Dinner with Bullwinkle

Apart from clearing the snow off Max, I didn’t leave the house today. Not that I didn’t want to. I get cabin fever very quickly when circumstances dictate I should stay inside. But my extra toe has still not healed and so I spent the day with no shoes on. Of course, tomorrow I’ll have to put shoes back on in order to go shopping but at least I had a day of relief.

Lucky Mirinda went out a few times with the girls. But, for me, it was housework and research.

Until the time ticked around to 5:30 that is.

Tonight was moose night. The huge slab of meat we bought from Joseph was going to be devoured. I’d found a recipe for moose and sautéed mushrooms and was ready to start an hour before I had to. The steak, having defrosted, had to sit at room temperature for an hour before cooking. The question for me though was what do you do when room temperature is colder than the fridge?

The kitchen/dining room is quite chilly. That doesn’t bother me but it does call into question the need of a fridge.

I divided the moose meat into individual steaks then halved one. Mirinda suggested we have one and a half each. The meat is pretty dense and a little is clearly enough. I then left it to sit for a bit.

The sauce was a bit fiddly which is annoying in such a small, crowded kitchen. Not for the first time, I called on my inner Rachel Koo for guidance. As usual, she helped a lot.

We were wondering what moose would be like and were surprised it’s such a mild meat. Not at all gamey. It’s a bit chewy but I think that’s because I had it in the oven a few minutes longer than I should have. It wasn’t dry though. It worked very well with the mushrooms and red wine sauce.

Beer Review

While I cooked, I tried a new beer I’d found at the System on Wednesday. I admit I bought it because of the name. Äpa Ipa was too great a temptation.

Okay, I know I’m stretching it a bit. The word Äpa is already a contraction of Älvsby Ipa but still, I like Äpa Ipa so I’m sticking with it.

According to the taster notes, it has a ‘malty aroma with hints of crispbread, light syrup, orange peel and dried herbs‘ but, for me, it was quite a bitter Ipa. Not that it wasn’t refreshing. In fact, it was perfect for drinking while preparing moose meat.

It’s brewed by Nyckelbryggerier in the Norrbotten region of Sweden. They have been brewing beer since 1886. The water comes from Älvsby Källa, a natural source of spring water. The water has come from Lapland. That would make it very cold. Maybe that’s why Äpa Ipa is so refreshing.

Like taking a mouthful of fresh, icy water from the north, Äpa Ipa is an excellent beer.

This entry was posted in Gary's Posts, Sweden 2021. Bookmark the permalink.

One Response to Dinner with Bullwinkle

  1. Mirinda says:

    Only Swedish beer would say it had hints of “crisp bread”

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