Last night I returned from a weekend jul getaway to Florida where the sun shone every day and the mercury well surpassed freezing.  There were just a couple things I missed about jul this year.  You might think that as a born and bred Minnesotan, I would have missed having a white jul.  Nei nei!  Slett ikke (not in the least).  I did not miss the snow, nor the julelys (Christmas lights) twinkling on the pine trees nestled in the corner of a cozy warm house with the scent of burning wood coming from the fireplace. 

When we left MN it was -10 degrees and when we arrived in Florida it was 80.  That is a 90 degree temperature difference.  In fact, one afternoon I went for a run on the beach and got overheated because my body was not used to the heat.  Needless to say, I did not miss the familiar, jul at home in Minnesota. 

Honestly, I could easily give up the tradition of giving gaver, as well as julepynt, julemusikk, og snø.  What I missed were a few tasty norsk treats, including lefse, rømmegrøt, og akevitt.  Many people do not know that there are several different types of lefse.  My family, as I would imagine most Norwegian-American families do, eat the kind of lefse that is flat, brown spotted potato bread.  It might be filled with smør (butter), or smør og sukker (sugar), or just sukker.  The sukker could be brun (brown) or hvit (white).  In my family, this tasty treat acts as both part of the meal and as dessert.  It is a staple.

Rømmegrøt is a thick, creamy, rich porridge that can either be easily made by adding a few ingredients to a bag, or by spending hours stirring the concoction to perfection.  The dish consists of mel (flour), melk (milk), smør (butter), sukker (sugar), krem (cream, half and half), og kanel (cinnamon).  Different recipes call for slightly different ingredients, such as seterømme (sour cream).  Whatever the recipe, this dish can also be eaten as a meal (in an average sized bowl) or as dessert (in a very small bowl).  I know that my family has made the mistake of eating it as a sort of appetizer and then immediately lost our appetites for the main course, much less dessert.  Rømmegrøt is best with a bit of smør, sukker, og kanel on top, similar to adding butter, salt, and pepper to mashed potatoes. 

Last but not least, akevitt has become one of my favorite Christmas traditions.  I do not usually enjoy hard alcohol at all.  I do not like the taste, nor do I approve of my behavior when I over-indulge.  However, for some odd reason (because of my norsk blood of course!), I enjoy the taste of akevitt.  It consists of caraway seeds, anise, fennel, coriander, and dill.  Strong ingredients.  To me it tastes a lot like black licorice and pine trees (both of which do not appeal to me on their own at all….).  A shot of akevitt after a large Christmas dinner really tops it off for me.  You can feel the alcohol warm your throat and all the way down to your tummy.  It also kind of acts as a breath freshener because of the strength of the alcohol and the taste. 

These are the three features of a traditional jul in my family that I missed when I was in Florida.  If you have not enjoyed these tasty treats, I highly recommend you do so.