Salmiakki Ice Cream ‒ Salmiakkijäde

Salmiakki basically means ammonium chloride. In Scandinavian countries (and weirdly, Netherlands) it is combined with sugar and liquorice to make tasty confectioneries. Different varieties are sold in every small food store. And because of the classical shape of the sweets, rhombus or diamond shape is known with the name salmiakki in Finland. Most Finns eat these salt-and-sweet goodnesses just as they eat fruit candies whereas foreigners either seem to fall straight in love with them or think they are the most disgusting thing they've ever tasted.

Salmiakki is also one of the most popular ice cream flavours so of course I had to see if I can make it myself. I first thought I'd use raw salmiakki but after asking from two pharmacies and a pharmacist friend of mine I gave up. One day I'll try to make salmiakki all the way myself from ammonia and muriatic acid but before I own a home chemist kit for children I thought it safer just to buy sweets. This time I used soy cream cause I wanted to make it especially creamy. And creamy it certainly was!

- 1 small box of salmiakki sweets (for example Haganol apteekin salmiakki)
- 1 small box of the strongest non-black salmiakki sweets you can find (for example Lakrisal)
- 4 dl soy cream
- 2 dl soy milk
- 2 tablespoons potato flour

Melt the white salmiakki sweets in the milk. Add the cream and heat it on a stove. Whip the potato flour in carefully so you won't get clumps. Let the mixture cool down and put it in the freezer. Whip down the ice crystals it forms every two hours. When the ice cream starts to solidify add the intact candies. The ice cream should be ready in about six hours.

You can also make a simple salmiakki or liquorice sauce for the ice cream by just dissolving candies into small amount of water.

Nutritional values / 662 g :
energy 958 kcal
fat 73 g
protein 16 g
carbohydrates 59 g
fiber 3 g

Salty Mushroom Salad ‒ Suolasienisalaatti

One of the classic ways to pickle mushrooms for the winter is blanching them with salt. And a classic way to use the blanched mushrooms is of course a creamy salad. This recipe starts from fresh mushrooms but is really meant for blanched ones.

- 500 g mushrooms (for example russulas or milk-caps)
- salt
- 1 onion
- 2 tablespoon vegan mayonnaise
- 1 dl soy yogurt
- punch of fresh chives
- black pepper
- sugar (just a pinch to break the sour taste)

Chop the mushrooms and blanch them in salty water. Cut the onion and the chives into lengthy pieces. Put everything into the same bowl and mix up.

Nutritional values / 760 g:
energy 401 kcal
fat 19 g
protein 19 g
carbohydrates 24 g
fiber 9 g

Mushroom Balls ‒ Suppispallerot

My plan this autumn was to fill the fridge and cook a million different mushroom meals only using mushrooms I've picked myself. But of course I've once again managed to load myself with so many responsibilities that the couple of small mushroom preys I've caught have flown straight to the frying pan. So while the season is still on, here's at least one excellent recipe.

- 2 dl minced mushrooms (for some reason, Cantharellus tubaeformis or suppilovahvero seems ideal for this)
- 2 cooked potatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 dl crushed finncrisps (took me about 3 large ones)
- 2 tablespoons soy flour
- 1,5 dl soy yogurt
- 4 garlic cloves
- black pepper
- salt
- 2 tablespoons rape oil

Mash the potatoes with a fork, mince the onion and squeeze the garlic cloves. Mix everything into an even past and roll small balls out of it between your hands. Place straight away on a hot and oily frying pan.

Nutritional values / 1027 g:
energy 1046 kcal
fat 33 g
protein 37 g
carbohydrates 74 g
fiber 19 g

Apple Pie ‒ Omenapiirakka

Here's a weird fact about me: I only eat apples during autumn. This is when you get domestic apples. Every imported one I've ever tried has been just plain watery. Granny Smiths have a nice structure and some sourness but even they seem to lack in taste. And I really haven't found a satisfactory explanation for this. You'd imagine apple trees produce the same apples everywhere. Maybe this has something to do with that EU's ridiculous restriction concerning size and shape of fruits and vegetables (yeap, the infamous cucumber directive) that might prevent selling small (and tasty) apples. Or maybe stores just believe that size is the only thing that matters for the customers. Or maybe it's the climate. Please tell me if you have a clue.

Anyway, apples make a nice pie as well. You'll need rather bitter apples for this. This should come up as a nicely thin and crunchy pie with those juicy apples.

