Grønn Gourmet

Tomorrow were hosting a "Green Gourmet" dinner night with a wonderful local environmental group called Framtiden i våre hender. I put out the idea of having the event at our apartment after I went to the last Green Gourmet about a month ago. Simply put, it's a cooking party. The host provides a recipe and some raw ingredients that the guest assemble into a meal that they share together at the end of the night. So far, we have 12 RSVPs confirmed and I don't know how we will all fit in our cosy apartment, and we don't have 12 matching bowls, but that's part of the atmosphere.

Here's a sneak peak at the menu.

White bean, butternut squash, kale and olive stew

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 large onions, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 3 1/4- to 3 1/2-pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 red bell peppers, seeded, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups canned vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 large bunches kale, thick stems trimmed, leaves cut crosswise into 2-inch strips
• 1 tablespoon dried rubbed sage
• 5 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained
• 1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted, halved
• 2 cups Freshly grated Romano cheese

Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add squash; sauté Add bell peppers and stir to coat with onion mixture. Add broth. Cover and simmer until squash is just tender, about 10 minutes.

Mix kale and sage into stew. Cover and cook until kale wilts, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add beans and olives and stir until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer stew to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle generously with cheese.

Beets with Yogurt

• 2 pounds small beets2 cloves garlic
• 2 cups strained Greek-style yogurt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• handful of chopped mint or parsley

Cut the stems and leaves 2/3 of an inch above the beets. Cut each in half and lay them on tin foil on a baking pan. Lay tin foil over the beets. Roast at 400 degrees F for 1.5 to 2 hours un until tender. Cool and peel. Cut into thin, half moon slices.

Crush the garlic and beat it into the yogurt. Spread the mixture on a serving plate and arrange the slices on top. Beat the lemon juice with the oild and a little salt and stir in the chopped herbs. Spoon generously over the beets and serve.

Optional: add 1.5 teaspoons tahina to the yogurt.

Rose hips

This weekend, when we were visiting Matt's friend at his new abode along the coast, I found another edible plant! Rose hips are red fruits, about the size of small cherry tomatoes that are left behind after the bloom has died. Although nearly all rose bushes produce rose hips, the tastiest come from the Rosa rugosa variety which are planted all over the Oslo area. The flavor can be described as a mushy version of a cranberry or sweet red pepper. The fruity part only extends about a fourth of an inch into the center and then the rest is mostly seeds. But, some varieties have more fruit than others.

Right now in mid to late October is the best time to harvest them, just after the first frosts. They seem to taste best when they are plump and yeild to gentle pressure. But, the older ones that are soft and wrinkly lack the tart flavor. I've seen the bushes everywhere in parks and open spaces without realizing that they could be used for anything. Now, I'll have to pay more attention.

As it turns out, rose hips are high in both vitamin C and antioxidants. Some recipes advise that you avoid using metal pans and utensils when processing them so you don't discolor the fruit or reduce the vitamin C concentration, but I don't see how or why metal pots would have any effect on it. If it were the case, why aren't there similar warnings on recipes involving red peppers and tomatoes?

Here are just a few convenient ways to store, or cook the tasty fruit:

Dried rose hips
Rose hip tea
Rose hip puree
Rose hip leather
Rose hip candy
Rose hip jelly
Rose hip apple sauce
Rose hip pudding
Rose hip soup
Rose hip syrup
Rose hip nut bread

Links:
http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blrosehips.htm

Becoming a bookworm

Since my commute to work is relatively short, and our grocery store is just outside the apartment building, I have plenty of free time to study and read. The city library is great. I've been taking full advantage of it, filling the evenings with international news, science journals, thought provoking books. I just finished a book about global warming, called "Six degrees" which was a bit frightening and now I'm in the middle of "The Ages of Gaia", biography of the planet that looks at life on Earth as one, self regulating organism. The author, James Lovelock walks through each eon showing how each successive wave of organisms unintentionally moderated the temperatue, atmosphere, geology and conditions to sustain life. It's a bit dense, but entertaining and inspiring.

Speaking of atmosphere changes, Norway's season are quite dramatic. Fall has finally arrived in full force and the ground is covered in colorful leaves. Now the tops of the trees are starting to show bare branches and the tree outside our balcony is suddenly barren except for a few hanging seed pods, ready to drop.

It's raining more and more which intensifies the waterfalls near our apartment and up in the NordMarka. Along the river you can see old flour mills or factories from the turn of 19th century, now transformed into office buildings or apartments. Last weekend on a run with the running club we came across a glassy lake at the base of a gushing fall at least 50 feet tall. The sun broke out for just a moment illuminating the bright leaves agains the slate gray rocks and the black bark.

The pace of my running has slowed down because it takes so much effort to avoid all the puddles and streams on the rocky trails. Some of the more experienced runner just laugh and plow straight ahead through muddy streams up to their calves. If you're shoes are already wet, it doesn't make much of a difference. And at some point, I have to just give in and get soggy. As the Norwegians say, there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing. But perhaps they should say that there is no such thing as bad weather, just unwaranted hesitation.