it must have been magic bread yesterday, because today was pure, blinding sunshine.

remember the golden beets i fermented last fall? these sauerstern are amazing, juniperberries and coriander seeds were absolutely the best spice combination and they are so crunchy and tasty and just a bit reminiscent of gin... come to think of it, these stars would be cute in cocktails. today they saved my cauliflower and chickpea curry from looking boring and bland despite the monochrome palette.

these are sugar coated chocolate eggs but don't they look just like the real thing? i bought a dozen, of which these three still survive. i don't think they will have time to produce any chocolate birds, either...

i had a bout of crocheting and made a grey miniskirt (or butt warmer, if you wish) and a pair of socks, the latter after a pattern in a japanese book called something like 'cute crocheted small goods' (ISBN 978-4-8347-2617-6). the instructions were for a chunkier yarn, so i ended up with socks just a tad too small, but the heel is very forgiving. there is a bit of bagging at the front where the foot bends unless you tiptoe around all the time (or wear them with high heels...) the lace on the cuff was a pleasant one to work and i think i want to use it on some sleeves later in a different yarn. i'm sure i will also crochet at least one more pair of these socks in the 'donegal tweed' wool i bought in ireland and maybe felt them just so, for extra warmth.

by and large, i'm not a very sunshiny person, but when it keeps on raining week after week and blue skies are a distant memory, i find myself baking stuff like this scone with a goat's cheese sun on top. not everyone would call these scones, i don't think, and my finnish word for it is teeleipä (tea bread). it's a quick bake and baking powder is used to raise the dough, but it's flat and crumbly and delicious.

i think this was the first thing we ever made in home ec at school and i've been loving them ever since. nowadays i tweak the recipe gluten-free, but i've always played with it, adding spices and trying different flours. today i put in paprika, sesame seeds, quinoa flakes, dried cep powder, grated parmigiano cheese and honey. i used mostly rice flour and i love the crunch it gives to the bread. i also add a good pinch of psyllium in powder form to hold everything together, but if using wheat it's unnecessary.

 

TEELEIPÄ (4 small ones)

2 dl flour
2 dl other kind of flour (or any combination that works)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar (or a squirt of runny honey)
½ tsp salt
½ dl oil (any vegetable oil will do)
2 dl milk (nut milks and even plain water works fine)

mix all dry incredients, add oil and milk on top and blend by hand until combined. the consistency of the dough can vary but it won't effect the end result much. form flat breads on a baking sheet (if you end up with more of a batter than dough, just pour a puddle and make a single bread instead), pierce with a fork a few times if you like and bake for 15 minutes or until golden in 175-200°C. best served fresh from the oven.

for the past few days, snow has been playing a game. it falls in the guise of darkness. as i glance out of the window at night, it lays there, contently. in the morning it is gone, hiding all day until it crawls out again in the evening, spreading across the lawn, sprawling, smiling. i don't know what to make of this winter.

in the daytime, the light is too spring-like. it's still february!

during these snowless days i have been pruning away in the garden. i cut some alder branches with antique blue buds for the vase. that colour never ceases to captivate me, i find myself gazing deep into it sometimes, lost in thoughtless amazement.

another fantastic blue is that of my new fjällräven parka. i love it to bits, especially all the pockets. it was discounted to the point where i had no choice but to buy, even though i couldn't exactly afford to... so i dug into my savings account a little, but i trust that i will get a lot of wear from this garment, i don't think i will outgrow it... and it just makes me happy whenever i put it on. maybe that sounds superficial, but i don't think it is, because i feel it so deeply.

it's awfully un-wintery here. all the little birds have gone berserk thinking it's springtime already. it's not, though, not quite yet. although with seasons like these, all bets are off. i have a lot of seeds to start, so it would be nice to have some sunshine to keep the seedlings from growing lanky and pale. cold weather equals clear skies so that's what i'm still hoping for...

i also hope that, in general, the weather would just calm the **** down. extreme is so last year.