"PIECE OF CAKE"

SOME 10 000 FANS GATHERED TO LISTEN SAARA @ THE HELSINKI-CATHEDRAL.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet THE GIRL, who made the whole Finland dizzy.
Her name is SAARA AALTO. "X-factor-UK- 2016" was the stage, and our Saara was the only foreign competitor. She's a fighter; not only did she survive, but got honourably all the way to the finals, and became the first runner up! Now all the doors are wide open for this multi talented, yet  modest, super star.

SAARA IS ALSO THE TABLOID-QUEEN.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN "Saara & Adam Lambert"

This real life Cinderella story is an inspiration to many. Saara herself is a charming combination of hard worker, positive thinker and "suomalainen sisu" (= Finnish guts=never giving up FINN-attitude).

"Taste of my Finland" kept in mind Saara's affection for Disney princesses, pink colour and lush finish. The upshot: SAARA's victory-cake; crunchy meringue, roasted chestnuts filling, rose-scented cream-cloud and dark CHOCOOLATE. CHEERS SAARA 🏆

🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀

SAARA'S VICTORY CAKE

meringues:
2 organic egg whites
white caster sugar to your taste
1 teaspoon corn starch
(1 tablespoon cointreau)

chestnut puree:
2 dl chestnuts
3 dl water
1 dl sugar
1 vanilla pod

rose-scented whipped cream:
double cream
sugar
rosewater
red food colouring

dark chocolate for finishing touch

MERINGUES:
Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then whisk in the sugar and corn starch (and cointreau). Using a large serving spoon, drop spoonfuls of meringue onto baking sheets lined with baking paper. Bake in 50℃ oven for an hour, or until the meringues are crunchy.


CHESTNUT PUREE:
Cut a cross in the chestnut shell. (It's easiest to lie the flat side down on the table and to cut the X on the rounded side). Roast chestnuts in a 200℃ oven for 20 minutes (until you see the skin peeling off). Peel the chestnuts, one at a time, (remember to remove also the inner skin). 

Place the peeled chestnuts into a saucepan, cover with water. Add halved vanilla pod and sugar. Let boil until the chestnuts are tender. Then discard the vanilla, and puree the chestnuts with syrup. 


ROSE-SCENTED WHIPPED CREAM:
Whip the cream to soft peaks, then whisk in the rosewater and sugar. Colour the cream with red food colour. 

ASSEMBLING:
Top each meringue with chestnut puree, and whipped cream. Drizzle with melted chocolate. 

🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀

🏆

"FOREST VISIT"

Early morning is the best time to visit the forest.  The strong scent of the trees is leading the way, and bird-choir is welcoming visitors with a loud concert.

SUOPURSU

SUOPURSU, marsh tea, grows only at swamps, but is one of the most characteristics scents of the Finnish summer. It's like a mixture of mediterranean mountain herbs and the pine resin, but so much stronger, and wilder. You just have to experience it once, and that scent-memory will never fade.

Blueberries are blooming right now. It's the most delicate time of the berries lifeline; if it gets bitten by a frost, that's: "bye-bye blueberries". It HAS been snowing in Northern Finland, but these babies in the picture are blooming safely in the Middle Finland. In South we already have small green berries developing in the blueberry twigs.

RYE BREAD, COLD SMOKED SALMON, HARD BOILED EGGS AND RADISH-LEAF-PESTO, YAM!

This is also the time to enjoy the first local radish. Most Finns throw away the leafs, but they're actually just as delicious as the root itself. And, the radish-leaf-pesto makes a harmonic company for the cold smoked salmon.

___________________

PESTO OF RADISH LEAVES AND ROASTED SUNFLOWER SEADS

100 g radish leaves
80 g grated parmesan cheese
50 g roasted sunflower seads
1 garlic clove
100 g extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon organic lemon juice
dash of black pepper

Rinse and pat dry radish leaves. Grate cheese, roast sunflower seeds and peel garlic. Put all the ingredients into the blender and make a puree. Add oil if you wish. Use instead of pesto genovese.

____________________

"HELLO SPRING, NICE TO FINALLY MEET YOU!"

Spring has finally reached Finland!
It is warm enough to enjoy the breakfast outdoors, on the ground... in a company of ladybugs and whistling birds.

Finns are a breakfast oriented folk. We learn at school that breakfast is the most important meal of the day... And we really believe in that, still when we no longer go to school. While the Middle-Europeans throw a sip of espresso and some croissant to their mouth on the way to the work, Finns pile butter, slices of cheese, ham, eggs, tomatoes and cucumbers in between their breakfast rolls.

