I ate Rudolph

Yeah, Rudolph the reindeer, that is. Reindeer is a very important food in Sweden, or at least in the Norther parts. Reindeer breeding and herding is mostly taken care of by our native citizens, the Lapps. I have only seen real life reindeer at the zoo, but I've eaten it quite a bit. It's a very very lean meat, and can be absolutely delicious with the right things. My friend Rebecca from the US had it when she was here to visit, and liked it a lot - but it really freaked her out when we told her what it was.

My favorite way to make it is a very very simple recipe indeed. Sadly, I didn't think to take a picture, but it's not especially photogenic anyway. It reflects quite well how I like to eat sometimes - simple, clear flavors. You can buy the meat here frozen in little strips, called Renskav. I thawed that in a dry frying pan, and as the meat heated up, I kind of scrubbed it off so it all thawed evenly. I added in two small onions, thinly sliced into half moons. Next, a big pile of mushrooms - I used chanterelles, which are in season right now. (I'd like to say that I picked them myself, but.. not this time.) After that had steamed for a little while, I added a pat of butter, and about 400 ml of cream - or in this case, a very good cream substitute with 5% fat. I'm generally quite sceptic of such things, but this one is very good. (For any Swedes that might be reading this - Milda MiniMat is the way to go.)

I seasoned it with a tablespoon of soy sauce, some freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of salt. Ate, happily, with a pile of brown rice. Yum!