CatPoet

Oh so you didnt get karjalanpiirakka? Because those do not contain cheese, what so ever, they are with rice, barley or potatoes. I love them! But yeah, Finland is stunning, I love the architecture but when it comes to produce well not much happening right now, summer is when Finland really shines. Will you come back and then in the summer?

I will only have gingerbread this year, people are ill, I mean we have everything but the plague here. I wish it would end soon, Oh well but I am baking my grandmothers gingerbreads, called Stockholms pepparkakor.

Creaming butter adds air, cutting doesnt, according to Delia Smith, yeah I manage to see some old show about this.

There is one thing that makes me climb the walls over here in Sweden. We have a very well functioning word for cookies/biscuits which is kaka /småbröd and yet you can buy cookies, yes the word cookies and that annoys me. When I walk in to a Swedish store I dont except to be asked to help the older generation translate what they are buying from English to Swedish , but I have to now a days, since English terms has become fashionable. It is even worse when it is the wrong word, like today it was a special on American Chips, they meant fries, not chips and I found Salt Vinegar Chips with that all British flavour, yes this is what it said, but Chips in UK is fries and chips as in the wafer thin potato snack is crisp! *gha*

Sylvia, make some gingerbreads the lazy way, first the dough one day, then roll it out the next and then " artisan" cookies with a pizza slicer, DONE:

Mjx. Nordisk or Nordic is more accepted, I think it is most likely because Scandinavian has been misused so much that people don't see us as separate counties and I guess you are Danish, you know the history between us all and there for it is bit weird to bunch up us as one, Yes we have similarity but we are not the same.

Scandinavian foods, most of us from the Scandinavian area dislike this term. It is like saying American food and meaning Canadian, Mexican and food from USA as one and the same. Yeah right Sweden ruled them all at one point but that doesnt mean we all eat meatballs and runs around with horns on our heads.

Yesterday we had a Lovely Refrigerator stew, It turned out to be chicken, peas, left over cream, a bit of leek and milk and a stock cube and it tasted lovely.

I got the flyers this morning and they have a set of three small cheddars that would be perfect and on special price, so I am aiming for that.

Patrick, well bunching up a group of countries that only 110 years ago stopped being at each other throats isnt a good thing. Anyway, I am now trying to write the last shopping list, checking up what is missing and what we need. Shall I add two good cheddars or just one??

I cook them separately and mix before serving,

I can understand vitmögel, white mold and that is it. Yeah and remember every letter is pronounced.

Standard holiday nibbles here are nuts, raisins, figs and dates. I dont like dried figs nor dates that much. Off course gingerbreads , lots of sweets like knäck ( an almond toffee), kola ( a toffe with no almond and with butter) and ice chocolates ( a melty version of chocolate cups)

Oh I will make vörtlimpa, but my own version minus the dried Seville orange peels as they have here, I am allergic to those. Dopp i gryta down here is called Doppe and of course I be making that and showing what we do with it. This year we had a warm winter, no snow yet in Stockholm I think. Stockholm is so far south in Sweden that isnt that harsh nor that dark, compared to my parents 3 hour of sunlight at the moment. I am from the North but I do live in the south, far south, it a bought the high of Aberdeen Scotland. So yes it does get dark at 3 in the afternoon but the houses are warm and there is always good coffee and tea and something to nibble on.

In a fan assited oven, you shouldnt need to turn the pan, if you do need to, it means the air isnt latticing as it should.

I will translate my father's recipes. I grew up eating herring in every form there was a as little, even fried pickled herring. I cant stand it any more, most likely due to having it 4 days a week sometimes.

Estonia it self is much older, it has on and off been its own country but gotten invaded by nearly every one. I remember the Singing Revolution and that we were in awe that Russia didnt go in with full force. That must be the most peaceful revolution in Europe. Anyway, if you want pickled herring recipes, I have a ton of them, just ask.

Yesterday dinner, Sausage patties, made with left over of the boiling sausage I made and served with milk sauce, mustard and potatoes. YUM.

Patrick, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian Christmases are not a like at all. Or do you mean Scandinavia as in Sweden , Norway, Denmark, Finland, Åland, Iceland Faroe Islands? Yeah, Scandinavia is such a loose term for us. Oh that reminds me, I could borrow something from the Finnish Christmas table so I get more greens! Thanks! Porkkanalaatikko, carrot bake, lovely and doesnt contain anything any one cant eat! Well I do have Finnish roots so why not, even thought that is over 120 years ago.

