August 28, 2009
10:29 AM
Dear Blog:
Well I am presently sitting in bed typing this and quite exhausted. Yes it�s only 10:30 in the morning but the spousal unit decided to try out a trail and let the dogs roam free in the woods behind our building. It was a success � the three of us are tired and Tim has gone to school to work on his research. I had contemplated going downtown today by myself (which is probably a 40 minute walk or so) and picking up a notepad, some envelopes and some stamps � but decided against it. I�ll go tomorrow � I get easily distracted when left to my own devices. Not that I wouldn�t make it downtown � but I would find it very difficult and tiresome to get back via foot. (Or the # 11 bus as my parents called a pair of legs and feet).
I do have a load of laundry going and took out some meat to defrost for tonight�s supper. The Finns are very big on marinated meats and mixed meats as well. When we went to the huge grocery store last week � I noticed they sold (and had sales frequently) for marinated meat. We tried these pork chops that were marinated in an orange-red curry like paste and it was delicious! It was very messy frying the slices of meat � unfortunately our balcony is too small for a barbecue � but it was well worth the clean up afterwards.
Tonight we�re going to try some chicken pieces marinated in some sort of yellow sauce�no idea � but it was on sale and looked good! I�ll probably fry those up as well, as I am terrible at remembering the proper temperatures for baking chicken safely and thoroughly. I usually refer to the internet for that kind of information � but alas � I am still waiting. Also we keep forgetting to pick up some aluminum foil � which would help keep the pans in good shape.
Alright � so is food here different than in Canada? Yes. It�s official.
I finally managed to find a jar of peanut butter (not Kraft � I don�t think they sell it here) and it�s different. You can still taste the peanuts but it�s a weird texture�very hard to describe. It�s a bit darker in color and the taste is thinner. It�s not roasted peanuts I�m thinking. Also it�s not that thick that the peanut butter sticks to the roof of your mouth and you�re dying for a glass of milk to help wash it all down.
Maple syrup�well we bought the Pirkka brand � which is similar to �Our Compliments� by Sobeys or �No-Name� by President�s Choice. It�s awful. It�s edible but having had it this morning on our French toast � it clearly is not maple syrup. You can barely taste the flavor of maple; it�s very watery-thin and just tastes �wrong�. They do sell Canadian made maple syrup � but not at the store that�s closest to us. Note to self � get the real deal or at least Aunt Jemima shipped up.
On to the good stuff! I love the Laktosfri (lactose-free) milk � it doesn�t taste odd like Lacteeze or Dairy-land does back home. Yoghurt here is great as well as the cheese. The ice cream tastes different here too � we�ve only had vanilla so far� my husband hates vanilla ice cream with a passion normally � but here- he likes it more and more.
Meat seems to be quite tender � ground beef/pork is just as greasy as back home but drains easily. They sell cubes of beef and pork in the same package here and you can also buy mixed ground beef/pork too.
I love the tap water here � I keep a plastic bottle in the fridge and just constantly re-fill it.
We are big fajita/taco fans and so far we�re doing alright. For us it�s a healthy meal (meat, veggies, grain) and a quick one to make and consume. And only requires one pan (unless I was to make my own guacamole). Now � speaking of guacamole (avocado dip) � they have �guaccamoledippi� which translates to guacamole dip � and it comes in a small glass jar like a cheese dip or salsa would, and it lasts forever. I don�t think it�s made with real avocados � that or they put a ton of preservatives to keep it fresh�ours has been opened, closed and in the fridge for a couple of days and the dip is still green. But it�s the flavor and the thought that counts � right?
Pizza in restaurants can come with any kind of ingredient on it and comes on pita-like bread as opposed to a thick disc of dough. So far we�ve had it once and bought some frozen �Tahiti� pizza which is great! They come in pairs in a box for under 5 Euros and all you do is pop them in the oven (separate racks and trays as they are quite large individually) and 8 minutes later � voila � done.
I apologize if all this talk of food is making you hungry!!! I had a huge breakfast and am contemplating a nap after this entry is complete.
Now � onto the important stuff � dessert! Finns are great at the art of pastry. We�ve had pastries stuffed with rice and ground beef (?), slivers of ham and rice, rice patties baked into a rye crust, a long flat piece of bread with chunks of sugar on top (flavored inside with vanilla and toffee) and possibly baked with saffron (?) and last night we had picked up some small logs of cake. It was amazing � it was a small rolled up log filled with berry, drizzled on top in chocolate and had a chocolate coating on the bottom half. Now � we were never the type to have dessert with supper every night of the week � usually only on special occasions, as I tend to over-cook for two people normally. When I brought this up to Tim � he stated it was because the desserts in Canada are nothing in comparison � unless you went to an actual European bakery or to a fancy restaurant. I personally cannot wait until we visit Germany and try the bakeries there. We have a German bakery in the valley of Nova Scotia � and it was amazing. I chickened out and had only gotten a molasses cookie � but Tim went nuts and I managed to try a bit of each thing and the different style in baking is amazing. The baked goods here are light and flaky � you don�t feel like you ate a whole log of cake � you feel like you only had a couple small servings. Yet you�re filled to the top!
