The Story Behind – Strawberry Watermelon Yogurt Popsicles

"Your eyes are your lens,
your heart is your shutter."
 

This phrase from Diane Cu made it directly into my heart. She put so wonderfully in words what I had felt so deeply. I felt immensely grateful for the opportunity to attend Diane Cu and Todd Porter's 3-day food photography and styling workshop on CreativeLive last week [if you missed the free livestream, you can still buy the class or watch the free Segment 1 – Documenting Food Stories video where they talk about finding one's photographic voice (scroll down to find the video archive)]. Diane and Todd were not only teaching techniques but rather trying to show how to capture a story and mood through photography.

There's a trillion ways to photograph something but which story do you want to tell?

Which emotions do you want to convey?

Who are you?

How does your voice sound?

Show it to me.

Just like every good photograph, every delicious food has a story behind it. By "a story" I don't mean a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end. It can be one but it certainly doesn't have to be. The story behind food can be a feeling or merely a fragmented memory or flashback. Something that shakes you from the inside. Something that is worth a moment, if only a brief one. In my opinion one can, however, not create a delicious dish or an impressive image without putting a piece of one's soul into the process and the final product. A soulless food or image is not one that will leave a trail behind it. It's one that is quickly consumed and then forgotten.

Do we want that? Well, I certainly don't and I guess you don't either. Or why else would you be here if not to feel food?

And now you're surely wondering what the story behind these popsicles is. Quite honestly, everything started with a huge desire for a watermelon I saw at the grocery store. Do you know that uncontrollable feeling when you see a perfect piece of fruit? So I bought that watermelon to work for lunch. Let me tell you, it was quite a hilarious thing when I finally realized that I had a whole watermelon for lunch. A WHOLE WATERMELON! Honestly. Weirdo. Of course there was no possibility that I finished the whole thing for lunch, so at the end of the day, I still had quite a large amount of juicy, sweet watermelon waiting for its destiny.

I began to think about recipes with watermelon, and popsicles were one of the first things that popped into my mind. Refreshing, colorful, not too sweet popsicles. So here I am; here we are. I made you popsicles for those summer days when you crave something to cool you down.

And what is it with all those lilacs? Well, they are just too gorgeous to not sneak into these pictures. Classy and a bit dramatic. Just look at that picture above. *sigh*

---

Strawberry Watermelon Yogurt Popsicles

makes 6 x 60 ml / ¼ cup popsicles

155 g (5.5 oz; ~ 2,5 dl; ~ 1 cup) strawberries, washed & hulled
90 g (3.2 oz; ~ 1 ¼ dl; ~ ½ cup) seedless watermelon, roughly chopped
3 tbsp honey
¼ lime, juice
zest of ½ lime

200 g (7 oz; 2 dl; ¾ cup + 1 ½ tbsp) Greek yogurt
1 tbsp water
⅛ tsp vanilla paste [or ⅛ tsp vanilla extract]
2 tbsp honey

Blend the strawberries, watermelon, honey, lime juice, and zest in a blender and blend until smooth. In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, water, vanilla paste, and honey.

Pour alternate layers of the fruit and yogurt mixtures into popsicle molds. Allow each layer to freeze for 30–40 minutes before adding the next one. Note that each layer has to be almost frozen before adding the next layer. You can add as many layers as you want and have time for. Once all the layers are added, insert popsicle sticks. In case your popsicle molds don't have lids, you can cover the molds with two layers of aluminium foil and make small incisions for each stick to keep the sticks in place. Freeze for further 2 to 3 hours until completely frozen. To unmold, briefly run the molds under warm water.

---

Bright Stars – Rustic Peach Galette

I've been trying to write this post for two days now, but I seem to have lost the flow of writing. I see words but I don't see a story. Maybe this isn't so much about a lost writing skill or mood; maybe it just reflects my current flow of thoughts and feelings.

