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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Eating in Bergen

Dining out in Norway is expensive. I moved from a place where grabbing a quick $5 meal was easy, delicious, fast and if you knew the right places could even be healthy. In Norway, cheap dining out consists of Kebabs, danishes, pizza or hot dogs (always with coffee). And still, it is expensive. The grocery stores are good but things add up fast. I have found that making Thai food (my favorite) is one of the best ways to go. It's tasty, healthy and pretty cost efficient.

Eating healthy has become another challenge. I've learned a few things...
1. Not having a schedule makes it difficult to plan good, healthy meals.
2. I miss Sunflower Market.
3. Living with boys means more chips, pizza, beer and hot dogs just laying around for me to eat.
4. It's dark outside, which I've learned makes me want to snack...all the time.

Norwegians have a somewhat bland diet for my taste. It consists mostly of bread, cheese, milk, boiled eggs, fish, and potatoes. Breakfast (Frokost) consists of open faced build your own type sandwich. I prefer butter, cheese, meat, tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, salt and pepper. This morning I felt like a true Norwegian as I enjoyed a sandwich with mayonnaise (from a squeeze bag), a boiled egg, tomato and salt and pepper. I'm still not brave enough to eat breakfast with pickled herring (fish in a jar). Norwegian dinner (middag)means fish, potatoes and a few veggies (boiled carrots). Sauces are popular...white sauce or Bernaise (bernaisesaus). And I can't forget rømmegrøt (sour cream porridge) and risgrøt (rice porridge).

Some of my favorite meals I've made so far (non Norwegian)...

1. Chicken Fried Rice
2. Crustless quiche
3. Pad Kra Prow (Basil and Peppers)
4. Baked chicken with glazed brussel sprouts
5. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (for the road trip)
6. Stuffed Peppers

Don't worry, today I made a classic Norwegian meal for middag. Fish (really good smoked fish), potatoes and carrots in white sauce. A note for anyone interested in making Norwegian food, it is quick and easy!


All of the ingredients needed: Fish, potatoes, carrots, white sauce, milk.



The delicious fish!



Boiling the fish, carrots and potatoes and making the white sauce. They all take about 10 minutes max.



Dinner is done!



My Aunt and Cousins, ready to eat!


Yes, I do miss Illegal Petes, Thai Pot Cafe, Salvaggios, Little Man Ice Cream, Max's, Swing Thai, and all the other delicious spots in Denver. But, I'm happy to replace it with some delicious Norwegian food! I mean, who can resist white sauce, sour cream porridge, and of course, fish!

Takk for maten! (Thanks for the food)

3 comments:

  1. Wow, a Norwegian cook already. I'm very jealous, I wish I could come up with some inspiration like that. Looks very satisfying. But then I don't have many Norwegians around me, I'm more likely to come up with a Scottish Meal around my new friends. LOL. I have found pork to be much cheaper than chicken, and have started making pork everything. Except pork soup, that just sounds too far fetched to save a dime. It works just as well for me in a stir fry or baked as a roast, though. I also cook Thai all the time too, it's totally the cheapest thing to buy groceries for.

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  2. I am lucky to have many Norwegian cousins, and it also helps that I spent many holidays with my Norwegian family cooking meals. I'm not sure I would have any clue how to make a Scottish meal:) Pork is great and I agree, much cheaper! I've found some great deals on large packs of chicken, then I can just freeze it and use later.

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  3. Liz,
    Amazing! I am from Denver myself but my family is Norwegian. I would love to find out a little more about the country, especially the food! Coming from Colorado what could I expect if I were to travel to dine in Norway? In other words, are there many similarities in the cuisines and are there any extreme differences? How has your overall experience been in Norway as a Coloradan, and what role does the local food play in the culture? I would also like to know a little bit more about the changes in food over the centuries. Do you eat the same things that would have been consumed 500 years ago?
    Regards,
    Kaitlyn

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