When the sun is setting, between dusk and darkness, there is a moment when the light turns blue. And the world stops for a heartbeat.
Pan-fried muikku (vendace) is a Finnish delicacy. The girls and I absolutely love it. Stuart thinks it is good, but as with many good things, Finns tend to overdo it.
You can get muikku at many lakeside restaurants during the summer, and I even make it myself from time to time. But the best muikku is made by ukki in the boathouse. The boathouse is as important part of the meal than the muikku itself.
Finns are always surprised when the weather is good at Midsummer. Although, I could be a spoilsport and note that every single one of the five Midsummers since we moved bach has been beautiful.
Then again, I still remember the years of +9°C and rain, so I mostly let people enjoy their weather debates.
Anyway, it is hard to capture the essence of Midsummer in single picture. I cheated and made a collage. Good food, good drinks, the midnight sun, summer…
Despite being a foodie, even I admit that frying sausages over the fire is part of summer at the summer cottage.
According to my dad, my mum and I cook far too complicated food in the summer cottage. Then again, he considers anything more time-consuming than fried sausage or pasta too complicated. (Unless it is fish, in which case it is never too time-consuming.)
To be fair, we do occassionally go a bit overboard. Or rather, we like trying new things. And more often than not, one element doesn’t quite work out, so we end up improvising as we go.
Generally, though, we have fun.
And my dad has yet to refuse any of it.
So I would call it a win-win.
Food tastes better when eaten outside.
The nearest “beach” to us is just a quick hop away. It’s a secluded little strech of sand, and you can’t get there with a car. Consequently, it is often pretty quiet.
With the weather being great, we went for a picnic on a whim. We grabbed whatever we fancied from a store and cycled to the “beach” for a few hours of games, snacks and scenery. The girls even waded to the water, but it was still way too cold for a swim.
Best night of the week.
Girls’s night out.
For dinner, Alanna and Kiara chose a sushi – one of their all-time favourites.
After dinner, we headed to a Hevisaurus Musical. I think Hevisaurus is a concept that could really only exist in Finland… Its a band dressed up as dinosaurs, playing heavy metal for kids. And they are pretty good too!
Alanna especially was into every song. She knew the words to half of them and danced passionately to the rest.
As did most of the audience.
I am not sure if I’ve ever seen that many 5-8 year olds headbanging before.
Räyh! is their best song. Or the ballad, ‘Goodnight, Last of the Mammoths’ (Hyvää yötä, viimeinen mammutti). Both are worth a listen.
The problem with a lot of street food is that it is meant to be quick in large quantities. It is often surprisingly time-consuming to cook for just a few.
Take baos, for example. Making the dough, letting it rise, steaming the buns… not exactly a quick meal.
So that’s when you cheat.
The secret is finding the right ingredients that take you 80% there. In Finland, store-bought baos work great when fillings are flavorful enough.
Naans – not so much.
The first ice cream of the summer!
Well, of course,we have had ice cream in the past months. Actually, in the past week. But not from an ice cream kiosk. (At least, not most of them. A mall kiosk does not quite count.) And we had not eaten any outside. (Almost none) And nothing in our T-shirts, with the sun shining.
Hard to explain why, but this was definitely the first ice cream of the summer. And it was great.
Blue Moment 