Pille

And it's Sunday, the last day of my eGullet foodblog. I'll be posting about rye bread and sea buckthorn desserts later today, but before I head out for a few hours, I'll show you the picture of today's breakfast. Also Kristjan and I have lived together barely a year (anniversary coming up in October ), we've already got at least one well-established tradition - pancakes on Sunday morning. Sometimes we have them at his mum's place or at my parents' place, but often we make them ourselves. Or he does. You see, I can bake multi-layered fancy cake and make a mean Boeuf Bourguignon, but I cannot really make pancakes. Must be a division of labour thing dating back to my childhood - pancakes were the only thing my sister Merle could make, whereas I was trying out various more or less difficult recipes Luckily, Kristjan makes absolutely perfect pancakes, and often I wake up on Sunday mornings to a house smelling of freshly-made pancakes. Today he made both small and large, and we ejoyed them with home-made wild strawberry jam and home-made apricot jam: Quite a perfect start for a sunny Sunday, I'd say

Such a good question, Dasha, thank you. First of all, I was still rather young when the Soviet occupation ended – 17, to be more precise. This means I don’t know much about putting food on the table, and coping with food shortages. I do remember empty, absolutely empty grocery stores, however. Food rationing (for sugar, for flour, for bread, you name it). Queueing for food every single time we were shopping. Not having a banana or a hamburger until I was 18 (though why either one of them would be bad, I don’t understand now Luckily, most of us would have grandparents with big farms or summer cottages with a vegetable plots, so this provided plenty of fresh vegetables, dairy and meat. The popularity for forageing for wild mushrooms and berries also dates back to this period. And as freezers were not available back then, Estonian mothers became very skilled in canning and jamming and preserving the summer bounty, which is still popular nowadays. And of course, there was a huge under-the-counter economy. My grandmother worked as an accountant in one of the food trusts (a central food provision office), so we’d occasional get rarities from there (olive oil and mango juice during the Moscow olympics, and canned cod liver later). My mum worked (and still does) in the Registry, and as an employee of Tallinn City Government, she could use a special shop occasionally selling coffee etc. There was even an under-the-counter economy in that special shop!!! One of my aunts worked in a kolhoos/collective farm that was specialising in poultry, and she'd often bring us chicken gizzards and chicken necks. My mum would make a delicious stew from the former, but I used to hate the chicken neck soup - there were far too many bones, and too little meat - yet, as a rare source of meat protein, we were eating it quite often.. I should ask my mum how we always had food on the table (and apart from chicken neck soup, it was all very delicious) in circumstances where the shops were selling nothing for most of the time As far as restaurants go, the better ones were mainly for the privileged classes - Communist party apparatchiki and such like - and only became open for general public during Perestroika. There was no market economy to speak of, so the restaurant receptionist (or any of the employees) didn't have any incentive to let you in and feed you as it didn't influence anybody's income whether the restaurant was full or not. Definitely not an era any sober-minded Estonian would want to return, food- or otherwise

MarketStEl - I never suggested that national flora/fauna are unique to Estonia - I know all about the English rose, Welsh leeks, Scottish thistles etc. However, I had never come across about a national fish until they chose one in Estonia this year Official state/national drink is a novel idea to me, too. And whether you'll be seeing foodblogs from Estonia anytime soon again, depends on Snowangel (or you can always read my other foodblog ) Oh, verivorst or black pudding/blood sausages. I cannot imagine Christmas without them, as I said before I'm impressed that your husband enjoyed them, Kay, as a lot of people view verivorst (and its summer-time cousin verikäkk) suspiciously. I'm so happy you liked the dessert, Marigene! Your alterations sound inspired.. Dejah - thank you! I think Tallinn's beautiful indeed (though as all towns, there are pockets which aren't exactly visually pleasing. Some of the Soviet residential areas are downright horrid!!! ) Milagai pm-d me and asked the following question: For your blog, I am looking forward to seeing how (and which) spices are used in Estonian cuisine. It's interesting how in Europe, spices go more into desserts than in main dishes...., especially cinnamon. Do you use cardamom at all? Traditionally, the food here isn't very strongly seasoned. Most common herbs would be dill, parsley, chives, and savoury food would be seasoned with salt, pepper, caraway seeds, Hungarian paprika powder (I'm talking about traditional food here, and not what young foodie couples use nowadays!). You are right about the non-use of spices in savoury dishes. Sweet cakes & puddings would use cinnamon and cardamom quite a lot, ginger a bit less, as well as nutmeg and cloves (though the last two also appear in savory dishes occasionally). Christmas baking is especially spice-laden.

