tableofcolors

May 17, 2013

Rocky Road Party Treats

These Rocky Road treats have become a regular at our birthday parties. The first reason is that they taste good, the second reason is that they are so simple to make and the third reason is that they store well up to week so they can made a few days in advance if preferred. I’m always on the look-out for great ideas and recipes that are not too complicated to make. It’s a way to cut down on everyday stress.

This recipe is from a Finnish women’s magazine, Kotivinkki. Click here for the orginal recipe in Finnish.

200 g/7 oz milk chocolate, broken into chunks
250 g/8.8 oz dark chocolate, broken into chunks
1 can (400g/14 oz) of condensed milk
50 g/1.7 oz butter
200g g/7 oz soft black liquorice cut into small bits
100g/3.5 oz mini marshmallows or large ones cut into four
3 dl/1.3 c salted peanuts

Melt the chopped chocolate, condensed milk and butter in heavy bottomed saucepan at medium heat. Stir constantly.

Cut the the liquorice into smaller bits and marshmallows as well if using large ones.

Mix the liquorice, marshmallows and peanuts into the melted chocolate mixture and pour into a parchment paper lined lasagna pan (23x33cm or 9×13”). Place in the fridge and allow the Rocky Road toffee to harden for 4-6 hours.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to week or in the summer I have stored it in the refrigerator.
These would make the perfect little gift to bring along to a party wrapped up pretty in some cellophane and a bow.

19 comments

May 11, 2013

The Mother’s Gift

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day! Motherhood is all about growth as a person. Little ones are good teachers about the simple pleasures in life. A peal of laughter, a burst of a song in the middle of the day. Rarely are adults as spontaneous expressing their feelings as freely.

Life isn’t all about the laughter and songs. Each child has their own challenges and needs. These little ones needs to be supported so that they don’t waver or break. Sometimes those challenges nearly break a Mother’s heart. We wish we could bear the pain, but each child must live their own life. We can only be nearby, to soothe, support and love.

Never does a Mother feel that her work is complete. No one Mother is like another, each has their strengths and weaknesses. I guess that there are really no rules to Motherhood other than unconditional love, even though society often sets standards to what a “good Mom” is. We’ll try our best with the skills and gifts we have.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the special Mother’s near and far!

“The Mother’s Gift”
by Cynthia I Rogers

The dreaming
The longing
The anticipation
The belonging

The plans
The preparations
The excitement
The wonder of creations

The approaching time
The gatherings
The closeness
The names of beings

The emotions
The hearts lift
The new beginning
The Mother’s Gift

This year Mother’s day is an exciting time in more ways than one. It is only a matter of days or weeks that we will be welcoming a new little person into our family.

Breakfast for the special Mother in your life

The recipe is slightly adapted from Bernice’s blog, Realistic Cooking Ideas for Busy People.
Here is the link to this delicious recipe.

My recipe is a double batch, so for a smaller amount just make half of the recipe.

Whole Wheat Honey Banana Pecan Pancakes

5.9 dl/ 2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
5.9 dl/ 2 1/2 c flour
4 tsp. baking powder
4 tsp. baking soda
70 g/2.5 oz pecans chopped
1-2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

4 eggs, whisked
4 bananas, mashed
4 cups milk
4 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla

Combine the dry ingredients. Combine the wet ingredients and mix with the dry ingredients. Fry on a medium heat griddle and serve with Maple syrup, sliced bananas, a hug and a few Pansies for your Mother.

45 comments

May 7, 2013

The Season of Celebrations

As the season of celebrations approaches I thought I would share a very traditional Finnish savory dish that has been done in a very non-Finnish way.
The sandwich cake or voileipäkakku is served at many graduation and confirmation parties as well as at baptisms. I was able to make one for a friend this past weekend and I thought to give it an untraditional twist in flavor.

The sandwich cake is basically a loaf of good quality bread sliced lengthwise. Each layer is filled with a filling, often alternating between two different fillings. The most common sandwich cakes have either a meat filling or a fish filling. The recipe below uses meat as one ingredient. The frosting is often a cream cheese or mayonnaise. My recipe uses a combination of marscapone and cream cheese. I find that cream cheese has a fairly strong flavor and the marscapone brings a nice soft flavor and texture.

