Sinikka's snippets

November 17, 2014
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Pop-up “Restaurant Day” in November

November 15, a grey and windy Saturday morning. The temperature here in southern Finland barely above zero celsius, but no sight of snow or ice, thank goodness! The beginning of another pop-up restaurant experience in my town, and around the world. Following the online map, with venues popping up all through the week, I finally found 20+ to choose from, noticeably fewer, though, than on the lovely late summer day in August, which I blogged about earlier. Not surprising, given the season and weather, but enough, however, to plan an interesting tour. According to the event Facebook page, there were still all together 1698 pop-up places opened in 35 countries, which is quite an achievement!

Our rather colourless riverside scenery in November

Two major differences to our previous experience: this time, we drove around in our car, at times parking and walking from place to place. Still got some fresh air and exercise although, I must say, I did miss my bike, but the distances along our planned route just were too long, unfortunately. Secondly, most of the November events took place indoors, which nicely added an extra interest in actually being invited into people’s homes. Very un-Finnish and brave! Compared to the open-air garden events in August, the indoor cafés and restaurants were far more intimate, and sparked even more impromptu conversations and interaction between the strangers whose paths crossed by chance, around coffee and dinner tables for fleeting moments . Great for us private, and often sullen, Finns! And what a way, for anyone, to “seize the day”, and make each unexpected encounter count.

I and hubby started by the riverside, at ‘Curry in a Hurry’. A simple canopy-covered place, offering 3 different curries with naan bread. Just the right hot treat, temperature and spice-wise, on a nippy winter day! Turned out that the friendly and welcoming curry chefs were also a mixed Finnish-British couple, just like us, so we felt right at home.

Warmed by the nice and tasty curry, we then walked to a 1920s block of flats up the road, and entered the enchanting ambience of “The Yellow Salon Café”. This was a family endeavour, put together for the third time already by a father, keen on antiques and design, an enthusiastically baking mother and a daughter enjoying the customer service. The whole front room had been totally reorganised for the day, with a lot of effort and care to create just the right atmosphere for a Christmassy coffee break, down to the finest detail. I was especially impressed with the oldie-worldie outfits of the two ladies, not to mention all the scrumptious pies, cakes and goodies, which literally melted in your mouth. I would definitely go again, and can recommend this venue, both for culinary and aesthetic enjoyment. I’m still wondering, though, about the elegant and enigmatic young lady, quietly having chocolate cake while reading Molière in the corner. Just one of those intriguing stories of this great day!

We finally ended our tour with another Christmassy experience. A summer hut in a garden, aptly named “Café Charm” for the day, with a view of a small, local lake. On offer was our traditional Christmas delicacy: rice porridge, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar on top. Here, too, Christmas carols were played in the background, and flickering candles added to the warm feeling in the darkening afternoon. I can understand people wanting to tap into the Christmas theme as there is no Restaurant Day closer to the holidays, but for me, maybe it was a little early for all the jingle bells, santa figures and decorating gingerbread cookies, lovely ideas and activities as they were. Next this café, there was also a quirky little boutique, boasting the world’s smallest cinema (in a toilet!) showing a 1920s documentary about the area, in the times when the adjacent broadcloth factory was still working. So, not only food and meeting people but learning about local history at the same time!

The above mentioned “cinema” on the left

Hats off to all the hard-working and creative volunteers for organising this great day for the rest of us! Looking forward to the next edition on February 15, 2015!

November 8, 2014
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A great Finnish food carnival

Are you keen on cooking or baking? So much so that you would even like to sell some of your culinary creations to others? But, obtaining the required licences and going through all the red tape has prevented you so far, plus the fact that you really couldn’t imagine this as your full-time career. Or would you just like to have a fun, novel experience sharing food with people for one day? Well, wait no longer – there is a way: THE POP-UP RESTAURANT DAY. In the words of the inventors, this is what it is:

Restaurant Day is a worldwide food carnival when anyone can set up a restaurant, café or a bar for a day. It can happen anywhere: at your home, at the office, on a street corner, in your garden or inner courtyard, at a park, or on the beach – only your imagination is the limit.

