Double party!

A couple of weeks ago we had good reasons to celebrate, with the chef getting older and us just having returned from Paris after getting engaged! Champagne, a lot of good food and friends, what else do you need? The pictures are mostly by my friend Ekaterina, we loved the results! Thank you once more.

Ta-dah!

I have to mention our rings, we made them ourselves from silver clay here. It was a fun day and we love the rings. Most people have never heard of this technique or this company so I thought I should share.

Menu du jour

Champagne is always a good idea! This one came from Paris.

Mushroom and truffle

Food!

The menu included asparagus salad, endives with tiger prawn mayonnaise, mushroom and truffle tartlets, smoked whitefish, Andy's famous focaccia, selection of charcuterie, Munster cheese, Bleu d'Auvergne, asparagus frittata, dark chocolate cake with lemon curd & mascarpone as well as  macarons (not home made this time...).

Recipes coming soon...

My Paris

 Hello again!
The spring has been busy, working, studying and other stuff. I have been itching to write about our trip to Paris, here you go finally! In this post just some of the thousand photos I took during our five days. Our trip revolved around food, naturally, and I will be posting more in depth info of the restaurants we visited. And yes, I loved the city, it was even better than I had imagined! I am not an overly romantic person but Paris charmed me, the atmosphere was amazing. We also got engaged in Paris, and couldn't be happier!

View from Montparnasse tower during sunset

Shakespeare & co bookshop - loved it!

Brasseries everywhere

Tour Eiffel at night

Lovelock bridge near Notre Dame, very crowded

Ahhhhmazing crepes & cider at Breitzh cafe in Marais

RIP Jim Morrison @ Pere Lachaise cemetary

Space Invader street art everywhere

View from Pompidou museum of modern art

Andy Warhol @ Pompidou

Pierre Herme macarons, my favourite!!

The perfect picnic

Laduree Macarons

 To be continued....

Vegetarian Easter Lamb

 Every now and then it's fun to make vegetarian versions of meat dishes. I decided to attempt an Easter lamb dish with soy mince and think it was pretty succesfull! I improvised with the recipe as well as the measurements, and the "meatballs" were really easy to make.

Vegetarian Easter Lamb "Meatballs" with Brussel Sprouts and Spinach

1 bag of frozen soy mince (I used Hälsäns kök färs)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
Chili paste, to taste

1 pot of sour cream
100 g feta cheese
Zest of 1 lemon
Plenty of fresh mint, finely chopped
Crispy fried onion, 2 tbsp (the stuff you normally put on salad)
1 egg
1 dl almond flour

Brussel Sprouts
Spinach
1 Garlic clove, finely chopped
Butter
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper

1. Heat some oil on a frying pan. Sautee the onion until soft, then add garlic, chilli and the soy mince. Fry for around 5 minutes, season to taste.

2. Mix the sour cream, feta, lemon zest, mint and crispy onion together in a large bowl. Add the mince and mix together. Add the egg, mix again, finally adding the almond flour until the mix stays together to make the meatballs.

3. Make even sized meatballs from the mix on a sheet of parchment paper and bake for around 20 mins in 200C.

4. While the meatballs are cooking, clean the brussel sprouts by cutting the stem and removing outer and browned bits. Cut the sprounts in half or quarters according to size. Wash the spinach. Warm up the butter on a frying pan and fry the sprouts until slightly browned. Add the spinach at the end and cook until just wilted. Season to taste.

5. Plate and serve! Goes well with a soft red wine, yesterday we opened a bottle of Australian Shiraz/Cabernet that was a gift from a friend and had been waiting for while. What a tasty meal it was!

Patrona- Authentic Mexican in Helsinki

 One night last week we had an opportunity for another date night and I am so happy that I remembered that the guys behind Cafe de Nopal had finally opened a new place on Annankatu 20. I managed to get a booking to Patrona for the same day, and it seemed pretty lucky as the place was packed and had to turn some walk ins away.
When we got in the decoration immediately caught my eye and I couldn't help taking pictures straight away. I love all the paintings on the walls, especially the Mexican version of the Last Supper with all sorts of characters. There were also headless chickens flying around with some Mexican wrestlers trying to catch them. Hilarious.

 The menu was more restaurant-like that the one at Cafe de Nopal, with plenty of choice. They really want the dishes to be authentic and for us that seems to be happening pretty well. There is a nice selection on wines, cocktails and beers. A lot of different tequilas.

 A sharing platter of starters; amazing guacamole, spicy prawn cocktail, Whitefish ceviche and pineapple. Fresh, moorish, tangy, creeps-up-on-you-kind-of-spicy stuff. Came with homemade totopos(?) and crackers.

