Waking up early is much harder these days. It feels like only a few ago when it was light at 6.25 am as I walked my son to the road for his school bus pick-up. Now, it is pitch black and moist, and the path is lit by the weak flashlight on my iPhone. A few days ago, the grass was covered in beautiful frost as temps dropped below zero degrees Celcius.
Monday morning was especially hard this week. We attended an excellent concert Sunday evening at the beautiful Beacon theatre, entertained by Andrew Ripp, Rend Collective, and MercyMe.
We brought the kids to experience these fantastic bands, offering an excellent evening of worship.
Worship does not have to be in a church on Sunday mornings. We can share the message through music, which so many great artists do. Concerts with bands like MercyMe, Rend Collective, Hillsong, Zach Williams, Chris Tomlin, and others are outstanding. The audience is in a great mood, and we all enjoy the words of wisdom shared on stage.
Thankfully I was up early Sunday morning and made it to the supermarket before 9 am. I’m the youngest person doing grocery shopping at that time, which makes me feel younger than I look.
Simple Cooking
Because we had a social event Sunday afternoon and evening, I had to start cooking Monday evening after work. Not a problem, except you don’t get much rest until 9 pm. It is a long day when we only get 5-6 hours of sleep.
The dinners for this week are simple but delicious Danish comfort meals. I was inspired by the book I purchased recently, Scandinavian Comfort Food, and picked a couple of recipes.
The beauty of being a more experienced home chef is that I try to adjust recipes to my liking and add a little extra kick to the meals. The main reason for my adjustments are as follows:
- I don’t use salt, so have to use alternatives
- I don’t use milk or real cream, but coconut cream instead
- I may not be able to get all the ingredients
- My kids might not like some ingredients
- I have concerns over some ingredients from a flavor perspective
- I add more and different ingredients
That makes home cooking a lot of fun, and you learn much more. However, you must be willing to accept failure and learn from mistakes. Nothing wrong with making the odd mistake, and not every meal will taste nice. Again, that is the beauty of cooking at home.
For example, I made Scandinavian fish patties (fiske frikadeller) but added different fish and a little imitation crab. I mixed in a few extra herbs and added some panko breadcrumbs to tighten the mixture. The result is fabulous fish cakes, and I will serve them with small oven-roasted potatoes.
Cooking Danish food also reminds us that Danes are not precisely known for spicy and exotic ingredients. We stick to simple ingredients such as beef, potatoes, pork, potatoes, onions, potatoes, and beetroot. Simple and hearty food options.
| Lunch | Dinner | |
| Monday | Egg, lettuce, and tomato on an onion-flavored bun | Million bøf – ground beef with stuff in it, and rice + traditional Danish comfort food |
| Tuesday | Grilled three-cheese sandwich | Skipper Labskovs – beef steak, onion, and potato stew – another Danish comfort food |
| Wednesday | Breakfast wrap; ground beef, cheese, and egg | Fish cakes with roasted small potatoes and herb sauce |
| Thursday | Quesadilla sliders with peppers and chicken | Skipper Labskovs – beef steak, onion, and potato stew – another Danish comfort food |
| Friday | Caesar salad with grilled chicken and homemade dressing | Take-out food … Viking Heart Dad is away on business |
One day, I might get so organized that I will link the meals below to my recipes. We can only live in hope!
Have a fantastic week, my friends. I hope you enjoy these meal plans. It is much easier to make food in advance, although you must invest several hours preparing meals during the weekend.
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