Mushroom

I've been an avid photographer for as long as I can remember.
I got my first camera when I was eight or nine years old. I started with our cats and rabbits (and my sister). Then I moved on to horses and rock stars (and my sister's dog mr. Ukko). Now I am taking photos of mushroom... Don't ask me if they are eatable or not. *)

*) Some of them are red, some are not. Some of them are the size of my head, some are not.

tbt (12.6.2014)

New Year's Eve 2011.
I've got a chip on my eyes.
Have you seen a potato chip that big?
I ate it.
And my life changed forever.

tbt (20.3.2014)

It's me, Nana and mr. Ukko in the pic.
We were in the woods - me, Mika, Nana and mr. Ukko back in January.
We had brought sausages with us - two for each including the dogs.
I gave mr. Ukko his sausage: he took it into his mouth and dropped it immediately. He didn't like it at all so Nana got four sausages instead of just two. My sister told me that Ukko really loves sausages that you get at one of those sausage stands. And french fries from McDonald's.

My Newest Crush

Would you have guessed?

(This is not a product placement. I wanted to leave the sticker on just to show how small these minis are. Hopefully I remember to take it off before having a piece of banana.)
PS I like to have my bananas green...

Quote for the Day (2.2.2014)

From My Kitchen to Your Table

This is probably my 3rd food-related post.
I'm currently obsessed with this salad that I just prepared.
It's got lettuce, cucumber, cantaloupe, eggs, parmesan, prosciutto, and homemade dressing to die for.
...omnomnom...

Rebus

Do ya know what this is?

Frozen banana (or what's left of it) - of course!
Yeah, I've got nothing else to do than take (bad) photos of frozen bananas. An idiot...

Kasassa keiton ainekset - Soup

Ruokauutisia! Seuraavaksi aion nimittäin kertoa, mitä köökissäni tapahtui eilen illalla. Pahoittelut tehosteiden puuttumisesta...

Eilen skribentinne köökissä tapahtui siis seuraavaa: valmistui varsin onnistunut keitto alta aikayksikön. Eikä mikä tahansa keitto vaan keitto, jonka raaka-aineet olivat hyvinkin luomua ja lähellä tuotettua. Keiton raaka-aineista perunat olivat äitin ja isän kasvimaalta, valkosipulit kaverini ryytimaalta. Näyttipä joku porkkanakin olleen kaverini ryytimaalta. Hirven oli isä tai joku hänen jahtikavereistaan juossut kiinni viime syksynä.

Tässä sen kummemmin reseptiin paneutumatta päädynkin vain toteamaan: sekaan vaan ja anna kiehua!

This is what I was preparing last night: soup with carrots, potatoes, garlic, onions, and meat. That canned meat wasn't nothing but moose - delicious. In my family we eat a lot of moose 'cause my dad goes moose hunting every year. And it's not like eating a reindeer.

I normally don't eat that much of meat but when my mom prepares moose. Last night I found a can of moose that my dad has given me last winter. It was 'bout time... Very delicious.

What do you think of blue potatoes?

Thank You

With this picture I would like to thank each and every one of you for the lovely b-day wishes (not below).

Caption: Walrus' reaction after being presented with a fish cake for his b-day.

My Banana

My banana has got a heart!

Yeah, I know it's nothing like the Shroud of Turin or those faces people see burnt on their toast. But, let's admit it, my banana has got a heart..erm..had. I ate it - and went bananas!

Don't blame me if you got Harry Belafonte singing about bananas in your mind over and over again.

Fresh Cherries (for Breakfast)

I've got a cherry tree at my parents' garden. It's been growing there for like twenty years already. But, no, no cherries yet. First (ten) winters were brutal: bad, bad, bad hares ate my cherry tree almost to death. Me and my mom did try to protect our precious but, some how, hares kicked our ass. But, now, that we've really put some serious extra effort in having fresh cherries straight from our garden, my cherry tree has finally grown into - a very large bush.

I don't know if we ever get fresh cherries other than those that we buy at stores but, hey, it's great having a cherry tree (bush) any way.

Pictured here my breakfast - fresh cherries. I hate those canned cherries that you still see on birthday cakes. They taste terrible, like rubber.

Namut, My Treats

Tein kauppareissullani varsinaisen löydön: valkosuklaalla kuorrutetut karviaiset! Vaikka karkkipäiväni on perjantaina (ja ehkä lauantaina ja sunnuntaina), päätin kokeilla näitä herkullisen näköisiä marjoja jo tänään.

Makunautinto poikkesi hieman siitä, miltä olin kuvitellut marjojen maistuvan. Marjat käsitellään pakastettuina (luin kaupassa), joten marjojen suutuntuma oli ikään kuin "rapeaa vohvelia". Petyin hieman, kun en ensipuraisulla saanut suun täyttä kirpeää marjaa. Jäinkin miettimään, miltä maistuisivat tuoreet karviaiset valkosuklaaseen dipattuna. No, hyvältä!

I found these treats on my latest grocery shopping: chocolate iced gooseberries. They aren't as delicious as fresh gooseberries but still do taste gooood! I found these suckers at a local Punnitse ja Säästä.

