Many Large ‘Amma’ Vínarterta were delivered to Vancouver for a very special event; the Icelandic National League of North America INLofNA Convention. At breakfast on the first morning I heard someone say longingly: “I hope there is Vinarterta.” I realize some people probably know more than I do about Vinarterta, and the power of it […]
“How then are we to relate to our ancestors? How are we to feel ourselves in some meaningful way Icelandic and in a direct line of descent of Icelandic values and an Icelandic way of life? Well, for Western Icelanders here in North America the answer is a practical and pragmatic one. We use food. […]
How can it get any better than that? I love this question. Not can it. How can it? Ask the question and see the shift happen to make any thing or any situation in life better. It always can. Life just gets better in a yummy kind of way when fear is gone and unlimited […]
“Ég kem alveg af fjöllum.” I come completely from the mountains. – Icelandic Saying (Means for example: I have no idea what you are talking about. I did not eat that cake.) Useful especially for people who are known to sneak little pieces of Vínarterta (in little slivers) thinking no one will notice. Well, since […]
“It’s not how much you do, but how much love you put into the doing that matters.” – Mother Teresa Arden Jackson Photo: David Snow
Vínarterta. It is us. Arden Jackson
Icelandic Saying: “Now there won’t do any mitten-takes” = “Nú duga engin vettlingatök.” (Meaning: Now we are going to do it properly.) No mitten-grabbing! If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well! (I hear Amma!) With this level of translation required, no wonder it’s hard to learn Icelandic. And yet, when you think about it, […]
“My cake is dough.” – William Shakespeare. It’s an English proverb meaning ‘My plans have failed.’ And it’s from Shakespeare’s play ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ in Act 5, Scene 1 it goes like this: Gremio: ‘My cake is dough, but I’ll in among the rest. Out of hope of all but my share of […]
‘There is no love sincerer than the love of food.’ – George Bernard Shaw ….And fresh Vínarterta with butter cookie layers fragrant with pure vanilla and almond, filled with cardamom flavored plum jam, iced with vanilla buttercream, plated with chocolate, berries and whipped cream is sincere love for me! Every aspect of my baking is […]
During our ‘There and Back Again 1875-2015 Tour’ of Iceland last summer we enjoyed the most wonderful of dinners at Tjöruhúsið in Ísajörður in the Westfjords of Iceland. It was indeed a happy highlight of the trip! Fresh, abundant, tasteful food warmed us after a long day of adventuring in the most amazing of landscapes. […]