Have you struggled at home with recipes for Nordic dishes or in creating Scandinavian Christmas cookies like krumkake? I sure have. In this program I interview Kristi Bissell of the True North Kitchen Blog, whose recipes are found in the Taste of Norway section of the Norwegian American News, and who teaches cooking in the Folk Art School at the Vesterheim Museum.  We explore how preparing "ethnic" food teaches you about a culture, then about Kristi's journey to become a chef and food blogger, creating "simple, seasonal, Nordic-inspired recipes tailored especially for the American home cook". After finishing and posting this podcast, I thought back about my own six-year search for a reliable krumkake recipe - six years of humiliation making limp, greasy krumkake that wouldn't stay rolled.  Then I found yet another recipe in a newspaper last year that I'd not tried - I had nothing to loose in trying one more time.  And finally, for the first time, I made crisp, nutty, and crunchy krumkake. My reputation as a Scandinavian-American was saved!  In looking at my recipe card after completing this podcast, I found my notation: "This is a winner!!", followed by, in my tiny writing, "a recipe from Kristi Bissell of Nebraska". So I can personally attest that Kristi can teach even me to reliably make this challenging cookie. She's for real! Check out her blog at true-north-kitchen.com.

Nordic on Tap

Nordic Cooking with Kristi Bissell and the True North Blog

The Sami, formerly called Lapps, live in the far north of Norway, Sweden, and Finland in a land where the sun never sets.  Storytelling has a strong tradition among the Sami, with tales that are a little different from other Nordic folktales.  Join us as we read story translations from the first collectors, J. A. Friis and J. K. Qvigstad, and from ethnographer Emilie Demant Hatt.  We read from the 2019 translation of Demant Hatt's  "By the Fire: Sami Folktales and Legends" (translated by Barbara Sjoholm).  We also hear Nick Ericson of The Six Feet Back Band playing "The Dwight Lamb Polka" on his button accordion. Join us for the unusual stories about reindeer, sheep, Stallo the troll, and a shaman!

Sami Folktales

Sven Lindauer is an an accomplished historical artist who worked for National Geographic and museums.  Now Lindauer has set his artistic eye on the Norse of the Viking Age -- the non-Viking Vikings" who weren't the warriors, but the farmers, blacksmiths, Skaldic poets, musicians, sail-makers, among others.  He published The Art and Crafts of Ancient Scandinavia in 2020 with scenes of everyday life and explanations of these scenes.  Join me as I interview Mr. Lindauer about his career as an artist, his historical research, and the 7 year journey to these historically-accurate and fascinating scenes of ancient Scandinavia.

Artist Sven Lindauer and the Non-Viking Vikings

In this Winter Solstice/Christmas podcast we hear two stories and an interview about "trees" - the krumkake, the noble fir, and the lingonberry.  That is, the challenge of making a functional krumkake, the odyssey of cutting our own ragged Christmas tree, and a special on-site interview with Pacific Northwest lingonberry farmer, Leslie Lindskog.  We also investigate the origins of the beautiful Ave Marias of Bach/Gounod and Franz Schubert. Join us!

3 Trees & 2 Ave Marias

The centerpiece of every farm in Norway was always the storehouse, or stabbur. The food stored during summer and fall in this humble log and stave building was what got people through the long, cold winters every year.  They were built so well, many are still standing 300 years later. Join us as we l hear the story from a man who built his own version in the mountains of Montana, and learned to carve the portals just like the stave churches of old.  We also hear a song played by the Nordahl Grieg Spelemannslag.

The House that Ron Loge Built: The Stabbur

Our first folktale podcast was so popular, we thought we’d bring you another!  This time we hear a tale from Finland called The Mighty Mikko, and my son Carl Stavney is the featured guest reading the classic Norwegian folktale, The Lad Who Went to the Northwind.  We also bring you a lovely accordion, mandolin, and guitar piece by the Folk Voice Band out of the Seattle Area.  So take a load off and listen to some storytelling and Finnish music from old Scandinavia.

Folktales (#2) of Finland and Norway

In the early 1900s, there were hundreds of Scandinavian immigrant newspapers. Meet Lori Ann Reinhall, the Editor of the last remaining Norwegian newspaper in the USA, the Norwegian American. You'll hear how this amazing and talented woman keeps this excellent paper alive in a time of quarantine, unemployment, decreased popularity of print media, the "noise" of the internet, and biased opinions and interpretations masquerading as "news". She affirms the importance of bringing people together as a community rather than seeking to divide them. We'll also hear cuts from Lori Ann's CD, Duo Scandinavica, featuring songs that were favorites of immigrants in the early 1900s.

Lori Ann Reinhall and the Norwegian American

By day he works in the computer learning industry, but by night he puts on his sunglasses, pulls out his instruments, and creates amazing CD-quality music in his studio. He is lead and bass guitarists, lead vocalist and harmonizer, drummer, and keyboardist.  Who would suspect this mild-mannered man to have arisen out of a musical family, to have started his own recording studio, "played Vegas" with a number of bands....to later in life devote all his spare time to making music in his own studio, now available only online?  Join me as we visit the talented Darryl Jackson in his recording studio south of Seattle to see what kind of musical chops it takes to create such a wide range of genres: classical, new age, rock, and electronica. A video version of our interview will be available soon on https://www.facebook.com/NordicOnTap/ too.  

