Who's telling porkies?

A funny thing has happened here. The butter crisis has caused a bit of a melt down in another part of the Christmas foodchain.

According to the news last night, and echoed in the paper today, Norwegian supermarket chains are warning that there may well be a shortage of pork rib and salted dried racks of lamb (Pinnekjøtt) this Christmas. Both are traditional Christmas fayre, with over 90% of Norwegians eating either one or the other (or both) at Christmas!

Stangely enough, the supermarkets are brimful of both cuts of meat - there seems to be no lack of supply. The reporter on the news last night asked a supermarket manager whether this was a ploy on behalf of the main chains to get people to panic buy and stock up on more than they normally would. His reply was wonderfully evasive, suggesting that they might sell out on some days, but there would probably be enough for everyone, with'some' left over for Easter!

Ah well, the pork is certainly not on my shopping list (too fatty!) and I have yet to tackle pinnekjøtt, although apparently it tastes very good!

What is pinnekjøtt? It is racks of lamb, cured in brine or just salted for several weeks, which are then hung up to finish curing in a cold dark place. In areas of Norway where the cold weather comes a little late for the meat to be ready by Christmas, the racks are also smoked - anything to stop it going mouldy!  Preparation of  pinnekjøtt involves separating the ribs and then soaking the meat to get rid of excess salt before steaming for about 3 hours in a large pot over birch sticks. Serve with potatoes and mashed swede!

The name pinnekjøtt literally means stick meat, from the use of the birch sticks in the cooking process!

 

It's funny - I am so used to living in the UK where food of any description is available at all times of the year, either fresh or frozen. Here in Norway, because their markets are so protected supplies of food are much more seasonal. We get masses of lamb and mutton for fårikål in September/October but for the rest of the year it is almost imossible to find! Frozen lamb sometimes appears in the supermarket, but the trick is to buy lots in the autumn and freeze it yourself! Minced lamb is a rareity unless you go to the halal supermarkets.

 

Still, the selection in the supermarket has vastly improved since our visit in the 90's so shouldm't complain - just be more savvy. When it's there buy it!

 

Christmas is coming!

The lights ar going up in town! Nothing goes up until the last week of November, just prior to the first Sunday of Advent, which this year falls on December 2nd - have you got your Advent candles ready yet?

I must admit I like the Christmas lights in Norway (and Scandinavia in general). Why? Because they always look so simple and clean. Here you rarely see tacky, flashing Santa's with Rudolph's sleigh. or multi coloured strings of lights (never say never, as there is always someone who thinks they are  a good thing!). No, it is all very pared back. The lack of colour sort of matches the cold weather!

Bergens Storsenter Christmas Baubles

Putting up the stars on Strandgaten

I would hazard a guess that white lights dominate here as it is a nod back to the days when out in the country a lamp would be placed at the main window of the house, to light the way for any traveller. That tradition exists to this day with the stepped 'candle' lights that you see in many windows from now through to January. It was a sign of welcome and safety.

Let's hope the weather holds, as this Advent Sunday the mayor will, as usual, host a large Christmas Party in town with carols and gingerbread and the official lighting up of the town's Christmas Tree. The ceremony will be followed by a massive fireworks display. Last year it was marred a bit by dense fog and rain, but they held it anyway. Nothing stops a fireworks display here in this city - as the Norwegians say there is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes!

I am not sure though why the lamp posts on Bryggen have been given 'socks'. Are they so delicate they need to be kep warm. Does the fact that Bryggen is sinking have anything to do with it?  Have the Norwegians gone soft? Will they be putting bobble hats on their lamp posts soon? 



Just another art installation?

I'd love to know what is going on. If anyone has any idea about it please let me know!

Thoughts on the weather!

Looking out of the window this morning at 9 am, I suppose I ccould have been excused the, quite logical, thought 'why on earth did I bother to get up this morning?'

