Plum jam

Finnish Christmas pastries with plum jam filling.

I thought making plum jam would be difficult but it is not. All you need is plums, apple juice and sugar.

400 g plums
1 dl sugar
2 dl apple juice
2 star anis
5 cloves

Put the plums, sugar, apple juice and spices in a casserole. Boil on low fire for 15-20 minutes. Remove the star anis and cloves. Mix the plums into jam with a hand mixer.

Serve with cheese or as filling in different pastries.

So good, so tasty!

Cook on low fire for 15 minutes.

Remove the star anis and cloves before mixing the plums.

Mix the plums with hand mixer as long as it has a smooth
texture.

Satay sauce

I learned this recipe from my dear Dutch friend for about 15 years ago. For the satay sauce you will need

1 dl milk
2 tbsp peanut butter
0,5 tsp sugar
0,5 tbsp soy sauce
0,5 tsp lemon juice
salt
pepper

Mix the milk, peanut butter, sugar and soy sauce together and warm the mix on low fire. Let it boil quickly. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

This sauce is perfect with spicy pork slices.

Chicken in green curry

Serve with sticky rice.

Thai food is so excellent. Full of taste, full of flavors.... I like green curry because of the bamboo shots and sweet Thai basil I use in it. This recipe is for 2-4 people.

400 g chicken
400 g coconut milk (1 can)
2 tbsp green curry paste
2-3 dl shredded bamboo shots
1,5 tbsp fish or soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
cherry eggplants
4 Thai eggplants
Thai basil

From the left you have bamboo shoots, in the middle Thai
basil, green curry paste and coconut milk. In the bowl to the
right you have diced Thai eggplants and smaller
cherry eggplants.

Cook the shredded bamboo shots for 10 minutes in water.

Pour the half of the coconut milk on a frying pan, let it come to a boil. Add the green curry paste and mix it with the coconut milk until the texture is oily. Add the sliced chicken pieces in the curry and cook the meat. Add three times small amounts of coconut milk in the curry. See that the curry boils all the time to make sure that the chicken is cooked thoroughly. Add the cooked bamboo shots and add also the cherry eggplants and sliced thai eggplants. Season with soy or fish sause and sugar. Let the curry to boil a bit more. Add the Thai basil in the end and take the pan off the stove.

Serve with sticky rice (glutinous rice).

Plums cooked in spices

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

The fall is just a wonderful time of the year. When the days are getting darker you can easily experiment with spices.

This recipe serves 2 people:

4 plums
A bit less than 2 dl of water
0,5 dl sugar
10 cloves
0,5 tsp cinnamon powder (or 1 cinnamon stick)
1 tsp black currant jam

Cut the plums into boats and remove the stones.

Cut the plums in to small boats and remove the stones.

Warm up on low temperature the cloves and cinnamon to release the aromas of the spices. Add the water, sugar and the jam. Let the mix boil for 5 minutes.

Add the plums and cook for 5 more minutes or when the plums are soft.

Pour the hot plums with its sauce on top of vanilla ice cream.

Cream of Jerusalem artichoke

Garnish with crispy ham, Jerusalem artichoke chips and
thyme. Try also with dash of olive oil.

For some reason I never had heard about this before - Jerusalem artichoke. My colleague told me about it at work and I just had to try it too.

Jerusalem artichoke on the left.

This recipe is for 4 people:

400 g Jerusalem artichokes
2 shallots
3 cloves of garlic
2,5 dl vegetable buillon (or chicken buillon)
5,5 l milk
1,5 dl cream
juice of half a lemon

Garnishing

100 g Jerusalem artichokes
80 g air-dried ham
Thyme

Slice thinly the Jerusalem artichokes used for garnishing.

Cut the shallots and garlic in small pieces and cook them quickly in butter until they are transparent but not brown. Cut the Jerusalem artichokes in small pieces and cook them with shallots and garlic. If you want to use white wine add it in this point, 0,5 dl white wine is enough. Let the wine cook together and then add the buillon, milk and cream. Let the soup to cook until Jerusalem artichokes are done.