For your pop-up restaurant, café or food stall, you won’t need to apply for any permits, nor do you need to let the taxman know what you’ve earned, for as long as you only charge enough to cover your costs. The first ever “Restaurant Day” was organised in Finland in May 2011, and since then the concept has spread to over 50 countries worldwide. Quite an achievement! If you got interested, here is one of the three men behind the concept, Timo Santala, explaining to you in English what it’s all about. It’s well worth sparing 17 minutes to watch the video as it’s is full of heart-warming and funny stories about interaction, participation, open cities, active citizenship and, above all, the creative madness of people who are given the freedom and trust to organise something extraordinary for a day.

I couldn’t agree with Timo more when he asks:

Is there a better way of meeting new people, experiencing a country as a tourist or integrating to a new place as an immigrant than around a shared dinner table?

Yet, it still amazes me that this phenomenon was actually invented and given the green light in Finland, the promised land of rules and regulations! In fact, the inventors have revealed that it was exactly their frustration with all the Finnish restrictions for setting up restaurants that gave them this idea. What adds to my amazement is that, in general, we Finns are quite private people. Many of us are not particularly keen to open our homes to strangers even though we often do invite friends over for dinner or coffee. What’s more, we very much tend to keep ourselves to ourselves, and shy away from socialising with people we don’t know. I believe this is partly due to our culture of politeness, according to which it is good manners to basically leave people alone, and not bother them with unnecessary small talk. This cultural background makes the concept of the Restaurant Day, where you suddenly expose yourself to dealing with strangers, often in your own home, even more incredible. Maybe it is a positive sign of people longing for a change, and a new sense of community spirit in these highly individualised times. This great day takes place four times a year – in February, May, August and November. Obviously, here in the north, our seasons affect the organisation a lot, with May and August being much easier and more convenient for outdoor venues. I and hubby had a wonderful day last August, cycling around all Sunday to a few places we had picked from the list beforehand. Even the weather couldn’t have been better that day! Our picks then were a Polish-Finnish couple’s pierogi restaurant in their yard, raw cakes by the riverside, a garden do with several main courses and desserts, and with live music, too (in fact, two well-known Finnish musicians, which was an interesting bonus) and another garden café with traditional Finnish coffee and cakes. Not only was the food highly affordable and interesting to sample, but the tour also introduced us to lovely, new neighbourhoods of our hometown that we had never been to before, not to mention the healthy exercise and fresh air and meeting and talking with lots of people. There’s hardly a better way to spend an autumn Sunday!

My “red lightning transport” for the day

If you have never heard of this idea, why not jump on the bandwagon in your village / town? You can find all the information you need on this webpage (and in several languages, too). I can’t wait for the next experience on November 15. I’m even toying with the idea of having my own little café in May next year. Let’s see what happens!

November 2, 2014
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Best coffee in Turku, Finland

Finns are among the biggest coffee-drinkers in the world. So if you ever come here, I bet you won’t be able to avoid the traditional ‘kahvi ja pulla’ (‘coffee and bun’) break during your stay. And if you happen to visit my hometown, the historical old capital city of Turku, on the south-western coast, by the Baltic Sea, here is my, totally personal, recommendation of where to go for the best cup of joe.

CaféArt (Läntinen Rantakatu 5, www.cafeart.fi)
My all-time favourite, not least for the picturesque milieu of wooden houses by the river Aura, not far from the Cathedral or the market square. In the summertime the café extends to the pavement and side of the pedestrian street, offering a wonderful view of the riverside, and great opportunities for people watching, let alone the fact that coffee always tastes even better in the fresh air.
Apart from the location, my main reason for preferring this café over all the others in town, is the tasty and always reliable coffees, prepared with care of locally roasted beans by award-winning baristas. Tea-lovers can also a good selection of leaf teas. CaféArt may not be at its best in the eats department but different sandwiches and quiches, buns and cakes are always on offer. In the typical Finnish custom, no table service but ordering and paying at the counter, even if you are sitting outdoors.

