Birdwatching
Just across the bay from our apartment complex is a small nature reserve. A lot of reeds grow around the bay and a large variety of birdlife abounds. The reserve features a bird lookout as well as a bird hide next to the water where you can spend your long summer evenings watching the various waterbirds go about their lives as well as spot the occasional muskrat swimming around.
There seems to be quite a tradition of birdwatching in this country and no matter where you go, there are reserves and lookouts. I have also found some great bird photographers on the web who are Finnish. You can see wonderful bird photography by Jari Peltomäki, Arto Juvonen, Markus Varesvuo and Tomi Muukkonen on this site.
Washing Rugs
I have spotted a few rug washing stations during the time we have lived here. Recently a rather large new washing station was built along the river trail where I go hiking.
In summer the Finns roll up their rugs and head outdoors to wash them, feed them through a big roller and hang them in the sun. It is not as convenient as calling a man to come and fetch and clean your rugs, but there is no doubt that the idea has rustic appeal and you get to soak up some sunshine.Rye Bread
The Finns love bread, and in particular, rye bread. Recently, I ran across the road to buy a few pulla or buns for coffee, and it was put into a brown paper bag that gleefully exclaimed that ‘Bread is Good!’
I originally found my recipes for Dark Sourdough Pumpernickel Rye on the Make It and Bake It website. Two separate recipes featured on the site and for various reasons I liked some parts of the 1st recipe and other parts of the 2nd one. So I ended up combining them and replacing the butter with olive oil. It produced a wonderfully moist, dark loaf with a really complex flavour.Do not get distracted by interesting sporting events on TV such as the US Open Golf Championship when baking. I ended up getting so involved with watching the golf that I forgot to turn the oven down and my loaf shows the results of sitting in too hot an oven for a while.
Molasses Sourdough Pumpernickel Bread
1 Tablespoon Caraway Seeds
¼ Cup Boiling Black Coffee
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 Cup Milk
¼ Cup Dark Molasses
1 Cup Sourdough Starter (I used a wheat starter – 100% hydration
2 Tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar
¾ Cup All Bran Cereal (not the flakes)
2 Cups Rye Flour
1 ½ - 2 Cups Bread Flour
Egg wash for glazing the loaf
- Pour the coffee over the caraway seeds and let it cool.
- Mix the olive oil, milk, salt & molasses.
- Put the rye flour, 1 cup of bread flour and the bran cereal in a bowl.
- Add the cup of sourdough starter and the molasses mixture.
- Add the rest bread flour a little at a time and knead the dough till smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn over to coat with oil, cover with plastic wrap and let it stand till it has doubled in size.
- Prepare a baking sheet with baking paper.
- Deflate the dough and form a loaf.
- Gently deflate the dough and form a round loaf.
- Let it sit on the baking sheet till again doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 200 C.
- Slash the loaf a few times, paint it with the egg wash and place it in the oven.
- Turn the oven down to 180 C and bake till dark golden brown.
Now, like the birds who fly south during Autumn, I will be flying south this weekend. I will be spending the next 3 weeks visiting my aged and ailing mum who retired to the south coast of KwaZulu Natal, near the Transkei border in South Africa. I will unfortunately be missing some of the beautiful summer weather we are currently enjoying here. However, the compensation will be that I will be spending time on the Wild Coast and possibly be seeing the annual sardine run. When I return in 3 weeks’ time, I will post it on my blog.
You can read some interesting information on the Wild Coast on these two sites:
1. Why Go South Africa - includes a good article on the Wild Coast
2. Wild Coast - a blog that discusses relevant issues and adventures
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