No tram or metro? ← Nope, no metro/underground in Tallinn. I read from somewhere ages ago, that metros are mainly considered for cities with over 1 million inhabitants. Tallinn has only got just over 400.000, so I guess it wouldn't pay off. But the public transport system in general is good, and covers most of the cities. Some of the newer suburbs just outside city centre are worse off, and rely on private cars or 'route taxis'. There's a urban train system that connects Balti jaam (Baltic station) just outside the old town with Nõmme suburbs. Then there are buses, covering most ground, so to say. A bus ticket costs 10 EEK if bought beforehand (7 EEK if bought in packets of 10), or 15 EEK if bought from the bus driver. There's one bus that connects city centre to Viimsi, where we live, but this costs 10 EEK extra, as we're in Zone 2 (alas, outside Tallinn administrative borders). There there are trams - 4 lines across town. Here's a food-related one for you: And then there are trolley buses/trackless trolleys (currently 9 routes), which I haven't seen much elsewhere (outside former Soviet sphere of influence at least): (Sorry for the photo quality - it's taken last night at 11pm, and I couldn't find all the right buttons on my camera ) Buses, trams and trolley buses are all in the same ticket network, so if you've got a monthly bus pass (costing around 250 EEK), you can use all transport freely. There are also route taxis (marsruuttakso), run privately. They seat around 12-15 people, and drive on certain routes according to a timetable, but you can get on or off wherever you want to. They cost 25 EEK on average per journey, and I use the Viimsi route taxi no 260 quite a lot.

I tried to post this last night, but either my server or then eGullet's acting funny, so I couldn't do that. I didn't have any dinner last night, unless 3 raspberry cookies and countless glasses of water during the photography course count But I did have a lovely cafe lunch. I met some of my colleagues at Park Cafe in Kadriorg. Kadriorg translates as Katherine's Valley and the park and the palaces were built upon the orders of Russian Czar Peter I in early 1700s (Swedish Kingdom, to whom both Estonia and Finland 'belonged' at the time, lost Estonia and parts of Finland to the Russian Empire in 1710 after loosing the Nordic War). A classic Viennese style cafe was opened in one of restored buildings in the park early this year, and it's become one of my regular places, especially during the weekend, when one can walk around in the surrounding park. Here's the cafe: The place is run by a young couple - the wife is Estonian and the husband German, who's got the German 'konditormeister' certificate. We visited the place during its first opening week, and were slightly disappointed then - the menu was combining cakes, soups, and salads, and wasn't really saying anything. Within few weeks, however, they downsized the menu, which now has just a huge range of cakes, tortes, sweet and savoury pastries, as well as hand-made chocolate truffles and ice-creams. Much, much better: And finally, here's my lunch (and the only afternoon meal I had) yesterday. A cup of elujõu tee or 'life strength herbal tea' (peppermint, stinging nettle leaves, marigold, blackcurrant leaves, iron grate), a ham and cheese croissant and a slice of very nice sour cherry torte: Note the cute waitress' outfits from 1930s

When I agreed to do the eG foodblog, I didn't remember that I've got a very busy Saturday. I've got a work-related meeting at 2pm in a very nice cafe, so I hope to take lots of nice pictures of the cafe and the neighbouring Kadriorg Park. But then I'll be busy from 5pm until 11pm, and won't have any access to my laptop until midnight or so I have signed up for a weekend session on studio photography, and will be spending six hours tonight at Eesti Foto Stuudio learning how to take way better pictures of shiny drink glasses and liver gravy Considering I won't be able to blog a lot today, I'll leave you with some pictures I took in Tallinna vanalinn or Old Town yesterday and on Tuesday: When you approach the town from the harbour area (remember the teaser photo of the skyline?), then this Paks Margareeta alias Fat Margaret tower is one of the possible entry points: It's part of Tallinn's medieval defense wall, built in 1518-1529. It's 25 meters in diameter, and houses Estonian Marine Museum. When you approach the old town from the Vabaduse plats, then you'll see this: Niguliste kirik alias St Nicholas Church. Parts of the church are from the 13th century, though most of it is newer, dating back to 1500s and even later. After reaching the church you can turn to the right down towards Karja street: and then you'll have one of the best-known restaurants, Olde Hansa, that specialises on medieval food, on your left: I'd say it's definitely a place to visit when you're in Tallinn. It won't be the best gastronomic experience you'll ever have, but it's certainly entertaining and enjoyable. If cannot get a place inside, then at least grab a tube of spicy sugared almonds from this 'fast food joint': (But then again - if that's not an option, you can always use this recipe from my non-eG foodblog and make your own ) Turning up to the left after Olde Hansa will take you to Raekoja plats or Town Hall Square, where you can marvel at the town hall Raekoda. The Town Hall has been on this location since 1341, although the building you'll see on the photo was built in 1402-1404: You can barely see Vana Toomas or Old Thomas on top of the spire. He's an important guy, as he has been keeping a watchful eye out for enemies since 1530 (well, the original Vana Toomas has retired into a museum now, but still... ) And two more photos. When you do want a delicious gourmet experience, then I suggest you go to my favourite restaurant in town, Stenhus (Chef de Cuisine: Tõnis Siigur). We were hoping to go there last night after the theatre, but despite the high prices, the place was full, so we agreed to postpone the visit until mid-October when we're celebrating the first anniversary of our moving in together/me returning to Estonia I've only been there once, over a year ago with Kristjan, but have been dreaming about going back ever since (it's too expensive for casual dining unfortunately). To get there, walk towards Pühavaimu kirik, and turn down to Pühavaimu street: You can see Stenhus down on your left at the bottom of the road: Ok. That's the end of the city tour, as I need to head to town See you later!

