Veggie Tails and Flowers for Fancy Veggie Basket

My Mother began making fancy cut veggie baskets for special occasions after I left home, so I didn't have the chance to watch or help her much. Now that she's passed to the other side of the veil I had to recall, search for photos of her vegetable basket and online to "see" how to make various veggie tails and flowers.  In addition I asked myself questions.  I began to get some inspiration of my own--possibly from her whispering suggestions in my ear.  I felt her nearby as I thought of her, which made for a priceless time.   

What follows is how I make radish roses, green onion tails and stems, carrot crinkles and flowers, jagged cucumber circles, celery tails and turnip flowers. 

Valentine's Day Lunch

Happy Valentine's Day to you!  This photo is an example of the type of menu and table setting my Mother would set -- this time for Valentine's Day.  She was instrumental in the start of this holiday in her homeland when she returned as a goodwill Ambassador later in her life.  It's called Friendship Day there.  Today on Valentine's Day or Friendship Day we will receive the public to honor her life as she passed away earlier this week.  Happy Valentine's Day Mommy.  I love you always and forever.

May Day May Day It's Snowing!!

Hauskaa Vappua!  Happy May Day! 

It's snowing here today and in Finland it's a beautiful spring May Day.  

My Mother almost always served sima as the drink with her Finnish meals for guests.  In Finland, her Mother only made it on  May Day.  My Dad made the sima a few days ago and I'm making the sugar dougnuts, something they used to make in her town as well.  See last year's blog post for the other pastry usually made in Finland. 

As I understand it, to make sima, my Mummo, would first wash and clean her milk bucket.  Second, she'd prepare the lemons and add the sugars and then pour the boiling water over it.  Next she'd let sit until it cooled enough to add the yeast.  After that, she'd cover the milk pail tightly and let it sit overnight.  In the morning, she'd strain out the lemon pulp and peel, and bottle it.  So, to make sima, you will want to make it 3-4 days before you want to drink it.  Here's my Mother's Sima recipe:

Sima 

1 lemon, (peel and pulp)

1 kettle of 4 quarts water

2 1/4 cups white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

Boil a few minutes. Cool.  Add 1/4 tsp. yeast (mixed in a little warm water).  Cover tightly.  Let stand overnight.  In the morning, strain.  Bottle, add a few raisins and cap.  Put in dark, cool cellar for 3-4 days.  Serve chilled. 

Note:  Much more yeast is used as you make it at sea level, as Finland is.  As my Mother experimented in the mountains, she had a few surprises:)

Pikamunkit -- Quick Sugar Doughnuts

2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cardamom
1 1/4 cups cream
2 eggs

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the cream and eggs. Mix into a smooth dough. Take small dabs of dough and drop them immediately into hot 350F oil . Cook until light brown, about 4-5 minutes. Roll in sugar while still warm and serve as soon as possible.

Peter Rabbit in Mr. McGregor's Lettuce Bed

Our youngest saw this "Veggie Rabbit" on Studio 5 http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=204&sid=2882245
earlier this week and wants to help me make this Rhodes Rolls Veggie Rabbit for Easter, so we'll do just that!

My Mother often served veggie baskets. Her comment is, the bunny will be easy, it's all the time to prep the veggies. I think that's because her veggies were an art form unto themselves.

Veggie Rabbit

Ingredients:
2 Loaves Rhodes™ Bread Dough, thawed but still cold
sliced almonds
2 large raisins
1 egg, beaten

Cut one loaf of bread into 1/4 and 3/4 portions. Shape 3/4 portion into egg shape for body and place on a large sprayed baking sheet. Shape 1/4 portion into pear shape and place above body for head. Clip side whiskers with scissors. Cut second loaf in half. Cut one half in half again for ears and roll into two 16-inch ropes. Fold together and place on top of head. With remaining half of loaf, divide dough in half. Take one half and cut into two pieces. Shape into 2 large thumper feet and place under bunny. Clip toes. Divide last piece of dough into 1/3 and 2/3 portions. Divide 2/3 portion into two hands and place on side of body and clip fingers. Divide remaining 1/3 dough into two large balls and one small ball. Place two large balls on face for cheeks and one small ball for nose. Place 2 raisins on face for eyes and 2 almonds for teeth. Brush everything with beaten egg, even the teeth. Cover with sprayed plastic wrap. Let rise 15-30 minutes. Remove wrap and bake at 350°F 30 minutes or until browned. Let cool. Hollow out tummy and fill with your favorite dip.