When the vegetables are done mix the soup with a hand-mixer. Add the juice from the lemon. Taste with salt and pepper.

Mix the soup with a hand-mixer.

Garnishing: Slice thinly the 100 g Jerusalem artichokes and fry them in oil. Meanwhile cook the air-dried ham crispy in an oven for 5 minutes in 180 °C.

Maki sushi

A nice riesling suits perfectly with Asian food.

I love sushi! But did you know that sushi does not mean raw fish? Sushi is a rice seasoned with vinegar and often is combined with fish, vegetables or even fruits. You can even have beef on it. The sushi rice is often called as shari or sumeshi.

This weekend I made some maki sushi and sashimi.

Preparing the sushi rice will take about an hour or more depending how fast the rice is cooled down.

8 dl cooked sushi rice (prepare according to the package)
1,5 dl rice vinegar
1,5 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Cook the rice according to the package. Mix the sugar and salt with vinegar thoroughly. Pour the vinegar spoon by spoon on the warm rice. Mix the rice once in a while. Some say the rice has to be cooled down before mixing the vinegar but I have always mixed the vinegar with warm rice. After the vinegar is mixed with rice I usually let it cool down about an hour.

For the maki sushi:

2 carrots
1 cucumber
1 avocado
300-400 g salmon
noritang (sheets made of algies)

Cut the ingredients a bit longer than noritang sheets, this
makes it easier to roll the maki.

Cut the cucumber, carrots, avocado and salmon as long slices, a bit longer than the noritang is.

Place the noritang on a bamboo sheet. Spread the rice evenly on the noritang. On the other end place the long slices of vegetables and salmon.

Place the ingredients on the other end of noritang covered with
rice.

Start rolling the noritang with the help of bamboo sheet. Now you have a long maki roll. After you have made all the maki rolls cut them in smaller pieces with a knife.

Roll the noritang with the help of bamboo sheet.

Ready maki roll.

From the rest of the salmon I made some sashimi that is raw fish pieces that you just dip with soy sauce and wasabi. I also made couple of salmon nigiris (rice ball that has something on them).

You eat the sushi with chop sticks, dip it in a soy sauce and have some wasabi on the sushi. If the wasabi is too strong you can neutralize the hotness with pickled ginger.

This was just my version for maki sushi but try to add mayonese, tuna or other fish or even meat in it.

Soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger are good friends with
sushi :)

Grilled squash and pork neck with mint leaves

A perfect Asian barbeque!

This is a perfect light dish for summer and barbeque lovers. Tastes from lovely bbq are mixed with Asian flavours.

Use fresh ingredients.

You will need

300-400 g pork neck
1 squash
A bunch of fresh mint leaves
Juice from 2 limes
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2-3 cloves of garlic
a thin slice of ginger
3 spring onions

Mix lime juice, sugar, soy sauce, minced garlic and ginger in a large bowl. Tear the mint leaves and mixed them with the dressing. Cut the spring onions and add them to the dressing. For those who love their food more spicy you can add some fresh chili to the dressing.

Slice the squash to thin and long slices. Oil the slices and grill them well. After you have grilled them cut them in smaller pieces and mix in the dressing.

Cut the squash into long and thing pieces, in this way
the squash is easier to grill.

Grill the pork neck well, add som salt and pepper. Slice the pork neck into long thing pieces and mix with the dressing.

The warm pork neck will release the flavors of the
dressing. Yummy!

Decorate the dish with some whole mint leaves and serve it warm.

Blueberry galette

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Blueberry season is here <3 I celebrated the season with an open French blueberry pie or a blueberry galette. The whole point with galette is that you don't need to get perfect but that it looks like about right :) You can either make a one big pie or then several small ones. I made a big one in an oven casserole with 30 cm in diameter.

