Discover Norway At The Corner Café
The midnight sun, Kolvereid, Norway.
Velkommen til Norge!!
Welcome to Norway, the land of both the midnight sun in summer and the aurora borealis in winter, wooden churches, huskies, reindeer, colourful houses, Vikings and trolls - and not the internet kind, either!!
Aurora borealis, Lofoten Islands, Norway.
The famous fjords of the Norwegian coast, where the rugged mountains meet the sea!! When all the inlets and fjords are taken into account, Norway’s coastline measures 63,000 miles, which if stretched out, would circle the earth two and a half times!! The climate is kept mild for its latitude due to the influence of the Gulf Stream.
The Norwegians are a very friendly people, and their lives are very much connected to the sea. Most settlements sit on narrow strips of land at the base of the fjords or at the mouths of the many rivers.
Roads tend to follow the coastline and much of the transport of goods, mail and people still takes place by sea.
Trollstigen, also known as the Troll's Road. It has an incline of 10 percent and 11 hairpin bends!! Note the bus on one bend at the centre bottom of the picture for scale!!
Cod - unsalted - is hung on wooden racks where it is dried, and naturally preserved, by cold air and wind only.
The colourful houses lining the harbour of Bergen.
This street in Stavanger is called Fargegate (color street)
The Norwegians love their food, and so much of it comes from natural sources - the sea in particular, not surprisingly: cod (fresh or dried), salmon, herring, scallops, mussels and crab. Meat-wise, they eat pork, beef, reindeer, and mutton. The traditional vegetables are root vegetables and brassicas, and hazelnuts, apples and quince are also used widely. Milk, cream, cheese and yoghurt all feature highly in their diet and they love their desserts and cakes, many based around strawberries, blueberries and the divine and much sought after cloudberries!!
Most recipes are very simple, and this is one for barley cream, an easy to make dessert that is to die for!!
Soak 180g of whole barley in 600 ml of milk overnight.
Bring the barley and milk, half a vanilla pod, and 2 tbsp of sugar to the boil and simmer for about an hour, stirring frequently. Then allow it to cool.
Whip 300-400 ml of double cream and fold into the barley paste.
Serve cold with a berry sauce, made from any berries, a little sugar and water, all blitzed in a food processor.
In northern Norway, the Sami people still herd reindeer in the traditional manner.
All are welcome. And please feel free to recommend and share all discussions you enjoy.
There is no obligation to follow any of our informal themes. They are simply for fun. This is an open topic chat thread, so please just post or talk about anything you like!