Sandwich cake with asparagus

Start by slicing the bread lenghtwise and cutting off both the top and bottom crusts. For this cake I actually used two loaves of bread side by side so that it made a bigger cake. Make sure to cut away the crusts since that will insure ease when cutting and serving the cake.

Next make the fillings. Feel free to use your imagination. I veered away from the traditional fillings and made a pesto for one layer and used a good quality hummus to flavor the second filling.

Pesto filling:
2 handfuls of fresh basil (about 40 grams)
1 clove of garlic
0.6 dl/ 1/4 c pine nuts
50 g parmesean cheese
black pepper
little dash of sea salt
0.6 dl/ 1/4 c olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
Place in the blender and pulse until fairly smooth.
Mix the pesto with 100g /3.5 oz of cream cheese and 125 g/4.4 oz marscapone cheese. When combined at 100 g /3.5 oz of finely chopped good quality deli ham.

Beef and hummus filling:
20 g/ 0.7 oz chopped fresh parsley
A few sprigs of chives, chopped finely
100 g/3.5 oz deli cut peppered beef finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper finely chopped
3 generous tablespoons of hummus
200 g /7 oz cream cheese
125 g/4.4 oz marscapone cheese
sea salt
black pepper

Before spreading the filling on each layer pour milk in a glass and spoon it on the bread to soften it up a bit. The amount of milk needed depends on the bread. If the bread if very soft less milk will be needed and for a more courser grain bread a little more milk is necessary.

After the sandwich cake has been filled, cut off the crusts and cover with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight.

“Frosting”
250 g/8.8 oz marscapone cheese
300g /10.6 oz cream cheese
handful of parsley, chopped finely
2 tbsp of finely chopped fresh chives
sea salt
black pepper
dash of freshly ground chili flakes
Mix until smooth and spread evenly over the sandwich cake.

Since asparagus is in season and it is a nice looking vegetable I thought to try for a springy “asparagus forest” look. I cut away the tough ends and peeled away the tougher skin along the bottom half of the stem before steaming them lightly in the microwave. After steaming them, drizzle olive oil and lightly season them with salt and pepper. Allow to cool a bit before placing them on the cake. The top is garnished with prosciutto ham tied with a sprig of fresh chives. The decorating part is fun since there are really no rules to follow, just be creative!

33 comments

May 1, 2013

Happy May Day! Hauskaa Vappua!

May Day or Vappu in Finland is a celebration of spring. In the past it has had a stronger association with the blue collar workers, their demonstrations and speeches on behalf of their rights. Today the festivities have become more carnival and street party-like with paper streamers, silly string, balloons and picnic brunches. Students across the country place the gradution cap on statues. The capping of the Havis Amanda statue in Helsinki draws thousands of spectators. I was there watching one year amongst the thousands and as the capping had been completed the crowd just swept me with it as it left the area.

Since it is a day off for the whole nation it has become a national party day. Everyone can pick and choose which traditions they wish to carry on. Our family celebrates it in a fairly low key manner. Sometimes we have hosted a barbeque, sometimes we just take it easy and enjoy homemade donuts and sima. Sima is a fizzy lemonade made with brown sugar, lemon juice and a little bit of yeast.

Recipe for Sima (taken from the side of our brown sugar package)

4 l/4.2 qts water
250 g/8.8 oz brown sugar
250 g/8.8 oz sugar
juice of 1-2 lemons
1/5 tsp of fresh yeast (about the size of a pea)
raisins

Boil half of the water and pour it over the sugars and stir. Add the rest of the water (cool water) and allow to cool to a luke warm. Dissolve the yeast in a small amount of liquid and add it to the Sima. Allow to sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Bottle the sima, adding a teaspoon of sugar and a few raisins in each bottle. Do not tighten the bottle lids tightly as it will produce gas. The sima is ready for use when the raisins have risen to the surface. If the bottles are kept at room temperature the process takes about three days, in the refrigerator it takes about a week.

When it is ready I have tightened the lid and placed in the refrigerator. Enjoy cold with fresh donuts. For a more darker Sima, double the amount of brown sugar and leave out the sugar.

For the Vappu donuts, I use the pulla dough recipe. After the dough has risen, I make little balls and then punch holes through the middle. Fry them in canola oil making sure that the oil is not too hot so that the donut has time to cook on the inside. Sugar immediately.