Inside, there is plenty of space, and nice separate “nooks and crannies” to cater for groups of different sizes. The decor is quaint but quite ordinary. Yet, as the name of the place suggests, the changing art pieces, exhibited on the walls, add interest. If you are on your own, sitting by the riverside window is ideal for daydreaming – weather permitting, of course. Free wi-fi is also available. Personally, I really enjoy the nice, bubbly atmosphere of people, working, having informal meetings, chatting and talking. This place is not often empty or quiet! And more plus: unlike many cafés in our town (beats me why!), CaféArt is also open on Sundays between 11am-5pm. Warmly recommend!

My favourite combo: cappuccino and a cinnamon bun

October 26, 2014
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Sweet dreams

I love sleeping – who wouldn’t? In fact, all through my life I have slept well, wherever I’ve been. Falling asleep, sleeping in, even travelling from place to place, and sleeping in strange places have never been a problem for me. In recent years, however, I’ve been expecting the “early bird syndrome” many of my friends have experienced with age but no, if possible, I will sleep late even now. I must admit that the sweetest way of falling asleep for me is when I don’t have to set the alarm in the evening, so I can wake up naturally the next morning. Unfortunately, as for most working people, I can only enjoy this luxury at weekends and on holidays.

My natural sleeping rhythm has always required quite a long night’s rest, even 9-10 hours per night, especially in the darkest winter months. I seem to be related to bears, slumbering into a semi-hibernation in winter. Just recently this has started to worry me, though, with new research suggesting that it’s not only sleep deprivation that has a negative effect on your health but apparently also too much sleep can be detrimental. Sleep science is quite new, and there seems to be quite a lot of new research going on in the field. What would then be the ideal amount of sleep for somebody like me? And, more importantly, is there natural, individual variation in people’s sleeping rhythms?

While the recommended amount of sleep for adults, at least here in Finland, has long been about 8 hours a night, recent research suggests that the optimal amount might be one hour less, i.e. 7 hours a night. Some of these findings were reported in the Wall Street Journal in July this year (links to the article are apparently not allowed but you should be able to read it by finding ‘Why Seven Hours of Sleep Might Be Better Than Eight). One sleep expert has found the lowest mortality and morbidity in people who get that 7 hours of sleep each night. Another study suggests that too little sleep, even as little as 20 minutes less than 7 hours, causes impaired memory and cognitive performance. On the other hand, “oversleeping”, i.e. over 8 hours per night, has been linked to diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and higher death rates. If this is true, at my age, I should be really concerned! Luckily, the jury is still out on the above-mentioned results. For example, Dr. Morgenthaler from the Mayo Clinic lists factors affecting our sleeping patterns, including age-related shorter spans of sleep or sleep deprivation, both of which may lead to an increased need of sleeping hours. He also refers to cultural and genetic differences between individuals, which sounds reassuring to me.

The plot thickens with research into gender differences. According to experts at Duke University US, women are more susceptible to the adverse effects of lack of sleep, and thus should sleep more than men. This has also been looked into at Loughborough University Sleep Research Centre in Britain, where one expert stated the following:

“The more of your brain you use during the day, the more of it that needs to recover and, consequently, the more sleep you need. Women tend to multi-task — they do lots at once and are flexible — and so they use more of their actual brain than men do.”

Makes sense to me as a teacher, whose working days include a lot of mental exertion and constant interaction with hundreds of people. Yet, I wonder what my husband would say about this! Probably dismiss it as utter sexist nonsense. Naturally, the same also applies to those men who use their brain a lot during the brain but researchers do suggest that, on the whole, women seem to need slightly more sleep than men.

