Top 20 Hype List

Top 20 Hype List

Geocaching

On Sunday we were wondering what to do. The lazy weekend had already got to us and we were already getting irritated by each others constant presence. We both wanted to go for a walk but couldn't figure out where we wanted to go. I thought we could go walk part of Birgitan Polku this trail that goes from Tampere to Lempäälä but I couldn't find a proper map so we could have decided an appropriate length. During my internet I found this website listing Geocaches along the trail. I'd heard about Geocaching before but had thought that Finland wouldn't have that many. However as it turns out Finland has loads! So we decided to start a new hobby.

Picking berries on the way to the cache.

Bobby sensing we have found something. (A staged photo since Bobby couldn't find something even if it bit him in the butt.)

I decided to sign up to Geocaching: wrongwayfast if any one is interested. We realized that there is a couple of places right by our apartment. So, off we went. And we actually found the Voimalenkki treasure! Woohoo!

Yay! Treasure!

This treasure is mine! Muahahha...

Weird fungus.

Irony sucks

The day I suspect that I have something wrong with my liver because I'm an irresponsible idiot who drinks too much my gran gets bloody sent to hospital because of hers... shit.

3rd Postcrossing Card

Yay! This one is from Weedland... Emma told me to lick the stamp to see if I could get hight... I didn't (lick the stamp that is).

2nd Postcrossing Card

Woohoo! Second Postcrossing card! This one is from Sofia who lives in Portugal. See delicious picture of Portugese delicacies mmm... seafood... *drool* She suggested we should trade recipes which sounds like a super idea. Mmmm... Portugese food...

Getting Ready for the Cold

I've been knitting myself some leg warmers and finally got one finished the night before. So, basically I only have 1 leg warmer so far. I was watching TV with the dog and fitting the leg warmer on my leg. After a while I got bored of that and decided that the dog wanted to try it on...

1st we tried the head/neck scarf model. But I don't think Bobby liked that one much since his ears were covered.

So, then we tried the poncho model and that seemed to satisfy him more. Sooo guess I'll be knitting 3 leg warmers in anticipation for -30C weather.

1st Postcrossing Card

Today I got my first Postcrossing card! It came from Berlin, Germany from a Brasilian café mmmm... *drool* food *drool*
Jördis (the person who sent me the card) suggested two artists I should check out: Camille and Antony and the Johnsons. Both were good but I totally dig Camille! She is so going on my next 10 ten hype list.

Creamy Tuna Spaghetti

Well, after the fish and chips disaster (the fish plummeted down to the fry basket and got stuck) I decided that I would do something I knew how to do... i.e. tuna spaghetti. Samuli doesn't really like tuna and then he went on a rant about how fish and spaghetti/pizza/Italian food does not go together. Pfft... so I had to prove him wrong.

I boiled the spaghetti al dente and poured out most of the water. Then I put some garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper into a small pot and heated until the tomatoes and garlic went all mushy. Then I took some cream cheese and threw it in with the pasta. Added a can of tuna to the mushy tomato mixture. Mixed the cream cheese until it melted into the pasta while heating the other mixture. Then poured the sauce into the pasta pot and mixed.

Well. I liked it... AND Samuli said he liked it too! Although I suspect he was a little intimidated by the fork I was waving at him.

Smooth and Sweet Southern Iced Tea

Last week I was walking the dog and listening to food podcasts, as always. And Evan Kleinman of KCRW Good Food was interviewing Chef Martha Hall Foose about Southern sweet tea. It sounded really good since Finland sucks for finding good ice tea. I mean in Switzerland you could get it in bottles everywhere and also that powdered stuff from Migros. I always buy tens of those ice tea packets when I go there.

Anyway it's been really hot over here lately and I've really been craving for something refreshing and preferably non-alcoholic (for the time being). So this whole interview couldn't have come at a better time. I mean I've been wondering how to make ice tea without getting all the bitter taste that comes when simply letting tea go cold. I searched the internet and found out the secret ingredient and it is... BAKING SODA! Yes, it makes tea smooth and gives it a nice dark color! The recipe I used was one I got from AllRecipies called Smooth Sweet Tea. I decided to make it with mint tea bags and it turned out really good! I didn't think it was too sweet and the baking soda worked wonders. So yes I can say I'm a fan of Southern Iced Tea and will be making loads of this stuff for the rest of the summer!

And for those who care...

... here is my leg post-graduation party i.e. after I went running up the outhouse stairs and on and on and on and on into the mess of prickly bushes and things beyond. (Yes, I am aware that I haven't shaved for several months...)


I also have a bruised knee... and a weirdo bruise on my upper arm... hmmmm... My dad is right, I am a bit of a moron when I'm drunk... heh heh...

Saturday Evening Walk

Since I spent most of Bobby's birthday (yesterday) feeling dizzy, throwing up, groaning about a headache and menstruating today we decided to do something special. We got pizza from KotiPizza. Samuli got the Berlusconi (a shameless reference to his comment on Finnish food) pizza which had smoked reindeer, chantarelles and red onion. I opted for the Parmiamo, prosciutto, rocket (arugula), cherry tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. My pizza was damn good. I finished it all! And that's unusual for me because I don't usually like pizza that much. Bobby on the other hand devoured bits of crust and Ceasar gourmet dog food whilst playing (or rather running away from) his birthday toy, a red chewy frisbee.

So, after lunch/dinner we did what any nice respectable family would do on the weekend... We went for a nice evening walk...

Setting out on our respectable family evening walk.

Bobby sniffing some bush/signpost for 10 minutes.

Damn lamp posts! Why why oh why do there have to be so many of them!! And more importantly why do we have to stop, sniff, sniff, sniff, piss on every single one of them??

