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.

Mornings around here are calm and slow. I am taking everything out of this time I now have with no agenda; I make good breakfasts and spend lots of time with the Bible. I've also finally gotten around to trying baked oatmeal. Here's how I've been making it, in praise of autumn.

BAKED APPLE OATMEAL

(serves 2-3)

300ml oatmeal
0,75tsp salt
0,75tsp baking powder
1tsp cinnamon
0,5tsp pure vanilla powder
400ml coconut milk
1 organic egg
1-2 apples
coconut oil (or butter) for greasing
natural yoghurt, almonds, blueberries etc. for serving


Mix the dry and wet ingredients first separately and then all (except the apples) together. Grease an ovenproof dish (about 25cm in diameter) with coconut oil and pour the mixture in and top with sliced apples. Bake in 175 celsius for 30 minutes. Serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt, blueberries and chopped almonds (or go crazy like we did one morning with a little bit of everything; bananas, homemade apple jam, dried mulberries, and everything I already mentioned!)

Somehow the best memories almost always revolve around food.

 

CANNELLINI BEAN PASTE

(adapted a little from Eeva Kolu)


300-400g cannellini beans
half a clove of garlic, cut in small pieces
a squeeze of lemon juice
1tsp grated (organic) lemon zest
a handful of parmesan
some tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
flat leaf parsley for garnish


This is one of those recipes that's hard to give exact measures for; just trust your tastebuds as you make this!

Rinse the beans in a colander. Throw everything (except salt, pepper and parsley) in a food processor (or blender) and blend until smooth. Season to taste and add more olive oil (and a little water, too, carefully, if it seems to need it) until your paste is nice and smooth. Garnish with olive oil and parsley.


(Recipe for the banana coconut pancakes here. The porridge recipe is coming later!)

I love this season I'm in. I've got so much time in my hands: time to listen, time to rest, time to heal, time to dream, time to be with friends and family, time to eat breakfast slowly, time to try out new recipes, time to make music all day if I want to. I really try to savor every day; I know that in time I'll have my hands full again!

In the summer I tend to not add any dried fruits in my granola because I love having it with fresh berries or fruit (strawberries and nectarine are my favorites). I tweaked my basic granola recipe (coming here as well) a little yesterday:

CRUNCHY CHIA GRANOLA

800ml rolled oats
300ml buckwheat
200ml coconut flakes
200ml almonds
75ml cocoa nibs
50ml sesame seeds
50ml chia seeds
0,25tsp salt
150ml sunflower oil
2 heap tbsp honey


In a big bowl mix all the dry ingredients. Heat up the sunflower oil in a kettle, add honey and mix until they merge. Pour the mixture in to the dry ingredients and mix well. Line an oven tray with baking paper and bake the granola in 150 celsius for about 20 minutes; after baking for 10 minutes mix a few times to bake evenly. Let cool completely before storing.

 

COCOA BUCKWHEAT GRANOLA

(adapted from My New Roots)

300g rolled oats
200g buckwheat
75g coconut flakes
100g hazelnuts (or any nuts really; hazelnuts are the crunchiest though)
30g chia seeds
0,5tsp salt
35g coconut sugar
100ml maple syrup
100ml coconut oil
1tsp vanilla powder
150ml raw cocoa powder


Chop the hazelnuts roughly. Mix oats, buckwheat, coconut flakes, hazelnuts, chia seeds, salt and coconut sugar in a bowl. Melt coconut oil in a saucepan and add maple syrup, vanilla powder and raw cocoa powder and mix well. Pour the cocoa mixture in with the dry indredients and mix thoroughly. Line an oven tray with baking paper and bake the granola in 150 celsius for 15 minutes. Keep baking, mixing every few minutes, for 10 minutes more (or more, depending how dark you want to roast it. Taste a hazelnut to test if it's done to your taste). Let cool down completely before storing. Serve with milk and e.g. fresh strawberries, nectarines or banana.


This granola is seriously addictive. Just saying.

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.

