Warming fish soup

Before moving to Finland I didn't really like soups even if in Italy we have many good soups, like for example our famous minestrone.
But I just wasn't a fan of them, and when mom wanted to make soup for dinner I wasn't really excited about it.

Things changed drastically when I came here. The harsh Finnish winter did the magic trick and suddenly a warm soup was the best food during cold days :D

That's why I started to cook soups here in Finland, little by little, learning from my mistakes. Now I can say that I can make good soups (although my bf doesn't appreciate them since he doesn't like soups altogether!).

The following is recipe for a simple, colorful and tasty fish soup.

Since my bf doesn't eat it, there's always some leftovers. So I put the leftover soup in a container and in the fridge. The day after I reheated it for lunch and I must say that reheated soup tastes much better than just made (and also the photo looks prettier when the sun shines!).

Ingredients (2 persons):

• about 300 g fish like salmon or alaskan pollock (can be frozen)
• 5 dl water
• 1 fish bouillon cube
• 1 bag (200 g) of frozen veggie mix
• 2 potatoes
• 2 tbs tomato paste
• chives
• salt & black pepper

Directions:
Chop chives finely. Peel, wash and cut the potatoes in cubes.
Boil the water and drop in it the fish bouillon cube. Add potatoes and frozen veggies and let it cook for about 15 minutes.
Then add the fish pieces, tomato paste and chives. Mix well and add salt and pepper up to taste. Let the soup boil, then turn down the heat and cook until the fish is ready.
Serve with a slice of rye bread.

The Hunger Games "Cake"

So.... I've recently discovered a trailer of the upcoming film "The hunger games", and it was really cool, so I started reading the books, a light, but enjoyable, very enjoyable reading.
There was this part, where Katniss, the female protagonist, eats berries. This inspired me to create and dedicate to the book and the fans this cake.


Here comes the Hunger games Cake Recipe!

Ingredients for the cake:
150gr butter
120 gr sugar
3 eggs
2 spoons of berry-jam
200 gr flour
10 gr baking powder

Instructions:
Beat the butter until smooth, add the sugar. After beating, add the eggs, and the jam. Mix with the flour and the baking powder. Bake it in the oven starting 15 min on 140º, and another 20 on 160º, and last 5-10 min on 180º. It will come out spongy, like that. If you see it's getting brown, but not yet down, cover it with paper foil. :) Let it cool and cut it in half, horizontally.

Filling:
200ml heavy cream
4 spoons sugar
2 handful of berries, I took them of a frozen up package
2 spoons of water or lemon juice

Instructions:
Cook the frozen or fresh berries for 2 minutes with 3 spoons of water or lemon juice. Let them cool and pour the "water" over the first half cake. Then pour the berries over it.
Whip the heavy cream and mix the sugar. I used Vanilla-sugar so it tasted and smelled very good. Put the heavy cream over the berries and cover with the other half of the cake.

Topping:
100 gr dark chocolate
50ml heavy cream
other decorative elements like: whipped heavy cream, berries, etc

Instructions:
Melt the chocolate with the heavy cream. Let it cool a bit, it should start to get "harder", but don't let it get hard at all, just let it rest for half an hour. Afterwards, pour it over the cake.
Them you can decorate the cake, I for example took a bit of the whipped cream and some berries. :)

It's an easy cake, I would send it for Peeta if I could.
Hope you like it!



AHHH, by the way, this is just the cake once open:

Valentine's tasty heart pastries

Today is Valentine's Day! So I cooked something special, for someone special :)

In Finland, Valentine's Day is called Ystävänpäivä, "Friend's Day" and it's not only a celebration of love but also, as the name says, of friendship. I like this aspect A LOT. It's common here to give presents to your friends on Valentine's Day, other than making a pie for your lover. So, if you are single but have many friends you can celebrate Valentine's anyway! :)

Since my bf likes salty treats more than sweets and I still had in the freezer a pack of puff-pastry (the same I used for the Christmas Tarts), I decided to make small salty snacks to enjoy during lunch break. They had to be heart shaped of course!