The cloud was low and it was literally pouring drizzle! Or as the Norwegians call it 'yre'. Yre (pronounced 'oo-re') is not to be confused with 'duskregn' or misty rain, lettregn (light rain) or even småregn (a bit more than light rain!), 'yre' is a Norwegian phenomenon where the clouds come down and rain quite heavily on you - nothing at all misty about it!

In fact, the Norwegians here on the west coast have quite a few words for rain, and I am sure there are many more to be learnt in the various dialects! I particularly like 'striregn' which describes the rain that comes at you sideways, and 'styrtregn' which is the type that bounces back up off the pavement and over the tops of your wellington boots.

Imagine a boat that is sinking, and you are bailing it out for dear life - that is the word used to describe torrential rain: øsregn. I suppose we have the same kind of image in english when we say it is bucketing down!

The rain today is in no way showery (there are words for that too). It has settled in nicely as they say, kind of wall-to-wall rain. So there won't be any 'opplett' or 'let up' today - that magical time when the rain stops for more than 2 minutes and you can get to the shop or take the dog out.

By the way 'opplett' is not to be confused with the english phrase 'it's clearing up'. In England when it rains, it stops (eventually) and the clouds are blown away. Here it rains, stops for a bit, and then you can literally watch the next front come in over the nearest mountain/coastline and judge whether you will be back home before it reaches you and soaks you to the skin! Yes, it seems as though the Norwegians have a word for every weather phenomenon.

I am now off to look at snow words - apparently the Samer or Lapps have 300 words for snow: new snow, old snow, snow that reindeer can walk on, snow that reindeer slip on, snow that is good for snow shoes. powder snow,  snow with ice crystals in, snow that has thawed once and then frozen again, etc. etc. .........


P.S. Breaking News! Bergens Tidende our local paper has a shock horror story today! A multi millionaire (in shipping) from Bergen, Torunn Økland, is selling her house and moving to ..... France. Why? It isn't the taxes, lack of choice in the shops or economic problems that are forcing her to sell - no it is the weather!  Ahh, if somone born and bred in the area can't take it what chance do any foreigners have. I imagine there will be some acerbic comments to that story, and a closing of ranks by those who say there is no such as bad weather, just bad clothing!

Mind you, with a house like this with its own private marina, I personally think I could quite get to like it here anyway!!

Airport security?

As those of you who have come by plane to Bergen will know, Flesland airport is not the ;argest facility in the world. True it is not as small as Leknes on Lofoten with its single gate and ticket office/security conveyor belt run by the same person, but it is cosy enough.

Imagine this, a large black box is placed in the middle of the entrance hall where you drop off your bags and get your boarding cards. Attached to it is a music stand. It sits there for a few minutes and then along comes a conductor with baton, and stands on it. Miraculously as she starts to conduct, musicians gradually appear playing their instruments. By the end a small orchestra is sitting/standing playing a piece by a well-known contemporary Norwegian composer, Harald Severud.

Not a security guard in sight! No-one looks worried. Could you imagine that happening atay other major airport - and Flesland is the second largest airport in Norway! Luckily, they chose a time when the airport was quiet!

See Bergens Philharmonic Orchestra playing  Kjempeviseslåtten (Ballad of Revolt) on You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdmNvOBfJ0A

I would love to know why they chose this particular piece!

I Wiki'd Harald Severud (1897 - 1992) and got the following info for those who want to know a bit about him.

He is a Bergenser born and bred, and lived in the area for most of his life. He was a prolific composer, writing 9 symphonies and countless other peices of piano and orchestral music. The work 'Ballad of Revolt' was written as a protest aginst the Nazi's during their Occupation of Norway (1940-44)/ There were other works from this period too known as the three "War symphonies"  His described his music as both romantic and melancholic and it often contains a musical nod to Norwegian folk music hidden somewhere in either the tune or rhythm.

Lazy weekend? How's about a Norwegian romper suit?

