I will post soon on our unorthodox financing scheme for the house, but for now lets look at how I am spending my evening(other than hanging up some bear stuff!). First of all my pack of M&M’s on the trip for lunch wore off, so food was in order! In fact a very traditional dish that would have been at home on rural dinner tables from Finland to Germany to Scotland and Ireland was in store. Here is the list of ingredients:
Serves 1 or 2 with lunch size portions
- 12-16oz pork loin
- 1/2 Large turnip
- 1/4 small head of cabbage ( About 12 oz)
- 1/4 small onion of your choice yellow or white
- Salt and Pepper
Chop up the veggies in good size chunks
Slice the pork loin into bite size portions
Preheat a pan on the wood stove or campfire (A regular stove is ok too!)
Put in the pork and a little water to prevent sticking
When the pork has browned on both sides, add the veg!
As the veg begins to cook occasionally add about a tsp of water. Cover pan if you have a lid, I did not.
Continue to constantly stir until the pork is cooked thru and the veg have just a bit of crunch left (not soggy)
Salt and pepper to taste and serve with a dark ale or strong mead!
It was really simple and surprisingly good. When I do it again I plan to marinate the pork in Belgian ale before hand! So what to follow a meal fit for a Jarl with? Coffee of course, but not just coffee, but a Sami style cup of goodness! The Sami people of Northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia have a particular method of enjoying a cup o’ joe. Coffee is to be made by boiling the water and coffee and then allowing it to cool or adding a splash of cold water to settle the grounds. Then several chunks of bread cheese (usually reindeer based) are placed into the cup before the coffee is poured over. I was not able to source reindeer cheese, but regular bread cheese is available so that is what I used. Bread cheese looks like a crusted bread and is very dense. It is so dense that it will squeak as you bite through it!
I had never prepared coffee in this way so it was quite the experiment. The result was a good cup of coffee (starbucks verona found on clearance) and when it came time to enjoy the cheese, it was quite a treat with a flavor and texture much like a coffee cheesecake! Excellent! and I will do the same in the morning for sure!
Well I am off for now, look for house plans and updates as we finally enter the last 6 months of transitioning to a slower pace and lifestyle and explore what it takes to become a modern hunter/gatherer/grower tribe.