Scandinavian Recipe Redux

Without Susan here this weekend (remember?), the girls had to spend the morning alone as I attended the university's commencement ceremony.  After the speeches had ended and the reading of the pages and pages and pages of graduates' names had begun, I zoned out a bit until I heard my own last name read aloud!  I looked up to see my cousin Joel's daughter Michaela walking across the stage.  Then I looked over toward her cheering section in the bleachers, and sure enough, there were my uncle and my cousins!  My cousin Myrna must have spotted me earlier because she had her eyes on me when I looked up and scanned the bleachers, and she grinned and waved!  What a fun surprise.  Michaela got her degree through our Bismarck campus, so I hadn't even recalled that she was a student of ours--therefore, it didn't occur to me that I would see relatives today (albeit only from afar).

And that wasn't the end of the day's activities . . .

You Put WHAT in This Apple Pie?!

Suzanna was my helper for this week's Scandinavian Saturday supper.  I asked her what kind of food she thought we should make, and her only opinion was that it should be chicken.  We decided to consult Scandinavian Food, Kari Diehl's online compendium of Nordic recipes, to see what we could find there.  This is the meal we put together as a result:

As you continue reading to find out all the juicy details, recall that you can click any photo to enlarge it.

Adjustment to Nightly Supper Themes

Faithful Reader, do you recall that, for almost three years now, our family has been dining each night according to a particular theme?  Bless Susan for her willingness to play along; each week she plans meals to suit these nightly themes (with the occasional exception, such as dining out for a birthday, or needing to eat up some leftovers from the previous night, etc.).  (And I'm in charge of the weekly Scandinavian Saturday supper, of course.)  We have tried a lot of new and fantastic food these past several years as Susan has experimented with new dishes to fit those themes . . . and we rarely repeat a recipe, either--there are just too many out there that we don't want to miss out on!

Well, we also have some favorite cooking shows that we like to watch each week (because Food Network is a family-friendly choice when trying to find something to watch with the kids), and I recently suggested altering our nightly themes somewhat to allow for regular trials of the recipes that we see on our favorite shows.  Here's are the changes:

Digital Story of the Nativity

Lutefisk and Lefse

After baking lefse and Scandinavian desserts yesterday, we were ready and eager for our Sons of Norway lodge's annual lutefisk supper this afternoon and evening!  During my morning reading (of on-line newspapers and blogs), I encountered these related tidbits:

• The editor of the Dickinson Press wrote an editorial for today's paper in which he promoted our lodge's lutefisk supper even while making fun of lutefisk itself.
• A columnist (whose writing appears in several ND newspapers) proclaimed this the start of "Norwegian Week" in the state due to some important Norske-themed events in Bismarck and Minot.
• A blogger for the Sons of Norway wrote about an unusual event held in MN this weekend: a lutefisk toss!

That put me in the right frame of mind for the day.  I chose to wear the Norwegian flag tie and Norwegian silver tie clip that I received for my last birthday; and whenever someone at church this morning would remark on my tie, I took the opportunity to promote the lutefisk supper and invite them to attend.

Norse News and Notables

Our family enjoyed Norwegian language and cultural camp last summer (recall Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4?) so much that we decided to go again this summer!  Preparing for that has me in a Norwegian frame of mind, so I thought I'd share some recent Norse news and informational tidbits with you:

Catablogue: Animal Review

Animal Review

The "About" page at this site says simply, "This site reviews animal species objectively." The brevity and intentional inaccuracy of that description are clues that those who write this blog are out for humor, but so is the silliness of the mission itself: to review animal species as one might a movie or a novel or a theatre production. It's ridiculously awesome.

In each blog entry, the bloggers choose a species and write about its merits and drawbacks, finally coming up with an arbitrary grade to summarize their "review." One species might be extremely dangerous and get an A from them just because they don't want to get on that species' bad side; another species might have evolved certain characteristics that the bloggers don't think are that impressive and thus get an F from them essentially for being boring. Sometimes "cute" gets a species bonus points, but looks alone don't cut it in most cases.

