December 21-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!`

Today I want to talk to you all about a special German thing that's even more special at this time of year-- Rittersport!

Look at that little red square!  Don't you feel more festive already?

Seriously, though, as the Germans say, Rittersport are square, practical, and good.  And that seems very workmanlike.  But last year we discovered that every year Rittersport has special seasonal and annual flavors that rarely make it out of Germany.  They're exotic!  And fancy!  And limited-edition!

Last night B picked out this current seasonal flavor for his "welcome to Germany" treat.

What a smiley snowman!  Also very festive.

Well, all this got me wondering about all things Rittersport... and before long I discovered their blog.  Yup, if you ever feel like reading German chocolate dissertations, this is the place to go.  And right now there is voting for the 2016 winter special edition squares!  Look at all the lovely contestants.  Let's give them a round of applause.

For those who aren't up on Northern European confectionary, the flavors you can choose from are as follows:
Apple cinnamon
Baumkuchen
Baked apple
Stollen
Dominosteine
Burnt cashew
Burnt almond with white chocolate
Mulled wine
Pomegranate
Coconut macaroon
Lebkuchen (gingerbread)
Tangerine
Chestnut
Nougat and marzipan
Nougat cream with winter spices
Orange Marzipan
Plum and cinnamon
Chocolate mousse with orange and chilli
Speculaas (Dutch spice cookie)
Cinnamon

Clearly some of these flavors are right out.  Apple cinnamon, for instance, does not go with chocolate. Neither does stollen.  And Dominosteine, while delicious (see our previous post), are unlikely to fit into the prescribed dimensions of a 100 gram Rittersport square.  So I'm pulling for  orange marzipan and chestnut, not least because today I had roasted chestnuts for the first time and they were delicious!  Also because both would be excellent with dark chocolate rather than milk and it would be great if the seasonal flavors were vegan this time around.

Let's get the vote out, people!

December 9--Advent at ADAFT 2013!

I know you're all waiting for a cookie recipe, but I'm worried this year's Advent calender hasn't been Danish enough.  That's why today I'm bringing you a "cake" recipe--that's Danish style apple cake, which is kind of like a crisp or crumble.  I got this recipe from Danish E who credits the Danish Heart Association with this tasty vegan concoction.

I've adapted lightly and changed the units for my American readers.

Photo credit to Hjerteforeningen

Danish "Crumblecake" with Apples, Pears, and Cranberries

2 apples

2 pears

 1 cup of fresh or frozen cranberries

3 T granulated sugar

50 grams marzipan (I know, but usually you buy this in grams anyway).

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

3 T coconut oil

pinch salt

Combine the sugar and cranberries in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.  Mash the berries a little bit.  Peel the apples and pears and chop them into small pieces; then stir them into the berries.

Chop the marzipan finely.  In a large bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, coconut oil, salt, and chopped marzipan.  Scrunch it around with your fingers until it's all crumbly.

Pour the fruit mixture into a shallow tart pan (or several small ramekins), adding a splash of apple juice if it seems too dry.  Top with the crumble mixture.  Bake at 390 F for about 25 minutes.  Let cool before serving.

December 7--Advent at ADAFT 2013!

It's December; it's cold-- you're hungry and you need to get warm.  And yeah, Christmas means cookies, but you have to eat something else first.  (Do I sound like a mom or what?)

Well, the Daring Duo has the solution.  (It really is only the Duo because while C is an adventurous eater who loves spicy food, this one's just a little too hot for her.  So be forewarned). This is one of the greatest things I made and ate this year.  It's in the running for a Lifey.  Plus, it's red and green--automatically festive!  Thanks, Naturally Ella!

Red Lentils and Spinach in Masala Sauce

Photo credit--Erin Alderson of Naturally Ella

 

Black (Licorice) Friday

I'm not sure if we've mentioned this before, but licorice is a pretty big deal here in Denmark.   How big?  Let me give you some examples.

While pregnant, my doctor advised me not to eat more than 75 grams of licorice per day until the baby arrived.  I had never in my wildest dreams considered eating 75 grams of licorice in a day.  But people here regularly do!  Let me just say, 75 grams is a lot.  Also, eating licorice every day?  Only the Scandinavians do that.

