Alexander salad with smoked cheese and chicken

This salad actually is not an old estonian recipe, but it´s been in our family for years by now. Smoking food - chicken, cheese or fish, is a very traditional thing to do around here. The recipe came with my sister from a restaurant called Alexander. My sister had this salad there and she liked it so much, so we copied it. And copied it again and again over the years. It is easy to make and so full of flavour. And it´s a rich salad, enough for a lunch with just a slice of bread aside.

You need:

1 cucumber (about 20 cm long), cut in small pieces

1/2 medium sized chinese cabbage, cut in small pieces

200 gr smoked cheese, cut in small pieces

300 ml of small cubes of smoked chicken fillet

200 ml mayonnaise

100 ml sour cream

salt and pepper for seasoning

Mix all the ingredients and season with salt and pepper! Keep in cool for about 15 minutes before serving. It cannot be easier! :)

Alexandri salat suitsujuustu ja suitsukanaga

1 ca 20 cm pikkune kurk, väikesteks kuubikuteks lõigatuna

1/2 keskmise suurusega Hiina kapsast, väikesteks kuubikuteks lõigatuna

200 gr suitsujuustu, väikesteks kuubikuteks lõigatuna

300 ml väikseid suitsukanaliha kuubikuid

200 ml majoneesi

100 ml hapukoort

soola ja pipart

Sega kõik koostisosad kokku ja maitsesta soola-pipraga!

Curd cheese bar with chocolate and raspberry sauce - children love it

There is a very typical estonian sweet snack, in estonian the name is Kohuke, in english it means something like chocolate glazed curd cheese bar (translation from Nami-Nami). The real thing looks like a little roll, covered everywhere with a thin layer of chocolate. This is something all the estonian children are craving for when they are away from here. And adults also, I have to admit. It is a good kind of snack, as it is not that unhealthy as the snacks usually are. I like the taste of a good kohuke - having a slightly sour curd cheese with a bit bittersweet chocolate, sometimes with just a few drops of berry jam inside. So I decided to turn this trio of tastes to a dessert and serve it after lunch. You need (for 4 servings):

For the bar:

200 gr of curd cheese

50 gr of unsalted butter

100 gr sugar

0,5 ts of grated lemon peel

seeds from one vanilla pod

For the coating:

100 gr od dark chocolate

50 gr of butter

For the rasperry sauce:

100 gr (frozen or fresh) raspberries

50 gr sugar

0,5 ts of grated lemon

Mix together the curd cheese and butter. You might need to soften the butter slightly in microwave or leave it out to room temperature for a while. Mix well, you don´t want to have pieces of butter in your dessert. Add the sugar, vanilla seeds and lemon peel. Mix through. Roll it to tin foil and keep in freezer for about half an hour (until it is firm). While the curd cheese roll is in freezer, melt the chocolate and butter on bain-marie. Remove the rolled curd cheese from freezer and cut to 4 nice pieces. Put the curd cheese bars to serving plates and let a big spoonful of melted chocolate to flow over the edges. Keep in cool place for a couple of more minutes and cover with sauce made of crushed raspberries, sugar and lemon peel.

Šokolaadi ja vaarikakastmega kaetud kohupiimadessert kohukese ainetel

Vaja läheb (4-le):

200 gr kohupiima

100 gr suhkrut

50 gr võid

vanilliseemned ühest vanillikaunast

0,5 tl riivitud sidrunikoort

Šokolaadikatte jaoks:

100 gr tumedat šokolaadi

50 gr võid

Kastme jaoks:

100 gr vaarikaid (külmunud või värskeid)

50 gr suhkrut

0,5 tl riivitud sidrunikoort

Sega kokku kohupiim ja pehme või. Sega hästi, et võitükke sisse ei jääks. Lisa suhkur, vanilliseemned ja sidrunikoor. Sega uuesti läbi, aseta foolimile ja rulli pikaks toruks. Pane pooleks tunniks sügavkülma. Samal ajal sulata veevannil šokolaadvõiga vedelaks. Tõsta kohupiimatoru välja ja lõika sellest 4 ühesuurust väikest toru. Aseta desserditaldrikutele ja vala igaühele peale suur lusikatäis sulašokolaadi. Pane veel paariks minutiks külmikusse tahenema ja vala enne serveerimist peale vaarikakaste purustatud vaarikatest, suhkrust ja sidrunikoorest.

