World Book Day

The boys school celebrated World Book Day today, now my boys aren't the biggest fan of dressing up, they don't mind if its for say a school play but other than that I do struggle to get them to dress up, today was one of those days I wished I had a little girl (lets face it they all love to dress up and have a wardrobe full of princess dressing up things!)

So at the beginning of the week I asked both boys if they wanted to dress up and they said no! I thought OK I wont pressure them if they don't want to then fair enough after all it wasn't compulsory. Last night they both decided that they did in fact want to dress up - you can probably imagine my look of horror at the thought of trying to find them both costumes last minute. Luckily we had a Very Hungry Caterpillar outfit from a ugly bug ball that Callum attended a few years ago in school so Nathan said he'd like to wear that - phew that was one down.

So off to Asda we trekked in search of a costume for Callum, they didn't have a lot of choice left so he decided it would be the Dragon outfit as Buzz Lightyear was in Callum's opinion for babies - signs my little boy is growing up I guess.

We did have a few tears and tantrums this morning from Nathan but in the end he said he would go dressed up! Callum was really happy to dress up as he thought he looked cool as a dragon - isn't it amazing how quickly they change their minds!!

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Estonian recipes: fried pork escalopes in marinade

I'm thrilled to share another wonderful Estonian dish with you - fried pork slices in marinade, served cold. It's been a popular dish on various buffét tables for many decades, and as it can be made ahead - and it keeps well in the fridge - it's a useful recipe to have in your repertoire. You can eat it alongside a traditional potato salad, or perhaps on a slice of good dark rye bread - remember, it's a cold dish.

I've used pork shoulder (kaelakarbonaad) for making this, but you could also use any other soft boneless cut.

Fried pork in marinade
(Praetud sealiha marinaadis)
Serves 10 to 12

1 kg boneless pork (blade shoulder, Boston butt, loin)
a scant cup of all-purpose flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 large eggs, lightly whisked
oil, for frying

Marinade:
1.5 litres water
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 onions, peeled, halved and sliced
10 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1.5 Tbsp sugar
1.5 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp vinegar (30%)

Cut the pork into 1 cm slices, across the grain. Place the meat between two sheets of cling film or parchment paper. Using a mallet or a rolling pin, pound the meat on both sides until it forms a thin escalope. Cut each escalope into smaller pieces, about 4x5 cm in size.
Season the flour with salt and pepper, dip the meat pieces into flour and then into whisked egg.
Heat the oil on a frying pan over moderate heat. Fry the meat slices until golden brown on both sides and cooked through. Remove from the pan and transfer into a bowl and let cool.

Now make the marinade. Place all the ingredients - apart from the vinegar - into a small saucepan and bring into a boil. Simmer gently, until the carrot slices are al dente (crisp). Remove from the heat, add the vinegar, and let cool.

Pour the marinade over the meat slices. Cover and let stand for at least 24 hours before serving.

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A House Full of Germs Anyone...

Last week was the half term holiday from hell. Not because the weather was awful and we were stuck in the house, not because Matthew was on days and worked most of the holiday and not because the boys played up for me (infact they behaved really well). Oh no the reason for the school holiday from hell was due to everyone in the house being poorly.

I had the flu for the first time ever and it was every bit as nasty as I had imagined it to be. My dad used to say you if you've got the flu you know about it and boy is that saying true. I have to say its amazing how many people you hear saying "oh I've got the flu" but from my recent experience if you have the flu you cant do anything let alone be out shopping in town or out drinking with friends. At first I was confined to the bedroom and then the sofa, I couldn't move far from them at all. I think I'm now over the worst of it and been left with a silly cough that won't go away. On the plus side of being ill (if there ever is one) is that I lost 7lb in weight. Im hoping this will stay off but well see once I'm back to eating properly once my sore throat and cough has cleared off.

All 3 boys have had colds and coughs too, and been very quiet all holiday (not exactly how children should be during their holidays) they've hardly eaten or slept, its been a really long week for us. We had 4 days of PJ days which is unheard of in our house unless its Xmas or someone's birthday - even then were only in our PJs till mid morning, its been nice in some ways as its meant we've snuggled together under duvets and when we've felt up to it watched films or played on the Wii. 

