birds

i've been at the cottage all week and there has been many birdy moments, here are some of them.

these barn swallows had a nest on a lamp right above the balcony, loads of poop...the five babies were fun to watch, it's amazing how close i could get











these two seemed to kinda hang out together







this one then, had i put my hand thru the curtain, i could have touched it







the same one, it was looking around like it would like come in...







these three were a tight pack, just inches away from indoors







tried to capture mama feeding them, but i was too slow







this hungry baby is a blue tit (sinitiainen, parus caeruleus). i wonder why would a bird with so much yellow be called anything blue?







the babies were (well, still are) quite vocal for food







doesn't the mother look a bit tired for flying in all those insects?







mom and dad were sitting at the sauna yesterday evening when they called me to get my camera. this mama red-breasted merganser (tukkakoskelo, mergus serrator) had parked herself and two of her babies on the rocks right next to where we swim after sauna







the mama took off to swim around, leaving the babies on the rock to rest







i was 4 meters from it and shooting away with my camera, it didn't seem to mind







after about five minutes mama circled back to the babies, called for them...







...their descent from the rock was all but gracefull, water suits them so much better







they seem to have had a nest somewhere near as my parents have seen them around before. sadly, the mama bird had more babies then

flora & fauna

it seems that the peonies lasted only a week this year, could be the heat, could be how the stars were aligned. i took tons of pictures of them but i'll spare you and post only a few.

this, to me, is very close to a perfect color combination, LOVE the pink







or, maybe this pink is prettier?







all that ruffle about to burst







as beautiful as these are...







...they are no match for these budding beauties right after refreshing rain
















the same rain that refreshed the peonies soaked me and the dog. i like walking in pouring rain, i'm not entirely sure the dog was all too happy







despite the cradle i made for the peonies, the stems seem to tire under the weight of the flowers







this barn swallow and his/her mate have made a nest on a lamp (not used in the summer) in the carport at the shack. the nest and the pair of them flying around are harmless enough, but the poop that the baby-birds keep dropping on certain someone's car wasn't. it was either move the nest or move the car...certain someone now parks his car under the hot sun...

summer chore & grilled chicken, 2 salads

i'm not sure if this summer chore of washing rugs is widely done outside scandinavia, or maybe it's just a finnish thing.

on friday it was time to haul the kitchen rugs out to be washed (long over due...with the dog shedding and me spilling "stuff" on them). the traditional way would have been to haul the rugs to a lake front and wash them there. but who bothers to carry water with a bucket when you can use a garden hose, i don't!







i didn't mention i would be doing the washing, did i? this was a perfect opportunity to make use of certain someone. make him scrubb...







...make him jump up...







...down...







while hosing water (light enough job for me) i killed several of these blood-hungry beasts. i did check the dictionary for what they are called (paarma in finnish), it said gadfly or horse-fly.

i now know more about these monsters than i ever cared for, about their larvae and where they might lay it. and it takes quite a whack to finish one off! just for the record, i hate these buzzers, as i hate those other flies that bother moose in the fall, those ones that after landing on you, drop off their wings and start crawling towards the softer parts of your skin to lay their eggs, ew!!!







now that i've taken a few deep breaths to calm down myself, we'll go to friday's very late lunch, sweet-chili grilled chicken. just toss the chicken pieces (i used cutlets) into a plastic bag or a dish, pour in sweet-chili sauce, mix well and place in the fridge for a couple of hours (up to 12).

when grilling, try to get rid of most of the sauce and place on a hot grill for a couple of minutes per side (if using cutlets)







easiest tomato salad ever, slice (as thickly or thinly as you like) very ripe tomatoes and onions. i like to serve mine like this, but you might opt for layering them differently. maldon salt, crushed black pepper and olive oil on top, or any herb that you might have







as i might have mentioned, i'm going thru a phase with avocados...for this salad (greens, cukes and avocado with lime vinaigrette) i scored the avocado, poured some lime juice and sprinkled some chilli powder on them. lime juice prevents browning in the avocado and the chilli gives a nice kick to the salad







as it's season for new potatoes we had them as well







for friday evening i sat on the deck reading my cookbooks and listening to certain someone and the drummer rehearse for their gig next saturday, the semi-acustic duo sounded quite catchy. in fact, i liked it better than their regular trio with a bass player and a more electric sound (sorry!)

3 salads & seared scallops

in this hot weather i've made do with salads. certain someone has been back to work and i haven't bothered to cook much of anything, the searded scallops being an exception (they took mere 5 mins to cook).

cantaloupe and jamon serrano became dinner earlier in the week, with some nice bread. some notable tv-chef (i think it was mario batali) mentioned that eventhough jamon serrano and prosciutto are basically the same thing, the spanish version is actually better because it has been aged longer. go figure, i usually buy the one thats costs less...







not the traditional way to serve, but i'm all about easy (besides, even this broke a sweat...)







stayed at my apartment earlier in the week and went to a shopping mall to cool myself...naturally happened to spot this cute little colander that got to come home with me. how did i ever manage without it?







corn (from a tin), button mushroom (huge one), avocado, cucumber and salad greens. now, this would have been very healthy...