Now imagine an American fair or amusement park.  Obviously there's a hot dog stand, an ice-cream stand, and possibly some sort of fried-dough-- funnel cake, churros, deep-fried Twinkies, whatever.  I give you Tivoli, the enchanting Danish amusement park.  There is a sausage stand, an ice-cream stand, and a licorice stand.  See below.

I was once on an SAS flight from Copenhagen to New York, and the available hot drinks were coffee (obviously not decaf) and licorice tea.  None of the flight attendants seemed to find this at all odd; in fact, no mention was made of the fact that it was licorice tea--it was just called "tea."  I personally find licorice tea truly abominable, although I am doing my best to Dane-ificate and have embraced both black and salty licorice.

If you didn't gasp, you should have (and have obviously never tried salty licorice).  As a child I shunned black licorice and only accepted the red stuff, which I've never seen here in Denmark and Danes would probably call "konfekt" if they deigned to notice it at all.  Sometime in the last three years I started eating the black kind, probably because it was a naturally vegan product foisted on me at every turn.  And then I kind of liked it.  And then I discovered the really good stuff--gourmet licorice, if you will-- Lakrids by Johan Bulow.  And then Johan Bulow had the salty kind too, so I tried it and, you guessed it, I kind of liked it.

Yesterday I was on my way to yoga and saw a sign announcing that the king of licorice, Johan Bulow himself, will be here in Aarhus on Friday, signing copies of his new book, "Lakrids i Maden." It will feature 72 recipes for both sweet and savory dishes, all containing licorice in some form.  I may need this book (though it is surely not vegan) simply because I can't imagine 72 ways to use licorice.

The Danes, however, are one step ahead, and have already developed licorice bread, ice cream, croissants, and coffee.  When I remember that I've heard licorice referred to as "the Danish chocolate," this seems OK to me.  But then I think, "licorice coffee? why???"

I guess the Dane-ificating has a ways to go yet.

The Lifeys 2012!

Happy New Year, darling readers! 

Yes, it's that time again.  Time for the Lifeys!
(It's a guilty pleasure, we know, but we won't tell anyone how much you've been looking forward to this).

Best New Song:  A Comet Appears, by The Shins

Best Meal Out: Thai Peacock in Portland, OR, August 2012

Best Meal In: our new tradition of Taco Tuesdays, especially if the zucchini salsa is involved

Best New Baby:  tiny C!
Honorable Mentions: the UHS Alums October Babies, ie: baby boy L and baby girl A, as well as the     November nearly-nephew, baby boy S.

Best New Job:  B's new position as an assistant professor

Best New Album:  Casino Twilight Dogs, by Youth Group (B's choice)
There's No Leaving Now, by The Tallest Man on Earth (E's choice)

Best Startlingly Amusing Movie:  Horrible Bosses
(we saw some good stuff this year too, but nothing worth winning Best Actually Good Movie--did we miss something?)

Best New Cookbook:  Tie:  Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day!  and Vegan Eats World

Best "High School Reunion:"  B meeting his former German exchange students in Berlin this summer!

Best Penny Arcade Comics: Betwixt and Anthrophila

Most Uplifting Video We Found on the Internet:  David Attenborough and the BBC giving us a Wonderful World


All told, looks like it's been another great year! 

December 15--Advent at ADAFT 2012!

Last year I gave you my words of wisdom: "At Christmas it's important to eat lots of cookies."  That's still true.  But when you're looking for something besides cookies to eat, why not try this festive stew?

It's red, white, and green; it's hot and filling; and it makes your house smell good all day.  All-around win, says the Scandinavegan!

Pesto-Infused White Bean Stew

(adapted from Robin Robertson's "Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker")

1 onion
1 red bell pepper
2 cans white beans
1/4 cup chopped dried tomatoes
3-4 tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water
1 tiny can tomato paste
1 tsp. oregano
dash black pepper
pesto! (1/4 cup should do it, but who am I to limit your pesto usage?)

