Lady T. hosted the spring tea for the Victorian Tea Society! While we missed Lady K., Lady L., Lady ML, and Lady MH, we welcomed a new guest, Lady P.!
It was fun to hear everyone’s travel stories about their favorite travel destinations and the foods they prepared:
Lady P.: Morocco (figs, grapes, baklava, mango pudding)
Lady S.: Japan (gyoza soup, sliced cucumber and pickled ginger, Imperial House sesame cookies)
Lady J.: England, Hawaii, and Japan (Yorkshire pudding, spam musubi, and Japanese seaweed salad)
Lady B.: England (veggie salad, almond flour scone, and a beautiful crustless veggie quiche in the shape of a rose)
Lady T.: Iceland (Icelandic nachos, Icelandic pancakes, and sandwich made with Icelandic brown bread)
Lady Henni: mystery … Can you guess what country I chose as one of my travel destinations? Here’s a hint:
Can you guess the country shaped like this cookie?
Here’s another hint:
Do you recognize these beloved characters, considered the “crown jewels” of this country?
Finally, a 3rd hint … if you haven’t guessed by now …
The country’s flag, traditional Christmas spice cookies known as Nissu nassau, and the signature textile designs of Marimekko
If you guessed Finland, you are correct!
My dear friend, T., lives in Finland and I have had the great fortune of visiting her twice so far in my life. My first visit was at the end of summer 1992, and my second visit (with D.) was at the end of winter 2006. To appreciate Finland, you must experience the country during both seasons. 🙂 Therefore, in my tea presentation, I chose dishes that reflected my summer and winter experiences in Finland.
Surprisingly, Finnish cuisine has a lot in common with Irish cuisine! Meat, potatoes, root vegetables (beetroot, celery root, turnips), stews (karjalanpaisti) cheese, dairy, hearty brown breads, jams, wild salmon, and alcohol. I saw a recipe for a Finnish vegetable soup (kasvissosekeitto) that was exactly like Irish vegetable soup, right down to the addition of white pepper!
Finnish beetroot salad (Rosolli) with beetroot, potato, carrot, pickles, apple, and parsley. Recipe from A tasty trip to Finland.
Summer in Finland is all about the midnight sun and everything mushrooms and berries! SO many berries: strawberries, cloudberries, bilberries (AKA blueberries), lingonberries, raspberries, blackberries, and currants.
When T. came to visit me in the ‘States, we saw these beautiful, huge, red strawberries at the market. She couldn’t believe the size of the strawberries and thought she had landed in Strawberry Heaven. To her great disappointment and surprise, she declared them tasteless while I thought they “weren’t bad.” After trying Finnish strawberries for the first time, I understood T.’s disappointment! Hands down, Finland has the best strawberries I have ever tasted in my life–seriously they are like candy and they have so much flavor! My palette has been forever spoiled and I have not been able to eat American strawberries since (we’re talking 30 years!)!
Foraging for mushrooms is a summer pastime in Finland. Though I didn’t get to forage for mushrooms, I did get to enjoy some of the mushrooms that T. and her parents gathered that summer. Though Finland is a coffee drinking country (much to D.’s delight), I chose a blueberry tea as an homage to Finland’s bountiful summer berries.
Mushroom soup (Sienikeitto). Recipe from The food and cooking of Finland.
Winter in Finland evokes yet other memories and images for me: snow (of course), Christmas, reindeer, and the Easter dinner where D. and I first enjoyed Karelian pies (Karjalanpiirakat) and got to eat off of beautiful Russian Lomonosov china.
Karelian pies or pasties
(adapted from A tasty trip to Finland)
Rice Porridge Filling
1/2 cup short-grain rice
1 cup milk or non-dairy milk
1 cup water
Rye dough / crust
1 cup dark rye flour
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
½ cup water
For the Filling:
In a saucepan combine the water and rice. Bring to a boil. Stir, cover, and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the milk, cover, and continue cooking until the milk is completely absorbed and the rice is soft and creamy.
For the Pastry:
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the water, salt, and rye and white flours to make a stiff dough. Shape the dough into a log and cut into 16 portions and shape each into a round.
On a lightly floured board, roll out each round into a 6-inch circle. Spread about 3 tablespoons of rice filling evenly on each round. Using your index fingers and thumbs, starting from the center, crimp the edges of the dough toward the center to make an oval-shaped pastry, allowing about 1/2-inch of the crust to overlay the filling and leaving the center of the filling exposed. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place pies on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 450°F until the pastries are golden on the edges.
Oh, and Finnish dark sour rye bread! D. and I couldn’t get enough of that. In fact, we have not been able to get that dark sour rye bread anywhere and I haven’t found any recipes that come close. 😦
(Foregound) Karelian pies and (background) open face cucumber sandwiches on dark sour rye
For dessert, I made my favorite Christmas cookie, the Finnish spice cookie, Nissu nassu. Nissu nassu means “piggy” and traditionally, nissu nassu cookies are shaped like pigs. In additional to the traditional shape, I also cut out cookie shapes of things that reminded me of Finland.
Finnish spice cookies (Nissu nassu) in the shapes of Finland, Christmas tree, reindeer, and pigs (for which the cookie is named)
Nissu nassu (Finnish spice cookies)
(From the Cooking Class Christmas cookies cookbook)
2 c. flour
1 ½ tsp. ground ginger
1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. cardamom
½ tsp. ground cloves
½ c. butter, softened*
2/3 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
3-5 Tbsp. hot water
* Vegan: use oil or margarine
Cream together sugar and butter. Sift flour and spices together. Add flour mixture gradually to the sugar and butter. Mix ½ tsp. baking soda with 3 Tbsp. hot water until dissolved and add it to the flour mixture. If necessary, add some water, 1 Tbsp. at a time until a dough forms.
For refrigerator cookies, dough can be shaped into a log and wrapped in plastic wrap. For cut-out cookies, shape dough into a flat disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill until firm. Slice cookie log into 1/8” slices. Or roll out dough between two pieces of plastic using bamboo skewers as a thickness guide and cut out shapes using cookie cutters.
Place cookies on lined or greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 mins. until lightly browned.
Thank you, Lady T., for a lovely afternoon tea party! It was so nice to “see” all the VTS ladies and sip tea with you all. We hope that this will be our last virtual tea party and that we will be able to meet in person for our Fall tea! Here’s to new and better days ahead!
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