It's already Saturday. I thought I'll try to cook a proper Scottish fry-up breakfast for today, but then I wasn't sure if I could find baked beans in the stores here (surprisingly, they're not a breakfast stable here ) and even if I could, I didn't know where to look for them. But then I had those green tomatoes, and tried Scottie's recipe for fried green tomatoes instead. Here was the recipe: And here's what I had: I enjoyed them with my favourite dipping sauce - the Georgian pepper condiment adjika that I get from a lovely lady at the market (see the section on Tallinn Central Market previously). I fried the tomato slices in butter, and used cornmeal, salt, pepper & cayenne in the coating. I think I'd prefer thinner slices next time, but it's definitely something I'd eat again. Thank you, Scottie!

That’s hilarious Gfron1!!! Savoury cheesecake sounds intriguing. I’m only using my Marmite for 2 things – Nigella Lawson’s mini Marmite sandwiches; and it’s also a secret ingredient in most of my gravies – incl. that liver gravy above. I find that a drizzle of Marmite enhances the colour and gives a nice subtle flavour to sauces.. JTravel – thank you! I’m glad you’re coming to Tallinn, too – and I’d be delighted to meet up for a coffee in the Old Town while you’re here. I'll pm to you soon. Abra – that’s the thing with small nations – we cannot possibly expect tourists to speak more than few words of Estonian (like Tere! Tänan! Head aega! Terviseks! Palun!). I’m not a great fan of eel – find it too greasy – but my parents, and especially my paternal grandma are huge fans. We gave grandma a large pot of fried eel in marinade for Christmas last year, and she loved it Usually it’s simply eaten as part of a cold table (kind of Swedish smorgasboard) – with a slice of rye bread, perhaps. And sure – if we’ll meet in France, I can make savoury French toast for you My local Costco now has a refridgerated room for their more fragile produce. You don't linger long in that cold room unless it's during the high heat of summer. It would make sense to group all refrigerated items together. ← JTravel – they’re not too common hear either (in wholesales, yes), but Stockmann does have an area specialised in frozen foods and cooled products – I always get goosebumps there, especially during summer when I’m dressed for warm weather Toliver – thanks for clarifying that! Costco-type wholesale stores always have separate cool rooms here too. C. sapidus – bear meat is apparently strong in structure, colour, aroma and taste, and should only be eaten with a very gutsy wine. Apparently it’s a tricky meat to handle, but if done properly, should be very rewarding. Sorry to hear that you’ve only experience was with greasy, stringy and nasty bear meat! Re: Scots dialect – living in Edinburgh (and working at the University there), you don’t hear dialect that much. But haggis-neeps-tatties is a must – I never heard anybody say haggis with turnips and potatoes! Thank you, Pierogi! I’ve still got almost 2 more days to go, and more scenery photos are on the way

A Drive-by Tamale Lady sounds cool, Michelle Thank you, Adam! Yes, flowering quince is definitely edible. I don’t know how violets smell, so I cannot comment on that. But we kept to quinces on the dining table for a while, and they had the most amazing fragrance, so wonderful. Prasantrin – I do make sweet bread pudding every now and then, but haven’t had a savoury one yet. Re: the flowers on top of my salad - I’m sure they’re edible. I think it’d be bad practice to garnish dishes with anything that ‘s inedible (or that’s not useful/suitable for the dish), no? As this particular Creperie serves light and airy and French-influenced dishes, garnishing their dishes with something flowery is very appropriate as far as I’m concerned. Last time I was there, they had scattered most beautiful red rose petals over my creme brulee – soooo nice! You have a national fish - how cool is that! Was there a plebiscite or something? I would have gone with the pike (I caught a 40-pounder once as a kid) Loving your blog - I must make it to Estonia. Perhaps instead of a second wedding I could arrange a second stag party. ← Yes, we’ve got a national fish now It was part of a huge promoting-Estonian-food campaign that began few years ago. I don’t actually know if it’s typical to have national fish. We’ve also got a national flower – rukkilill or blue cornflower (Centaurea cyanus, possibly known as ‘bachelor’s button’ in the US, declared a national flower in 1968); a national bird – suitsupääsuke or the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica, declared a national bird back in 1962). And now räim or Baltic herring as our national fish. No national animal or mushrooms that I know of Mmm. Intriguing. Willing to share a recipe? Please, LucyLou? I hope so, too, Pontormo. I’ll ask my granny, or study my cookbooks in more details. Thank you for de-lurking, Viva! I haven’t used rue (Ruta graveolens) before – my mum grows some, but for ornamental and not culinary purposes (it’s got lovely grey-green leaves). She’s pretty content with using the Estonian herbs – dill, parsley, chives, although she’s also taken to basil and oregano now, I believe (I gave her the seeds). It’s not native to Estonia, neither is it widely known as a herb. My herb reference book tells me to use it for seasoning salads and gravies, patees and cheese. By the way – given that we’ve just spoken about various national flowers, then it might be an interesting tidbit to know that rue is the national flower of Lithuania, the biggest and southernmost of the three Baltic countries. Nope, Dasha, not yet – there’s plenty of good pelmeny available in the shops (or I can always go for the great pelmeny at the Russian restaurant Troika on the town hall square – they do a great dish with pelmeny in wild mushroom sauce that I love!). However, I did look up a stall at one of the non-food markets in town that also sells pelmeny presses – just in case I get a craving to make them myself

