Made with Norwegian love

POST FALLS — As Barbara Rostad spooned a round, sticky ball of seasoned hamburger onto a tray, she explained that meatballs are huge in traditional Norwegian culture.

"Nutmeg is the key spice differential in these meatballs, that’s what makes them different," she said Friday, seated at a table in the Post Falls Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge.

"We, of course, call them Norwegian meatballs, we’d never call them Swedish meatballs," she said. "I don’t honestly know if the Swedes use nutmeg, too, they may or may not. But this is what you’ll get in a Norwegian cookbook."

And you won't find pasta beneath these meatballs. They'll be served in a savory gravy with a different Norwegian staple.

"Norwegians don’t do noodles," Rostad said. "Norwegians are big on potatoes."

Rostat, who serves as the Sons of Norway Harald Haarfarger Lodge 2-011 cultural director, joined about 10 other Sons of Norway members to turn 30 pounds of hamburger into hundreds of meatballs in preparation for the upcoming Lutefisk and Lefse meal.

"My dad’s parents came from Norway and I’m just learning," said Judy Edwards of Coeur d'Alene. "I’ve been to Norway twice and I want to go once more."

The annual Lutefisk and Lefse meal will include the Norwegian meatballs, potatoes, pickled beets, carrots, sandbakkels (traditional cookies) with ice cream and lutefisk and lefse. Lefse is a thin Norwegian flatbread and lutefisk — pronounced "loot-ah-fisk" — is a traditional dish of unsalted, dehydrated fish that is treated with lye and has a gelatinous texture.

Lutefisk is an acquired taste; some people love it, and others, not so much.

"It’s difficult to describe," said Katja Rost, beginning to laugh. "It’s kind of fishy so I cannot say that I’m a big fan, but it’s not as disgusting as it might sound. It’s part of tradition and kind of a challenge too, like, 'Can you swallow it, or can you not?'"

Rost, of Coeur d'Alene, said her husband's grandmother loves lutefisk.

"She's the only person I know who really loves it," she said. "Her father was Norwegian."

Rost, originally from Russia, said she thinks it's awesome that the Sons of Norway put so much effort into preserving the traditions of their ancestors.

"They really cherish them and try to keep them alive, and they really try to pass it on to younger generations," she said. "I think it means a lot. It gives them a sense of identity."

Rostad said that's the whole purpose of the Sons of Norway. The meal is a fundraiser to support the lodge in its efforts to preserve and promote Norwegian heritage.

"It’s just fun to see people enjoy these things," Rostad said. "Any time you get any group together for a dinner and you have 50, 60 people eating dinner at the same time, it’s just a nice thing. People enjoy talking to each other about where their Norwegian heritage is and a lot of the people who come that aren’t members have some link or they wouldn’t be here."

The annual Lutefisk and Lefse meal is from noon to 2:30 p.m. Feb. 21 at the IOOF Lodge in Post Falls. It is open to the public, but reservations are required by Wednesday.

Prices are $17 for adults, $7 for youths 6-18, free for children younger than 6 and $45 for families with parents and kids. Attendees will also be able to purchase lutefisk and lefse to take home.

To place reservations, contact Ginny Brown at 691-9898, Margret Evenson at 773-4401 or Dorothy Takashina at qdotlou@aol.com.

The IOOF Lodge is located at 200 E. Railroad Ave in Post Falls.