Friday 23 September 2016

Honestly Home Made Food


Tasty and honest home food using this season´s ingredients. What could be simpler than good naturally sweet veggies with rice. Or traditional Finnish salmon pot with lemon curry? I also made a bit healthier muffins that go to vegans and are both egg and dairy free in case of allergies. In the muffin recipe I also replaced  one dl flour with Finnish talkkuna flour that has lots of fibre (28%) and adds taste and moisture. 


Fresh Salad

salad mix (for example spinach, rocket..)
grapes
cherry tomatoes
cucumber
red onion
carrot

***
1 garlic clove
some ginger
2 tbsp veg. oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt
black pepper

Slice red onion, carrots, tomatoes, grapes and cucumber. Mix with salad. 
Salad dressing: Mince garlic and ginger. Mix with lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper. 

Veggies with Rice

yellow beetroots
pumpkin
fennel
paprika
carrots
red onion
ginger
veg. oil
vegetarian bouillon
salt lemon juice

***
Cooked basmati rice
rice vinegar
salt

Peel and slice beetroots, pumpkin, carrots, red onion, paprika and fennel. Mince ginger. Heat some vegetarian oil on a frying pan  and heat the veggies in it. Add about 1/2-1 dl water and cook. When veggies are a bit soft add bouillon. Cook until the veggies are all dente. Add salt and lemon juice.

Spice cooked basmati rice with rice vinegar and salt. Serve with veggies.


Finnish Salmon Pot with Lemon Curry

I wet to the local market event to buy good quality spices. The sales person advised to use lemon curry with fish and I tried the spice in traditional salmon pot and the result was one of the tastiest salmon pots.  

salmon
potatoes
red onion
cooking cream
salt
lemon curry
butter

Cut the salmon to pieces. Cut the potatoes into thin slices. Slice the onion. Mix salt and lemon curry with cooking cream ( I put 2 dl cream and about 2-3 tsp curry). Butter the pot and *put a layer of potato, then salmon, onion and cream* **repeat.  Put a cover to the pot and cook in the oven for 45-60 minutes in 200 Celsius degrees.


Vegetarian Cacao + Talkkuna Muffins

2 dl flour
1 dl talkkuna flour
2 tbsp cacao
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 dl sugar
2 dl water from a chickpea can
1 dl Oatly i Kaffe -oat milk
3 tbsp vegetarian oil

Mix dry ingredients together. Beat chickpea water like you would beat eggs to a cake pastry. Add sugar to beaten chickpea water and beat until the foam is hard. Add dry ingredients and mix properly. Mix in oat milk and vegetarian oil. 

Put the pastry in the baking molds and bake 20 min in 200 Celsius degrees. Dairy and egg free!

***
This weekend I hope to finish one painting project and a small knitting craft. I can tell you that turquoise  is the theme in both these crafts. I have also been watching good movies and after a long pause I went jogging yesterday. There are quite new exercising machines in the nearby park and I spent 30 mins in the park after the jog. Definitely going to do that again! And when does the proper food taste so good than after exercising? 

Have a good weekend!

Sannu

Tuesday 20 September 2016

Trip to Turku and Helsinki

Trip to southern Finland was as inspiring as I had hoped. It included good food, beautiful historical buildings, museums, modern art, lots of wandering around the cities and shopping. I took lots of pictures and it took a little time to organize them. I made these collages to put all the pictures I wanted to show in a compact form so that you don´t need to scroll tens of big pictures and wait them to download. Most of the pictures are from Turku.
Clockwise from left: Turku Art Museum, interesting building, beautiful gate, Turku Cathedral.
Beautiful shops near the Town Hall.
Clockwise from left: Hotel Torni in Helsinki, St. John´s Church in Helsinki, Beautiful corner in Helsinki,  Cafe at Turku Marketplace, Hotel Börs, Turku Cathedral, Museum Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova, Detail, Cathedral park, cute alley, Turku Cathedral, River view, Turku Art Museum, Pharmacy Museum and Qwensel House, View from Art Museum, Sunflower statue at Forum Marinum Maritime Centre.
Picture from Wäinö Aaltonen modern art museum.
Turku Castle that dates back to medieval times. A place to visit for Game of Thrones nerds :)
Details from Turku.
Turku Marketplace.

Details from Turku: Clock, Decorated building, Fish Statue in the River, Samppalinna summer outdoor theater. 
Pictures from Helsinki: Pedestrian street near Railway Station, Kiasma museum of modern art, street view. 

