup or tea of coffee.

My dear friend Reem, make the cake pictured above.  It's Egyptian Kanafa which is made from kataifi dough which is mixed with butter, spices, raisins and nuts and baked until it's a golden, delicious color....

And, here's my version of Nigella's Marzipan Cake which is a very easy make.

 

A proper little tea cake served to me at the Hawaiian tea in Honolulu....

 

 And, last but not least here's my Kransekake which is so appropriate for 

Norway's 17th of May - Syttende Mai (click on the link to see how to make one).

Do you have a favorite cake recipe you always like to make?  If so, feel free to share below.  I recently bought myself a proper scale from Williams and Sonoma.  Baking with a scale is new to me but hopefully I will master it!  Wish me luck.

Wishing you the very best,

PAT

Joining in at:

Five on Friday

Wordless Wednesday..

 

Norwegian Cardamon Rolls

Hello my dear friends....did you think you would see another "sock tutorial"?  Just kidding, thank goodness I have completed the sock tutorial.  Thank you to everyone who followed along and encouraged me along the way.  Today I'm going to share with you a fast, easy, recipe for rolls.

 

Last week I attended my monthly lodge meeting at Daughters of Norway.  It's always a potluck and since we meet early in the morning, I find it's easiest for me to make some type of yeast bread that I can prepare the day before, let rise in the frig and bake the morning before the meeting.  So, here's what I made....

Norwegian Cardamon Rolls
2 cups milk (scalded and cooled)
1/2 cup butter
1 package dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon cardamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
6 to 7 cups all purpose flour

Place milk in pan (or bowl) and heat (or microwave) until milk just boils.  Remove from heat and add in butter.  Let cool until room temperature.

In large bowl, add warm water and sprinkle yeast over water.  Add in 1 Tablespoon sugar.  Let sit for about 5 minutes or until bubbly.

Now add in cooled milk/butter mixture, beaten egg, salt and cardamon, sugar and 2 cups flour.  Stir to mix all ingredients and continue to add remainder of flour as needed until you have a soft dough.  Knead well (I make mine in my Kitchenaid mixer with dough attachment).

Shape dough in a ball and cover with plastic wrap and a towel.  Keep in a warm, draft free place for approximately 1 hour or until dough has doubled.

Punch down dough and shape into golf ball size balls.  Shape into balls and place on a parchment lined (or greased) baking sheet and brush with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 T milk).

Let rise until double and bake in a 375 degree oven for approximately 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from oven and cool on a rack.

These can be frozen after baking or you can shape the rolls and place them on the baking sheet and put them in the frig overnight and bake the next day.

Serve with creamy butter. You may notice that the color of my dough is a bit darker - that's because I used half white all purpose flour and half Trader Joe's "100% white whole wheat flour"......
Enjoy!

If you are of Scandinavian descent, you might want to check out and see if there's a Daughters of Norway lodge near you.  It's a fun non-profit organization that preserves and promotes Norwegian culture.

It's been a busy month here at Lilly My Cat.  We spent a wonderful time with my dear son. And, my dear daughter and her husband are expecting their second baby!  So, I'm going to be a grandma for the second time.  I'm so excited as is the whole family.  It's going to be a little girl.  I've already ordered some pink yarn to make a sweater for the little one.  My little grandson, Oliver, is so excited to have a little sister.

And, that means Lilly will be an Aunt, again!  Doesn't she look like a real person sitting there? (she's sitting on my  Coast Ripple Blanket but she likes to "wrestle" with it...so I placed a towel on top)

I'm linking up to some great parties this week.  Here they are:
Wordless Wednesday
Oh My Heartsie Girl
Planet Penny

I'd love to hear what you've been up to.  Free free to comment and say "hello".  I will see you again soon.

bye for now,
Pat
   

Scandinavian Almond Cake & Snow in California

Our new year started off to a very cold start.....Yes!  we had snow here in southern California in some parts of our county.  I grew up with cold weather and lots of snow but maybe I have become climatized these last six winters in California...Here's some photos of the snow on the mountains near our home:

 These photos were taken from the bedroom balcony.  The "white" on the mountains is snow!