...if i hadn't found this blue-cheese dressing in the fridge







another huge lunch salad. greens, cukes, avocado (seems i'm graving it lately), thinly sliced red onion, crumbled feta with black pepper and olive oil







these salad bowls are huge, but i ate this all myself. i had taken the dog for a walk (and a swim) early in the morning and i was hungry






i went grocery shopping yesterday and i had kinda decided that i'd get squid to grill. the shop that i went to (because i was feeling lazy and didn't want to spend too much time walking around a huge shop) didn't have squid. then i remembered i had some scallops in the fridge, called certain someone to take them out to thaw, and bought this wonderful bread to go along the scallops.

the bread had wonderful crust and authentic french taste (like i would know what that is!) but i'm afraid the nutritional value must be close to zero...other than carbs, that is. anyways...








...as i seared the scallops in butter with thinly sliced garlic and flat leaf parsley, the bread hardly mattered







i don't think i had ever had scallops before so i don't how these were supposed to be like. they were super-tasty (c'moon, butter & garlic!) and not chewy at all. we didn't lick the pan, but scraped all the goodness with that bread...

grilled burgers and veggies & quick pickled cukes

cucumbers get the honor of starting this entry. i got the cukes out of a whim (hmm, but isn't that what i usually do?) thinking mom's quick pickled cucumbers. actually, i'm not sure these are pickled as per se, i call them pickled because there is vinegar...







i left some of the peel intact, the cukes make prettier slices that way. somehow, now that i haven't been to work for months, there seems to be less need for zen (=chopping) therefore i used the mandoline to slice







traditionally, at least in finland, dill is used in the brine for this kind of cukes, but i used flat leaf parsley, minced fine. could be that i'm gastronomically challeged when it comes to dill. i'll nibble it if it lands on my plate on something, but i'm very hesitant to use it myself. could be that i'm put off because a slimy, off-white meat dish we were served at school that had dill in it...







i did measure what i put in the brine, but that was on saturday and for the life of me i can't remember how much of each...fortunately this is more of a taste thing. i like my cukes quite vinegary, not too sweet. anyways, you could start with 1½ cup of cold water, 1/3 cup white vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp white pepper mixed together until sugar and salt are dissolved. have a taste, if your tongue curls up, add some water (and sugar), if it's too tame, add some vinegar. salt isn't my thing in these, so feel free to add some more if your palate needs it.

i divided the batch between two jars, then added the parsley, poured in the brine, closed the lids and gave them a good shake. put them in the fridge for a couple of hours and served chilled with the burgers. not sure how long they keep, would imagine a week, they never last too long in my fridge







i had bought some ground beef for the burgers and these were the only things that went into the mince. i went quite light on the salt but heavy on the black pepper, thought that people could salt according to their taste when eating. for the 1 kg of mince i used one heaping tsp of dry mustard







i tried not to handle the mince too much besides mixing in the spices. i find that the denser the mince gets, the drier the burgers, could be just me, though. did measure out the mince to get equal size burgers







as i was going to be grilling these, i placed them on an oiled parchment on a baking tray, poured some oil on them as well. that way i didn't need to take the oil out the yard for grilling. see the indentions in the middle of each burger? that is to avoid the bulge when they cook on the grill







oh boy, was it hot at the grill. though it's kinda nice that in the summer you don't have to wear woollen socks to be warm, this recent hot weather isn't for cooking at hot stoves, or grills.

the finnish word for this kind of weather is helle. just to be sure, i looked in the dictionary for the translation, it is simply hot weather. for us to have a specific word for this kind of weather proves it is special. in finland, helle is defined as when the daytime high is over 25,1C (a mere 77,2F, which, i know, is barely nothing in some places...). yesterday they measured the highest temperature in 76 years, 33,9C.

it's been hot for over a week and seems to go on for another. let me remind you, we do cold, we do ice, we do darkness, this immense heat and bright sunshine are strangers in this part of the world. therefore, almost no one has AC in their houses. i'm fighting the nighttime heat by sleeping under a wet kitchen towel, not too high-tech but allows me to fall asleep.

oops, back to grilling







i did grill some eggplants as well, but by this time it was getting close to people arriving, me getting sticky hot, and well, i kinda forgot that i should have taken some more pics...







i had whole wheat buns for the burgers, not quite round but they packed what needed to be packed on the burgers, namely the classics ketchup and mustard, dressing, my cukes, cheese. that's my slaw on the side (cabbage, carrots, spring onions, sour cream, mayo, salt&pepper and a hint of vinegar). as i was actually paying attention to cooking time to make sure they were almost cooked thru on the grill (as they would continue cooking some more on the platter) the burgers were juicy and tasty in between the buns. and everyone tooks seconds...which always makes a cook happy!