3 Reasons to Serve Cherry Chocolate Trifle in February

Whether you want to serve a red and chocolate dessert for Valentine's Day or something cherry to honor honest George Washington's legend of chopping down the Cherry tree, try this delicious Cherry Chocolate Trifle.

February is also time for the annual LDS Stake Relief Society Women's Conferences. This recipe, served in the 90s at the Menlo Park, California Stake Relief Society Women's Conference, was a hit.

Cherry Chocolate Trifle

Ingredients:
In large glass bowl layer:
1/2 baked Devil's food cake, cut in 1 inch cubes
1/2 chocolate instant pudding (2 small packages made with 3 c milk)
1/2 large carton cool whip
1/2 can comstock cherry pie mix
Repeat layers

Directions:
Chill a few hours before serving.

This year we get to listen to Sheri Dew at our RS Women's Conference! I wonder what they'll serve at ours and what they will serve at yours.

We're crazy for Krazy Cake!

My kids are crazy about snowmen and penguins this time of year. I found some great penguin and snowman silicone cupcake pans in the after Christmas sales and needed a good dense cake recipe to make them up with.  I chose Krazy Cake or Wacky Cake as some call it . I got the recipe from another Mom whose son used this recipe in our Cub Scout cake contest last year.
Krazy Cake

In a large bowl, stir the following ingredients:

2 C sugar
3 C all purpose flour
1/3 C cocoa (I like Dutch processed when I can find it)
2 tsp soda
1 tsp salt

Add the following ingredients (don't stir until all wet ingredients are
in the bowl):

2 C cold water
3/4 C oil
2 Tbsp vinegar

Mix all ingredients well. You can stir by hand - an electric mixer is
not necessary. Pour batter into a well greased 9 X 13 pan and bake at
350F for 25-30 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Ever tasted cold fruit soup? Kisseli is family favorite!

In Finland and other Scandinavian countries, fruit soup is a part of summer and another way to use the fresh fruit of the season. Last week we attended a Midsummer's Party and along with many tasty dishes 2 types of Fruit Soup -- rhubarb and apricot were served. I've always made the rhubarb version which has been a family favorite as long as I can remember. I have yet to make the apricot version, but it should be about as simple as substituting which fruit you use in the recipe below. When I visited Lappland one summer, my friend served prune kisseli.

I served this at brunch yesterday and thought I'd share the low carb twist we did in substituting from the orginial recipe.

Finnish Rhubarb Soup --Rapaperi Kisseli
Boil 7 cups water,
add 4 cups chopped rhubarb (Choose rhubarb that is as red as possible for a nicer look.)
2 cups Albertson's strawberry jam (optional--I skip it but my mother used it.)
and 1 cup sugar until the rhubarb starts to fall apart.

Taste it and add more sugar, if you want it sweeter.
Remove from heat and
add (4T potato starch stirred into cold water) stirring continually. Use may use corn starch but it will not be as clear.
After it thickens, put it back on heat until it bubbles, then remove completely.

UPDATE:  7/27/13 Usually I serve this cold.  Today I served this rhubarb soup warm and it was great this way too.  Usually my Mother take out her fancy glass bowl, place a silver spoon it and then pour the fresh from boiling soup in the glass bowl to cool.  She would put the spoon in to keep the hot liquid from breaking the bowl.  She'd sprinkle sugar on the top to keep a film from developing on top as it cools.  

