Syttende Mai is Norwegian Constitution Day and this year was the 200 year anniversary, therefore a Norwegian celebration was in order. I decided to prepare a special Norwegian breakfast (frokost!) complete with ingredients that commemorate my Nordic heritage. My friend Kathleen was nice enough to go along with my crazy scheme and so on the 17th of May, we feasted in true Norwegian fashion: salmon and lots of coffee.
I have blogged before about the importance of the "smørrebrød" to the Norwegian. These open-faced sandwiches, typically on rye-bread, are a staple in the Norsk diet. Therefore, I purchased hearty rye-bread and sliced it thin enough to slightly toast before adding the toppings. The toppings included brun-usto, a common Scandanavian toasting bread, as a supplement for Treasure Island's lack of brunost (brown goat cheese). On top of that, I added thin slices of smoked salmon (from Norway!!) for protein and additional nutrients. Breakfast would have not been completed without some element of seafood, as I quickly learned from my visit there almost four years ago.
For beverages, we hand-squeezed glasses of orange juice and drank lots of coffee. The average Norwegian consumes about 5 cups of plain black coffee a day which is simply outrageous. I was only able to drink two before the world started spinning and my left eye started twitching.
Overall, this Syttende Mai breakfast was a fantastic way to combine two of my favorite things: food and my Norwegian heritage.
Hei Norge!
Mary
Hand-made Floral Crown featuring the Main Colors of the Norwegian Flag
Frokost
Fresh-squeezed Orange Juice
Key Ingredients: Norwegian Smoked Salmon and Brun-usto
