These crackers have become an ultimate go-to recipe lately..

SEED CRACKERS

(tweaked from Green Kitchen Stories)

65g sunflower seeds
60g sesame seeds
40g ground flaxseeds
75g flour (almond, oat, rye, chickpea, buckwheat.. I use a 50/50 blend of two of these)
0,75tsp salt
3tbsp olive oil
225ml water


Place a bowl on a scale and first measure sunflower and sesame seeds in, reserving a quarter of the mixture for sprinkling on top. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix. Add olive oil and water and stir until combined. Spread the mixture out immediately on a baking tray, as thinly as possible, (the dough will thicken quickly and then it'll be a lot harder to spread evenly) and sprinkle the remaining seeds (and a little more if you will) on top.

Bake in 150 decrees first for 20 min, cut in squares with a pizza slicer or a sharp knife and bake for another 20-30 minutes. Keep peeking in the oven after 15 minutes or so; the baking time can vary alot depending on your oven. The crackers should get just a little golden on the edges. Break gently into individual crackers and let cool on a wire rack.

Beware of addiction.

CHILI SIN CARNE

(serves 4-6)

2-3 onions
3-4 cloves of garlic
olive oil
1 large sweet potato
3 tins (400g) of tomatoes
100ml uncooked green lentils
1tbsp balsamico
1-1,5tsp salt
a few pinches of black pepper
2-3tsp ground cumin (juustokumina)
a good pinch of ground chili powder
400g precooked kidneybeans
half a lemon

greek/turkish yoghurt
flat leaf parsley/coriander
salted tortilla chips


Chop the onions and garlic cloves and fry them in a large pan/casserole on low or medium heat slowly, for about 10-15mins (I never really timed this) stirring them frequently so they won't burn, till they're really soft and somewhat caramelized. In this way the onions become really, really tasty (one of my latest discoveries! Slowly fried sweet onions make a wonderful base for omelets too, and...)! Chop the sweet potato into small cubes and add to the pan when the onions are done and fry for a few minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes (if you're using whole, squeeze them with your hands over the pan), lentils, balsamico and some of the cumin, chili, salt and pepper. Season this dish to your taste; keep tasting throughout the cooking and add more spices if desired. All I'm saying is that a lot of cumin needs to go in, a lot. (And enough salt!) Rinse the kidneybeans and add them when the sweet potatoes are done (I haven't timed this either but it takes quite some time, maybe somewhere around 30 minutes.. And if they don't seem to soften enough, and the stew is thick already, add some boiling water). Last, just before serving, squeeze the juice of half a lemon in and taste once more if it needs any more spices.

Serve with a dollop of yoghurt and crunched tortilla chips and lots of flat leaf parsley sprinkled on top. This chili goes really nice with new potatoes too, or rice, if you wish.

Don't eat alone, enjoy in good company!

The chili keeps in the fridge for about 5 days and freezes well too. (I also made corn flat bread to go with this on the basis of my potato flat bread, using only corn flour.)

Potato flat bread love

I may have fallen a little in love with potato flat bread.

PERUNARIESKA (POTATO FLAT BREAD)

(makes about 10 little flat breads)

about 700g unpeeled, unboiled potatoes / 500g boiled, peeled potatoes
200ml water or milk
1,5tsp salt
a dollop of oil
2 eggs
200ml flour (barley, oat, wheat etc)


Peel and boil the potatoes, let cool and mash them with a hand blender in a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix with a spatula. Spoon dollops of dough on a tray lined with baking paper, sprinkle each generously with flour (the dough will be very wet) and pat them into breads 1cm or a little less thick (about 10cm in diameter). Bake the flat breads in 250 celsius for 12-15 minutes until nice and browned (start peeking in the oven after 10 minutes or so because baking times vary depending on your oven). Eat warm with butter melting on top, or course.

Meet my new love: beetroot pesto. It works both on bread and as a dip. And also I finally got around to making this life-changing bread. So tasty, nutritious and supereasy to make! Happy Sunday folks!

