Five Fantastic Things About Finland

My mini break from the blog was due to the resignation of my hard drive last week. Now, having rebuilt the system and due to the fact that most of our data went down a black hole, I have a brand new, empty hard drive that I can fill up with folders full of trivia.

After 14 months in Finland, these are currently my favourite things about life here.

The Libraries.

Not only do they have libraries everywhere in this country, (there are 3 within walking distance from where we are living) but their services and the choice of books and music are fantastic. They stock an amazing number and variety of books in English as well as quite a few other languages. Kirjasto 10 (Library 10) in Helsinki City boasts more than 40,000 CDs for loan, music scores, books on music, musicians, composers as well as musical instruments and audio-editing and rehearsal rooms where you can practice or record music. They also stage live concerts on weeknights on a regular basis. Last Thursday, I was quietly reading some international magazines when I was entertained by a Finnish trio who played the piano and sang beautifully. I ended up spending the whole evening there. The National Library of Finland is housed in a beautiful historic building that was built in 1836 and one of the best known examples of the late 19th century Empire style in Finland.

Communication.

It is so easy to live here because most Finns speak English so well and are not at all opposed to speaking the language. Another charming feature of the language is that they actually do use loan words from English, but make them sound and look so Finnish. If you walked into your local café and ordered yksi (one) cappucino, they will smile and immediately reply in English. Eventually I figured out that I had to order a Kapusiini. Of course, if you do speak the English language, it is a sneaky way to get them to speak English to you without having to ask. Maybe I should not have let the cat out of the bag.

Forests and Lakes.

Wherever you may find yourself in Finland, you are never far from a lake surrounded by forests. It is beautiful. I never tire of looking at those trees. They are beautiful throughout the four seasons. In the spring and summer they contribute to the dense green landscape. During autumn they shower you with gold and during the winter the white birch tree trunks with the black markings make a dramatic statement in the snowy winter landscape.

Endless Summer Nights.

Even when the sun does go down for a short while, the sky remains blue. You never need to go to bed and don’t even feel like it. It would be wasting valuable hours during the outdoors season. Definitely the best time of the year.

Foodies - 2 Favourites.

The natural peanutbutter, made from raw and not toasted peanuts. It tastes completely different and so much better than any other peanutbutter I have ever tasted.

Cardamom. Finland is the cardamom kingdom. They sell the most beautiful coarsely ground cardamom and make delicious cardamom-butter pulla (buns) to have with coffee. Sometimes the pulla has a blob of butter and sugar baked on top and other times it is just a soft round roll sprinkled with pearl sugar.

It has become such a serious addiction that I had to make my own.

I started searching the internet and found the recipe on The Fresh Loaf website. I opted for the plain version without the butter on top. Later I repeated the recipe with the butter option. They did not survive long enough to pose for photos .

Fridge Magnets.

Ok, that makes it 6 things, but I could not resist the cutest Reindeer and Moose magnets in the world.

Spring Arrives and a Baking Challenge Fails

Spring arrived in Helsinki during the last week. A few weeks ago I saw a lonely Dandelion push through the dry, brown leaf litter. After only 2 days of rain, the forest floor is now carpeted in wildflowers and the trees look as if they are wearing finely woven green shawls.

On my hike I encountered not only the first pheasant of the season but also the first toad. I was unable to convince the pheasant that posing for a picture would lead to instant fame on the internet. But a big, old, ugly, brown toad was sunning himself on the footpath and to the contrary, he refused to move at all. I was concerned that he might get ridden over by a bicycle or just hurt by a hiking boot, so I tried to talk to him and tickling his feet to make him move. He ignored me. Eventually, when I stepped back he resignedly walked off the path. I had never seen his like before and I wondered what he had been doing during winter while the ground was covered under snow and when the river was frozen.When I got home, I did some internet research. Apparently he is a Common European Toad – Latin name: Bufo Bufo. They hibernate during the winter, prefer walking to jumping and can get up to 40 years old. It may have been a bit cheeky tickling the old timer’s feet with a little twig then.

The Sourdough Rye Olive Ciabatta Challenge

About a month ago, my friend Viviane presented me with a challenge in terms of my bread baking. She lives in that beautiful, southern, tropical city of Durban next to a nature reserve.

She just happened to mention that it would be nice if I could find a recipe for sourdough, rye ciabatta with olives. She then stirred my sleeping competitive spirit by mentioning the fact that she used to buy such ciabattas at a nearby bakery. Well, how could I not rise to the challenge? I love baking and love finding or creating something new or unusual that I have never baked or cooked before.

I spent last Saturday trying to meet this challenge but I must admit that I have failed. My dough was too soft and while rising, spread all over the kitchen counter instead of towards the ceiling. A bit like a blob in a sci-fi flick trying to invade the planet. I eventually shaped the 2 loaves as pannini or baguette shapes to try and hold them together. They still spread out a bit flat instead of being round and the texture was a bit dense and heavy.

I am the sort of person who would rather sneak out during the night with a paper bag over my head and my baking flop well wrapped to place it in the bin, than admit it was a flop. But I must admit that even though the olive loaves did not meet any of the requirements, other than to contain olives, they tasted too good to throw away. Instead, we will eat them and I will have to continue working on my recipe during the coming months until I can present a ciabatta that I can be proud of.

Icebreak and Hot Cake

Every April, fearless young Finns unpack their kayaks and compete in water so cold that it gives me hypothermia just to look at it.

