Pille

Abra - I am so glad to hear you liked my blueberry tart!!! I have been travelling a lot recently, so not much cooking happening in my kitchen. However, I did bake these cantucci with ginger, almonds & pink peppercorns to take along to a dinner party last weekend. They were very well received and I will be baking these again soon. Chufi - I'm flattered I've been missed But yes, I've been to Greece, Sweden and Estonia during the last 2 months, and have spent hardly any time in my kitchen. However, I have been posting on my blog about forageing for wild strawberries, and cloudberries etc, so feel free to pop by

Thanks, kaneel! I haven't yet tried making quinoa salad yet, but the texture of cooked quinoa was quite pleasant, so I think I'd like it. In the cream, the texture was very subtle, so maybe you could give quinoa another go? PS your name is the exact spelling of 'cinnamon' in my language (Estonian, that is). Makes me dream of cinnamon rolls whenever I see a post of yours

Too embarrased to post my incompetent dessert picture now here (the quality of the pictures above is almost too intimidating ), but I made rather lovely quinoa & mango creams for dessert. It was my first time to cook quinoa, and it definitely won't be the last

Sara - I had a wonderful, tasty and very filling meal at La Cave de l'Os a Moelle (mentioned by John Talbott above) in May. It's 20 Euros per person, and they had wines starting as low as 7 Euros. It's rather unusual place, with shared tables, but food was delicious and I'd definitely go back..

I hadn't seen this cupcake thread before - thanks, Anna N, for reviving it! I made chocolate cherry cupcakes a la Nigella Lawson few weeks ago, but I used a different frosting to the one suggested by the Domestic Goddess. It's a mini Easter chocolate egg on top The cupcake recipe is here, and I will be definitely making these again.

Thanks, Adam - I enjoyed reading your Lithuanian thread. Made me very homesick though

Adam - followed your link from another thread - sorry to be few months late Your Lithuanian thread has made me very-very homesick now. Although Lithuanian and Estonian cuisine are quite different, we do use lots of similar ingredients to start with. Estonian supermarkets look pretty much like the one you describe in the beginning, Maxima. I badly miss the cakes and pastries from home (sometimes it seems that every single cafe in Edinburgh only serves muffins and/or Danish pastries!). I also miss the huge variety of fermented and fresh milk produce - buttermilk, kefir, curd cheese creams, yogurts - all either plain or flavoured (with sea buckthorn or cloudberries, for instance). I would like to have a chance to choose between 20 different rye breads when doing my daily shopping, instead of just one German pre-sliced brand that claims to have no preservatives, yet lasts for weeks! The wild berries and mushrooms – all sound so familiar and yet unachievable here in Scotland. Same with pickled cucumbers and cabbage – thank god for the Polish shops! My mum chops flowering quince finely and layers it with sugar. We use it to sweeten tea or just add hot water to it during winter. I was amazed to read that Lithuanias use oak branches in sauna!? We definitely prefer birch in Estonia for beating ourselves up in sauna (I've written about it here) Great thread!

My favourites for amazing photography and tempting recipes are The Traveler's Lunchbox and Delicious Days and for photography Kuidaore and Nordljus. But there are many others I read religiously For self-promotion: Nami-nami

I roasted some rhubarb with demerara sugar and cinnamon last weekend, then mashed it with fork and mixed with some whipped double cream. I served this rhubarb fool on top of meringue nests (M&S ones are nice and chewy, Walkers' are crispy and dry) and garnished with a mint sprig. They disappeared from the table in no time

I made a simple carrot cake which I decorated with dried pineapple flowers. Making pineapple flowers was rather fun

Eden - I'm so glad your friend enjoyed my home town Tallinn is a beautiful city, and Estonia is definitely worth a visit (I'm biased, obviously). I could send you a bar of kama 'chocolate', if you wish? pm me. Kalev also makes a wondeful white chocolate bar with dried blueberries and rice krispies - a friend brought me five 100 gram bars yesterday!!

Beautiful dessert, Gfron1! I like the pineapple flower! Here are some flourless strawberry & curd cheese cakes I made the other day:

This lemongrass, ginger & parsley butter recipe from Rick Stein is very nice with fish!

There's a cash machine just opposite Canny Man's and last time I was there few weeks ago, a friendly employee actually took a picture of us (I know, very touristy, but I had some visitors over) So it's not all bad

Happy Birthday to you tomorrow, Klary! I love Nigella's How to be a Domestic Goddess - it's full of gorgeous recipes. Apart from those pistachio macaroons on your photo, everything I've made has also been a success:) Pille, already 1 day old

I hosted a small party last night, and served my 22 guests a very simple sponge cake with mocca cream and toasted almonds:

legourmet - your pasqulina looks really yummy! I've seen recipes before, but have been somewhat intimidated by all the layers and eggs.. Greek Orthodox Easter is only this weekend, and I baked a large Greek Easter bread tsoureki for my Greek friend (actually my ex, but he asked very nicely ). It smelled lovely - must have been the mastic and mechlebe - two spices that I hadn't used before. I made a small tsoureki-bun for myself to try, as the tsoureki itself was wrapped and flown over to Amsterdam..

Such a cute idea for transporting desserts! I baked a large Greek Easter bread tsoureki for my Greek ex-beau, because he asked so nicely It smelled lovely - must have been the mastic and mechlebe. I made a small tsoureki-bun for myself to try, as the tsoureki itself was flown over to Amsterdam..

Abra - your capirotada looks delicious! I had a slightly different camera disaster last weekend. Made a very nice fish dish a la Rick Stein, and then realised that my camera battery is flat. Finished my dish before the camera was working again. How annoying! For the dessert last night I made Nigella's cherry chocolate cupcakes with a slightly different frosting. Just had another one for lunch

This is not a pastry, but that's the dessert we would usually eat in Estonia during Easter: pasha/pashka. And filipe, no, chocolate eggs are not common in Estonia either during Easter, although sadly they are becoming more and more popular.

I almost forgot, but I made these about a week ago! Mine were spinach, mushrooms and gouda. Thanks for this great tip Pille! ← You're welcome, Chufi! Adding mushrooms sounds like a great idea - I'll keep that in mind for the next time

You're welcome, Alinka As it is Easter weekend, I made the typical Easter dessert, pashka, which is a kind of unbaked cheesecake using curd cheese. I used blanched pistachios, dried cranberries and candied orange peel in the dessert, and cape gooseberries and chopped pistachios to decorate. Very nice and creamy

Jgm - this sounds very good!

I have found four great vegetable dishes starring carrot - all would make a lovely side dish to various grilled meats (or delicious vegetarian dishes on their own right). gingered carrots with feta cheese (feta is optional) Moroccan carrot salad with cumin and garlic carrots with rosemary and orange (especially nice with cheese) roasted carrots with mushrooms and herbs As I don't have my own vegetable patch at the moment, I buy organic carrots - I find they have much more superior (and carrot-like) taste.. Looking forward to reading about other carrot ideas!

Oh NOOOOOO! I should have known better and not to check this thread tonight. Here in Scotland we only saw the dessert episode tonight - the final is tomorrow, i.e. on Saturday I'm glad that Caines won though, as I've preferred the look and sound of his dishes through the week..