This past Sunday we had the baptism for our little Hugo. We have always held our baptisms at home and it is a fairly small, intimate affair with family members and close friends. I really enjoy organizing the celebration for the small baby, even though the baby has not an inkling of the color coordinated […]
Author: Laila Uljas
I've just turned 40 the other year, and to tell you the truth, I like being forty. I'm a mother to nine beautiful children (including one set of twins). Previously I have done product and concept development for coffee shops and bakeries. At the moment, I have been focusing on the wellbeing of our communities. I graduated from the University of Helsinki with a Master's in political science. The welfare of our society and community we live in is something I have always been concerned about ever since I was young. But life sometimes takes you into unplanned and exciting places. Soon we will be returning to our home city of 17 years, Kouvola, Finland after spending nine months on a dairy farm in northern Finland. It has been an experience of a lifetime. I have been telling the story of life on the dairy farm on my youtube channel Jenkkimutsi maalla interspersed with issues that affect our society. Most videos are in Finnish, but a few are in English. Welcome along.
The World’s Best Pancake
In Finland I have come across many recipes that are titled “Maailman Paras Pannukakku” or the “The World’s Best Pancake” and in this case it refers to an oven-raised pancake. I have been searching over the course of the last six months for an oven-raised pancake recipe that could become my “World’s Best Pancake” recipe. […]
A Moment in time
I often think that time just slips by a little too fast. The summer flowers bloom and then they wither away. This sunflower was a Mother’s day gift. It had a tall thin stem, and to tell you the truth I was a little concerned how it was going to make it. As the air […]
Gramma Reeni’s Rhubarb Tart
Last weekend we enjoyed this Gramma Reeni’s rhubarb tart not once but twice. Earlier in the week my Grampa Jim sent me the recipe and some photos to go with it. You could call this tart a family heirloom. It is from my Great Grandma Irene, or as we called her, Gramma Reeni. She used […]
Strawberry season
The strawberry season came quickly upon on, almost too quickly! They are predicting a short and sweet season with an abundance of berries ripening in a very short time span. In some ways this is fortunate for us since they dropped the price per kilo making self-picked a very economical option this year! My husband […]
Midsummer and Crepes
During midsummer it seems as if our internal clock goes into a summer mode. Usually the kids are in bed at 8.30 pm and the wake up is at 7 am during the school year. But once school is out it takes about three days to go into summer schedule where bedtime is closer to […]
The smell of honey and clover and the sound of kisses
I found this poem that tells of the magic of scents and smells of a new little miracle. The original language is in Finnish but below is a rough translation. “Tuoksussa tässä on outoa taikaa. Miten voi tuoksua yhtä aikaa: hunajalta, apilalta, suukkojen mäiskeeltä, rakkauden räiskeeltä, talvelta ja kesältä, pikkulinnun pesältä?” There is a curious […]
Brita Torte
This torte symbolizes summer to me. It is so easy, needs no fancy decorations and the flavors can be easily adjusted according to what berries are in season. Summer has arrived in full force and it is hard to believe that just a few short months ago we were skating and skiing on the lake. […]
Summer Picnics
Sometimes summer makes you wait in Finland, and it feels like it doesn’t really arrive until July. But this year summer arrived at the end of May. We have been enjoying our time at the beach just down the road. One important part of making a trek to the beach is the “picnic”. It is […]
Rustic Knots with Dandelion or Nettle
I believe it was my Cousin that once posted on facebook a comment by a child that stopped me to think that everything really depends on perspective. When driving past a field of Dandelions that were in the white seed head stage, her son had exclaimed, “Look Mom, a field full of wishes!” It brought […]
tableofcolors 