Brija

Kristian, you forget that there was apple cider in the first version as well! And yes, the drink with just apple (both juice and cider), Amaretto and black (yes, black not red) currant (and rum, of course…) was a combination more to my liking. But as you said, the first version was perfect for the occasion! And I just love the names you thought for them!

Oh, my love, you can't make me enjoy rum! I simply don't like the flavour enough to drink something that tastes like that… and, yes, I do not like the taste of rum in a drink if it is too strong. As for the drinks you made on that Halloween night - hey, listen to what John said there: mix up a SIMPLE sweet fruity drink… you can't possibly say those drinks were simple after you had mixed up everything we had in liquid form (with the exception of coffee)! :) … Since you said you'll continue to try to turn my head, next time, let's try rum in something simpler. And you know I love strawberries…

I just love cheesecakes (I would say they are cakes, though I usually serve them as dessert), with any flavours: chocolate, white chocolate, mocha, almond or topped with fruit… If I make one myself, I sometimes like to combine different flavours like coffee and amaretto, or to make a layer of chocolate cheesecake topped with a layer of white chocolate cheesecake. I also like a cake called French chocolate cake (I don't know why it's called that), it is not a flourless cake but the centre is very moist and soft. I've never tried chocolate carrot cake, but I've made chocolate zucchini cake. It is also based on a recipe for carrot cake, but you use zucchini instead of carrot, add cocoa powder and some shaved chocolate. I first thought it sounded weird (and the batter doesn't look too tempting), but It's easy to make, very good and moist.

When I travel, it takes a while before I miss any particular food; I really enjoy tasting new dishes and eating food that is not so familiar to me - in my opinion, that is an important part of travelling, of experiencing something new. However, at some point I begin to crave for fresh fruit - and not for pieces of fruit you get in a fruit salad, but for, say, a whole apple or a pear... Another thing I usually miss after some time of travelling is Finnish rye bread. There's nothing like it anywhere else (not that I know of, at least). It is very dark because it is made entirely of rye flour. I particularly like it when it is whole meal with lots of whole grains in it. Yes, it is probably one of the healthiest food in the world (plenty of fibre, vitamin B etc., very low on fat…) but still, I'm almost addicted to it, I hardly ever eat any other bread. The only "substitute" for this that I have found is German "vollkorn brot", which looks pretty much the same. However, where I've seen it, it has been wrapped in plastic packages to preserve it for a long time, so it doesn't taste very fresh and though the ingredients are much the same, the taste is nothing like that of the Finnish bread I like.