Make Lefse, Not War

In my blog post on Food Anthropology earlier this month, I'd commented that the lefse recipe was the only recognizable recipe in a collection of Minnesota Scandinavian recipes from the 1930s. We made lefse over Christmas and, although I can't think of any apparent connection between lefse and cowgirls, it's an interesting tradition that we'll keep alive on the ranch. Much like bread-making, lefse-making is a cozy and communal activity that produces something simple but comforting. The potatoes are cooked, riced, and transformed into dough. A small handful of dough is rolled on a pastry board to form a very thin plate-sized sheet, which is transferred with a special lefse stick onto a round lefse griddle. The tortilla-like sheets are cooled between layers of dishtowels. Before eating a piece, we butter it, sprinkle it with brown sugar and cinnamon, and roll it tightly. Mmmm.