We were two of eleven people at the all-day feast. We didn't want to arrive empty handed — although we were told to — so San Geraldo went to work in the kitchen preparing one of his traditional Norwegian holiday specialties, krumkake.
Kake is cake/pastry in Norwegian. In Spanish, caca is pronounced the same way and means ... well cacka, poop, turds, etc.
So Spaniards find it hilarious whenever San Geraldo serves one of his Norwegian "kakes." What our Spanish friends don't find at all ironic is that peanut in Spanish is cacahuete. Why isn't that funny? Jason and Ana's 13-year-old son loved the krumkake, but loved saying the name even more.
Our hosts are English, but have lived in Fuengirola for many years. Their extended family is mixed, Spanish and English. They hosted a traditional English Christmas (except for the krumkake). It was a feast! (Click any image to make it even more delicious.)
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| MAKING THIS YEAR'S KRUMKAKE. |
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| MARY, BACKGROUND, IN KITCHEN. FOXY'S SPOT AT THE TABLE, FOREGROUND. |
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| FOXY, THE 'GRUMPY OLD GIT' IN HIS 'BAH HUMBUG' HAT. DOES HE LOOK LIKE A GRUMPY OLD GIT?!? |
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| FINGER-FOOD FIRST COURSE — MINCE PIES, SAUSAGE ROLLS, AND MORE. (KRUMKAKE BACK RIGHT.) |
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| IT WOULDN'T BE CHRISTMAS DINNER WITHOUT THE QUEEN. (ON TV. BUT WITH US, I'M SURE, IN SPIRIT.) |
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| AN ELEGANT TRADITIONAL TABLE. |
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| PLUM PUDDING (OUR FIRST). |
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| CHOCOLATE PUDDING FOR THOSE WHO DON'T LIKE PLUM. (OR FOR THOSE WHO LIKE BOTH!) |
Making Krumkake
I did more than clean-up in the kitchen at home this time. I had two assigned jobs during krumkake preparation. 1) Hold up the handle of the krumkake iron when it was open because it no longer stays up on its own; 2) Quickly close the iron while San Geraldo rolled each krumkake, so the iron wouldn't get too cool. We made 50 krumkake.
A few times San Geraldo didn't even have to remind to: 1) "Hold it up"; and 2) "Close it."
A Christmas Tradition
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| (LEFT) SAN GERALDO 1957; (RIGHT) SAN GERALDO 2015. |
That krumkake, and I love saying the name, too, is quite the thing to make!
ReplyDeleteAnd Knowing you, I sense you have all kinds of pictures of San Geraldo asleep on Christmas. That would make quite the collage!
Bob:
DeleteI didn't mention that our American friends always found "kake" funny, too. San Geraldo doesn't just fall asleep at Christmas; I have photos of him falling asleep at events throughout the year!
Mitchell the decoration of table is very elegant. Nice to see Geraldo in the past and now.... I love memories. Masterpiece.
ReplyDeleteGosia:
DeleteIt WAS a beautiful table and a beautiful meal. And I love old photo memories, too. We have so many.
Krumkake 101....thank you. What a team you guys are! You could go in production! But I suggest not to....it could get stressful on the relationship!
ReplyDeleteWhat a feast it was, Mitchell. Looked like a wonderful time.
Jim:
DeleteJerry and I really enjoy puttering together like that. Normally, all I do is clean-up, as you well know.
SnookeTime opps I mean SnoozeTime !! SG deserves a good curl up on a chair / sofa / chaise lounge.
ReplyDeleteThose cacas look yummy ( not in Spanish though, ooooo) will want to try those someday!
Queen E, she seems to have her nose into everyone's caca!
Winks!
Ron:
DeleteIt was hard to remember where we actually were (Spain). The house interior was so English; the meal was English; and BBC was playing on the "telly" all day. The cacas were yummy. Wish we had more!
Oooh, all so lovely!
ReplyDeleteJudy:
DeleteAnd all so delicious (I wish I had more of those mince pies).
That krumkake gadget is fascinating... the swivel or ball joint or whatever it is makes it work perfectly. What a lovely dinner (and guests).
ReplyDeleteSharon:
DeleteThe krumkake iron IS fun. However, it used to stay open on its own, but has now tired of that. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to stand there and assist!
It looks like a fantastic feast! I love plum pudding but not popular here so very expensive to get. My local grocery store has a british section so am hoping they have some on sale this week since it is after Christmas.
ReplyDeleteCheapchick:
DeleteThat was my first plum pudding, although I've had plenty of fruit cake over the years. My favourite version, however, is San Geraldo's Jamaican Black Cake.
My pudding was a disappointment. May you send me your plum pudding recipe some time? I would be most grateful.
ReplyDeleteSpo:
DeleteMY plum pudding recipe? MY plum pudding recipe is, "Go to the store and buy a ready made plum pudding!" (Interestingly, that was Mary's recipe, too.)
oooh what a letdown!!
DeleteCooking AGAIN, Mitchell!? And not even any swear words in the video. I am impressed. Also totally impressed with all the wonderful looking food and the beautiful table. I hope you managed a snooze, too. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteWilma:
DeleteJerry was careful during the video. Earlier, he burned himself a number of times. You should have heard THAT! I didn't manage a snooze and my feet hurt from standing over hot stove for so long!
Wonderful feast. All the best to you all for the New Year 2016.
ReplyDeleteLaurent:
DeleteThanks. Wishing you the same!
Toilet humour - something one never really grows out of, though we'd hate to admit that it applies to us.
ReplyDeleteRaybeard:
DeleteWe used to commute to Yale on the train with a Croatian colleague/neighbour. She was VERY stuffy and VERY proper. There were 6 of us and she was constantly hiding behind her newspaper muttering, "Bathroom talk! You boys and your bathroom talk!"
Feliz Navidad, Buon Natale, Merry Christmas. The food looks yummy and I'm sure it was. We did minimal here. No one starved, however.
ReplyDeleteFrank:
DeleteWe had it fairly easy here (except for Jerry's baking). Much less stress when you don't host!
In response to your reply, two entries above:-
ReplyDeleteAnd your reaction to her primness would only have been to push the boundaries even further!
Raybeard:
DeleteWhich reminds me of ANOTHER story!