BEETROOT PESTO

(from Glorian ruoka&viini)


400g beetroots (you can use beetroots in vinegar or boil fresh beetroots and let them cool)
2 cloves of garlic
100g grated parmesan
100g cashewnuts
1 bunch of basil
about 100ml extra virgin olive oil
salt
black pepper


Throw everything (but salt and pepper) in a food processor and mix until smooth. Season to taste.

Though I'd forgotten that Henna has sugar in her morning tea and she was shocked to find out I've started to drink my coffee black, spending time with a good friend from afar is always like coming home. We ate lots of good food, marvelled at the christmas lights downtown, had coffee at Johan & Nyström (because I knew she'd fall in love with the interiors) and just took it really easy.

SCONES

(makes 8-10)

400ml wheat flour
2tsp baking powder
0,5tsp salt
1,5tbsp light cane sugar
60g butter
175ml milk
1 egg


Combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add cold butter in cubes and rub it in with your fingers until the mixture looks like fine crumbs. Add cold milk and stir just until smooth. Roll the dough on a floured surface until it's 1,5 to 2cm thick and cut scones out of it with a 6cm round cutter. Gather the edges and roll them out once more to get the rest of the scones. Brush the tops with beaten egg. Bake in 200 celsius for about 10 minutes, until risen and slightly golden on the top. Serve fresh with this amazing lingonberry curd Krisse made when we last were at her place or with jam (I found blackberry Bonne Maman!) & whipped cream and bacon & eggs like me and Henna did now. How can something so simple be so freaking tasty?


(And oh, look at that amazing carpet mom made for me!)

The Green Kitchen Project, recipe no.8

Good things often come about slowly. You should know by now that I really like spending lots of time in the kitchen: have good music playing, put effort into what I'm going to serve, try new things and watch something (in my opinion) almost magical take place as simple ingredients turn out into tasty, nourishing and comforting pastries and dishes. This is one those 24-hour projects but it actually requires more time than work.

DARK DANISH RYE BREAD

(makes 1 loaf)

190g whole rye grains
60g sunflower seeds
500ml boiling water
250ml plain yoghurt, at room temperature
3tbsp clear honey
1tbsp sea salt
1tbsp fennel seeds
125g dried cranberries (optional)
5tbsp carob powder (or cacao powder)
4tsp dried yeast
400g whole rye flour
150g whole spelt flour
60g light spelt flour


Place the rye grains and sunflower seeds in a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Let sit for 15 minuten, then add the yoghurt, honey, salt, fennel seeds, cranberries and carob powder and stir with a wooden spoon. Use your finger to test the temperature of the mixture - it should be just warm. Stri in the yeast. Then add rye flour and stir until you have a smooth batter. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave for 1 hour at room temperature, until the dough is slightly bubbly.

Gradually add in enough of the spelt flour to form a dough. Turn out onto a floured work surface (I skipped this step, for I find that rye bread doughs are next to impossible to remove from your work surfaces, and kneaded in the bowl instead). Knead for about 5 minutes, adding the remaining spelt flour until it is firmer, but still slightly sticky and quite heavy. Form it into a ball and return to the bowl. Slap some water on the top with your hands. Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for 8-10 hours or overnight.

Place the dough into an oiled loaf tin and press down with your fists to get rid of any air pockets. The dough should be quite sticky. Brush the top with water and dust it with rye flour. Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise slightly for 2 hours.

Bake the loaf on the slowest shelf of the oven in 200 celsius for 1 hour. Turn off the heat and leave the loaf in the oven for further a 15 minutes. Remove from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack for at least 4 hours. This is important to allow the bread to set, which makes it easier to cut. Keep for about a week.


My loaf ended up a little underdone; I felt the dough could have taken in more flour but I wanted to give it a chance since I hadn't made this bread earlier and I didn't really know how it should be like. (Also longer time in the oven could maybe have solved the problem though I already gave it some: after turning the heat off and the 15 minutes I had it in the oven without the tin for a further 8 minutes.) The bread didn't hold together very well when cut in slices, though I waited the 4 hours. Maybe I should've waited more? But it tasted really good and had a wonderful smell of christmas! (I used cacao powder instead of carob and skipped the cranberries. I didn't have light spelt flour so I substituted it and some of the whole spelt flour with wheat flour. Also next time I'd halve the amount of fennels seeds.)