One of the joys of reading the blog is discerning the fact from the fiction; both are interspersed throughout each entry. The scientific name of each species is given, but the English translation of the Latin words is never reliable (e.g., the sidewinder rattlesnake's name Crotalus cerastes is translated as "Have you see this thing move????"). Footnotes are provided but more often direct the reader to a made-up "fact" or some humorous commentary than to a scientific citation.

Still, you will learn while laughing. Fiction may make each review fun to read, but fact is the basis--so you can laugh at the bloggers' description of how an alligator is like the old coworker who refuses to learn how to use new office technology, but at the same time you'll learn facts about the alligator's lack of significant evolution over the past however-many years, how it kills its prey, why it has upward-facing nostrils, etc.

It's fun to read, so it's easy to overlook the learning that's happening while the entertaining is going on. I laughed out loud throughout the entry on the sea cucumber, but now I shall forever remember its unique (and incredibly ridiculous) defense mechanism. I recommend this site to any child who is learning in school about animals, or to any adult who has an interest in animals, or to any human who can read, who has a sense of humor, and who likes to get smarter.

(What is a catablogue?)

Learn Something about Coffee Today

Do you enjoy learning? Do you enjoy coffee? Do you enjoy comics? Do you enjoy learning about coffee via comics?

If so, you should check this out: "15(ish) Things Worth Knowing about Coffee." I received an espresso/cappuccino maker as a Christmas gift (remember?), and I've been making caffè lattes frequently for Susan and me ever since. So it's interesting for me to learn a little bit about coffee that I didn't know before.

You're welcome.

Norwegian Christmas

Recall that I forewarned you, Faithful Reader, that you would not find tales or photos here of Scandinavian Saturday this week because Susan and I are off to a friend's house for a holiday party, where we will eat a supper that is very likely to be anything but Scandinavian. But I understand your woe over not experiencing your weekly dose of Nordic news for several weeks now, and I will not neglect your needs. I will simply meet them by directing you elsewhere. (It's called "outsourcing," people. It happens.)

In August I wrote a catablogue entry about a blog written by an Australian woman who married a Norwegian man and moved with him and their children back to Norway. She writes about the country, its culture, its language, its traditions, etc., from her perspective as an immigrant, and I find it always interesting--a great way to learn about Norway because she doesn't take anything for granted as someone might who has grown up there, so she shares details that I find fascinating but that a native Norwegian might find too mundane even to mention.

Recently her focus has turned to matters related to Christmas, and I thought you, too, might enjoy learning more about Norwegian Noël--so here are some highlights:

• the entire Christmas season, with notable dates from November through January and how Norwegians celebrate each major step along the way


• Christmas caroling, complete with audio clips of her family's singing traditional Norwegian Christmas songs a capella and from memory


• Christmas meals, including photos and descriptions of traditional foods (including Christmas rib roast and pinnekjøtt) and the interesting explanation that Christmas dinners and suppers happen pretty much throughout December, not only on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day


• the Christmas elf (julenisse) and the Christmas goat (julebukk), how they became traditions, and how they're carried out today


• Christmas baking: her mother-in-law's famous pepperkaker cookies, which are so pretty that neighbors to whom she gives them as gifts are more likely to hang them on the wall than to eat them!

P.S. My parents used to tell stories about the tradition of julebukking in which they themselves participated as children and young adults in northwestern ND. They and other julebukkers would put on disguises and go door to door singing Christmas carols, after which the homeowners were supposed to guess their identities. If they couldn't, they owed the julebukkers drinks and Christmas baking! Then the homeowners would put on disguises themselves and join the group for its trip to the next house, and the steps were repeated all night long. Compare that to the blogger's information (above) about how julebukking happens in Norway today.

