I made this salad the other day and my friend who saw its photo said that it looks like Easter, with all those colours on the plate.. I must admit, 6 years living in Finland, and I still don’t have much clue about Easter. My greatest contribution to Easter was I think putting on rabbit ears once and having my photo taken as a tribute to Easter bunny..
Celeriac. One of my favourite vegetables. When I was a kid I was one of the pickiest little brats in the whole world possibly. But I always ate the strangest things without any problem, like okra, or eggplant or celeriac. I say strange things because in my family only me and my mother would eat those vegetables, the others would always find something to hate about them. With celeriac, it was the smell. But for me, celeriac’s smell is the best part of it!
A bad, bad flu… I am writing this blog post in bed, because I’m sick. I think it was expected, no? I mean, weather forecast being around -25C last week? I tried to avoid that and stay at home but there is a limited time you can stay at home – the girl’s gotta work. And so this week, since Monday morning, I’ve been in bed, knocked out. Added to this, David Bowie died, there was yet another big explosion in Istanbul.. Yes, I feel bad.. But let’s move on to the recipe, shall we?
I am writing this blog post in a very, veeeery relaxed mode at the moment. I just came home from swimming and then a hot, nice sauna! Once you start enjoying sauna, you easily get addicted to it! Anyway, after that very Finnish sauna, I had to come home and continue the blog post series about Finnish Christmas cuisine! So here is a colourful and delicious salad for your Christmas table (and of course you can also make it in other times of the year too!). If you know a different version of this salad, write about it in the comments below!
This recipe is really easy and fast. I will not even give measurements, as it is meant to be sort of “inspirational” – meaning, you can put as much as you like from all the ingredients, and you can add/take away other ingredients. If you make a twist, tell me about it!
I have a BIG advice to you mothers out there: never discourage your child about cooking a certain dish! Your child, whatever age s/he may be, can react to this by not even “trying” to cook that dish for years and years. Ok, she might be also looking for excuses not to cook this or that, but still, don’t do that, it’s not nice. My mother scared the shit out of me when I wanted to cook rice the first time, so I did not even attempt for many years. Until one day, she, herself, told me; “why don’t you cook rice, it’s the easiest thing in the world!”. Come again??
There is a chickpea snack in Turkey which is known by every single Turkish person, and most of them also love that snack. It is called “leblebi” and I wrote about it in one of my previous posts back in April 2015. When I roasted chickpeas in the method I used for this recipe, I did not think that they would resemble the taste of “leblebi”! Yummm indeed!
In Turkey, mostly among women who stay home every day, it is very common to come together with neighbours during the day and eat, talk, “gossip”, spend an afternoon, which is called “gün” (Literal translation: day). Nowadays it is more like “…. günü” (meaning, “…. day”, like “gold day” or “dollar day”. In these kinds of day gatherings, the host provides food and fun, while the guests bring “gold” or “dollar” or whatever the event is named after. Pretty good way to save some money, no?
Nowadays I’m hearing from a lot of friends that they are sick: bronchitis, pneumonia, coughing and coughing etc.. I have a perfect homemade solution for lung-related problems like those: ginger tea.
I cannot remember the first time I ate these lentil balls, but it was certainly not my mother who cooked them. It was never a dish that was part of our family’s traditional festivity tables. But well, it should have been!
Working for socially and ecologically just societies
Inspiring People Through Food
Food, movie reviews, arts and crafts, and life.
Science-based Tips on Weight loss, Fitness, Health, and Nutrition from a Ph.D. Scientist
My Wonderful Little World
Food for folks who have yet to figure it all out
Connecting to Friends, Old and New, Through Recipes, Gardens, and Dinner Parties
My Dear Kitchen in Helsinki 