Soundtrack for the recipe: Chopin's Nocturne No.11 by Elisabeth Leonskaja

Slow mornings are one my favorite things in life. This morning I enjoyed luscious coffee from Kenia (Tekangu Karogoto), bread fresh from the oven and the sun shining in. This fruit & nut bread just might beat the one it was inspired by (second photo on this post). I am so pleased with this recipe, oh my.

FRUIT & NUT BREAD

300ml water
25g fresh yeast
1tsp salt
1tbsp cane sugar
200ml coarse spelt flour
450ml wheat flour
50ml olive oil
120g dried figs
100g soft dried dates
70g hazelnuts


Warm the water in a large bowl up to 42 celsius. Mix in yeast and after that salt, sugar, flour in parts and olive oil. Lastly mix in figs, dates and hazelnuts (throw them in whole to have beautiful big clumps in the bread). Cover the bowl with cling film (the bowl should be more at least double the size of the dough for it will rise alot) and place in the fridge overnight. In the morning knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes; this is important as the dough warms up and the yeast awakens. Grease a bread tin and have the dough rise in it for 45 minutes in a warm place under a kitchen towel. Bake the bread in 175 celsius for about 45 minutes and to get crispier edges take the bread out of the tin and bake for another 5 minutes without it. Tap the bottom of the bread and if you hear a hollow sound the bread is ready. This bread is really best with just butter on but it goes awfully well with good ham and goat cheese gouda, or the like, as well.

I finally got around to trying this bread that is basicly just nuts and seeds. (Here's a slightly different version of the same thing.) I was quite pleased with the bread! It is especially good toasted and it holds together better if you store it in the fridge. (The lace patterned plate in the picture, my absolutely most beautiful plate, is from Valkoinen Puu. I am so incredibly inspired by the lovely couple who makes these!)

In this season I love the rustling of leaves, lots of hot chocolate (recipe coming soon) and listening to autumn music. The nights are dark but snuggling on the couch is good.

The Green Kitchen Project, recipe no.6

I am at home and I miss everybody a lot (though most of us live in Helsinki being with the family at our parents is just very different from being with them here). And I miss the countryside and feel a little out of place in the city. But I suppose I'll soon get the hang of this again. There are wild things in the air; I'm excited but also looking forward to things settling down again.

I made these crackers at our parents. Very yummy.

 

ORANGE-KISSED SEED CRACKERS

60g sunflower seeds
60g sesame seeds
40g linseed
60g hempseeds (I didn't have hempseeds so I used 80g of sunflower seeds, 80g sesame and 60g linseed)
100g amaranth/quinoa/almond flour (I used half rye, half oat flour)
1,5tsp sea salt
300ml water
60ml olive oil
2tbsp orange juice
1tbsp clear honey


Mix the seeds together and reserve a quarter for topping. Add flour, salt, water and olive oil and mix. (You should have a loose batter. If it is not loose enough, add some more water; it will evaporate as you bake the crackers.) Line two baking trays with baking paper and pour the batter on them. Flatten them out with a spatula as thin as possible. (I accidentally sprinkled the remaining seeds on them at this point; they were meant to be sprinkled after the first bit in the oven, before cutting the crackers, but I think I'll actually stick to doing it this way.) Bake in 150 celsius for 25 minutes. Meanwhile whisk together the honey and orange juice. Remove the trays from the oven, brush them with the orange glaze and cut them (I used a pizza slicer) into 5cm pieces. Bake for 30 minutes more or until the crackers are crunchy. (I baked the middle pieces for an extra 10 minutes or so.) Cool on a wire rack.

The Green Kitchen Project, recipe no.4

It's half a year and a day since Nora and I had last met. It's lovely to have her back in Helsinki and it was so good to catch up with her. (And it's been a while since I cooked anything on The Green Kitchen Project but now here we go!)

SWEET APRICOT & CAULIFLOWER DAL

1/2tbsp coriander seeds
1/2tsp mustard seeds
1/2tsp cardamom seeds
1/2tsp cloves
1/2tbsp curry powder
1/2tsp ground ginger
a pinch of chili powder
6 organic dried apricots, chopped in half
2-3tbsp coconut oil for frying (or ghee or olive oil)
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves
1 cauliflower
2 carrots
200g red lentils
750ml coconut milk
225ml water
200g fresh spinach
salt
(a large handful of coriander/cilantro)


Trust me, freshly ground spices make all the difference.

