Tonight we celebrated my birthday. Having guests made my week because I had stuff to do to get ready. It kept my mind occupied with thoughts of decorations, necessities like wine and cloth napkins and all the myriad other things that one does when having guests. The menu was the easy part because I only know how to make a certain number of dishes, so I made the "company" dishes. Thankfully we have been here long enough that I have been able to find (or have sent to me) all the ingredients for the dishes tonight.
The menu consisted of Persian Rice, my famous coleslaw, and salmon (found it on sale) in orange juice, along with the pound cake recipe that I found in metric. Plus I made a green salad that I put a homemade vinaigrette over. Plus ice cream and tea to go with the cake.
It was a long day, I started with cleaning the whole apt., got some help from my family. Then I started cooking, baked the cake first (7 eggs!!) and realized while it was cooling that I would need the same Pyrex dish to marinate and poach the fish.
Managed to get it all done and on the table an hour after the guests arrived!
It was a lovely evening, the host family is helping us to learn Finnish and they have a daughter the same age as ours so the two girls would slip away to play cards (thanks Jenna!) and talk in English. I am looking forward to the day that we can go back and forth from English to Finnish easily. Classes start next week at the University and I will be there!
At some point in the evening I realized that time was passing and that we were so immersed in the conversation and the food that it was a delight just to be there. Even my husband, an introvert, stayed and chatted the whole time. It is very nice to have someone to ask about all these little things that are on our minds. Like what does "oy" mean? It stands for company or corporation, which is what I had figured out but wasn't sure of. Of course it means something else in Yiddish!!
My one gaff of the evening turned out okay in the end. The middle of the pound cake was wet, as in batter wet. So I cut those pieces out and put them back in the oven, They cooked so that the outside is crunchy and the inside soft and now finally cooked. Twice baked pound cake-Yum!!
We are learning to light candles, it helps to dispel the night. I guess our caveman days are not so far behind us. Fire represents warmth and security and hot food. We had those tonight and it was lovely.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Rapeseed Oil
Since we arrived I have been using one bottle of extra-virgin olive oil, tasty and useful. This oil is good for eating raw and is less useful for cooking. So I went to the store to get a bottle of Canola or other cooking oil. What did I find? Rapeseed oil! I have heard of it but didn't know anything about it. Wikipedia here I come!
So what did I find out? That Canola oil is a form of rapeseed oil, one bred to be less bitter for us to use. So now I can go back and get some. Interesting the things we learn!!
When I was at the supermarket the other day I noticed some fresh herbs and since I couldn't find the price I asked a gentleman that came by and grabbed one of them how much they cost. He said, most of them are 1,55 Euros (about $2.15) and I could see that the sign for oregano was 4.99 Euros. So I was able to buy fresh (hothouse I am sure) basil and thyme--I could smell the thyme all the way home...
In addition, Finland grows it's own lettuce, all of these come with a bit of dirt in a small cup so they stay fresh longer. Learning!!
So what did I find out? That Canola oil is a form of rapeseed oil, one bred to be less bitter for us to use. So now I can go back and get some. Interesting the things we learn!!
When I was at the supermarket the other day I noticed some fresh herbs and since I couldn't find the price I asked a gentleman that came by and grabbed one of them how much they cost. He said, most of them are 1,55 Euros (about $2.15) and I could see that the sign for oregano was 4.99 Euros. So I was able to buy fresh (hothouse I am sure) basil and thyme--I could smell the thyme all the way home...
In addition, Finland grows it's own lettuce, all of these come with a bit of dirt in a small cup so they stay fresh longer. Learning!!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Cooking
My whole apartment smells like Caraway seeds! I just received the package in the mail (mail and seeds) and opened it and everywhere I go in this smallish space is redolent with the spice. Now I will have to make some of my famous coleslaw!