I've tried to write something about June and summer and all that goodness that lies ahead of us. But somehow it felt like nonsense; like this post wasn't supposed to be talking about weather and farmers' markets. So give me just two paragraphs to spit out something that I've carried with me since last week before we discuss how unbelievably delicious this peach galette is.

Last week, I saw a glimpse of how quickly life could be over. I looked up at the sky but all of a sudden, it was blurred. I couldn't find the stars where they used to twinkle so brightly. It happened so very quickly, totally unexpectedly. Without those stars I felt lost; I couldn't navigate. Luckily, the stars weren't lost forever, just hidden behind a cloud for a brief moment. But it was enough to scare the hell out of me. It was enough for me to look at the sky more consciously. To remember why that starlit sky was so very essential to my being.

So find your bright stars, stick to them, hold them dear. There's no way you can predict the course of life. Nothing is certain. Don't take anything for granted. Because you never know when one of those stars, shining so brightly in your sky, collapses into a black hole.

---

Rustic Peach Galette

I made an open-faced galette to praise this season's first peaches. A galette that looks rather rustic on the outside but is, in truth, pretty elegant and classy. I added some buckwheat flour to the crust and topped it with green pistachios. Other than that, I really wanted the juicy, delicate peach to be the heroine of this dessert. The galette turned out fantastic. It tasted like summer; just like I wished it would.
 

for the crust
165 g (5.8 oz; 3 dl; 1 ⅓ cups minus 1 tbsp) all-purpose flour
60 g (2.1 oz; 1 dl; ⅓ cup + 1 ½ tbsp) buckwheat flour
1 large pinch of fine sea salt
2 tbsp granulated sugar
150 g (5.3 oz) cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3–4 tbsp ice cold water

for the filling
2 tbsp ground almonds
~ 400 g (14 oz) peaches, sliced
2 tbsp demerara sugar + more for sprinkling
small handful of pistachios, roughly chopped

whipped cream, crème fraîche, or coconut whipped cream, to serve

To make the crust
In a medium-sized bowl, combine both flours, salt, and sugar. With your fingers, quickly rub the butter into the dry ingredients until well incorporated and crumbly. The dough should now resemble coarse bread crumbs with plenty of pea-sized pieces of butter remaining. Add water gradually just until the dough holds together when pinched. Try to work as fast as possible to avoid over-working the dough. Alternatively, you can use a pastry cutting tool or a food processor to make the dough.

Form the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for an hour or until ready to roll.

To assemble and bake
Preheat oven to 180°C (355 °F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lightly dust the chilled dough with flour. Roll out on a well floured work surface into an about 3 mm (0.1") thick circle. If the dough cracks, don't worry; just pinch it back together. Transfer to the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with the ground almonds, leaving a border of about 5 cm (2"). Arrange the peach slices in the center and sprinkle with the sugar and pistachios. Fold up the edges, brush with water, and sprinkle with some sugar.

Bake on the middle rack for 40–50 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the filling bubbles.

Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream, crème fraîche, or coconut whipped cream. Personally, I like to reheat any leftovers; the warmth brings out the flavors of the peach filling and the crust seems to melt in your mouth.

---

May Love&Inspiration

Is it really the last day of May already? Wow, time flies by so fast. I'm eager for all that summer goodness; farmer's markets, fresh products, ice cream, lazy days spent at our summer cottage by the lake, weddings, berry picking trips, long summer nights... I'm ready for you, summer!

I know, I know. This is quite a loooong list but there has been so much going on in May! Enjoy.

---

» My favorite posts.

» To my sweet boy.

» I've been enjoying Wit & Delight lately.

» Have you ever wondered why we Finns and other Nordic people rave about our summers and the midnight sun? Is it really that big a thing? Well, see for yourself.

» Want to learn from the fabulous Diane Cu and Todd Porter of White On Rice Couple? Join me and watch the free live broadcast on CreativeLive – Story on a Plate: Food Photography & Styling course on June 05 – 07 9:00am – 4:00pm.