4,5 dl flour
1,25 dl corn flour (I used Maizena and it worked well even though it is not corn flour)
0,5 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
220 g butter
0,5 dl water

Filling:
1 l blueberries
juice of a half a lemon
1,25 dl sugar
1,25 dl potato flour

Mix the flour, corn flour, salt and sugar. Then mix it with butter that is at room temperature. When all the flour is mixed with butter, add the cold water and mix the dough well as a ball. Place the dough in a plastic bag and let it be in a fridge at least one hour.

Let the dough be in a fridge at least an hour.

Meanwhile mix lemon juice, sugar and potato flour with blueberries.

Potato flour keeps the juice from blueberries in the pie.

Use a rolling pin to roll the dough as thick as 0,5 cm. Place the blueberry mix in the middle and turn the covers over the pie.

Let the pie to be in the oven about 50 minutes or when golden brown in 175 ºC.

Let the pie to cool down before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate cake

Serve with ice cream.

Need some chocolate and fast? This recipe gives you amazing chocolate explotion only in 15 minutes.

2 eggs
150 g melted og grated butter
3 dl sugar
4 tbsp cacao powder
3 tsp vanilla sugar
1,5 dl flour

Topping:

100 g chocolate
2 tbsp cream
(whisky or dark coffee)

Did you know that instead of melting the butter you can
grate it? The result will be the same.

Melt or grate the butter and mix all the ingredients together except the flour. Add the flour to the dough as last. Pour the dough in an oven pan with 25 cm in diameter. Place the cake into an oven for 15 minutes in 225 °C.

Use baking paper so that the cake does not burn to the oven pan.

Prepare the topping. Melt the chocolate with cream. For a different taste add a dash of dark coffee or whisky. Pour the topping on top of the cake.

Let it cool down a bit. Tastes good as warm with vanilla ice cream.

Let the cake to cool down a bit.

Peach pie with quark

Serve the pie cold. The fresh peach flavor is so nice in this
pie.

It is already May and spring time is here. What suits best for this time than a suprisingly fresh peach pie.

You will need for the dough:

3,5 dl flour
1 dl sugar
2 ts baking powder
2 ts vanilla sugar
Little bit of salt
2 dl cream
0,5 dl melted butter

Filling:
4 peach halves from a can
2 dl quark
1 dl milk
1 egg
1dl sugar

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and vanilla sugar together. Add the melted butter, egg and cream to the dry ingredients quickly mixing the dough. Smear the pie dish with oil and spread the dough on the dish.

Spread the dough on smeared pie dish.

Slice the peach halves and place the slices on the dough.

Place the sliced peaches on the pie dough.

Mix the quark, milk, sugar and egg together. Pour the mix on peaches.

Mix the quark, egg, milk and sugar well together.

Put the pie in to the oven for 30 minutes in 200 °C. Serve the pie thoroughly cooled with coffee or Chinese green tea.

Hot pear and pineapple salsa

Use the salsa as bed for the salmon.

You would think that USA is just burgers burgers burgers... but it is also chiles, chiles, chiles. For everyone loving hot food USA has many good traditions for hot food. This contemporary New Mexican salsa recipe combines the sweetness of the fruits and hotness of habaneros. You should actually use red pequin quebrados (one type of hot chile) but I only found habaneros at the grocery store.

This recipe serves for 4 people:

2 pears
2 dl pineapples
1 dl dried cranberries
fresh habanero (or red pequin quebrado) according to your taste

Simple ingredients with no added sugar or salt.

Dice the pears and pineapples. Cut the habanero in small pieces. Mix the diced pear and pineapple with habanero and dried cranberries. Let the salsa to stand in a fridge at least 10 minutes before serving.

Mix the ingredients well together.

This hot and sweet salsa is perfect for smoked barbeque salmon or salmon with chile.

I must say I have fallen in love with American cuisine.

Hummus

Main ingredience is the chickpeas for hummus.

