During one of their trips to Finland, Grampa taught me how to make Banana Cream Pie. It is one of those recipes that I know by heart. I’m not sure if I have the actual written version anymore. It has been a well-loved recipe that has been made many, many times. This past weekend we […]
Category: Desserts
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Happy Easter!
Last week on Palm Sunday, the children visited the houses in the neighborhood bringing them decorated pussy willows. In return they received chocolate eggs. The tradition is actually a cheerful mix of two traditions. In Eastern Finland the pussy willows symbolized the palm leaves on Palm Sunday and a blessing for the new year. The […]
Gone fishing!
A week ago on Sunday we celebrated our nephew’s and God son’s birthday. What a fun day we had and the time seemed to fly. Spending time with siblings and close friends is always special. My sister had done such a good job making things for the party that I asked her if I could […]
Cranberry Cake
Last night our literature club came over to our house. We get together once a month on a Friday evening after 8 pm. The reason for the late hour is that most of the children have settled down for the evening and the hustle and bustle of the work week has come to an end […]
Laskiaispulla
Laskiainen or Shrove Tuesday is the day before the beginning of Lent. In Finland it is traditional for children and adults to head to the sledding hills. Winter is starting to be at its best with sun shining more and more each day. The traditional meal after an afternoon of sledding is split-pea soup with […]
Kaija’s Carrot Cake (Vegan)
I have an architect sister who lives in Detroit. She has a really interesting job and I am always very curious to hear about her projects. Detroit has experienced hard times and many people have moved due to loss in jobs. But as usual, a situation that seems hopeless may actually offer an opportunity to […]
The calm after the excitement
After the hustle and bustle of preparing for Christmas it was time to just sit down and enjoy watching the children, sampling a few holiday goodies both with the kids and a few after the house is quiet and they have gone to sleep. I even had a chance to start a book on the […]
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