Self-imposed isolation, day 39

If everything goes as planned, and I truly hope it will, this should be my last post from isolation. It’ll be two weeks since my first vaccine dose this weekend, so I have been cleaning my rented room and gathering my things. (I have sent away all coffee except what I need tomorrow morning, so this had better work out!) Tomorrow my family may be in for a shock when a cave woman will appear in our apartment. 😜

39 days is rather a lot more than the three hours I predicted I might last without my family. But what were these 39 days like?

Not very exciting, as I may have mentioned before (and again).

I missed my family, and that made it extremely hard, but otherwise, I did not suffer from isolation. Finally there are some perks in being an introverted hermit! As long as I have books to read and stories to write, I’m fine. True, sometimes it would be nice to go to places, like the library or museums (and the biggest nerd award goes to me! 😄), but the longer the pandemic has lasted, the less I seem to miss those things. Probably just adapting to the circumstances.

And being on one’s own is not always a bad thing. Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, in connection with a story I’ve been playing around with, is how the perceptions of others (or their perceived perceptions) influence how we see ourselves. When people say things like ”You’re such-and-such a person” or ”You always…” - how do those interpretations and narratives affect the way we behave and the way we feel about ourselves? How do they influence our actions and, therefore, even our future? When you spend time on your own, you’re not surrounded by these interpretations. Can you be more yourself then, perhaps even rediscover or regain some part of yourself that you may have put aside, ignored or toned down while you’re around other people? When you’re on your own, you can’t rely on others for, say, emotional support. Perhaps there are traits that take over only when you’re alone because you don’t need them at other times.

I’m not going to share any big revelations concerning such things. Something that has become clear during these days: I am not prepared to discuss anything truly personal publicly. More drama and personal disclosures would, no doubt, make for more interesting reading, but that is not me – and I suppose you’d need to have that drama in your life before you can go and talk about it 😄 or at least have a talent for developing/embellishing it.

Something else I’ve learned during these weeks, though: I am the kind of person who’ll hand wash dishes rather than try and use an unfamiliar dishwasher. Considering the pizza debacle, that may be a good thing.

It would also appear I’m one of those people for whom unseen or implied threats are more frightening than things they can actually see. Not that I was scared here at night… much... but I did not bring a sword with me! Now, the sleeping alcoves have curtains, which seemed like a good idea, to close off the sleeping space and to shut off the light from the window. But no! Something might be lurking behind the curtains and I had to leave them open. Then again, when there was too much noise at night, I started closing the curtains, hoping they’d absorb sound. Apparently my fear of sleep-disturbing noise outweighs my fear of creatures of the dark.

Having mentioned swords, I’m seizing this excuse opportunity to post photos of mine (mostly because I have no relevant picture for today’s post). Click, and bigger pictures shall appear:

During this time, I wrote a blog post every day. Not an experiment I’m keen to repeat. Also, it seems that when I have nothing else to say, I start talking about food. Or embarrassing examples of serious bookgeekery. Or just books.

Oddly enough, the aforementioned pizza (mis)adventure ranks among the most popular of my isolation posts! Readers were equally interested in the one about books and libraries, though, and the one with my DD’s lovely snow owl. 💗

Last, but certainly not least, I want to say thank you to dear friends who have cheered me up, sent (and read) messages and generally been there for me. It has helped enormously, and I am truly lucky to know you. 💙

Self-imposed isolation, day 34

Today’s lunch, which I made, my DH picked up, and we all ate together while having a video chat, was these wraps.

 

I made some with a pesto, cheese and tomato filling and some with cucumber, blue cheese flavoured cream cheese and turkey slice filling for DH and DD, and cucumber, same cheese and shrimp for me. When I packed them for my family, I put in little notes where I’d written the fillings (using the first letters of the Finnish words):

pe to juu

which, if you write it

Peto, juu means ”Beast, yeah”

and

tuo leik kur

which, if you write it

Tuo leikkur (the last word is dialect/spoken language though) means either ”Bring the cutter” or ”That cutter”.