 My main course was stuffed green chilis with a beany sauce and rice and plenty of tasty cheese. Looked pretty, tasted awesome. The chef brought me some fresh tortillas even though they weren't mentioned on the menu just because "In Mexico, they make a taco out of everything!", and he said how they want to provide the real experience of Mexican food. How cool is that!

 The chef had some tacos with a pork filling and a green chili sauce.

 He was rather chuffed.

 I think the dessert was a key lime pie even though the waiter called it lemon pie. But who cares, it was awesome. During the meal we tried several different drinks; prosecco, Mexican beers and  Mexican "lonkero" (me likey!!).
The service was fantastic and the guys really make this place, creating the right atmosphere that is laid back and relaxed, a bit loud and happy. The guy serving us said that it was a stressfull day and later on we were laughing cause for us they all seemed really relaxed. I think I should mention that this is not fast food, but in my opinion we never had to wait too long for anything. With quite a few drinks and three courses the bill came to just over a hundred euros, and I reckon the night was totally worth it. Gracias Patrona, we will be back!

 

After the meal we checked out the English Comedy Night at Apollo. We really loved the Swedish mime guy Lasse Nilsen, and the Aussie host Louis Zezeran was hilarious too. Hope we get a chance to go again at some point, the English nights are held about once a month.

Maaliskuun ruokahaaste - March Food Challenge

 So, I am one day late to actually take part to the monthly recipe challenge hosted by Jaana at Kulinaarimuruja. But as the challenge is so funny I am still going to post it!

The object was to find somebody else's receipt at the supermarket and use at least two ingredients out of it to make a dish. I did my shopping tonight at Alepa in Hakaniemi after a long day at uni and work, and as I was packing the shopping I remembered the food challenge. I felt like a proper weirdo when I grabbed a handful of receits from the end of the cashier where people leave the unwanted receipts. I was hoping that there would be one with two ingredients that we would already have at home. Literally a lucky dip!

So, the first receipt had beer and cigarettes on it, and I started to feel uneasy. Will I find anything on here? Some very depressing receipts came up with processed ready made meals, boring salad ingredients (tomato, cucumber, lettuce) and sugary yogurts. Finally I was was happy with this one that included two ingredients that we just happened to have- cherry tomatoes and halloumi.

I did some googling to find a nice salad dressing that would have honey to match the salty cheese and found a recipe here.I think halloumi always needs something really contrasting for maximum yummyness, be it something really sour like lemon juice, sweet like honey or tangy like balsamic.

Our dog eats everything, even tomatoes. But cucumber is his favourite...

Halloumi and Cherry Tomato Salad with a Sweet and Sour Dressing

Halloumi, sliced
Cherry tomatoes
Salad (Rocket would have been nice here)
Herbs; Mint and Basil worked great
Cucumber, Sliced thinly with a potato peeler

Dressing:
1 tbsp Honey
3 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Garlic clove, grated finely
Zest of 1 lemon, grated finely
Juice of half a lemon
Chilli to taste

1. Grill or slow roast the cherry tomatoes until soft.
2. Make the dressing by mixing together all ingredients.
I find an old jam jar or such is great for this.
3. Plate the salad, cucumber and herbs.
4. Take tomatoes out of the oven when ready, pan fry the halloumi in hot sunflower oil (not olive), until golden and crisp on both sides. Place on some kitchen paper to remove excess oil and place on top of the salad.
5. Dress the salad and enjoy!

Sunday Brunner

Breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner all in one, what's not to love?

Today we had a friend over for "brunch" as an advance thank you for taking care of our dog while we're away on holiday in Paris.

Menu du jour:

Saint Clair Vicar's Choice Sauvignon Blanc Sparkling, Marlborough, New Zealand

Beetroot Carpaccio with Goat's Cheese

LaiLai Pinot Noir, Chile

Herb crusted Salmon Fillet with Creamed Leeks and Sugarsnap Peas

Vinho Verde Alvarinho, Portugal

Metsuri Cheese with Fig Jam and Rye Crispbread

Rose Flavoured Macarons

Taltarni Brut Taché, Tasmania, Australia

Table setting

The best wine today, unusual sparkling out of Sauvignon Blanc that worked as an aperitif as well as with the starter and the main.

Beetroot carpaccio

Vinos

Herb crusted Salmon Fillet

I <3 Creamed Leeks

Lovely Johanna

Main Course

Metsuri Cheese

Rose - Macarons AND Bubbles

Pretty happy with these, although half of the batch failed - but more about that in a post coming soon...

 So this is what you might get for taking care of our dog - who wants to be next? :)

Ps. Consumed life encourages you to drink responsibly !! (In other words, we did not finish all those bottles of wine during this meal)