Serve with whipped cream on top or just pour some cream, half and half or milk.  Also sprinkle some sugar on top for some crunch! Usually we serve Pulla, the Finnish sweet cardamom braided bread I posted the recipe for at Christmastime.

Now for the low carb adjustments. Instead of using potato starch only, my my husband suggested using part Bob's Red Mill Xanthum Gum, so we did. I'll experiment next time to see if it can be used exclusively. Instead of sugar, I used Splenda. Instead of strawberry jam, I used fresh strawberries and drastically increased the cups of Splenda.

Also I did some looking on the internet and found this recipe for it you may want to look at. Finnish Rhubarb Soup
(Rapaperikiisseli)
http://www.soupsong.com/rrhubarb.html
Such a soft shade of pink, and so pretty with the mounds of whipped cream drifting across the surface. It's a wonderful last course, serving as a delicate and refreshing palate cleanser after a rich dinner...right before you retire to the parlor and bring on buttery pastries and coffee. Serve cold to 6 in flat soup plates to heighten the effect of the puffs of whipped cream.
2 cups water
2 cups of little bitesize pieces of fresh rhubarb
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick cinnamon
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 Tablespoons water
Garnish: 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan and stir in the rhubarb bits, sugar, and cinnamon stick. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes (or until very tender). Mix the cornstarch into the 2 Tablespoons of water, then slowly stir into the boiling soup. Cook several more minutes, until the soup is clear and thickened. Remove the cinnamon stick. Let cool, then cover and let chill.
When ready to serve, ladle into flat soup plates and float several puffs of whipped cream on top of each.

Muffin-Sized Breakfast Quiches

We had a pre 4th of July Brunch today and I was asked to bring a breakfast casserole. Since we're watching our carbs, and those usually call for bread, I chose this fun recipe a friend sent me when I wanted something with eggs for an Easter Brunch. I made them in mini bundt pans. I doubled the recipe so I could have 24 as 16 of us would be there. Several seemed to like them, but I think the trick is really what my Mother taught me that her Mother taught her. "75% of what we eat is with our eyes!" They were more attractive looking this was than in an aluminum dripper pan, so they tasted even better than maybe they would.

Muffin-Sized Breakfast Quiches
Measurements are approximate.

About 9 eggs, cracked in a bowl and beaten as if making scrambled eggs, salt and pepper to taste (you add to the beaten eggs, stir well) 1 bag baby spinach (about 10 oz., you won't use the whole thing) 1 onion, chopped and sautéed till translucent (in a skillet with about 1 tablespoon of oil) Shredded low-fat cheddar cheese (from an 8 ounce bag, you won't use the whole thing)
Preheat the oven to 375. In the meantime, lightly grease your muffin pan with either a spray or a little oil on a paper towel. Into the greased muffin cups, add about 2-4 leaves of spinach, depending on their size. Top the spinach with about a teaspoon of sautéed onions. Top the onions with about 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese. I also add some broiled, sliced turkey bacon. Then using a soup ladle, add enough egg mixture to fill the muffin tin, about 2/3 full.
Bake your little breakfast quiches for about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of your muffin tin cups. They should browned nicely on the top, but be careful not to overcook. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick in the middle of one of the muffin cups. If the toothpick comes out clean, then your quiches are done! Let them cool for at least 10 minutes in the pan. Using a dinner knife, carefully run the blade around the perimeter of each little quiche and plop them carefully onto a plate to finish cooling.

Finnish May Day Celebration

Hauskaa Vappua!

Some of you may be interested to read this link
http://www.dlc.fi/~marianna/gourmet/season4a.htm
entitled Finnish May Day Celebration. You will
even find recipes at the bottom of the article.


In Finland, the traditional dessert served are May Day Fritters. I'd never made them before, but we made our 1st attempt and served them this year with sima. My Mother explained I just need to make them look like a bird's nest and indeed they did.