Last time I had reindeer it was dried salted and with beer, Yeah I am way to far south for proper reindeer or good European Elk ( alces alces) and roe deer, well I dont know any hunters any more and down here they hunt boar more. Oh I envy you at Neh! That is so lovely. I wish I could eat food as you do! Curse my delicate tummy! I want to go to Neh too. Stop saying you are ugly, you are not. Yes you are Americans but you don't behave as standard tourist and that is great, which is most likely a chock to some.. People is now trying to break away from the past with Russia by speaking English, so you will find service minded people speaking English.

Rotus: I have a recipe for brownies that a friend makes for customers on a regular basis . It contains raspberries and dark chocolate and so easy and addictive. Tasmanian brownies Ingredients370 gram unsalted butter340 gram best-quality bittersweet chocolate6 eggs1 3/4 cups sugar1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour1 teaspoon salt1 cup semisweet chocolate buttons, chips or morsels 3 cups semi frozen raspberries Baking tin (approximately 11 1/4 inches by 9 inches by 2 inches), sides and base lined with baking parchment.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the butter and dark chocolate together in a large heavy based pan over a low heat. In a bowl or large measuring jug, beat the eggs together with sugar and vanilla extract. Allow the chocolate mixture to cool a little, then add the egg and sugar mixture and beat well. Fold in the flour and salt. Then stir in the chocolate buttons or chips, add the raspberries , Fold to combine then scrape and pour the brownie mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for about 25 minutes.. Remember that they will continue to cook as they cool. Cool and serve.

Convection ovens are so much easier to bake with then older types of ovens. You just lower the heat a bit and it bakes quicker. I dream of that type of oven. Buns coming out perfect with zero problem. You can also bake several sheets of cookies and buns at one go. Sadly my landlord doesnt give us this option. Oh well for a novice baking it much easier to get success with fan oven the old fashion. I know in Celsius you just turn the heat down 10 C and it work like a charm. Spice cake with a twist 3.5 oz butter 2 eggs 1 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1½ teaspoon ground cardamom 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 ½ cup flour 1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda ½ cup sour cream ½ cup thick cranberry sauce or mashed cranberries. Turn the oven to 350 . Grease and dust a loaf tin that holds 6 cups. Melt the butter and let it cool a bit. Mix flour, spices and bicarbonate soda in a bowl. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and sugar fluffy. Add the flour, a little, then a bit of the butter, sour cream and cranberry sauce while whisking. When all is in, pour it into the pan and bake in the cooler part ( most often the lower) for 1 hour. Check so it doesn't burn, if it gets too brown cover with a baking parchment. Cool on a rack and serve. Taste a bit of Christmas and it really nice.

No you didnt get sample dish, in Sweden it is called Russian plate, the Finns have another word for it, which has more letter then it needs to be and every letter is pronounced. The reason for the immigrant, if you get into the Nordic countries, you have it much better then in many other countries, hence they aim for us. And yes it is a chock to the system when they end up in minus 30 and 2 meter of snow since a lot of the refugee first housing is in the north. A friend was certain that Swedes were immortal because they could live and breath ice, that lasted 6 months until he started learning Swedish and spring came and he is from Ghana. I am utterly envious of you!! Reindeer is one of my favourite meats,

Nah Kebab has become rather normal up in the north due to immigration and well even though Finns don't take in that many, the trend has spread. We are not so far from Middle East as you think, it is rather close to us and if you go to Turkey which many do for a cheap holiday, you find kebab. I hope you get to eat Finnish food soon!!

I been to the the Christmas market. It is a local mansion that host it and in their old stone barns and other farm buildings they sell everything from woolly socks to rabbit salami. In this house most things sold was food , as candied nuts, cheese, olives , sausages and cider and other goodies. Sadly my camera didnt like being smoked in the other house, where sold curd cake , ceramics and more food, so I have no more pictures. But there was 4 or 5 more buildings and it was so cosy, homely and nice. We took it our pace and it was nice 1 hour well spent then we both wanted home because we were cold and stiff both us. Yes my darling neighbour gave me a ride down to the fair. I got home what I wanted, Coarse mustard, mustard pickled herring, 3 sausages for the Christmas table, Christmas sausage, Rabbit sausage and Whisky metwurst.