It's August—one of my favorite times of year, and hands down the best month in my culinary calendar. The tomatoes and cucumbers are finally starting to ripen in my garden. The herbs, planted from seed so many weeks ago, are the size of small bushes and the fall crop of raspberries will soon be ripe in my yard. What isn't plentiful outside my door can be found at the local farmer's market: beets, cabbage, garlic and more. It's a great time to be a locavore. And as a Minnesotan, I can't help notice the similarities between a local diet and the Nordic diet.The Nordic diet, as outlined in the August issue of Viking magazine, includes six main elements: grains; fish and seafood; cold-weather vegetables; game, meat and poultry; herbs; and native berries. Danish chef Trina Hahnemann, author of "The Nordic Diet: Using Local and Organic Food to Promote a healthy Lifestyle," said in a recent Viking interview "the Nordic diet is about eating a lot of local vegetables in season, eating local fish, cutting back on meats and eating grains."
If you'd like to learn more about the Nordic Diet, check out Trine Hahnemann's website, including these ideas for creating delicious Danish smørrebrød. And if you haven't done it already, be sure to check out Kari Diehl's article on New Nordic Cuisine in the August issue of Viking!
Amy Boxrud is editor of Viking magazine. She lives with her family in Northfield, Minn., where she’s a member of Nordmarka 1-585.
Photo courtesty of Flickruser CharlesFred