Sorry that title is wrong on so many levels but..... It is wet (i mean torrential rain wet!), cold and stormy oitside so maybe this post is rooted in a deep set cultural need for comfort?

I like to think I keep up with fashion trends (especially with a very fashion conscious PR daughter around), but I must admit that this one has passed me by.

The onepiece, a sewn together hooded sweatshirt and jogging trousers, characterised by a long zip all the way up the front is apparently the latest fashion must have in Beverly Hills. You can buy them from the store on Robertson Boulevard, opposite Chanel no less, as well as from stores in London, Berlin, Oslo and Stockholm!

A one piece here in Norway is basically a boiler suit worn by children and adults who work and play outdoors in all weathers (kindergardten teachers have one for each season!). They are warm, waterproof and one of the least sexy but most useful things I have ever worn!

Well, three Norwegian guys have taken the idea and developed a brand OnePiece (www.onepiece.no) selling what the Americans might brand leisure wear! Aparently even the guys who developed the idea acknowledge they wouldn't be seen dead wearing one of these suits outside the house when at home in Norway, but in LA anything goes and people don't seem to mind dressing up in oversized baby romper suits!

Apparently the brand started in 2007 but folded after 18 months. The guys though were so convinced of their concept that they managed to pull in creative assistance from ACNE and Tommy Hilfiger to relaunch the brand. The idea is that the romper suit for men and women should be part of our relaxed weekend lifestyle, you know, the days where you hardly get out of bed, watch TV, play computer games and just doss! I suppose you need something to wear whilst doing absolutely nothing!

Or is it a controversial nod to what has been dubbed 'Peter Pan syndrome'  - never wanting to grow up and reaching back to your stress free, no responsibility, I want it now, childhood days? Great wardrobe addition for those who like to dress up in baby clothes also known as adult baby syndrome or paraphillic infantilsm.

Whatever it is, I love their youtube campaign to send a tailormade onepiece to North Korea's new dictator Kim Jong Un http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bL0llIw87E Priceless!

Bring on the (hospital) clowns!

Our local health authority here in Bergen, together with the Grieg Foundation and GC Rieber Foundation pays NOK473,000 (about £49,000) each year for 6 clowns to visit the children's wards at Haukeland University Hospital 8 times a month. The clowns are also regular visitors to several homes for the elderly n the Region.

The clowns are clowns, i.e. professional artistes not doctors or nurses dressed as clowns. Their make-up is very toned down so it is more red nose than white face, but the crazy clothing and large shoes are still part of the outfit.

The consensus here is that the clowns make the children and their parents happy, and distract them from what may otherwise be difficult and emotionally draining periods. They cannot always make a difference though. One clown in the local paper 'Byavisen' was quoted as saying that it is never easy going into a ward or room containing a very sick child, although you gradually get used to it, and also that it demands alot of insight into reading that child's emotional state when they do go in. Sometimes, they get it right and other times they don't.

These clown are there to distract with whatever they have at their disposal. A globe, spinnng on a finger starts a magic trip to Australia for one child, finding a marble in a plastic flower brings smiles to another.

Considering though that the 10th most searched for phobia on google is fear of clowns or coulrophobia, maybe the idea is not as good as it first appears. The clown persona is one that hides behind a smiley mask and maybe is not as funny and kind as it appears. Most children know Krusty the clown in the Simpsons (not the most positive person in the world), and there are plenty of horror films where clowns are difinitely not your funniest friend - Stephen King's It anyone?

Danger money required!!

Bergen is surrounded by mountains, craggy, grey granite mountains!. This is reflected everywhere you look in the choice of building materials, whether it is for houses, schools, paths,  walls or garden landscaping.. Easily available, granite and marble is everywhere!  Polished to a high gloss, or rough and raw shot with shiny flecks of mica it reflects Norway's cultural landscape, harsh but beautiful. The rock, however, hides a secret.

