Cottage Cheese Pie. Kodujuustupirukas

cottage cheese pie (1)Cottage Cheese Pie is a great dish for breakfast or a quick dinner.
A wonderful recipe you can serve as a sweet or savoury dish.

Did you know?  Interesting fact: In Estonia, cottage cheese began to be produced in order to meet the cheese production plan set by Moscow to the USSR. The National Planning Committee of the USSR almost doubled the cheese production of the Estonian SSR for the five-year plan, So, this is the reason why Estonia began to produce cottage cheese which was reported as cheese in the reports 🙂

 

 

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Potato waffles. Kartulivahvlid

Estonians love potatoes. But when you fed up with boiled potatoes, fried potatoes, oven potatoes, mashed potatoes…
Bake some potato waffles. Garlic makes this recipe perfect and gets great flavour.
Serve with salad or with some meat. or as an appetizer…
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Groats and Cheese. Tangud juustuga

groatscheese1 (4)This is classical baked macaroni and cheese recipe with a twist.

I like barley groats and I love combination groats with cheese and thyme.

Barley groats are a superfood, btw. Healthy and delicious. Serve with a salad for a great meatless dinner. Hope you enjoy it

Continue reading “Groats and Cheese. Tangud juustuga”

Apple and Buckthorn Pork with Juniper berries. Õunasiga kadakaga

6unasiga (11) Juicy and delicious everyday dinner. Gin and juniper berries give the meat a pleasant woody taste.
Braising produces extremely moist, tender, and flavorful meat and pork will be so soft and tender you can cut it with a spoon. Apple juice and onions forming a tasty sauce. Sweet and sour with juniper taste.

And the liquid used for braising can be used as a sauce or gravy, which is handy for pork dishes served with rice or a similar side dish.

winterinestonia (65)

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 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 a 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, colorants, 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.

Continue reading “Apple and Buckthorn Pork with Juniper berries. Õunasiga kadakaga”

Pork Chops dipped in Kama in Plum Sauce. Kamapaneeringuga siga ploomikastmes.

kamaliha (4)This is a unique Estonian inspired pork chop dipped in Kama coating.

What is KAMA?

Kama is Estonian traditional finely milled flour mixture. Estonians buying Kama mixture from shop.. and the easiest way is to try this, probably visit Estonia.  Read more

Estonians call this dish ” pork treats” 🙂
Kama breading gives for meat special sweet taste. In case you do not have Kama, use rye bread crumbs. The tart plum sauce complements pork sweetness very well.

 

 

Continue reading “Pork Chops dipped in Kama in Plum Sauce. Kamapaneeringuga siga ploomikastmes.”

Apple, Celery and Parsnip Soup. Õuna selleri ja pastinaagisupp

sellerisupp (10)This is a wonderful combination. Apple gives acid, celery bitterness and parsnip is sweet. All ingredients complement each other. And look at this light colour!

Change products combination and shares depending on your taste. If you like more sweet, add more parsnip and if you like more acid, use more apples.

Continue reading “Apple, Celery and Parsnip Soup. Õuna selleri ja pastinaagisupp”

Cottage Cheese and Chicken Fritters. Kana- ja kodujuustukotletid

kana kodujuustu 1(6)Interesting fact: In Estonia, cottage cheese began to be produced in order to meet the cheese production plan set by Moscow to the USSR. The National Planning Committee of the USSR almost doubled the cheese production of the Estonian SSR for the five-year plan, So, this is a reason why Estonia began to produce cottage cheese which was reported as cheese in the reports 🙂

This is a very delicious and proteinuria combination for dinner.

 

 

 

Continue reading “Cottage Cheese and Chicken Fritters. Kana- ja kodujuustukotletid”

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.

Continue reading “Creamy Mushroom Puree Soup with Juniper Berries. Seene ja kadakamarjapüreesupp”

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.
lillkapsasseenega (5)
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”

Michaelmas Day lamb chops in Yarrow and Cranberry sauce. Mihklipäeva lammas raudrohukastmes.

lammas (1)On 29th of September is St. Michal day, Michaelmas Day. This day was end of the summer working season.
Englishmen used to say ” Every dog has its day”. But Estonians are saying ” Every tup has its Mihklipäev”. This proverb has two meanings. The first one, as in english: all bad things would be punished. And the second is the direct meaning. On St Michal Day usually sheep was killed and  Lamb had for Michaelmas Day, as traditional dish.

Yarrow is very important medicinal plant in Estonian folk medicine.  Estonian healers used and using still yarrow  of quite a broad-range effect, which also helped to regulate metabolism, stimulates digestion and reduces the onset of stomach cramps and helped against cough and colds and so one.

Yarrow is quite bitter and has little bit anise taste. So, be careful with dosing.

Continue reading “Michaelmas Day lamb chops in Yarrow and Cranberry sauce. Mihklipäeva lammas raudrohukastmes.”