From 2 layers of puff-pastry I cut 8 small heart shaped pastries. With the leftover pastry and filling I made a sort of croissant (which is not in the photos because it was really ugly XD). So I didn't waste any of the ingredients.

Ingredients (2 persons):

• ready made all-butter puff pastry
• about 100 g finely sliced ham
• about 100 g of creamy cheese, I used garlic flavored one
• 1/4 red pepper cut in small cubes
• black pepper
• 1 egg

Directions:
Let the frozen puff-pastry warm up at room temperature. When it's soft enough carve heart shapes with a cutter, cookie shaper or knife.
Mix in a bowl the finely sliced ham, red pepper cubes and cheese. Add some black pepper up to taste.
Drop some mixture on top of the pastries, but don't over do it! Otherwise it will fall apart while cooking.
Beat the egg in a bowl with fork until yolk and white are well mixed and brush it lightly over the pastries' edges. Bake in 225°C pre-heated oven for about 15-20 minutes or until they get a nice golden color.

Buon San Valentino!

Carnival, celebration of color and joy!

After Christmas, February is the most loved month by the Italian children because it's time for our Carnevale!

Carnival is a holiday celebrated in Catholic Countries which occurs immediately before Lent. It's a joyful festivity full of jokes, parades, colorful costumes, masks, games. The main part of it is of course the masquerade.
It's funny how the word Carnevale comes from the latin "carnem levare", which means "to remove the meat" because it was the last big meal before Lent.

The biggest and most famous Italian Carnival is the one in Venice. It's a gorgeous show of colorful and beautifully crafted masks and garments. But everyone, especially kids, want to dress up at Carnival because it's just so fun! It's tradition also to throw confetti and stelle filanti, and make pranks and jokes to others because, as we say: "A Carnevale ogni scherzo vale!" (= at Carnival every joke is allowed)

Carnival is related also to our "Commedia dell'arte", a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century. Each italian region had its own character:
- Arlecchino is an infidel servant from Bergamo and wears a colorful checkered suit.
- Colmbina is Arlecchino's partner.
- Balanzone is a serious and presumptious character from Bologna.
- Gianduja is originally from Torino. From his name come the names of the gianduia chocolate and the Gianduiotto.
- Pulcinella is maybe the most popular character, from Naples.
- Pantalone on is a famous Venice's character.

The other good side of Carnival is the yummy things you eat! :D
They're usually sweets, like for example...

chiacchiere

tortelli 

Buon Carnevale!

Pirates tart! YARR!

Yesterday was a really tough day. Luckily it's over.

I had to travel to another city by bus and walking when it was as cold as hell (-33ºC), and it wasn't fun, especially after a small eye surgery. And since there're no farmacies near home I had to walk to the center to buy medicines. My toes were absolutely freezing, they felt like ice cubes!!!

When I arrived home I was so happy to be in a warm place and at peace. A cup of coffee never tasted so delicious!

Since my eyelid has now a wonderful dark purple color and as my bf nicely said "like someone punched me in the eye", I feel pretty much like a pirate. And what do pirates always drink?

RUM!!! YARRR!!!!!

Oh noes, I dont like spirits!.. That's why the Runeberg's torte comes at perfect time! :P

Runeberg's torte (Finnish: Runebergintorttu; Swedish: Runebergstårta) is a Finnish pastry flavored with almonds and rum or arrack and it usually weighs about 100 grams. There is usually raspberry jam in a sugar ring on the tart.

The torte got its name from the Finnish poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804–1877) who, according to legend, enjoyed the torte with punsch for every breakfast. Runeberg's tortes are typically eaten only in Finland and are generally available from the beginning of January to Runeberg's birthday on February 5.

Source: Wikipedia

The Runeberg's tart is not the easiest cake to make, and I'm not a good baker so I decided to buy mine from the nearby shop. Of course homemade ones taste much better!

