Etanapiiraat sieni-aurajuustotäytteellä

Etanat? "Hyi olkoon". Näin ainakin ajattelee suurin osa ihmisistä. Minulta on joskus kysytty miltä etanat maistuvat. Makua on vaikea tarkalleen määrittää. Se on sekoitus kanaa ja jotain muuta. Rakenteeltahan kypsä etana muistuttaa rapua tai kauan kypsytettyä lihaa. Itse olen syönyt etanoita lapsesta asti ja pidän niistä kovasti.

Tässä ohje jonka alunperin otin jostain vanhasta lehdestä, mutta olen ajan saatossa muuttanut sen omanlaisekseni.

Resepti  9 piiraaseen

250g (3 levyä) voitaikinaa
1 rkl voita
1 purkki etanoita(n.200g)
kourallinen herkkusieniä
1 iso valkosipulinkynsi
50g Aurajuustoa
oreganoa
pippuria

1 kananmuna
seesaminsiemeniä

1.  Sulata voitaikinalevyt huoneenlämmössä. Tässä kestää noin tunti.
2. Sulattamisen jälkeen laita uuni lämpenemään 225 asteeseen.
3.  Avaa etanapurkki, valuta etanat ja huuhtaiset nopeasti kylmässä vedessä. Painele etanat kuivaksi talouspaperilla.
4.  Pilko etanat sekä herkkusienet pieneksi.
5.  Pilko valkosipuli.
6. Kuumenna paistinpannu ja laita voi sinne.
7. Paista sienet ja etanat. Parin minuutin jälkeen lisää valkosipuli, aurajuusto,oregano sekä pippuri.Sekoita kunnes massa on sekaisin ja aurajuusto hiukan sulanut. Laita pannu sivuun jäähtymään.
8. Kauli jokainen voitaikinalevy hiukan ohuemmaksi. Tämän jälkeen leikka jokainen levy 3 osaan, eli tämän jälkeen sinulla on 9 pientä levyä.
9. Lisää jokaiselle levylle 1 ruokalusikallinen täytettä allaolevan kuvan mukaisesti

11. Taita voitaikina kaksinkerroin ja painele reunat kiinni. Sormien kastaminen veteen auttaa pitämään reunat tiukemmin kiinni.

12. Voitele piiraat munalla. Tämän jälkeen kaada hiukan seesaminsiemeniä jokaisen piiraan päälle.

13. Laita valmiit piiraat  uunipellille ja uuniin noin 10 minuutiksi (225c. Piiraat ovat valmiit kun ne ovat saaneet kullanruskean värin. 

- Anne

Girly home decor stuff

I can't believe it's actually November. It feels like it was just a month ago when I came back from Toronto, but it's actually been almost 6 months... I hate the fact that the summer in Finland was awful this year! Just a few decent sunny days. I'm happy that I get to travel to Asia in about a month, there it will be at least 30 degrees celsius :) Anyways, it's getting cold, winter is on it's way and I always find myself buying a lot of candles and other decor stuff when this happens. Candles make it seem like it's actually not that dark and miserable :)

 I fell in love with this owl candle immediately when I saw it on a shelf in Stockmann. I've loved owls since I was  6 months old and got my first stuffed toy. It was, surprise,surprise, an owl :) The candle is actually so cute that i don't necessarily want to burn it. But hey, it serves nicely as a decoration too.

Both of the supergirly flower candles are by Pentik.

I was really happy to find this heart-shaped metal "thing" from Sokos for about 15 euros. I don't know what it's really meant for, but it's a perfect earring holder. Before, I kept my earrings in a tiny box and it was always very tricky to quickly get the right pair out. The holder is super light. If you wanted, it would probably be pretty easy to make a similar earringholder from wire.

- Anne

Chewy Oatmeal raisin cookies

I've never been a real fan of cookies, but Double stuf Oreos and oatmeal raisin cookies are just delicious. I've never made "American" style cookies before, but I looked at some recipes online and changed them a bit. The cookies ended up being just what I wanted; with a hint of cinnamon and a bit chewy and soft in the middle. The best part when making these was the incredible smell that filled the whole apartment!The cookies are quite sweet, so just one cookie can definitely take away any craving for something sweet :)

Recipe for About 15 large Cookies

4,5 dl wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1,5 teaspoons salt

1,5 dl oatmeals

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

2 dl raisins

50g butter

3 eggs

2,5dl brown sugar(I used cane sugar) 

2,5dl white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

You'll also need: 

2 bowls

A coffee mug

A baking tray 

Baking paper

1.  Preheat the oven to 175 celsius

2. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, oatmeals and raisins in a bowl.

3. Melt the butter in the microwave for about 10 seconds in the coffee mug so that it get softer. 

Put the butter, eggs, and sugars in another bowl. After this, Using a hand mixer mix the ingredients until mixture turns into a cream. It should be lighter in colour and have bubbles in it. 

4. Mix the remaining ingredients into the cream. Now the cookie dough is ready.

5. Now it's time to make meatball sized "balls" out of the dough. This is easier if hands are a bit wet.

6. Don't put the cookie balls too close to eachother. Otherwise they will stick together in the oven. Put About 10 cookies per tray.

7. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes in 175 celsius. They need to have a golden brown colour.

8. Let the cookies cool for about an hour. They will taste better.

A perfect treat for a chilly sunday :)

Spinach Mushroom Sandwich

This is a super quick lunch solution.The sandwich is vegetarian, the taste is great and it has many vitamins! If you want to make it vegan, just use soy  or coconut cream instead of regular cream.

Spinach Mushroom Sandwich Recipe 
(for 1)

A big handful of Spinach leaves
About 4 small mushrooms ( e.g Shiitake)
2-3 tablespoons cream
1 garlic clove
Olive oil
Pepper and Salt
A slice of rustic bread

1.Wash the spinach and mushrooms. Cut into smaller pieces.
2. Crush and cut the garlic clove.
3. Heat a frying pan. Add olive oil and garlic when heated.
4. Add the spinach and mushrooms. Fry for a few minutes until spinach has "shrinken"
5. Add the cream, salt and pepper and stir. Let the mixture cook for about 1 minute.
6. Put the mixture on the slice of bread, and you're finished!

Pink Tip Nails with dots

Here's something fun I did today, Pink tip nails with dots. Here's what you'll need:

1. A base nail polish. This makes sure the other coats stay on longer. Apply 1 coat.

2. A Shimmery light pink nail polish for the whole nail.

3. A bright pink polish for the nail tips.

4. A black and white nail art pen. These are so nice and easy to use. If you don't happen to have a nail art pen, you can use basic acrylic paint and a small paint brush. You just need to make sure that you apply a top coat to make the acrylic paint waterproof!

Hope you have fun painting your nails ;) 

- Anne

Going crazy for peplum dresses!

Today I finally got to order some new clothes from www.asos.com.

It's good that I didn't place the order earlier as now the sales products are crazy cheap! I love the fact about Asos that they have so many different brands. The prices range from cheap to expensive so that everyone can find something for themselves. This is not advertising, just my personal opinion :)

I've been craving a peplum dress and tops for a few weeks now. I have a few already but the ones in Asos are just so damn cute! The good thing about peplum cut clothes is that they are really figure flattering if you choose the right model for your body type. They make your waist look very small but still cover up that unwanted tummy bump. E.g. if you have a bigger upper body you might want to choose a V-neck cut or a cut that gives you a little bit of cleavage. I bought this one:

 I also ended up buying the trousers. I've been looking at them online for so long. Besides, they look pretty cute with a black top. I know I'm a bit late when it comes to wearing floral print, but I don't care. I heard that there are still going to be some hot days here in Finland so... I still don't know if they will look good or just plain ridicuolous on me, so I might cut them into shorts and glue some studs on them.

The mint dress I already ordered, but it might be that in a few weeks I might buy the white one as well. It would look great with my hot pink clutch.

This red Marilyn Monroe-type dress would be a dream come true and perfect for e.g. Christmas parties! I know it's pretty early to think about Christmas, but hey, you always have to have a good reason for buying a cute dress that you really can't afford at the moment  ;)

- Anne

Coffee with my Boyfriend's Parents

My boyfriend's parents stopped by for coffee a few days ago to catch up after out America trip. We had a nice visit and  we looked through some of our pictures from NYC. Here is a photo of the table. I made a simple Greek Pasta Salad and I had brought some pastries home from the cafe where I work. I served them on this three tiered serving dish from Ikea, i think it cost about 14euros. These types of serving dishes are great for a little "wow" factor and also save a lot of space at the table.

I also put together a simple cheese plate with brie, blue cheese and gouda. They were served with water crackers and sliced french bread. I added some red grapes to fill up the plate. I though we could use the left over blue cheese to make a chicken recipe for dinner (I will post that recipe soon) and the gouda and french bread we could use for sandwiches and any left over brie is a yummy snack. Cheese plates can get pricey but since we only got three super market cheeses and planned to use them for future meals I thought it was really affordable. And of course since we're in Finland we served coffee as well. Needless to say everyone was stuffed by the end of the visit. Below is the recipe for the Greek Pasta Salad.

Greek Pasta Salad

1 bag of al dente cooked spiral pasta

2-4 tablespoons olive oil (add more oil if the pasta salad seems sticky)

1 1/2 dl cubed Feta (I normally just buy a package of Feta in oil with herbs that are normally used for salads. Use the entire package in the pasta. If you do this then you don't have to add any extra oil or herbs other than salt and pepper)

1 small jar of black olives

Half a red bell pepper finely chopped

1 dl chopped pepperoni

1 dl chopped cherry tomatoes

Sprinkle of oregano

Sprinkle of basil

Salt and pepper to taste

1.) Cook the pasta as instructed until al dente. Drain and rinse. Pour into a large bowl.

2.) Add olive oil and feta. If you're using a feta in oil salad package add the entire package.Mix well.

3.) Add olives, red bell pepper, chopped pepperoni, chopper cherry tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt and pepper and mix well. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve chilled. Enjoy!

- Tina