Banana coconut pancakes

This morning the sun shone in, I made banana coconut pancakes and then carried on unpacking stuff in my new home. I'm getting there! (I've made these pancakes on so many mornings lately. I've tweaked the recipe a little to have banana taste more, yum.)

BANANA COCONUT PANCAKES

(makes about 15 small pancakes)

3 (large) ripe bananas
5 organic eggs
75g shredded coconut
coconut oil for frying


Mash the bananas with a fork. Beat the eggs lightly and add them and the shredded coconut and stir until combined. Bake 3-4 pancakes (about 7cm in diameter) at a time in a pan on medium heat. Flip the pancakes very carefully; with a little more banana and a little less eggs these are very fragile but they're so worth the effort! Serve with blueberries and maple syrup.

I woke up early, walked to the store to get a load of banana boxes (yes, I'm moving!!) and had buckwheat walnut porridge for breakfast with blackberries, dates (if I was only able to eat one sweet thing in the world it would be medjool dates), cocoa nibs and shredded coconut. A new favorite!

Hello February! Here's another recipe I've been meaning to try for ages! These apple & oat scones get such a lovely subtle taste from apples and almond butter. They're best fresh from the oven but I'll be happily munching on the rest of them in the train on my way north tomorrow morning. But before that we'll celebrate Nora and Otto getting married today. Sweet!

The Green Kitchen Project, recipe no.9

Sometimes words feel inadequate. Like when you really want to thank somebody. Susanna and Mariia have seen so much of the good and the bad and they've been there for me lately when I've really needed them. My way of saying thank you was breakfast.

BAKED CRUNCHY BLUEBERRY OATMEAL

(serves 2-4)

200g blueberries (fresh or thawed if frozen)
240ml oats
1/2tsp baking powder
1/4 ground ginger
a good pinch of salt
1 egg
250ml milk
a pinch of pure powdered vanilla
40g hazel nuts
40g pumpkin seeds
1tbsp coconut oil
30ml maple syrup


Combine oats, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, add milk and whisk well to combine. For the crunchy top layer mix syrup, coconut oil, hazel nuts and pumpkin seeds with your fingers.

Grease a baking dish with coconut oil and spread the blueberries on the bottom. Spoon the oat mixture on the blueberries and then pour the egg mixture over the oats so that everything is evenly soaked. Sprinkle the seed and nut mixture on top and bake in 190 celsius for 25 – 35 minutes (when ready the oatmeal should be set and the nuts and seeds lightly browned and crunchy). Leave to cool slightly before serving.


I quite liked this! I think I'll substitute pumpkin seeds with sunflower seeds next time as their taste is more subtle. And I am tempted to try this version as well.

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!)

These days are slow and calm. It's good.

CARROT DATE BREAKFAST MUFFINS

(makes 12-16 muffins)

480ml almond flour
1 heap tsp cinnamon
1tsp salt
2tsp baking powder
240ml soft dried dates, pitted
3 ripe bananas
3 organic eggs
60ml coconut oil, melted
1stp apple cider vinegar
360ml carrots, grated
150ml almonds, chopped (plus some for garnish)


Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix dates, bananas, eggs, vinegar and oil in a food processor until fully combined and smooth.
Add the mixture to the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. Fold in carrots and almonds. Spoon mixture into paper lined muffin tins and sprinkle chopped almonds on top. Bake in 175 celsius for 25 minutes (baking time might vary a little depending on the size of your muffins).

These muffins are perfect for breakfast or a snack as they have no sugar or white flour in them. (They're adapted a little from a paleo recipe.) They also freeze well. I've made these both with very fine almond flour and much coarser almond meal; fine flour makes the muffins quite dense whereas coarser meal makes them very moist and light. I reckon a blend of the two would be perfect! I've also sometimes replaced carrot with apple, works really well!

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.

A day can't be so bad that pannari wouldn't save it (Jamie's new Food Escapes in the mail also helped).

