Self-imposed isolation, day 29

Nothing very interesting going on today, so another ”note to self”. This is just a recipe for a salad I made yesterday – I saw a picture somewhere, though no recipe, so I made my own version. It is extremely simple and you can adjust the amount of each ingredient according to your own preferences:

- avocado

- orange

- feta cheese

- cashew nuts

This is a photo of the portion I packed for my DH and DD. I didn’t mix the ingredients as they might go mushy, so it doesn’t look very interesting here (most of the orange pieces hiding under the other stuff 😄) – but I really liked this combination of flavours and textures! Sweet and salty, soft and crunchy… Hm, toasting the cashwes might be worth a try!

Self-imposed isolation, day 24

Another food-related post! Another one in the note-to-self category! And I’d better do this before Easter is just a distant memory. 😉

I normally make pasha for Easter, but as I wasn’t at home, we tried two different ready-made pashas.

The first one had an adorable picture of a bunny on the lid and is made in Estonia. This was the lighter of the two. Creamy but not too rich, with raisins and apricots as well as orange rind. Some of those pieces of fruit had a somewhat stale taste, but apart from that, it was quite good, neither too sweet nor too tart and pleasantly refreshing.

 

The other one was champagne-flavoured white chocolate pasha from Lieksan laatuherkut. No actual champagne in it, however. I really loved the scent of this one, so sweet and tempting, but the flavour didn’t quite match it. The pasha was creamy and sweet, with the characteristic tang mostly in the aftertaste – and while none of us could detect the white chocolate flavour, it certainly contributed to the richness!

I am a big fan of quark, the basic ingredient in pasha, which is perhaps why I quite liked these. The rest of my family, however, told me that the pasha I make is much better. Not sure if that was just flattery, but I’ll take the compliment! 😄

Self-imposed isolation, day 23

Previously, I reviewed a mämmi and vanilla combo. Today we have a different kind of combination: mämmi and mocha!

 

 

This is another little Easter treat from Kymppi, similar to the mämmi&vanilla, but instead of the vanilla custard there’s mocha custard. Again, though the container says ”kerrosmämmi” (layered), the two layers have mixed and those who’d like to sample them separately aren’t too happy about this. Those who’d stir them together anyway won’t mind. I loved the scent of this one, the mocha has delicious coffee and chocolate aromas. The mocha custard was somewhat runny/thin, but the flavour was lovely, enough mocha and not too sweet. I could have eaten just that! The mämmi didn’t have a very strong flavour of rye and malt, which, together with the mocha custard, makes it a good choice for those who are not big fans of mämmi. Again, very convenient when you don’t want a big portion – and the combination of mämmi and mocha is new and interesting! Our whole family liked this. My DH even judged it "as good as chocolate pudding" but the chocoholics (me and DD) weren't prepared to go quite that far. 😄

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 20

Not much happening today, so let’s have a review! This goes to the "note to self category": a year or two from now I’m going to remember I’ve tried this - but did I like it?

 

This is a version of mämmi (more about this Easter specialty here) by Kymppi, but it comes in a small container with vanilla custard included.

The lid says ”kerrosmämmi”, which implies separate layers of mämmi and vanilla custard; unfortunately the two had mixed and it was impossible to taste them separately. That would be fine, though, if you’re one of those people who will stir them together anyway (I'm looking at you, DH!). The custard was a little thin but there was a good amount of vanilla in it. The mämmi did not have a very strong rye flavour and the taste was further tempered by the custard. Some members of my family judged it too bland, while I would say it’s a tiny bit too sweet. This might well be favoured by those who aren’t big fans of mämmi – yet. 😊 And such a container is very convenient when you don’t want a big portion and/or don’t want to buy mämmi and vanilla custard separately!