I went to Turku via Helsinki so that I get to spend two days in Helsinki and three days in Turku. I visited lots of museums: Kiasma in Helsinki, Wäinö Aaltonen, Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova, Turku Art Museum, Turku Castle and Forum Marinum in Turku. I really love old buildings because they are so rare here in Lapland where most of the buildings are quite new (Lapland was burnt in 1945 war). 

I also went shopping home decoration stuff, craft supplies, international magazines and clothes. I got lots of color inspiration from shops and museums to my projects for the autumn and winter. Turku Castle made me feel like I would have visited Game of Thrones scene: dungeons, narrow corridors and decorative windows.

Food was excellent. I ate very good vegetarian food in Turku market hall and tasty ice cream in various places.

After the week it was nice to be back home, unpack the luggage and start planning new projects. Oriental blues, plants, mosaic, lanterns, coziness and vintage elements are the themes for this Autumn/ Winter. 

Sannu

Sunday 11 September 2016

Weekend Beauties


This weekend I have been reorganizing the living room. Even though I love to decorate at home and my intention is to keep the place beautiful all the time it takes just a few weeks to have a small mess everywhere. You know, that loose stuff hanging around the house after use. I also made a little arrangement to the living room sofa table using a wooden plate and candlesticks that are all flea market finds. To the plate I used intensive red/violet color and the candlesticks got a good wash and polishing.









Tomorrow, or actually today as it is already over midnight, I am heading to the southern Finland for a late summer holiday. I have been waiting the trip so eagerly as it has been a while since I have been away from home for a holiday. I have planned to visit lots of museums, cafe's and home decoration shops. I hope to find new inspiration for the Autumn/ Winter season. I still somehow feel like it´s summer maybe because the weathers turned into autumn so rapidly. Now I have been reading old autumn and winter issues from magazines to get to the right mood. 

So, travel notes are what is coming next :) Until that, have a good weekend and beginning of the week!

Sannu 

Wednesday 7 September 2016

Quick and Easy Shrimp Barlotto

I like to make food from barley as it is very tasty and fulfilling. Many times in recipes you can use barley instead of rice. With this simple everyday recipe you make 4 servings. 


You will need:

1 vegetarian bouillon cube
1 L water
2 dl whole precooked barley

2 tbsp vegetarian oil
curry
cumin
chili
black pepper
3 spring onions
1 small paprika

1 can black beans in water
180 g shrimps

salt
lemon juice
parsley
avocado


Step 1. Cook barley in water with a bouillon cube. After cooking pour off the extra water (use it later in cooking if needed).
Step 2. Take a frying pan and heat spices in vegetarian oil. Add and sweat chopped onions and paprika.
Step 3. Add cooked barley and heat. Add black beans and shrimps and heat. Add some water if needed.
Step 4. Spice with salt, minced parsley and lemon juice. Serve with avocado slices.


I will continue my Wednesday by decorating the balcony for Autumn. Summer flowers are still blooming but yellow trees tell that it is already September. This week I also bought my first ever pumpkin and I have practiced some pumpkin carving (it is quite fun). I have planned to make a small decorative arrangement with some branches, pumpkin lantern and chrysanthemum.

Have a good and tasty Wednesday!

Sannu

Tuesday 6 September 2016

Used Food Tins Transformed into Statement Home Decoration Items

This is for experimental souls :) Used tins can be reformed into statement home decoration pieces that add a little something into garden, front door and reading corner. Check out the ideas and start creating your own projects! I am quite sure you won´t be lacking material if you cook at home every now and then. Also you can ask your friends to save tins for you.

1. Decorative Garden Crown Ornament



2. Midas Touch Golden Wreath


3. Reading Under the Pickle´s Light

To learn more about the basics of this technique go to my tutorial that I wrote on January this year. Back then I made chandelier DIY and showed how to cut flowers and leaves. Also I made a table chandelier DIY on February

To the lampshade I made holes from inside using a nail and a hammer and then made the holes bigger from the outside using a drilling machine and metal drill. I removed both bottoms and attached lampshade frame using soldering iron. Even though the lampshade is relatively simple to make I would say that to make this you should have some experience about using tools needed in a safe way. Also use a light bulb that does not heat.

Garden crown is basic cutting and hammering. In the wreath I used a glue gun to attach the leaves to a styrofoam wreath. 

Have a fearless and fun DIY week!

Sannu