But that's not all; no breakfast is complete without porridge and a huge pot of coffee!
It tastes surprisingly good every morning, but nothing beats the breakfast outdoors!

SEMOLINA PORRIDGE

750 ml milk, or coconut milk
75 ml sheet semolina (grains)
salt
sugar
butter
dried coconut flakes
fresh berries or strawberry soup

Bring milk to boil, stirring constantly, add semolina, cover the pan and let simmer on a low heat for 10-20 minutes. Stir every now and them (to prevent the porridge from burning to the bottom). Season with sugar, salt and butter. Serve hot of cold, with strawberry soup and fresh berries or dried coconut flakes.

"GONE FISHING"

Ice fishing is one of the nicest benefits of the cold winter. At this time of the year you see fisherwomen and fishermen, fisher girls and boys drilling holes into the ice and using their special ice fishing rod to fool the fish.

When you see someone dressed in a one-piece thermo jumpsuit, carrying a huge auger on the shoulder, it's a sign of a real winter.

Ice fishing auger is a huge, manpowered drill.

Drilling keeps fishermen warm.

The first catch of the day is always the most important one, no matter how small.

The bites (worms and caterpillars) are sold even at gas stations, and are available in different colors, like the lines as well.

Särki, (roach), is a common, but not very popular fish in small lakes. It's easy to recognize by it's red eyes. Fishermen say that särki has been partying till the wee hours, that's why they eyes are red, and it no longer ticles your tastebuds.

Finns love ahven, (perch). We fry them, stew them, poach them, deep fry them, bake in rye bread, or smoke them... And, of course, there's nothing better than a pot of perch, cooking in the oven on a low heat while you're taking a sauna, after a long day of ice fishing. The best winter supper, of all times.

SLIDING DAY FUN

Today is the sliding day, laskiainen, as we call it in Finland. Sliding down the hill, using any devise, is in a "must do"- list today. In the old days sliding day marked the symbolic-sliding into the period of Easter fasting. But it now means a fun filled day outdoors, cream buns and crepes.

TRADITIONAL POTATO CREPES

5 finely grated potatos
5 dl milk
2 dl plain flour
pinch of salt
butter
lingonberry jam

Wisk all the ingredients together to a smooth batter, until well incorporated. Let rest in a refrigerator for an hour.

Heat a little butter in a frying pan. When it's foaming, pour a thin layer of batter into the pan. Cook for 30 seconds to a minute, until the edges are solid and golden brown. (Let the pancake cook without shaking the pan, as there's no egg in the batter, and the uncooked crepe brakes easily.) Flip the crepe over and continue cooking for the same amount of time.

Serve with lingonberry jam (preferably homemade, but ready made will do, too. Available for example in IKEA).

❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅

Age plays no role, as one 50-years old FINN slides down with style.
("Down the hill, Finnish way"- footage has got English subtitles.)

❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅❅

"ICE & LIONS"

"TEMPERATURE IS 22℃ BELOW ZERO, YET HOCKEY RULES!"

Let me explain why the social media is now full of pictures of Finnish flags and lion cubs...

And why even the smallest ice- covered ponds are packed with ice skaters and hockey players... Despite of the -22℃ temperature!

"JUNIOR LION+FINN-FLAG=VICTORY"

The Finnish State Coat of Arms has got a lion, we call it "the Finn-lion". Therefore our national hockey team is also called "Finn-lions", and the junior team "Lion Cobs" or "Little lions".

Last night the Lion Cobs won the World Under-20 ice hockey championship in Helsinki, with gripping 4-3 victory over Russia!!! With just 6,9 seconds left in the game, Russia scored and the game went into overtime... But almost immediately the Junior-Lions scored the winning goal, and become the World Champions... And the whole nation went nuts!

So, the taste of Finland is now GOLD!
CONGRATULATIONS, LION COBS! CHEERS FINLAND!

"PRACTICE MAKES WORLD CHAMPIONS!"

WHEN THE WHOLE COUNTRY CELEBRATES

"APPROPRIATE iPHONE WALLPAPER"

Yesterday was one big party... All day, all night. It was the birthday of 98 years old Suomi-Finland.

"TWO CANDLES IN A WINDOW, @6 pm SHARP - THAT'S THE TRADITION"

The modest character of Finns is reflected in the way we celebrate. No fireworks, nor streamers, but two candles on a windowsill, dinner made of the best ingredients the country can offer and a live TV-broadcast from the nation's number one ball. That's how most of Finns celebrate our country's freedom and independence.