Two Web Highlights

Check these out:

Culture Pulse -- A new Web site featuring information on all sorts of arts events in southwest ND: dance, theatre, music, visual art, museums, heritage events, festivals, special events, film showings, literary events, family- and kid-friendly events, classes and workshops . . . there's even a category called "sporting and outdoors"! As more and more regional arts groups become aware of Culture Pulse and start to add information about their own events, it will become a handy hub of information for those wondering, "What's there to do this weekend?"

Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me -- This NPR weekly news quiz show is always hilarious, but today's episode features NBC news anchor Brian Williams as a guest engaging in especially amusing repartee with the show's host and panelists. He shares funny stories, comes up with witty rejoinders, and (spoiler alert) wins his game after sharing his hilarious reasoning for arriving at the correct answers. Follow the link above and, if you wish, listen only to the Brian Williams portion (about 15 minutes). If you have more time, listen to the entire episode. It's news/current events-based comedy for people with brains! (And that's you, Faithful Reader.)

Music from Those Who Should Know It!

My lovely ladies and I just returned from a mid-afternoon music recital at the university. It featured the Music Department's faculty, and many of their students were there to see if their professors could do the very singing and performing that they teach their students to do. And the professors proved themselves very able! We took our standard seats ("standard" being as close to the front as possible) and got comfortable, hearing a wide range of music from the 1600s through the 2000s. I don't have access to video from today's recital, but I have found others' performances of many of the songs to give you an idea of what we heard today.

• Ruth Heley, soprano, sang two Henry Purcell songs: "An Evening Hymn" and "From Rosy Bowers" from Don Quixote.
• Colleen McKirdy and Cheryl Hewson played two piano duets: Jacques Offenbach's "Barcarolle" and Wilhelm Ganz's "Qui Vive! Grand Galop de Concert."
• Bruce Southard, tenor, sang "An die Apfelbäume, Wo Ich Julien Erblickte" by Franz Schubert and Frederick Loewe's "Come to Me, Bend to Me" from Brigadoon.
• Rachel Nozny played two movements from John La Montaine's "Sonata for Flute Solo."
• Cheryl Hewson, soprano, sang "The Red Dress" by Alexander Varlamov and "The Last Rose of Summer" by Benjamin Britten.
• Colleen McKirdy played Franz Schubert's "Impromptu Op. 90, No. 3" on the piano.
• Carolyn Burns, soprano, sang two songs by Gustav Mahler: "Hans und Grethe" and "Wer hat dies Liedlein Erdacht?"
• Michael Compton played alto saxophone, and Tim Justus played trumpet on Barbara York's "Duo Sonata: Wisdom of Our Fathers."
• Emily Bradbury on violin played Jules Massenet's "Meditation" from Thaïs.
• Brian Nozny played marimba, and Rachel Nozny played flute on Gareth Farr's "Kembang Suling."
• Michael Compton played tenor saxophone, and Brian Nozny played percussion on Dennis DeSantis' "+8."
• Charlotte Hondl, soprano, sang Chris Tomlin's "Forever" accompanied by Priscilla Keogh on piano, Carolyn Burns on guitar, and Brian Nozny on percussion.

My favorite was the Noznys' marimba/flute duet of three "musical snapshots of Asia": the first suggesting Bali, the second Japan, and the third southern India. The link above will let you hear two other musicians' performance, and it's well worth a listen. Recitals such as this are one of many benefits of living in a university community, and I'm glad we took advantage of the opportunity to hear the music faculty perform today.

Restaurant Makes Headlines After Mobergs Dine There

Remember our having dined at Theodore's, the Rough Riders Hotel's restaurant last Sunday? The Dickinson Press today features an article on the hotel's remodeling (and expansion--adding a convention center) project. Check it out!

Freebies

I ran across this article from Kiplinger, whose staff "looked for primo goods and services--no useless junk allowed" and came up with a list of "fabulous freebies"--"30 valuable goods and services that don't cost a thing." Some of the most appealing items from the list:

• free birthday goodies
• free software
• airline freebies
• free TV shows, movies, books, music, and cultural events (e.g., museums, zoos, galleries, concerts)
• free kids' meals
• free sheet music

The other items on the list are worth checking out, too.

