Flauelsgrautur

Velvety smooth milk groats

I found the recipe here in a book about traditional Icelandic everyday cooking in a new look , which I recently bought in the second-hand shop here in Selfoss.

A very exciting book, for my taste - and I actually found this recipe for "velvet-soft milk porridge" extremely tasty, maybe not exactly exciting, but for me personally it was soul food, especially on these first uncomfortable days of autumn...

Ingredients for 4 (small) portions

1 liter of milk

100 g butter

100 g flour

1 tsp salt

sugar cinnamon

Milk, juice or similar

Preparation

Bring the milk to the boil in a pot.

Melt the butter in a second, large pot.

Stir the flour into the melted butter.

Then add the hot milk in portions, stirring constantly.

Salt the porridge and let it cook for a few minutes while stirring.

Then serve the warm groats with sugar cinnamon and a little cold milk, juice or similar.

Bon appetit!

[Translated from here.]

The "Cave People" of Laugarvatnshellir

Have you ever visited the “Cave People” near Laugarvatn?

We've been there several times and I also reported on the last cavemen in Iceland in a special edition of the German magazine "Zauber des Nordens" ("Magic of the North").

It was only around 100 years ago that people still lived in this small cave near Lake Laugarvatn.

Laugarvatnshellir

The caves dug into the soft tuff of Reyðarbarmur Mountain on the road from Laugarvatn to Þingvellir were created by human hands . Initially, after the conquest of Iceland, the caves were probably used primarily by shepherds as a refuge for them and their sheep. This use was later abandoned after stories about ghosts were told here in the caves.

The Cave People

In the summer of 1910 , a young couple came who wanted to farm. Because there was no land or farm to buy in the area, they settled in the caves. The man, a trained carpenter, converted the larger cave into a " living cave " as a living and sleeping area with a kitchen. The smaller cave became a sheepfold. After almost a year, the couple was able to purchase a farm in the surrounding area and moved.

In 1918 , another young couple, Jón Þorvarðsson and Vigdís Helgadóttir , settled here; the caves then probably belonged to one of Jón's relatives. They also farmed here, kept sheep, a few horses and a cow and sold skyr, cream and homemade cakes to travelers on the way from Laugarvatn to þingvellir. Vigdís had also planted a garden and successfully grew potatoes in a comparatively sunny location on the southern slope. Jón hunted ptarmigan, which he sold in Reykjavík, and they collected berries to sell.

Their eldest daughter, Ragnheiður, was born here in the cave in April 1919 . Jón had to walk through the deep snow to Laugarvatn to get the midwife when there were complications and it took around 8 hours to cover the 13km route, but it turned out well and mother and child survived the birth. The second child Magnús was born in 1920 and the youngest daughter Hrafnhildur Ásta in 1922.

At the end of 1922, Jón and Vigdís were able to buy their own farm and moved with their children.

Photo from the visit to the Cave People in April 2019

Since 2017, the reconstructed cave of the “Cave People” can be visited again as part of a guided tour .

In the special issue of "Zauber des Nordens" I present a little about what life might have been like for little Magnús and his family around 100 years ago, and also what kind of dishes they probably ate.

There is a hollow pan hanging on the kitchen board in the living cave, which was used to bake eplaskífur (apple pancakes), for example... you can of course also find a suitable recipe for this in the special issue!

Last weeks we were in Laugarvatnshellir again to show the finished special issue. We were also able to take a few photos, including with the current guide through the caves. Thanks again to the Cave People for this!

We really enjoyed our visit again this time!

[Translated from here.]

Gleanings - Menningarnótt 2023

Menningarnótt - Reykjavík Culture Night - Culture Night 2023

On Saturday (August 19th) it was Culture Night again in Reykjavík – and we went, this time with Child 3 and Child 4, and Child 3's girlfriend. The weather was wonderful, and I enjoyed it. Last year, it was quite cold and, above all, windy at Menningarnótt. The Culture Night and the beautiful weather obviously attracted a lot of people to the city; it was really packed in Reykjavík!

We started with a quick detour to Hallgrímskirkja , where the Neskirkja Parish Choir from the Reykjavík district of Vesturbær was singing under the direction of organist Steingrímur Þórhallsson. They sing "Ó blessuð vertu sumarsól." The audience was expressly encouraged to sing along, and lyrics were also distributed—so we could have joined in if we had been able to.

At the same time, there were also other stations in the church, for example a table for children where they could color in the Hallgrímskirkja as a coloring page, or this installation, which dealt with Bible passages on the subject of "water."

We then continued from the church, down Skólavörðustígur Street. At this corner, we encountered this "strange bird" approaching us: three men with a mighty bird. To the delight of the children, the bird could even gently "snake" with its beak.

We also passed the shop of the Handprjónasamband Íslands —the "Hand Knitting Society of Iceland." The society was founded in November 1977 by a group of Icelanders, mostly women. The goal was to generate income from knitting and selling classic "Icelandic sweaters" ( lopapeysur )—society members usually knit such sweaters, jackets, and other woolen items by hand at home, and the society then sells the knitwear in the shop.

In front of the shop, they handed out printed jute bags to celebrate the association's 45th anniversary. I was delighted to receive one of the bags—now I have the perfect storage for my current knitting project! Yay!

