Growth of the soil - Knut Hamsun - Sverre Lyngstad. | © Penguin Classics. | Amazon.com.

Growth of the soil | Homesteading in the Norwegian mountains

As a young person growing up in Norway, my dream was to emigrate and become a homesteader somewhere in the North American wilderness. The problem was that I was born 100 years too late. An alternative escape was to read books and continue dreaming.

One of the books I read was Knut Hamsun’s Growth of the SoilMarkens Grøde – the novel that earned him the 1920 Nobel Prize in Literature. In the novel, we meet Isak, who creates his homestead kingdom somewhere in the Norwegian mountains.

When nearly one million Norwegians emigrated in the 1800s and early 1900s – primarily to North America – their ancestors had already been homesteading across the Norwegian landscape for thousands of years.

Recently, I reread Hamsun’s momentous novel, this time in English, translated by Sverre Lyngstad, who has translated several of Knut Hamsun’s books into English. The book had lost none of its glow. It remains a vital part of the journey of my life.

LA Dahlmann

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Norwegian baking through the seasons

Norwegian baking through the seasons

Nevada Berg takes readers back into her Norwegian kitchen, offering a year’s worth of new baking recipes in this seasonally focused, gorgeously photographed celebration of slow Nordic living. Nevada Berg’s first cookbook, North Wild Kitchen, was chosen as one of the year’s best cookbooks by the New York Times. Now she returns with all new recipes for mouthwatering baked goods that will transport readers back to the Norwegian landscape. Organized according to Norway’s five seasons, the book features ninety sweet and savory recipes and includes traditional baked goods for Norwegian holidays and other celebrations and special occasions. Stunning photography captures the delicate details of Nevada’s mountain farm home, showing how the seasons shape what’s going into the oven and onto the plate each time of the year: Rustic Spelt Crackers, Candied Almond Cake, Wild Blueberry and Oregano Bread, Troll Cream Oatmeal Cookies, or Lefse with Cinnamon Buttercream. Each recipe is introduced by a brief mood-setting text, incorporates the best ingredients each season has to offer, and is also entirely adaptable to anyone’s pantry. Steeped in Nordic tradition, but delivered with a thoroughly modern twist, this new collection will enlarge Nevada’s growing fan base while delighting home cooks who have already discovered the pleasures of her unique sensibility. – Prestel Publishing

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