I don't think that's the case As part of the New York month at Stockmann, they've got various cookery demonstrations and they offer recipe leaflets, and some special offers related to those. I imagine there must have been a recipe using 'seasoned salmon steaks' (on the left) and salmon fillets (on the right), and these black'n'white New York slogans are drawing customers' attention to the fact that these ingredients have something to do with the NY month's recipes

The fridge. I warn you, it's pretty cramped, which is inevitable if you have a food-loving couple cooking a lot and not having an American-style huge fridge in their kitchen!!! Here's the main part: Starting from the top shelf, left to right: a jar of pickled mixed wild mushrooms (a housewarming gift from my cousin Maiu), on top is a jar of cherry & Amaretto jam (made by me). Then three Lock&Lock containers, containing sea buckthorn berries (bottom), blue cheese (middle, incl. Irish Cashel Blue), and another box of cheese. Then a ceramic bowl with fried gypsy mushrooms. A jar of adjika (remember the market lady?), another glass of jam, and the tall jar at the back is full of salted wild mushrooms. Second shelf from above, left to right: a tub of cream cheese, a packet of whipping cream; a packet of puff pastry, and some cheese that Kristjan's mum brought back from her trip to Slovenia last week; the small glass with a white lid on the back contains my rye bread starter , and it's MacSween of Edinburgh haggis in the front; a jar of Kalamata olives, a jar of Fonduta (we went skiing in Italian Alps in February, and brought this back with us. Need to eat it soon!!!). The stripy bowl is full of salted gypsy mushrooms. Third shelf from above, left to right: seven small jars of wild strawberry jam, and two jars of plum and vanilla jam (all made by me). A packet of eggs we get from these happy chicken. A tub of miso paste (on the back), a small bowl of sour cream. Small plastic drawer contains garlic and butter. Lower shelf, left to right: a bottle of soya sauce, a jar of pickled crab apples (by Kristjan's mum), a jar of wild mushrooms (picked by us and pickled by me), two tubs of sauerkraut (one white, one red), a jar of gooseberry chutney and some jam, and a large glass of salted cucumbers (from my mum). The bottom drawer is stuffed with vegetables: beets, carrots, onions, cabbage, bell peppers, fresh horseradish/limes/lemons (hiding) and fresh herbs (you can see rue, sage and parsley on the photo). Green tomatoes aren't usually in that drawer, but the rest is pretty typical: And the fridge door: The very top shelf is empty (at least I've never used it ). The second shelf contains some mouthwash ( ), a small glass of peppermint oil, tahini, Thai fish sauce, horseradish, capers, wasabi, sherry vinegar, Dijon mustard, tomato puree and Guinness-flavoured Marmite. The third shelf contains (from left to right) hempseed oil, chocolate sauce, veal bouillon fond, Tamari soy sauce, agave syrup, soy sauce, and lemon & lime 'juice' for those moments when there's no fresh fruit in the house. And the bottle shelf contains (left to right): half a bottle of Põltsamaa Kuldne apple wine, small jars of carrot jam bought from a market fair recently, a carton of kefir, /a carton of milk/, a large bottle of 100% unsweetened pure Azerbajiani pomegranate juice.