We continued walking through the crowd down the "Rainbow Street"...

... and first to the water to the Harpa concert hall.

In front of the concert hall, there was a boat carving session for children from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. - beautiful wooden boats were eagerly crafted and then immediately tried out in the water basin in front of Harpa!

It was really busy here!

There was also a concert for children here - unfortunately, I didn't understand much, except for the one time when it was about delicious sweets on Nammidagur (on Saturdays, when sweets are traditionally sold in the shop at reduced prices).

Swangah , a Faroese rap group, was also playing in one of Harpa's concert halls. The band consists of several young men who all grew up in the same neighborhood of Tórshavn, and the band's name refers to this place name (Svanga). I would have thought the rap would be in English and Icelandic and would have difficulty understanding them – but if it's a Faroese band, I'll put it down to the fact that I only ever understood a few words!

I still think the Harpa building is definitely the most beautiful glasshouse in the world and I always enjoy coming here!

After that, our kids needed to be fed, so we took a short break at Ingólfstorg and ate some filled flatbreads. Not completely filling for our hungry sons, but definitely delicious!

We continued through the Hljómskálagarður at Tjörnin, with a large stage, live music and many food stalls and bouncy castles etc. for children.

Afterwards, we let ourselves drift through the streets, listening to what was happening everywhere. Various bands and groups were playing in front of enthusiastic audiences, on the streets, on various stages... simply beautiful!

Finally, we went to Arnarhóll for the big concert by the radio station RÁS 2.

The concert featured Icelandic rock band HAM , among others. The man on stage here is Óttarr Proppé – definitely a versatile individual. He performed as a backing singer with the band Pollapönk at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, where they finished 15th in the grand final. He also served for many years as a city councilor in Reykjavík, later as chairman of the " Björt framtíð " (= " Bright Future ") party, and for a time even as Iceland's Minister of Health . (When I imagine Jens Spahn or Karl Lauterbach on stage like that...!)

When we arrived at the hill, Aron Can , an Icelandic hip-hop artist, was playing. His father runs several kebab restaurants in the capital area, and his son released his first song in 2016 and has been signed to Sony Music since 2018.

Later, Klara Elíasdóttir and the girl group Nylon, as well as Valdímar , performed. Around 11 p.m., the concert reached its "home stretch"...

...and around a quarter past eleven, the long-awaited final fireworks display began. Simply fantastic! We were happy that we all made it through, even though we were starting to get really tired after such an intense day...

Heard a lot, experienced a lot, met a lot of people - and had a great atmosphere all day long!

[Translated from here.]

Bökuð skyrkaka með karamellusósu

Baked skyr cake with caramel sauce

We have child 3's friend visiting and I asked beforehand what she likes/dislikes/doesn't like to eat. The answer was "I love anything with vanilla and caramel".

So I went looking and in the one beautiful cookbook about everyday Icelandic cooking in a new look from 1992 that I recently found in the second-hand shop in Reykjavík, there was a recipe for baked Skyr cake in it. Originally, pure Skyr was intended, but given my declared love for vanilla, I used vanilla Skyr. And instead of the fruit sauce that was originally intended, I used the thick, sweet caramel sauce that I recently used for apple pie...

The result was definitely one of the best skyr cakes I've baked so far - wonderfully creamy, fresh and also very fruity thanks to the lemon zest and juice. It was very well received and was really almost perfect for me too! I definitely need to bake this more often!

Ingredients for the soil

50 g white sugar

150 g flour

100 g butter

1 egg yolk

Ingredients for the filling

300 g vanilla skyr

2 eggs

100 g brown sugar

1 pinch of salt

1 organic lemon

100 ml milk

100 ml cream

3 Tbsp corn flour

Ingredients for the glaze

120 g brown sugar

30 g butter

100 ml cream

optionally a pinch of coffee spice or similar.

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 300 °F (150 °C) upper/lower heat.

Mix the sugar and flour in a bowl, then add the butter in flakes and the egg yolks.

Knead the ingredients into a smooth dough.

Spread half of the dough on the bottom of a springform pan (lined with baking paper) and press it down.

Bake the base in the oven at 300 °F (150 °C) upper and lower heat for 10 minutes, then remove it from the oven and let it cool down again.

To make the filling, first separate the eggs.

Beat the egg white until stiff.

In a bowl, mix the vanilla skyr with the sugar, a pinch of salt, the milk and 100 ml of cream and the egg yolk.

Carefully grate the lemon peel and squeeze half a lemon.

Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and corn flour and mix everything thoroughly.

Finally, carefully fold in the egg whites.

Press the second half of the dough onto the sides of the springform pan.

Pour the skyr mixture onto the cake and bake at 350 °F (180 °C) upper and lower heat for 15 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 200 °F (100 °C) and bake for another 45 minutes.

Then take the cake out of the oven and let it cool down.

For the caramel glaze, heat the sugar in a pan over low heat and add the butter. Mix the sugar with the melted butter.

Add the cream and optionally a pinch of cinnamon, coffee spice or similar...

...and let it thicken slowly while stirring constantly.

Let the sauce cool in the fridge and then spread it on the skyr cake.

Store the cake in the refrigerator and pour until well chilled.

Bon appetit!

[Translated from here.]