I suppose I could (should?) claim that the isolation is finally getting to me, but I’m afraid this is something I would do anyway. 😄

Self-imposed isolation, day 32

I seem to lack inspiration to write today. Actually, I seem to lack inspiration to do anything today. Or perhaps it’s just hard to concentrate. I managed the chores this morning, some errands (messages and the like), then started translating but mostly ended up doing… not much. The highlight today was the food delivery by my DH! 😄 Chocolate and cookies (and chocolate cookies) included. 😍

 

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 31

31 days of isolation!

 

In an earlier post, I looked back at what happens after two weeks of (self-imposed) isolation. Now, after a month, I feel like I should revisit that theme, but the truth is, I don’t have much to add to the previous post! Or the one soon after 😆.

In a month, I seem to have developed a routine, and my days are much the same – they are, in fact, much the same as they are at home, apart from the company of my family. Mornings are for chores (cleaning, cooking etc.) and exercise. After lunch, I write or translate. Then we get together with my husband and daughter to talk about our day, and we do this even now in video chats. Some reading, more food, more reading or a movie. And, if I’m lucky, even more reading! 😃

I know that routine sounds boring, and naturally there are days when I do something quite different. Still, two things about routine: 1) People sometimes ask me how I manage to do things like exercise and writing when no one is forcing me to. Routine! I have a designated time for these things every day and that works for me. It helps, of course, that I like doing those things – but I also have a cleaning day (Wednesday). If I didn’t, I’d put it off forever. 2) I suffer from chronic insomnia, and the more my days deviate from the ”normal” or the more excitement there is (bad things, good things; anything can cause insomnia), the harder it can be for me to sleep. Boring life seems to agree with me. 😔 Ah well, could be worse.

As for the 31 days… It helps enormously that I have seen my family both online but also in real life, and we’ve spent time together on some afternoons. The first vaccine dose also made me hopeful about immunity. Fingers crossed!

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 28

One day after the covid vaccine. My arm is slightly sore, though only if I touch it. I felt a little tired and weak yesterday afternoon, but rest and some water remedied that. Otherwise, nothing to report.

Today was sunny and warm, so I met my family outdoors. We walked, we talked… and my daughter’s Swedish homework was to make these no-bake chocolate treats (typical in Sweden). So we set up a baking station out on the patio. DD did all the work, I just told her which ingredients she needed and how much and helped her measure some of them. She didn't need much assistance, though, she’s always been into cooking and baking, and I try to encourage that. My mother was the same with me, and that is one of the skills that has actually turned out to be useful nearly every day. 💙

 

We modified the recipe by adding a bit of rum (DD asked: ”How much though? Like one deciliter?” 😄) and we may have used some more cocoa powder than the recipe called for. And we used an ice-cream scoop to shape the treats so no need to touch the batter with your hands. And they were delicious! We’ll certainly ask her to make these again! 😋

 

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!

Self-imposed isolation, day 18

A very uneventful day, so I’m sharing a pictures of traditional Finnish Easter treats. (Food - always a good topic. 😄)

Mämmi, which does not look particularly appetizing, is made of rye flour and malt and traditionally sweetened by a natural process of slow baking in a low temperature. It is typically eaten with cream or milk and sometimes sugar. I like mine with vanilla custard. Lots of custard.

And pasha, which is traditionally made of quark, cream, eggs and butter and flavoured with lemon, raisins and almonds. I make a somewhat lighter version with quark and whipped vanilla custard – and I have sometimes experimented with rum-soaked raisins. An excellent idea, definitely recommended!

Self-imposed isolation, day 14

 Today I have

- had too much coffee (two large cups in the morning – daylight saving)

- cooked (sweet & sour chicken for tomorrow)

- had three video chats with family (one more coming up later!)

- talked to dear friends (OK, wrote messages)

- read (when do I not?)

