Over the past few months I have kept running into different versions of the salted caramel brownie and salted caramel ice cream on the internet. Since I like a rich brownie and the thought of having a caramel flavored with sea salt to compliment the sweetness of the brownie sounded delicious and balanced, I decided […]
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 Nordic fell in Northern Sweden
Last week was a first for me. I was able to participate on a hunting and a week long hiking trip with my husband and another couple that are close friends and two dogs. One the way up north we stopped at the Storforsen falls. I posted a picture of the falls(here) from one of […]
Macaroni and Cheese
Macaroni and Cheese is such a classic. I could almost bet on it that nearly every child in America has had macaroni and cheese for supper at some time. Most have probably had the Kraft box version. Since there are no box versions available here, I got a little excited when I stumbled upon this […]
Happy Father’s Day
Tomorrow is Father’s day in Finland and I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to introduce the great father of our five children. Over the years it has been wonderful to watch him grow into fatherhood. Every parent grows into parenthood at their own pace. There are the rewarding moments and sometimes mistakes […]
All Saints’ Day, candles and family time
Today is All Saints’ Day. In Finland it is a day to remember all those loved ones that have passed. All afternoon and evening people bring candles to the cemetaries. November is the darkest of months in Finland and fittingly today it rained all day. The little snow we had last week melted away. We […]
First Snow and Crock Pot Lamb
The forecast called for snow and I did have a few doubts that we might actually see a few flakes in the morning. The sun was shining and everything looked like it was sugar-crusted. My Godchild however, was very sure that it would snow. I told the kids that a forecast is a prediction and […]
Banana Bread and Saturdays
Dear readers I apologize for the long break between posts. Sometimes in life too many things happen at once and one is forced to leave some things for later. I had one of those situations. I have been itching to post and am so happy to finally be able to. Below is the story of […]
Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Fall and Cream of Mushroom soup
For me fall represents a chill in the air, the leaves turning bright colors, gathering berries and mushrooms and soup. Rarely do we eat soup in the summer. Summer fare includes grilled vegies and meat and bright salads but when the cold weather sets in, soup warms up the soul. I need foods to warm […]
Weekly Photo Challenge: Happiness
This post is not a traditional post. It is a gallery of happiness. When I think of happiness, I think of kids. They are genuine and they often see the joy in the little details of life. I heard on the radio a little while back that children laugh 300 times a day and adults […]
Grampa’s Almond Braid
A couple of weeks ago I posted about Tikkupulla or pulla baked over a bonfire. In Finland there are many different versions of the traditional pulla. Pulla basically is a sweet bread that has yeast in it and is most often flavored with cardamom. They can be filled with cinnamon, sugar and butter or simply […]
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