Greenlandic Fields

You can't take fields for granted in Greenland. Indeed, in much of the country there simply aren't any, but near Narsaq (in the south) there's a growing business of sheep-farming.

Mostly the sheep roam happily in the hills, grazing as they go, but there are a small number of fields where hay is grown for winter feed. Cultivated land is so rare and precious that you're not allowed to walk across it lest you do some accidental damage: to this end, the fields are clearly marked on walking maps of the area.

 

But it's not like you could miss them - against the harsh greys of the surrounding landscape, these are fields of the most vivid green I've ever seen. These rare oases look lush and beautiful... I can only imagine how much work it is to keep them that way!

Kayaking

I suppose this comes back to my growing obsession with messing about in boats: I've always loved the water, but aside from one teenage attempt at dragon boat racing, I haven't had much boating experience. I learnt to sail last year, and loved it, but (being me...) I'm always looking for new experiences.

We saw some traditional kayaks being built in Greenland, and met some people who had just got back from a kayaking-camping trip. It looked fun. I happen to have a couple of friends who go paddling regularly, so when they had a day off work and the chance came up, I naturally jumped at the opportunity to join them and learn something new.

Getting in to the boat was quite possibly the hardest part, and the point where I felt I was most at risk of ending up in the water. Once you're settled inside the kayak, it's surprisingly stable, especially since we went out on a canal, on a calm day - we just had to pay a little more attention when a narrowboat came past.

For the first few minutes, I found I could steer to the left but not to the right - meaning I ended up doing several 360-degree turns just to get back on a straight line. The funny thing was, even though I was clearly a pathetic excuse for a kayaker, it was really fun. Being hopeless at something isn't usually quite so enjoyable!

By the end of a couple of hours - including a short ball game, which caused Andy to capsize in an overenthusiastic attempt to win - I was starting to feel I was getting the hang of it. I could certainly see some improvement - even if I won't be looking for white water any time soon! Now, I just have to resist the urge to buy a kayak (along with resisting the urge to buy a sailing boat, which also requires a lot of willpower).

Rum (& Potato!) Truffles

Given the addiction my husband and I have to chocolate, it may not be a surprise that we needed to find a way to feed our habit while on holiday. One ubiquitous product in both Danish and Greenlandic bakeries was the rum truffle.

They had a slightly different texture to the ganache- or cake-based truffles I've made before, which was a mystery until someone mentioned that Danish baking often includes potato.

A couple of weeks later, in an English book shop, I was flicking through a book of potato recipes and found a recipe for rum truffles, made from mashed potato. Putting two and two together, I decided to have a go. This is a variant on that recipe.

The bakery versions tended to be huge (in which case this recipe would make about four!) but I usually prefer to have a smaller treat.

 

Rum Truffles
Makes about 16

one medium (4oz/100g) potato
8oz/200g dark chocolate
8oz/200g icing sugar
2tbsp dark rum
sugar sprinkles to decorate

1. Peel and chop the potato, and steam or boil until cooked through.
   
   
2. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate (I have a special chocolate-melting machine, but a small bowl over a pan of boiling water will do fine).
   
   
3. Mash the potato in a mixing bowl, then mix in the melted chocolate. Add the rum, and stir until combined.
   
   
4. Add the icing sugar, a little at a time, and gradually combine into the potato/chocolate mixture. It will still be quite wet at this stage.
   
   
5. Put the bowl in the fridge for half an hour.
   
   
6. When you take it out again, it should have firmed up. Give it a stir to soften it up again.
   
   
7. Roll into small balls using your fingertips (the warmth of your hands will soften the mixture again, to make nice round shapes).
   
   
8. Roll the truffles in sugar sprinkles, and arrange on a plate. Chill in the fridge for a few minutes more before eating.