Birch-juice coctail - the most seasonal drink

For estonians, taking birch juice during early spring is something very normal. For others it might sound strange. Well, it looks like water, doesn´t it, but it´s not. When the winter is gone, the birch juice starts running. You have to make a small hole to the tree, about a meter high from the ground and make a wooden spout to lead the juices to a container under it. After you have got as much juice as you wanted, make a wooden plug and put it into the treehole, to stop the juices from running out too much and the diseases from getting in. As I said before, it is a really seasonal drink, as the juices are running only for a couple of months after the winter is gone and before the leaves are coming out.

Well, now you have a beautiful drink, which is great to quench your thirst and also very healthy. Some people say, that you shouldn´t drink it before going to bed, as it will start purifying your body so quickly that you have to run to the toilet all night long. Other people think that the birch juice is against as many as 101 different diseases, it´s good for your kidneys, in case of tense muscles, rheumatism, podagra...

It´s nice to drink birch juice as it is, but I like to add a bit more freshness to a drink that´s already full of it. You really need to have a lot of freshness after the long winter, don´t you. So here is a nice refreshing birch juice coctail for you. You need (for every person):

1 glass of fresh birch juice

1 ts of sugar

2 slices of apple

2 slices of lemon

Put 1 ts of sugar to the glass, pour the birch juice over. Stir through and add the apple and lemon slices. Keep in fridge for half an hour before serving! It´s that easy.

Kevadine kasemahlakokteil

1 kl kasemahla

1 tl suhkrut

2 õunaviilu

2 sidruniviilu

Pane klaasi sisse suhkur ja vala kasemahl peale. Sega läbi ja lisa sidruni ning õuna viilud. Lase poolt tundi külmikus seista enne serveerimist.

Spiced sprat, with black bread and melting egg

Oh, how I dreamed of estonian spiced sprats, while I was travelling around the world for a year. And all the other estonians we met on the way, did the same. So as you can see, it is something really estonian to eat - spiced sprats with black bread. The process of making it is such a joy - all the aromas of the spices that you crush with your mortar and pestle make your tastebuds water already from the beginning. The traditional version is to use the real sprats (Sprattus sprattus), but sometimes they are hard to get. Then you can replace them with the baltic herring, like I did this time, the result is as wonderful. If possible, buy fresh fishes and fillet them yourself, it will be so much more juicy afterwards. If you buy the fish that has been already filleted before, then add a few drops of oil between every layer of fishes. You need:

500 gr sprat or baltic herrin fillets

1 ts ground black pepper

1 ts ground allspice

0,5 ts of ground clove

0,3 ts of ground nutmeg

0,5 ts of ground cinnamon

0,3 ts of ground mustard seeds

1 ts of ground coriander seeds

2 tbs of salt

1 ts of sugar

2 laurel leaves

The best way to break all the peppers, allspices, cloves etc, is to use mortar and pestle, then they don´t have the concistency of a flour. Mix all the ingredients except the fish. Take a container of half a litre. Break one laurel leaf to pieces and put on the bottom. Cover with one layer of fish filets, skin side facing the bottom. Cover with a thin layer of spice mixture. Add another layer of fishes and spice mixture. Continue until all the fish is in the container, cover with the other laurel leaf. Put alid on the container and put something heavy on it to add pressure. Let it stay in cool place overnight.

To serve, take a slice of black bread, put some good butter on, add a few spiced sprats and half a halfboiled egg (I usually boil them for 6 minutes and add the eggs when the water is boiling already).