» Stumbled upon this amazing Zurich-based blog.

» For the last four weeks, I've been eating homemade bread from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day cookbook: boule, deli-style rye bread, naan, baguette, wurzelbrot, crusty sandwich loaves. Revolutionary is a big word, but it's true for this one. This book is revolutionary. Phenomenal. Stunning. A keeper.

» Let's eat (and also drink) rhubarb as much as we possible can!

» Loved this post on food photography and capturing motion on Edible Perspective.

» Why I now avoid Chinese garlic.

» Enjoyed reading these two interviews on Food52.

» Swedish rhubarb madness.

» An interesting read about cookbook deals (and on turning them down).

» This song. 

» Learn to make Chinese steamed buns and pickled ginger. 

» I've been enjoying The Lively Show lately. Jess is not only a crazy talented lady herself but she always finds guests who are truly inspiring souls.

» Going to make these absolutely amazing looking ricotta gnocchi from The Tart Tart with nettles! Ricotta gnocchi are my absolute favorites.

» Green Kitchen Stories has now an own video channel on Youtube! *happydance*

» I know I'm a bit late on raving about this but the lovely Mimi Thorisson (who just got a baby in the most miraculous way possible) of Manger, one of the most inspiring blogs out there, bought a chateau in the French countryside. What makes this super awesome is that she is now planning to open a seasonal bistro as well as to host workshops! Read the full story here.

» Gimme some banana boats.

» So proud of Shelly – the first issue of Driftless Magazine, a magazine focusing on the Midwest, is out in just a few days! Read more about the process of launching an own magazine on her blog, Vegetarian Ventures.

» This Pinterest board. She also has a blog (written in both Italian and English). Thank you Cynthia for sharing it on Facebook!

» This new-to-me bread baking blog (in German).

» "We writers must learn how to become still in our heads, to achieve the sort of stillness that allows our senses to become heightened." The Art of Being Still

» Waiting for the Two Red Bowls pizza delivery service to happen in real life...

» A beauty of a post. 

» The Saveur Best Food Blog Awards 2014 party was last Thursday. Sadly, I wasn't able to attend the party, but it seems like everyone had the most amazing time ever. Again, huuuuge congrats to all winners but especially to Stephanie who not only won the Best Cooking Blog category but was, furthermore, honored as Blog of the Year!! *virtualgrouphug* (and she has a cookbook, Easy Gourmet, coming out this fall!!)

---

Wild Plant Foraging – Nettle Flatbread

For centuries, foraging has played an important role in Nordic culture. In the former days, it basically was a necessity for survival; you had to know which plants were edible and how to best use and preserve them in a way that most of the nutritional values stayed intact.

Foraging had never been forgotten or gone, but it definitely lost popularity and its focused narrowed substantially in the 20th century. People still foraged but mainly berries, like bilberries, raspberries, lingonberries, and cloudberries, and mushrooms, like chanterelles and porcini. Wild plants were, however, mostly left without attention. People probably lost interest because wild plants weren't a crucial part of their diet anymore. Markets were full of vegetables, fruit, and other products from all over the world.

Who needs fireweed or wood sorrel when you can basically have anything you want.

In the last years, however, one could observe a wind of change. A storm, really. The rising popularity of foraging is part of the New Nordic Cuisine, a movement that not only embraces farm-to-table cooking but focuses on seasonal, locally foraged ingredients. Back to the roots. 

Internationally, René Redzepi, one of the founders of the New Nordic Cuisine as well as the chef and co-founder of the world's best restaurant, noma, has shared his love for Nordic cuisine making it popular world wide. In Finland, one of the brightest voices of this movement has been Sami Tallberg. He has written several successful books about foraging wild plants and how to use them in the kitchen, has talked about them in magazines and on television, and holds wild plant foraging and cooking workshops on a regular basis.

