Piirakkaa

P. Jarlan Rivo-Riittakin (kuvassa P. Jarlan piirtämänä Taiteiden Yönä) olisi ollut  tyytyväinen tähän piirakkaan... 

Murotaikinan aineksina käytin: 

150g voita, 

1 munan, 

3dl vehnäjauhoja,

1tl leivinjauhetta ja 

1.5 dl sokeria 

ja päälle

10 omenaa tädin puutarhasta + kanelia ja sokeria...

Onneksi Rivo-Riitta ei tuprutellut röökiä vieressä...

Ja lopputulos oli tämä (hieman palaneena :)):

P.S. Boren mielestä piiras oli omenaisen maukasta.

Mölkky

Rustic Mölkky 

[image from Wikimedia commons]

Drop in at just about any Finnish mökki over the summer and you are more than likely to interrupt one or more of the following activities: the grilling of makara, sauna, and mölkky.

According to Wikipedia, Mölkky was invented in Finland in 1996, and has been very successful here. Although described on American websites as a 'Finnish tossing game', it's certainly a good way to while away the long summer days in a more social way and can be played (and even benefits) from the uneven and varied terrain you find in the average yard. Just be careful not to lose your mölkky (the throwing 'stick') in the forest or lake...

The world championships are held in Lahti each year, this year's being the 11th.  

These days you can even buy mini, indoor versions for the long, dark days of winter (but mind the glasswear!), and of course to add to the burgeoning list of Suomi souvenir gifts to inflict on your friends and family...  happy birthday Robert!

A taste of home

Who ate all the piirakat?

Not that I'm getting any twinges of homesickness you understand, but two tastes of home came recently.  For lunch today I cooked a home-made Steak & Kidney pie (as you can't get anything like this here) using BBC Good Food website recipe; whilst it is a bit more rustic looking that it might be, I didn't let a lack of rolling pin, pie dish or scales get in the way of tasty British stodge. Thumbs up from the Finns too.  The other taste of home? Well that came courtesy of Ruotsi (Sweden) in the shape of a visit to Ikea the other day; we could have been in Edmonton just as easily.  

As a postscript to that, we went to our local big blue and yellow box in Vantaa with Konna's isä (dad) who had unbelievably never been before! I mean is there even a house left in UK not at least half furnished from there? Maybe it is just deep seated resistance to Swedish cultural imperialism...

From Arts Night to Dark Knight

even the statues get into the spirit of Taiteiden Yö

You would think that with all this time on our hands there would be lots of time for writing blog posts, but there seems to be so much going on at the moment I hardly know where to start.  I haven't written about Sibelious concert hall, Koli hiking or some incidents at Kesälahti; or our tour around WeeGee centre in Espoo; and already we are going off again to Kotka next week. Obviously getting distracted by Facebook has nothing to do with it.

Last night in Helsinki was Artist's Night (or Art Night or Night of Arts: Taiteiden Yö in Finnish anyway), basically a bunch of free, loosely 'arts' related events in the city. This ranged from a concert for 30,000 in Senate Square, free entry to museums and galleries, book signings and poetry readings, supposedly themed around 1968. And (for some) an excuse for a Friday night piss up. We took in the Anton Corbijn photography exhibition at the Taidemuseo Tennispalatsi (Tennis Palace Art Gallery) - probably best know for his work with musicans such as U2 and Depeche Mode, and says himself that he started photography as a way into the music world to meet his heroes back in the 70's.  We then headed over to the Finlandia concert hall, taking a peek at the huge hole in the ground that will be the new Musiikitalo (music house) on the way past. This is coincidently another famous product of the 70's, for a free (although shortened) backstage tour around Alvar Aalto's masterpiece (without any of the Carrera marble cladding dropping off and hitting anyone). This is in effect a listed building, which causes some problems for the management dealing with imperfect acoustics (the ceiling of the main concert hall being replaced, leaking roofs and the aforementioned marble cladding (replaced a few years ago) as well as the entrance being moved from the original front some years ago - which is due to be rectified in the next few years. In fact this will all sound eerily familiar to those familiar with the travails and renovation of the Royal Festival Hall (south bank centre) in London.

Finlandia talo

After our daily architecture fix, and a quick lohikeito (salmon soup) on the terrace, we walked through the busy streets, glimpsing various musicians, performers, dancers (in shop windows) to the Akateeminen Kirjakauppa (Academic Bookshop) - part of the Stockmanns department store, reputedly Europe's largest (in terms of number of titles at least, with over 450000) and, as it happens, another white marble Aalto design, with it's atrium and inverted, crystalline, roof light.  Here were various book signings, readings, and 15% discount on paperbacks until midnight. So while Bore & Pikka had Fingerpori books signed I picked up Bad Monkeys (Matrix meets Silence of the Lambs according to the blurb); and considering a paperback might cost €14 (about £11) any discount is well worth it!

Skirting the packed Senate Square we ended the night with a beer/cider by the harbour.

Back while we were in Tennispalatsi (and I was surfing facebook on the free wireless connection there) we picked up tickets for Dark Knight, so we'll find out tonight if Heath Ledger's final performance is as good as everyone says.

Food for thought

Orava syö sieni

I had been thinking about how to make this next post a more interesting and intellectually stimulating piece, maybe drawing on my recent travels in Finnish Karelia (partially annexed by Russia during WWII),and the Russia/Georgia conflict; or perhaps the Beijing Olympics and the comparative performances of Finland and Great Britain. You know something befitting for a Guardian (International Edition) reader. Timely and pertinent. You know the sort of thing.

But instead here is a picture (and video) of a squirrel eating a mushroom outside our kitchen window... so more ITN "and finally" than Newsnight.  Good night.

Sämpylä

Sämpylä

Well not quite made the next day (see New Experiences, Old Ways), but baked for breakfast a few days later:

Sämpylä

here is the bread
made from the flour
ground by hand
at Sysmä's fair
with Taiska's dad

keeps tradition alive

[edited 18/8/08]

Welcome back...

A Tent With a View, or, Where To Next?

We arrived back last night, and have started uploading 493 photos and 19 video clips (yes I foolishly bought a bigger memory card) while the washing machine rumbles away in the background, and the YLE olympic commentators witter away in suomea.

Have stayed in four-star hotel, bunked in aitta's, tent in campsite and backwoods, in mökki with no electricity or running water, and mökki with dishwasher, flat screen TV and two saunas; eaten elk, karelia pies, karelia egg sauce, karelia stew, wild berries, pulla and drank kahvi, kotiolut (home beer), australian shiraz and lake water (boiled of course) ;  seen lots of puu (trees), jarvi (lakes), and even mäki (hills); traveled by car, coach, ferry, train, minibus, taxi and foot; and walked, hiked, climbed, rowed, swam, sailed, slept and been bitten by a hundred hyttynen (mosquitoes) all the while.

Will eventually make a few posts on some of the highlights, and put up a few of the photos - when I can summon up the energy.

Oh and Konna had another name day...

[edited 18/08/08]