Vürtsikilu musta leiva ja poolkõvaks keedetud munaga

Vaja läheb:

500 gr kilu- või räimefileed

1 tl purustatud musta pipart

1 tl purustatud vürtspipart

0,5 tl purustatud nelki

0,3 tl riivitud muskaatpähklit

0,5 tl jahvatatud kaneeli

0,3 tl purustatud sinepiseemneid

1 tl purustatud koriandriseemneid

2 spl soola

1 t suhkrut

2 loorberilehte

Parim viis kõiki vürtse puustada on minu meelest uhmri ja nuia abil, muidu on tulemus liialt jahusarnane. Sega kõik maitseained kokku. Võta pooleliitrine anum. Purusta kergelt üks loorberileht ja aseta anuma põhja. Kata ühe kilukihiga, nahk allapoole. Puista peale vürtsisegu nii, et kõigile fileedele saaks ühtlaselt. Lisa järgmine kiht kalasid ja vürtsisegu. Jätka kuni kõik kalad on purgid ja aseta kõige peale teine purustatud loorberileht.

Traditional oatcookies with chocolate-hazelnut twist

Oatcookies are the kind of cookies that every mom in Estonia has made when children have wanted something sweet. They´re quick and easy to make. This time I added a special twist to those traditional cookies, to make them more festive. Hazelnuts and dark chocolate are both also very estonian things. In fact you can pick hazelnuts from the forest everywhere in Estonia during autumn. So, if you´re in a hurry, you want something sweet, but at the same time healthy, here it comes. You need (for two big bakingtrays):

500 gr of oatflakes (preferably not the instant-porridge ones)

250 gr sugar

200 gr of butter

200 gr wheat flour

6 eggs

50 gr of hazelnuts

100 gr ofdark chocolate

Mix sugar with butter. Add eggs, one by one, mixing constantly. After the eggs, sift in flour and mix in the oatflakes. Mix through. Cover the bakingtray with bakingpaper and put spoonfuls of cookiebatter on. Push a hazelnut or two to every cookie and pinch the batter to cover the nut. Bake in preheated 180 C oven for about 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and let it cool down. Melt the chocolate on bain-marie and cover every chocolate with a teaspoonful of melted chocolate. Sprinle some chopped hazelnut on top. Serve when the chocolate has become hard again.

Kaerahelbeküpsised metsapähkli ja tumeda šokolaadiga

500 gr kaerahelbeid (mitte kiirpudruhelbeid, kui võimalik)

200 gr võid

250 gr suhkrut

6 muna

200 gr jahu

50 gr metsapähkleid

100 gr tumedat šokolaadi (nt Bitter)

Sega või ja suhkur pehmeks vahuks. Lisa ükshaaval munad, pidevalt segades. Sõelu sisse jahu, lisa kaerahelbed ja sega korralikult läbi. Kata ahjupann küpsetuspaberiga, tõsta sellele supilusikatäied küpsisetainast. Suska igasse taignakuhja pähkel või kaks. Näpista tainast pealt nii et pähkel saab kaetud. Küpseta 180 kraadises ahjus umbes 20 minutit või kuni küpsised on ilusti kuldsed. Lase jahtuda. Sulata šokolaad veevannil ja tõsta igale küpsisele teelusikatäis šokolaadi. Puista peale hakitud metsapähkleid ja lase šokolaadiglasuuril tahkuda enne serveerimist.

Looks like Italy, tastes like Estonia – curd cheese misu

Travelling is great, you can try some of the most amazing dishes and tastes of our time. But it is also wonderful to get inspiration. Sometimes it is about how to use an ingridient, sometimes on how beautiful a dish can be. Like this time, when I am using good estonian curd cheese and dark chocolate, and serve it as it was Tiramisu. But it´s not! You need (for 6 servings):

500 gr curd cheese
100 ml cream (around 30% of fat)
6 tbs sugar
20 savoiardi biscuits
Grated dark chocolate

For the cherry sauce:
150 ml water
20 frozen cherries
2 tbs farine sugar
1 cinnamon bark
Some drops of lemon juice

Whip the cream slightly with sugar. Mix in the curd cheese.Add cherries, cinnamon and lemon juice to water and bring them to boil. Add sugar. Mix and let it simmer for a few minutes, until the liquid has absorbed the cherry taste. Remove the cherries.
Put half of the crd cheese cream to the bottom of dessert glass. Dip the cookies to the cherry sauce and put them atop of the curd cheese cream. Add the rest of the cream. Let it cool for a few hours. Before serving, cover the dessert with grated dark chocolate. Garnish with cherries and enjoy.