My Five-Year Anniversary!

Didja realize that Pensive? No, Just Thinking is five years old today?! Yeah, it's been awhile since I first fired this thing up to record my thoughts about the goings-on in my life. Feeling nostalgic? Let's reminisce:

• Five years ago, I was recovering from the exhausting first days of the school year.
• Four years ago, I was (surprise, surprise) recovering from the exhausting first days of the school year.
• Three years ago, I was whining about the never-ending home improvement projects that we undertook upon moving into our new house.
• Two years ago, I was looking back on previous years.
• One year ago, I was telling tales about a party that we had attended, about the girls' hectic schedule of weekly activities, about a university musical for which the girls auditioned, and about our blooming flowers around the yard.

Let's see if this thing is still around five years from now. Will people still be blogging, or will some other innovation have replaced blogs? Time will tell!

Catablogue: Mangled English

For the final catablogue entry of the month, I offer you a veritable smorgasbord of blogs all related to abuse of the English language. I realize that it can seem elitist to revel in the speaking and writing errors of others; after all, nobody's perfect--and the English language's usage rules are constantly evolving to reflect our changing world and the inventiveness of people who enjoy playing with language for effect. But ignoring the rules of grammar, usage, mechanics, etc., for no apparent reason is a different matter altogether. When the rules are broken egregiously or ignored so inexcusably as to constitute an affront to the sensibilities of the general English-speaking populace, then one of these bloggers is likely to point it out:

Literally, a Web Log: An English Language Grammar Blog Tracking Abuse of the Word "Literally" -- Someone who says, "I literally died of laughter!" but who is not speaking from beyond the grave is a person who doesn't understand how to use the word "literally."

Apostrophe Catastrophes: The Worlds' Worst. Punctuation; -- Oftentimes a reader can figure out the meaning behind a poorly punctuated sentence, but should he/she have to? And let's review: except in the case of lowercase letters (e.g., "dot your i's and cross your t's"), the apostrophe is not used to form plurals. Stop inserting apostrophes in phrases such as "music of the 1980s" (not "1980's") or "apples are on sale" (not "apple's")!

The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks -- When a reader sees quotation marks, he/she judges from the context whether the author is directly quoting someone or being ironic (e.g., if my car comes back from the garage just as inoperable as when I brought it in, I could write that the mechanic "fixed" my car). That ironic effect is achieved unintentionally by businesses that toss in quotation marks randomly on signs or ads or menus (e.g., the breakfast special suddenly sounds suspicious when the menu lists it as a breakfast "special").

GrammarBlog: Mocking Poor Grammar Since 2007 -- The sidebar of this blog asks, "Do you think people who don't know the difference between 'your' and 'you're' should be strung up by their gonads? You do? Welcome to GrammarBlog." That says it all.

(What is a catablogue?)

Catablogue: Free-Range Kids

Free-Range Kids: Giving Our Kids the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry

This blog has a mission: to reduce paranoid parenting and increase children's autonomy. Its sidebar proclaims that free-range parents "do NOT believe that every time school-aged children go outside, they need a security detail." Instead, what kids need is instruction on how to keep themselves safe and then opportunities to practice those lessons. Teach them how to cross a street, how to respond to a threatening stranger, how to wear a bike helmet, how to read a bus schedule, how to use a telephone, etc.--and then let them walk to school, bike to a friend's house, hop a city bus to the library, and so forth.

One could get the impression from news stories and radio show hosts that the world is a foreboding place for our children--full of danger at every turn in the form of kidnappers and sex offenders lurking in the bushes, or poisons and allergens in school cafeterias and city park sandboxes. However, Free-Range Kids seeks and shares facts regarding the dangers that children face (many of which are statistically quite improbable) in an effort to convince contemporary parents to go ahead and let their kids out of their sight once in a while.

