Estonian Kringel with marzipan and cowberry filling. Kringel.

kringel (20)Kringel is something very important in Estonia.
Does not matter. Birthday or christening.  Sweet, warm, soft bread is in the place. The smell in the house while baking is divine. Hardly could someone resist this rich and buttery, mouth-watering Kringel.
I have written that Estonians like black rye bread. So Kringel, delicious, fluffy and sweet bread, full of butter and sugar was an important dish during events. Later came the custom, that the girls got for christening a cake and boys got Kringel.

Kringel is so important that we do not use this name only for delicious pastry. If very cold and freezing, we are saying: ” Külmast Kringel/ Cold made from me Kringel” And playful, disobedient, a restless child is “Kringel”

When we celebrate our birthdays in a workplace, Kringel is a very comfortable and easy solution. And there are not only sweet options. Estonians like Kringel with savoury filling: cheese, ham, mushrooms…, as well.

Birthday Kringel in workplace
Workplace Birthday party Kringel

Just name it.

In friendly Kringel family are three delicious members. Kringel is big. And look like a pretzel.FB_IMG_1549396957256 The smaller Kringel look like a round wreath. And the smallest Kringel is just a loaf. We call this ” Stritsel”.

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Nettle Soup. Nõgesesupp

weedsoup (17)Sour and sweet weed soup with onions and balanced with rye bread.

The recipe is basing on classical onion soup recipe.

Nettles are very important and has been used in Estonian folk medicine centuries.
Folk wisdom teaches that nettle contains vitamins C and K, B vitamins, as well as minerals like calcium, magnesium and iron, to name a few
The nettle takes away fatigue, abdominal pain and water swelling, reduces and stops bleeding, reduces the appearance of diabetes mellitus

And did you know: nettles contain vitamin C 2.5 times more than the lemon (660 mg%).

But of course, you can use any weed to replace nettles. Goutweed taste like carrots and celery. Nettles are a little bit sweet. And wood sorrel is sour.
Nettles keep 1-2 minutes in the boiling water. Goutweed and wood sorrel are edible fresh.

NB! Use only young, fresh, new, small weed, growing in the pure environment.weedsoup (1)

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Viljandi #visitestonia #eesti100 #estonia100 #viljandi

viljandi (65)Viljandi is a town and municipality in southern Estonia.  This adorable little town hidden deep within southern Estonian forests boasts impressive castle ruins, former home of the ruling Livonian Order. The scenic views of the nearby lake and wooden architecture make Viljandi a place of interest to both nature and culture lovers.

I am from Viljandi. Viljandi is my childhood hometown.

Mulgi- Mulgimaa is an area in South-Estonia, with own culture, traditions, food and dialect.

This area and culture is a perfect example of the globalisation already in 19th of century. During the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865 was the lack of cotton and price was very high.

 

So, as demand for alternatives. South Estonia, Mulgimaa has perfect conditions for the cultivation of linen. Bondage was in Estonia abolished 1816, but still, farmers were very poor and the land was owned by landlords. But because of America and demand for linen, farmers gets enough money to buy from landlords land and farms. And this area becomes rich and successful. This made others little bit jealous and they started to call people and this area Mulgimaa 🙂

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Symbol of Viljandi the boatman of Viljandi who fell hopelessly in love with a blue-eyed girl.

Prehistoric hillfort (9th-13th) century AD( was located on Kaevumägi. In 1223 it was conquered by the German crusaders. Stone fortifications were started from AD 1224. The Convent building was erected at the turn of the 13th-14th century.

 

 

 

 The castle was badly damaged in the Livonian War 1558- 1583 and the following Polish- Swedish wars 1600- 1623.

 

These photos are made last year on the 1st of May. The grass was already green, but trees just were promising. The Grand Race around Lake Viljandi is an annual cross country running a competition that takes place around the Lake Viljandi in Viljandi, Estonia. It is also the oldest traditional running event in Estonia and has been organized already since 1928. It is held annually on the 1st of May.
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What to do and see in Viljandi Continue reading “Viljandi #visitestonia #eesti100 #estonia100 #viljandi” →

Beetroot Fritters. Peedikotletid

Beetroot is delicious. And healthy. While beetroot is sweet I prefer to serve it with pickled cucumber or cheese to complement sweetness with sour and salty.
Caraway seeds is something Estonian. This is obvious that beetroot and caraway seeds goes together.
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Add semolina to achieve best conistent and thickness. In case beetroot is very juicy you need this maybe more.
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Easter Paskha Cake. Pashakook

lihav6ttekook (1)Paskha (also spelled pascha, or pasha; Russian: па́сха; [ˈpasxə]; “Easter”) is a festive dish made in Eastern Orthodox countries.

