all bananas

in my fair and ever growing collection of cookbooks (remind myself to take pics to show you) i took the baked cookbook to bed with me the other night. there were a couple recipes that looked good, especially the banana espresso chocolate chip muffins. the wrist is still not right and this recipe requires only minimal stirring by hand, therefore ideal in my condition.





as i recently bought another gadget (yes mom, i do have some already but not this one...) i thought it would be cool to try it mashing the bananas (like i couldn't have used a fork) in this recipe.





the batter was looking ok, but you think it should be darker as i mentioned espresso and chocolate chips. well, i did some virtual tasting and decided that i didn't want coffee taste with banana, and i like chocolate chips better in cookies.





here, only slightly cooled, they still look quite ok. now, several hours later, they are starting to get an ugly color. i guess the baked boys were on to something adding darker ingredients in the recipe. well, live and learn. anyway, the muffins taste great and that's what counts in my book.





as i had the bamix out, and i was preparing fresh sausages from reinin liha at hakaniemen halli i decided that the sausages need a slaw and a slaw needs mayonnaise. haven't done mayo myself too many times, not sure why because it's easy and a lot tastier than what you get in jars. there is a very basic recipe in the booklet that came with the gadget, did add more lemon juice, though. and, as i had the oven on already, decided to roast some potatoes, carrots and sweet onions as well. this is what i had for lunch, it was a nice day so we lunched "out".

ice fishing

although the calendar says it's spring, the lake is still frozen. my wrist is still sore, so what better way to spend time that ice fishing in the sun... that's dad





the dog was running around all over





the dog is very curious





line, hook with wormbate going down






did i mention that the dog is curious?





this is what he got, a perch





lots more




scaling




gutting




and ready to be fried. you need butter (the real thing), barley flour and salt





some on the pan





ready to be eaten





this is finger food, best way to get the tiny bones out





another sour lemon cake. the donna hay cake was very good and super-easy to make so i wanted to bake one at the cottage as well. naturally, i forgot the latest donna hay issue home so i had to search the web for a similar recipe. i found one (will post it later, if i find it again...) that i "fixed" a bit, doubled the original recipe and adjusted the amounts a bit. don't tell my dad there is spoiled milk in it!

spring, perhaps?

last thursday was quite sunny and warm (+11C) so i took the camera out to the garden. not much to see yet, except for these exeptions. these snowdrops are strong pushing themselves up thru the leaves!





wonder what this is going to be?





succulent sempervivum





these will become apples





daphne mezereum, this used to have more shade around it, we'll see what happens during the summer. i think we'll need to move to another place in order for it to survive





this is how it will look later on

happy easter!

got the little cute green bird as a gift, it's from pentik, as are the glass eggs which i got last year. metal eggs are from indiska, also last year.





was supposed to work this easter but my left wrist got sore, well it's been sore since january, anyways, sore enought that i went to the doctor's. got 1 week off, we think it's carpal tunnel and since pain killers are out, i've been treating the wrist with felden, and now the wrist is turning yellow... been also wearing a rehband support wrist band, which is great but limits movement





because of the wrist easter menu wasn't as elaborate as i would have liked it to be. this is what got done with one and a half hands, medley of kitchen machines and very little effort


for starters, hummus and oven baked eggplant and spanish peppers. hummus was easy enough: 1 can of chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, some chili and jeera, salt and black pepper, olive oil into a blender and prrr, there it was. inspiration was from jamie oliver's book the naked chef. eggplant and peppers were done under the broiler in the oven, tossed with olive oil, tiny bit of garlic, salt and pepper, splash of apple sider vinegar. both hummus and eggplant/pepper salads were made the day before, hummus got smoked paprika and eggplant/peppers some parsley as garnishes. most difficult part was peeling the peppers and you all know that ain't hard





now the lamb... hmm, as a rule i don't eat lamb, don't like the taste too much, but my lamb, it turned out ok even for my taste. i ate it, took seconds, but there is a limit of how much lamb i'll eat, not like some other foods (ice cream and chocolate come to mind first!) this leg of lamb (finnish, from roslund) swam overnight in lemon juice, olive oil, mint, garlic (loads of it), thyme and salt. another adaptation from jamie oliver. usually i put meats in a roasting bag to keep the meat juicy. this time i didn't use one and was pleasantly surprised, the meat turned out just perfect. later on, i did realize the real reason why i like the bags, the oven needed a scrub...





the lamb got company from roasted potatoes, carrots and parsnips





dessert was a very retro and super easy fruit salad, just open a few cans (pineapple and peach), dice a pear or two, add some orange, grapes and a banana (or any combination of fruits you like or happen to have) and a spoonfull of grandmother mami's secret indredient, brandy. when i was a kid we used to go to my dad's parents for sunday dinners, fruit salad was one of the foods i remember from that time. oh, and mami's pork chops, and stroganoff... just to name a few





later on, this sour lemon cake from the latest issue of donna hay magazine was served with coffee. this must be the easiest cake, just put all ingredients into a bowl, mix, pour into cake tin and bake





this was earlier from the week, salmon soup with a tad of thai. started with fennel, leek, potatoes that were boiled in fish stock. when they were almost done, lemongrass and tom yam pastes were added, heat was turned off, 1" cubes of salmon added to the hot soup. as with any fish, you don't wat to over cook it, the salmon cooked perfect in 10 mins in the hot soup, delish!

march break

this is one of the few cakes that my dad has actually said "you can make this again". well, he likes brownie / mudcake type cake i make. according to him most my baking has "spoiled milk" in them, spoiled milk would be cream cheece, butter milk, sour cream, etc. a taste he could never single out in a cake but he just plain won't eat. this one is cranberry vanilla coffeecake. i always double the amount of topping (if not triple...)





spent a week as a nanny at my brother's house, minding the nieces and nephew. did these earrings for the elder niece





and this necklace for the younger to enhance her pocahontas outfit. we all know what the theme of her next birthday is going to be...





the kids love spinach pancakes, so do i. they are easy to make: thaw 150gr frozen spinach, mix 2 eggs with 5dl milk, add 2½dl flour, pinch of white pepper and salt to taste, 2 tbs sugar and 2tbs melted butter or vegetable oil. i always add some grated nutmeg as well. let the batter stand for 20 mins and add the thawed spinach. you get best results on medium heat on a cast iron pan like in the picture, teflon pans work as well. i serve mine with lingonberries, always. the kids seem to like sweeter jams and preserves...





my mom's all time favourite is cheesecake, most often i make raspberry swirl cheesecake . occasionally raspberries become black or red currants, or both.


had never made the miniature version before, so decided to try it this time. usually i bake cheesecake in waterbath, this version seems to turn out ok also without, just lower the temp a bit. used the convection setting of the oven since i wanted to bake all 24 at the same time





they came out looking good, although they later became little soggy in the crust. probably need to adjust the amount of raspberry puree in the next batch




this one was great, deer in lorchel / turban fungus and cream sauce with carrots. simplicity in preparing this dish is best, the cut of meat was tender to begin with, so i just browned the meat with finely chopped onion, added some flour, salt and pepper, the carrots and cream, let all this simmer for about an hour. did have some lingonberries with this one as well





who said you can't have apple pie in the winter!?! basic patee brisee and green apples with cinnamon and honey inside...




with storebought vanilla custard