Lunch on Friday. About a year ago a cute little place opened on a street corner about 7 minutes' walk from the University, called Creperie Kristjan & Kristiine. It specialises on crepes & galettes & salads, and has become rather popular. You can still get a table for lunch, but booking is recommended for evenings, or you might end up having to look for another place. Luckily, I've had a fair number of lunches/dinners in this place during this year, and like their food a lot. It's not as cheap as some of the nearby cafeterias - main course salads cost about 125-150 EEK, so it's not the place for your daily lunch (at least when you work in academia!). But today is Friday (that's a reason to celebrate already ), and I'm supposed to blog about my favourite places, so my friend Edith and I headed to Creperie for lunch. (It's also where I went for my birthday meal with my girlfriends back in April, so you know I like the place). It's on a corner of Vase & Faehlmanni streets in Kadriorg, in this very humble-looking old building: The place is small, with one larger table in the front and six smaller tables (seating 2-4) in the back, with a dark and cosy atmosphere. I'm very fond of those large photos of old Estonian peasant life that are scattered on the walls: Choosing the food: I opted for their Le poulet salad (125 EEK): "Crunchy iceberg lettuce, cooling cucumber, cherry tomatoes, roasted mushroom in creamy sauce, juicy chicken fillet, piquant herb sauce" - a huge portion with plenty of chicken: My friend Edith wasn't feeling so hungry, so she ordered "Wonderful bruschetta with juicy tomato salsa, garlic and fresh basil": And we shared "Tender Crème Brule with colourful berries" (70 EEK) for dessert: Note that they use flower petals as garnish for both sweet and savoury dishes - I've never seen that elsewhere (but the petals definitely looked nice on my salad). And finally, a view of the bar area with a large table in the front: Should you be in Tallinn and on your way to or from Kadriorg & the new KUMU art museum, then this place is recommended for lunch/dinner. Although there's another very special cafe in Kadriorg, that I'll be going tomorrow

Semolina breakfast porridge with egg yolks A typical Estonian breakfast dish. 2 T butter 1 l milk 100 ml semolina (Cream of Wheat) 1/2 tsp salt 2 egg yolks 4 tsp caster sugar Heat butter in a heavy saucepan (this keeps the milk from burning). Add milk, bring gently to simmer. Pour in semolina in a thin stream, stirring vigorously, as to avoid clumps. Simmer in a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring every now and then, until the porridge thickens. Whisk egg yolks with sugar until combined. Take the saucepan from the heat, whisk inn the egg yolk and sugar mixture. Serve at once. Especially nice with wild strawberry jam! Keywords: Breakfast, Easy ( RG2031 )

Pille's apple cake Serves 10 as Dessert. An easy recipe for a simple and comforting Estonian apple cake. 400 ml plain/all-purpose flour 150 ml caster sugar 1/8 tsp salt 1-1/2 tsp baking powder 100 g butter 2 large eggs 200 ml kefir or fermented milk or buttermilk 500 g apples, cored and cut into chunks Mix the dry ingredients. Melt the butter, add milk (drop by drop to prevent curdling), whisk in the egg, using a fork. Add to the dry mixture. If too dry, add some more milk. Fold in apple cubes. Pour into a small buttered cake tin. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and demerara sugar. Bake at 200˚C oven for about 30 minutes, until the cake is nice and golden. If you wish, sprinkle with icing sugar. PS The cake is also lovely with chopped rhubarb or gooseberries, so use whatever is in season. Keywords: Cake ( RG2030 )

Ok, time for some supermarket photos. There are three shops we frequent regularly. If there's anything specific we need, then we head to Stockmann in the city centre: It's a branch of a large Finnish department store, and they've got a very well-stocked food hall. It's quite pricey compared to most other shops, but you are more or less guaranteed to get what you want, get it quickly (i.e. the cashier queues tend to be shorter than elsewhere), and be sure of high quality. Their meat and fish counter is known to be best in the country, stocking a wide variety of various meats and cuts and fish. For regular everyday shopping we stop at Pirita Selver, which is en route to Viimsi where we live. It's a good supermarket chain (equivalent to Sainsbury in the UK, perhaps), and there are plenty of shops around the country. If it's just the basics we want like milk/butter/bread/flour, we shop at Viimsi Market, which is a local food store where we live. I did a lot of shopping there during summer, as it was within easy cycling distance. Yesterday we did our grocery shopping at Stockmann, as I needed to get beef liver, and couldn't be sure I'd find it in other places. Fish counter: And a bit closer view of the fish counter (sorry, a bit fuzzy again). In the front, from left to right: pike (Esox lucius, 75 EEK), pike-perch (Stizostedion lucioperca, 159 EEK), locally farmed sturgeon (259 EEK), baby trout (189 EEK). In the back, from left to right: perch (Perca fluviatilis, 141 EEK), eels (Anguilla anguilla, 299 EEK). And more fish. Note the almost empty container of gutted Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras) - the national fish of Estonia (yep, it won the title in a tight competition with pike (Esox lucius L.) at the national internet poll in February this year). It's a popular and cheap fish. There's tuna on the back, and the expensive white fillet on the left is perch (Perca fluviatilis) and cheaper one above it is bream (Abramis brama), both caught locally. Fresh salads and herbs (not a bad choice, and all local. However, they're much cheaper on the market. The iceberg lettuces you see on the shelf are from Uus-Kongo talu - the same people that sold fresh asparagus at the market in early spring and now sell really sauerkraut): If you cannot make it to the forest yourself, you can always get your mushrooms from the supermarket. Cultivated mushrooms (šampinjonid) from Lithuania on the top (the fresh yellow chantarelles are to the right, just outside the photo), and various salted and pickled wild mushrooms at the bottom (in this case, pickled Estonian chantarelles): General overview of the 'cool room', containing dairy shelves, frozen products, ice creams: Pontormo asked if Estonians are open to new foods. Well, we've definitely taken the Russian dumplings, pelmeny exceptionally well - look at the range! A dairy counter. Roughly, the top shelf is full of various yogurts, the second shelf and the first half of the third shelf are full of various curd cheese products (plain and seasoned curd cheese, curd cheese creams etc); the further section of the third shelf is full of various cottage cheese and cream cheese products; milk, buttermilk, kefir, fernented milk and single, double and sour creams are on the floor: Apologies for a fuzzy photo (I was taking quick & sneaky shots), but here's a cold ready food counter that I wanted to share: You can see savoury sandwich cakes on the left (also a popular party food), and various salads on the right (note the number of beetroot salads). And more cold salads (prices per kilogram): And finally, something sweet, the cake counter: The prices are for each cake. Stockmann is celebrating a New York month (they do such themed months every now and then), so there are stalls selling Ritz crackers and peanut butter and Ocean Spray cranberry juice drink etc. You can see a New York cheesecake on the counter marking the occasion. Quite expensive, compared to other cakes! Other cakes on the top row are 'Exotic fruit & chocolate tart' (middle) and Drama Theatre cake (right). On the next shelf there's Cream Cheese & Raspberry Torte, White Chocolate Cheesecake, and some kind of berry pie. On the third shelf from above there's Raspberry & Curd Cheese Torte (left), Bilberry & Yogurt Torte (middle), Cottage Cheese & Raspberry Torte (right). Bottom shelf: Cream Cheese & Cherry Torte (left), Whipped Cream & Berry Torte (middle), Cherry & Cream Cheese Cake (right). On the far right/bottom of the picture, you can see various marzipan figurines - very popular here, too. You'd always have a fancy cake at birthdays and various family celebrations, so cake culture is well developed. Various bakeries and cafes would offer cakes. Stockmann would sell cakes from different bakeries, as well as cakes from their own bakery.