To be honest, I too am quite new to wild plant foraging. Although, I grew up in a family of enthusiastic foragers, foraging mainly focused on berries in summer and mushrooms in fall. Plants were not paid much attention to. Nettles were, however, a bit of an exception. I don't remember foraging them as a kid but I always knew they were edible. I knew that they could be used much like spinach; you could use them in soups, salad, pesto, and bread, to name a few. I was also aware of their high nutritional value, packed with vitamins, iron, potassium, manganese, and calcium, making them real superfood.

A few notes on foraging and handling nettles. First of all, always wear gloves when foraging nettles and tongs when handling them in the kitchen. The leaves and stems have stinging hairs which cause a painful rash on contact. But don't worry, they lose their sting when crushed or cooked.

If you aren't very familiar with wild plant foraging, nettles are, in my opinion, the perfect plant to start with. Nettles are widely distributed which makes them quite easy to find. This ensures that you'll come back home from a foraging trip feeling like the queen or king of nettle kingdom.

As with all foraging, identify every plant with 100 percent certainty before foraging it. If in doubt, just grab them with your bare hands and...KIDDING!! Don't do it. Just don't. It will hurt. Fortunately, you will find many good guides on wild plants on the Internet and at your library.

The best time to forage nettles is spring and early summer before they start to bloom. Look out for young, about 5–10 cm (2–4") high, plants. If the nettles are already bigger, only forage the tops and leaves. Lastly, try to avoid urban areas as those nettles are packed with harmful nitrogen.

Do you forage plants?

---

Nettle Flatbread

recipe inspired by Tartine Bread; crust slightly adapted from delicious:days by Nicole Stich
makes 10 small flatbreads or 2 big ones

It took me a couple of trials to optimize the baking. My first flatbread batch came out with burned nettles. Damn. I figured out that I probably should toss the nettles in some liquid to keep them from burning. In Tartine Bread, Chad Robertson coats his nettles with heavy cream. I decided to try his method myself. The result was better than with my first batch but I wasn't totally satisfied. So I tried one flatbread with coating the nettles with some olive oil. To my slight frustration, the nettles were still getting too brown. Adding the nettles after about half the baking time, provided the best result: the crust was perfectly brown and the nettles were cooked down and crisp without being burned. Therefore, it's also the method I'm describing in the recipe below.

250 g (9 oz; about 4 ½ dl; 2 heaping cups) all-purpose flour (or bread flour, substitute by weight)
50 g (2 oz; 1 dl; ⅓ heaping cup) rye flour
½ tsp fine sea salt
175 ml (¾ cup) lukewarm water
15 g (0.5 oz) fresh yeast
[OR alternatively 5 g / 1 ½ tsp instant or other active dry yeast, used according to packet instructions]
1 tbsp olive oil

100 g (3.5 oz; 1 dl; ⅓ heaping cup) crème fraîche
1 tbsp heavy cream
fine sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
250 g (9 oz) mozzarella, very thinly sliced
100 g (3.5 oz; about 8 dl; 3,5 cups) nettles, washed & dried
a couple of tablespoons olive oil
pinch of salt
optional: 100 g (3.5 oz) Black Forest Ham or pancetta, chopped

To make the dough
In a medium-sized bowl, combine both flours and salt. Set aside. In a bowl of a standing mixer, combine the water and crumbled yeast. [If using instant active dry yeast, skip this step. Combine yeast with some flour and add to warm, about 42°C / 108°F, water mixture just before adding the rest of the flour.] Stir until the yeast is completely dissolved. Add the olive oil. Gradually add the dry ingredients, while kneading. Knead for 3–5 minutes at medium speed. If the dough feels too dry, add a bit more water; if it feels too sticky, add a bit more flour. The dough is ready when it's elastic and comes clean off the sides of the bowl.

