Christmas at Tingstad.

Nothing is so related to Christmas as the food we traditionally eat. A traditional Swedish Christmas smorgasbord contains of alot of meatdishes. The meat industry have been proven to be a contributing factor to greenhouse gas emissions. So how should you do to get a more sustainable and climate friendly Christmas table? By reducing meat or letting it be a side dish instead of main dish, while increasing the green elements on the smorgasbord you make a difference. If you can also choose locally produced products you have done even more for the environment and you can enjoy the food with an even more pure conscience. What is okay and what should be avoided? We have listed a few tips. 

• Herring – A good, healthy alternative that you can enjoy with a good conscience. 
• Ham – Buy a smaller ham, preferably from a local farm shop. 
• Meatballs – Make them from game, mince chicken instead of beef. There are also several vegetarian balls you can alternate with.
• Eel – Avoid eel completely as it is endangered. 
• Janssons temptation – Both potatoes and anchovy has very little climate impact. 
• Sallad – Avoid iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber as it is not in season. Make a salad from kale and winter apples. 
• Beetroot salad – Beetroots are always in season. Enjoy a tasty beet salad. 
• Root vegetables – Make a root vegetable gratin. It is a climate friendly and common dish at Christmas in Finland.  
• Take care of the left-overs – There are usually some left-overs at Christmas. Take the opportunity to create new dishes out of the left-overs.

How do you bake a perfectly moist bread with crispy crust without even have to knead the dough? The answer is a cast iron pot. A cast iron pot is a perfect substitute to the traditional stone oven (that is expensive and ungainly) and give the bread a fantastic form and taste. So, when the time to bake is not there but the bread has to be baked, check out this simple and timesaving recipe. We promise you will not be dissapointed.

INGREDIENTS

• 25 g yeast
• 3 dl luke warm water
• 3 dl luke warm milk
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 dl graham flour
• 10 dl flour

1. Dissolve the yeast in the luke warm water and milk.

2. Add salt and flour. Mix and knead the dough for about 1 minute.

3. Let the bread ferment under a kitchentowel for about 1 hour.

4. Pour out the dough on a floured surface and knead until it is not sticky.

5. Form the dough into a ball and put it a floured kitchentowel and ferment for an extra 30 minutes.

6. Turn on the oven and heat it up to 250⁰C and put the cast iron pot in as the dough ferments.

7.  When the dough is fermented take the cast iroon pot out and pour some flour in the bottom of the pot before you gently put the dough in the pot (keep in mind that the pot is very hot).

8. Put the lid on the pot and put it in the lower part of the oven. Bake it for 20-25 minutes. To get the perfect crust, take the lid off for the last 15 minutes and lower the heat to 225⁰C.

9. Let the bread rest to cool off a bit. After that the bread is ready to be served and enjoyed.