Chop the onion, bell pepper, and fresh tomatoes and dump them in the crockpot.  Rinse and drain the beans and throw them in too, along with the dried tomatoes.  Mix up the water with the tomato paste, oregano, and black pepper, then stir it into the crockpot also.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve and top each bowl with a generous spoonful of pesto.

Back in the Saddle with the Scandinavegan!

Hot on the heels of last year's epic fail (11 in 2011 with the Scandinavegan) comes Round 2: 12 in 2012! (still with the Scandinavegan!)

Jeps, last year I had high hopes. I imagined telling the world about how an American ex-pat could create new and exciting vegan dishes in Denmark. The only problem was, last year I still wasn't very good at it.

Sometimes I'd stand there in the aisle at the grocery store, paralyzed by indecision, wondering what on earth I could make for dinner. Føtex would play their happy little tune,

"Føtex er sej,
Vi gør mere for dig!"

but I'd just wish they'd tell me what to make for dinner, and that it wouldn't be liverpostej.

Now I'm getting pretty good at it, though. I know where to find the non-traditional foods we like (tofu at the Asian market, beans at BazaarVest, winter squash at the health food store), so we can eat almost all of our old favorites. Which means, of course, that I now have to break into the Nordic culinary scene. How can I adapt traditional Danish meals, which tend to be heavy on the pork and fish, in order to delight the vegan palette?

B. gave me a helping hand at Christmas with Claus Meyer's excellent cookbook, "almanak."

It's all about eating good, natural food when it's in season, and making new and creative use of typical and traditional Danish foods. It is organized by week number (obviously) so you can just go through the year, cooking the menu for the day every day. Plus it's beautifully illustrated with photos of both the meals and the origins of the foods--stormy harbors, wild mushrooms, fields of rhubarb.

So for my first 12 in 2012 entry, I'm sharing with you this salad recipe from "almanak." We had it for dinner tonight, and it's great! Don't be scared of the cabbage!

Salad with avocado, baked onions, grapefruit and cabbage

2 onions
1 T olive oil
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. honey (bonus Dane points if you use local Danish honey your friends or neighbors raised themselves!)
1 large or 2 smallish grapefruits
1 avocado
about 1/3 of a large cabbage, washed and shredded.

Stick your onions in an oven safe dish and bake them at 350 F for about 45 minutes. Take them out, let them cool; then chop off the ends, peel off the skin, and coarsely chop the rest. Stir up your dressing with the oil, vinegar, and honey, plus a dash of salt and pepper. Pour it over the onions and let them sit while you do the rest.

Peel and chop the grapefruit into small pieces. Peel and chop the avocado, too. Stir the cabbage into the onion and dressing mixture, then gently fold in the grapefruit and avocado. Season to taste and serve!

Tired of Turkey? Why Not Try a Vöner?

I figured in these days after Thanksgiving, when everyone's been eating turkey, turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, even turkey pancakes--well, what better time for the Scandinavegan to make her move?

You're sick of turkey, I know you are. You're wishing there were some delicious, high-protein, plant-based alternative... one that doesn't have a dumb name like "Tofurkey." Something tasty and exotic, yet not too frightening...

Behold the Vöner!

As I was saying: high-protein, plant-based, exotic yet somehow familiar, non-stupid name... well, you can't win them all.

But what IS it? And why does it seem so familiar? It's a vegan döner, the Turkish street food that's taken Germany by storm in the last 15 years. You can find döner everywhere in Germany, but if you're lucky enough to wander by Boxhagener Straße 56 in Berlin, you'll find yourself here, at Vöner, home of the vegan version.

So German, and yet so Berkeley.

Of course, we were there on an October evening, so it actually looked more like this.
Still super-hyggelig, though!

And if you're worried about authenticity (who doesn't worry about the authenticity of their soy-based meat analogs?), well, fret no more. It comes on a spit, just like the real thing. Yes, you saw it here on ADAFT, a giant sizzling spit of seitan.

All jokes aside, though, it was tasty, filling, and very reasonably priced. So next time you're in Berlin, remember what the Scandinavegan told you, and head right over to Vöner!