If you want to make your very own Runeberg's tart, here's what you need:

Ingredients for the dough:

• 1 egg
• 25 ml sugar
• 50 ml soft brown sugar
• 100 g butter
• 50 ml cream
• 200 ml flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 50 g ground almonds
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar
• ½ tsp almond essence

Ingredients for moistening (syrup):

• 100 ml sugar
• 50 ml water
• 1-2 tbsp rum or punch

Ingredients for the topping:

• raspberry jam
• 50 ml sugar
• icing sugar
• water
• dash of almond essence 

Directions:
Melt the butter and let it cool slightly. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Beat the egg and sugars until fluffy, add almond essence (and liqueur), melted butter and whipped cream.

Mix together the dry ingredients. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the batter.

Lightly butter eight small cylindrical moulds and spoon the batter into them. Place the moulds on a baking sheet and bake the cakes at 175-200 °C for 15-20 minutes or when a cake tester/toothpick inserted in the middle of them comes out clean.

Meanwhile, prepare the sugar syrup and raspberry topping. Place the sugar, water and the alcohol of your choice into a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to the boil, so that the sugar melts and alcohol evaporates. Remove from heat and set aside. Place the raspberries and sugar into another small pan, bring to the boil and cook gently until the sugar has dissolved and the berries are broken (about 15 minutes). Stir every now and then. Set aside to cool. The topping should be rather thick, let it boil for a little longer if it is too thin.

Take the hot cakes out of the oven, prick them with a toothpick, and drizzle the warm sugar syrup on top of them. Use all of the syrup. Let the cakes absorb the syrup for half an hour or longer. When the cakes seem thoroughly moist, gently remove them from the moulds and flip them over.

Place a dollop of raspberry jam on top of each tart and let it set in refrigerator.

Meanwhile, prepare a very stiff sugar icing by mixing a dash or water with icing sugar. Flavour the icing with a dash of almond essence. Pipe the icing around the raspberry topping on top of cakes. Let the sugar icing set and serve the cakes with coffee or tea. Makes about 8 small cakes.

Simple Chocolate cake

Chocolate cake!!!! For a special event, like any boring sunday or a birthday, what is best is something yummy, and among the yummiest things I know, there is chocolate!


So here comes a very very simple chocolate cake recipe.
I promise that you and everyone, will want to repeat... ;)



Ingredients for the cake:

100 gr of dark chocolate

100 gr of butter

100 gr of sugar

90 gr of flour

3 eggs
16 gr of baking powder or 2 teaspoon

Instructions:
Melt the chocolate with the butter, add the sugar, flour, eggs and the baking powder. Put everything into a mold and into the oven for 45 min at 165ºC.
Once cooked, let it cool and prepare the coating.

For the coating:

100 gr dark chocolate

100 ml heavy cream

50 g butter

Instructions:
Heat the heavy cream and put the chopped chocolate inside, until it boils once, than add the butter. Let it cool a bit before putting it over the cake....
And tadaaa!!
Cake is ready to eat. If done for a birthday, blow the candle before eating. :)

Frozen beauty

Today is cold. It's very cold.

This morning the temperature was -27ºC and I had to walk to the center to go to the dentist.
I was freezing! Even my nose hair froze and it wasn't very pleasant.

I know that in Finland it can reach even lower temperatures, but please remember that I'm Italian! ;___;
My body is just not cut for such harsh cold. In Milano, my hometown, it rarely snows and even more rarely the temperature drops below 0ºC.

That's why Finnish winter is so difficult for me. Even I've been living in Finland for few years now, I'm yet to get used to the freezing cold. Under my winter jacket I put many layers of clothes, with the result that I look exactly like the Michelin man >.<

But I have to admit that Winter has a such special beauty, that I've never seen in Italy. When the nature is covered with snow and the pale sun shines from behind the clouds, this place looks like a white paradise.

During my walk I took some photos :)