Getting in the Christmas mood...

I think I have always been a Christmas person. I love making my own Christmas cards, I actually enjoy Christmas shopping, the songs make me sentimental and I love the food. And there must be fairylights and candles out at least a month before, especially now when there is no snow to brighten the terrible kaamos days. 

So Christmas has arrived to our home in these past two days with a star in the window, a little decoration here and there, bowls of candy (must have Quality Street and Fazer green marmelades) and gingerbread. What I love about Finland is that you can buy the gingerbread dough frozen, supereasy! (I once nearly broke a food processor making my own dough in England. There was smoke coming out of it...) Glögi(Finnish mulled wine) we started drinking already in September. 

I took some photos today that I am planning on getting printed and making my cards with this year. Hope you like! 

Just over three weeks until Christmas!!!

(Can't wait to see my family)

My ultimate comfort food: Mama's macaroni soup

I spotted a food challenge in Kulinaarimuruja blog with the subject being comfort food. I've never taken part to these challenges before but it's a great way to get inspiration so I might make this a habit! So, comfort food, I started thinking. I love cheese, I love mash, I love fish pie, pasta, soups and so on, but I think that the REAL comfort foods come from our childhoods, and they are certainly not fancy foods. So I'm sharing my mom's recipe for a milky, salty, thick macaroni soup, known as makaronivelli in Finnish. It was the whole family's favourite when I was little, and nobody elses mom could make it as nice as mine. Some added sugar to it, which was unheard of! This is how it's made...

Cook around 3 dl macaroni for a little longer than the packaging suggests. 

It's meant to be overcooked to be soft.

Drain the water away and add milk so that it covers the macaroni.

Simmer on low/medium heat, don't let the milk burn.

Mix 2 tbsp flour with a little milk, add in to thicken the soup.

Simmer until desired consitency is achieved.

Season with salt and a knob of butter, slice of nice rye bread on the side.

 

Mmmmmmmmmm!

The times I've made this myself are not many, as to be real comfort food it has to be made by my mom, which happens now about once a year. My British boyfriend absolutely hates the soup, and I think it's a forgotten dish already for most Finns as well. But I love it and I'm proud of it! Really enjoyed having some tonight actually...