Mushroom Spread

What should I say first?

Welcome back? I missed writing? I missed sharing...I miss being found...and being told

that you tried something I made and you liked it...

I decided not to say any of the above...I am here after one year plus some days...with all

what I was before....but also with the more that I have become...

I would like to do so many more things through that blog, but it is not time yet...

but I feel like being here, and if you do too then I am glad to welcome you!

I miss Finland...for the things I learned...for the things that made me forgot, for those

that it gave me to remember...for its cold...for its innocense, the cold crisp air that freezes

your warm breath on its way out...I miss the people that have entered my life there and

became part of it since, I miss being there, living there, but...

I have come to feel new things where I am now...found new people to meet, to know,

to laugh with and to love... and that is just life...with all the things it takes away and all the things it brings...with the torn aparts and makes one again...the take aways and gives plentiful in return...I have become to understand...that the reason I really like food...is because of the people it reminds me of...the love I have been given...the love I have been shared with and the love I want to give back...to nourish...what we want to nourish...we want to keep alive...to protect...to love...

So here I am telling you all these...and give you a simple recipe...as food should be...

because its main purpose is to nourish, to show to someone you love them...

What you need:

Mushrooms (whatever kind you want, I used big chestnut mushrooms)

1 onion

olive oil

a pinch of salt

a pinch of pepper

thyme

a bit of white wine (if you like it)

a bit of butter

a bit of cream (it is good even without)

pine nuts

1. Smell your mushrooms...they smell amazing :)

2. Chop them in small pieces...

3. Chop the onion and saute...add the mushrooms once onion is ready...

(small onion trick - the best out of onion you get if you rub with a bit of salt and vinegar

before you saute...at least this is how I like it...if you don't mind them being sweet add a bit

brown sugar...and they become even better :)

4. Add a bit of olive oil, not much is needed...

5. Add the wine...(if you like it...but just a bit, to take away the heat)

6. Your spoonful of butter...

7. The pine nuts, pepper or other spices you want!

8. Take off the stove, and add a bit of cream (it is delicious even without)

9. Ah forgot to say... on toasted bread please...

10. Yes, that is better..

So enjoy... in the name of those that you want to nourish in your life...the ones that

have nourished you....

From the heart,

Anna

Coming Back Soon...

In your hands!

I am already impatient for Christmas...Today I have pure thoughts...no recipe!

I have a recipewar in my mind, thinking of what to make, when, in what order, but I do not want to decide myself! I want to decide with you, the ones that are actually interested in what I write, make and photograph, the ones that are as impatient as me this year, because every year we expect it to be better than the previous one and worse than the one that is ahead of us!

Lately I experience change, and move and development and a kilo of other things that all happen simultaneously, but I know...you do too..  

So no matter where we are, what we do, what we wish for, what we wait for, where we are going, or where we come from...we meet here, in this very moment you are reading this, and I want to know...what would you like to see here in the next two months? What do you long for?

Tell me about a recipe you tried lately and it was good, or bad! A recipe that you would like to see done, an idea... a smile... a word...

From the heart,

Anna  

Chanterelle Tart!

I think Sunday is my favorite day...you can be lazy, moody, tired, active, hungry, happy, sad, nostalgic and all this without being asked why! The answers can vary among: because it is Sunday,  it is Sunday I'd rather stay home do nothing, well it is Sunday and we have a family meeting, I would love to come but on Sundays I cook for my blog:)

Well today I will present you with a recipe which is not mine, but Ms. Elina has provided me with. As an original Finn she was the most appropriate to accept such a recipe from, a recipe that I have previously tasted and I liked A LOT! 

Well, truth been told: I LOVE TARTS, small, big, salty or sweet...I like them...they remind me of Sundays...

Unfortunately though, I had a photo-issue and I am not able to demonstrate in pics today! I will try to add them tomorrow, but since I promised I will post the recipe today!

What you need:

For the dough:

2 1/2 dl flour (well 1dl is 100ml, so better measure in ml if possible, 250ml)

100gr butter (room temperature)

2-3 Tbsp cold water

Mix and put in the freezer for a short while. Then roll the dough in the form you want and

put in the fridge while making the tart mix.

For the filling:

1lt chanterelle (appr. 400-500gr)

2 small leeks

1/2 tsp paprika powder

salt and pepper

1 dl maitorahka ... (or 100 ml yogurt if not in Finland)

1 dl philadelphia cheese (or 100 ml) (room temperature)

2 eggs

Dill

a pinch of cayenne pepper

(up to that point this is the original recipe, but I added a few more things)

100 ml grated cheese

2 slices of bacon filet

pine nuts

1. Chop the chanterelles, the leek, the bacon and the pine nuts (keep aside 10-15 whole ones for later), fry them and season the mix. 

2. Then fry the whole chanterelles and set aside

3. Mix the rahka (or yogurt) with the philadelphia, the beaten eggs, the cheese, the dill

NOW: the original recipe says put the fried chanterelle mix on the bottom of the dough, add the egg mix on top of the chanterelles and with the whole chanterelles you decorate the very top:)

What I did was...I mixed the fried chanterelle mix, with the egg mix and the dill, I put it on the dough base and on top I decorated with the whole chanterelles. You decide how you like it then:)

Bake for 35 min in the lowest part of the oven at 200° C 

I did this tart twice this week, I will just put a few pics from previous time, how it looks before putting it in the oven!

