Avocado salad and tomato sauce.

A very old salad. Now with maybe a face lift in the shape of a tomato vinaigrette. This was a favourite little salad in our home right after my marriage. And at that stage and age it was delicious with a liberal drizzling of tomato sauce, better known as ketchup, bought straight from the supermarket shelf,  instead of a fancy vinaigrette. I don’t like tomato in a green salad, the two don’t marry well for me. But this is an exception. Maybe because it isn’t really a green salad. Or maybe it is the way it is served. Or maybe I’m only fooled by the play on words. That is what we do nowadays. A salad in the seventies would mean chopped tomatoes and green leaves with onion rings and  a dressing of vinegar and sugar.  Now we are still  not french and call our dressings vinaigrettes. Now we eat an “avocado salad with bacon topping”, Or “tomato salad with a drizzling of lemon juice”. A “green salad with roasted almonds”, “mesclun with truffle shavings”. So, do we still eat ketchup on our avocado salad…of course we do…in the secrecy of our kitchen!

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A tip to try: Never put tomatoes in the fridge, even in summer. Keep them in a cool place. The cold kills all flavour. To revive some of its flavour, leave for a few minutes in water…like salad, like carrots, like all vegetables in fact.

…old things become new…

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Cod with mushrooms and lingonberries, a Finnish experience.

I was in Helsinki for the past week. Arrived there while it was still snowing and I couldn’t have had a bigger gift! It was beautiful!

I can talk about Helsinki for a week and still more…suffice to say that I love the city and the people, their way of living, their love for their culture and traditions, including their food. They are creative, elegant, individual, all the while being gay in their welcoming. It was an enriching experience and one I hope to repeat.

I have enjoyed the most delicious meals, all fish and I felt great, even though they love their creams and butters and potatoes, but their portions are small, their food is extremely healthy and flavourful and a feast for the eye.

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The first night I had cod with roasted sweet peppers on pureéd potatoes at The Fishmarket which was beyond wonderful. So back here at home, with my spirit still high up in the north with it’s snow and lights, I created the following: some cod again, with mushrooms and cranberries(wanted lingonberries, but I couldn’t find any).  The clean flavour of fresh cod, with the aroma of dill, the bite of finely chopped red onions and the tartness of the berries turned a simple meal into a a gastronomic experience. Typically Finnish.

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…helsinki in the snow…helsinki2-11-24-2008-8-30-57-pm1

…lutheran cathedral on senate square…

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…uspensky orthodox cathedral…helsinki6-11-26-2008-9-29-42-am

…winter wonderland on pohjoisesplanadi…helsinki3-11-24-2008-8-32-16-pm

…some colour on a grey sea…helsinki8-11-26-2008-1-31-02-pm

…in the distance…helsinki10-11-26-2008-1-31-56-pm

…in the icebar…helsinki9-11-26-2008-8-52-26-pm