Finland

So...what else other than cappuccino did we do in Finland...we ate and we celebrated Sofia's baptism...now let's first talk about some food items and then we chat about the baptism....(in the next blog).

I have already shared all the cake experiences...from the carrot cake at Cafe Rongo to the carrot cake, apple & hazelnut and cheesecake at Cafe Helmi to the Bulla in Helsinki....i even chatted about the spinach and ricotta quiche at Cafe Rongo...but I have not chatted about when we took Sandro, Fabienne and little Siena to Helsinki to try some typical food at the market place....

Here some extra info about the cinnamon bulla....known as Korvapuusti translates into "slapped ears" in English but they are essentially cinnamon buns. And while Finland doesn’t hold a patent on cinnamon buns, they might seriously make the best. Usually eaten with a cup of coffee (Finns consume more coffee and perhaps more cinnamon buns than any other European nation), it is difficult to stop at just one. Or two.

Kim and i always seem to end up at the market place In Helsinki to eat because it is so nice to sit by the sea, enjoy the fresh air and the local food...we first went to the market hall to get some goodies, which included grilled herring (which one eats cold), and some Kalakukko (rye bread which is stuffed with small fishes called muikku, a small herring-like fish found in the lake district of eastern Finland, people used to think of kalakukko as a packed lunch, the pie contained everything you needed for a complete meal)....

Kalakukko

We also had some other traditional goodies at the market place, one reindeer plate which contained reindeer meatballs And reindeer sausages of various kinds and the other a fish plate which had the the small Deep fried white fish, the herring and the smoked salmon....both served with veggies and potatoes....the reindeer meatballs for me were a little bit too gamey, the sausages divine and the fish plate I loved it all.....so it was a damn good lunch...and as you might already know from my last blog, after our lunch it was coffee and cinnamon bun....hahaha....so we had a good day out in Helsinki...let me share a pic of the reindeer plate and the fish plate....

Fish plate and reindeer plate

Another typical thing we had was the crayfish party....we had that on the night when kim's parents met my parents.....now let me explain a little bit about the crayfish party.....Crayfish party or "kraftskiva" were originally a Swedish tradition that the Finns adopted and celebrate with finesse each summer. These small fresh water lobsters were considered a gourmet treat and they are not cheap. Which is why they are feted in style.

Rapu

Let me share a pic of the table before.....

Ready for the crayfish feast

Once all the guests had arrived, the crayfish party could begin...well not quite yet...kim first had to explain to everyone how to eat the crayfish...and for that...he needed to wear his crayfish hat....

Kim explaining how the crayfish must be eaten

During a crayfish party it is a common or a must to drink Schnapps...of course the question was...when do you sing and drink the Schnapps...the answer...whenever you feel like it.....so this is how it works, someone raises their Schnapps glas, starts singing a song, everyone raises their SchNapps glas and joins in...at the end of the song...you drink Schnapps...then you continue eating....and when you feel like Schnapps again...you start singing....it was so much fun...Let me share a pic of the table....

The entire clan

So we had some damn good food experiences while visiting Finland....now I am off to dream about some crayfish....next time.....Sofia's baptism....cheers from me...chat soon.....

 

 

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