Well, both are worth checking out, Kent! Re: liver - it might be a good idea to start with chicken liver - it's got a milder flavour, but the texture and taste are still 'livery' enough for you to decide if it's something you're keen to explore further.. Scottie, I don't think you can buy bear meat here, but occasionally hunters catch a bear, and the meat then ends up in restaurants (bear hunting season is from August till October; about 20 bears are shot each year to keep the population under control). Olde Hansa in Tallinn has it on its main menu, as does Seegi Maja in Pärnu - both are serving medieval food. It has appeared occasionally in the menu of the fancy Russian restaurant, Nevskji, in Tallinn. But it's not a meat you'd use in your everyday cooking - it's way too expensive and hard to find for that! I've seen crocodile meat for sale here in Estonia - imported, obviously We do not eat horse meat. Thank you for the fried green tomatoes recipe, Scottie - I haven't had a chance to try them yet! For hunting and fishing you need to buy a license, depending on the equipment you use, the amount you plan to fish/hunt, etc. There's an exception, however - if you're rod-fishing, then that's fine - no fees need to be paid. According to Estonian legislation, it's ok to forage for wild mushrooms and forest berries everywhere, including private lands and forests (gardens & courtyards are of course off limits). There are some exceptions, however, but I don't know all the fine print at the moment.

The fifth day of my eGullet foodblog - and starting with breakfast again. I made something that could be called 'my savoury French toast'. It's something my mum used to make quite a lot when we (me and my sister Merle, that is) were kids. I know French toast is usually sweet, made with sugar and cinnamon, but I like the savoury version a lot, too. You whisk some eggs with some milk, season with salt, pepper and herbs (I used dill), soak (stale) white bread or rye bread slices in the mixture for a few minutes, and then fry the bread slices on a medium hot frying pan, pouring the extra egg mixture over: After few minutes, turn the bread slices around and cook from the other side. Serve with slices of cooked ham and cheese: And today's fruit (in addition to the tomatoes from our windowsill container) was a tiny watermelon ("Sugar Baby") that we had grown in a container on our windowsill just for fun. Surprisingly sweet and flavoursome, even if it was only the size of a tennis ball We drank coffee, and then drove to work. It's drizzling outside. Reminds me of Edinburgh

