Born and raised in America... but with norwegian blood.
We have family, and close friends living over there. And quite obviously... the tragedy in Oslo & Utoya - just one week ago - absolutely broke my heart.
Norway is such a peaceful country. A beautiful place full of mountains and fjørds and amazing people and wonderful food.
Not the kind of place you would expect a bombing and horrible shooting-spree to occur.
(Do we ever really expect that kind of tragedy?? But for some reason it shocks me more in Norway than even here on American soil!)
So, with Norway even more on my heart than usual this past week... I have often caught myself daydreaming of my favorite norwegian treats!
My heart is so full of love for that country and especially its people, and food is, well... a tangible expression of that love.
This little treat has been on my mind several times this week. If you familiar at all with Norway or Scandinavia, you have likely heard about/seen/tasted smørrebrød - norwegian open-faced sandwiches.
Usually spread with butter and topped with good things like brown gjetost (goat's cheese) and jam, or shrimp salad and cucumber, and almost always beautiful... they are a staple at every norwegian table.
(photo credit to come - when I can find it!)
My favorite is a simple butter, cheese, cucumber sandwich on dense norwegian bread (sometimes with a thin slice of meat and hard-boiled egg). I could eat this every morning and night of my life and not grow tired of it!
But lately I have been changing things up a bit and turn them into little almost-bite-sized snacks... hearty crackers - topped with my favorite smørrebrød toppings!
Norwegian Open-Faced Sandwich Crackers Recipe
Ingredients:
Triscuits (shredded-wheat crackers), or some other hearty cracker
sliced cheese (your choice! cheddar, jarlsberg, swiss, jack)
sliced english cucumbers
garnishes (mayo, mustard, red pepper flakes, etc.)
Directions:
Layer each cracker with a slice of cheese and a slice of cucumber. Top with a bit of crushed red pepper if you'd like, and a sprinkle of salt if you are not using salty Triscuits!
I like to put a slice of hard-boiled egg and a tiny dab of mayo or mustard on top sometimes!
Yummm...
---
Join me in continuing to keep the people of Norway and those who love her in your prayers as they heal through this tragedy, won't you?
