The year of Cooking (Corging)

It's again time to reflect upon the past year (you can check out here for year 2013). I haven't been as productive as I would have wanted because of all "distractions" (mainly my busy summer, even busier autumn with moving apartment and my trip to Japan and my whole situation now). But the main thing is, my blog is still up and running.

January

I bought some chestnuts and made chestnut paste for Mont Blanc (pastry) (this time I managed to peel chestnuts a lot easier than last time: the trick is to boil them, though I don't remember if I roasted them then at all or at what stage). I was awfully sick during my whole New Year's holiday so didn't have time to make anything from the paste, so I freezed it and used later (see below).

Red cabbage salad I was planning for Christmas, but made it later and still haven't gotten time to post it. It's really delicious anyway!

Foxtail is blogging too ;)

Purple sweet potato chiffon cake, though it doesn't look like it.

 

 

 

 

 

 February

 

Finally the snow came and Foxtail was having fun.

Make something nice from leftover gingerbread: "millefeuille gingerbread" with cinnamon spiced quark and blueberries

Mushipan - steamed cake with some sweet black beans

 March

At a nice tea shop called Théhuone (above)

Awesome Japanese koshihikari rice (right upper corner)

On a stroll by the sea with Foxtail->

April

The chestnut paste I made (upper picture) and trying to master the pipings for the Most Blanc pastry...

<- A brunch on the balcony on Easter Monday (it was so warm we could eat outside!)

 

I tried making poached eggs by "cheat method", didn't work though, the eggwhites stuck to the clingfilm (below)

Yummy cocoa nib granola with golden raisins and blueberries served with thick Turkish yoghurt (unfortunately I don't remember where I got the recipe. I remember using roasting rye and coconut flakes mixed with some canola oil and maple syrup, adding some roasted cashew nuts and cocoa nibs and lastly raisins and blueberries)

 

May

I don't remember what they did call it (oban-yaki?) but it's a sort of an imagawayaki sold on Hanami fest in Roihuvuori. I chose the anko filled one <3

This photo is to remind me to post one recipe using lilac flowers <3

June

I had used jars for drinking ice coffee from last summer at the latest, as t's convenient to take with you and you can put some ice in it too. Nowadays it's too hip...

I made some syrup from these, I'll try to remember to post the recipe later when it's the season.

A picnic at Suomenlinna fortress: sandwiches and potato omelette

Blueberry marbled cheesecake (I've never succeeded in marbling: this time the topping was too thick and before it was too thin...)

In July I traveled to London and made a day trip to Oxford, too. I'll TRY to post later about my adventures there.

August

Busy with my friend's bachelorette party and wedding preparations, though had time to enjoy my favorite Dutch syrup waffles with coffee.

September was busy with the moving and a conference trip to Gothenburg.

October

We went to explore an old castle ruins some 100 kilometres from my home.

In November I was in Japan. I'm going to post later about that trip too.

December

I bought yamatoimo from Japan to make some wagashi, though this didn't quite work out... (I don't know if it was the rice flour I used. I didn't have jouyou-ko, so I had to use joushin-ko).

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