And finally, tonight's dinner post. Suzilightning requested that I blog about exotic meats Well, we only do pork, beef, veal, rabbit/hare, wild boar, venison, elk and brown bear here in Estonia, and none of them qualifies as exotic (though I must confess I've never had bear meat myself. If you're ever in Olde Hansa, the medieval restaurant, ask for it..) So I thought hard, and decided to go with offal instead For dinner tonight we had maksakaste or Estonian liver gravy with potatoes and salted cucumber- the latter being a traditional garnish for this dish, at least according to Kristjan (I had thought of fresh cucumber and dill salad, but apparently it would have been all wrong). Here's the dish: The prep is easy - slice beef liver thinly, dust with flour/black pepper, quickly fry in oil with a finely chopped onion; then add cold water, stir and simmer gently for about 5-7 minutes. Add sour cream, heat through and season. Here's the full story in small fuzzy pictures - just in case offal puts some of you off For dessert we had Kristjan's special pudding - the squeaky Finnish bread cheese (leipäjuusto in Finnish, leibjuust in Estonian) softened in a mixture of cream, sugar and rum, and served with a dollop of cloudberry jam (Eden, take note!!!): The only acceptable accompaniment for that dessert is a honey-coloured cloudberry liqueur - murakaliköör - from Finnish Lapponia. As you can see, we're eating this dessert quite often: Terviseks!!! - that's cheers in Estonian, or 'for your health'. I've met quite a few foreigners who know this as their only word in Estonian. I wonder why? Time for bed, I'm afraid. Tomorrow I'll have lunch in a very nice place near university, and after work we're going to see a play at Linnateater (Marie Jones' Stones In Your Pocket. I've seen it in Edinburgh before, so I'm quite excited to see how they compare).

Yes, you're right, Ondine! Chaenomeles are indeed grown for ornamental purposes, as they've got lovely flowers: There are two types of Chaenomeles in Estonia - C. speciosa and C. japonica, but I cannot tell which one my mum grows In any case, the fruit of both are edible. They're contain as much Vitamin C as lemons do, which explains why they're sometimes called 'Nordic lemon'. They're also high on citric and malic acid (and can be used instead of vinegar in canning some fruit and vegetables). Furthermore, as they've got very high pectin content, they're excellent for making jams and jellies (I made a huge batch apple and flowering quince jam last weekend). Here are some flowering quinces still attached to the bush (note that they've got no 'tail' like apples do): My mum's got two bushes, and they're both full of fruit this year. I got about 10 litres from her: And the last photo is of a cut fruit: Note the huge amount of seeds - there could be as many as 100 seeds per fruit! It's best to remove the seeds, as they're high on amygdalin and apparently it's not good for you For the extract you saw above, you cut the ripe fruit into small slices (no need to peel - the peel has most of the vitamin C), remove the seeds and mix the slices with an equal weight amount of sugar. Cover, and keep in a cool storage for a few weeks, until the sugar has dissolved. Shake every now and then. The finished extract should be kept in the fridge and used as one uses sweetened lemon slices - in teas, in baking. (Ours is on the table because it's the last bit from a larger glass of extract, and it was more convenient to de-cant it into a small bowl rather than try to scoop it from a glass every morning). Instead of sugar, you can also use honey for making this extract.. Abra, I hope you'll think that our food tastes are right up the same alley after you'll see my dinner pictures I cannot say I've seen anything like this synagogue before either here or in Finland. But considering both the architects are young Estonians, it might just be a modern Estonian architecture

I needed to get something from a bookstore at Viru Keskus, a shopping centre at the city centre, and decided to have lunch there as well. Rahva Raamat (People's Book) has actually two cafes now - Bestseller on the 3rd floor, and Boulangerie on the 4th floor - both are a brainchild of Imre Kose, a young - and probably our only - 'celebrity chef', who also runs the upscale Vertigo restaurant and will open a another venture in a few months (see here). Both Bestseller & Boulangerie are good places for a quick coffee, as Viru Keskus is right in the middle of all transport routes, so it's a place I frequent quite often. Here's the counter of Boulangerie: I had a coffee (30 EEK) and a salad - a Caesar salad topped with pesto chicken wrapped in ham (120 EEK). There's also a good selection of cakes and pastries, and they do a daily soup (today it was bouillabaisse) etc. Here's my salad: And then I rushed off for this week's last cooking class, which was on kitchen safety and various machinery used. A bit boring, to be honest

Sorry, Pontormo, I overlooked this question last night. I'm going to give you a very ambivalent answer I think it depends a lot on the age of the person. My grandmothers (I'm lucky to have both of them still around - one is 86, the other 87) would cook a very humble and traditional fare - lots of potatoes, carrots, turnips, pork, cabbage, rye bread, sour cream, thick soups & stews etc. My parents, on the other hand, would be a bit more adventurous in their cooking, though still very simple. Younger people who have had a chance to travel since the end of the Soviet era would probably cook happily Italian, Indian, Chinese etc for dinner. Same in our home - lots of 'exotic' dishes appear from our kitchen, although I'm also consciously trying to cook a lot of 'traditional Estonian food', as I find it comforting after such a long period abroad. As far as ethnic restaurants go, then the whole world is probably represented. There are few great Italian places (Controvento, Bocca), some Indian (Elevant), classic French (Le Bonaparte, Egoist), Japanese (House, Silk) etc. What is unique to Tallinn restaurant scene is a good choice of excellent Russian restaurants (Troika, Klafira, the new Tchaikovsky in Telegraaf hotel, Nevskij) and Caucasian restaurants (Bakuu, Must Lammas, and many others), and even a Roma restoran (Romale) that reflects the ethnic composition of the country. The country has currently about 68% ethnic Estonians, 26% Russians, 2% Ukrainians, 1% Finns, 1% Belorussians, plus large communities of Georgians, Aserbajianis, Armenians, Tatars etc. When I say 'large communities' take it with a pinch of salt. The whole population of Estonia is 1.3 million inhabitants. That's less than most cities in the US There's also a good number of very nice restaurants serving traditional Estonian food: Kuldse Notsu Kõrts, Eesti Maja, Vanaema juures, Lydia, Olde Hansa (the great medieval place), Maiasmokk. One of my favourite restaurants, Stenhus, had a wonderful Estonian special menu last year that I loved to bits!! I should go and check if they still do it..

