Tuesday, May 24

Spring Salmon with Green Pea and Soy Bean Puree
























Spring is here and what better than to eat something colorful and fresh. As I woke up this morning feeling happy that the sun was shining and started off my day with a glass of freshly squeezed juice with green apple, pineapple and mint (posted in my previous post) I wanted to continue with the same theme...Green and fresh. I always become inspired from the vibrant new green leaves in the trees and notice a difference in the way I think about food. In the winters I like to have something a bit more heavy and warm enough to heat my body after a cold day out....but in the springtime and summer I notice I like to eat a lot more light. I eat loads of veggies and fish during this season.

So for dinner I made this wonderful dish of Salmon with a green puree made with peas and soy beans. It was an obvious choice because I like to use stuff I already have in my fridge. I had everything but the salmon so that's all I needed to buy.


Green Apple, Pineapple and mint Juice


























Summers in Finland are very short. There's a saying I like to use when talking with friends from abroad: "I love the Finnish summer, it was such a nice Day :D
However, now we have been blessed with an early start and the sun has been shining a lot and temperatures have already been +20°C and it's only May. As soon as the days become longer (because here in the north it gets quite darned dark in the long months of winter) and the trees start to get their first green leaves, I start to think of all the delicious and fresh foods we eat in the summer time. I like to think green.
I woke up quite early for no reason at all (normally I love my sleep) and the sun was shining, I immediately wanted to have something light, fresh....and yes...GREEN! I looked into the fridge and realized I had just what I needed. I started off my day with a refreshing, freshly squeezed glass of apple, pineapple and mint juice. So pretty and so delish!



























Here are the ingredients I used for my juice!

1 green apple
1/5 pineapple approximately the same amount as the apple
1/2-1 lime (peeled)
1 small nub of ginger
handful of mint leaves

Throw all ingredients into the juicer and you will get a really nice light green glassful of juice to start your day!

Now I wonder what I will cook in the evening for dinner...somehow I have a feeling it will be light and green :) I will post that next.

Tuesday, May 17

Steamed Buns and Slow Cooked Pork

























Whenever I'm in a restaurant that has steamed buns I just have to have one....correction! a FEW.
I love the fluffy light and soft texture of the bun. These could basically be filled with anything. Mainly I like mine with some slow cooked meat, spicy sauce and something pickled...And the best thing about these is that they are usually small enough so you can fill your tummy with a few. Sooooo much better than burgers (hmmm...maybe I have to try making these into burger buns sometime).

























I can't believe I never made these at home before. I'm so happy I finally did. Because they are super easy to make! I'm already drooling thinking about the next time I will have friends over to let them try these sinfully delicious soft fluffy clouds filled with lots of goodness.


























The first time I tried them they turned out perfect, but the next time I couldn't remember what changes I had made to the 5 recipes I was combining...so typical of me, I never follow a recipe a 100% and then this happens. I've been ever since trying different versions to find the perfect one. This is the recipe I stuck with so far and they turned out really good...but if you are like me I will still have to try a few more especially using rice flour. I will keep you updated if I find something even better. But trust me, you will still be super happy with these :) My friends loved them as well!


For the Dough (makes 12-15buns)

3 1/2 dl warm water
11g dry yeast
9dl flour (<500g)
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
small splash of milk
40g melted butter

1) Mix the yeast into the warm water until dissolved
2) add the dry ingredients
3) add a small splash of milk and knead the dough
4) knead in the butter. Might take a while but it will all absorb.

5) leave the dough to rest in a bowl covered with cling film for 1-2hrs
6) share the dough into 3-4 balls and flatten using a rolling pin to approximately 3-4mm
7) using a round pastry cutter, cut out equal sized round circles approximately 10cm in diameter
8) brush the edges with a bit of oil and fold into half (like tacos)
9) using the rolling pin flatten a bit in the middle where the dough is folded
10) let rest for a little while while you prepare the steam basket
11) cut a small piece of baking paper and place at the bottom of the basket so the buns won't stick to the bamboo
12) pour water into a pot and let it boil.
13) place the basket on top and place a few buns in the basket so they don't touch each other...they will puff up quite a bit
14) place the lid on and steam for 7 mins

Repeat until all buns are ready!


























