19 Dec 2015

My sous chef

The kid loves taking part in, well, everything. So we give him little things to do, like taking napkins to garbage pin and carrying socks from the dryer to the closet. But what he loves is help with cooking.
I hate mess, so for me it's an effort. To keep myself from telling him what to do or what not to do, not to make mess, to be careful, and so on. And yes, there's flour EVERYWHERE, but if I focus on the kid's happy face, it's okay. And actually, he's pretty careful and precise in his actions.
I've decided that Saturday's are pizza days. After a working day I just don't have the energy for cooking anything fancy but still, it's weekend, so I'd like to put something nice and tasty on the table. I just need to come up with new recipes as in my pizza the only thing that's ever different is whether I top it with parmesan or mozzarella.
Enjoy your weekend!

6 Dec 2015

Celebrations

It's not typical Finnish food but still not too bad for Finland's Independence Day celebration dinner.
Salad was kind of an accidental creation but turned out to be absolutely yummy; romaine lettuce, spinach, canned peaches and fresh persimmons, topped with roasted chevre and balsamico syrup.
Happy Independence Day Finland.

29 Nov 2015

First advent

For the occasion, I forced on some Christmas spirit. Actually, playing some carols and going through the decorations worked.
I love how the kid is drawn to and amazed by all things christmasy. It's nice to start building traditions and memories for him. 
I've come down with a flu that has developed into ear, sinus and toncils infections, so I don't mind cuddling up on the sofa in the candle light.

21 Nov 2015

Saturday chill

For some, it's fredagsmys. We work late on Fridays so we prefer chillin' on Saturdays.
If there's no time (or energy) for actually cooking anything, wine, cheese and crackers will do the trick.
Have a nice evening!

15 Nov 2015

Lovely weekends are made of...

... long, proper breakfasts.
... adventures and treasure hunts in the forest.
... being creative and getting started with Christmas decorations. Cones are the result of the mentioned treasure hunt.
... eating well.
Have a lovely week!

29 Oct 2015

Chili con carne

Your everyday, super simple version of it.
In an ideal world, I would make this out of finest beef which I'd mince myself and use only fresh ingredients. In reality, I don't have the time nor the money.
So your busy-but-poor-working-mum-recipe is as follows:

In a cast iron kettle, sear 400 g of minced beef.
Add 2 dl of canned corn and 2 dl of canned kidney beans (remember to rinse well!).
Add 1 can of tomato puré and 1 dl of beef broth.
Season to your liking with paprika, chili, garlic powder and taco seasoning.
Mix well and let simmer on low temperature, under a lid for about 30 minutes.
Serve with boiled rice and top with corn kernels and avocado cubes.

Someday I WILL make a fancy version of this. Maybe on my next vacation.

18 Oct 2015

The globe

In a (desperate) need for a night light in the kid's room, I decided I wanted a globe. A good, old-fashioned globe.
I was lucky enough to find one on a Facebook fleamarket for 10 euros.
The colours work well with the rest of this very tidy kid room.
In addition to being in a phase of not being able to sleep in the dark, the kid is also going through a phase of imitation. Wonder where he get THIS from.


4 Oct 2015

Sunday roast

I want to create routines, habits and traditions which the kid, when he's grown up, remembers as something we always did when he was a child. Those kind of memories are the fondest to me from my own childhood.
Sunday dinner is one of the things that I want to be special. Sometimes it means we eat take-away on the sofa while watching sports. Usually, however, it means I cook something that takes a bit more time and effort - and tastes a bit better too.
Pulled pork is one of the favourites. We make burgers and pizza with it, or we eat with fries and veggies.
Sunday dinner, though, is never anything fancy with white linen on the table. Because what I most want the kid to remember, is that Sundays were always fun days.

28 Sept 2015

Retro dining

This is a dish from my childhood. I see it as retro, some as vintage. And if you ask my husband, he'd say it's antique. Funny guy.
I guess you could say it's a pie. A puff pastry pie filled with minced beef. The original, as I recall, had beef, onions and boiled egg in it. I added some kale too.
Puff pastry dough is store bought. You need 500 g of it. Let the frozen pastry sheets melt in room temperature for about 30 minutes and then roll them into two bigger sheets. If you're a superhuman, make your own dough.
FILLING:
Sear the minced beef (400 g), chopped onion (1 medium sized) and minced garlic (2 gloves). Season to your liking - I used salt, black pepper and paprika. Add shredded kale and cook for a few minutes.
Mash two hard boiled eggs with a fork. In a bowl, mix together the eggs and the beef, onion & kale mixture. Check the seasoning. At this point, I added some sweet chili sauce.

Lay the other sheet of dough on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Spread the filling evenly on top and cover with the remaning dough. Pinch the edges so that the sheets stick together.

Bake in 175 C degrees oven until golden (35-45 minutes).
Easy, quick and tastes good. My kinda food.

26 Sept 2015

Day off

Ever since I became a mum and especially a working mum, I've forgotten how to just BE. How to do nothing.
Most of the time, I work six days a week, 10 hours a day. The days off are then usually spent doing whatever needs to be done around the house.
On my day off this week, I took on a project that at least created an illusion of me doing nothing. I have a huge pile of old magazines that all contain one or more interesting recipes. So, a cup of coffee, a pile of magazines and a comfy position. Almost a day off.