The point of this post is to share a recipe for a mushroom soup. (Let the destination be established before the discourse takes its meandering route.)

The point of this post is to share a recipe for a mushroom soup. (Let the destination be established before the discourse takes its meandering route.)

It is March in Florida and (as if someone had flipped a switch) the daytime highs have jumped to 80′s (25-30°C).

Apart from the temperature, you can not tell the difference between winter and summer; you just notice that the live oaks look greener and have more leaves in them.

This makes me nostalgic for the times when summer was a really big deal and its arrival was a celebration.

I grew up in Finland and there the arrival of summer brought with it the “time of plenty”.

The farmers’ markets would have tiny little potatoes that you could cook without peeling them first; carrots, radishes, and other root vegetables with their stems still on; cultivated strawberries, wild blueberries and mushrooms and – my personal favorite – peas still in their pods.

All this before “think globally, eat locally” was a known slogan.

Finns get to take a whole month off during summer (in addition to couple of weeks during the rest of the year). So I have fond memories of going to the farmers’ markets with my mother and another thing we used to do is take all the rugs in the house and wash them in a body of water close by. All the floors were made of wood and my mother had weaved most of the rugs herself on a loom. (Damn! How wholesome was my childhood!!)

The rugs were taken to the closest body of water, dipped in the lake or sea and then a pine-based soap bar was applied to the rugs before rinsing them off.

Another summer routine was going to the woods to pick berries and mushrooms. The world’s oldest profession – really: gathering.

Going to the woods to pick mushrooms and berries was a national pastime and as much of a part of life as – say, Thanksgiving Friday shopping is in the US.

We would pick chanterelles and their close cousins, suppilovahvero (or trattkantarell, Cantharellus tubaeformis), porcinis, and other mushrooms I could not find English names for.

The blueberries grew in wild as tiny bushes close to the ground. We would also pick lingonberries (similar to cranberries) and sometimes cranberries growing wild in the bogs.

If you got lucky, you found a batch of wild strawberries; minuscule in size compared to their cultivated counterparts but packing twice the flavor.

So, back to the point of this post; the recipe: This is a soup made of mushrooms. Every once in awhile I receive a treasured package of dried suppilovahvero from Finland and have the pleasure of turning it into a soup. But this recipe can still work for you without those Finnish supply lines; just buy some dried chanterelles (or porcinis, etc.). Another thing about this recipe is that it is all about “abouts”, “eyeball it”, approximate it. The ratio of dried/fresh mushrooms can be changed up to the point where all mushrooms are dried. I don’t recommend, however, using all fresh mushrooms as the dried seem to pack more flavor and should therefore be included, ALWAYS. I often make this soup in the slow cooker but no reason to make it on the stow-top in a Dutch oven type of dish… It might actually be easier as you have to sauté ingredients on the stove top at first anyway and then add to the slow cooker insert. When cooking on the stove-top, just add liquids and let simmer.

You need

§       3 TBSP of butter

§       2 onions

§       4 cloves of garlic (more or less according to taste)

§       Minimum of ½ oz. dried mushrooms (chanterelles, porcinis, etc.)

§       Minimum of ½ lb fresh mushrooms, such as shitake, portobellos

§       4 cups of broth (vegetable, beef, chicken)

§       1 cup of dry red wine

§       Ground black pepper

§       Salt

§       Thyme (optional)

§       Bay leaf (optional)

§       Scallion (optional)

§       Cheese; bleu or goat, (even cream cheese will do)

§       Cream, about 1 cup

Re-constitute the dried mushrooms by pouring about 2 cups of hot water on them. After about 30 minutes drain the mushrooms preserving the liquid.

Sauté chopped onions, fresh mushrooms, and garlic in about 1-2 TBSP of butter. Place in slow cooker insert (if using).

Sauté drained dried mushrooms in about 1 TBSP of butter. Place in slow cooker insert (if using); proceed with adding the broth, wine, salt, and pepper; bay leaf and thyme.

Cook 3 to 4 hours on high if using the slow cooker; about 45 minutes on the stove top. Towards the end of the cooking time add the cheese and the cream.

 

Roasting the ingredients for salsa gives it such a great flavor. Where I live I am able to use the grill outdoors year round but if this is not the case in your neck of the woods roasting the ingredients under your oven burner is also an option.

A grill basket or skillet is best for this purpose, but I suppose you could use skewers to keep your vegetables from falling on the flames.

Below are the main ingredients which are all roasted.

§       7 – 10 Roma tomatoes

§       4 – 6 tomatillos

§       3 – 5 jalapeños

§       1 onion, cut in thick slices

§       2 – 5 cloves of garlic, peeled

To finish the salsa in food processor after the above have been roasted, you will also need

§       2 tablespoons of cider vinegar

§       1 teaspoon Kosher salt

§       Bunch of fresh cilantro

Wash and dry the tomatoes, tomatillos and jalapeños. Toss in vegetable oil or use oil spray to coat. Coat the sliced onion and garlic cloves in oil also.

