March

No matter how much I loved the winter, which was so nice and beautiful, I am so happy the spring is here. Not much snow anymore. The days are longer. I have seen the first spring flowers in bloom.

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Christmas sweets

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Christmas is right around the corner. I have baked some gingerbreads and made date nut balls. Of course there are no left so I will make some more next week right before Christmas Eve. As I this morning edited the photos from yesterday my dear cat Jacky, as usually, kept on eye on my doings. I wish you all Happy Safe Holidays !

Gingerbreads

Saturday evening (12.12.) we were craving for something sweet. I looked into the freezer and was glad to find a package of deep frozen gingerbread dough.

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Date Balls (again)

I have called them date balls. Yesterday I found out on the internet that they also are called date/nut balls, date energy balls, vegan balls and healthy sweets. Thumbs up for the healthy. Plus that they are delicious and quick to make. Yesterday, when I started to make them again, my son suggested a new flavor. He happened to have salted liquorice powder. I love salted liquorice (salmiak). So, I was happy with the suggestion and rolled six of the balls in the salmiak powder. I try not to eat salmiak liquorice too often as it is not very healthy. But, I think a few date balls rolled in little bit of salmiak powder is okay. I know my balls are date/nut balls but, I still am going to call them date balls.

Date Balls

Time flies. It is five years since I last made date balls. They are so quick and simple to make so, from now on I will make them more often. At least once a year. The recipe says it makes 22-24 balls. There are only 18 in the photos as we already ate some.

 Recipe

200 g fresh dates
1,5 dl (abt. 70 g) Pecan nuts
1 dl (abt. 50 g) cashew nuts
about 1/2 tsp cinnamon
about 1/2 tsp cardamom (which I don’t like so I didn’t use)

Pit the dates. Then put all the ingredients into the food processor. Form about 22-24 small balls. Then roll them in e.g. coconut flakes, almond flour or dark cocoa powder.

Pasha & Puzzles

I made my very first Pasha. May also be spelled Paskha and Pascha. It’s a traditional Russian Easter dish made from quark (curd cheese). Also often served in Finland. It was delicious. The recipe I used really was a sugar/fat bomb. Today I found a light version of the pasha. So, if I’m going to make one next Easter it definitely will be a light one.

In the evenings in order to wind down I often listen to music and do free online puzzles. Here are two. The other one, with the basket, I did the night before and the other one, with the colorful wig, I did last night. I think both are 300 pieces. I checked, the basket is 250 pcs. The wig 300.

I hope you all had a nice Easter. The weather here has been great. Warm and sunny. Finally our garden is free from snow. Time for some gardening.

Shrove Sunday

Happy sunny Shrove Sunday ! Such a nice weather today for outdoor activities. I made shrove buns in the morning. We usually have the same discussion every year whether to have the shrove buns on Shrove Sunday or Shrove Tuesday. When I was a kid we used to have them only on Tuesday. But, at least this time we will have them both days as I made plenty.

Runeberg’s Tarts

Today, February 5^th, we are celebrating the birth of our national poet J.L. Runeberg. The tradition is to have Runeberg’s tarts. For the last seven years I have made them myself. So also this year. I think the best ones so far 😉

Cream Cheese Cake

In Finland we celebrate Father’s Day always on the second Sunday in November which this year was Sunday 11th. I showed my husband a photo of a cream cheese cake called “Plum Enchantment”. Looks good he said but, wait, here’s the newest issue of the K-Ruoka magazine, doesn’t this cream cheese, chocolate, coffee cake also look delicious. Yes, sure does. Let’s have it for Father’s Day. We then have the Plum Enchantment for Christmas.

Green Pea and Avocado Smash

This green pea and avocado smash recipe is from a blog I follow (eatliveescape.com). I made it yesterday. ‘eatliveescape.com’ photos are so much nicer than mine. But, I think my smash probably was as tasty, delisious and healthy. I used ray toasts. And, of course, my husband wanted some meat on his. He got fried bacon.

Here is the recipe from ‘eatliveescape.com’ posting. Thank you for sharing.

“Ingredients

1/2 a ripe avocado (I used one avocado)

1 cup of blanched green peas

1 tablespoon of sour cream

Juice of half a lemon

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Add all ingredients in to a food processor and blend until smooth. Serve topped on toasted sour dough spread with ricotta and drizzle with extra olive oil and whole green peas. Enjoy!”