Typical spring weather here in Aalesund today. It snowed all day (but didn’t stick in the lowlands), then just before sunset it cleared up for the most amazing show of lights, colors and shadows against all the snow covered mountain tops. Truly unbelievable. I just can’t have a bad day when I’m surrounded by so much beauty. It wasn’t a bad day anyway, because I stayed home from school and had a quiet house all to myself. I was hoping to get some homework done, but didn’t get around to that. I worked on my Bible study preparation for next week as well as another talk I’m going to give on Christian Radio. I can’t do that kind of prep work when Kaleb is around as that kid knows how to make noise, create messes, and interrupt me like it was his sole purpose in life. I was short about 12 hours today from getting it all done, but I did the best I could with what I had. (That’s my motto for many things in life.)Kaleb had a fine day at school and came home beaming that his homework today involved making waffles. Pancakes and waffles here are NOT what they are in the States. I guess it’s some right-of-passage here that ever kid learn to make their own waffles, so today was the day for Kaleb. It was part of his math homework as he had to measure out all the ingredients in grams and liters. (All the recipes here use grams, not “cups” to measure dry ingredients.) He really wanted my help but I told him it was his homework, not mine. I sat in the corner in a chair pretending to be busy while I watched him go to work. Just at the point he was going to break the eggs, and I knew he needed help, the doorbell rang, like a gift from heaven. It was Tobias, with incredible timing. He’s been making his own waffles for years, so he offered to give Kaleb a few pointers and those boys had the best time making a mess in the otherwise very clean kitchen. The first waffle, hot off the press (see photo) was eaten by cousin Odd when he stopped by.
Waffles in Norway are the most common food eaten with “coffee.” Every time we’ve been invited over for coffee, no matter what time of day or night, waffles are served. They are floppy waffles, and they are rolled up and eaten like a burrito with either sour cream and sugar inside, or a little jam. They are also very popular “road food” and always taken along on day trips because one must stop for coffee several times before arriving at the final destination. I usually cheat and just buy the mix at the store, which is often on sale and only requires adding water and melted butter, but Kaleb made the whole thing from scratch today and I could taste the difference. I broke from tradition and used a knife and fork and added some maple syrup to my first waffle, which really got Tobias’ attention. He’d never tasted maple syrup before and wanted to know where I got it. I found it at a specialty shop in Aalesund and it cost a pretty penny but I was willing to share a little with him. He loved it. Then he asked if we eat pancakes in America and he couldn’t believe it when I told him we eat them for breakfast, with bacon. That is dinner food here – pancakes and bacon. He thought pancakes and bacon for breakfast was just too weird. I told him we do all kinds of weird things in America.
In Norway they have two kinds of pancakes. What a Norwegian calls “pancakes” is what Americans call “Swedish pancakes” – the very thin kind that are stuffed with berries or cream and rolled up. That is a pancake. But there is another pancake that LOOKS like what we can normal pancakes, but they call it “Svela” and it’s eaten like the waffles here – rolled up with something inside – butter and sugar or goat cheese are the most common “stuffings.” And Svela is also a common food in this part of Norway to have with coffee. Often on the ferries if the little café isn’t open there will be a thermos of coffee and a platter of homemade Svela and a little box to put in ten kroner for each. It always reminds me of the self serve flower and veggie stands in Skagit Valley as it totally operates on the honor system. I love that.
So that was the big happening of today – Kaleb’s foray into the world of cooking. He’s been cooking for years, but I’ve always been nearby to help. It’s a good thing Tobias showed up when he did because I was just a little too comfortable in my chair to get up. Kory was over at Odds all afternoon once he came home from work. He’s putting in a new sink and countertop in their kitchen. Kaleb stayed home alone with Tobias while I went to the “Jesus Women” meeting at church. I love the idea of Jesus Women – it’s a multi-denominational gathering once a month just to encourage women in their faith. They always have a good speaker, great music and a wonderful meal afterwards. I didn’t stay for the “kvelds mat” (night food) because I knew there were more waffles at home waiting for me. Gotta love that.
