May 30, 2014



I am truly blessed to have a friend like her.

May 27, 2014



It is so beautiful when two people love each other so much that they want to spend each coming day together.

May 24, 2014


I'm off to Turku to celebrate Helena and Stephen and their love!

May 21, 2014


He will stay faithful to his promises.

May 20, 2014

Spinach mushroom omelet and long-awaited visitors






Helena and Stephen found a little time in the middle of their short visit to Turku and all their wedding preparations to come to Helsinki, ah! We had breakfast, went to Suomenlinna with friends from here and there, burned in the sun, had some seriously inspiring and heartening conversations, ate at Street Gastro.. On the morning before they left omelette tasted especially good so I thought I'd finally share the recipe (though I never had one).


SPINACH MUSHROOM OMELET

(serves 2-3)

6 organic eggs
6 tablespoons milk
about 200g fresh spinach
150-200g fresh mushrooms
salt
black pepper
lemon pepper
coconut oil for frying (gives such a lovely, subtle taste)
parmesan


Cut mushrooms into halves if their small and quarters if they're big. Fry them on a dry pan on medium heat until they've lost much of their liquid. Sprinkle with olive oil and lemon pepper (Santa Maria has got an excellent lime pepper!) and fry until golden. Set the mushrooms aside to wait. Crack the eggs in a bowl, pour in the milk and mix lightly with a fork. Rinse the spinach well in a colander and fry on a dry pan on medium heat for a couple of minutes or so until the spinach has wilted (become soft). Season generously with salt and a touch of black pepper. Turn the heat up (you want to fry the omelette quickly so it won't dry), add coconut oil to the pan and pour in the egg mix. Season with salt. Let the omelette fry a moment without stirring until it sets just a little, then push it around gently with a spatula. Turn in big chunks. The omelette is ready when it's just set (but of course you can let it get all brown if you like it that way). Throw in the mushrooms and serve straight away. Grate parmesan on top if you like.

May 18, 2014


Good friendship is like fresh water, like a coat that fits well, like coming home.

May 15, 2014

Oatmeal raisin cookies



I went to visit old workmates at the theatre yesterday and since I'd been craving oatmeal raisin biscuits for days, I made them some. On the way home I went to GLC for a double espresso and got Suke Quto from The Barn, my lucky day!


OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES

(makes about 24 small biscuits)
(adapted a little from Smitten Kitchen)

115g soft butter
125g muscovado sugar
1 organic egg
120g rolled oats
95g flour (I used light spelt)
0,5tsp baking powder
0,5tsp cinnamon
0,5tsp salt
0,5tsp pure vanilla powder
70g raisins
40g chopped dark chocolate


Cream together the soft butter and sugar. Add egg and mix. In a separate bowl combine oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, raisins and chocolate to the sugar butter mixture and mix with your hands to have everything well combined. Scoop the dough onto two sheets of baking paper and roll them tightly and place in the fridge for half an hour or so. When chilled, cut the rolls into biscuits, divide on two baking sheets and press each a little to flatten them out. Bake in 175 celsius for 8-9 minutes, until golden at the edges but still pale on top. (We're aiming at crunchy edges and soft, chewy middle. Chilling the dough makes the biscuits a little thicker and chewier; a warm dough bakes faster and spreads more.). I made small biscuits (about 5cm) but next time I think I'll go for proper cookies and make bigger ones. Baking time will vary a lot depending on your oven, how big you make the biscuits and how cold the dough is. Just do as my grandma always did; bake a test biscuit or two first!

I highly recommend muscovado sugar! (This is the sugar I use the most. In Helsinki you find it in Ruohonjuuri and other organic stores.) Muscovado's got a lovely, subtle caramelly taste. Since it's less processed than white sugar it still has some nutrients in it and is easier for your body to digest. Of course you could make these biscuits with any sugar but you will miss a little in flavour if you use white sugar.

May 14, 2014


The little things.

May 12, 2014

INSPIRED/ Kuuma




I'd been hearing about a new café, Kuuma, on Pursimiehenkatu 12, and finally went today. What a lovely place! The sisters behind the counter clearly love what they do. They serve raw cakes, freshly made smoothies and juices, etc. And good coffee (from Johan&Nyström). I had a double cappuccino (the ratio of milk to coffee was perfect and the espresso just right) and orange blueberry raw cake, yum. The place was small and welcoming, a cozy and buzzing meeting point. (The only downside of the place is that it's not in my neighborhood.) I left feeling so inspired!

(On the way home I stopped to take a picture of my future house, ah.)

May 10, 2014


It's really the little things that make life exciting, like fresh strawberries in your porridge in May!

May 9, 2014



I might be a little late but now I've got basil, arugula and chives on the way. Let's see how it goes; me and basil go a long way but the others..

May 7, 2014


This salad is a new hit in my kitchen.

May 2, 2014




Remember my lovely neighbor shop? Well Cilla asked me if I'd like to decorate her shopwindow and I jumped at the chance! (There have been so many good surprises lately!) I had a blast designing the window with such lovely materials: she had just gotten new beautiful stuff from Mateus and Renée Voltaire. Inspring, to say the least!

(But really, it looks so much better live, go see it!)