Kodumaine kohupiima tiramisu

500 gr kohupiima
100 ml vahukoort
6 spl suhkrut
20 savoiardi küpsist
riivitud tumedat šokolaadi

Kirsikastmeks:
150 ml vett
20 külmutatud kirssi
2 sl fariinsuhkrut
1 kaneelikoor
veidi sidrunist pigistatud mahla

Löö vahukoor suhkruga kergelt vahule ja sega kohupiimaga kokku ühtlaseks kreemiks. Pane kirsid vette, lisa kaneelikoor ja sidrunimahl, aja keema. Lisa suhkur. Sega ja lase madalal tulel mõned minutid keeda, kuni vedelik on tugeva kirsimaitsega. Tõsta kirsid välja. Pane 1/2 kreemist vormi(de) põhja, lao peale kirsikastmesse kastetud küpsised. Lao kastmest välja võetud kirsid küpsistele ja kata ülejäänud kreemiga. Lase külmkapis mõne tunni seista ning puista üle riivitud šokolaadiga.

Muffins for every season – red currant for summer, cherries and chocolate for winter

I think that the most wonderful time for baking fresh muffins is summer – you walk in your garden and pick what is ripe – currants, gooseberries, apples, raspberries and you bake. But it is also great to make some warm and sweet muffins during the cold winter, cherry and chocolate ones being my favourite. The main recipe is the very similar and easy to make.

For the Red currant and vanilla muffins you need:

2 eggs
1,5 dl sugar
2,5 dl wheat flour
1 ts baking powder
1/2 vanilla pod
150 gr thick sour cream
50 gr unsalted butter, melted
200-300 gr of red currants

Whip the eggs with sugar, scrape in the seeds of the vanilla pod. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add sour cream, melted butter and dry ingredients. Mix until even. Mix in the currants carefully. Divide the batter to the muffin pan and bake in preheated oven with 225 degrees for 15 minutes.

Punase sõstra-vanilli muffineid:
2 muna
1.5 dl suhkrut
2.5 dl nisujahu
1 tl küpsetuspulbrit
½ vanillikauna
150 g paksemat hapukoort
50 g ehk 0.5 dl sulatatud võid
200-300 g punaseid sõstraid (lisasin ka veidi musti sõstraid)

Vahusta munad suhkruga kohevaks, kraabi sisse ka seemned vanillikaunast. Sega kuivained omavahel. Sega munavahu hulka vaheldumisi hapukoor, jahtunud sulavõi ja kuivained. Viimasena lisa sõstrad. Jaota tainas muffinivormidesse. Küpseta 225kraadises ahjus umbes 15 minutit.

For the Cherry-dark chocolate muffins you need:

2 eggs
1,5 dl sugar
3 dl wheat flour
2 ts baking powder
Pintch of salt
75 gr chopped dark chocolate
100-130 gr frozen cherries
2 tbs brown sugar
0,75 dl rapeseed oil

Mix the frozen cherries with brown sugar and put aside. Whip the eggs with sugar. Mix together dry ingredients, chopped chocolate, halfmelted cherries and at last the oil. Quickly mix the batter until even and divide into muffin pan (fill appr 2/3 of every muffin hole). Bake in preheated oven under 200 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Kirsi-tumeda šokolaadi muffinid:
2 muna
1.5 dl suhkrut
3 dl nisujahu
2 tl küpsetuspulbrit
noaotsatäis soola
75 g hakitud tumedat šokolaadi
100-130 gr külmutatud kirsse
2 spl fariinsuhkrut
0.75 dl rapsiõli

Sega kirsid fariinsuhkruga ja pane sulama. Vahusta munad suhkruga. Lisa omavahel segatud kuivained, hakitud šokolaad, poolsulanud kirsid ja õli. Sega tainas kiiresti ühtlaseks ja jaota ettevalmistatud muffinivormidesse (täida vormid umbes 2/3 ulatuses). Küpseta 200-kraadises ahjus umbes 20-25 minutit.