"NATIONAL TELEVISION COVERES THE CELEBRATIONS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY"

Usually the independence day weather is rough, this year was no exception. Still it's nice to honor the Fatherland with a picnic in the woods, which after hot sauna warms you nicely. You'll be "sauna fresh", just on time to dress to your best, lit the candles, pop the champagne and start following the Presidential reception.

"HOT BLUEBERRY GLÖG, SMOKED REINDEER TART AND MUSHROOM TART"

BLUEBERRY GLÖG
(MUSTIKKAGLÖGI)
1l frozen Finnish blueberries
1 l water
1 dl organic Finnish honey
3 cinnamon sticks
10 cloves
1 split vanilla pod
Bring all the ingredients to boil, sieve and serve. Add honey if desired. Serve steaming hot.

REINDEER TART/MUSHROOM TART 
(POROPIIRAKKA/SIENIPIIRAKKA)
pastry (100 years old Finnish recepe):
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 dl wheat flour
1 1/2 dl double cream
150 g butter (room temperature) + 1 teaspoon for sautéing the reindeer and leek
filling:
1 leek
200 g cold smoked reindeer
2 eggs
2 dl double cream
white pepper
pinch of nutmeg


Mix the baking powder with the flour. Beat together cream and flour, add the butter and mix until the dough becomes smooth. Cover the dough with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for half an hour.

Roll out the pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper, line a pie tin with the dough and refrigerate while preparing the filling.

Wash and chop the leek, chop the reindeer. First fry the reindeer for a while, then add the leek and continue sautéing until soft. Scatter the reindeer and leek in the pastry tin. Lightly beat the eggs with cream, season with white pepper and nutmeg. (No salt needed, as the cold smoked reindeer is salty enough). Pour in the egg mix and bake for 30-45 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the filling is set. Serve warm or cold.

MUSHROOM TART
Instead of reindeer use 1 dl of dried mushrooms, such as chanterelles or black trumpet mushrooms. Let them first soak in water, then drain and sauté with red onion. Add some grated cheese, black pepper and sea salt to the filling. Other than that, bake exactly like the reindeer tart.

"MUSHROOMS AND REINDEER ARE FINLAND'S ORGANIC DELICACY"

The annual live broadcast gives ordinary folk a little glimpse of the splendor of the newly renovated Presidential Palace.

The veterans are honored guests, and have the only reserved seats in the whole palace.

"MR. PRESIDENT AND THE FIRST LADY  ENJOY CHATTING WITH THE GUESTS OF HONOR"

The whole nation continues celebrating until the wee hours... But at 10 pm the TV- cameras are turned off and even the no. 1 ball continues in privacy.
                             
                                 💙  HAPPY BIRTHDAY BELOVED SUOMI-FINLAND 💙

"WISH LIST DELIVERED"

It's only 37 days to Christmas! And the last moment to send your wish list to JOULUPUKKI, Father Christmas. I decided to be really brave, and traveled to Lapland to meet him, face to face.

He lives in northern Finland, Korvatunturi-fell, which stands 486 meters above sea level. Korvatunturi means Ear Fell in Finnish. It is believed that the ear-shaped structure of the fell allows Father Christmas to hear the wishes of every child in the world. Part of the fell is in the Russian side of border, therefore all visitors are requested to have written permission from the Finnish Border Guard. Also; there are no roads that directly lead to the fell, hiking trails provide the only access.

Korvatunturi is Santa's private home, but he works in Joulupukin Pajakylä, 300 kilometers from his home, in the Arctic Circle, near Rovaniemi. That's where his official post office  is located, and where all mail send to Korvatunturi, ends up.

Father Christmas and his little Elf-helpers pack a reindeer-sleigh full of gifts, and Santa starts his Christmas tour, every year the 23. December. Finnish national television, and some 70 foreign TV-stations show the event "live". To tell you the truth; the magical sunshine in the background reveals  that the footage is actually not live. During Christmas Korvatunturi has KAAMOS, polar night, which means it's dim all day long. The filming is done each year couple of months after Christmas, when the spring sun starts shining... Or, maybe Korvatunturi has got it's own magical sun, what do I know? I've never been in Korvatunturi. I met Santa in his work-office, in Rovaniemi.

The Arctic Circle is the latitude in the Northern Hemisphere where the sun can remain continuously above or below horizon 24 hours. So the sun never sets for at least one day in summer and never rices for at least one day in winter.

