Sunday, December 22, 2013

Lefse

Lefse is a Norwegian flat-bread.  All of my youth, my grandma made heaps of lefse for any family holiday gathering – Christmas, Easter, Thankgiving, etc.    After my grandma passed away, and my grandpa remarried – my step-grandma, who I had known all my life, took over the lefse making. 

She taught me how to make it, and I have done so a number of years – it’s a loooooong process, and fewer in our family enjoy it.  So, I do it less often.  Every now and then, though, when I want to do something a little special for someone, I make it for them specifically. 

Here's my grandma's recipe:

4 c dried instant potatoes
4 c boiled liquid (2 1/2 c water, 1/2 c evaporated milk, square of butter)
2 c flour

Whip potatoes with boiled liquid and let cool.  (Preferably overnight)
Add 2 cups flour and use extra flour to roll lefse rounds.

Again, because it is labour intensive, and because I’m prone to deciding “I’ve had enough of this”, I just make the mashed potatoes, and measure out 1 cup increments.  And then mix almost ½ cup of flour into each one cup, and finish off each little batch.

Each 1c potatoes / ½ c flour makes about 7 pieces.  Roll thin.  The first couple of pieces will probably not work out – but you’ll need to get through them to figure out the proper pan temperature.  It’s usually right around “6” on a regular coil burner.

Enjoy!

 
Mixing in the flour.  I found a suggestion to fold in the flour, rather than mix, and gave it a try. 
 
 
Make a small disk to start. Try not to have any "faults" as they will be exaggerated with the cookery.


Roll thin.  Thin thin thin.
 
 I don't quite think this is frying.  More like cooking.  Kinda like a pancake, but less messy.  (Well.  Sorta on the messy part.)

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Sunday, December 1, 2013

Beet & Citrus Salad


Last summer a co-worker brought in a lot of garden vegetables for us.  The beets were my favorite.  I don’t know how it happened that I came to like beets – but I sure do.  I’ve always thought they were so pretty when cooked – but stayed far far away from eating them.   
This ended up one of my top three favorite recipes of the summer.   Please enjoy:
 Beet & Citrus Salad
Dressing:
1 tbsp Dijon
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp celery seed
grated grapefruit peel
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tbsp cider vinegar
¼ c olive oil.
4 tbsp lime juice
Pepper to taste

Salad:
2-3 Beets
2-3 Grapefruit
2-3 Oranges
¼ c. Slivered almonds

Cook and slice beets into wedges.
Peel and slice grapefruit and oranges.

Place all fruit and almonds into a bowl, mix.  Toss in dressing.
Options:  This is nice with a handful of feta cheese.  It is really tasty with thinly sliced onion.   This chick can’t eat (many) onions, so I just leave it out.  But it really is tastier with onion.

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