Kids must develop in their youth the skills needed to live independently later in life. They require a degree of freedom in order to test their boundaries and explore the world in which they live. Although parents must, of course, take steps to ensure that their children are relatively safe, they need not live in perpetual fear. Unfortunately the paranoid parents most in need of reading Free-Range Kids aren't likely to. Instead they're too busy escorting Junior to every single soccer practice--or walking him across the street on his way to a neighbor child's house--or laying out his toys so that he needn't face the psychological dangers of having to make up his own games (or his own mind) during playtime--or contacting a lawyer to initiate a frivolous law suit against some entity or another for failing to prevent some harm that has befallen Junior but that could not have been foreseen or that was a natural circumstance of Junior's own actions.

But if you know any people who are only moderately over-protective parents, there may still be hope for them yet! Take them to Free-Range Kids and read through some of the posts together. Their children will probably thank you!

(What is a catablogue?)

Catablogue: The Pioneer Woman

The Pioneer Woman: Plowing Through Life in the Country . . . One Calf Nut at a Time

Just clink the link above. Really. How can I do justice to The Pioneer Woman in a brief catablogue description? You've got to see it for yourself. Well, okay, I guess you deserve some indication of what it's about.

The subtitle of the blog should tell you a little something about the blog as well as the blogger's fun attitude. She fell in love with a rancher and uses her blog to write about her "decade-long transition from spoiled city girl to domestic country wife" (citation). It's a fascinating ongoing story, but the blog is enjoyable even if one is sampling bits and pieces rather than exploring the archives and reading everything.

Separate sections of the blog are devoted to cooking, home and garden, homeschooling, and photography. The "Confessions" tab (at the top of the blog) will take you to the most blog-like entries in which she records her thoughts about her family and their life on the ranch. In each section are photos and other attractive visual elements as well as good humor that comes out in the way the blogger uses language to comment on what's going on in her life.

And because I'm a "foodie," I have to recommend a tour of The Pioneer Woman's recipes, which are accompanied by illustrative photos. Just try to look through the photos for the Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever without working up an appetite!

(What is a catablogue?)

Catablogue: What Not to Crochet

What Not to Crochet

This blog is in the spirit of Moggit, Craftastrophe, and Cake Wrecks: laughing while cringing. The focus of the site is so simple: share photos of needle work that probably ought not to have been made. Scroll through the blog for examples from the world of fashion, art, and crafts. There are bras, bikini bottoms, and men's athletic supporters made from yarn and hemp (the blogger's concern: that the "pink bits" will poke out). There are clothes for animals, animals made from yarn, and clothes made to look like animals. There are projects crocheted with the sole purpose of seeing whether it's possible to create with yarn.

The blogger does share photos, too, of impressive crochet samples--so if you crochet, you may be inspired in your own work by some of the photos . . . but definitely warned not to create tacky, tasteless projects exemplified by other photos. This blog is good for a laugh, and it fills a void left by the absence of another similar blog: You Knit What?? (which, although no longer being updated, is still available for viewing photos of "craftastrophes" from the world of knitting).

(What is a catablogue?)

Catablogue: Book Blogs

Yep, not one but three blogs are featured today! Considering that I'm married to a librarian, that I used to be an English teacher, and that reading is pretty important in our family (I submit this and this as supporting evidence), I'm a little surprised to look back and note that I have not offered any literature-related blogs in the catablogue until now. If you are a reader, a promoter of literacy, someone who desires to read more but doesn't know where to start, or some combination thereof, you'd do well to check out any of these blogs.

The Book Lady's Blog

I like the straightforward title. Books are this blogger's profession and passion ("I'm on a mission to share the love of reading and keep the written word alive in our increasingly digital culture" [citation]). Along with book reviews (a standard component of many book blogs), the Book Lady shares information on undertaking reading challenges, facilitating book clubs, entering book-related giveaways, and listening to/meeting authors at book signings or public readings. Two recent posts to sample:

• Did you know that Book Blogger Appreciation Week is coming up soon? Let the Book Lady tell you all about it.
• If you wanted to raise someone's interest in a literary classic, what contemporary (and theoretically more "accessible") work would you recommend to be read along with that classic? The Book Lady has some ideas for possible pairings.

