21 Aug 2016

Sunday brunch

How I love slow, lazy Sunday mornings.
When we're all home, and there's no rush to do anything or go anywhere, it's nice to take the time and prepare a proper breakfast or brunch.
Bread rolls, sauteed kale, bacon, fried tomatoes and scrambled eggs. And freshly squeezed juice. And coffee.
Perfect start for a lovely day! Have a sunny Sunday!

25 Jul 2016

Blueberries, so many blueberries

A week of summer vacation spent at the cabin in Eastern Finland resulted in litres and litres of blueberries (or, officially bilberries, I guess).
Most are in the freezer to enjoy during winter but some I baked into a pies and pancakes.

INGREDIENTS

150 g butter
1,5 dl sugar
1 egg
3 dl flour
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1 tsp baking powder
blueberries (recommended amount approx. 350 g)
**********
for the crumb:
100 g butter
1 dl sugar
2 dl flour
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for the vanilla custard:
3 dl milk
 1 egg
2 tbsp sugar
1,5 tbsp corn starch
vanilla sugar to your liking

Heat your oven to 200 degrees C.
In a large bowl, mix together soft butter and sugar. 
Add rest of the ingredients and mix until smooth. 
Grease a large (30 cm) pie dish with butter and spread the dough on it evenly. 
Add an even layer of blueberries, amount depending on your taste (more blueberries, more moisture).
Prepare the crumb by mixing all its ingredients in a bowl by picking & crumbling with your 
fingers and sprinkle it on top of the blueberries. 
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. 


For the vanilla custard, in a kettle mix together milk, egg, sugar and sieved corn starch. 
Heat up on medium heat while constantly whisking. 
Be careful not to boil, as the egg will cook and you will have clumps. 
In 5-10 minutes the custard should thicken. 
Remove from heat when consistency is to your liking, let cool a bit and add vanilla sugar. 
Cool to room temperature.

Best, if served immediately!


But, will do the following day too :) Enjoy!

10 May 2016

Soak it up.

First days of summer.
Have coffee on the terrace.
Fill the pool.
Just soak it up. The sun. The warmth. The summer.


24 Apr 2016

Bubbles

We have upgraded our entertainment equipment from last year.
Kid got this bubble gun from his grandparents and there was no chance to avoid testing it immediately.
It's ten degrees outside, and in my opinion it's too cold for summery outdoor fun. Apparently, I am very, very wrong.

5 Apr 2016

Enamel

Summer is coming, outdoor kitchen will be built, and old enamel pots and buckets will make perfect decoration.
A great flea market find for 15 euros.
The impatient person that I am, I wanted to make use of these immediately. That is right NOW. So for a while, they serve as planting pots for tete-a-tetes.

12 Mar 2016

Vallila Emerald

Our next big renovation project is the hallway. And how else do you start a huge, tearing down walls and re-doing the whole floor kinda renovation than by buying a rug.
And since you haven't even started your project yet, you actually have no place for the rug.
So you place it in the living room, where it's a bit too small but you like it anyway.
It's exactly the pattern you've been looking for and exactly in the right colours. And it cost 69 euros only. Now all that needs to be done is to take down a few walls and lay some floor tiles.

28 Feb 2016

The better pasta

Pasta bolognese is something we make quite often, but normally it's our fast food. Minced beef & canned tomatoes and it's ready. This is the better, slower version.
It's still nothing more than chopped onions and garlic, seared minced beef, seasoning (salt & black pepper, beef stock cube) and tomato pulp, but it has simmered for two hours in a cast iron pot.
Well, I loved this, but the thing about living with a two-year-old is the immediate feedback. And apparently this time it wasn't good. See, no sauce.
If you'd like to take my word, and not the two-year-old's, for it, here's the very simple recipe for this very tasty bolognese.

700 g minced beef
1 medium sized onion
2 garlic gloves
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp butter 
1 can of tomato pulp
beef stock cube
salt, black pepper
1 tbsp chili seasoned olive oil, optional

Peel and chop onion and garlic. 
Heat your cast iron pot on the stove, add (both) olive oil(s) and butter and let butter melt. 
Add onion and garlic and sauté for a few minutes. Mix so they don't burn. 
Add minced beef and quickly sear it. Season with salt and black pepper.
Add the can of tomato pulp and half a tomato can of water. 
Throw in the beef stock cube and mix until it dissolves. 
Reduce heat to low, cover the pot with a lid and leave to simmer for 1,5 to 2 hours, stirring occassionally. 
 

10 Jan 2016

Coconut chicken

Super easy, super tasty, kid friendly, healthy. My criteria for everyday food. And this coconut chicken ticks each box.
This recipe makes enough for three (the kid eats as much as I do) and you'll probably have enough left overs to make a small lunch salad the following day.
i n g r e d i e n t s
500 g chicken fillets
2 dl flour
2 eggs
2 dl coconut flakes
paprika
garlic powder

Heat the oven to 200 C degrees.
Cut the chicken fillets into 1 cm thick strips. 
Place flour, paprika and garlic powder into a bowl and mix. 
Break eggs into another bowl and whisk to mix the yolk and the white.
Place coconut flakes into a third bowl.
One by one, dip the chicken strips into the flour & spice mix, then to eggs and then to coconut flakes. In each bowl, make sure that the chicken gets completely covered. 
Place the strips then on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Cook in the oven's middle rack until coconut has turned golden and crispy (approx. 15 minutes).

Serve with rice and veggies.
I often get asked if I make simpler versions of these dishes for the kid. I don't. This particular recipe would go down well with any kid, I'd imagine, but whatever I cook, the kid eats the same as we do. Only he eats it from an Angry Birds plate.