Merry Christmas - Hyvää Joulua

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.