Matthew has also been poorly with Laryngitis too - its been peaceful but I'd like to be able to have a proper conversation with him again soon. Our house is full of germs and they have

I can't wait until the boys break up for Easter it seems we've wasted the full week being poorly - not that it could be helped it just seems a shame as we had so many things planned and wanted a day out or two. I'm hoping Easter is less dramatic especially as its Callum's 7th birthday the weekend before and were hoping to plan him  birthday party or a day out with some friends plus Joshua ( Matthew's little boy will hopefully be coming to stay with us) - so please please keep your fingers crossed that we have no dramas in April - I just don't think we'd cope!

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Estonian recipes: Barley with Smoked Pork (vastlapuder)

February 2012

It's Shrove Tuesday today, and I'm sharing a traditional Estonian Shrove Tuesday recipe with you. You'll need exactly three ingredients - pearl barley, smoked pork and water (and some salt to taste, if necessary). Cheap, simple, filling, flavoursome, and surprisingly delicious :)

You'll need a good chunk of smoked pork - ribs are perfect, though I've often used a fattier smoked cheek. This particular piece of meat is called maasuitsuribi (country-smoked ribs) in Estonian:



Note that this porridge reheats rather well - just slowly warm it until piping hot on your frying pan. I like to serve this with some sour cream.

Barley Porridge with Smoked Pork
(Vastlapuder)
Serves four to six



200 g smoked pork (rib, cheek or thickly cut bacon)
175 g pearl barley, rinsed and drained
1 l boiling water
salt, to taste

Cut the smoked pork into dice:



Fry the pork cubes in a heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, until browned and slightly crispened. (Drain off the excess oil, if necessary - various cuts of pork are rather different. Leave about a tablespoon or two of pork fat).
Add the pearl barley and sauté for about a minute, stirring.
Add the boiling water. Reduce heat, cover the pan with a lid. Simmer on a low heat for about an hour, stirring couple of times, until the barley is just ever so lightly al dente (you don't want it to go too mushy).
Taste for seasoning, add some salt, if necessary.


February 2008

MORE DELICIOUS SHROVE TUESDAY RECIPES @ NAMI-NAMI:
Yellow split pea soup with smoked pork
Traditional lenten buns
Lenten buns with raspberries and marzipan
Chocolate-y lenten buns

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Cover Girl

Not sure how that happened and why, but in January I was approached by the Pere ja Kodu ("Family and Home"), the biggest family magazine published in Estonia. They asked if I'd be willing to be interviewed for the cover story of their February issue. I must admit I was pretty baffled - me? I know that my Estonian recipe site is popular (I get about 3000 unique visitors each day), that the two cookbooks have done well, that my regular monthly recipe column in Postimees, my one-week stint cooking on the breakfast show at the national television (I'll blog about that soon, promise!), and numerous radio interviews mean that many people would recognise the Nami-Nami name quite well. Still, cooking and writing about the food is something I do in the privacy and intimacy of my own home, for my close friends and dear family, so it's sometimes hard to comprehend that it's actually not so private and intimate after all.

A three-hour interview with a lovely journalist and two photo-shoots with an even lovelier photographer resulted in a nice long article and some pretty glamorous family photos :) The article doesn't talk about cooking as such. Instead it focuses on balancing family life, academic career and my cooking hobby; on my attempts to involve kids in the cooking process and developing a healthy relationship to food and eating; on baby-led weaning (a topic very close to my heart); on keeping and sustaining family harmony (of a kind that's possible with two tiny lively kids); and on my appreciation of the Estonian social welfare system that lets me stay at home for about 18 months with each kid (keeping my full salary).

So if you read Estonian, and want to learn more about all that, go to your nearest newspaper stand and get the February 2012 issue of Pere and Kodu :)

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Octonauts 4 in a Box Jigsaw Puzzle

The boys were recently sent their second puzzle from Ravensburger. This month they were sent The Octonauts 4 in a Box Jigsaw Puzzle! The puzzles include images of four characters including Barnacles, Kwazii and Peso. 

Each puzzle has a different coloured border, this is great as it helps young children with sorting the puzzle pieces. Nathan found the puzzles easy to complete because he could see which pieces belonged to each of the four puzzles. It also helped him to see which way the pieces need to be to complete the puzzle. His favourite character is Peso the penguin so he said he wanted to try this one first. This jigsaw has 20 pieces so one of the bigger puzzles. I thought he would struggle but he really surprised me how well he managed to find all the edge pieces and put them in their places, the only help he needed from me was to find the middle pieces out of the box. As Callum is older than Nathan he had no trouble with any of the puzzles or finding the pieces and was able to complete them really quickly. 