- done some writing (a story I’m really not supposed to be writing, so no more about that)

- read about Victorian fashion, particularly about popular colours (research! And yes, related to that-which-should-not-be-written… sigh…)

- eaten a solid chocolate nougat egg that comes in a real egg shell (Mignon by Fazer)

- named a character in a story my daughter is writing (just a casual suggestion, which, to my surprise, was accepted – if you know teenagers, you know that your suggestion being accepted is kind of a big deal! 😀 Also very proud of my daughter writing a story.)

 

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 13

An unexpectedly busy day in isolation! It all started with an oven and a desire for pizza.

Since we dared not get take-out from our favourite pizza place, we picked what seemed most appetizing in the freezer section of the supermarket (cheese. Lots of cheese.). My DH brought one pizza for me to heat in the oven, but as I went to switch the oven on, it did not work. Nothing happened. No lights, certainly no heat. The stove worked, though. The user's manual was of no help.

I messaged a question to my landlady, who advised me that the oven does not work when you’re using the dishwasher, but I haven’t used the dishwasher yet. My DH baked two pizzas at home, delivered one to me, picked up the frozen (well... mostly) one I couldn’t bake, tried to get the oven to work, but nothing happened - surprisingly, as he is rather good with this sort of stuff. But he went home, baked the last pizza, and finally we all met in a video chat while having lunch.

Later my landlady was so kind as to come over to have a look at the oven. It turned out that for the oven to work, you have to switch on not two but three buttons, one of which is the timer (which I had tried, but not at the same time with the other two). So, everything worked out and now I know how to use the oven! (Actually, I haven’t tried it… this piece that I have left will go in the microwave, just to be safe. 😄)

 

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 7

Today I cooked! Earlier this week, we mostly ate stuff from the grocery store, something you just microwave – it was easier, as the move came rather suddenly and it is hard enough to get used to this situation without having to worry about cooking. My DH and DD also needed something quick to eat on lunch breaks or after school. But none of us was very happy with those foods, and I actually started to miss cooking!

So, once I got some supplies, I made two different meals, and now we all have food for today and tomorrow. It does take some planning and imagination (I have a limited store of appliances, spices and other ingredients) as well as some driving back and forth, but it was a very good distraction – and now I don’t feel quite so useless.

 

A vegetarian bolognese sort of thing - not very photogenic, I'm afraid! 😄

 

Self-imposed isolation, day 6

I may have spent all day in a single room (not counting bathroom visits!), but in my imagination and/or virtual life I have been to the 17th century Amsterdam and on a voyage to Batavia (reading ”The Company Daughters” by Samantha Rajaram) as well as Germany (30 years war – although I also talked to a rather more contemporary friend there 💙). A short trip to Thailand:

And I started a virtual visit to the British Museum (looking for Celtic artefacts from around 50-60 AD) and… somehow managed to get completely lost within a few minutes! 😄

Self-imposed isolation, day 5

The definite highlight of today: food delivery! My DH brought me a big box of supplies, and he had thrown in chocolate! Lots of chocolate! I also got to see him and our daughter (from a safe distance) as they dropped off the provisions.

 

It is almost weekend. We have this habit of celebrating the weekend on Friday evenings. I usually bake something, then we watch a movie and eat ice cream. When our daughter was little, she used to tell everyone that we have a party every Friday! Well, true, only it’s a very small party. 😄 This time will be different, but we’re doing our best to stick to the traditions, perhaps to give us some feeling of normalcy in this weird situation. We will have a video chat, and we even have some Carelian pies (though not home-made, from the store).

 

A chocolate feast - Valentine's Day 2017

Every year, I prepare a Valentine’s Day dinner for my DH and, these days, also our daughter. I try to pick a different theme each year (although the favourites, such as ancient Rome, have to be repeated occasionally because of popular demand). I’ve previously blogged about our Game of Thrones dinner and our Musketeer party.

This year, the theme was chocolate. This wasn’t simply because I love chocolate but mainly because my daughter once said we should have a meal where we just ate “chocolate foods”… so I decided to plan a menu where all courses included chocolate.

