Saint Lucia's Day – Saffron Knots with Orange Almond Filling for Life & Thyme

joulukuu 8, 2014 Sini│My Blue&White Kitchen

Saffron Knots with Orange Almond Filling | My Blue&White Kitchen

December is a month packed full with holidays and traditions, especially in the Nordic countries. Last Saturday, we celebrated Finland's Independence Day, one of the most festive days of the year. I made rack of lamb with roasted Provençal vegetables (haha, totally neither Finnish nor Nordic but delicious). For dessert, I made a vanilla parfait with roasted cinnamon plum sauce and gingerbread. The parfait was really nice but a tad too sweet for my taste; it need a few tweaks before it's ready to be shared.

Next Saturday, December 13, is Saint Lucia's Day. It's mainly celebrated by the Swedish-speaking community but few can escape the lovely sound of the Lucia song or the luscious saffron buns. And let's be honest: every occasion that brings some joy and light into these dark Nordic winter days is more than welcome. Saint Lucia's Day is the very essence of that; according to the Julian calendar it was the longest night of the year. Lucia, the girl wearing a white cotton gown with a red sash tied around her waist and a crown made of lingonberry twigs, was believed to bring the light into the winter darkness.

"The night treads heavily
around yards and dwellings
In places unreached by sun,
the shadows brood
Into our dark house she comes,
bearing lighted candles,
Saint Lucia, Saint Lucia."

So when I was asked to contribute a holiday recipe to Life & Thyme, I knew I had to share a Saint Lucia's Day treat. As I already shared the traditional saffron buns last year, I decided to create a new version of the old classic. I used the basic Nordic cardamom-spiced bun dough but used saffron instead of cardamom. I decided to fill the saffron buns with a delicious orange almond filling and shape them into knots. The result was everything I could have asked for, or to be honest, it was even better. The orange flavor works wonderfully with the saffron and the filling makes these knots a treat made in the Nordic winter heaven.

You can read the recipe on Life & Thyme where I also share how I'm spending my Christmas. One word: unplug.

Should you be interested in Saint Lucia's Day and how it's celebrated here in the Nordic countries, I recommend watching the fun and informative video on the official sites of Sweden.

Happy baking!

Winter Wreath Making

joulukuu 5, 2014 Sini│My Blue&White Kitchen

Last week, I made my very own wreath. It was surprisingly easy and quick to make, and I really enjoyed the process of gathering the greens from the forest and turning them into something else, something new. A winter wreath.

To make your own wreath, you need sturdy, green wire. You can also use a wire frame and attach the greens with additional wire. Scissors make the work easier; regular, sharp scissors work fine but I think I'll get floral shears soon. Especially so, as I was at Virpi Mikkonen's (the creative soul behind Vanelja) book launch party yesterday where we not only ate a bunch of delicious treats from her absolutely gorgeous book Kiitos Hyvää but also learned about flower arranging from the talented Hennamari Asunta. Gloves would protect your hands, especially if you work with greens that have needles or thorns. Naturally, you also need greens, preferably evergreen. I gathered lingonberry and fir twigs from the forest and bought a rose hip branch from a florist. For hanging, you need ribbon or twine.

First, you form a sturdy round from the wire. You can skip this step should you use a premade wire frame. Gather a small bundle of greens. Attach it to the wire frame by wrapping wire around the stems and wire frame. Don't cut the wire. Add another bundle and make sure that it overlaps the previous bundle by half. Continue until you reach the starting point. Finally, attach the berry branches.

I made this wreath having St. Lucia's Day on my mind which is celebrated on December 13 (I wrote about it last year). Next week, I'll share a luscious saffron knot recipe with you all so stay tuned.

Have a great weekend!

November Love&Inspiration

marraskuu 30, 2014 Sini│My Blue&White Kitchen

Happy Advent Sunday, folks! November was full of delicious links, good music, and thoughtful posts. Below, you'll find some of my very favorites. I'm currently working on something special for next week and turning the quinces I brought with me from Spain into luscious membrillo. This is my first time working with quinces so wish me luck!

