Torsk Dag I Dag

I didn’t get much sleep last night because I was on the radio until 11:15pm and then I needed time to decompress. I didn’t realize the format of the Monday program was different from the Saturday one, so it took me a bit by surprise. Monday nights are a call-in time where people ask for prayer – and I was the one that got to pray for them. So mixed in with the music and my talk, I prayed for the requests over the air. That wasn’t anything I’ve ever done before and it made me wish I could call everyone back and see how they were doing. I always feel so inadequate when I pray for someone, but I need to remind myself that I’m just the vessel – it’s God that does the work. I guess it’s God’s business if they got healed, not mine, but I AM the curious type.

It was such a nice day today I took a walk during my lunch break down to the harbor in Aalesund. The fishing boats were lined up selling fresh shrimp and torsk (cod) right from their boats. Seafood doesn’t get any fresher than that. The man selling torsk said I needed to buy the entire fish and the smallest one he had could have fed an army. It was still cheaper to buy the whole fish from him than to buy just enough fish in the store to feed the three of us, so I bought it. He was kind enough to gut it for me and take the head off, but I told him I wanted to keep the head. I knew I’d score points with Tante Aslaug if I showed up today with a fresh fish head. I also asked him to keep the eggs, as I’d heard Aslaug say she liked to eat those, too. Had I known she also liked the liver, I wouldn’t have let him throw it to the seagulls. I’ll know better for next time.

I always have to change busses at Moa where the big bus terminal is, and coincidentally, it’s right next to where all three of Kory’s aunts live. So on my way home I hopped off the bus at Moa and walked down the sidewalk, bearing the ultimate gift for any true blue Norwegian – fresh torsk. Just the mention of it around here gets everyone licking their lips and letting out a slight little “mmmmm.” I knew if I turned up with my sad luck story of having to buy such a big fish and having no way to eat the entire thing while it was still fresh –the Tantes would help me out. Tante Aslaug smiled ear to ear when she saw the fish head in the bag. She also let out a little squeal over the huge clump of eggs next to it. I couldn’t have been more grossed out over the whole thing, so it was nice someone was happy about that dead fish. She was eager to cut it up into sharable pieces when I asked her to do so. Tante Kari even got up from the couch, broken hip and all, and started to get the water boiling as she was so thrilled to have fresh torsk today. We stopped in to see Tante Ruth too and she seemed a bit concerned that she might not be able to eat all that was cut up for her, but I’m sure she had at least one piece of it tonight. It was such a bonding moment, knowing we were all feasting on the same fish that gave its very life for our dinner plate.

The Tantes asked me how I cook torsk and I told them I bake it in the oven, the same as salmon. They were shocked. They have only heard of boiled torsk so they insisted I make it the traditional Norwegian way for Kory using LOTS of salted water. I must bring the water to a boil, they said, lay the fish in carefully, and when the water returns to a boil, pull the fish out immediately. They told me I had to taste the water to make sure it was as salty as the sea the fish came from. These Norwegians, they like their salt.

As it turned out, when Kory got home from work and heard I had fresh torsk in the refrigerator, he couldn’t wait for me to get ready to cook dinner, nor could he wait for a shower – he dropped everything and started boiling the water himself. And it was a good thing too, as I was busy with my friend Paula’s dead relatives, as the farm history books (bygdbok) arrived today at the library so I was doing more research for her and had no desire to stop. Kory didn’t even complain about making dinner after a long day at work. In fact, he didn’t say a thing. All I heard were sounds of delight as gulped down the fish and picked away at the carcass. It’s beyond my understanding – this love affair between Norwegians and their torsk, but it did taste pretty good with the fried onions Kory made to go with the potatoes. But I’m sure I won’t live to see the day I eat a fish head, the eggs or the liver - I’m too American for that - but fresh torsk is a pretty good meal, I must admit.

“Thursday” in Norwegian is called “torsdag.” I told the Tantes that today was “torskdag,” and they smiled. I don’t think they got it – because today is Tuesday (tirsdag).