HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

  I have thoroughly enjoyed this Yule. Ever since Christmas we have staid home a lot with friends and family, eaten well, played lots outside, and today it is New Year´s eve. That means more friends, goodies, even some sparkling wine, and fireworks!

There is some magic about winter solstice, because (it seems) every year after we´re pass it, the sun slowly starts to reappear again. The days are still very short of course, but the clouds recede from the sky little by little, giving room to the sun.

So bottoms up, it´s time to celebrate the new beginning year! May it bring peace, happiness, and love to us all!

  Happy, happy new year 2015!

STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

  Occasionally on Sundays, if at home, I like to put a little extra effort on making lunch. Today I made stuffed grape leaves (inspired by ever-so-gorgeous chick Mimi Kirk´s original recipe), which are still very easy, but to my convenience-loving standards take a bit more time than everyday cooking. =)

Grape leaves are not raw, but the filling is.

Rolling up the leaves takes the most time. If in a hurry (like I was a week ago), the stuffing can be eaten also as a salad with some chopped lettuce.

In place of grape leaves you can also use any green salad leaves.

  The recipe (serves 1):

Filling:
1 parsnip, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 clove garlic
1/2-1 fresh cucumber, finely diced
1/2 fermented cucumber, finely diced
1 avocado, cubed
1/2 Tbsp dried mint
salt & pepper

+ Place the parsnip and garlic in a food processor and run the machine until the consistency resembles cooked rice. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix with a spoon.

  To assemble:
  Place a generous tablespoon of the filling onto a grape leaf, and roll up folding in the sides. Place on an oven dish. Roll up as many as the filling yields. Brush a little olive oil on top of the rolls and place in the oven, set as low as possible, with the door ajar to let out excess heat. Let warm at least an hour, or until lunch time.

  I do not own a dehydrator, so I´ve been experimenting with warming up some foods in our regular oven. I need to leave the door slightly open, or the temperature climbs up too high destroying enzymes. I know I´m doing fine as long as I can comfortably take out the oven dish with my bare (heat-sensitive) hands.

YULE FASHION: GINGERBREAD DRESS

  Gingerbread cookies are not on my menu (I rather eat it as dough =), but are now in my wardrobe. When thinking of Yule, gingerbread comes to my mind as an important factor of making the spirit bright. So in honor of the traditional treat, I made myself this Yule dress:

Dark brown knit dress with white accentuates. I didn´t plan to use a fabric with print on it, but this was the only proper dark brown I could find with some structure in it. After a little configuration, I came to the conclusion that this might even be better, less obvious, than a solid color. I went ahead and followed my original vision otherwise, including the white zig-zag ribbons at the hem resembling the icing used in cookies. To prevent appearing costume-ish, I accessorized the neck hole with a self-made necklace rather than adding zig-zag there too.

The white accessories bind the look to the snowy surrounding nature.

Natural makeup reflects the colors of the clothes, with mainly browns and off-white used. Earrings are light grey and white aromatherapy ones, in which I apply a Yule-scented combination of essential oils including cinnamon, pine, cardamom, and cloves.

THE LONG EXPECTED DAY

  What a great first day of Christmas we had!

It actually begun yesterday by getting a nice spruce out of the forest. It´s a great tradition we have had since childhood, and continue now with our own kids. The natural trees are far from perfect, which only adds to the excitement! This is the one we chose.

Year by year I have cut down on decorations, and enjoy the tree itself more and more.

It snowed all day long.

And we took all the fun out of it!

My son doing a front flip into a pile of soft snow!

We also had time to play games inside together.

Heating up our old traditional log house sauna, which was built after the WW2. Sauna is an essential part of our Christmas tradition. When I was a kid I would go roll in the snow, but no more baby! =)

In the evening we had a Yule feast, and Santa came to bring gifts to us all, and we watched a bit of Hobbit 2 (a good reminder before hitting the movies to see the final part).

  By midnight we were all ready to hit the bunk. What a great day, and the party continues tomorrow!

P.S. The parkour outfit I made for my boy was a hit! He wanted to wear it immediately, and even wanted to sleep in it! That makes me so happy!

PEACEFUL CHRISTMAS MORNING

  I woke up before the others, lit candles and enjoyed a moment of peace.

The weather outside is perfect for X-mas!

Only one more day left in the advent calendar. We recycled this calendar from years back, when we originally bought it to our son. He once was a huge Lego fan, and got to play with this calendar on two years. I stowed the tiny pieces back inside it, and now years after our daughter has had lots of excitement and fun opening it. Handy!

It is our tradition to decorate the tree on X-mas morning together, while waiting for the breakfast rice porridge to cook up (I think I´ll whip up a chocolate smoothie for myself and have a tiny bit of the porridge, for my stomach´s sake).

 May the fun and celebration begin! Happy, happy Christmas!

LAST MINUTE PRESENTS

  Last winter my son lost all but two pairs of his winter gloves. The same seems to continue this year, and I´m pretty upset about it truth be told. In the fall, when it begun to get cold, I bought him a pair of good quality gloves. He wore them twice, and on the third day he came home without them. He´d lost them already (I do not want to think anyone at school had stolen them...).

  This Christmas I´m happy to give him this gift, self made my mommy:
 

Four pairs of dark blue fleece mittens.

The fleece I use is thick, warm, and keeps the wind and snow out. As opposed to knitted mittens, fleece beats them clearly in wearability. And that´s what counts most in kids´ clothes.

In addition to being extremely great to wear, they´re also ridiculously easy to make. Simply draw the outline of your kid´s hand on paper, add 1/2 inch seam allowance (except to the tip of middle finger), and cut out of fleece. Then sew , right sides together, with a regular straight stitch as close to the edge as you can. Turn right side out and you´re done!

  In the fall and spring, when it´s still muddy and dirty, but chilly already, I like to place these fleece mittens inside the rubbery rain gloves to keep the little hands warm. After coming back inside it is so neat to pull the two gloves apart and they´ll dry easily and won´t stink at all!

BELUGA SPROUTS

  I discovered beluga lentils last year in Yule. What a masterpiece of taste all on it´s own! My daughter loves them even more than me, and we have had them cooked throughout the year.
  But recently my stomach has begun to dislike cooked foods, so I figured I´ll try sprouting the lentils.
  I had to begin by searching the web of whether they could be sprouted or not, and if they could be eaten raw. The answer to both is yes!

Here´s what belugas look like dried, straight out of the bag.

First I soak them 8 hours, or over night, then rinse them a couple of times and place upside down in our dish drying cupboard at an 45 degree angle (these type of cupboards are common in Finland, but I´m not sure if anywhere else... Anyone?). Then I let them sit there for a couple of days, rinsing twice/thrice daily, until they´re ready.

These are two days old sprouts. Ready to be thrown into my mouth. The taste is awesome. At first bite the taste is somewhat sweet, then it turns rather neutral, and in the end their piquant peppery taste can be recognized. I prefer them plain, straight out of the jar.

We share a passion for these sprouts.

  Earlier I have sprouted mung beans, green lentils, and alfalfa. The first two I do not like the taste of, and the third is quite a job to rinse clean of husks in the end. But man, now I´ve found a sprout I really enjoy, both making and eating!