Some exciting things I would like to mention: the Almond Cookies with Amaretto were featured on Food52's 8 Food Blog Links We Love this week. And for all my German-speaking readers: I had the honor to be featured on Zeitmagazin's weekly Sonntagsessen series today. Hope you enjoy!

» Obsessed with these two songs (both discover via Turntable Kitchen).

» This Chocolate Chestnut Cake from Skye is on my to-bake list.

» Belén's Raspberry Cream with Buckwheat Crispies reminds me of Whipped Lingonberry Porridge which I made again a few weeks ago.

» Molly making lefse (traditional Norwegian flatbread made with potatoes and flour) for the New York Times!!! One word: epic.

» These Gingerbread Bundt Cake pictures from Linda Lomelino are insane! Pure beauty. I also loved this interview on Coco Cake Land. Nordic melancholy? Yes.

» So glad I stumbled upon Gather & Feast, a lovely Melbourne-based blog!

» This Fig & Anise Pull-Apart Bread is just killing me! (And I'm definitely not going to start on how awesome the elk story is...)

» Maintaining a Long-term Blog

» How haven't I known that Pumpkin Butter is a thing? Awesome!

» What a gorgeous Persimmon & Pomegranate Salad with Burrata

» Whole Grain Coconut Oil Pie Crust, y'all!

» I need these boots.

» Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Pumpkin Seed Dukkah – what a genius recipe and top-notch photography!

» This Chai Masala Pumpkin Pie with Black Tea Caramel is probably the most gorgeous pie I've ever seen.

» The post that made my day

» Malted Apple Tarte Tatin and Poached Pears with Pecan Granola

» Meg made Baked Oatmeal inspired by the recipe I blogged about last winter!

» I'm OBSESSED with the Serial podcast.

» Caramelized Fennel Bulbs with Goat Cheese

» He has all my respect. Also, can't wait to get my hands on his book, Hand Made Baking!

» Can't wait to bake this Savory Feta Cheese & Kalamata Olive Cake from Foolproof Living!

» Omg, omg, omg! The new Star Wars trailer!

» Made Beth's luscious Soft & Sweet Buttermilk Bread as well as Spicy Butternut Squash & Chickpea Stew from Amy Chaplin's At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen. These recipes are keepers!

>>><<<

And for all of you who, like me, still haven't got any Christmas presents yet, a reminder: with the promo code LOVEBLUE&WHITE you get 15% off from all STITCH products until January 31th!

Mama goat & baby goat(<3) or how I got traumatized
watching a goat giving birth.

Christmas Baking Kickoff – Almond Cookies with Amaretto

marraskuu 26, 2014 Sini│My Blue&White Kitchen

Almond Cookies with Amaretto | My Blue&White Kitchen

Today, I'm going to be a real European and ignore Thanksgiving altogether. Let's move right to Christmas and Christmas cookies, shall we? Because the truth is that after you've stuffed your face with turkey and pumpkin pie, you'll need to focus on Christmas. Next Sunday is Advent Sunday so one is officially allowed to be crazy excited about Christmas. [Okay, some of you may have started a bit earlier. Yeah, including yours truly.] For me, getting into Christmas mood means to drink glögg, Scandinavian mulled wine, on a daily basis, write Christmas cards, and bake Christmas cookies. Lots of cookies that is.

For several weeks each year, my kitchen turns into a kingdom of flour, butter, sugar, and nuts. I have a pretty long list of cookies I have to bake every. single. year., including numerous from delicious:days as well as old family favorites. For a cookie recipe to be included into my yearly repertoire, it has to be outstanding. One that you just can't get enough of. One that people fight over to get the last one from the tin box. Folks, I just found a new one.

These almond cookies are to die for. Seriously. I gave a bunch of them to people to see if it was just me who couldn't get enough of these treats (okay, just wanted to share the love). It's probably needless to say that these cookies got rave reviews. My favorite was from my dad stating in a matter-of-fact voice "You're going to bake more of these for Christmas, right?". Right.

