I am sitting here in the middle of the countryside in Iceland
( well…actually in a summerhouse an hours drive from Reykjavik )…

New Nordic Food.. I know the concept…and I find it interesting…but what is it really and what should it be about? What does it mean to me?

( oh…yes…that is the reason this is written in English…There will be a link to my blog on the site of Ny Nordisk Mad this week. )

Here´s a little story of what should not be. Let´s start there:

We are in the beautiful Borgarfjordur. The weather isn´t too good….It´s a bit cold and a bit windy. Summer is late to arrive this year…
Yesterday we went for a drive around the area.
Not that we haven´t driven here before – but this is a part of being in a summerhouse for a few days.
And also a part of educating your children – showing them the major sites and cultural heritage…and hoping they remember at least a part of it when they grow up – or – better still, that it becomes a part of them.

For me, food should be the same. You should be able to travel around, knowing that when you come to a certain place – you can look forward to tasting the local delicacies. I know they are there…I´ve tried some of them…Now – why can´t I buy them in the local stores? Why aren´t there signs on the road saying ” get your lamb chops here” or ” come here for your fresh fish”….A bit of marketing would help.

We stopped by Reykholt – where the world renowned Snorri Sturluson lived and worked – writing books such as the Snorra Edda, the tales of the Nordic gods.

Afterwards, we stopped a the church in Gilsbakki – visiting the grave of another of another great writer – poet and scholar Jon Helgason.
We got invited to see the newborn lambs…some of them only a day old…It was an amazing experience – not the least for our 9 year old son who seemed to fit right in and would have made a great shepard I am sure.

On our way back, we started thinking about what to cook. It was almost seven o´clock and I managed to get online on my phone in the middle of the countryside to figure out when the shops in the nearest “town” would close. Seven o´clock they closed.

But not to worry – my son informed me – they sell lamb chops in the tiny shop close to the summer house.
( he likes food as much as I do, so I was very proud of him for having noticed that. He came here with his father a day ahead of me and they had gone there for supplies…).

When we got there, we found the lamb chops. They were frozen and there was of course no way of knowing where they were from.From which part of the country was it? Which farm? What class? 1st class…2nd class? No…it was just was it was. Lamb chops…frozen…take it or leave it.

We ended up in the summerhouse eating baked beans ( one of the few things I found in the shop that seemed to make any sense!) and chocolate chip cookies… We could have gone for “The Burger” – which is something you find in every road shop here. But…no…no thanks. Too greasy.

I was so glad when I came back to the house to find that we still had some left of the smoked trout I´d brought.
Now…that´s a delicacy… But it doesn´t really work with baked beans….

Now is another day. I will venture into the village later today to see what I find.

Worst case scenario – it´s only an hours drive back home.