The boys found the puzzles easy to complete as the puzzles only had a few pieces each. The puzzles are 12, 16, 20 and 24 pieces, meaning they are ideal for use within a family with different aged children (such as my own). The finished puzzles are 19 x 14cm when complete.

The puzzles are suitable for children aged 3+ and priced at £5.99, they can be purchased from all good toy shops and retailers. We highly recommend Ravensburger puzzles, they are made from good quality materials and the pieces fit well together even when played with over and over. These are definitely puzzles made to last.

We cant wait to see which puzzle we will be reviewing next month.

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Estonian recipes: Condensed Milk Cookies (kondenspiimaküpsised)

I'm continuing with sharing Estonian recipes with you this month, in anticipation of the national holiday later this month. Here's a small baking project for the weekend - small, delicious and crispy-tender condensed milk cookies. The recipe is adapted from a classic Estonian cookbook "Valik toiduretsepte" (the 1974 edition), where they're called simply "milk cookies". The sweetened condensed milk gives those cookies not only a desired sweetness, but also a slight dulce de leche flavour, which I find very appealing.

Condensed Milk Cookies
(Kondenspiimaküpsised)

250 g all-purpose/plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
150 g cold butter, cubed
175 g sweetened condensed milk
2-3 Tbsp water

a small egg whisked with some water, for brushing

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla sugar) in a bowl, then add the cold cubed butter. Using a knife, cut the butter into the flour mixture, until it resembed wet crumbs. Now add the condensed milk and using your hands, knead into a ball (you may not need the water at all).
Place the dough into the fridge for half an hour, so the gluten can relax a little.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until 3-4 mm thick (1/8th of an inch). Cut into shapes (I cut into diamonds, using a roller cutter).
Transfer the cookies into a lined baking sheet and brush with an egg wash.
Bake in a preheated 200 C / 400 F oven until light golden brown.

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Estonian recipes: Cocoa Cake with Sour Cream (Kräsupea)

This popped into my mailbox yesterday:

Manu has left a new comment on your post "Tapas, Estonian style":

Hi,
My name is Manu and I`m looking for a estonian cake recipe... the problem is I don`t know the cake`s name, but it is a chocolate cake,with peaces of sponge cake with french cream.
Do you know any thing similar???
I just love this cake, I will be so thankful if you could help me.
Thanks!!!

After a moment of confusion, it hit me - Kräsupea, which translates as (someone with) curly hair, though "microphone hair" wouldn't be all wrong either! It's an ever-popular cake on children's birthdays, and I've made it for my two nephews on countless occasions. I don't know the exact origins of the cake, but it's been popular in Estonia since late 1980s or so.

Estonian cocoa and sour cream cake
(Kräsupea)
Serves about 16



The sponge cakes:
4 large eggs
340 g caster sugar (400 ml)
360 g all-purpose flour (600 ml)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
400 g sour cream

ALSO:
3 Tbsp cocoa powder

Cream:
1 kg sour cream

Glaze:
100 g butter
2 Tbsp fresh cream
3 Tbsp caster sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F. Line a small baking sheet (a Swiss roll tin is excellent) with a parchment paper, and line a 24 cm springform tin also with parchment paper.
Whisk the eggs, sugar, flour, soda and sour cream until combined. Quickly pour about 2/3 of the mixture onto a small baking sheet.
Now add the cocoa powder to the rest of the mixture, and then pour that into the lined round cake tin.
Place both of the baking tins into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown (test for doneness with a toothpick - it should come out clean).
Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
Place the dark cake on a cake tray, spread with a thick layer of sour cream.
Cut the light cake into large cubes, then mix gently with the rest of the sour cream - you don't want to break up the cake cubes. Pile that mixture of cake cubes and sour cream on top of the cocoa base - whether you want a dome or something flatter, is up to you.
To make the glaze, gently melt the butter, pour in the cream, cocoa and sugar. Stir until smooth and then drizzle over the cake. (This is the traditional "chocolate glaze" of the 1980s and 1990s, when proper chocolate was hard to come by. Feel free to substitute with proper melted chocolate glaze).