The recipe is from Steph's debut cookbook, Easy Gourmet. Most of you probably know her. She's the creative soul behind i am a food blog. The one who puts miso in her mashed potatoes and makes ridiculously cute Totoro grilled cheese (that your friend sends you images of via WhatsApp and you reply with a Totoro cake pic). She also happened to be Saveur Magazine's 2014 Editor's Choice for Best Cooking Blog AND Blog of the Year. Oh and did I already mention that she's one of the sweetest persons I've made friends with on the internet? Yeah, that's Steph.

Easy Gourmet is like i am a food blog but on paper. Steph made an incredible job with this book; she not only developed, cooked, and shot all the recipes but also did the layout as well! 100% her; 100% real. The book is full of tasty and approachable recipes. You can find classics, such as Paella, Porchetta, and Pavlova, but also recipes with a modern, Steph-ish twist, such as Bone Marrow Pasta, French Onion Grilled Cheese, and Lemon Meringue S'Mores. A book for kitchen witches and wizards as well as for those ones who want to become one.

These cookies are full of almondy goodness; crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. The original recipe calls for 1 tsp almond extract but because I didn't have any at hand and because booze in baked goods is always a good idea, I used amaretto instead. Also, I belong to the range of people who love their cookies topped with flaky sea salt, so I just couldn't resist sprinkling some on top of these ones as well. I also want to mention that if you are one of those people lucky enough to live in a region free of salmonella in eggs (me!) or just aren't afraid of salmonella, then be sure to grab a spoon and dig it deep into the dough before shaping any cookies. The dough tastes excellent (also an important criteria for any great cookie recipe). I may or may not have eaten a fair share of the dough before and during the process of shaping cookies. Call me cookie dough monster.

Enjoy.

Almond Cookies with Amaretto

slightly adapted from Easy Gourmet by Stephanie Le, p. 218
makes 18 cookies

140 g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
114 g (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
110 g (½ cup) light muscovado sugar
115 g (1 cup) almond flour
1 egg (European size M; U.S. size L)
1 tbsp amaretto liqueur
100 g (1 cup) almonds, roughly chopped
50 g (½ cup) sliced almonds
flaky sea salt, to sprinkle

powdered sugar, to decorate

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. With a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugars, and almond flour until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until incorporated. Stir in the amaretto liqueur. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Finally, add the chopped almonds. At this point, the dough will be quite soft but should be easy to work with.

Scoop up 2 tablespoons dough at a time, roll into balls, and flatten slightly. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and flaky sea salt. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. Chilling the cookies before baking will keep them from spreading too much during baking.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

Bake on the middle rack for about 12 minutes, or until the edges turn golden brown but the center still feels slightly soft to the touch. Cool on the sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. To finish, dust with powdered sugar.

The Best Hearty Soup/Stew/Whatever – Moose Goulash

marraskuu 19, 2014 Sini│My Blue&White Kitchen

I returned from Spain last Wednesday and was welcomed by chilly weather. My first stop: Starbucks at the airport and "one Pumpkin Spice Latte, please" to prepare myself for the cold air on the other side of the window. Spain was fantastic. How could one not have a great time in bright sunshine amidst dear friends and good food? We cherished the abundance of fresh seafood (pulpo! king prawns! fish! paella!), ordered una botella de vino tinto de la casa almost every night, had tapas and probably the best cocktails in town (I really need to recreate that mint julep). We laughed; we laughed so much and hard that I got a hiccup because of it almost every day (there's a point when it turns from funny to annoying). We worked out on the beach, did yoga on Friday night (followed by a great sourdough pizza so that may just have ruined our karma), tried to learn how to whistle, witnessed the birth of a baby goat (the mama goat's yelling will probably haunt me till the end of my days), danced our way through the days, and sang on the plane. What a great week indeed.