Mulgipuder, made of potatoes and barley

We all love mashed potato, don´t we. But here in Estonia, when it is minus 30 degrees Celsius during winter, then something strong is needed. Perhaps this is why the ancient estonians created something called Mulgipuder. It´s a mix of mashed potatoes and barley porridge. Or, if you want a quicker version, as I do, then replace barley with cracked barley. It´s absolutely delicious with sour cream. You need:

600-800 gr peeled potatoes, cut in cubes
200 dl cracked barley
1 garlic clove
4 tbs of butter
2 carrots, grated
2 red onions, but in thin stripes
150 gr smoked bacon, cut in thin stripes
Salt/black pepper
Sour cream for serving

Fry chopped garlic in 3 tbs of butter, add the potato cubes, stir through, add boiling water to cover all the potatoes plus 2 cm. Add all the cracked barley. Cover and cook on low heat, until the potatoes are really really soft. Do not stir before that. But when the potatoes are really soft, mix through until the potatoes are mashed. Add carrots, season with salt and pepper. Cook uncovered until all the water has evaporated. Fry the onions on a pan in the rest of the butter until golden. Remove the onion and fry the bacon on the same pan.
Serve the porridge with onion, bacon, sour cream.

Mulgipuder

Vaja läheb:
600-800 gr kooritud kartuleid, kuubikuteks lõigatud
200 dl Lõuna-Eesti tangu (seda ei pea enne leotama ja puder saab kiiremini valmis, kui kruubiga)
1 suur küüslauguküüs
4 spl taluvõid
2 porgandit, riivitud
2 suurt punast sibulat, peenikesteks ribadeks lõigatud
150 gr suitsupeekonit, peenikesteks ribadeks lõigatud
soola/pipart
serveerimiseks hapukoort

Prae 3 spl võis hakitud küüslauk klaasjaks, lisa kartulikuubikud, sega kuumas võis läbi, vala kartulite peale keev vesi, nii et kõik kartulid oleksid sees ja sentimeeter paar pealegi (kui teed putru eelnevalt leotatud kruupidega, siis pane vett niipalju, et kartulid oleksid kaetud). Vala kõige peale tangud. Kata kaanega ja lase madalal kuumusel podiseda, kuni kartul on väga väga pehme. Ära mingil juhul kartulit ja tangu vahepeal sega. Kui kartul on pehme, sega kõik läbi (kartulid peavad olema nii pehmed, et segades lähevad katki). Lisa porgand, maitsesta soola ja musta purustatud pipraga, sega läbi, lase ilma kaaneta üleliigsel veel ära keeda, kui seda on. Prae ülejäänud 1 spl võis sibulad pruuniks. Tõsta kõrvale, prae samal pannil pruuniks ka peekon. Serveerimisel tõsta pudru peale sibulat ja peekonit ning hapukoort.

Elegant Baltic herring steaks

Baltic herring is an all estonian fish. In fact it is our national fish (what a funny thing to have, a national fish). It is a small fish more similar to sardine, than the real herring, which, in fact, is another all estonian fish. I remember my grandmothers and my mother frying the small cleaned baltic herrings in thin batter. It tasted amazingly good and made a quite healthy snack. Today I am using the idea of an estonian cook Anni Arro to make something a bit more elegant of those delicious little fishes. You need:

500 gr of baltic herring filet
Salt to taste
A bunch of fresh dill (chopped)
100 gr of wheat flour
100 gr of grated dried black bread
Butter
Lemon juice

For the sauce:
Sour cream (the best would be the one with 30% fat content, as then it will be thick enough even after mixing with the lemon juice)
Lemon (a bit of grated peel and squeezed juice)
Salt, pepper and chopped dill to taste

Wash the filets and dry with kitchen paper. Put them on a baking tray skin side down. Season with salt and chopped dill. Cover every filet with another one, skin side up. Mix flour, breadcrumbs and season the mixture with salt. Turn the prepared steaks in this mixture. Put the steaks on a buttered baking tray. Cover them with small pieces of butter.
Bake in the oven with 180 C until they turn golden. Remove from oven and sqeeze some lemonjuice. Serve warm with sauce made of sour cream, lemon peel, lemon juice, salt, pepper and fresh dill. The sauce is best, when it has stood about half an hour before serving.