What am I to make of all this then? Should I limit my sleep to only 7 hours a night in an attempt to minimise my risk of diabetes and heart disease? Or, should I take into account my gender and mentally challenging job, and allow myself more sleep? My personal problem is that with a tendency to procrastination in the evenings, I often find myself burning the midnight oil with school work. Consequently, most weeknights I only manage to sleep 6-6.5 hours, which probably is too little for me, judging by my frequent feeling of fatigue. Mind you, the long and dark winter here in the north also takes its toll, and many people would attest to needing more sleep in this season. My gut feeling is that I would feel better if I managed to increase my nightly sleep by at least one hour on weekdays.

Perhaps, the best thing for me to do, during the next school holiday, would be to try the test suggested in the above-mentioned Wall Street Journal article:

Experts say people should be able to figure out their optimal amount of sleep in a trial of three days to a week, ideally while on vacation. Don’t use an alarm clock. Go to sleep when you get tired. Avoid too much caffeine or alcohol. And stay off electronic devices a couple of hours before going to bed. During the trial, track your sleep with a diary or a device that records your actual sleep time. If you feel refreshed and awake during the day, you’ve probably discovered your optimal sleep time.

Tonight, however, it being Saturday, I will be able to sleep without any alarm in the morning – and even gain one extra hour of rest as it’s the end of daylight saving time.

Photo credit: Sweet Dreams by Thomas Heylen on Flickr

Another winter setting in

October 25, 2014 by sinikka Leave a comment

October 22, 2014
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Easy and delicious vegetarian lasagne

Preparing the traditional meat lasagne is quite time-consuming, with first the two different sauces, and then assembling it all together. I must say I’ve given it up altogether as it’s quite heavy as well. For a much lighter version, this has become my all-time favourite lasagne recipe, which, thanks to the crunchy bits of vegetables, gives a mouthfeel and texture just for my liking. What’s more, preparing this dish takes considerably less time, too. Good for any season really but tasted especially good today, on a chilly and wet autumn day. Nice, nice and tasty – to borrow one of my late mother-in-law’s favourite sayings!

FOR THE VEGETABLE SAUCE

2 tbs oil
1-2 onions, peeled and chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed (or chopped)
1 small gourgette, cut into pieces
1 red pepper, seeded and cut into pieces
3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tin (400 g) of chopped tomatoes (possibly the variety with herbs)
2 dl water
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tbs honey
2-3 tbs soy sauce
black pepper
cayenne pepper
oregano (or other favourite herbs – dried or fresh)
2-3 tbs brown maize thickener

Apart from the onion, I don’t chop the vegetables too small, not to lose the texture. Heat the oil on the bottom of a sauce pan, add all the vegetables and fry them for a while over a medium heat. Add the tin of tomatoes, water, stock cube and all the spices. Cook over medium heat for about 10 mins. Add the maize thickener and set aside.

FOR THE WHITE SAUCE

400 g cottage cheese (the Finnish variety has its own lovely, “squeaky” consistency)
2 dl crème fraîche
1 egg
herbal salt
lemon pepper

In a bowl, simply mix all the ingredients together with a spoon.

TO MAKE THE LASAGNE

12 sheets of full grain lasagne
100 g cheese (I use emmental)
a lasagne dish (mine is 20 x 28 cm

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C.

2. Cover the bottom of the dish with a little bit of the vegetable sauce. Then follow with 3 lasagne sheet, a good layer of vegetable sauce, and a few spoonfuls of the white sauce. Add two more similar layers, finishing with the rest of the white sauce to cover the whole surface. Sprinkle the grated emmental on top.

3. Cook for 1 hour. Half way through, cover with foil to avoid drying the cheese too much.

Ecco!

BUON APPETITO!

PS. Tastes really good warmed up even on the following day!

October 17, 2014
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Let’s tackle an -ism

Sexism is alive and well, even in our ostensibly equal Finnish society. Sadly, I’ve also got to know ageism first-hand in recent years, with more and more frequent confrontation at schools between “the lazy old fogeys, enjoying too big salaries”, and “the enthusiastic, innovative, hard-working girls and boys, just out of university, with unfairly low pay checks”. Today, however, I want to rant about SIZEISM, which according to The Free Dictionary means

(Sociology) discrimination on the basis of a person’s size, esp against people considered to be overweight

Making the most of my week-long autumn break, and a crisp, sunny autumn day, I went round town today – window-shopping, and exploring the new autumn fashions. In one of our main department stores, I got enraged by the female dummies on display in their women’s fashion department. Why are the plus-size dolls faceless, hairless, dowdy, shapeless blobs, stripped of all their femininity and beauty? Not to mention boring hair and ankles thick like tree trunks!