Leave to stand in the fridge or cool place for about 12 hours before serving.

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Estonian recipes: Alexander cake (Aleksandrikook)

Alexander cake, March 2011, dyed with sea-buckthorn juice concentrate

I'm dedicating February to various Estonian recipes, so if you've travelled to Estonia and want a specific recipe or two, let me know. Aleksandrikook aka Alexander cake has been requested here on Nami-Nami on several occasions, so it's about time to listen to my dear readers and post a recipe :)

To start with, Alexander cake is not actually Estonian in its origin, even though it's rather popular here and found in many traditional coffee and pastry shops. Our Nordic neighbours, Finns, claim the cake as their own. But then I've even come across recipes for Alexander cake in Latvian cookbooks, so it's popular in all over the North-Eastern corner of Europe.

Apparently its history goes back to 1814 or 1818, depending on your sources, when Alexander I of Russia, the reigning czar, visited Helsinki, and was served this concoction on his birthday. The cake is mentioned in Kullo manor's ledger books from 1819-1821. By 1850s, the cakes were sold in Café Ekberg (they still are, gorgeously pink in colour and sandwiched with apple spread).

In principle, it's a simple cake. Two layers of shorcrust pastry, sandwiched with thick raspberry (or other) jam, and topped with simple icing. However, as one talented Estonian food blogger has written somewhere, it's actually a tricky cake to do well. First, it's important not to overmix the pastry, as it won't have the right texture. It's important to roll out the pastry evenly, as otherwise it won't bake evenly. To lift one cake layer on top of the other is tricky as well - if you're unlucky, it'll break apart. If you're making this in a cafeteria, then you'll need to cut perfectly even-sized rectangles, and the glaze needs to be pretty and pink (or cocoa-brown, if you're opting for the cocoa glaze).

NOTE: this should be baked and put together a day before serving, otherwise it'll be too dry and crumbly!


Alexander cake, September 2009, dyed with fresh black aronia juice and white chocolate

I've included some links to Estonian and Finnish foodbloggers that have written about the cake - you'll find them at the end of this post.

Alexander cake
(Aleksandrikook)
Cuts into 12 rectangles


Alexander cake, March 2011, dyed with sea-buckthorn juice concentrate

Pastry layers:
125 g caster sugar (150 ml)
300 g all-purpose flour (500 ml, about 2 cups)
1 tsp baking powder
200 g butter, at room temperature
1 egg

Filling:
250 ml (1 cup) thick raspberry jam

Glaze:
250 g icing sugar/confectioners sugar (about 400 ml)
3-4 Tbsp raspberry or black aronia juice

Make the pastry by mixing all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the butter, and using your fingers for mixing, mix until you've got large crumbs. Add the egg and quickly mix the pastry until it comes together.
Take a parchment paper that fits your baking sheet. Place the pastry on top of the paper and using a slightly floured rolling pin, roll the pastry to fit the baking sheet.
Bake in a preheated 175C/350F oven until dry and light golden brown (about 20 minutes).
Take out from the oven, and cut into two even-sized rectangles (the final cake will be half the size of your baking sheet). Cool lightly.*
Spread the jam over one shortcake base. Then very carefully lift the other shortcake layer on top of the one covered with jam.
Cut into squares (but don't separate the pieces) and leave to cool completely.
Make the glaze by mixing some colourful juice into the icing sugar until you've got a runny sugar glaze. Pour and spread that over the cake pieces and leave to set.

* Note that there is an alternative way of baking this cake - you'll sandwich two shortcake layers together with jam BEFORE baking (obviously you'll need to bake it a bit longer then). I've never tried this version.


Alexander cake, March 2011, dyed with sea-buckthorn juice concentrate

Fancy more? Here are some links to other foodbloggers' posts about Alexander cake - these give you a good idea about the different ways of glazing the cake.

ESTONIAN BLOGGERS:
Aniitram (a classic cocoa frosting and white frosting, zigzag pattern), MARU (Estonian designer and food writer), Qsti, Ragne, Liina, Sille

FINNISH BLOGGERS:
Kinuskikissa (one of the most popular Finnish foodbloggers, she used a cappuccino-flavoured glaze), Jaana

LATVIAN BLOGGERS:
Zitinja

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