Cranberry Bread for the Lovesick

In honor of our fourth wedding anniversary today, I present you with:

A favorite story. 

A favorite recipe. 

A favorite winter berry.

(And for those of you who can read Norwegian, an added bonus!)

 Let me tell you a little story. On a cool October day, in the great city of Oslo, there was a girl who liked a boy very much. She liked him so much that she sent her dear, old mom in Minnesota an email requesting a very important family recipe. You see, this girl discovered early on that the way into a boy’s heart was through his belly, and the best way to reel him in and keep him hers was to bake him a perfect little bread, a cranberry quick bread. The girl went out on a mission to the grocery stores of Oslo, searching high and low for the exotic berry, not native to Norway. With her dictionary in hand, the girl finally came across the berry in need, what the natives called Tranebær. The next day, the girl awoke early to complete her mission. She carefully read the recipe, measured out all of the ingredients, and mixed up the batter with love. Awakened by the inviting smells from the kitchen, the boy followed his nose to a fresh baked loaf of cranberry bread. The girl anxiously awaited a sign of approval, perhaps even some praise and a kiss. In the end, neither of them were disappointed.

A few months later, the girl and boy were separated by an ocean. They were love-sick without a remedy. Without any other method of repair the girl did the only thing she knew what to do in a time of strife. She baked. She baked a loaf of cranberry quick bread and carefully wrapped it in foil. On the outside of the loaf, she wrote “Can you guess what’s inside? Love, me”. She shipped the bread to Oslo and five days later the boy got his package, sent with love. Although the bread was beginning to go dry and stale, he rationed out every slice, savoring each crumb, remembering happier times when they were together.

Here’s the recipe for the bread that can cure lovesickness:

 

Cranberry Bread

Tranebærkake

(Recipe from my mom, Rachel Larson, St. Paul, MN)

*Makes 1- 9”x 5” loaf

 

2 cups (280 g) All-Purpose flour

1 cup (200 g) sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (60 g) butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup (180 ml) orange juice

1 egg

1 1/2 cup (165 g) cranberries, chopped

*optional: 1/2 cup (75 g) walnuts, chopped

-Mix dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mix orange juice and butter, add the egg. Add the dry to the wet,  then add the cranberries (and nuts, if you choose to use them). Grease and flour the pan. Bake in a 350F, preheated oven for 60 minutes.

                        ____________________________________________

 

Det var ein gong ei jente som var veldig glad i ein gut. Ho var so glad i han at ho sendt bod til mora si og spurte om ei viktig familieoppskrift. Denne jenta, skjønnar du, oppdaga tideleg at veia til hjerta på ein gut var gjennom magen. Den beste veia å få tak i guten så at han blei hennar, var å bake ei perfekt lita kake. Ei tranebærkake. Ein kald dag i oktober i Oslo, gjekk jenta ut til alle butikkane i Oslo for å finne dei eksotiske bæra til oppskrifta. Med ei ordbok i handa si, søkte jenta høgt og lavt til ho endeleg klarte å finne dei riktige bæra. Neste dagen jenta stod opp tideleg for å fullføre oppgåva. Ho las oppskrifta forsiktig, målte ingrediensane og blanda røra med kjærleik.  Vekt av den søte luka frå kjøkkenet, følgde guten nasa til ei nybake tranebærkake. Jenta venta på guten, ivrig ettergodkjenning, kanskje til og med eit kyss. Til slutt blei korkje han eller ho skuffa.

Eit par månadar seinare, blei jenta og guten skilde av havet. Dei var hjelpelaust kjærleiksjuke. Jenta gjorde det einaste ho kunne på ei tid med vanskeleggheitar.  Ho bakte ei tranebærkake og pakka den inn forsiktig med folie. På utsida skreiv ho ”Kan du gjette kva som er inni? Frå meg”. Ho sende kaka til Oslo, og fem dagar seinare fekk guten pakken, sendt med kjærleik. Sjølv om kaka hadde begynt å bli gammal og tørr, rasjonerte han kvar skive ut, smaka kvar bit, hugsar tidene då dei var saman.

Her er oppskrifta til kaka som kan kurane kjærleiksorg:

 

Tranebærkake

*Kan laga med tyttebær viss det bli vanskeleg å finne tranebær

(Oppskrifta frå mamma, Rachel Larson i St. Paul i Minnesota)

 

280 gram Kveitemjøl

200 gram sukker

1 ts. salt

60 gram smør, smelta

1/2 ts. baking pulver

180 ml appelsinjuss

1 egg

165 gram tranebær (eller tyttebær), hakket

*valfritt: 75 gram valnøtter, hakket

-Bland tørke ingrediensane saman. I ein andre boll: bland appelsinjussen og smøra, tilsett egget. Bland tørk med våt og så tilsett bæra og nøttene. Smør brødforma og drysse meg mjøl. Forvarm ovnen  til 180C. Steike kaka i 60 minuttar. 

Comments

[May]

Lovely story and lovely recipe! :)

Where do you buy tranebær? I can't seem to find it here in Oslo.

And BTW, thanks for writting in Norsk! It helps me improve mine :)

[siri]

May- would you believe that I used (American) imported cranberries for this year's cranberry bread? They're impossible to find in this part of the country.

While living in Oslo, I was able to find a bag of frozen cranberries at an ICA Maxi store. It seems to be much easier to get a hold of dried cranberries than fresh or frozen here. If you have trouble, try substituting lingonberries.

[sneakersister]

I made your cranberry bread recipe the other day and it came out perfectly! Thank you for posting. I can't wait to try out some of these cookie recipes.

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