Hyvää äitienpäivää, and Have a Happy Mother's Day!

Äitienpäivämuffari jokaiselle maailman parhaalle äidille! Here's a real cupcake in a real cup to all the best moms in the world on this sunny Mother's Day!

                          

My Sunday Tradition_Sunnuntaimuffinssit

My Sunday tradition revealed: muffins!

This Sunday I had  banana and blueberry muffins – on a typical Sunday it’s just bananas. But since my mom gave me blueberries (hand-picked by her) on my Easter holiday, I decided to include blueberries in my muffins, too. Yummy! (I guess I need more practise on photographing my muffins. They seem having no colour in them; kind of boring...)

I just started thinking about the difference between muffins and cupcakes – is there any?

According to my source (Wikipedia, 15.4.2012) "a cupcake is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper, or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, frosting and other cake decorations, such as sprinkles, are common on cupcakes". As for muffins it says: ”A muffin is an American English name for a type of quick bread that is baked in small portions. Many forms are somewhat like small cakes or cupcakes in shape, although they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and generally lack frosting. They may be filled with sweet fillings, such as chocolate, toffee, lemons or blueberries. They generally fit in the palm of an adult hand, and are intended to be consumed by an individual in a single sitting.”

Well, I leave it up to you: are my muffins cupcakes or cupcakes muffins? And, btw, Ukko, the dog, also likes to feast on them...

Pyöräytin tänäkin sunnuntaina perinteiset sunnuntaimuffarini. En oikeastaan edes muista, milloin innostuin muffareista... Joka tapauksessa banskumuffareista on pikkuhiljaa tullut sunnuntaiaamun traditioni. Tänään lisäsin taikinaan desilitran verran mustikoita, jotka sain pääsiäisenä äidiltäni.

Hieman harmittelin taitamattomuuttani kuvata muffinssini yhtä houkuttelevan näköisiksi kuin mitä ruoka- yms. lehdet leipomuksiaan esittelevät. Täytyy tosin todeta, ettei leivonnaisten valokuvaaminen ole täysin ongelmatonta, sekään. Siinähän ne kököttävät lautasella; herkullisina ja hyvältä tuoksuvina... - Voi, kunpa nykyteknologia mahdollistaisikin sen, että näitä valokuvia hieromalla lukijoilleni välittyisi se ihana tuoksu, joka vieläkin on aistittavissa haciendassani...

Jäin vielä ensimmäisen suupalan aikana miettimään perinteisten muffinssien ja ”vuokaleivosten” eli ”kupkeikkien” eroa: onko se koko vai maku, mikä ne erottaa toisistaan? Vai onko muffinssien ja ”kupkeikkien” ero käytännössä, ja kielellisesti, muffinssiin piirretty viiva?

Laskiaistiistai_Pancake Tuesday

Täydellinen päivä: hernekeittoa lounaaksi ja kropsua jälkkäriksi. Illalla laskiaispulla (mantelimassalla, tietty).

Laskiaispulla (shrove bun)

Sattumoisin löysin vielä laktoosittoman laskiaispullan Herkusta. Sen enempää laskiaispulliin paneutumatta täytyy vain todeta, että valikoimaa riittää: laskiaispulla hillolla; laskiaispulla mantelimassalla; laskiaispulla mantelimassalla, joka on sekoitettu kermavaahtoon. Laktoositon, gluteeniton... Miksei kaupoista muuten löydy laskiaispullaa, jossa on sekä mantelimassaa että hillosilmä?!

Wikipedian(!) mukaan laskiaispullat yleistyivät 1800-luvulla Suomessa. "Ruokaan liittyi uskomuksia: Sen piti olla rasvaista. Mitä enemmän rasva kiilteli sormissa ja suupielissä, sitä paremmin lehmät lypsivät ja siat lihoivat. Eikä rasvaa saanut pyyhkiä sormista pois vaan sen piti antaa kulua itsekseen pois. Tämä takasi hyvän viikatteen käsittelykyvyn. Sormennuolija sen sijaan sai sirpeistä haavoja. Kun ruokien annettiin olla pöydässä koko päivän, se takasi runsauden koko vuodeksi." (lähde: Wikipedia. 21.2.2012.)
- Pistäkäämme siis muistiin tämä vanhankansan uskomus ja katsotaan sitten lähempänä kesää, kuka on nuollut sormiaan, ja kenen viikatteen käsittelykyky vie voiton meistä muista.

Pancake Tuesday - whatta hell is that?! Well, it's exactly what we're celebrating today here in Finland.
I found this on the Internet: "Pancake Tuesday is celebrated the day before the beginning of Lent. This is the time we remember the forty days Jesus spent in the desert. It is known by different names in different countries. In Scotland it is sometimes known as Shrove Tuesday, from the word shriven, which means you are cleansed of your sins, by the priest, before Lent begins. Traditionally fat and flour was used up before the fasting of  Lent began and pancakes were the best way to do this." (source: http://www.european-schoolprojects.net/festivals/Scotland/pantues.htm. 21.2.2012) Well, here we have shrove buns (with whipped cream, and jelly or marzipan) instead of pancakes, yummy!

Erm...