Scandinavian food in Seattle and why I'm so damned finicky

Me gloating over my "made that day" lefse from the Scandinavian store in Ballard.

Nom!

Scandia Lefse

I love lingonberries. A lot like cranberries. Smaller. A little less tart and a whole lot more expensive.

This is the kind of crunchy cinnamon toast my grandma used to have in her pantry all the time. Apparently, it was a bad year for lingonberries as an 8oz jar of the stuff was going to set me back almost $15. I settle on Danish raspberry preserves instead.

I'm born of a Minnesotan Swede and a Norwegian Wisconsonian. I'm 6'4" tall. You'd think with this genetic and cultural makeup, I'd be prone to eating raw meat and gelatinous cod. Well, you'd be wrong. We moved from Minnesota to Los Gatos, CA when I was seven.

When we got there, I was introduced to Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Ethiopian, Thai, vegetarian... you name it. I realized food could have flavor and that spicy was a flavor I really really liked. Sorry to all of my Minnesotan relatives, but black pepper does not constitute spicy.

Weird thing though. Ever since I was a little kid, I didn't like large chunks of charred meat. Now, grind it up or slow cook it in some sort of broth for days and I'm good, but a good cut of meat? Never have been able to stomach it. Literally. Give me a good chuck of meat, cook it properly and chances are that it will trigger my gag reflex and make me vomit.

Weird? Certainly!

To top it off, I have severe seafood allergies. Shellfish will make me vomit profusely and fish in general will make me very sick to my stomach. People often tell me, "You don't know what you're missing!" They're right! I have no idea what I'm missing. Haven't been able to eat fish or shellfish since I was 8 when some of my aunt's famous clam chowder made me puke all over the place.

I wish I could enjoy all these culinary delights that all of my friends enjoy, but as you can tell from the above, my system just ain't havin' any of it.

I do eat well though! That is really the purpose of this blog.