First I wrote a short text about why chocolate is an appropriate choice for Valentine's Day:

The ancient Aztecs regarded cocoa as food of the gods. Both the Mayans and Aztecs believed the cacao bean had magical or divine properties; it was used in the most sacred rituals of birth, marriage and death. Cocoa was used to make a drink xocoatl, considered a health elixir, with spices such as cinnamon or hot chili peppers.

The Aztec ruler Montezuma reportedly consumed cocoa elixir before heading off to his harem. He also welcomed the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez with a drink of chocolate, having mistaken the conquering invader for a reincarnated deity. Cortez brought cacao beans to the Spanish court where the pepper was replaced with sugar.

By the 17th century, chocolate was a fashionable drink throughout Europe, believed to have nutritious, medicinal and aphrodisiac properties. Rumour has it that Casanova, the legendary lover, was especially fond of chocolate.

Today, the aphrodisiac qualities of chocolate are ascribed to tryptophan, a building block of serotonin, a brain chemical involved in sexual arousal, and phenylethylamine, a stimulant released in the brain when we fall in love. Whether even hard-core chocoholics can consume enough chocolate to cause a significant rise in those chemicals is debatable... but either way, chocolate is sweet and delicious and an ever-popular gift among lovers.

For appetisers, I served white chocolate and olive bruschettas. I chose these because the combination of flavours sounds rather unusual. In addition, I wanted to have at least one dish with white chocolate. You can see the recipe I used for inspiration here. Somewhat surprisingly, this was very good! The white chocolate and mozzarella melted into a delicious, creamy sauce, and while white chocolate is very sweet, olives are salty, and all the flavours just worked together wonderfully. I was told I have to start making these regularly!

The main course was chicken with chocolate mole sauce. I am aware that there are much more authentic recipes, but to save time, I referred to this and this. I have to say that this smelled divine as it cooked! It tasted delicious, too; the chocolate and nuts gave it a robust, earthy flavour. Very different from anything we’ve ever eaten, but we definitely enjoyed it. It was also a surprisingly sturdy, filling dish.

With the chicken, I served fresh bread and a salad with lettuce, oranges and dark chocolate shavings. Oranges and chocolate is a classic combination, after all (although not one I particularly enjoy…). I didn’t use any recipe for this, just tossed those ingredients together.

The dessert was the hardest choice for there were so many things I wanted to make! Finally I decided on cheesecake brownies, because I’ve always wanted to make them and also because it’s been years since I last made a batch of brownies. I used this recipe (in Finnish) and this (in English) and just sort of combined, tweaked, modified, adjusted… I was pretty sure I’d mess up the marble pattern… but it’s also something I’ve always wanted to try. And it wasn’t that difficult after all, or at least it worked out all right this time. Cake still in the pan:

This was pretty much what I expected: very chocolaty, with cake-like edges and a more molten core. My daughter told me it was “the best cake ever!” but then she went on to list just about every cake I’ve made in the past 18 months and they were all also “best cakes ever”, so…clearly, she likes cake.

This was a fun Valentine’s Day and it definitely included a lot of chocolate! Of course, that wasn’t quite enough for us, and once we’d put our daughter to bed, we finished the evening with these (and an episode of House, M.D. – how romantic! 😀).

All for Love - Valentine's Day 2016

Last year, I surprised my DH by cooking a Valentine's Day dinner in Game of Thrones style. Previously, we've done Medieval Feasts, Ancient Romans etc., and I needed to come up with a new theme. Since we both love “The Three Musketeers” and since it just so happens that the 17^th century has featured very strongly in our interests lately, it seemed like a good choice.

Unfortunately, I could not find a blog or a website featuring food from Alexandre Dumas' novels... so I had no choice but to read the book and see what I could find. I used to love the musketeer novels as a child, so it was actually a very pleasant task. I bookmarked all references to food and from those notes started to construct the menu.