Quick lunch? No time to cook anything? Then hummus is something for you. All you need is:

520 g chickpeas
1 tbsp of tahini (you can also make your own tahini from sesame seeds and sesame oil)
Juice from ½ a lemon
4 cloves of garlic
1 - 1,5 dl oil
Salt
Pepper
Parsley

Take the chickpeas from the can and wash them thoroughly. Put them in the mixer together with tahini, lemon juice, garlic, oil and salt. Mix them until it is a smooth paste.

Mix until the chickpeas become
a smooth paste.

Spread the hummus on a plate and leave the sides to be a bit higher than the middle part. Pour some olive oil in the middle and sprinkle some chopped parsley and black pepper on top.

Serve with bread, feta cheese. olives and tomatoes topped with green pesto.

Serve with simple Mediterranean tapas.

Leave the sides higher so you can pour some olive oil in
the middle. Sprinkle some parsley and black pepper on
top.

Potato salad

Serve the salad with hot dogs.

It is still early but we started the barbeque season this weekend already. We got some sausages from our local butcher for some hot dogs. On the side I made a nice potato salad.

700-800 g potatoes
3 dl sour cream or crème fraîche
10 slices of pickled cucumbers (should make about 1 dl)
1 red onion
1 bunt of chive
3 spring onions
½ tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard

Juice from ½ a lemon

½ tbsp sugar

Salt

Pepper

The ingredients.

Some recipes say that when you cook the potatoes you should not peel them but I peeled them in this recipe and cut them in ready pieces for the salad. In this way the potatoes cooked faster. However, you need to see that you do not over cook them. After the potates are cooked pour some cold water to cool them and stop the cooking.

Place the potates on the side and cut the cucumbers, red onion, chive and spring onions in small pieces. Mix them together with sour cream, lemon juice, dash of white wine vinegar, dijon, sugar, salt and pepper. You may try adding more mustard or vinegar if you like, but remember to check the taste before doing this.

Mix the cut vegetables together with sour cream and
lemon juice, vinegar and mustard.

Add the cooked potatos to the salad and mix carefully.

Add the potatoes in the end to the salad.

Put the salad in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving for the flavors to spread evenly in it. Potatosalad is perfect for lunch or as a side dish for hot dogs or steaks.

Let the salad to be in the fridge about 30 minutes before
serving.

Garlic and rosemary brie

Put some garlic, rosemary and olive oil in the small whole
in the brie.

Something simple for the weekend? Garlic and rosemary brie baked in the oven.

Brie cheese
Garlic cloves
Rosemary whisks
Olive oil

Cut the brie in smaller pieces and place the pieces for instance in créme brûlée pot. Make a small hole in the brie and put one garlic clove that is cut in half in each pot. Put some rosemary in the cheese as well and a dash of olive oil on top.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes in 175 °C.

Enjoy as such or with white bread.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes in 175 degrees.

Sweet potato soup with curry

Decorate with spring onions and enjoy!

Did you know that sweet potato is richer in carbohydrates than a normal potato? In this recipe we add even more calories with coconut milk and cream :)

For this soup you will need:

2 medium sized sweet potates
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 small onion
1 tbsp curry powder (or less)
1 tsp chili powder (or less)
1 can coconut milk (about 4 dl)
2 dl vegetable bouillon
1,5 dl cream
Salt
Pepper

Cut the garlic, onion and sweet potates in pieces. Gently cook the onion and garlic in oil and when the onion is transparent add the sweet potate and cook couple of more minutes. Add the chili and curry powder, mix well. Pour the coconut milk, cream and vegetable bouillon in the casserole. Cook until the sweet potatoes are soft.

Cook until the sweet potatoes are soft.

Mix the cooked sweet potatoes with a hand mixer into a smooth soup. Season with salt and pepper according to your taste. Add some fresh spring onions and enjoy :) The soup is rather heavy so you can try to have less curry and no cream at all adding more water instead.

Mix the soup smooth with a hand mixer.