50 comments

April 27, 2013

Rise and Shine

I was quite sure we would still have snow on the first of May, but thankfully I was wrong. We had an exceptionally long winter with night time temperatures that really dipped and kept the scenery white. I went skiing for the last time about three weeks ago on the lake. The lakes are still frozen but I would not recommend venturing out on the ice anymore.

When the spring rains decided to arrive our snow disappeared in a week. The coltsfoot, which is our first wild flower to bloom in the spring, can be found along the sides of ditches. They rise out of the not-so-pretty brown landscape bringing the first little dots of yellow color. They are called “leskenlehti” in Finnish which means “widow’s leaf” if translated directly. The flower only blooms in early spring and for the rest of the summer the flower only has the green leaves.

I love receiving these little yellow bouquets of love. After the coltsfoot have bloomed I know that it will not be long before the crocus and tulips bloom.

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Each day has a new promise and is a new beginning. This homemade granola is the perfect occasional treat that does not have to be saved for a weekend brunch since it works well even if the morning is a bit hurried. Just make sure to make it the night before so that it is ready to to. This granola is not nearly as sweet as store bought versions. Store the granola in a paper bag.

Granola

6 dl/2.5 c large old fashioned oatmeal
50 g /1.8 oz butter cut into cubes
1/2 dl/ 0.2 c sugar
3 tbsp honey
100 g/3.5 oz mixed nuts, roughly chopped
(optional flax seed)
1/2 tsp salt

100 g /3.5 oz raisins
100 g/3.5 oz dried apricot cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 175 C/350 F. Line a pan with parchment paper and spread the oatmeal, sugar, nuts and salt evenly on the pan. Mix in the honey. Sprinkle the cubed butter evenly over the oatmeal mixture. Place into the oven and bake for about 10 minutes or so that granola has acquired a nice golden color. Let slightly cool and add the raisin and apricots. Allow to cool completely before placing into a paper bag.

Enjoy with yoghurt or milk, berries and bananas.

33 comments

April 19, 2013

Mocha Monkey

Some coffee shops have a special atmosphere, something that pulls you to come there again and again. Here are a few of my favorite ones. This list is by no means complete and it is always fun to discover new ones.

Mocha Monkey

A year ago I was visiting the US and we visited a fun little coffee shop in Waconia, Minnesota called Mocha Monkey. It is full of little nooks and crannies, a book shelf and orginal art. Waconia is outside of suburbia and has the atmosphere of the traditional “small town” USA. I tried their gelato, which is made on site. I would go back for more if they were a little closer!

http://www.themochamonkey.com/

Wuollet Bakery

This bakery has a special place in my heart with many childhood memories. It is a visit filled with nostalgia. I like seeing the craftmanship that goes into the baked goods, watch the cake decorators making their original creations, enjoy a cup of coffee and have a little something sweet to go with it.

http://www.wuollet.com/

Ottolenghi

This was my absolute favorite place in London. The interior was contemporary and cozy at the same time. They would plug in a toaster at your table so that you would always have freshly toasted bread at breakfast. I really liked the idea of the communal table, kind of like being part of a big family! But since I grew up in a big family, it probably feels quite natural. Their selection of different salads and sweets was amazing. The scents of the salads made me wish that we could have gone back there for lunch.

http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/

Piano Pavilion

In Lahti there is a little harbor about a kilometer from the downtown area. Along the water front there are several cafes of which two awakened my interest. The Piano Pavilion is open during the summer and has been constructed out of environmental friendly materials and has a contemporary design. The terrace is right over the water with a minimalistic glass railing that does not block the view of the harbor. The only downside is that its menu cannot compete with the Cafe “Kahvila Kariranta” on the other side of the harbor. But I would go again for the scenery, and the peaceful experience of sitting right on the water and listening to the waves.

quality sister time: myself, Mari and Tin and Joa

http://www.lahdensatama.fi/yritykset/piano-paviljonki

Kahvila Kariranta

On the other side of the harbor in Lahti is Kahvila Kariranta located in an old train station building. They make their own treats in their little bakery in the back. Their products have a genuine home-made flavor that can be rarely found. Since the house is old, it has several small rooms to choose from and for nice summer days, they have a terrace in front.

http://www.vesijarvenvanha-asema.fi/

Kahvila Ilo

The words Ilo means joy in Finnish. Kahvila Ilo is a local coffee shop/cafe that takes pride in using local produce as much as possible. They make wonderful salads and cakes. I definitely think that it is the best cafe in Kouvola. I almost think you can evaluate a place by their pulla. If they have good home-made pulla, then their other products are usually great as well. I must admit that if I have errands in town I often make an excuse to stop by. I have become an irregular regular customer!
http://www.kahvilailo.com/index.asp

A made to order salad with quinoa, avocado, poached egg, cottage cheese and pumpkin seeds…served with a heart shaped focaccia roll.

