Getting ready for Thanksgiving with Lefse

I had such a nice day yesterday. It started with Bethany getting me to go on a walk with her and Rachel. We greeted the morning, got to feel the cool brisk air.

Last night when Charity got home she helped me make up some lefse. I walked to the grocery store and carried home the ingredients. Wild rice is on sale for this time of year. Everyone has to make their wild rice stuffing. It was just so fun to feel all domestic, covered head to toe (seriously) in flour. Charity is an awesome cook and has it all down. We had the kitchen set up so that I was right near her by the stove but completely out her way - we have an island in our kitchen. Charity oversaw the production and showed me how to cook it in the pans. I worked on rolling out the dough. I hope I didn't get it too thick.

I also walked over to the post office and mailed off packages that I had meant to send since I arrived home. I still have so many postcards to send out. I haven't written a single one. I guess all that fresh air and contact with friends made me feel all warm and homey. The old fashioned post office is such a fun way to reach out to people.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and seeing all my family again. This is such a warm time for all of us. This is the first time I've ever brought up lefse to dinner, and home made lefse. If anyone doesn't know what lefse is it's a Norwegian sort of tortilla, a flat bread made from mashed potatoes, flour and milk. Dad says that when he was little and would spend the night at his grandma's house she would take the boiled potatoes left over from supper and make the lefse from that the following morning. She had a wood cook stove that was also the main source of heat for the house (which is not much for Northern MN, especially when you are a little boy sleeping in the drafty uptstairs) . My great-grandmother would roll out the lefse right on the stove top, no pan.

When I was riding the train through Norway they served packets of lefse like Little Debbie snacks. It was layers of lefse, sugar and butter cut into bar shapes. We eat lefse by putting butter on one side, sprinkling with sugar, and then rolling it up. I never cared for it much, it tasted like mashed potatoes with sugar on them but last night Charity demonstrated putting lots of cinnamon on as well. That worked great. Lefse is a Thanksgiving staple and always makes me think of my family. Everyone else in my family likes lefse (lef'-sa). Happy Thanksgiving everyone.