I have spotted quite a few interesting old motor vehicles around the city in the last couple of months. Usually, some really old and interesting motor vehicles and motorbikes feature as exhibits in the parking garages in the city.
The parking garages that connect the two shopping centres of Kamppi and Forum, as well as the main station, are probably the most interesting parking garages around. It is the only place I have ever lived where they put an effort into making even a parking garage user-friendly. Apart from the fact that they always have interesting old vehicles on display, they entertain you with taped birdsong, all year round. The birdsong changes ever so often and next to the elevators to the Stockmann department store is a board that has all the information about the bird you can hear singing at the time. Other fun things to do or look at when in the parking garage … curved mirrors, a fishtank, rides for the kids and lastly, water buckets and gear to clean your windows before you head off. In any case, if you were intending to hibernate down there for the winter, you are not going to get bored too soon.
So, I headed out to go and photograph a few of the vehicles for this blog. These little French numbers may be a new fad. A few of them have popped up around town recently.
It was definitely the end of autumn yesterday when we had snow coming down all day. To celebrate the yellow and red season a little longer, I baked a rich tomato loaf and added some summery green herbs and olives. (It occurred to me that a few of the vehicles in this blog also sported green, red and yellow colours.)
Tomato Herb Bread
1 ½ Cups Finely Chopped Ripe Tomatoes (skinned if you prefer)
Small Can of Tomato Paste (70g)
¼ Cup Warm Water
1 Packet Yeast (11g)
2 Tablespoons Raw Sugar
2 Tablespoons Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Herbs de Provence
2 teaspoons Salt
½ Cup Green Olives, quarters (optional)
- Dissolve the yeast in the water.
- Mash or puree the tomatoes, depending how ripe or juicy they are.
- Blend yeast, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, oil, salt and herbs together.
- Add the olives if using.
- Stir in as much flour as needed to make a firm dough.
- Knead till smooth.
- Place in a greased bowl let rise covered until twice its size – about 1 hour.
- Deflate and form a loaf. You can put into a greased loaf pan.
- Pre-heat the oven.
- Let the loaf rise until double again.
- Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with more herbs.
- Bake at 200 C for 10 minutes, and then turn the oven down to 170 C and bake for a further ½ hour or till nicely browned and hollow sounding when tapped.