I can't believe it's already the fourth day of my foodblog!!! Time flies when you're having fun Breakfast today was pretty similar to yesterday's, only hot. Here's the full thing: There were grilled rye bread slices with ham and cheese and a sprinkle of thyme: We drank green Japanese tea today, a gift from Keiko of the stunning Nordljus blog (I met Keiko for a coffee when I was in Cambridge in April). Here's our new teapot: I fell in love with it in Denmark last November, but couldn't find it anywhere in Estonia. Finally, a Finnish foodblogging friend of mine bought one in Sweden few months ago and sent it over to Estonia for me It's a Swedish Höganäs brand, and I've written more about it here. I sweeten my tea with an extract made with finely chopped flowering quinces, my mum's speciality. It lends a lovely sweet and sharp flavour to the tea, and a lovely fragrance. It's also delicious simply with hot water: Apart from grilled sandwiches and tea, we had some yogurt for breakfast. Today we opted for the cream cheese and cloudberry jam yogurts - you can see golden speckles of cloudberries here: Kristjan had also one banana for breakfast, I grabbed along 4 'Valge Klaar' apples from my mum's garden. I've already eaten three of them, and it's not even noon

Few words about last night, before I'll tell you about today's breakfast. As I said, it was a long and tiring day, so I didn't get to have dinner until 10.30pm - very untypical for me, as I usually eat dinner around 6pm or 7pm! I nibbled on some chocolates (Fazer Dumle chocolates from Finland) during the cookery school class, and grabbed a singi-seenepirukas alias a ham and mushroom pierogi from the deli counter of Stockmann food hall on the way from cookery school to photography course. No picture, as I was eating the pastry while walking on the street - very bad manners on itself and I didn't want to make it worse by then photographing this! When I got home, we heated up the leftover haggis, neeps & tatties from the night before and finished the dinner with a small glass of very nice Estonian apple wine: Being so far up north, we're obviously not producing grape wines here in Estonia, but apple & fruit wines have been made in Põltsamaa since 1920. Põltsamaa Kuldne 1992 is a sweet dessert wine made of apples, and it's a great after-dinner drink. It's also served on official state occasions, so it's indeed a respectable drink I love its colour - such a wonderful deep caramel shade!

Pam - we eat quite a lot of soups in our home, and they're mainly main course soups - easy, healthy and nutritious. Well, it's only Thursday, so who knows, maybe there will be more Is there a demand for a kosher restaurant? Well, I guess the 3000 or so Jews who live in Estonia want one, and there's always demand for good restaurant and cafes. It'll be quite a large restaurant, seating 100, so they're obviously got big plans. MagFoodGuy - thank you Dejah - hope they're auctioning off good haggis!!! Germanic, for sure. Knödel is dumpling, in German. I'm sure the same root led to 'noodle' in English. ← Jensen, thank you for answering Mizducky's question! The Estonian word is klimp/klimbid, actually, and I thought they'd translate as knedle/knedliky rather than dumplings, which for me are larger and filled. Confusing

Jensen - they're small plain dumplings, about 2 cm in diameter. No filling, just a mixture of eggs, flour and some milk usually. So you liked the picture of that pear & blue cheese tart, Monavano? Moomin books & cartoons are very popular here, and there's even a Moomin magazine for children these days! Moomin tableware is newish for Estonians, I think, and not everything is available here. For example, the dark blue mug is Christmas 2006 special edition, and I had to get that from Finland, as they weren't selling them in Estonia at all I hope to blog about my rye bread tomorrow, Pontormo! Now, your pizza question. I don't eat pizza often, and I've only got very vague memories of eating it in Edinburgh (I'd usually go for gnocchi in Italian restaurants). However, I do remember eating very good thin crust pizza in Controvento, one of the older Italian places here in Tallinn. They've got this very lovely and cosy restaurant in Katariina Käik, a small street alley full of handicraft workshops in Old Tallinn. Highly recommended! Michelle & Lexy - I'll get back to you about salting mushrooms soon, but first I need a good night's sleep - it's been a long, long day. Head ööd!