Recipe for Doldrums

I think it happens to all of us. Especially if you live in the north. Winter funk hits some harder than others. I am generally feel its energy sucking grip about mid-January. The days are shorter, cold and dark. It is also my birth month so not only do I feel blue but old and blue. There are differant ways to combate these depressive feelings, light therepy, exersize, and simply taking a vacation to a warm climate are all effective. But too easy and logical for me. I tend to go about dealing with it differantly. You can just about set your calandar to my crazy antics. I go all ethnic on my fine blond self.

I often wonder how my ansesters in Scandinavia handled the long dark season. They had no central heating or running water, never mind TV or even a library. There were no riding your reindeer to Cancun or taking the longship on a spin to the Bahamas back their day. I know there is a corlalation to why Finland has the highest rate of suicide and alcohalism and the lack of sunlight. I ponder weather I would rather spend my days chasing a herd of reindeer like my Finish ansesters across a frozen snowy plane, or would I be my Norwegin and Swedish forfathers and grabbing my axe, to happily jump on the next pillaging boat off my fjord?

When I am ruminating these questions during my hybernation mode, I will kick the heat in my house up to toasty and pull my big soft chair over in front of the patio doors to let the sun light stream in on me. Inbetween naps, I read my mountain of cookbooks searching for athenitic recipes. I feel my roots through cooking. And I pour over my nordic/english dictionary. I will share these tidbits with you to combat your own spring fever.

Aquavit:

Aquavit is the national drink of Scandinavia. No trational Scandinavian meal should be served with out a little digestive glass or two of this heavily spiced potato or grain liquore.

2 teaspoons caraway seeds, or more
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons dill seeds
2 star anise
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 whole clove
one 1 inch cinamon stick
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
4 white pepper seeds

One liter very good vodka- Absolut or Finlandia

Add spice to bottle and shake every day before tasting. Pick self up off floor when done. Shaking myself and drinking causes rug burns. Spending the winter dizzy and drunk can cause seasons to just fly by. After two- three weeks if there is any left, strain out the spice and place entire bottle in freezer. It will not freeze because of alcohal content, and tastes really good ice cold. Do this now so it will be ready for St. Uthro's day.

*finish lesson- "Kippis!"="Cheers!
*swedish lesson-"Håkte dit för fylla" ="He was caught for being drunk" "Åka dit" (go there or travel to that place) explains that someone has been "transported to jail".
*norsk lesson-"Skal"=Cheers!"

Aquavit dates back to at least 1531, when the archbishop of Trondheim recieved a bottle along with the note, "I send your Grace some water called Aqua vite. This water cures all types of internal diseases from which a human being may suffer." It's name, of Latin origin, means "water of life," and at first was hailed as a remidy foreverything from labor pains and rheumatism to indigestion, headaches, colds, gangrene, and lice. Lumbarmen were supplied with a bottle to keep warm and have something to drink that would not freeze while they worked in the forest, and farm workes had a glass or two before going out in the fields. I, personally enjoy a glass before coffee. Gimme an axe and I'm raring to go.


Gravlax with mustard sauce:

Gravlax, is a salom cured to a velvety silky smooth texture in a salt-sugar spice cure and a trational Scandinavian smorgasboard dish. The distant relitive of lox.

For the Gavlax

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sea salt
2 tablespoons cracked white peppercorns
2 1/2-3 pounds good frest salmon fillet, skin on, boneless
3 bunches coursely chopped fresh dill, stems included

Mix sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl. Place fish in a shallow dish and rub the salty mix over. After you stop stinging, rub mix on the fish. Sprinkle remaining mix on top. Cover with dill. Wrap entire dish in plastic wrap. Weigh top down with something heavy, a brick or your son's weights, or a gallon of vodka if you have any left. Refrigerate or 3 days.

For the mustard sause

2 tablspoons honey mustard
1 teaspoon dijion mustard
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 tablspoons white wine vinager
1 tablesppon cold strong coffee
pinch salt
fresh ground black pepper
3/4 cup grape seed or canolia oil
1/2 chopped fresh dill

Blend sauce ingreadants and chill. Then get back to work on this and scrape salt off the gravlax, after it has cured for 36 hours. Slice paper thin, and serve on a dark rye bread with mustard. It is salty and tastes good with the aquavit. If the thought of uncooked fish scares you- think of it as smoked fish- the chemical reaction of the sugar and salt cause it to cook. Fish also contains triglisterides that release the happy emorphins in your brain. That or the essesive amount of alcohal I consume when I eat this gives me that glow.

*finish lesson-"Tiedätkö, sekä poronkäristys että veriohukaiset näyttävät hyviltä'="You know, both the sautéed reindeer stew and those thin pancakes made with blood served with lingonberry jam look good. ''
*swedish lesson-"Allting har en ände men korven den har två."= "Everything has ends to it but the sausage's got two..."
norsk lesson-""Hvor er toalettet?"-Where is the toilet, please?

Raison Cookies

Dough

pinch salt
small amount baking powder
sugar to sweeten
one block of lard

Mix to form soft dough. Chill while making filling.

filling:

small pan of ground raisons
leomon or orange peel is nice
water and suger

Cook raison with friut peel and sugar water over low flame till thick. Stir up once and stir up awhile too so he don't get jealous. Cool and roll out dough with flour. Using a glass cut out circules and place a spoonful of raisons in center of a circle and cover with another circule and bake. These are like the best fig-newton ever. Good with a strong cup of coffee. Better with a cup of coffee with a strong shot of Aquivit.

finish lession:"Are there any cookies left?"="I have been out in the woods all day, cutting trees and drinking aquivit and I will eat anything."
swedish and norsk lession: You kids better not eat these cookies untill Christmas."="I am hidding these in the bottom of the freezer and diguiseing them as rubarb so you do not devour them."


I would like to thank and acknolidge Marcus Samuelsson from the famous Aquavit Resteraunt, Andreas Viestad of The Kitchen of Light program , and Harriet Erikson Sampson Lalli, me mum, for my inspiration, recipes and quotes.