 My little grandson came over and his parents took him to an area about 10 minutes from our home and he was ankle deep in snow!  He was ecstactic and had so much fun.  But this snowfall caused a lot of problems for the people who were on the freeways/highways when the storm hit our area.

During the nights, the temperature dropped almost to freezing.  My succulent garden exploded in color:

We had severe winds one night and it blew over my pencil plant.  Luckily it wasn't harmed.

I ended up taking down all the Christmas decorations on December 29th.  Here's what is left of my poor tree....

It's waiting to be picked up by the recycling people and on it's way to a new life....

Do you recall that I ordered some Christmas goodies from Fortnum and Mason?  Well, they arrived in like four days and I was so pleased with everything.  But, this past week I got a bill in the mail from the delivery company and it showed that I owed $22.00 in customs duty.  I guess it was because my order was over the amount allowed customs free.  I learned my lesson.

I am so enjoying my new Emma Bridgewater teapot my husband gave to me for Christmas.  The teacup and saucer was given to me by my dear Mother in 1992.  It was the last Christmas we ever spent with her.  She passed away in the spring of 1993.  But, we all have wonderful memories of her that will never pass away.

Tomorrow I am hosting a dinner party for some dear friends.  The main course will be "Baghala Polo", Persian style lamb shanks.

 I like to write out my menu so that I know what I need to make ahead of time....

 I always make the dessert first and today I made a Scandinavian almond cake to serve:

It's such an easy, one-bowl recipe and tastes yummy too!  Here's the recipe:

Beat well:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2/3 cup milk
Add in:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
mix well and then
Add:
1/2 cup melted butter

Continue to blend until batter is smooth.  Pour mixture into a greased and floured loaf pan (the pan above is called a  “Rehrücken” you can use a regular loaf pan if you wish).  Bake in a 350 degree oven for approximately 40 to 50 minutes until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and place cake face down on a wire rack to cool.  You can dust with powdered sugar or frost with a chocolate ganache or icing.

I will sign off for now.  I'd love to hear from you if you have the time to comment.  Enjoy your weekend everyone.

with my best wishes,
Pat

Daughters of Norway Lefse Making

I had such a lovely day making lefse with my Daughters of Norway lodge friends.  Lefse is Norway's traditional flatbread.  It is made from potatoes and flour and the dough is baked on a grill.

This is the lefse mix we used.  There's two packets in this box; the first package is instant potatoes.  You take water and shortening and bring it to a boil, remove from heat and add the first package.  Mix well and let it cool overnight in the frig. Then add the second packet (flour).  Mix well and divide into golf ball size pieces.

Here's the necessary equipment for rolling the dough.  It's a cloth covered pastry board and cloth covered rolling pin.  Make sure both surfaces are well dusted with flour.

To insure smooth edges, take the ball of dough and knead in your hand for a few seconds.  Make a small disc shape and lay it on the floured board.

Roll out until thin and desired diameter.  Be sure to roll evenly across the dough so that you don't have thin edges.

More special equipment; a long wooden handled spatula and a very special soft brush made of goat's hair.

Slip the wooden spatula under the dough and place it on the hot lefse grill.  Use the goat hair brush to dust off the excess flour.

Here's a picture of one of the lefse grills...

Bake lefse on grill until the dough starts to bubble.  Then take the wooden spatula and turn over.  Be careful that your grill is not too hot as you don't want it to burn.

Take wooden spatula and remove lefse from grill and place on tea towels and cover with tea towel until lefse is cooled.

Here's a picture of my friend Geri who was  packaging the lefse after it's cooled.

And here's a photo of Astrid and Ardis after a fun day of lefse making. 

 Our group of 9 ladies today made over 200 lefse!  We had a fun filled day.

If you are interested in Daughters of Norway, click  here to see if there's a lodge near you.  We are a very old organization with our roots in America going back over 100 years.

I hope you enjoyed this little insight into one of the rich customs of Norway.

Ha det bra (goodbye),
Pat 

Please stop by Handmade Harbour and meet some lovely crafters!