Elegantsed räimepihvid

500 gr räimefileed
maitse järgi soola
punt värsket tilli (hakkida)
100 gr kogust nisujahu
100 gr kogust riivitud leiba
võid
sidrunit peale pigistamiseks

Kastme jaoks läheb vaja:
hapukoort (parim siinkohal on 30%-ne, see ei muutu sidrunimahlaga segades vedelaks)
sidrunit (veidi riivitud koort ja veidi mahla)
näpuotsaga hakitud tilli
soola ja pipart

Pese räimefileed ja kuivata köögipaberiga. Lao nad alusele nahaga allapoole, maitsesta soolaga ja raputa peale hakitud tilli. Aseta igale fileele peale teine filee, seekord nahaga ülespoole. Sega kokku jahu, riivleib ja maitsesta soolaga. Keeruta ettevalmistatud räimepihve selles segus. Aseta pihvid võiga määritud ahjupannile. Pane ka pihvide peale võitükikesi.
Küpseta 180 kraadises ahjus kuldseks. Tõsta ahjust välja ja piserda peale sidrunimahla. Serveeri soojalt koos kastmega, mille valmistasmiseks sega kokku hapukoor, veidi riivitud sidrunikoort, veidi sidrunimahla, soola ja pipart ning näpuotsaga hakitud tilli. See kaste on parim, kui ta on vähemalt pool tundi seisnud, siis on sidrunikoorest tulevad eeterlikud õlid ilusti hapukoorega segunenud.

Hearty soup of potato and smoked cheese

If there is one thing that is the basis of estonian cuisine, then that must be potato. Our families eat it almost every day, either baked, boiled, mashed, roasted, fried or in salads. Also, estonians are good in smoking food. A beautiful snack of ours, is smoked cheese with it´s strong taste and smoky aroma. In this soup, potato and smoked cheese work together. The idea comes from a great little farm restaurant in Southern Estonia, Tammuri Talurestoran. You need:

600 gr of potatoes
200 gr of smoked cheese
1 tbs of butter
50 ml of heated milk and 150 ml of cream (around 20 % of fat)
Salt and pepper
Smoked ham or bacon

Boil the potatoes until they are soft, smash them to puré. The soup will turn out especially silky, if you push the potatoes through a thin sieve. Use a blender to mix together the smoked cheese and cream-milk mixture. Heat up the cheese mixture, add butter and mashed potatoes. If the soup seems too thick, add a bit more of milk and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Grill quickly under high heat some strips of smokes ham or bacon until crispy. Serve the soup garnished with fresh dill and grilled ham on top.

Kartuli-suitsujuustusupp Tammuri Talu moodi

600 gr kartuleid
200 gr suitsujuustu
1 spl võid
50 ml soojendatud piima ja 150 ml vahukoort
soola/pipart
veidi suitsusinki

Keeda kartul pehmeks ja tambi püreeks (eriti ilusa supi saab, kui kartulid läbi sõela ajada). Purusta saumikseriga juust ja vahukoore-piima segu. Aja juustusegu potis kuumaks, lisa või ja kartulipüree. Kui supp on liiga paks, vedelda piimaga. Maitsetsa soola ja musta pipraga. Grilli suitsusingi või peekoni ribad grilli all krõbedaks. Pane serveerimisel supile värsket tilli ja grillitud suitsusingiribad.

The good old Spotted dog

Here comes a really really traditional estonian dessert. When I was a child, this was one of the most common (and waited) treats on birthday tables. It is easy to make and easy to change according to your own preferences.