The Annual Icebreak competition takes place at the rapids close to the bay at Arabianranta, just a 5 minute stroll from our home. The competition takes place once the river ice has melted and the river levels rise late in April. The kayakers compete in downriver, slalom and freestyle events. I am not sure if the economy, a lack of interest or the water temperatures has dented the participation in this event. Certainly, in 2008, it was a much bigger, livelier event than this year. A pity, it is a thrilling event for spectators and I am sure the same applies to the participants. I hope it returns in full force in 2010.

When you return from outside after standing around in the cold and, sometimes rain, it is nice to come into the warm apartment to a cup of hot lemon tea and a piece of warm cake with cream. I have had my recipe for quick hot Honey Brandy Cake all my life. It was passed on to me by my Mum. It is not only the ideal snack on a cold day, but a very quick lifesaver if you should get unexpected guests. It takes only a few minutes to mix and bakes while you are boiling the water for tea or brewing some espresso. It is equally delicious hot or cold with cream.

Hot Cake with A Honey & Brandy Sauce

Preheat your oven to 200 C.
Prepare a small tart pan by oiling it lightly and sprinkle some flour over the base.

For the Cake:

Sift together the following:
1 Cup Flour
4 Tablespoons Raw Sugar
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt

In another bowl or jug, beat together:
1 Egg
1 Cup Milk

• Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in the microwave and beat into the egg mix.
• Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the wet ingredients.
• Mix well and pour into the tart pan. The batter is very runny.
• Bake for 20 minutes till golden brown and a test skewer comes out clean.

About 5 minutes before the cake will be taken out of the oven, prepare the sauce:

• In a small saucepan, melt 3 Tablespoons Butter & 3 Tablespoons Honey.
• Once the cake comes out of the oven run a sharp knife around the edge to loosen it to soak up the sauce.
• Prick the tart all over about 10 times with a fork.
• Bring the sauce to boiling point.
• Then quickly add 3 Tablespoons Brandy or Whiskey. You can use lemon juice if you don’t use alcohol. The sauce with boil up and froth.
• Pour it over the tart and let it soak in.

Pour the tea and serve hot with cream, ice cream or a cold berry compote.

An English Spring & Fresh Herb Loaf

The week in England was pleasantly warm, sunny and green. We started the week with a visit to Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. The drive from Manchester to the house, belonging to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, wound through really pretty little villages like Matlock and followed a scenic route along the Pennines. The house is being renovated and perhaps fewer rooms were open for viewing but it was a really warm, sunny day and the gardens were beautiful. Many visitors spent the day picnicking on the lawns.

Everywhere we went the blossoms, daffodils and tulips were flowering. A feast for the eye. The Britain in Bloom competition also ensures that there are blooms in every available outdoor space, including the shopping malls. My cousin, Nilda, and I explored some of the endless hiking trails along the canals and the Wheelock Rail Trail in Cheshire, enjoying the green rural landscape while talking for hours on end.

Wednesday I met up with my friend, Hannah, in Stratford-upon-Avon. Unfortunately the town was in the midst of renovations. A disaster considering that they were going to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday the very next day. I believe the Stratford Council is probably the least popular organisation in that country right now. We spent most of the day hiking in the countryside.

The week ended with the trip to Llandudno on the Welsh coast. It was too misty to see much out to the ocean or have a look at Anglesey or snap many pictures. So instead we toured the site where one of Europe’s biggest Bronze Age Mines is situated. The tunnels were very narrow and steep and apparently children as young as 5 or 6 years old were working there digging out the malachite that would result in copper for axheads. Afterwards we walked along the promenade and along the pier. It is a really nice seaside town. I can imagine myself staying there for a few nights more in the future and doing long walks along the beach.

It was a bit of a shock to return to a still bare and brown Finnish landscape. To prolong the feel of spring and green landscape I decided to bake a Herb Swirl for the May Day long weekend.

Herb Swirl

750 ml Bread flour
500 ml Graham flour or wholemeal flour or Nutty Wheat flour
125 ml Bran flakes
30 ml Raw sugar
15 ml Sea salt
10 grams or 15 ml dry yeast
500 ml Milk – lukewarm
125 ml Water – lukewarm
For the Herb filling:
125 ml Basil leaves, chopped
125 ml Origanum, chopped
125 ml Parsley, chopped
75-100 ml Chives, chopped
1 medium Potato, peeled, cooked and finely chopped
75 ml Pine nuts – toasted or Sunflower seeds (optional)
100 ml Olive oil
125 ml Parmesan cheese – finely grated (optional)
2 Garlic cloves, crushed

• Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water until frothy.
• Put the flours, bran, sugar, salt in a bowl.
• Add the yeast mix and lukewarm milk and mix. Adjust the flour to make a dough that is not too soft but can be rolled out later. Knead the dough for a few minutes till smooth.
• Let the dough rise for an hour.
• Prepare a breadpan that is 32 x 10 cm.
• Mix all the ingredients for the herb filling well or mix in a food processor for a finer paste.
• Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured board and roll out to 30 x 35cm.
• Spread the filling onto the dough leaving an inch on the shorter sides.
• Roll up the dough like a swiss roll and put it into the breadpan with the seam down.
• Preheat the oven to 180 C
• Paint the top of the loaf with egg wash.
• Bake for approximately 50 minutes. (After 30 minutes I turned the oven down to 160 C to avoid it burning.
• Check to see that the top does not get too dark and cover with foil if necessary.
• Serve as is or with cold meat and fresh salads.