Darryl Jackson and the Amazing One-Man Band

Join us for an exploration of Nordic folktales, why we value them, and how they define the cultures from which they come. We hear two of  the most beloved tales of Norway and Sweden, and finish with a haunting, duet of a traditional folksong from the Nordahl Grieg Spelmanslag, and one arranged by yours truly.  This podcast for all story lovers, from 4 to 104. So grab your sippy cup, latte, or hip flask and prepare to escape into the realm of adventure.

Folktales of Norway and Sweden

Join us for a journey into Nordic crime fiction or noir with Dr. Jerry Holt as our guide. Fiction has the ability to transport us into worlds, cultures, geography, and the thoughts of heroes and villains that non-fiction just can't touch. And we are changed by those stories.  At a time when we are home-bound due to social distancing, catching up on your reading has never been better. In Norway, this is the time of påskekrim, that spate of dedicated crime fiction reading that occurs around Easter.  Really, it's a thing. Dr. Holt is a professor at Purdue University NW who led a trip of Norwegian noir readers to Bergen, Norway, where they had the once-in-a-lifetime chance to walk the streets and visit the crime scenes with the authors who created private detective Varg Veum, and Inspector Konrad Sejer, among others. What would it be like to meet your favorite authors and pick their brain about what the characters were really thinking? What life experiences did these authors draw upon? What is special about certain parts of the city and surrounding areas?  For myself, I would love to visit Restaurant Schroder in Oslo, the favorite hangout of Jo Nesbø's famous police detective, Harry Hole. To wrap up, we catch a "driveway concert" by a trio in a neighborhood of Mukilteo, Washington.  They decided to perform for the neighborhood at large during this time of quarantine, and they've cleverly named themselves Six Feet Back.   We also have some Nordic noir reading recommendations for you, as does the April 3rd edition (2020) of the Norwegian-American News at norwegianamerican.com. Check them out!  

Nordic Noir: Dr. Jerry Holt on Crime Fiction in Bergen

With the full or partial closure of many businesses, institutions, and organizations in Seattle in late March 2020 due to COVID-19, we wonder how are our cherished Nordic haunts, restaurants, museums, and fraternal organizations making it through in Seattle. We talk with Erik Pihl of the National Nordic Museum, Bjørn Ruud of Scandinavian Specialties, Rachel Antalek of Byen Bakeri, and report on the Scandinavian Hour, Nordic Roots and Branches, the Swedish Club, The Dane Restaurant, Nordiska (Poulsbo), the 17th of May (Syttende Mai) Parade, and the Norwegian-American News, among others. If we value these outfits, how can we support them so they survive?

COVID-19 and Seattle's Nordic Businesses & Organizations: Who Will Be Left Standing?

Beyond keeping us warm and preventing public embarrassment, why do we wear clothes?  What does our dress say about us, who and what we are, and where we come from? Join Nordic on Tap for this dive into the world of fashion design with Seattle-based designer, Madison Leiren of Leiren Designs (https://leirendesigns.com/).  We sit down with Madison to discuss her path into fashion design and the influence of her Norwegian heritage and Norwegian culture in what she creates.  Madison talks about how she custom makes unique clothes such as wedding gowns as well as clothing for men. Finally, we talk about Madison’s experience as a designer in the greater Nordic community, especially in Seattle, and mention a few of our favorite haunts.  We conclude the show by listening to excerpts of songs and hymns derived from classic music, highlighting the inspirational hymn derived from Finlandia, the symphony written by Finnish composer Jean Sebelius.

Clothes Stories: A Visit with Fashion Designer Madison Leiren

Join us as we travel to Oslo, Norway to talk to a barnehage (literally: kindergarden) teacher named Torhild to learn how Norwegian kids have it differently and the same as us in the USA.  We also examine Norwegian folk costumes, or bunads...and what it takes to get one. We meet Hanne at Heimen Husfliden in Oslo as she tells us about her job selling bunads. We finish the show with some foot-stomping fiddle and guitar tunes by Ruthie Dornfeld and Alfred Morten Høirup. Check out Darryl Jackson's music too at darryljacksonmusic.com. If you enjoy our show you'll soon be able to visit us on Facebook and at our website, NordicOnTap.com! Vi sees!

Preschools and Bunads on Tap: Schooling in Norway & Getting a Folk costume

Join us for an interview of Danish composer, musician, and journalist, Morten Alfred Høirup. We find out what the folk music scene is like in Denmark and how state-sponsored radio funding is somewhat dependent on the political views of the current government. Morten also describes his work as a composer for film, especially on esoteric topics like animals (he's composed for Animal Planet, for example). What kind of music does he write to accompany a squirming snake or a jumping frog? Listen and find out! We finish with a live recording of the guitar-duo, Høirup and Dornfeld, playing a delightful medley of Ingela's Vals (by Morten Alfred) and Meget Gammel Vals fra Vendsyssel (traditional).

Morten Alfred Høirup on Tap: Our Interview

Interviews, folklore, and music with a Nordic flavor

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Nordic on Tap

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