Have you ever heard of radon gas? It is radioactive, colourless and odourless and found together with uranium, which in turn exists in certain types of granite. It is considered to be the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. Radon is only emitted from granite that is cracked and fissured, so it is a problem in some places and not in others - Norway has a big problem! The granite deposits here have been reworked many times by earthquakes and plate movements, scoured by glaciers and just plain worn down by hard weather conditions. The cracked granite leaks radon gas like a sieve. Apparently Norway has the highest concentrations of the stuff in the world.

So the problem is, radon is all around us, particularly here on the west coast. It isn't dangerous whilst levels are low in the great outdoors, but it does become a problem if you are living in a basement or ground floor flat with poor ventilation!!

So our local Health service is on a mission to get every house in Bergen to measure radon levels. Autumn and winter are the best time to do it, and you have to keep one or two radon monitors somewhere in your flat or house (as close to the ground as possible) for 2 months. The monitor is then sent away and the readings registered. Cost about £50 (NOK540)

The level allowed is 100Bq/m3, which means nothing to me, but they had to close a school recently on Bjørøyna, an island south of Bergen as levels were too high. The problem is easily solved by improving ventilation, but it must be  worrying for parents.

Wonder whether the landlord has checked it out at all? 

Christmas cookie butter crisis - again

Once again, we are facing a butter crisis in Norway. Tine, the largest dairy company here has warned that they are facing exactly the same problem as last year - not enough milk/cream with a high fat content to make butter from.

At least this time they have come clean! Last year, butter was gone from the shops by mid November, and there was none available for the traditional Christmas baking frenzy that comes between Advent and Christmas in famiily homes all over Norway! The outcry was huge, and some butter was imported, but as soon as it reached the shops it was snapped up! Even the Danes tried to help by sending shipments of butter to Norway, and dsitrivuting packs free in the middle of Oslo (a little like the food parcels they sent in World War 2). The irony was not lost on the Norwegian press.

This year, however, Tine has arranged with a French butter producer to take up  the slack and make butter from Irish cream, which will then be imported into Norwa. Why? Is it not possible for Tine to import the cream themselves and make butter here? There is probably an answer to be found in how import duties levied on food products. My guess is that because it is documented that Norway will suffer a butter shortage unless butter is imported, the duty has been lowered in order to allow the butter to enter the country and be sold at a reasonable price. We are not facing a cream shortage, so the duty on that will be at the highest possible level - to protect Norwegian y farmers!

We must be careful though with this oreign butter, it is not like Norwegian butter. Tine has warned that because Irish cream has a different fat density compared to Norwegian cream, butter made from it is 'softer'. As a result, baking times will be shorter and they cannot guarantee that the results will be as good.

Really? You know, I think this might be a challenge for Wenche's cook slot on TV2's  Good Morning Norway TV Programme. Bake some Christmas cookies (there's plenty of different types to choose from - it's a big tradition here!) rom both types of butter and then do a taste test!

Bon appetit.

Sirupskaker (Sirup biscuits)

Ingredients

100 g	golden syrup
60 g	sugarr
0.5 dl	double cream
60 g	butter
1	egg yolk
250 g	plain flour
0.25 ts	ginger
0.5 ts	pepper
0.75 ts	baking soda
100 g	almonds

Method (gives around 40 biscuits)

Heat the syrup, sugar and cream. Add the butter and stir until the butter is melted. When the mixture iscool to the touch mix in the egg yolk. Sift a little of the flour, together with the ginger and baking soda into the mixture. Stir. Cotinue to sift in flour until you get a smooth firm dough. Cover and leave overnight in the fridge.

Take small amounts of the dough and roll out to about 2mm thickness. Try not to use too much flour as loose flour on the surface makes them look grey! Cut out diamonds with a fluted wheel.

Place on an oiled or silicone lined baking sheet. If you like place a half almond on each square. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 180°C. Cool on a wire rack.