One of the things that we are getting used to here is the fact that the grocery store does not have everything that they have in the US. Things like rubbing alcohol, I finally figured out, are available at the pharmacy but not the grocery store. Basmati rice was no where to be found on the regular grocery shelves, thankfully I found a middle eastern (Iraqi owned) store last week and got dried beans (also not available) there along with the dill I needed for Persian Rice. Timing is everything with Persian Rice, so you must have everything ready (potatoes scrubbed and sliced, colander read to drain the rice, lima beans out to mix into the rice) you can end up with a result that you don't want to eat!
As you may have realized we are cooking at home a lot. Eating out is expensive and even eating at home can be too. So I will have to learn to expand my repertoire or we are going to be bored very soon. I think I "cheat" more at home, sandwiches, leftovers, canned foods stuff like that. Here even the canned foods can be expensive so I am cooking more from scratch. Also, we have more time here, no friends, no volunteer activities, no religious commitments--I am however writing more letters! In exactly two weeks I will turn 48, I plan to make a cake and have our one friend or maybe two over. First I will have to figure out how to make my favorite cake, butter is very expensive so I will probably use some of that and some margarine. Forgot to get vanilla today, maybe at the spice store tomorrow...
Today I stood in the store with my translator in my hand trying to figure out what I was looking at. Mostly I use it to figure out what kind of meat it is, wanting to avoid pork since we don't eat that. Thankfully they use pictures on some items (ie. pig) so I can tell at a glance. Saw a hotdog in a bun pre-wrapped in plastic at the store today!!
I am trying hard to stick to my routines back home. For example, I usually shop about once every three weeks and get most of what I need. Filling in with fresh stuff from Just Local. Here I have been shopping about 3-5 times a week! Granted the medium store is only 2 1/2 blocks away but it is difficult without a car. So today, I took our small wheeled suitcase (looks like a backpack, but on wheels, and filled it up (and two canvas bags, bring your own because they charge 20 cents a bag here--love it!) and dragged it all home. Still didn't get all that I need!
Working on doing it my way.
One of the things that we are getting used to here is the fact that the grocery store does not have everything that they have in the US. Things like rubbing alcohol, I finally figured out, are available at the pharmacy but not the grocery store. Basmati rice was no where to be found on the regular grocery shelves, thankfully I found a middle eastern (Iraqi owned) store last week and got dried beans (also not available) there along with the dill I needed for Persian Rice. Timing is everything with Persian Rice, so you must have everything ready (potatoes scrubbed and sliced, colander read to drain the rice, lima beans out to mix into the rice) you can end up with a result that you don't want to eat!
As you may have realized we are cooking at home a lot. Eating out is expensive and even eating at home can be too. So I will have to learn to expand my repertoire or we are going to be bored very soon. I think I "cheat" more at home, sandwiches, leftovers, canned foods stuff like that. Here even the canned foods can be expensive so I am cooking more from scratch. Also, we have more time here, no friends, no volunteer activities, no religious commitments--I am however writing more letters! In exactly two weeks I will turn 48, I plan to make a cake and have our one friend or maybe two over. First I will have to figure out how to make my favorite cake, butter is very expensive so I will probably use some of that and some margarine. Forgot to get vanilla today, maybe at the spice store tomorrow...
Today I stood in the store with my translator in my hand trying to figure out what I was looking at. Mostly I use it to figure out what kind of meat it is, wanting to avoid pork since we don't eat that. Thankfully they use pictures on some items (ie. pig) so I can tell at a glance. Saw a hotdog in a bun pre-wrapped in plastic at the store today!!
I am trying hard to stick to my routines back home. For example, I usually shop about once every three weeks and get most of what I need. Filling in with fresh stuff from Just Local. Here I have been shopping about 3-5 times a week! Granted the medium store is only 2 1/2 blocks away but it is difficult without a car. So today, I took our small wheeled suitcase (looks like a backpack, but on wheels, and filled it up (and two canvas bags, bring your own because they charge 20 cents a bag here--love it!) and dragged it all home. Still didn't get all that I need!
Working on doing it my way.
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