Thank you Miss Elina:)))

From the heart,

Anna

 

Nutella-Peanut butter brownies melt...

It is Sunday...and I am feeling good...and if you try this you will feel much better!

This time of the year is my favorite in Finland... It is called Ruska time and due to 

the big temperature differences the leaves on the trees take the most amazing colors

in the whole world... Nature looks like marble, I guess there is no better thing

than looking outside the colors of autumn, with the window a bit open to bring inside all the possible smells of wet ground, humid rain, wet leaves, clean nordic wind, the smell of the 

first burning wood from the impatient fireplaces... I just love autumn its smells, feelings and candles in the windows... My blanket is already waiting for me to be used on the side of the couch... With a glass of cold milk and hot nutella-Peanut butter brownies melt...

I hope you were all here with me:)

What you need:

250gr Butter

2 cups sugar

12 Tbsp cacao or 4 big pieces of chocolate (i prefer the cacao)

4 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

nutella & peanut butter (as much as you crave for)

1 1/2 cups flour

1. Melt your butter in low temperature

2. In the meantime...

3. Put the sugar and cacao in a bowl and mix so that the cacao crumbs disappear...

4. Pour the cacao-sugar mix into the pot with the melted butter...and take it off the stove and mix till smooth!

5. In another bowl, mix the eggs with vanilla, the (shifted) flour, salt and baking powder...

6. Pour the eggs mix to the chocolate and mix until well combined...

7. Spread half of the mix in the pan you are using...and add spoonfuls of peanut butter and nutella...(like above)

8. And then cover with the rest of the batter...(so nobody knows what you did)

9. Bake for 25-30 min. depending on how well baked you want it (25 minutes is perfect for me...)in a pre-heated oven of 200° C!

Enjoy when no-one else is around...it is not something you would like to share...

I will end my writing today with a Ruska picture to reflect upon... alright two..

That is my favorite place in Tampere:)

From the heart,

Anna

Apple crisp pie

Every year in September I have the same thoughts...and the same smell in my memory...

For some reason it smells like apples, cinnamon and my mom's love. I am sure you have never

eaten better apple pie, than the one your mothers make, and I agree...My mother's apple crisp pie is the best I have ever had, or will ever have because in my mind it will never be just an apple pie...every bite of it brings to my memory loads of love, caring, laughters and chilled autumns that my mom's warmth have always made milder...and for making me loving the warmth of one's home I dedicate this recipe to her and her kind heart:)

I love you mom...

What you need:

For the dough:

250 gr. melted butter

1 cup sugar

1 lemon (its juice)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

Flour...around 3cups but depends on how the dough feels like (instructions following)

For the filling:

5-6 apples medium size

1 cup sugar

1-3 Tbsp cinnamon (depending on your love for it)

1. Clean, smell and peel your apples:)

2. Cut them and then grate them

3. Add 1 cup sugar and cinnamon..

4. And let them be while you prepare the dough...

5. Melt the butter

6. Squeeze the juice of one lemon and keep it in a cup

7. In a clean bowl put the other 1 cup of sugar and on top pour the melted butter

8. In the cup of lemon juice mix the 1tsp of baking soda and pour quickly into the bowl with the butter as it is becoming foam.

9. Now you start adding the flour and you have something like this...well keep adding until...

10. It becomes like that...so crumbs and crumbs...Once your dough is ready....put half of it in

a layer in the pan you are using...

11. And then spread the apple mix

12. And last the rest of the dough.... bake until golden brown..35-40 min even more...at 180° C

Now I have to inform you that I forgot to take a pic when took it out of the oven..so this was the closest to a ready one I had...

Caution! My mom's apple pie you have to eat with a cup of great coffee, milk or tea and in the presence of someone who loves you, to share with!

From the heart,

Anna

Bruschetta dalla Grecia (αλλά ελληνικά)

I mean who doesn't like bruschetta seriously?

If you don't I eat your pieces as well:)

Bruschetta is Italian I admit, but due to the geographical proximity can be adapted by a hungry Greek! Initially bruschetta was supposed to be garlic bread made with bread, oil and garlic. Tomato was added later on. But the good thing is you can add what you want, as i did...so enjoy my version!

What you need: 

Slices of the bread you like

Cherry tomatoes cut in half or normal tomatoes cut in cubes (don't ask me how many it depends on how hungry you are)

Feta cheese

Olives (I used black olives with a lot of soft flesh)

Olive oil

Garlic 

Oregano

Thyme

Salt

For extra something special you can add:

Tabasco

Brown sugar

Balsamic vinegar 

1. Gather your ingredients, wash and cut tomatoes, remove the core from the olives, mix the cheese with oregano.

2. In pan add some oil and put on very low fire

 

3. Add the bread and let it there for a while until it turns golden brown on both sides..

4. In a smaller pan put enough olive oil, tomatoes and garlic..

5. When it starts bubbling add the tabasco

6. The balsamic vinegar

7. The brown sugar and salt

8. And the olives with the thyme

9. Don't forget to flip the bread

10. Add the feta cheese with its oregano... and let it for a very short time..

11. Put the bread on a plate and spread your magic taste...

Enjoy with fingers only!!

From the heart,

Anna