Tag: desserts

Flying Bask (With Adventures)

I updated the post about Prague with the hotel pictures this morning. Before that, things were really intense, and they still are.

On Thursday, I had to do several things after I got back to Chicago. An additional challenge was that my flight from Prague arrived at 10:50 PM (not a delay; that was how it was scheduled), and my flight to London was at 7:50 AM the next day (with a 7:20 AM boarding time). Boris crafted a morning route using public transportation that was not longer than a taxi ride, and we had to leave the house at 5 AM.

I packed almost everything in my large suitcase (the one I would take home) before my departure to Prague, but I still had to move things from the small luggage to the big one, and I had to pack yogurts from the fridge right before leaving the house. I decided that, in addition to having breakfast in the Finnair lounge, I would also take a shower there. The plan was very tight, especially because I also needed to check in a large luggage. The plan worked perfectly.

A button-operated shower

After we boarded the aircraft, the captain announced that there was fog in London (surprise :)), and all flights were queued, and our turn is 1.5 hours from our original time. I started panicing, but it was not much I could do, except for hoping that the long flight will be held to pick up all late passengers. Also, since we were scheduled to be delayed, the crew got permission to distribute care packages; the best you could possibly imagine!

Fortunately, we were allowed to take off about 30 minutes later, so everything looked manageable. We landed in London about 20 min behind the schedule. Since the connection time was short from the start, and I had to go to anothe terminal, and to the furthest gate there, it was still very close, but I made it.

The only thing which went not as planned was that I wan unable to connect to the in-flight internet from ny work computer. Typically, I do not work on the flight, but this time, I had two big things coming upon my arrival. One thing had to be performed on Thursdays after my arrival, and 4:30 PM, and another one on Friday. Both of them requiered some prep work, and I was almost on schedule with the Friday one, but I didn’t prep for Thursday. It was supposed to be a fast and easy thing, but I was hoping to script the work while I am in the air, and I couldn’t.

The flight to Chicago departed on time, and it landed an hour earlier. All was great, except for I was still unable to connect to the internet from the work laptop. As it always happens in ORD in the situations like this, there was no gate for us, so we spent another 25 min taxing, but still arrived 30 min earlier. As it is common these days, there are no lines for the border control at all, and the most time-consuming part was waiting for the luggage.

Last time when I waited for Uber for more than 20 minutes, I made a note to myself to use a regular cab instead, and it worked perfectly. There was no wait (same as in Helsinki), so things looked perfect for the rest of my plans for that evening. I still had time to prep for my 4:30, which should have taken no more than 15-20 min, and I was even hoping to stop by my mom before heading to the Opera.

And that’s where my plans derailed. When I came home and logged to work, I realized that I had to do something else, and I only started prepping for my 4:30 PM at about 3:45. Then I realized that some information was missing, and that overall things were not as easy as I thought. Long story short, I worked until 6:15 nonstop, then checked that Salome had no intermission and realized it’s not even worth trying to get there, because , at a minimum, I needed to change from the clothes I wore since departure and to put the contacts in.

I texted my neighbor that I had a work crisis, and that she would have to see the opera without me (she was already on her way). It was actually good that I didn’t try to go, because one more issue popped up.

The advantage of me not going to the opera was that I had time to go to see my mom, and also, I had time to sort my mail and unpack the packages, take care of my plants, start my laundry, etc. However, while I was done with my Thursday work, more unexpected details for Friday kept coming, so I ended up going to bed at almost 11:30 PM, and had to go to work on Friday. OK, I didn’t “have to,” but I had no food at home, so it made sense to go to the office and relocate home for the evening work.

In case you didn’t know, January 31 is a National Croissant Day. I pre-ordered special croissants from Vanille while I was still in Prague, and picked them up before relocating home for the rest of the day- evening.

Once again, the work was supposed to start at 4 PM and go for 2-3 hours, at least the part where I was involved, but things didn’t end up as I planned yet another time. I still didn’t have food in the house except of what was left since before my trip (surprisingly, even the milk survived). I had a CSA deliver, but there were still some items I needed.

Since Amazon Fresh repeatedly said there were no delivery slots, I ordered food deliver directly from Jewel Osco, and it was such a pleasant experience that I will continue doing it (no out-of stock at the last minute, could use my coupons, local delivery, etc).

As of now (Saturday morning), the work is still not done, and thought technically I could be still busy at that time, I didn’t expect to be :)). I hope that everything will be done in the next three hours, because I do not want to derail more plans!

Tapiola And Toys Museum

On Saturday, I met with my friend Natasha and her daughter (and my goddaughter) Sonia, and Natasha suggested we go to Tapiola, a 1950s project of integrating urban development with nature. I have never been there, and for Natasha, that’s the place she lived when she was a kid, and she wanted to show it to me.

Once again, it might have been better if it weren’t so cold, but it was still very interesting. Retrospectively, I should have taken more pictures!

Used audio and video materials sale in the local library
An outdoor piano
There is a small but really interesting toy museum in Tapiola, but unfortunately, we could not find descriptions in any language, so we often had to guess what period the toys belonged to.

We ended our field trip with a visit to the cafe that makes the biggest cinnamon buns one can imagine:

Natasha and I shared one bun but even a half was of a size of two regular buns!

Random Notes From Vienna, Mostly Food :)

When we planned this trip, Boris was sure it wouldn’t be that cold in Vienna in January, definitely not colder than in Helsinki, and it will bw nice to walk around. As our departure approached, the weather forecast kept talking about “severe weather conditions,” and we couldn’t figure out what the fuss was about, since it was still showing a little below 30F.