Estonian religious population is predominantly Christian. In 1845–1848, the movement from the Lutheran Church to the Russian Orthodox Church took place in all the southern Estonian counties and about 17% of the peasants in southern Estonia converted to Orthodoxy.  Until then, Orthodoxy was mainly the religion of the local Russians and Seto (Setu) people.
Reason to change religion was hope to get land and better conditions.

So, lot of Russian Orthodox Church rituals and dish are still popular. I am personally do not like pasha. But pasha- inspired cake is very delicious.

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Narva- Jõesuu #visitestonia #narvajoesuu #estonia100

NarvaJõesuu (36)Narva Jõesuu is situated in north-eastern Estonia. The town’s name in Estonian and Russian means “Mouth of the Narva”,

Thanks to the beach, covered with fine sand and lined with a pine forest, There are a lot of SPAs and Narva-Jõesuu has long been a popular summer destination. In the late 19th and early 20th century, it was a spa town frequented by the nobility from Saint Petersburg.

 

Today Narva- Jõesuu is eclectic and comparing with Latvian Jurmala, need a lot of investments to restore the former glory.
But on the other hand, this is it Narva Jõesuu.

Old fashioned dachas (summer houses) alternately with gorgeous villas. Abandoned nine-storey houses alternately with The New Russian (a person who gained quick riches) style palaces with arches and towers…

Did you know? Estonia holds 4th place in urban air quality (WHO)

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Nettle Salad. Nõgesesalat

n6gesesalat1(17)Spring means a lot of weed…
But I have a solution, Just eat them:)
I am not going to talk about the benefits of nettles, wood sorrel, dandelion leaves and goutweed. You can read this from Wikipedia 🙂

But believe me, they are healthy. The first source of vitamins in spring.

Goutweed taste like carrots and celery. Nettles are a little bit sweet. And wood sorrel is sour.
Nettles keep 1-2 minutes in the boiling water. Goutweed and wood sorrel are edible fresh.
NB! Use only young, fresh, new, small weed, growing in the pure environment.

 

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Quark and Potato Fritters. Kohupiima ja kartulikotletid

Great dish for ” Meatless Mondays” 🙂 A  light vegetable fritters for a dinner. Consist of two very important Estonian ingredients: potatoes and quark. Wonderful Carbohydrates and protein combination 🙂

Very easy to make and the flavour is just delicious.

Did you know ?

Estonians, like Mexicans, put sour cream (a version of crème fraîche that contains less fat) on almost everything. And anyone who’s had Mexican food knows it’s not as disgusting as it sounds – it’s actually quite delicious.
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Goutweed Salad with Cottage Cheese. Kodujuustu-naadisalat

naadisalat1(15) Today, 70 years ago, was for 20 000 Estonians and their families very sad day.
On 25 March 1949,  29,379 people, mostly women and children, were deported from Estonia to Siberia.

8 years before, on 14 June 1941, 10,000 people were deported from Estonia.

What was their guilt?  The deportations targeted various categories of anti-Soviet elements and “enemies of the people”: the members of the former governments, higher state officials and judges, higher military personnel, former politicians, members of voluntary state defence organisations, members of student organisations, persons having actively participated in anti-Soviet armed combat, Russian émigrés, security police officers and police officers, representatives of foreign companies and in general all people having contacts abroad, entrepreneurs and bankers, clergymen and members of the Red Cross, kulaks,  Approximately 23% of the population belonged in these categories. Entire families, including children and the elderly, were deported without trial or prior announcement. Of March 1949 deportees, over 70% of people were women and children under the age of 16.
Because of cold, starvation and hard work, a great many of the deportees died. Less than half of the deportees ever returned to their homeland

Let’s remember all these people.

Today, for us eating weed, vegetarianism and everything from nature is cool. At that time, it was a matter of survival. I hope and believe that history never repeats. But knowledge about edible plants is still valuable.

Continue reading “Goutweed Salad with Cottage Cheese. Kodujuustu-naadisalat” →