Rowan Berries and Cottage Cheese Salad. Pihlaka- kodujuustusalat

pihlakasalat (6)Rowan Berries are very healthy. The astringent taste fades with freezing, so the best time to pick them is winter.

But.
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If in your home forest are living greedy birds, you should pick them as soon as possible and leave in a deep freezer at least for 3 hours.

more options:
soak berries in salted water (1 teaspoon salt in 1-litre water)
or keep berries  3- 4 minutes in boiling water

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Mash some berries and mix with sour cream
season with salt, sugar and pepper
Chop (red) onion or leek
add marinated or salted mushrooms
and cottage cheese
decorate with rowan berries
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Juicy apple-carrot and oatmeal cake. Õuna- porgandikook

6unaporgandikaerakook (3)Juicy, grainy and healthy autumn cake. ( of course, you can bake it in winter or summer, too).

But sweet carrots, tart apples make wonderful and moisture and juicy combination.
You can replace sugar to unrefined sugar or honey and get a healthier result. But my recipe is from the seventies. From the time when people used sugar and butter 🙂

 

 

 

 

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Pickled Tomatoes. Marineeritud tomatid

marintomat (1)This is a very old recipe.

From the time when people made preserves for the winter.

The tomato is a very picky and sensitive berry. So,  for longer preservation, you must pasteurize.
But this jelly tomato salad is a wonderful addition as a salad or as a snack or appetizer.

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Creamy Mushroom Puree Soup with Juniper Berries. Seene ja kadakamarjapüreesupp

seenepyreesupp (13)More than 400 spices of mushroom grow in Estonia and almost 100 of them are edible. And proximate 25 of them are a very good edible mushroom.
I know and foraging for food more than 10 spices.

This is Creamy Mushroom Puree Soup with Juniper Berries. Gin is boosting the taste of the Juniper berries and complements the sweetness of cream and mushroom. Juniper berries impart a sharp, clear flavour.
NB! For cooking use only the mature, dark berries

This time I used salted mushroom.

Salted mushroom:
How to remove additional salt are a lot of tips.
My South Estonian relatives told me that they boiling salted mushroom in milk. And after that no saltness and mushroom look and taste like a fresh.
The second option is to boil mushroom just in the water.
And the simplest one.  Put mushroom to soak the night before.

Fresh chanterelle: The mushrooms are cleaned without water, with only a clean, dry towel and paring knife. Heat the chanterelle in a skillet without fat/butter until water has evaporated.

Frozen mushroom: melt, fry slightly.

Juniper berries (cones) are refreshing and power-giving Nordic treats.
The type of juniper most widely spread in Estonia is the common juniper (Juniperus communis). You can see it growing the most in the Western and Northern parts of Estonia. Juniper symbolizes rebirth, protection and humbleness
. „There is no reason to wonder, why the juniper has become one of the symbols of our windy homeland and for all Estonian nation, showing the undying power of life, no matter what comes ahead. (Ants Viires, 2000)“

Picking juniper berries means success that can be achieved with hard work. People widely believe that if you eat one juniper berry in a day, they stay young forever. If children have three juniper berries in a day, they are more likely to stay healthy.
This and many other sayings created a belief that juniper can cure 9 different diseases, 99 diseases in some cases.
Since juniper berry carries a cross formation on it, it was believed that juniper can help against witchcraft, revenants and anything evil.

It is also believed that juniper cleans and strengthens one’s body energetically. For humans, it has the best effect by breathing in, but it can also affect objects around that person. Juniper branches burnt in the house may clean up bad aura.       

 Juniper berries contain essential oils, sugars, resins, colourants, fatty acids, organic acids, carbohydrates and trace elements (Manganese, Iron, Copper and Aluminum). Juniper berries have anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial effects during colds. Berries also stimulate urine and saphenia and promote digestion.

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Cauliflower with Mushrooms and Rose Hips berries. Lillkapsas seente ja kibuvitsamarjadega

Today is Teachers Day.

This is a funny and beautiful day. Children bring a lot of flowers and the day is almost free, because of ..
In Estonia, last class students grant leave to teachers by conducting lessons themselves:)

Let’s celebrate this day! 🙂

A  light, vegetable dish for an If you want a simple, delicious, low-calorie and all-natural healthy salad this is it! Very delicious and nutritious dinner. Sweet cauliflower, seasoned with lemon. Tasty rosehips berries and wonderful mushrooms.
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Fresh chanterelle: The mushrooms are cleaned without water, with only a clean, dry towel and paring knife. Heat the chanterelle in a skillet without fat/butter until water has evaporated.
Frozen chanterelle: melt, fry slightly

Continue reading “Cauliflower with Mushrooms and Rose Hips berries. Lillkapsas seente ja kibuvitsamarjadega”