Seattle-based musician, Amanda Winterhalter, shares her Living Legacy of making Norwegian lefse, a potato-based flatbread.
Growing up, Amanda’s family ate lefse at holiday dinners. As a kid, she would unroll the lease, sprinkle on some sugar and cinnamon, and then re-roll for extra sweetness. Her grandmother, who she calls Grandma Shirley, often bought lefse from her church bazaar to share.
Amanda did not start making it herself until she was a little older. As adults, she and her cousin Kelly became more interested in their Norwegian heritage and this staple food that was a steady symbol of it throughout their lives. “When Kelly’s mom gifted her a lefse griddle, Kelly bought me a lefse rolling board and stick and invited me to try out a recipe with her during the holidays one year,” says Amanda. “When we proudly presented it at the next holiday dinner, our dads were impressed and Grandma was intrigued…she cut a couple of newspaper and magazine clipping recipes and gave them to us in an envelope.”
Grandma Shirley passed away just a few years after my cousin and I started making lefse, and even though she’s not there to taste-test for us anymore, Kelly and I still feel like we’re spending time with her when we make lefse and honor her memory.