Continue reading “Random Notes From Vienna, Mostly Food :)” →

Apple Almond Cake

Apple Almond Cake

Weekend Baking

Two new desserts, both delicious:

Sour Cream Apple Squares

New rhubarb pie

What Can You Do With So Many Apples?!

A lot of things, and I finally tried this new recipe I wanted to bake for a while – it has apples, and it can be served for breakfast 🙂

Recent Baking

I baked a lot during the last several weeks.

One thing which I recently mastered (and I could not believe it was so fast and easy) was a berry cake from one of my Finnish friends. I always loved the cheese-based topping on most of the Finnish pies, and now I know how to make it 🙂

The recipe is here.

Also, at the very end of October, at one-before-last farmer’s market, I spotted rhubarb, which was a miracle. the vendor explained that while they were planting the last greens in the greenhouse, they thought – why not? So I bought a lot, and made a rhubarb-strawberry pie, as I baked several times in early summer.

Also, I made tiramisu several times, because now I know that it’s not really time-consuming, and always turns out great.

Finally, I tried one more recipe: this chocolate pudding. Once again, it was amazingly simple and heavenly delicious.

Now, for the next month, I am going switch entirely to Christmas cookies!

Tiramisu

Last week, I made tiramisu for the first time in my life, thanks to Jamie Lin and her recipe. Same as with quiche, I thought of tiramisu as something “humans can’t do,” and the only reason I tried this one was s promise of a “lighter version.” It turned out to be lighter in many ways, including the calorie count and the complexity/easiness of making it.

Since it was literally my first time, there were many things I didn’t know about tiramisu, but now that I made it once, I know how to plan and what to buy, and how to fit the making into my schedule. 

The most amazing thing was the straining of the greek yogurt. It was hard to believe that you can thicken it more than it already is, and when I dumped it into the cheesecloth, it didn’t look like it would release any extra water.

I was shocked to find a half-bowl of liquid in the morning! I almost spilled it because I didn’t expect it to be so full!

Update: I almost lost the recipe, so copying it here:

Ingredients:

  • 425 g. or 1 3/4 c. whole milk Greek yogurt, strained
  • 196 g. or 7 oz. or 1 c. minus 2 tbsp. mascarpone cheese, softened at room temp.
  • 60-80 g. or 3-4 tbsp. liquid sweetener (agave, honey, maple syrup, etc.)
  • 6 g. or 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 12 lady fingers
  • 240 g. or 1 c. hot water
  • 2 g. or 2 tsp. instant coffee powder
  • 20 g. or 1 tbsp. liquid sweetener (agave, honey, maple syrup, etc.)
  • Cocoa powder to top

Directions:

  1. To strain Greek yogurt, place a cheese cloth on top of a fine mesh strainer and place the strainer over a bowl. Scoop the Greek yogurt onto the cheese cloth and set in the fridge overnight or for 8 hours. In the next morning, bundle the cheese cloth together and squeeze out any excess moisture. The yogurt should have a thick, cream cheese consistency.
  2. In a deep and wide dish, combine hot water, coffee powder, and 1 tbsp. liquid sweetener. Set aside to cool.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together strained Greek yogurt, mascarpone, 3-4 tbsp. liquid sweetener, and vanilla extract until smooth. Taste and add more sweetener if desired.
  4. In you pan, spread a thin layer of cream on the bottom. One at a time, soak 6 lady fingers in the coffee and layer on the yogurt cream. I fit five lady fingers horizontally and one vertically.
  5. Spread another layer of cream on and add another layer of 6 coffee-dipped lady fingers. Top with the rest of the yogurt cream and smooth out the top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 8 hours.
  6. After the tiramisu is set, sift a generous amount of cocoa powder on top and slice to enjoy!

Tiramisu can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days.

Finnish Cheesecake – New Look

The only reason I call this recipe “Finnish” is because it originally came from my friend from Helsinki. I loved and bake it regularly. Last Saturday, it was the first time I baked it after moving to my new place.

Like all other recipes, it came out perfectly in the gas stove. Also, it was the first time ever I tried to bake it in the bundt cake pan, and not just an bundt cake pan, but the one with the waves. I was not sure whether it will come out well, or it will stick to the form, but it ended up being miraculously good.

Here is the actual recipe

I baked two cheesecakes: one with dried fruit, and another one with fresh berries (blueberries, raspberries and blackberries). They tasted differently, b ut both were delicious! (Past tense – both gone :))

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Last summer, I baked rhubarb pies several times, trying different recipes with different degrees of success, and I was looking to give it a try this summer when local rhubarb appeared on the market. I found the recipe I liked most, and this time, I didn’t change anything in how the filling is made — precisely that proportion of fruits, precisely that amount of sugars.     

I didn’t cover my pie; instead, I sprinkled some streusel on top, and it worked perfectly.  

So, here it goes:

  • 1 defrosted 9-inch pie crust
  •  3 cups of rhubarb, cut 1/2 -inch length,   
  • 2 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 corn starch
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp orange extract (instead of 1 tbsp of orange juice
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Start preheating the oven after the filling is mixed so that it would release some liquid and leave the liquid in a bowl when you fill the crust with the filling.

I didn’t put the lattice on top and didn’t use an egg. Instead, I prepared some streusel topping with 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour, and 3 tbsp of butter which I crushed with my fingers and mixed with dry components. Then I baked it as instructed: 20 min on 400F and 35 min on 350F. It was already pretty late, so I left it to cool down overnight.     

In the morning it was the most perfect thing.

I found critical with this recipe the proportion of rhubarb and strawberries and sugar, adding cornstarch and a cooldown before serving.