Danish Sweets and Smorgas

Here in Denmark we love to EAT, and we do it very well. For lunch we typically have dark rye bread (lots of fiber!) and many flavors of pickled herring, called sill. In Denmark there is a particular flavor of sill in a curry sauce that is to die for. I top it with some boiled egg and diced raw onion. Yum. Also, very common here is liverpastej- basically liver pate (VERY rich in iron, 34 mg per 4 oz serving and the highest amount of Vitamin A of any food source). Coming from someone who was once vegan this feels a bit odd to write about but it really is a taste I grew up with and still love. We pair liverpastej with pickled red beets.

Now for dessert, Inger baked Danish cupcakes (even a trend in the countryside) in an orange flavor with a piece of dark chocolate melted on top. The cookies, called "kicks" are crunchy and cinnamon flavored. Unlike any American cookie I have had and of course, delicious. The other two cakes are called raspberry roulade, a raspberry filled cake using raspberries from the farm (to die for) and apple cake made from apples of the farm. These two cakes are my favorite because they are light and fresh. Usually with lunch comes Aquavit or brandvin-hard liquor and Danish beer. For those that don't drink, we have saft, a concentrated soft drink diluted with fresh water. Today's flavor orange or pineapple.

Light salad ideas

Two of my favorite recipes for lunch and snacking: tuna salad and egg-salad. I made two kinds of egg salad: one with three eggs white and one whole egg and the other with just egg yolks. The egg white salad was mixed with one spoonful of light mayo, diced onion, green pepper and spices- salt, pepper and curry. The egg yolk salad was made the same except I added a hint of honey.

The egg yolks are the part of the egg which contains all the cholesterol yet it is the part of the egg with all the nutritious elements. For this reason it is a good idea to add at least one egg yolk as I did in my recipe.

Nikos liked both of the egg salads but we would opt for the healthier version as it tastes better and feels better to consume (In the picture the yolk salad is on the right). If you eat a salad heavy in yolk try to use it in moderation, maybe as a spread on sandwich bread, in place of butter or mayo. I encourage you to try an egg salad with a heavier portion of egg whites, and to give the lighter taste a chance. In Los Angeles it is common to have an egg white option in any dish, however, eggs were made whole for a reason and I do believe it is good to take nature's guidance into consideration. In this case, throw in at least one egg yolk.

I have really enjoyed the lighter version and played around with different spices, and fillings (celery, raisins, pine nuts, etc.) It is really fun to create dishes that not only taste great but that your body will also benefit from.

The tuna was made the same way except I added ginger instead of curry. Both the egg white and tuna salad, are high in protein, low in calories and fat and delicious. If you take this to work with you, you can use pita bread, lettuce cups or baked chips as a dipping tool. I like to eat this meal with big slices of red bell pepper. Great energy boost!!

The world's BEST EVER Danish Sauce

I am with my family in Denmark this week and the cooking here is FANTASTIC! One of my favorite things to eat here is sauce, any kind of sauce. It is fresh and homemade and comes from the Danish countryside. My family members are potato farmers so we always, always have potatoes on the table. Last night was my Uncle's birthday and Inger made a delicious meal- freshly caught local fish dusted with sea salt and lemon and stuffed with baby shrimp. The sauce was made from local Danish milk, butter, flour and asparagus tips, using asparagus water in place of half of the milk-lightening up the dish a bit. This dish can be made vegan too- using vegetable based margarine and a milk-alternative (cashew milk might work out great!)

I am now on a mission to make a healthy, light sauce that tastes like Inger's. This will be tough but I love a good challenge! I will be sure to post the recipe once it is tested and approved by the boyfriend!

Mykonos Sweets

Nikos and I made sure to try our share of sweets over the weekend. Our favorites were the chocolate cups from "Epoca." They are different kinds of mini-chocolate-cups (white, dark and milk) filled with various kinds of flavors. We got ganache, nutella, profiterole fudge, and white chocolate mousse. WOW!!

The other dessert we tried was banoffee. This particular cake had a dreamy caramel layer topping (the best we have had thus far) but unfortunately the crust was a bit dry (made from creme wafers). However, I will mention that we licked the plate clean so we did really enjoythe overall flavor.

Mykonos goat cheese

Some small tips of how you can make this cheese: When goat's milk is curdled with rennet, you get sour milk, which is then placed in a cotton bag, and hung to drain. What remains is a soft cheese, tyrovolia, which is then used in pies, salads, desserts, or eaten alone. The part of thecheese that has drained into small basket is salted and dried in the breeze.When fresh it can be eaten as a table cheese. The summer is very common time to eat this cheese, mainly with grapes and watermelon. Finally kopanisti is the most famous cheese of the island. It is made from tyrovolia with the assistance of sun, salt and heat. This type of cheese has to be pressed with a stone, mixed, and then put in earthenware jars until the cheese grows fungi and enzymes.After 20-25 days, kopanisti is spicy and ready!


The sour cheese has an attractive appearance, pleasant and rich flavor and is high in nutritional value. This makes a great addition to the local table and is why you will see it included on a majority of restaurant menus.