Thanksgiving {2010}

Thursday, November 25, 2010

We usually spend Thanksgiving with my family as it is one of the times a year I get to see my Grandma. She lives two hours west of the cities and I don't get to see her as often as I would like to.

We gather mid-morning, eat the main meal at noon, take a break, watch football all day, eat pie, make Krumkake, and then end our evening with another small meal and more pie.

I didn't get any pictures of the food, but here is a picture of Wayne (The Husband) and Les (My Dad) eating pumpkin pie. I believe this is actually round #2 for them. Pumpkin pie doesn't last long in our family.

We also have a tradition every year of making Krumkake. We take over my Mother's island with the two irons and numerous ice cream pails that we fill.

From Left to Right: Grandma Edna, cousin Emily, Aunt Laurie, Mom Karla.

You can see that the ice cream pails are already starting to fill up and the can of Reddi Whip on the counter.

From L to R: Sister Kate, Jorun, who is the Diekens foreign exchange student this year from Norway, Grandma and Emily again.

The italicized information is taken from Wikipedia.

Krumkake or 'Krum kaka' (English pronunciation: /ˈkruːmkɑːkə/, meaning bent or curved cake, plural krumkaker) is a Norwegian waffle cookie made of flour, butter, eggs, sugar, and cream. Krumkake are traditionally made during the Christmas season.

(photo from Wikipedia)

A special decorative two-sided iron griddle, similar to a waffle iron, is used to bake the thin round cakes. Older irons are used over the stove, but modern electric irons offer the convenience of nonstick surfaces, automatic timing, and multiple cakes per batch.

(photo from Wikipedia)

My Mom filling up her iron with batter.

While hot, the 13–20 cm krumkake are rolled into small cones around a wooden or plastic cone form. Krumkake can be eaten plain or filled with whipped cream (often multekrem) or other fillings.

Grandma Edna rolling.

These cookies are popular not only in Norway but also among Norwegian immigrant descendants in the American Midwest. Krumkaker are traditionally made in preparation for Christmas, along with other Norwegian sweets including Sandbakelse and Rosettes. They offer a sweet dessert after the traditional Christmas Eve dinner of ribs or pinnekjøtt.

In Germany, the cookies are commonly filled with sweet stuffings. They are also used as a type of ice cream cone.

Our immediate family doesn't make Rosettes, but some of our extended family does. So we always have those for Christmas, too.We like to put whip cream in our Krumkake or just eat it plain. Doing this always gets us in the Christmas spirit. We make enough to enjoy for the whole month of December.

Part of the Dieken Family

Me & Grandma Edna

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday!

Leah