But as I already mentioned, I'm back in the cold, dark north. I need something to warm me up from the inside, and I'm probably not the only one. Guys, may I present to you the most delicious, comforting soup ever made in my kitchen: Moose Goulash! As I was soaking up the sun in Spain last week, my mom bought a piece of moose meat for me to prepare once I returned home. Moose meat is available in fall, during the hunt season that runs from late September through the last day of December. The meat is excellent and doesn't have a strong "gamey" flavor which many people dislike. I remembered spotting a moose goulash from restaurant Tintå (based on the southwest coast, in the city of Turku) in the latest Finnish Glorian Ruoka & Viini magazine and decided to make a goulash inspired by that column.

I was slightly nervous of making and shooting this recipe for the blog because of 1) the lack of light during this season (the goulash needs to simmer for two hours and it's basically impossible to shoot after 3pm = I need to improve on my time management) and 2) my anxiety of shooting rustic food and soups/stews in particular. Despite my worries, I decided to at least try cause I was kind of fascinated by the idea of providing you a moose recipe.

And "ta-da!", here we are! I managed to both get the goulash ready in time (finished shooting at 2.30pm) AND did actually succeed in capturing the dish in all its beauty. I'm not saying that I don't see things to improve in these shots (oh I do!) but they're definitely good enough. This was the first time trying to photograph a dish like this but I guess this is where practice shows its magic; it doesn't really matter what kind of food you shoot, as long as you practice, practice, practice your food photography will improve altogether. I could continue with this talk about how much practice matters when it comes to photography but maybe I'll just leave that for another post. I'm sure you're already eager to see the recipe, right? (Make it, make it, make it! Don't have moose? Use beef!)

Hello moose! Hello juniper berries! Hello comfort!

Moose Goulash

adapted from Glorian Ruoka & Viini 07/2014 by Marko Jaakkola from restaurant Tintå
serves 6–8

This is the perfect soup for chilly days. If you're not able to find moose, use other game or beef instead. Choose a cut of meat that is suitable for stews. I used bottom round but other cuts such as brisket or chuck are great as well. Should you not be able to find juniper berries, leave them out. They're commonly used in game dishes throughout Scandinavia and I strongly recommend you to discover it not only as an ingredient to flavor gin but also as a spice. Although you can buy juniper berries in grocery stores, I prefer to forage them myself in early summer. Pick the dark blue berries (juniper berries get ripe on the third summer; the green ones are still unripe) and dry them before storing.

3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
3 garlic gloves, minced
800 g (1.75 pounds) moose (I used bottom round but other cuts such as brisket or chuck are great as well), trimmed and cut into 2 cm / ¾" cubes
2 tbsp light muscovado sugar
½ tsp red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
2 tbsp thyme leaves
3 red bell peppers, cut into strips
1 large onion, cut into strips
600 g (1.3 lb) piece of celeriac, cut into strips
680 g (1.5 lb) passata
1 liter (4 cups) beef stock
1 tbsp whole black pepper
½ tbsp juniper berries
1 ½ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
4 potatoes, peeled & cubed

crème fraîche & flat leaf parsley, to serve

In a large dutch oven or pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sweet paprika, garlic, and meat cubes and sear, tossing the cubes regularly. Lower the heat and add the sugar and red pepper flakes. Cook for around 5 minutes. Add the bay leaves and half of the rosemary and thyme. Cook for a couple of minutes more. Add the vegetables and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the passata, beef stock, as well as the remaining herbs and spices.

Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until the meat is tender. Stir occasionally. Add more water during cooking if necessary.

Add potatoes and cook for further 10 minutes or until cooked.

Serve with crème fraîche and flat leaf parsley. Note: You're not supposed to eat the black pepper and juniper berries (well, you can eat them but the taste won't be that nice as everyone who has bitten on a peppercorn knows). Here in Scandinavia, typically each eater picks out the spices him or herself. However, if you want to be extra nice to your dinner guests, discard the spices before serving.

Needless to say, this soup keeps for days and only gets better and better and better.