Teaching Bobby to cross the road sensibly... not to run mindlessly in front of cars even if mommy is on the other side of the road.

Doggy park FINALLY! After about 100 different bushes/posts/benches/other things that must be pee-ed on.

Waiting around while Bobby and daddy have some fun...

...Bobby and daddy having some fun...

Time out.

Daddy is worn out so Bobby goes to make his own fun...

... soooo mommy and daddy decide to have their own kind of fun...

... little Bobby doesn't notice a thing... too busy digging away... (which I know you're not supposed to let your dog do in the dog park... we filled it up before we left... honest!)

...mommy and daddy continue with their fun...

...until suddenly they are... BUSTED!! Sneaky little baby we have...

Yes, I know we have a ferocious digging machine disguised as a dog...

...even Samuli is confused by the ferocious digging...

...but then, before we can call the vet Bobby returns back to normal...

So, we decided it was time to leave the park with the nice holes that we filled in... honest! And started to make our way back home. But then suddenly...

... something rather disturbing caught Samuli's eye...

... "OMG! WTF! ROFL! LOLZZ! Look at that lamp post" he yelled...

... and there it was a magic crooked lamp post and when I went to lean on it everything changed to psychedelic retro mode...

...but thankfully I have a strong handsome fiancé who came to the rescue and tugged the lamp post back into place and everything came back to normal...

... or did it?? And more importantly did alcohol have some part in it??? (Surely not on a RESPECTABLE evening walk with the family!!)...

...and sure enough, before we knew it retro mode came back when we were standing outside our corner store!

...thank goodness for Samuli's quick thinking as he swung into urban rapper mode and managed to get everything to go black and white...

...then we found some magic mold on a rosebush which in turn made everything go back to normal... YAY!

Graduation Party

Last weekend we finally had my graduation party at our cottage in Mäntyharju. I spent most of the weeks before planning and trying out recipes since I had stubbornly decided to make the food myself (with the help of my mum and brother of course). So, you can imagine how I spent the last few days/nights slaving away in the kitchen making cupcakes, mini pies, preserving oven dried tomatoes, cooking savoury marmalades, marinating chicken drumsticks, salting fish... When Friday came around I was tired and slightly stressed.

On Saturday morning everyone was a bit cranky and it felt like our small cottage kitchen was about to burst. Luckily it was nice weather outside and we had loads of tables and seats in the shade. The party got off to a fairly slow start and I was getting a little nervous since only my three aunts and their families had arrived. To add to my anxiety my in-laws had just called and said they were still getting ready. They happen to live less than a kilometer away so I was counting on them to be the early birds.

People coming at different times was a good and bad thing since I was having some trouble keeping food warm, but at the same time was able to keep making new food as people came. We had a little 'tapas' table with all kinds of nuts, wasabi peas, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts... So, when people arrived I directed them there and then had time to check the other stations. Our main course was assorted salads (thanks mom), different smoked fish (thanks dad for going down the road to the local farmers shop), oven roasted salmon and chicken (thanks to me) and a bunch of other little things I can't remember right now. My brother who is working for a large food company got us ample amounts of cheese, juice and cakes.

In terms of booze I had made sure that we were well stocked since I had seen what lack of alcohol does to Finns at Elina & Janne's wedding. So when people were still arriving I was already very happy! And I think others were too.

Later we had singing and jamming on the piano, sexophone and guitar... more eating and socializing. There were lots of little kids and babies and Bobby was having the time of his life running around with them. All in all the party went brilliantly in my opinion. Seeing as it started at around 12:00 on Saturday and people were still going at it past 2:00 Sunday I thought it was a success.

Now to the all important awards...

Most Busy Person Award:
3rd place my brother for sourcing all the cheese, cakes, juice etc.
2nd place me for staying up the week prior prepping random food
1st place for my mom who slaved away the week prior AND stayed up till 5 am(!!!) washing and cleaning up after us

The Drunk Award:
This is a difficult one since we have so many many many good contenders however I have revised my notes and chosen there three fabulous/scary incidents...
3rd place goes to my dad's colleague who asked him how many cows he would sell me for...
2nd place goes to me for running after my brother-in-law up the outhouse stairs and on on on even though you should either (a) turn left for the outhouse door (b) stop running... and ended up sprawled behind the outhouse in a prickly bush wondering what happened. Bonus points: my mom saw the whole thing and wondered were I was going and why I suddenly disappeared (thanks mom).
1st place goes to our 50+ year-old close family friend who frolicked around naked. Walked around the table where my bro, fiancé and brother-in-law were sitting (twice), sat down and began to pee (yes while sitting).

So, yes a good party and photos will follow. I had no time to take any between slaving away and getting drunk so I must wait for guests to send some my way.

Up North

Last weekend we set on our yearly road trip up North to see my grandparents. Basically this means 1000 km in a car with my family, being force fed delicious food and remembering that my grandmother prefers boys over girls.

We stopped at many weird roadside flea markets and attractions on the way up to Vaasa (where my brother is working this summer). This included some flea market my dad bought a straw stetson hat from.


Some herb garden that makes all kinds of strange potions out of different plants...


And a roadside cheese factory where my dad milked a fake cow...


We visited my brothers girlfriend Emma's family in Vaasa when we picked him up. They had some freaking delicious strawberry cakes that were honestly to die for! Then we continued on our way to Raahe.

On Saturday we decided to go shopping in the wonderfully huge *cough* town of Raahe... only the whole town seemed to close at 14. My dad and Tom saw a bird fly into a window and we tried to get it back on its feet/wings. When we were leaving its mom was checking up on it and it seemed to be recovering... maybe.


Then in the evening we made our traditional trip to the beaches of Raahe. And the next morning we were on our way back home.