40 comments

April 11, 2013

A Cupcake Birthday Party

As I’ve mentioned sometimes before, we get to celebrate birthdays quite often. Our birthday season starts in March, then we have another one in April, May, June, July, August and then the last one of the year comes right before New Year’s in December. We finally had the official birthday party for the Niner! As you can imagine, the birthday girl was SO excited! I had my oldest and her two friends organize the party games and the whole affair went smoothly even though we had nearly twenty kids over (including our own).

Since it has been a bit busy lately, I tried to think of a way to make things easy and provide an activity for a bunch of little girls full of giggles and nervous excitement! We decided on cupcakes. The best part was that each guest could decorate their own using an assortment of candies.

I searched the internet for different options. I have sometimes suspected that our birthday girl is a “super-taster”. She has a very particular taste. She has for an instance never eaten candy, only chocolate and preferably dark chocolate. If the other kids get candy, she will come in the kitchen and ask me if I have any baking chocolate on hand. She also likes dark rye bread with cheese and plain yoghurt and she prefers to drink milk or water. They don’t tend to believe me at the dentist when I insist that she never drinks sodas and only ocassionly will have juice.

With these requirements in mind I found a blog called the Brown Eyed Baker that featured a chocolate salted caramel cupcake. I thought that this might do the trick.

Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes
1.2 dl plus 1 tbsp/ 1/2 c plus 1 tbsp good quality cocoa powder
1.2 dl plus 1 tbsp/ 1/2 c plus 1 tbsp hot water
5.3 dl/ 2 1/4 c flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
225 g/ 1 c plus one tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
3.8 dl/ 1 2/3 c sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1.8 dl/ 3/4 sour cream

Preheat the oven to 175 C/350 F and line two muffin pans with paper liners. I made 22 cupcakes with this recipe.

In a small bowl whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth.In a separate bowl mix together the flour, bakin soda, baking powder and salt. Combine the butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the mixture is smooth. I allowed it to bubble for a minute or two so that the sugar was partly melted. Transfer the mixture to an electric mixer and mix for about 4-5 minutes so that it has cooled

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla and cocoa mixture and mix until smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to lo and add the flour in three parts alternating with the sour cream. Mix only until incorporated.

Spoon the batter into the lined muffin tins, so that they are about 2/3 full. Bake for about 18-20 minutes. If using a convection oven reduce the baking time by a couple of minutes.

Frosting
220 g/ 1 c unsalted butter at room temperature
225 g/ 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1.2 dl/ 1/2 c salted caramel sauce
9.5 dl/ 4 c powdered sugar

Click on the following link for the Salted Caramel Recipe by the Brown Eyed Baker. She has great step by step insructions and photos.

Beat together the butter and cream cheese for about 5 minutes. Add the salted caramel and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to low and slowly incorporate the powedered sugar. After the powdered sugar has been added beat on high for another 2 to 3 minutes until is has gained a fluffy texture. Using a pastry bag and a tip of your choice pipe the frosting on the cooled cupcakes. The original recipe by the Brown Eyed Baker garnished the cupcakes with a drizzle of salted caramel. Since these were intended for the birthday party I decided to skip the step.

Happy Birthday Marian!

55 comments

April 4, 2013

Who Killed the Cow Part 2 and Whipped Lingonberry Porridge

The criticism that I have sometime heard about blogs is that they give an unrealistic view of life. The house is shiny clean, the food looks perfect and the kids have their ponytails just so. I agree. Often blogs do show what we might see as an ideal lifestyle. The main thing to realize is that photography is about capturing a split second in time. The photographer makes the decision to include and exclude certain elements. It might actually be that outside of the frame of the photo there is drawing paper spread all over the table and little pieces of cut up “confetti” when one of the little ones had spent a morning practicing their fine motor skills.