Shape into a ball and cover with a kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 45 minutes. After the dough has risen, punch it down, divide into 10 equal portions and shape them into balls. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for further 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 250°C (480°F) or as hot as your oven gets. You can place a baking sheet at the bottom level so it gets preheated. It works like a pizza stone and ensures a perfect crust!
 

To make the topping
Combine the crème fraîche and heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Now get your tongs ready. In a large bowl, toss the nettles with just enough olive oil to thinly coat them and season with a pinch of salt.
 

To assemble
Take a dough portion and flatten it with your hands. Using a rolling pin, roll out thinly on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Evenly spread a thin sheet of the crème fraîche mixture on top and top with some mozzarella and pancetta.

Bake the flatbreads on the bottom rack for 5 minutes. Mound nettles on top of each flatbread. By adding the nettles at a later stage, we can ensure that they don't burn while baking. Bake the flatbreads for a total of about 10 minutes, or until the crust has gained a golden brown color. While the first batch is baking, you can assemble the second sheetful.

Serve hot.

---

Breakfast Deluxe – Croissants Filled with Brie & Strawberries

Life is like a chain. A chain of moments. The past weeks have been pretty busy and stressful around here but several small moments have kept me sane. These kind of moments don't need to be big and sensational. No, it's rather the everyday moments that are the ones making your life meaningful.

So I sat down for a while and wrote a list of moments that filled a special corner of my busy, and often messy, brain during the past week. So here it is; my chain of moments.

Listening to bird songs at 4 am. Cherries. Feeling the warm sun on my cheeks. The laughter of a dear friend. Ice cream in a cone. The smell of sun-kissed skin. A black cat sleeping on my lap. Rain drops against the window. Fried asparagus for breakfast. Screaming seagulls. Spotting dandelions. A glass of Kungfu Girl on a Wednesday night; cause girl power. Wearing shorts. And flip-flops. Beer sorbet. Thunder. The smell of freshly baked bread. Encouraging words. A trip to the farmers' market. Stargazing. Freshly ground coffee. Birch trees. Strawberries. Sunbathing on the dock. A bossa nova kind of morning. Pavlova. A blue sky. And blue lake water. The scent of freshly mowed lawn. Yogurt+rye granola+strawberries+agave nectar. Hitting the beach. Mole in my burrito. Nightless summer nights. Screaming at a concert like a teenager. Nettle foraging. A road trip. Pizza night. These muffins. Listening to two middle aged men at the beach: "Is the water warm?" "Yes!" Are you kidding me? 10°C (50°F) IS NOT WARM! Watching an episode of Grey's Anatomy. Gray rocks. The smell of lilacs on a warm summer night.

And last but not least, this breakfast deluxe.

---

Croissants Filled with Brie & Strawberries

This is what I call a breakfast deluxe. Croissants make every morning feel special but filling them with brie and strawberries makes them even more luscious. I added lettuce leaves for some extra color and the additional texture they provide. To be honest, this can hardly be called a recipe. However, I felt that it's just too delicious to not be shared. I was, actually, introduced to this dish at quite a young age. My mom claimed that this was "overly delicious". I was skeptical to say the least, but it didn't take me long to get to appreciate it as much as she did. You can use good quality store-bought croissants or make your own ones. I have to admit that I've never made croissants at home but am eager to try. Both Linda of The Tart Tart, Melissa of The Faux Martha, and Yossy of Apt. 2B Baking Co. wrote a blog post about the croissants of the legendary Tartine Bakery. I truly can't wait to make the recipe myself!

croissants
flavorful lettuce (I used Red Salanova), washed & dried
brie, sliced
strawberries, washed, hulled, & sliced

Using a serrated knife, cut the croissants in half horizontally without cutting all the way through. We want to make a kind of pocket for our fillings. Fill the croissants with lettuce, brie, and sliced strawberries. Honestly, it is impossible to overload them with strawberries so be generous with them. Enjoy with a cup of coffee (either warm or iced) or a glass of freshly squeezed juice. Et voilà!

---