The weekly Scandinavian Living newsletter
from Outside Oslo's Daytona Danielsen is back!

You're always welcome here at A Place at the Table

A Place at the Table is a free letter in your email inbox with all the warmth and hospitality you'd expect from a gracious host.

These letters are a gift for you, from my heart. It's my hope that the stories, recipes, resources, and little "gifts" you find within each week will help you to connect more deeply with Scandinavian heritage and culture--as well as with your loved ones.

Inside today's letter

Finding my way back to the kitchen
Journal: How Scandi food is helping me heal--again
Recipe: Norwegian Apple Cake
A Fika Friday recap
Coming next in A Place at the Table

Finding my way back to the kitchen

Dear Anne,

Years ago, in the deep end of grief, connecting with the foods of my heritage helped to mend the cracks in my heart.

This week I realized that it's again helping me heal in a significant way.

As I made the batter for Great-Grandma Josephine's Norwegian waffles for my children on Monday, then invited my kids into the kitchen to bake a Norwegian apple cake with me on Thursday, I felt something happening.

Like muscle memory.

Measuring cups of flour, cracking eggs, and mixing batters reawakened feelings, the sweetness of all those years of baking with my kids before my eating disorder and trauma took over.

This week I had made the decision to lean into the baking that used to bring me such joy but had become a trigger in my eating disorder. And as I did, I could feel the healing taking place in those very moments.

I've been noticing that as I slowly return to the kitchen, it's reminding me of the ways that food has always been something that's provided connection and a way to feel and share love.

Keep reading for "journal entries" of sorts, into the real-time meaning brought about by these moments.

I'm so grateful for each of you, and I wish you a great week ahead.

- Daytona

P.S. On the way to school yesterday, ending my parenting week with my kids, I asked my kids how the week went, what stood out. You know what? They mentioned the waffles and cake--not the ballet classes, soccer practice, video games, or anything else.

And my daughter is so happy that I'm finally baking again; she's missed the frequent baking we used to do and asked me to continue it. I knew that returning to the kitchen in this way would be a good thing. But the way my children are talking about it makes me see just how much love there can be in shared experiences in the kitchen and at the table.

A sort of journal: How Scandi food is helping me heal--again

A simple Norwegian apple cake isn't just a cake tonight.

To have my kids in the kitchen with me as we baked this evening... to watch my son measure the ingredients and my daughter eat the apple slices I had prepared for the cake... to experience the satisfaction of returning to this former shared activity with them... this is what recovery *feels* like.

Read the whole story about the impact of a simple cake.

Little by little the anorexia fades into a memory--one I'll keep in my rearview mirror, but that no longer influences my path.

Today that looked like bringing the stand mixer back into the kitchen to make a batch of Great-Grandma Josephine's Norwegian waffles for my children and me to enjoy together after school.

I'd been feeling depression descend, to be honest. But reengaging... keep reading and get the recipe.

And now the recipe: Norwegian Apple Cake

Norwegian Apple Cake (Eplekake)

2-3 large apples
Lemon juice
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup salted butter, cold
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter an 8-inch springform pan. Peel and core the apples and cut them each into 16 wedges. Toss in a bowl with a little lemon juice to prevent them from discoloring, and set aside.

Cut butter into dice and place in a food processor with flour and butter. Pulse until you have pea-sized bits of butter scattered throughout the flour. Add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla sugar and continue to process until the dough comes together.

Click for my full recipe for Eplekake

Or try my gluten-free version

A Fika Friday recap

This Norwegian apple cake is the Fika Friday Recipe of the Month in The Heart & Huset, my online membership community.

Last night at Fika Friday, some of us came to the online gathering with Norwegian apple cake to enjoy as our coffee treat.

Thanks for Kristin, Elin, and Adele for sharing photos of your apple cakes, and to the rest of you who showed up with a slice to share on the screen.

The Heart & Huset is a great way to connect with fellow people from across the country who share a love of all things Scandinavian.

Enrollment is currently closed, but watch for emails when The Heart & Huset opens for new memberships again in the coming months.

What to expect in the next A Place at the Table: My kransekake recipe and tips

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The weekly Scandinavian Living newsletterfrom Outside Oslo's Daytona Danielsen is back!

from Outside Oslo's Daytona Danielsen is back!