They are just big, standing in forcefully masculine positions, rather like some law enforcement officers. No allure, no grace, not a hint of sexy! A far cry from the regular-size dolls, with shiny fashionable hairstyles, carefully made-up faces and flirty poses.

True, there are also the “faceless” skinny dolls but at least they are somehow stylish and modern – not personified in a negative way. Or what do you think?

Another question started bothering me, too. Why do you need different brands and manufacturers for different sizes of women here in Finland? Mostly, the plus size fashions also have limited colours, as if somebody forcing you into a dull colour scheme (black, brown, grey – possibly a bit of red!) beyond a certain dress size. Compared to Britain, for example, Finland is really backward in its treatment of curvy women. I love shopping in the UK where most retailers sell all fashions in all sizes!

Luckily, there’s online shopping! Finnish fashion designers and retailers should make an effort to tackle sizeism, or a sizeable proportion of their clientele will soon vote with their feet!

October 15, 2014
by sinikka 2 Comments

Autumn and life

“Age is just a number”, or “you’re as old as you feel”. Even I have resorted to these platitudes when trying to reassure friends going through their age-related crises as they certainly serve a purpose in pushing us to stop fretting about life passing us by too fast.

However, on this birthday (yet another one!?) I can reveal to you all that I can’t help feeling my accumulated years. Where is all the youthful energy when there didn’t seem to be enough hours in a day to do all that I wanted to accomplish? Let alone, all the creeping little aches and pains, twinges on my back or stressed out and tired legs in the evening. At this stage, age is more than a number, even psychologically as I have already gone to all lengths to avoid any reference to my exact age for quite a few birthdays.

Luckily, I came into this world in the autumn, a season that I really like. These days I can easily find similarities between my present age and the strong, warm colours all around me. Incidentally, even my favourite colours can be found in the rich autumn palette – delicious reds, oranges, yellows, how breathtakingly beautiful! This is also the harvesting season, abundant with berries, fruit and all the crops that have ripened under the summer sun. Aren’t I, too, now benefiting from all the wisdom learned over the seasons gone by? I have left behind the crowded decades of raising a child, proving my worth at work, always running around for other people. Finally, with the only daughter definitely flown away from the nest, and free from the need to impress anyone at work any more, I can calm down. Just like this season, here in the northern hemisphere, makes us stay indoors more and more, snuggly enjoying candlelit evenings in the comfort of our homes, my present circumstances allow me to turn my thoughts inwards, take stock of who I am, and what I would still like to experience in these autumn years of my life.

But then, autumn winds inevitably carry with them the chilly reminders of what’s soon to come. If I follow in my mother’s footsteps, I’ll only have fewer than 10 years to tick off a long bucket list! Isn’t the disappearing foliage on the trees quite like my thinning hair? Wherever I look, I see lonely last leaves hanging on for dear life… And eventually, the already fallen ones – at first getting caught in the gusts of wind for their farewell swirls in the air, and then rotting away, losing all their vibrant colour, waiting for…

Okey, okey, this is getting far too sinister and morbid now! Let’s change the tone. After all, as long as I am still compos mentis, and unlike the autumn leaves, I can choose the cosier, happier autumn metaphor. Thank goodness, my hairdresser will be able to fix my colour scheme on Friday. And as for my mother, rather than letting her unexpected, early departure worry me sick, I can choose to remember her spirit of never giving up. She was a woman who, even on the very last evening of her life, still carefully painted her nails bright red, as she’d done all her life!

Quick, find last winter’s tea lights, pour a glass of bubbly – chin chin, and chin up.