PANNARI

(finnish oven pancake)

500ml whole milk
2tbsp sugar
1tsp salt
2 organic eggs
200ml flour (sometimes I use about one fourth coarse spelt flour but really, plain wheat flour gives the best result here)
2tbsp melted butter
cardamom


Whisk everything but cardamom together and let swell for 10 minutes. Cover an oven pan (mine was about 20x30cm and I love how thick the pancake gets) with baking paper. Pour the dough in and sprinkle cardamom on top. Bake in 225 celsius for about 40 minutes. The pancake will rise and swell alot in the oven but don't worry, it'll come down again. Pannari is best eaten a little chilled but still warm. I absolutely recommend homemade blueberry jam with this!

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.

People who bake you banana bread in an instant when you ask if they would make life wonderful. There's so much goodness and love around. (Also people who knit you socks are quite amazing!)


"A good story simply gets better with every new chapter."

Grandma spent her life in the kitchen and now that she only has others cooking for her I love using some of her old kitchen utensils and carrying on the traditions; last weekend I made banana bread in a cake mold inherited from her with Green Kitchen Stories' recipe (the only sweeteners in this recipe are bananas and applesauce). And I discovered Rachel Khoo and her inspiring kitchen.

This weekend I started off with 13 hours of sleep and I continue slowly. I find it very intriguing to suddenly be absorbed in a new place and a new group of people. People and their stories and ways of doing things are so interesting! A new job takes so much of your energy though as everything is new. Learning it all (the routines, the new pace, the people) takes time and drains you but is also very rewarding. I came across a wonderful statement:

"Taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it's more like a cha-cha."

These days are slow and easy. I love how here and now matters all the more (however ordinary it might be) when you don't know what the future holds.

I have been making granola for a long time (inspired by my friend Maija last summer) but I never used a recipe. I just mix oats, chopped almonds and cashews and then warm up some oil with organic syrup or honey and then pour that on the oats and nuts and stir until everything is well coated (and warm up some more oil and sweetener, if not). I roast the granola in 175 celsius for 10 to 15 minutes or so, turning it a few times with a spoon to roast evenly. When the granola has cooled down I throw in cacao nibs, coconut flakes and dried cranberries (this was my favorite granola for a long time). Sometimes I use olive oil, sometimes canola and sometimes coconut oil. I've found that olive oil and honey are a good pair and canola oil and syrup; with coconut oil I've used no sweetener. Lately I have experimented a little with seeds, and one of my favourite finds for granola has been dried strawberries!

Green Kitchen Stories posted this granola recipe a while ago and the banana in it sounded so enticing that I had to have a go. I've made jars and jars of this during the last two weeks (we are many here at our parents)!

BANANA GRANOLA

(from Green Kitchen Stories)

700ml oats
120ml roughly chopped almonds
120ml pumpkin seeds
0,5tsp salt

3tbsp coconut oil
3tbsp honey (or maple syrup)
2 very ripe bananas


Combine oats, almonds, seeds and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl mash the bananas with a fork until smooth and add coconut oil and honey and mix. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry with your hands. Spread the granola in an even layer on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in 200 celsius for 15 to 20 minutes, check at around 10 minutes and turn the granola over and break chunks that are too big.

The Green Kitchen Stories, recipe no.3

I had my little brother stay over and I wanted to make something from The Green Kitchen for breakfast (I'll soon be done with the breakfast section of the book, dang!) I knew these would be good; will make again!

And happy news: Good Life Coffee now sells coffee beans from the new roastery of The Barn (my favorite café in Berlin)! So good!

 

THIN OMELETTE ROLLS WITH APPLE & COTTAGE CHEESE

(makes 1)

1 egg
1tbsp milk
a good pinch of salt
coconut oil for frying

FILLING:
half an apple, cored and coarsely grated
3tbsp cottage cheese
1tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds
a pinch of cinnamon


Combine the filling in a bowl. Whisk the egg, milk and salt with a fork in a glass and pour in a 20cm pan. Fry the omelette for 1 minute on the first side and 30-45 seconds on the other. Place the omelette on a plate, spoon the mixture in the middle and roll up. Cut in half before serving.


Soundtrack for the recipe: Bottles and Birds by Johan Örjansson