"So far Santa Claus has received about 17 million letters from 198 different countries. At the Christmas time Santa can get about 32 000 letters/day. Top 7 countries are 1.China, 2.Italy, 3.Poland, 4.United Kingdom, 5.Finland, 6.Japan, 7.Russia. Christmas 2014 Santa received around 500 000 letters."-quotes Santa's Grand Post Office bulletin board.

Letters sent to Santa are divided into piles according to the country of the origin.

Some letters end up framed to the wall, like this one:
"To Santa!
It would be fun if you'd read this. I wish that I would become a hero of the nature, I would rescue the nature, and it would be wonderful if the globe would not be destroyed and if there would not be any  disasters. I want to switch into using water power, and I hope the others would also save the nature and recycle. I grow a grapefruit tree and it's now about 20 centimeters tall. When it's big, I am going to send it to developing countries. Please sent them rain cloud, that would be the best wish come true. As a gift to myself I'm wishing for a lava-lamp, hopefully ecological.
With love, Sini
(an elephant would be nice...♡)"

My wish list was not that thoughful ... But it got thumbs up!

If you didn't write to Santa, yet, here's the contact information:
JOULUPUKKI / SANTA CLAUS
home:
99999 Korvatunturi
Finland

office:
Joulupukin Pääposti
Pajakylä 96930 Napapiiri
Finland

joulupukki.fi

"PUMPKIN TIME"

This time of the year nature dresses up in yellow.  It's the season of morning mist and falling leaves.

It's also the most perfect time to tuck your lunch in a backpack and go hiking in the woods. Everything tastes better outdoors, but a flask of something warming is a must... For example some pumpkin soup... (And it matches the surrounding colors, as well). The wood sorrel oil and the rye croutons are a Finnish twist of an old favorite. Aromatic wood sorrel can be picked until the first snow... But if you cannot find wild wood sorrel, basil leaves will do.

FINN-STYLE PUMPKIN SOUP

1 1/2 kg peeled, deseeded and chopped pumpkin (I used sweet Hokkaido pumpkin)
250 g finely chopped onions
1000 ml vegetable (or chicken) stock
100-200 ml double cream (or soy/oat/almond/coconut cream)
sea salt
ground black pepper
ground nutmeg
4 slices wholemeal seeded rye bread
extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
handful of fresh wood sorrel leaves (or basil leaves)

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan, saute finely chopped onions for couple of minutes, until soft, but not colored. Add peeled, deseeded and chopped pumpkin to the pan, and cook until it starts to soften. Pour hot vegetable stock into the pan, and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. (Taste first, and be careful with the amount of salt.) Let simmer until the pumpkin is very soft. Pour the cream into the pan, bring to boil and puree with a hand blender. (If not as smooth as you wish for, sieve the soup). Taste, and season more, if needed.

Cut the seeded rye bread slices into small croutons. Smash the garlic cloves with a flat surface of a knife, discard the peel. Heat some oil in a pan, add the garlic and croutons, and fry until they start to turn crisp.

Use the garlic for the herb oil; combining garlic cloves, wood sorrel leaves and extra virgin olive oil, and running the mixture smooth with a hand blender.

Reheat the soup, serve scatted with croutons and drizzled with herb oil.

GREAT MAN - TINY KITCHEN

"THIS IS WHERE ALVAR AALTO'S FAMILY GATHERED TOGETHER FOR A DINNER "

Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) is our national "style-hero"; architect, designer, sculptor, painter... He represents Finnish functional architecture, minimalistic style and timeless design. He was, and still is, one of the most acknowledged Finns.

"THE ICONIC THREE-LEGGED STACKING STOOL 60"

The tree-legged stacking stool was designed in 1933 and the unique Aalto Vase in 1936. Both of them  are iconic pieces of Finnish design. A lot was created during those years... The construction of Villa Aalto was also finished in 1936. It was designed to function as a private family home as well as designer's atelier.

"THE CONSTRUCTION OF VILLA AALTO WAS FINISHED AT 1936"

Still so fashionable; modern and minimalistic VILLA AALTO was looking quite different from the other houses in the neighborhood, and bypassers were calling the building with nickname "hen house".  Little did they know that these architects were way ahead of their time.

The home was furnished mostly with Alvar Aalto's own designs... Cozy, and intimate building... But the most interesting room for me is, always, the KITCHEN.

The kitchen was a bit of a disappointment... Both Alvar and his wife Aino worked as architects and designers, and probably spent very little time in the kitchen. It was the nanny's modest kingdom...

But imagine, if instead of the sketching tables, the corner-kitchen was placed under the atelier windows! The Alvar Aalto- dream kitchen!!!

***PS. The impressive house CAN BE RENTED for private meetings and dinner parties.***