Year: 2016

reflections

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Last night in a dream I was walking under the high ceilings of our Brussels apartment. My key still fit the door and the evening light was flooding in like it always did at dinner time. The house was empty, it was resting in the in-between, waiting for new life to put flesh on its bones. We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place, we stay there, even though we go away, someone said. Do those rooms, those streets corners, those cafés and market places carry my reflections? Can something in me be found only by going back there? What would such a meeting be like?

christmas meal for 2

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This year we decided to stay home for Christmas, just the two of us. 2016 has been a busy year full of challenges and changes and it felt good to take some time to relax, enjoy good food, read and discuss and play some board games. I made a vegetarian version of the traditional Karelian hot pot using pulled oats and gluten/free ginger bread adapting my grandmother’s recipe, a childhood favourite. We were lucky to have some snow for the weekend and we took our boots out for a walk in the forest.  Wishing everyone peaceful and heartwarming holidays ❤

apple & lingonberry crumble

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An easy apple crumble used to be my mother’s go-to dessert when I was a child. It always tasted best on Friday nights with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. This warm dessert is perfect for this season as it has those flavours of the autumn harvest and christmassy cinnamon. Serves 4 the Base 3-4 sweet apples 0,5 dl frozen lingonberries 2 tbsp coconut sugar or organic raw cane sugar 1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon 1 tbsp of organic butter the Crumble 2 dl of organic, gluten-free rolled oats 70 g of organic butter 1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon 1 tbsp coconut sugar or organic raw cane sugar the Topping Whipped soy cream or oat vanilla sauce on top Other Non-stick frying pan & an oven dish 2 tbsp gluten-free breadcrumbs Heat the oven to 225°c. Using your fingers, butter the inside of the oven dish with butter and a thin layer of gluten-free bread crumbs. Wash and peel the apples. Remove the core & seeds and cut them in wedges. If you use organic apples, you …

small raw coconut-chocolate treats

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I love raw deserts and especially the little raw balls, which we call “voimapallot” in Finnish; Voima means power or strength. Easy to make and just sweet enough, these small treats make a delicious desert or a snack on-the-go. I needed to make desert for a dinner party tonight. I had “nothing” in my cupboard, very little time and I need to go to the dinner straight after an evening yoga class. So, these little treats saved the day, they’re waiting for the evening in the fridge (expect those two that I absolutely needed to eat immediately, just to make sure they are ok 😉 ) This recipe makes 20 125 g pitted dates 0,75 dl coconut oil 2 tbs espresso coffee 1,5 dl gluten-free oats 3 tbs raw cacao powder 1 tbs chia seeds pinch of salt pinch of vanilla coconut flakes (or more cacao powder) to decorate Soak the dates for 30min-1h if necessary (you can buy dates that are soft enough to use as-is, but you might need to soak them in water, then squeeze …

interior inspiration for the autumn

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In July I visited a housing fair for the first time in my life. As building or renovating our own dream house isn’t something for the immediate future, it was mostly interior inspiration I was looking for. I was also very interested in the ecological and sustainable wood building projects at the Seinäjoki housing fair. There was something for all tastes: From the minimalist wood cabins to mansions that looked like they were extracted straight from a scene in the Bold and the Beautiful. Here are my favourites, prepare yourself for loads of pictures! My absolute favourite at the fair was a modern ecological wood house “Kotola” which we almost missed because of its location just off the main path ways of the fair grounds. I fell in love with the house designed by architect Tapani Takkunen, the interior design and ceramics by Eeva Takkunen and Tuija Koponen. The house had an updated soul of a wooden house. I could’ve moved in right there and then! My other favourites included Moroccan influences, wild house plants, painted tiles …

supergreen summer smoothie

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I decided to start the day by throwing a variety of greens and fruits into the blender to create a super-duper creamy green smoothie. It worked out so well that I needed to share the recipe. Don’t worry if you don’t have all the ingredients, you can experiment with nettle, celery, Chinese cabbage, frozen spinach… If you like your smoothies sweet, try adding some pineapple, apple or honey. Here we go (for two): a generous handful of sliced cucumber 1-2 leaves of kale handful of baby spinach juice of half grapefruit 1 kiwi (don’t use the skin) 1-2 crispy salad leaves half an avocado piece of ginger, chopped a few fresh spruce sprouts (if available) 1,5 dl oat milk (or almond/rise/soy) Throw everything into a blender, work it until smooth, pour into glasses & sprinkle with coconut flakes.

foggy morning yoga

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I woke up on Monday morning to the smell of fresh coffee and my husband singing to himself in the kitchen. We were staying with my mom who had already left for work. When I entered the living room, still rubbing the sleep off my eyes, I noticed the thick fog outside and wanted to get to the lake before we’d lose the magical atmosphere. We were the only two people out on the lake. Cold and quiet. Inner warmth. Fresh air cleansing the lungs. The world, the past and the future, invisible, blurred. Just the breath and the body.