Grill or roast the tomatoes and tomatillos until they are soft and their flesh is close to a boiling point. Separately grill the jalapeño peppers until their skin will turn black.  

When finished, remove vegetables from flame and set aside in covered bowl.

Roast the sliced onion and peeled garlic cloves separately as they cook faster than other ingredients. You want them soft, with some black grill marks. Move away from the heat and add to the bowl with tomatoes, tomatillos, and peppers.

Separate the jalapeños from the rest of the ingredients and remove their stems. Seeds are the source of peppers’ heat so at this point you can control the heat of your salsa by removing all seeds for milder salsa. For a hot (or hotter!) salsa, leave most – or all seeds in place. (Wear gloves while removing the seeds, or at least take care not to touch your face after handling the peppers.)

Place peppers in a food processor and add rest of the ingredients including salt, cilantro leaves and cider vinegar. Blend briefly; leaving the texture rather coarse. Check the taste and adjust flavors if necessary.

Roasted salsa has a pretty long “shelf life” and will keep in your fridge for at least a week – (not that leftovers are usually an issue).

I find that watching fish is very relaxing and entertaining and beats most network and cable programming out there, so I thought I’d share some points on how to create your own outdoors “mini” fish pond and maintain it.  

This is from one amateur to another since I have only had mine for six months and I am still learning the ropes myself. There’s some good literature out there for further reading; I will provide some titles below. Also note that the following applies to my home state Florida’s subtropical climate. Anywhere further up North you will have to think of an indoors living arrangement for the fish during winter months. This is also written with the goldfish in mind but other fish species suitable for similar conditions have been listed in the end of this post.

The three full grown goldfish I have were given to me by a friend whose aquarium they had overgrown. Their new home is a ceramic bowl roughly 2 ft. wide, 1′ deep (60 x 30 cm); holding about 15 gallons (60 liters) of water.

This VESSEL especially made for water gardening I found in a nearby nursery. It may prove out to be difficult to find a large container without holes in it but it is possible to patch the drainage holes in any piece of pottery to make it waterproof. (You can ask your pottery dealer for advice; during my search for a container I found them to have expertise on this.)

In brief, just about any vessel can be made watertight (by using pond liner, for example), but you want it to hold at least 5 gallons very minimum; otherwise the water temperature will fluctuate too much. If you are crafty – unlike me – and have the tools and facilities for carpentry, you can also build a sort of raised flowerbed arrangement and bury your pre-formed pond (available in garden centers) into the soil.

AERATION of water is not only important for the well-being of the fish but the soothing sound of trickling water adds nice ambiance and the filter in connection with the pump keeps the water clean.

For mine, I bought a kit including the pump; filter sponge; filter housing, and a fountainhead with two nozzles: one creating bubble-shaped water feature, another trumpet shape. I let it run 24/7 except for the coldest nights when the fountain would only serve to chill the water even further.

LIVE PLANTS are important as oxygenators. They provide hiding places for the fish and shade from excessive sunlight. They are also important in establishing the nitrogen cycle (see http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html). Goldfish are actually bottom feeders and like to dig in the substrata, often uprooting the plants. I tried several types of plants in my pond but found Hornwort to be most successful as it doesn’t actually root itself into the substrata but merely floats in the water. It also grows fast quickly providing ample coverage for the fish.

Goldfish are okay in temperatures ranging from 50 to 80 °F (10 – 26 °C). According to the literature I have read they will survive temperatures below freezing as well for short periods provided they can hide deep enough in the water if ice forms in the surface.

Few nights in Florida go near freezing temperatures and when they do – not wanting to take any chances – I have turned the fountain off; covered my pond with plastic sheeting and turned on a submersible aquarium heater. (The one I have is not really meant for outdoors conditions but it has worked fine for me.)

As far as FEEDING I prefer little floating sticks, (for example Tetra Pond Koi Vibrance). Goldfish don’t have teeth or a stomach. Whatever they eat will have to be soft and easily digestible – this becomes an issue especially during the colder season when the fish body temperature drops along with the water temperature and their ability to digest food weakens. (You will know when this is happening when the fish waste becomes visible to the plain eye in a very short period of time and you will find yourself making more frequent water changes.) The above mentioned brand – among others – makes sticks formulated for the colder periods, mainly consisting of wheat germ.

