Feb
23
Those pistachios
by Sofia - in Cooking
Sometimes it happens to me that I see a picture of a dish in a magazine, on Pinterest, maybe even on someone´s Instagram and feel so inspired I don´t even need to look for the recipe but come up with my own. I saw this greek pita bread that was filled with some meat, but what intrigued me was the combination of dill, mint and pistachios visible in the photo so I had to make something out of that image. So I made lamb patties out of organic minced lamb meat, onion, garlic, chopped fresh mint, parsley & dill. I finely chopped some tomatoes and cucumbers seasoned with lemon juice for fresh extra additions. I made a tzatziki out of garlic, cucumber, lemon juice and thick greek yoghurt. If you don´t use dairy then I would suggest turning the cucumbers & tomatoes in to a chopped salad with parsley, olive oil & lemon juice ( & more garlic if you ask me) for a fresh addition to your pita. And then I made the miracle ingredient you have to try! I´m naming it a pesto for the lack of a better word but it´s not really a pesto…
Pistachio & herb pesto
a handful of unsalted pistachio nuts chelled
minced garlic ( 1-3 gloves depending on size and taste)
a small handful of chopped dill
a big handful of chopped mint
( if you like also parsley)
really good olive oil
salt and black pepper
The measurement are nor here or there, you can go with taste on this one. I also liked the whole thing to be a bit rough in texture but surely you can make this in a food processor and will end up with a pesto like consistency I presume ( then don´t bother chopping the garlic & herbs). But I made mine in a stone mortar that is one of my favourite kitchen tools. I love the easy but satisfying handiwork of first hitting the little pale green nuts in to smaller bits and then adding the rest of the ingredients and coming up with this deliciously fragrant paste.
We bought our pita´s ready made and just heated them up in the oven but making my own pita is on the list for me. I never tried before. There is a deli in Helsinki called Zaafran & Co and a friend of mine told me they have the best stone oven pita´s in the world. They were amazing! They sell them frozen so you can easily keep them in freezer and just take out the morning you´ll eat them and once defrosted just heat them in the oven for a few minutes.
Pistachios are Cotton Candy´s favourite nuts. They are fairly pricy compared to some other nuts, especially if you buy them shelled. But they are so delicious! I love them on desserts too. In the summer time when it´s strawberry season they are divine with whipped cream seasoned with a vanilla bean and served with chopped pistachios on top. Simple and irresistible. I love dishes where the ingredients do the talking and we just listen in awe.
Nämä yrteillä ja valkosipulilla maustetut luomu karitsan jauhelihasta tehdyt pienet pihvit jotka tarjoillaan Kreikkalaiseen tyyliin pita leivän välissä olisivat erinomainen ruoka myös pääsiäisen aikaan. Lisukkeena maistuu pieneksi kuutioitu tomaatti ja kurkku sitruunamehulla maustettuna, kotitekoinen tzatziki sekä taivaallinen yrteistä, valkosipulista ja pistaasipähkinöistä tehty, hieman pestomainen kastike. Tilli ja minttu ovat loistava ja hieman erilainen yhditelmä. Suosittelen kokeilemaan!
Bon appetit!
Lattemamma
Feb
22
J. Crew for me too
by Sofia - in Random
Mikään ei ole niin ihanaa kuin löytää joku täydellinen aarre ilahduttamaan vaatekaappia, mutta välillä täytyy myös keskittyä hankkimaan vaateita joita tulee käytettyä arjessa. Perus vaatteita etsiessäni olen kääntynyt usein J.Crew merkin puoleen koska heillä on laaja mallisto muodikkaammista asuista ajattomiin klassikoihin, olen kokenut laadun hyväksi ja kaiken lisäksi J.Crew valmistaa useita vaatteistaan myös erityisellä mitoituksella pitkille tai pienikokoisille. Kun valitsen perusvaatteita, mietin usein minkä kanssa ne aion yhdistää jo olemassa oleviin asusteisiin ja vaatekappaleisiin. Jos näen uuden vaatteen täydentämässä vanhoja niin, että sen voi yhdistää moneen asiaan kaapissani on se mielestäni ostamisen arvoinen.
I love to shop for something very special when I see it but the truth is that we sometimes need to also buy things we actually use on daily bases. For me those items are very basic things like for most of us, like blue jeans and breton stripe shirts, cashmere jumpers and cardigans, button down shirts and silk tops. And skirts! I love to wear skirt more than pants as I like the feminine feeling it gives me. I already loved skirts as a little girl. For those very basics I love J. Crew! They have the kind of clothes that appeal to me, timeless and most often made with natural fabrics. Their quality is good too and most of the items are affordable. They do have very fashionable items too for those in need but I turn to them for my basics.
When shopping for those basic ” capsule wardrobe” items I tend to think more about what I will wear them with and to buy things I can use in multiple ways. Say this high waisted pencil skirt I recently ordered in a “granny pink” colour. Although I love colour I would normally buy a top or a sweater in say pink and then the bottom in navy, grey or some other muted colour. But this time I felt like this would be just what I needed. I could instantly see this skirt with a white shirt or a blue and white striped shirt. Or with my grey cashmere sweater or the beige one or with a cardigan. Even with a Breton stripe shirt and white Supergas as the skirt is actually cotton. I can see it being worn with ballerinas and with heels. With pretty golden jewellery! So when I can see it with so many things I already have in my wardrobe I can say it´s a winner and easily justify buying the item. And J. Crew thinks of tall ( that would be me) and petite customers too which is a bonus as I can actually wear my skirt the lenght it was designed to be worn and don´t have to buy it a size larger which will make it an ill fit around the waist. Yay!
A good button down shirt is also a must and although I have shared my absolute favourite white shirt I have been using for years ( I can say that without blinking an eye as I have used those for ten years now) I like to have options too. So I bought this pretty stripy shirt for myself. I like a shirt with a bit of stretch as it makes it so comfortable and it makes the slim fit nicer. Blue and white stripes are basically my go to colours. They look absolutely perfect with everything!
Feb
19
Happy thoughts
by Sofia - in Random
How was your week? Mine was filled with things I did with the girls, some exercise, cooking and work. But mostly with things I did with the girls. Like walking to ballet practise hand in hand and stopping by at a bakery to pick up a fresh cinnamon bun to share along the way. Travelling to Turku for a day trip to see the doll house exhibition on lend from the Victoria & Albert museum. It was brilliant by the way! I´ve told you before that I love miniatures and used to collect them well in to my teenage years ( and still occasionally buy something if a lovely piece comes across my path). The girls loved it too and we made a day of it. We had pizza for lunch in Tintå and we visited the market hall. We went shopping in the old toy store called Casagrande where we actually found this one dress up costume Bubble Gum has been pestering me about for almost a year now. I will share it with you soon. It was a sunny day and Turku was looking beautiful!
Cotton Candy chose this miniature from the museum shop as the first item in their own collection that will be added to everything I already have when we finally have the dollhouse ready.
Then the next day I picked the girls up early and we went to the Ateneum museum to see the Rodin exhibition with my sister in law and the girls´cousins. We bought them little sketch books and sketching pencils and they were drawing the Rodin sculptures. Even if the girls were not as excited about the amazing (!!!) sculptures as they were about the doll houses I thought it was wonderful to see them sitting at the museum floor and sketching with their little serious expressions on their faces.
