Yes, We Love This Country as it Rises Forth

Norway grew a year older on Monday and Norwegians everywhere bubbled over with pride and celebrated as per usual.

Step 1: Dress up
Step 2: Grab a flag
Step 3: Stuff yourself
Step 4: Go out into the streets.
Step 5: Stuff yourself some more with ice cream and hot dogs.

Cities

One summer while I was living in the States, I was home in Oslo for a few weeks. After some drinks in town with friends one night, I decided to walk for a while instead of getting right on the subway home.

It was one of those magical Norwegian summer nights, where, even though the sun has disappeared, you know it's never going to get really dark, one where, even though the nights are warm, a hint of a chill starts settling, reminding you that regardless of how much the sun does to warm it up, Norway is actually a really cold place.

Zeros and Ones

As a general rule, I make it a rule not to make rules for myself. Except for that one. And a few others.

Which is why I never became a vegetarian. Those of you who know me know that I'm a big fan of balance and finding a good middle ground. I appreciate nuances. The world is a pretty complex place and I don't think that making strict rules for oneself will really do a lot of good. If you're going to look at the world in terms of 0's and 1's, you're going to need a whole heck of a lot of them in order to approach some kind of adequate view on the way things work.

Another reason is that I really like meat.

Remembering NYC

When I left NYC at the end of January, although I don't think it was all that visible, I arrived in Norway with a special souvenir: a few extra pounds. NYC is full of every kind of amazing, mouthwatering, scrumptious food and it's very nearly impossible to avoid putting on some weight while living there. I know I can earmark at least a portion of my little NYC-belly to Billy's Bakery, Crumbs, Sugar Sweet Sunshine, Burgers and Cupcakes, Magnolia, and Cupcake Cafe... I had such a soft spot for those round little single serving-sized cakes and incredible ones could be found around every corner. Sigh, I miss them...

[Lemon Meringue Cupcakes. Recipe follows below.]

Cupcakes aren't a thing here in Oslo. Sure, there are other temptations, but there's a different food culture in Norway than there is in the States.