Category: Cooking

Day 145 – Blueberries

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Stuart has always found it funny how obsessed Finns are about berries. Initially he thought it was only me – but he has met enough Finns since then to know it’s a national obsession. I think it is a result of such a short season for berries in Finland. Being able to buy fresh, good berries practically 10 months a year is not something you can do in Finland.

It is a more a general observation as well. People in Norther Europe live and cook (even today) much more based on what is in season. Even though you can get asparagus from Finnish supermarket around the year, the price during the spring season is so much cheaper (and taste so much better), that most people only eat it during those few weeks. Most South Africans could not even say when the asparagus season is.

Day 141 – Early Mornings

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Today was a public holiday – Women’s Day – in South Africa. I planned to sleep in late to make up for the busy week with a lot of early wake-ups. Well, that didn’t happen. Merlin and Jozi (who is visiting for a week) decided at 5:30 am that it is time to get up. And so, I had a little nose poking into my hand every few minutes, just to check whether I was already awake. Unable to sleep, I did the only thing I could at that situation. I baked muffins.

In our house, dogs don’t eat human food.

 

Day 139 – Somewhere over the Dim Sum

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Stuart and I are huge fans of different Asian cuisines. Japanese and Korean are probably our favourites. In fact, I have even made my own Kimchi in occasion. (My fridge smelt just fine, thank you very much!). Typical take-away-style ‘Chinese’ we are less excited about… Although when it gets to regional stuff, e.g., Schezuan food, Stuart is totally sold. And Dim Sums belong to our absolute favourites. Although, the unique colours of this portion were a bit of a surprise. It did make it easy to keep track, who has already eaten what… Lack of that particular conversation made the meal a more pleasant dining experience.

Day 139

Day 134 – Savoury Tooth

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Stuart has no sweet-tooth what-so-ever. It sincerely limits my possibilities for baking. I like eating, but there is only so much cake one person can handle. And our freezer can’t take that many chocolate muffins. Therefore, I blame Stuart for the fact that I have never learned to decorate a cake. But I do make good cinnamon buns (thank you Mum!), Karelian Pies (thank you Google!) and an occasional savoury muffin.

About this photo: Stuart doesn’t bake. It is a set-up.

Day 112 – Vegetable Risotto for One

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I am a highly unorganised person. If you don’t believe me, ask anyone who has ever spent longer intensive periods of time with me. Through years of practise, I have learned to maintain a resemblance of order, especially in public. At work, I have even been complemented as highly organised (shows you how easily people can be fooled…). But inevitably the facade always comes crashing down and I lose the plot. I try to do this when I’m alone and have time to sort out the mess.

The only exception for the rule is cooking. I am an organised cook – I plan the process ahead, get ingredients out and measure things ready. I even make sure I chop everything I will not have time to chop during the cooking process. I often wish I could bring this attitude more into the rest of my life.

Stuart wishes it too.