The Slow Cooked Pork

Pork ribs or neck 600g (something with a bit of fat that can handle slow cooking well)

The Stock (if the stock doesn't cover all the meat, don't worry just remember to turn it around once in a while)

3 dl water
1 garlic clove
20g ginger
2 coriander roots
2 star anis
1/4 dl sugar
1/2 dl white wine vinegar or wine
2 dl soy sauce
1 dl ketjap manis
3 tbsp oyster sauce

1) bring the stock to boil
2) add the meat
3) let it simmer on low heat or place the pan in the oven on low heat (<100°C)for approximately 4-5hrs until the meat is tender and comes off the bone

Prep the meat the day before, this way you can leave it to cool in the stock and get much more flavour infused into the meat.

Shred the meat and add just a bit of the stock before you serve...but not too much or you'll end up with soggy dripping buns...and a big mess.

























Sriracha Mayo

1 egg yolk
1 tsp white wine or apple vinegar
15g Dijon mustard
1 tsp salt (add to taste)
2 dl rapeseed oil
2-3 tsp sriracha (depending how spicy you like it)

1) add the egg yolk, vinegar, a part of the salt and mustard in a bowl and whisk in the oil pouring it in slowly until you get a thick emulsion
2) add the sriracha or other child sauce
3) add the rest of the salt according to taste

Punchy Pickled Cucumbers

1/2 cucumber
1 part vinegar
1 part water
1 part sugar
pinch of salt

1) peel the cucumber and slice thin with a mandolin
2) pour some vinegar and water on top (approximately 1 dl each)
3) add the sugar and let it rest until dissolved
4) add a pinch of salt
Taste that the acidity of the vinegar is well balanced with the sweetness
5)drain

Putting your fluffy clouds together

Open the bun pockets and add the meat, cucumber and drizzle with mayo. To garnish I had some coriander and mixed leaves.

Instead of cucumbers you could also use picked red onions

Pickled Red Onion

1 red onion (thinly sliced)
1 dl red wine vinegar
1/2 dl sugar





































Oh what a happy BUNny I am!

Sunday, May 8

Strawberry Rhubarb Cake With Yoghurt Frosting

























Today it's Mother's Day. My mum is in Malta but I still decided to make a cake suitable for this day. We went to the cottage with my friends because it was such a beautiful sunny day. 20°C and we are in Finland...and it's only May. How perfect is that:)












































































The Cake turned out beautiful and so Yummy that my friend said it's the perfect wedding cake. So even if I was inspired by Mother's day and the fact that Rhubarbs are in season you can make this beautiful cake for any day with friends, valentine's day, mothers day birthday or even like my friend said for a wedding.














































































The Cake (makes enough for 10 persons, however we were only 5 and ended up stuffing the cake in our mouths and have a doggy bag with maybe 2 pieces left)

3 eggs
3 dl sugar
1 dl milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 dl baking powder
1 tsp cardamom (can be excluded if you don't like cardamom but for me this makes the yum factor)

1) Heat the oven up to 175°C
2) prepare 1 high baking tray. I used a form 15 cm in diameter and covered the bottom and edges with baking paper to create a high edge or collar. the cake will double up in height.
3) whisk the egg and sugar until white and fluffy.
4) warm up the milk and add to the eggs. (not hot)
5) add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well.
6) bake in the oven for approximately 50 mins 

Rhubarb-strawberry jam (makes a whole jam jar which you can use for later)

350 g rhubarb (peeled and diced)
150 g strawberries
2 dl jam sugar (contains pectin to make the jam a bit thicker)
1 dl sugar
1/2 dl water (next time I will try without)
vanilla pod

Put all the ingredients in a pot and heat up until soft. Add the sugar and cook on medium heat until mixture starts to thicken. take off the foam and put into a airtight and well cleaned jar.

Frosting

2 dl Turkish yoghurt
1 dl whipping cream
1-2 tbsp sugar ( I prefer mine not so sweet it's a nice contrast to the other sweet ingredients)
(pink or peach food coloring)

Whip the cream with sugar until thick white peaks form. Add the yoghurt and mix well. Add pink colouring to 2/3 of the mixture.

How to put it all together







































Cut the cake into 3 even sized layers. The top is most probably uneven and a bit burnt but it doesn't matter just cut the top of first and then the rest int 3 equal layers approximately 3 cm each.
Spread white uncoloured frosting on 2 of the layers and top it with jam and sliced strawberries.


























Put the cake together and spread the pink frosting over the whole cake until evenly covered. I used a mini spatula to make the wavy structure.






































Decorate with flowers. Make sure the flowers aren't poisonous and preferably cover them with cling film so none of the flowers actually touch the cake. I even put the flowers into plastic water tubes. This way you won't end up with wilted flowers....however I had so many that my cake ended up cracking.