Everyday Reading

This blogger is a librarian who originally intended to use the blog as a means for sharing her book reviews but who has, over time, added posts about whatever topics strike her fancy. She sounds like a fun person both in those "You know, I've been thinking about . . ." kinds of posts as well as in her reviews, which are written in clear language and a conversational voice (e.g., "There was one literary device in this book that made me kind of crazy" [citation]). Two non-book-review posts to sample:

• The blogger offers a possible life motto for herself ("Live Light") and tells how getting her reading materials from a library rather than a bookstore enables her to enjoy books without being obligated to store, move, dust around, sell, or dispose of them after reading them--just return them to the library and be done.
• The blogger recommends a heart-tugging article she has read that reminds her "of things that are painful to remember" but that she "want[s] to be reminded of anyway." The one-two punch of reading her post about the article and then the article itself reduced me to tears.

Maw Books Blog

This blogger calls reading her "great escape from being a stay-at-home mom"(citation) and writes reviews of every book that she reads. And she reads all kinds of books, so when perusing her blog, you're as likely to read about memoirs or adult fiction as about children's literature or parenting books. Maw Books Blog offers book-related contests and giveaways, book- and author-related news, reader polls, book lists, etc., with the occasional post about events or people from the blogger's personal life. She even shares her "library": what she has read recently, what she's reading currently, and what she plans to read next (an impressive list). Two interesting posts to sample:

• She shares the movie trailers for current and upcoming movies that are based on books, possibly increasing both viewership and readership.
• She reflects on her penchant for owning lots of books when, in fact, she rarely rereads books, speculating that the joy of keeping books comes from being able to reminisce about a pleasant reading experience when she sees a particular book title.

(What is a catablogue?)

Catablogue: Stop Homework

Stop Homework

Today is the start of the school year here, so it seems an appropriate day on which to share this particular blog with you. I hadn't heard of Stop Homework until it was cited in an article that I read this summer, so I checked it out briefly. Because I'm not a regular reader of the blog, or a visitor who has spent much time perusing its archives, I can't say that I have any strong opinions about it or insight into it. I can only say that its focus--discussing the worth of homework for students--is important for anybody to consider who is a student, parent, educator (teacher, principal, etc.), or other citizen interested in what's happening in your local schools.

The blogger's biography states that she is a parent who "has been an anti-homework activist from the time her older child entered first grade." However, from what she writes in the posts to her blog, she seems less anti-homework and more anti-busywork. She writes from the perspective of a parent frustrated with homework tasks that do not accomplish enough for a child's learning to be worth the personal time that they consume (potential "family time" that is spent, by the child, doing homework or, by the parent, cajoling the child to complete homework).

So it seems that she--and like-minded commenters on her blog--want teachers to think carefully about the purpose and results of the homework that they assign. She also encourages parents to initiate, at their children's schools, conversations about homework policies and practices. Stop Homework doesn't seem to advocate never assigning homework at all. But homework assignments are not, in and of themselves, the mark of a serious teacher or a rigorous course. You don't have to dig too deeply into the blog's past posts to find a parent who blames excessive homework on his/her child's lack of interest in learning or reading, or a teacher who outlines his/her approach to designing effective at-home assignments.

Check out Stop Homework. You may agree with what you read, or disagree, or start to rethink your own beliefs about homework for school children. So long as it gets you thinking (or, potentially, talking to others and/or taking action), it will have been worth the visit.

P.S. Family Homework Answers is a similar kind of blog that, in addition, links back (click "Home" at the top of that blog) to a site with homework-related resources for teachers (e.g., questions to ask oneself before assigning homework), for students (e.g., study resources and suggestions), and for parents (e.g., how to communicate with a teacher about a child's homework).

(What is a catablogue?)