For centuries my family has eaten rømmegrøt, or Norwegian cream porridge, for our Christmas Eve supper. Rømme translates as cream and is pronounced "remma" with a rolled 'r' to rhyme with Emma, and grøt means porridge and is pronounced "gret" (also with rolled 'r') to rhyme with "fret".  I am pretty sure this is the source of the word "grits" to mean porridge! This food has wound its way into the family lore in so many instances. My grandmother grew up on a cherry/dairy farm in Northern Michigan and her mother could make the rømmegrøt with cream and she hated it and thought it too thick. My grandfather grew up with the rømmegrøt made from skim milk because his father was paralyzed by polio and they were too poor to buy cream. Because Grandma hated rømmegrøt she never made it (my mother and her siblings were given it by their grandmothers) but Grandpa evidently really missed it. When I was grown up he gave me the recipe and I helped him make it. While we cooked he told me the story of his school Christmas play. The children were wearing letters to spell out "Merry Christmas" and each was supposed to step forward and recite part of a poem on their letter's turn. Grandpa was wearing a letter 's' and he was supposed to step forward and say "And now there is an 's' between." This was difficult for him because they spoke Norwegian in their home, so he was worried about making a mistake and was rehearsing  a lot. However, his older brother, Frederick, kept teasing him by saying, "And now there is some grøt between"! Grandpa was terribly afraid he would repeat Frederick's line instead of his own, but in the end he said the poem correctly. Poor Frederick died (of rheumatic fever, I believe) when he was only thirteen, so there aren't many stories about him. I am so grateful I shared this food with my grandfather while he was alive and learned to make it for my own children. Every year my Norwegian cousins used to send a photo of themselves eating their rømmegrøt  on Christmas Eve to my grandparents so now I always take a photo of our family eating ours and post it on Facebook!

This year, however, our tradition was threatened when our oldest son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Because he is controlling the condition so well with diet and supplements and essential oils he is no longer on mealtime insulin, so he doesn't just inject himself and eat what he wants and he can't have really high-carb stuff. I was determined this disease would not steal our beloved tradition from us, so I revised the recipe into a ketogenic (grain-free and sugar-free) version. Recipe and videos below:

Ketogenic Rømmegrøt 
serves 8

1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup monkfruit sweetener, granulated
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp Xanthan gum
1 tsp liquid monkfruit sweetener
Melted Butter
Cinnamon
Monkfruit or Stevia granulated sweetener

Melt butter in a heavy 3 quart saucepan. Add almond flour and stir until well blended and smooth. Slowly add whipping cream and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Lower heat. Add monkfruit granulated sweetener and salt. Stir and simmer until the mixture begins to cling to the sides of the pan as shown in the first video. Stir in the coconut flour and Xanthan gum (a natural thickener made from a bacterium produced from the fermentation of simple sugars). Keep stirring (a whisk works best) until the  mixture is a thick, bubbly porridge as shown in the second video. Remove from heat and stir in the liquid monkfruit sweetener. Place in bowls and serve with a pitcher of melted butter, cinnamon, and granulated monkfruit or stevia sweetener. Each person serves themselves by pouring melted butter over the porridge and then sprinkling with cinnamon and sweetener.

Nutritional Information
(for rømmegrøt only, not including added butter and sweetener) :
Calories: 493
Fat: 51 grams
Sodium: 212.2 mg
Potassium: 51.8 mg
Carbs: 15.6 grams
Fiber: 4.1 Grams
Sugars: 10.2
Protein: 4.2
Vitamin A %: 31.82
Calcium %: 6.83
Iron%: 4.88

I hope your family enjoys this rømmegrøt  as much as my family always has. Traditionally this is the supper served on Christmas Eve, and my family often has it then, but some years we have it for Christmas morning breakfast or as dessert after Christmas dinner. You can make it early and then cover the bowl with a clean cloth and place it in a warm oven until you're ready to serve it, according to my grandpa's recipe. You can microwave it as well, but sometimes that makes it gummy. 

I wish you a very Merry Christmas! My Atelier Mandaline shops are taking orders but I will not resume shipments until December 28th so I can enjoy a much-needed respite and family time.

December 18th is the last day to order items so they are sure to arrive in time for Christmas if you use standard shipping. Therefore, everything in my eBay, Etsy, and Poshmark shops is marked down through the 18th. Please note, this is for ready-made items. Message me to see if I can complete any custom orders in time.

I have to tell you, however, I am pretty swamped with customs right now and won't be able to take on many more. You know, it's kind of maddening. Every year I attend all these webinars and read all sorts of trend reports on eBay and elsewhere so I know what kind of inventory to stock for the holidays. This year leggings, sweaters, pocketbooks, and toys like LEGOs were the big trends. Florals, velvet, and folkloric and handmade-looking prints were supposedly all the rage. So I filled my shops, especially my Poshmark boutique, with these. I know from long experience that doll and trunk sets sell well during the holidays and this year I made six, which is nearly twice what I've produced other years. They all sold out by the first week of December, the earliest I've ever sold through them! The leggings, especially the LulaRoe leggings, are selling at a healthy rate as well. However, eBay and Poshmark and everybody else missed an enormous trend this year:  Do It Yourself crafts. I suppose in Poshmark's case that's understandable as they only sell fashion.

​I have tons of dolls, both vintage and modern, ready to go in all my shops, but they aren't really moving. Instead, I am stunned by the demand for supplies, such as doll eyes, crier boxes, and stringing kits, this year. I am selling out almost weekly in some cases. I really wish someone had recognized this trend because I could have been more prepared. For instance, instead of finishing dolls I wish I had put together more doll-making kits. I can't keep eyes in stock, especially. American Girl eye swapping is a huge deal this year, so my handpainted eyes have really been popular. Was this mentioned anywhere? No. I could have painted a whole bunch of eyes ahead of time so I could provide custom styles more quickly! So, if you're in trend forecasting, please... try a little harder to think outside the box next year. Not everyone wants to give the same old, same old!

Head to the Home Page to link to all my shops and save big. Even Young Living has many sale offers happening now. Save even more on Poshmark when you sign up with code STUDIOMANDALINE and get a $5 credit. Just remember, if you need it under the tree on Christmas morning, order by December 18th!

New on the blog, a tutorial showing how to upcycle containers, such as food containers, into Christmas ornaments! I made each of my kids a personalized ornament from food containers I saved during our trip to Harry Potter World this past summer so every year they will remember that special vacation. This was a fast, easy craft that would be lots of fun to make with your kids!  I'm happy I finally managed to finish this project because I've been wanting to get it done for ages but I've just been swamped. A couple more weeks of craziness and then I look forward to a break! As most of you know, we have had a pretty rough year in which we were slammed with tons of unexpected bills and medical crises, so I am happy to be able to save money by making meaningful gifts as well. For those of you who don't enjoy making gifts or decorations, my shops are stocked with all kinds of new stuff including handmade and collectible Hallmark ornaments, LulaRoe, Thirty-One, Jamberry Nail Wraps, and already-restored vintage dolls. Link to them all from the Home page!