The bottom:
- 100 g margarin
- 3 graham flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 2-3 tablespoons of water

The top:
- 5 small apples
- 1/2 dl sugar
- cinnamon
- ginger
- cardamom
- (50 g blue-style soy cheese)

Mix the dough ingredients by hand and spread the result evenly on a buttered pie plate. Cut the apples in chunks and lay them on the pie. Mix the spices the sugar and sprinkle it on the pie. If you want to add some extra twist lay pieces of blue-style soy cheese on top of the rest. Bake in a 200°C oven for half an hour.

Nutritional values / 753 g (with the cheese):
energy 1784 kcal
fat 81 g
protein 35 g
carbohydrates 217 g
fiber 27 g

Autumn Pie ‒ Syyspiiras

When hearing a Finn talk about making a pitsa you might naturally assume it's the same thing as Italian pizza. Wrong. That's where the name comes from, yes, but usually the only thing they have in common is that both are oven-baked breads with a topping. The typical pitsa you get at a coffee table, young people's sauna party or even as a Sunday's family meal is more of a pie with a thick layer of a very cheesy topping. For my generation it's a comfort food.

Since I don't want to add to the confusion I'm just calling this a pie. Usually me and my spouse top these with everything we find from the fridge, ending up with a piece higher than my mouth. For guests however, it could be a bit more balanced and better planned.

The dough:
- 6 dl water
- 1.5 dl rape oil
- 6 dl dark wheat flour
- 6 dl ryemeals
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons baking powder

The topping:
- 200 g or 0.5 l fresh chanterelles
- 6 dried tomato pieces
- 1 large onion
- 2 dl soy flakes (textured soy protein)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 dl tomato sauce
- turmeric
- marjoram
(- 100 g melting soy cheese)
(- 3 dl soy yogurt)

Chop half of the mushrooms and the onion. Fry them with the soy flakes and spices. Mix the dough ingredients. Chop rest of the mushrooms and the dried tomato pieces as well. Put a parchment paper on a baking pan and spread the dough on it evenly. Spread the tomato sauce on the pie, then the fried mushrooms and the fresh mushrooms and dried tomato pieces.

If you want to use soy cheese, ground it into the soy yoghurt. Perfect the pie by spreading the mixture on it. Bake 15-20 minutes in a 250°C oven. Sprinkle some marjoram on the pie when still hot.

Another favourite combination of mine is tempeh slices fried crunchy, lingonberries (or pineapple pieces) and blue-style soy cheese. Weirdly, I don't think I've ever seen fruits and berries used in salty dishes outside Finland. Here it's actually quite common.

Nutritional values / 1825 g :
energy 2818 kcal
fat 97 g
protein 90 g
carbohydrates 244 g
fiber 40 g

Sunroot Puré Soup ‒ Maa-artisokkasosekeitto

Purés and mashes are an easy form of enjoying the new root vegetable harvest. Carrots, beets or rutabagas are just cooked soft, mashed and spiced. For a change I used sunroots instead of potatoes for this lunch soup but don't think the difference between them is that huge.

The recipe is mostly from Kotimaiset kasvikset.

- 500 g sunroots
- 1 small parsnip
- half a leek (the white part)
- 7 dl water
- 1 dose of stock
- 1 dl oat cream / 100 g soft tofu
- 2 tablespoons rape oil
- nutmeg
- black pepper
- chervil
- 1 onion
- 3 dl soy flakes

Peel the sunroots and the parsnip. Chop them and the leek. Boil until soft. While waiting, fry the onion together with the soy flakes until crispy. Add the spices into the pot and puré the soup. Sprinkle the soy flake mixture on top of the soup after you've scooped it to your plate.

Nutritional values / 1 l:
energy 917 kcal
fat 49 g
protein 34 g
carbohydrates 79 g
fiber 37 g

Bilberry Milk ‒ Mustikkamaito

Hello again! It's been a while since I've last cooked anything. This is a truly amazing time for that. Forests are full of berries and mushrooms only waiting for someone to pick them. Domestic vegetables are at their best and cheapest. Also, the weather is slowly starting to get chillier so I can concentrate on gaining more body fat under my thickest sweater to hibernate through winter.

While the bilberry season is still on however, I thought I'd restart blogging with a very simple yet very tasty drink. This is something that kids love since they can do it themselves all the way from picking the berries into a jug.

- 1 glass of bilberries (strawberries are another classic)
- about 1/2 glass of soy milk
- sugar to taste

Squash the bilberries into their glass. Sprinkle some sugar on them and then fill the glass with milk. Stir just a little so that the milk turns blue.

Nutritional values / 3 dl glass:
energy 99 kcal
fat 2 g
protein 4 g
carbohydrates 15 g
fiber 5 g