Grind the first four spices (I used ground cardamom) in a pestle and mortar. Add the rest of the spices and and apricots and mix with your fingers. Heat the oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add the spice blend and stir constantly. Fry until it smells fragrant and looks browned but be careful not to burn to spices. Add chopped onion and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes, stirring. Add the cauliflower and the carrots and stir until they are fully coated by the spices. Then add the lentils, coconut milk and water and stir well. Let simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables and lentils are cooked through. Season with salt to taste. Last stir the spinach in (and garnish with cilantro if you like).

My dal tasted delicate but didn't look very pretty. I let it cook a little too long so the lentils got all mushy and the cauliflowers a bit too soft. I also felt it could've had more spices, a little kick of something, a little more warmth - but now as I wrote the recipe here I realized I'd measured all the spices with a teaspoon so I was missing a whole lot of coriander and curry there! I'll fix that next time; I'm definitely making this again. I really liked the apricots but only really tasted them once. I used six and chopped them in small pieces; next time I'll throw in 10 or more and just chop them in half or quarters.


Soundtrack for the recipe: Weaver of dreams by Esperanza Spalding


To accompany the dal I had a go on a new recipe of pan rolls (that Pete made for us in Berlin). They turned out soft and moist and perfectly delicious!

PAN ROLLS

(makes 8-10)

200ml turkish yoghurt
50ml water
11 g dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1tsp salt
1 egg
3tbsp olive oil
600ml flour (I used half wheat, half fine spelt)


Mix yoghurt and water and warm till 42 decrees. Add the rest of the ingredients mixing after each one. Add flours in parts and mix them in with your hands. (The dough will be very soft.) Cover with a kitchen towel and leave to rise for about a half an hour or until the dough is double in size. Form small rolls (15mm thick) using flour. Pour olive oil on a plate and dip both sides of the rolls in it. Fry the rolls on medium heat on a dry pan, a few minutes on both sides. (If you're using spelt flour, note that it burns easily!)

Oh the light of day!

My friend moved on Sunday and I made bread that's a little like ciabatta (I've named it Greek Country Bread because I originally put olives in it) to serve the movers. (I also made one for home and had some for lunch yesterday. And blood grapefruit, a new acquaintance!) The bread came out delicious with a lovely hard crust. I love to put lots of time and effort into baking bread; this recipe is a somewhat fast solution for scrumptious bread. I'm still after big, wonderful air bubbles and I'm hoping to make and maintain a good sourdough that could serve me for a long time! But here's Sunday's recipe:

 

COUNTRY BREAD

500ml water (37 decrees)
25g fresh yeast
2tsp salt
300ml spelt flour
about 700ml wheat flour


Dissolve the yeast in the water. Add salt and spelt flour and mix. Last add wheat flour in parts and gently fold it in with your hands (I kneaded the dough a little). The ready dough should be very soft and a little elastic but not sticky. Leave to rise for 2 hours under a kitchen towel in a warm place. (If you want to make one very large bread leave it rising in one bowl but if you want to make two smaller ones separate the dough into two bowls and then let rise.) Very gently lift the dough onto a baking paper (and fold it a few times over itself maybe, very gently) and form into a loaf. Leave to rise for about a half an hour under a kitchen towel. Turn the oven on to 250 celsius and put a baking tray in the oven (the hot tray will ensure you a crispier crust). Sprinkle flour on top of the loaf and with a sharp knife make a few cuts (5mm deep) on the surface. Take out the hot tray, pull the loaf on it and place it on the bottom level of the oven. Pour 100ml of water in the bottom of the oven. (This also helps to create the crispy crust.) After 10 minutes lower the temperature to 200 celsius and pull out the baking paper. Bake for another 25 to 35 minutes; the bread is ready when tapping the bottom of the bread you hear a hollow sound.



It's our sister-in-law's birthday today. Me and my sisters went and surprised Sanni with a cake. Our littlest one (their daughter) is growing so fast; she's 3 months in a bit!