This post is the sequel to the post “Who Killed the Cow“. When we were growing up we would often say “Who killed the cow?” when the last cup of milk was taken from the carton. For the complete story click on the link.
I have from time to time taken photos capturing “real life.” Here are a few snap shots from those times and a recipe that works perfect for the days full of little surprises.

One morning when I came downstairs I found clementines all over the place. One of our kids had just learned to peel clementines and was practicing. My first thought was, “Oh, NO! What a mess and there went the entire kilo of clementines that I had bought the day before!” I really couldn’t get too mad, it was innocent exploration and finding the floor full of orange crescents isn’t the worst that could happen.

We would occasionally have this whipped lingonberry porridge as an after school snack when I was a kid. Since lingonberries were not readily available in the US, my Mom would use cranberries and they work just as well. The recipe is for a fairly large amount so feel free to halve it if preferred. When I make it, I will often serve it first warm to the little ones at home for lunch and when it has cooled I will whip it as a snack for the school kids.

Whipped lingonberry porridge
2 l/ 8.5 c water
8 dl/3.4 c lingonberries or cranberries
2 dl/ 0.8 c sugar

Bring the water, lingonberries and sugar to a boil. Allow to boil for about 10 minutes. Strain the berries and return juice to the pot. Whisk in 4 dl/1.7 c of Cream of wheat warm cereal to the juice. Allow to cook for about 7-10 minutes, whisking the cereal so that it does not stick to the bottom. Remove from heat and cover with a lid. Allow to rest for a few minutes. Serve warm with milk if desired.

For the whipped porridge, allow it to cool completely. When cool, whip it until it has become light and fluffy. Serve with milk or a dollop of cream.

Afterall there is a beauty in everyday life!

45 comments

Gallery | March 26, 2013

Happy Easter!

48 comments

March 19, 2013

A Girls’ Weekend in Wintery Helsinki

It is common to plan a get-together with friends, but until a date is set in the calendar it often just gets pushed further into the future. We have a dear friend that lives on the outskirts of Helsinki. She is also the Godmother of our oldest daughter. During one phone call we decided to get our calendars out and set a date. We have been friends for many years and so when we meet up, we just pick up from where we left off. It is a comfortable type of friendship. The plan was that I would take our two oldest with me for the weekend. They counted nights and were a little antsy from anticipation. I too, was excited for our girls’ weekend but I have learned to conceal my anticipation a little better. We had wonderful weather both days and so we did a little skating, took long saunas, went out to eat, did a little shopping, enjoyed Sunday brunch and celebrated the birthday of our nine-year old.

On Saturday we ate at the Empire Plaza, a Chinese restaurant in the Kamppi shopping center. It is a sit-down restaurant that has friendly service and it is not overpriced. We have been there several times and will come back again sometimes in the future.

Our birthday girl decided before the meal arrived that she would use chopsticks. I was quite impressed that she stuck with it for the entire meal. Even the peas went down without complaint (she is our pickiest eater). Maybe we will need to invest in a pair if it makes eating easier!

In the past few years, brunches have really gained popularity in Helsinki. If I lived closer to Helsinki I wouldn’t mind exploring all of these brunch possibilities as a hobby. After searching the net we decided on going to Cafe Piritta. They are best known for their outdoor terrace that looks over a bay of water and the city of Helsinki. If we would have had our snow pants on, it would have been lovely to sit outdoors. Many strolled across the ice and stopped for a cup of coffee on the terrace.

We arrived just before noon, and indoors the place was hopping. We fortunately found a table and did not have to wait. Reservations should have been made a little earlier and since we called that morning we were not able to reserve a table. The savory brunch menu included a soup, hors d’oeuvre-type little open faced sandwiches, a selection of breads, a feta salad, a potato salad, Carelian pies, mini croissants, meatballs, sausages, omelets and chicken. There was so much to choose from that I did not end up trying the meatballs, sausages, omelets or chicken. They were popular with the kids. The dessert table offered a fresh fruit salad, ice cream, cake and a whipped lingonberry porridge. We left with quite full stomachs and if we would have been dressed properly a Sunday stroll across the ice would have suited perfectly.

Next time the place I would like to explore for brunch is the whimsical French style flower shop and coffee shop, Fleuriste.
Maybe the opportunity will come sooner than expected, you never know!

25 comments

Gallery | March 26, 2013

Follow “tableofcolors”