Thursday, January 18, 2007

Friendship and Food.



Friendship and food are strongly connected. I have a good friend in Austria, Dagmar. She lives in a huge dairy farm with her family, and in February last year I was invited to come and visit. Dagmar and I took the train down to Venice together for a wonderful week at the carneval, and I spent on week at the farm in Austria, starting the book I am writing about Lent. Enjoying family life with Dagmar, har husband and their four kids.

I will never forget all the great and tasty homemade food I got during this week. Dagmar has a huge countryside kitchen, a kitchen also used as a family room where she gathers the family around her. I spent hours sitting down at the huge table in this cosy room, watching Dagmar create one of her traditional dishes, chatting with the youngest daughter, learning to make Tiramisu from one of the grown up daughters, meeting Dagmar's parents, being part of the family circle during meals........Memories which will stay with me.

The week after Christmas we got a huge box in the mail, delayed because of customs. A box with Christmas gifts from Dagmar and her family. Among the gifts and treats inside the box was a Christmas fruit cake. Beautiful to look at, a heavenly taste. Almost as soon as the box was opened, I made a pot of coffee for Terje and myself, and we sat down to enjoy the first two pieces. Mmmm. We both love it! The cake is filled with figs, and has a very rich taste. And as you all can see, it looks beautiful. I have sms-ed Dagmar to ask if the cake has a special name, but she just calls it a fruit cake. For me it has become The Cake of Friendship.

I wish I could share a piece of Friendship with all of you.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful fruitcake. Is the covering made of marzipan? I know your joy in this because each year our DIL's family in New York send us one of their fruitcakes. It is from an old family Italian recipe and is laced with whiskey from the time it's made in November until it's ready. This year it was even more deeply appreciated because it came during our power outage and everyone who came to the house for warmth shared it. Even those who didn't think they liked fruitcake - one of them even had second helpings!

Anonymous said...

But you do Britt Arhild share a piece of friendship every day, at your blog. I'm enjoying your new food blog. I don;t know how you find the time to soit qall but there must be some magic in your life tht makes it allhappen for you. Look forward to visiting daily here to see what you have up for the day at the Blue Cafe. Its reall interesting how fruit cake means different things to diiferent people of the world. Here it is a rather moist cake with candied fruit in it, often intoxicating and so delish. I happen to love it and its one of my hiughlights of the holiday, though noone in my family cares forit. Doies that mean I have to eat it all myself? Yes and I do! Little thin slices at a time until the last piece is savored with tea.
I love figs too! and so does my daughter. We have a grower that grows them for where I work and when they bring them in they always present my daughter with a basket of them to take home as they enjoy so much that she loves their figs. We sit at the table, the gathering place in our home, and eat them with ohh's and ahh's, so sugar sweet so delish! They are not something I was ever introduced to as a child to enjoy and it was my daughter who introdued me to the delight of figs. Happy food blogging to you friend.

Britt-Arnhild said...

Ardi - no, the covering is bread dough :-) The fruit/fig is enrighed with something sweet, but I don't know what. I hope that Dagmar will come over and comment about the cake....

Carolyn - the magic is in the lives of all of us, we just have to find it and use it, like I know you do!

Anonymous said...

Britt-Arnhild, I love your new blog and especially this entrie LOL, it's nearly too much of honour :-) The filling consists of figs, raisins, dried pears, hazelnuts and a little bit of pear brandy. If someone is interested in the recipe, I can post it here.

Got your parcel, too, my friend while I was away. Thank you so much! Will send you a private email later! Have to go to school to Salzburg later the day.

Love from Austria,

Dagmar