Similarly to last year, I had certain conditions. The dishes should be fairly easy and fast to prepare; something I could find the ingredients for in local grocery stores, and something we all might enjoy eating. Since the descriptions of the dishes left much room for imagination, I could have prepared the food pretty much the way I wanted to. However, I thought it would be more fun to use authentic 17^th century recipes as some sort of a reference.

On Friday evening (not the actual Valentine's Day, but more convenient than Sunday), my DH received this invitation:

This is how the menu turned out (I added quotes from the novel to show where the idea for each dish came from and also just because they were amusing):

Menu

Eggs à la Aramis

served with spinach and roquefort

Recipe adapted from The Closet Of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digby Kt., 1677

”We’ll dine soon, my dear friend; only you’ll remember that today is Friday, and on such a day I can neither see nor eat any meat. If you’ll content yourself with my dinner, it’s composed of cooked tetragons and fruit.”

”What do you mean by tetragons?” d’Artagnan asked uneasily.

”I mean spinach,” said Aramis. ”But for you I’ll add eggs, and that is a grave infraction of the rule, for eggs are meat, since they engender the chicken.”

Chicken Larded with Lemmons, on the French fashion

served with French bread

Recipe adapted from A New Booke of Cookerie, 1615

”Do you know what we’re eating here?” asked Athos, after ten minutes.

”Pardieu!” replied d’Artagnan, ”I’m eating veal larded with cardoons and marrow.”

”And I’m eating fillets of lamb”, said Porthos.

”And I’m eating breast of chicken,” said Aramis.

”You’re all mistaken, gentlemen,” replied Athos. ”You are eating horse.”

Huguenot Torte with honey, almonds and mock quinces

served with cheese

… Mme Coquenard got up and took from the buffet a piece of cheese, some quince preserves, and a cake she had made herself from almonds and honey.

For the appetizer, I simply fried some eggs, crumbled some blue cheese on them, let it melt and served everything on a bed of spinach. No recipe was needed, but since I wanted to refer to one, I found something appropriate in "The Closet Of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digby Kt., 1677". The eggs turned out to be delicious – my family requested I make these more often!

The main course was chicken, and I found “Capon Larded with Lemmons on the French fashion” in the vast, truly amazing collection of Gode Cookery's historical recipes, and it seemed perfect. The recipe was a little complicated, but I simplified it by leaving out some ingredients I couldn't find and substituting for some, e.g. there are no preserved lemons available around here, so I sliced some fresh ones and used them. Cranberries doubled for barberries (I gathered these are some sort of bitter berries) and used lemon juice in lieu of verjuice (a substitution suggested in various places). I had no idea how this would turn out - it seemed like such a weird bunch of so many ingredients - but it was very tasty! The flavours actually worked very well together. There were no leftovers!

Dessert was a little tricky: it was difficult to find a good 17^th century cake recipe – it seems that cakes were more like pies and tortes at the time, not like modern cakes. I had almost given up and settled on a modern recipe but wasn't quite happy with that. Then I came across Huguenot Torte, and it immediately appealed to me (it was the words “gooey” and “sticky” that did it). I am aware that Huguenot Torte does not actually date back to the 17^th century, but Wikipedia tells me that it is a variant of Ozark pudding, whose predecessor, gateau aux noisettes (cake with hazelnuts), was brought to the New World by French Huguenots. I decided that if I used organic honey instead of sugar, almonds instead of pecans and “quinces” (can't get quinces here, but apparently pears are close enough) instead of apples, it would at least have the right ingredients. This probably works better with apples and pecans, but it was nonetheless pretty good, especially when served with mascarpone. The recipe I used was this one.

While researching the recipes I learned a little something about food in the 17th century, and I was thrilled to discover that some 17th century cook books can be found in the Project Guthenberg collection (such as "The Accomplisht Cook or, The art & mystery of cookery"... the art and mystery of cookery! Wow!).

Anyway, it was a lovely evening - my DH seemed delighted, my daughter insisted on wearing my Musketeer hat the entire evening and watching "Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds" between courses; the food was good and we had a great time.