fiskesuppe and kardemummakaka

it’s 10pm and the sun is still up. we’ve eaten well, shared a few stories and swum together in the cold, clear waters of the norwegian sea.

i’ve spent the last few days exploring tromsø and part of the surrounding area and now, after a two and a half hour ferry ride, getting to know the other artists that are on the residency with me (and already feeling like good friends) we have arrived at singla for our group residency.

today, just over a year later, and more than 18,000kms away, when swimming in the cool clear waters of mawhitipana bay, i feel my singla friends are here with me, despite our geographic distance.

they are a tiny planet that spins inside me, forever holding its own gravity.

home after the swim, my skin still salty and my wet hair soaking the collar of my dress, i open my norway notebook to the page where i’ve handwritten the fiskesuppe recipe we were served as our first meal.

and i feel compelled to honour my travels (and fellow travellers) by making both the dishes that bookended our time together.

fiskesuppe / fish soup

gathering around a wooden cable drum beside the boathouse for our first meal, we get our first taste of the lovingly prepared meals we will enjoy the the next week. wine is opened and shared, bread spread thickly with butter to mop up the last of the liquid from our bowls and we all share stories of how we came to arrive here, so far from home.

kardemummakaka / cardamom cake

our final fika of the week is the kardemummakaka recipe from anna brones' fika book. served in the barn before we share our work and say our final goodbyes. warm and delicious, loaded with crunchy cardamom, this cake is a revelation for me. my time in norway has definitely cemented my adoration for cardamom in baking.