The last time I made this, was actually in Thailand. My 4-year old daughter went to kindergarden there and every child had to bring a dish from her home country for the Christmas party. It doesn´t need baking and you can get all the ingrediences probably everywhere in the world. You need:
600 gr of cookies of your own choice
250 gr unsalted butter
50 gr of dark chocolate (over 70 %)
A bit of chopped sour marmalade
A bit of chopped marshmellows
A bit of chopped nuts, dried fruits, raisins, meringue, halvah if you like
3 tbs of cacao powder
A bit of milk, if needed

Smash the cookies. Melt the butter, mix in the cookies and all the chopped ingridiences. If the mixture is too dry to shape, add a little bit of milk. Mix well. Roll a long and round roll, cover with plastic and let it stay in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Then remove plastic and cut quickly to about 5 mm thick slices. Keep in fridge until served. Goes well with fresh coffee ot tea.


PS! Inspiration for this recipe came from a beautiful estonian foodblog Pisike ja pisut segi



Vana hea kirju koer

Vaja läheb:
600 g küpsiseid
250 g võid
50 g tumedat šokolaadi (ca 70%)
peoga haput marmelaadi, tükelda
peoga vahukomme, tükelda
soovi korral mandleid, pähkleid, kuivatatud puuvilju, rosinaid, halvaad, beseetükke, vms.
3 sl kakaod
vajadusel tilgake piima

Purusta küpsised. Sulata või, sega küpsisepuru ja muude lisanditega. Kui segu on liiga kuiv ja voolimatu, siis lisa tilgake piima. Rulli toidukile sees pikaks ümmarguseks vorstiks. Lase külmkapis seista vähemalt 4 h, et Koer piisavalt tihke tuleks ja teda lõigata saaks!

Berries and the blue sky

I’m Juta, from a tiny Northern European country called Estonia. It is a country of four beautiful seasons, more than a thousand lakes, more than thousand five hundred islands and endless forests.
I just arrived back form a one year round the world journey with my family. It was a year of amazing food experiences in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Samoa, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, China and Japan (you can see a bit of this trip in teeekond.blogspot.com, sorry, it´s in estonian). As I tasted more and more of those wonderful dishes of the world, I started to think more and more about the cuisine of Estonia. I love my food! If someone talks about the traditional Estonian food, then usually four dishes are mentioned – blood sausages, sauerkraut, meat jelly and kama. Which all can be really tasty, but this is not what we are eating in Estonia every day. People eat blood sausage usually once a year, during Christmas. Argentineans eat blood sausage every week during their traditional parillada, but they´re famous for their beef, not the sausage. So, that is what this blog is about – sharing with you all the wonderful things, what we estonians eat. Our forests are so rich in berries – raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, lingonberries, the same is in our gardens – black, red and white currants, gooseberries, more strawberries and raspberries and all the fruits – cherries, plums in so many colours, a myriad of apples and pears. I confess that I cannot live without our two dairy products – thick sour cream and our special curd cheese. The forests are full of mushrooms, chanterelles and ceps being my personal favourites. And, you cannot forget the fragrant black bread and tasty herring. The thing is, that I could go on forever and that´s why I decided to write this blog! I hope you´ll enjoy it!

Reisided aasta aega mööda maailma ja maitstes põnevaid roogasid erinevates riikides, hakkasin aina rohkem mõtlema Eesti toidu peale. Mulle ei meeldi, et meid teatakse, kui pelgalt verivorsti ja kaerakileriiki. Meil on nii palju võrratult maitsvat toorainet ja suurepäraseid roogasid, mis peaksid olema Eesti toidu esirinnas - maasikad, vaarikad, jõhvikad, mustikad, pohlad, ploomid, õunad, kirsid, pirnid, rabarberid, must leib, heeringas, kilu, või, kohupiim, hapukoor, kukeseened, puravikud, sealiha, kartul jne jne. Ja kõige selle hea ülistamiseks sündiski käesolev blogi. Kirjutan peamiselt inglise keeles, et ka muu maailm saaks teada, mida head meil siin pakkuda on. Aga püüan iga postituse ka eesti keeles kokku võtta. Esimesteks postitusteks on parimad Eesti köögi nopped minu eestikeelsest blogist What a Wonderful World, aga peagi hakkan lisama ka täiesti uusi kodumaiseid maitseid. Jätku leiba!