Pulla--a larger version of this braided is a tradition at Christmas both in Finland and at my houseWhat I really miss about Finland is the food! Aside from the fact that I went two entire weeks without having to prepare a single meal (unless you count crackers and Edam) or wash any dishes--a lifetime record for me, I'm sure--I just loved the variety and the fact that everything was so fresh. Did I tell you I had true porridge for breakfast for the very first time? It's wonderful seasoned with blueberries and lingonberries. Let me tell you, the Finns actually put the breakfast in "Continental Breakfast." Porridge, the best yogurt EVER--with all kinds of fruit musilix granola, etc. to stir in--cold cuts of ham and turkey, fresh fruit, bacon, imitation scrambled eggs (the only part of the breakfast that wasn't just PERFECT) and the most fabulous breads EVER. (Didn't see a spec of white wonder bread or orange processed cheese.) Two of my favorites are pulla, a sweetroll flavored with cardomom and Karjalan piirakka, a sort of rye flatbread crimped around a potato filling that is topped with egg butter.
Karjalan piirakkaOur dining experiences ranged from the mundane (but mildly entertaining)...
The name scared us away--who wants to eat at a place called Pizz Burger? But it was the only place open on a Sunday night
Guess what was cooking at the local Pizz Burger?...to the sublime
The view from Cafe Engel
The food from Cafe EngelSome of our best food (the kind we could afford) was at a little joint in the underground bus terminal (which also served as the basement for one of the numerous gigantic 6-story shopping centers) called "I heart Food." It was there I ate the best lasagna I've ever had. We also frequented a place called Chico's--which, oxymoronically, called itself an American Bistro--where I ate the best onion rings I've ever had. There were also a few other interesting specialties (besides the reindeer) that caught my eye...
We just missed breakfast at Jean Sibelius' home--but it really says something when the leftovers look this good
Teeny fresh apples at the home of Jean Sibelius
This puts the fresh in "Market Fresh Everyday"
I haven't a clue, have you?
The Finns can't touch the Belge when it comes to a fresh gaufre, but they beat the Americans hands down. I haven't had one of these for 20 years
I know this sounds gross, but licorice ice cream is deliciousAt least one of the treats I enjoyed over there can be purchased here.
(P.S. I know this is so last month, so if you are sick of hearing about Finland I apologize. Someone recently observed it must have really had an impact on me. Either that or I don't get out much. Between the two of us we took about 2000 photos. All of which you don't really want to see. But since at least a couple of you have expressed interest in more pictures, I'm going to blog on a bit now and then about my big adventure--with just a few of the many pictures we took--by subject. In case you missed it, I did add the relevant pictures to my previous posts from Finland. If you're interested, check out my September 2006 archives.)
14 comments:
Do you think it was anise instead of licorice? I thought scandanavian food used anise on occasion?
I'm not getting a bit tired of hearing about your trip, and I do want to know what that bit of produce was! :)
Tired of Finland recaps? Not me! I'm always interested in what people in other countries eat, and I love looking at the pictures too. Now, on to my other curiosity about people from foreign lands, what are their toilets like?
One of my favorite sites is one called "Toilets Around The World" where the site admin. is a frequent traveler and he snaps commode pics wherever his job takes him. It's fascinating stuff.
I love hearing about your trip. It is fun.
:-)
Was that Cafe Engel soup as good as it looks? YUM!
Licorice ice cream...I'll take your word for it. Brazil had corn flavored icecream that I was reluctant to try but it was good.
What's the exhange rate for Finnland? I was looking at the prices on that menu and it seemed realy good. When I was in England, the local Burger King menu would show a Whopper meal for £4.50...convert that to dollars and it's like paying 8-9 dollars.
Love the pictures. Keep them coming.
emmie: The Jolly Porter recommended Cafe Engel and it did not disappoint--it was the best tomato soup I've ever had. And, as you can see, the view from our table didn't stink either...
lyle: That (did you notice the translation mishap on the menu?) was the cheapest place we ate. Most of the places where you could get real Finnish food ran about 25-30+ euro per entree. We are compensating for having missed out on that by dining on real Finnish fare for free at Sirpa's home this weekend for a little tour reunion. I can't wait!
While we were there the exchange rate was about 1.29-1.32 US dollars to the euro. But depending on where you completed the exchanged you could pay as much as $.10/dollar in fees. And there's something like a 22% tax in some places as well. We found the best thing to do was to use VISA and my no-interest till 8/07 AmEx card--you get a better exchange rate that way and you could use it almost everywhere, except at market, which is where I finally learned to negotiate a sale.
Love, love, love all the Finnish details. Don't stop.
I think I would've laughed so hard at the Pizz Burger menu that I wouldn't have been able to eat!
I love the apples picture! What a beautiful photographic jounal of good cuisine! I'm all by myself at home for the week and can't expect anything more beautiful than cherrios.
Are those RED artichokes???
jules--no idea. Too bad you can't google images and ask "What the heck are these?"
EW--no it's really licorice ice cream, with bits of real black licorice. I didn't believe it would be so good--so I had to try it twice. It was delicious every time.
Licorice ice cream--YUM!!
Please keep sharing your Finnish Delights with us who are enjoying the vicarious thrills. It's all such fun, except that now you've made me extremely hungry with all your beautiful food photos.
The licorice ice cream scares me.
Why can't we get good bread here? Would it kill someone to make a decent rye?
I'm so with you about the bread. And you know, as good as French bread is, no one makes bread like the Belges. I could live of it alone, seriously.
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