Tag: Nature

nettles Potato toit/ food weed

Nettle Potato Fritters. Nõgese kartuli kotletid

By KR on

nettlefritters (20)

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.

Continue reading “Nettle Potato Fritters. Nõgese kartuli kotletid”

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Estonia

4 Best Routs to Visit South Estonia #visitestonia #southestonia #võro #seto

By KR on

1.     I would suggest not to drive from Tallinn directly to Tartu, but take a detour and admire Shore of Peipsi Lake.
Tallinn – Rakvere (99 km / 1h 12 min)- Kuremäe ( from Rakvere 91 km/ 1h 10 min)- driving along lake Peipsi (Lohusuu, Mustvee, Alatskivi)  94,6 km/ 1 h) to Tartu (from Alatskivi 40 km/ 37 min)

 

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Eggs nettles Pork toit/ food weed

Early Spring Hay Soup. Heinasupp

By KR on

haysoup (8)This soup from Võru Cuisine. And perfect dish to use first green weed. Smoked ham adds flavours. Author of this recipe is Leelo Laurits. I just little bit adapted this recipe.

Goutweed tastes like carrots and celery. Nettles are a bit sweet. Dandelion tastes like honey but could be a little bit bitter. To decrease the bitterness, leave leaves into the cold salty water to set. And wood sorrel is sour.

Nettles need to be kept in the boiling water 1-2 minutes. Goutweed and wood sorrel are eatable when fresh.
NB! Use only young, fresh, new, small weeds, grown in a pure and clean environment.haysoup (12)

Early Spring Hay Soup. Heinasupp

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

A light and delicious Estonian-inspired soup recipe perfect for a early spring dinner.


haysoup (11)

Ingredients

  • 200 g prepared barley pearl groats
  • 100 g smoked bones
  • 2 boiled eggs
  • fresh weed
  • Madeira or white vine
  • salt, pepper, sour cream for serving

Directions

  1. If you do not have prepared barley groats, prepare groats: put barley to soak the night before.
  2. Put the meat into (1 litre) water and let it boil, removing foam.
  3. Add the barley. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Until soap is cooking, go out and pick some fresh weed. Boil eggs.
  5. Add the weed into soup, season with a vine. Let simmer until barley is soft.
  6. Serve with boiled eggs and sour cream.

haysoup (1)
haysoup (3)

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cranberries lamb toit/ food yarrow

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

By KR on

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.”

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meadowsweet toit/ food weed

Meadowsweet Syrup with Red Currants. Angervaksa – punasesõstrasiirup

By KR on

angervaksasiirup (10)Meadow-sweet is just amazing. It is healthy, taste and flavour are wonderful. Smell it! The smell drives your crazy, This is a smell of summer and freedom and childhood summer holidays with grandmother.
And what is most important: it is for free. A small walk in the meadows is just for the bonus.

Meadowsweet by yourself is sweet and tastes like almond. Currants give more deepness, flavour and tartness. You can use other sour berries like rhubarb or strawberries.  And get a maybe more interesting result.

And look at this colour!! 🙂

Where to use?  Taste the drinks. During wintertime, it helps to cure fever and cold. Use for flavouring salads, marinades and sauces.

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Spruce Tips toit/ food

Simple and Healthy Spruce Tips Spread. Kuuse-toorjuustumääre

By KR on

kuusetj1 (8)I like to watch cooking TV shows, and I am always amazed at people who afraid and avoid raw garlic. For me, garlic is medicine, natural inflammatory. And the reason I like garlic is strong intense taste, Without this garlic is pointless:)
Bitterish of garlic is complemented with tart spruce tips and you can just feel… how health will improve 🙂 🙂

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ilu

Estonian Bogs #visitestonia #estonia100 #ViruRaba #KakerdajaRaba #KõnnuSuursoo

By KR on

jaladVisiting a bog is fun in every season.

I did my photos in June. It was a rainy day, so the quality of photos, not that excellence.

A peat bog is a mix of water and land. Bog water is low in salts, so it does not quench thirst, but because of acidity, this water is pure and drinkable.

Hiking in Estonia is always a good idea. Discover mysterious bogs. Find more information about hiking www.rmk.ee/eng

 

viru raba

Did you know?
Mire landscapes cover around 22% of Estonian surface, with 6% belonging to bogs. In the whole world, only the surface of Finland, our neighbour to the north, has more wetlands than Estonia, and Estonians take a lot of pride in that.

murakas
Cloudberry Rubus chamaemorus L

Bogs cover a fifth of the mainland area in Estonia, of which bogs are the most ancient, stretching back to over 10,000 years. About a quarter of Estonia’s plants grow only in mires, among them many relict species from the Ice Age.

 

k6nnu suursoo3

Estonians have a saying ” vaga vesi, sügav põhi”- still waters run deep. Saying this, we are thinking about people who may seem quiet, but wait and see…:)

But this saying describing very well bogs.
It seems like grass, land, solid ground, but…. be careful, it is wet and soft. You could sink and drown.

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