Besides goldfish, there are other fish that are suitable for a container pond and that have a similar temperature tolerance range. They aren’t as readily available as the goldfish and I have no experience of these species (yet) – but anyway, here’s a list I’ve compiled:

Common name	Scientific name	Size	Temperature
American flagfish	Jordanella floridae	2″ / 5 cm	65 – 80 °F / 18 – 26 °C
Bitterling	Rhodeus amarus	4″ / 10 cm	65 – 80 °F / 18 – 26 °C
Blackstripe topminnow	Fundulus notatus	7.2″ / 18 cm	45 – 82 °F / 7 – 27 °C
Eastern mosquitofish	Gambusia holbrooki	2.5″ / 6.5 cm	45 – 80 °F / 7 – 26 °C
Fathead Minnow	Pimephales promelas	4″ / 10 cm	50 – 77 °F / 10 – 25 °C
Guppy	Poecilia reticulate	2.5″ / 6.5 cm	60 – 80 °F / 18 – 26 °C
Red Shiner	Cyprinella lutrensis	3 ½”  9 cm	50 – 77 °F / 10 – 25 °C
Rosy barb	Puntius conchonius	2.5″ / 6.5 cm	65 – 80 °F / 18 – 26 °C
Southern Red-Bellied Dace	Phoxinus erythrogaster	3 ½”  9 cm	50 – 77 °F / 10 – 25 °C
Western mosquitofish	Gambusia affinis	2.5″ / 6.5 cm	60 – 85 °F / 15 – 29 °C
White cloud minnow	Tanichthys albonubes	1.5″ / 4 cm	65 – 80 °F / 18 – 26 °C
Zebra danio	Brachydanio rerio	2.5″ / 6.5 cm	65 – 80 °F / 18 – 26 °C

Literature:

Container Garden Ponds by Derek Lambert.

© 2004 T.F.H. Publications, Inc.

Aquarium & Pond Fish by David Alderton.

© 2005, 2008 Dorling Kindersley Limited.

Links; goldfish:

http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Carassius_auratus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldfish 

Recently my husband & I started racing our 5-year old Jack Russell Terrier more frequently since the dog so obviously enjoys these events.

We’ve joined a club and found new friends and we enjoy these events too, even though the dog hardly ever wins anything and controlling him just before he’s ready to run his heat is a little like wrestling with a super strong midget wanting to run his race before the starter gun goes off.

This clip is from the latest race and our dog (Uncle Vanya) dons the yellow collar.

Pickled onions have been my favorite since childhood. Back then, store bought were okay but my standards have since heightened. So has the price of course, since peeling a pound of pearl onions is no picnic. This recipe takes some dedication.

§       1 lb of pearl onions; yellow, red or a combination

§       1 cup of water

§       1 cup of white wine vinegar

§       1 Tbsp of kosher salt

§       2 Tbsp of sugar

§       1 tsp coriander seeds

§       1 tsp mustard seeds

§       1 tsp fennel seeds

§       4 – 5 whole peppercorns

§       2 cloves of garlic, peeled

§       Fresh fennel fronds (optional)

Dip the onions in boiling water for a minute or two to make the peels come off easier. Combine water, vinegar, spices and aromatics (except for the fennel fronds).

Bring to a boil and add the onions. Simmer covered for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat and let the onions cool down (still covered). Pour into a jar adding a fennel frond (if using). Refrigerate overnight. This recipe makes 1 quart jar. Keeps about two weeks refrigerated.

I was searching for something exiting for this Thanksgiving dinner and had to look no further than my Finnish background and grandma’s cooking.

There’s a salad they make in Finland usually around the holidays where the main ingredient is beets.

Often the salad consists of potatoes, onions, and pickles but my grandmother used to make hers a bit differently and omit the potatoes. Instead she would add apple to contrast the beet’s earthiness and add a fresh note. (Another ingredient they use in Finland is pickled herring but I could not subject my American friends to that since beet itself was a bit too exotic to their palate.)

There are couple of good reasons why this salad makes a great addition to your holiday dinner: It can be made – and in fact should be made – a day or two ahead and the deep purple color of the salad adds a visual wow-factor to the table. Plus it uses the ingredients readily available and suited to the holiday season.

Recipe follows.

§       3 beets

§       2 – 3 medium carrots

§       1 (small) red onion

§       1 apple; preferably Granny Smith

§       1 Kosher dill pickle

§       ½ tsp salt

§       Tbsp sugar

§       1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

§       1 cup of crème fraîche for dressing (see note)

Cut beets and carrots into about 0.4″ / 1 cm cubes. Steam until “al dente”. (You may boil them also, but I prefer steaming as more nutrients remain in the vegetables using this method.)

Reduce the rosy-red cooking liquid until you have about 1 tablespoon of deep ruby-red liquid to preserve and use to dye your dressing to delicious pink.

Let vegetables cool down slightly and mix them together with chopped onion and cubed apple and pickle. Add salt, sugar, and vinegar. Cover and refrigerate overnight and stir occasionally to evenly distribute the flavor and the red color which the beets will render to all the rest of the ingredients.

Dressing: Crème fraîche is not readily available in the United States but you can make your own by mixing 50/50 sour cream and whipping cream. Whisk together, cover, and let stand in a warm place for 12 hours plus another 36 in the refrigerator. Mix in the preserved spoonful of cooking liquid for a beautiful pink color. Add a dollop on top of each portion of beet salad you are serving.

Grandma