Tag: baking

Finnish Comfort Food — Karjalanpiirakka

M's Adventures

Comfort food is, thankfully, different in every place one calls home.

The Finns love their “karjalanpiirakka” or rice pudding filled rye pasties. I think of them as small lifeboats of yum. “Karjala” is a part of Finland and “piirakka” is “pie/pasty/dumpling.” The result is a mild buttery eggy rye taste.

Like all comfort foods, there is a different recipe for every grandma and the preparation and eating rituals lead to stories filled with nostalgia and memory.

If you have a Finn who can share their recipe with you, then go with that. Otherwise, look it up online. If you want to watch a video version of this article, please go to my YouTube channel.

This Finnish dish may not be exciting but I love it. I love the chewy rye, the buttery egg, and the creamy rice pudding. But it also reminds me of my childhood, and nothing is as delicious as food that reminds you of the comfort of a happy place.

No Baking At Altitude – No Bake Dessert

M's Adventures

Hand blown glass from the glass factory in Bogota.
Hand blown glass from the glass factory in Bogota.

So I used my oven for the first, and last, time. I tried to bake something for a holiday party, a giant meat pie with phyllo pastry. It’s been months since I moved to Bogota, yet I couldn’t find my rolling pin, so I cut the pastry up into squares and placed them on top of the meat filling. My oven is a combination gas and electric oven. I couldn’t figure out which of the knobs I’m supposed to turn as the markings make no sense to me (plus some are worn off). So I turned everything. There was a hiss and then a few minutes later, the blue flames danced along the bottom. I put the pan in the oven. I watched. Eventually, I took it out. None of the pastry had risen. Some of the pastry had turned a dark bark color. At the other end of the pan, the pastry lay like uncooked lasagne sheets. I gave up.

For another holiday party, I made an artsy no-bake dessert. Here’s how I made it:

Marinate some dried cranberries in tequila (or rum) for a few days. Cook them with some sugar. Puree these with softened cream cheese and sour cream. Put in a ziplock bag for ease of transport. In a pan, toast some walnuts. Put aside. Melt some sugar (okay, lots) in a pan. Add a touch of butter to make a caramel. When the sugar is a liquid caramel, add dried cranberries and the walnuts. Put on a silicone sheet (or a greased surface) to cool. Smash the brittle into bits and put into a bag. At the party, assemble by cutting a hole in one corner of the cream cheese bag and pipette (fancy pouring) into hand blown glasses from Colombia (or a glass from anywhere). Add whipped cream if you want, or just put the brittle on top.

From now on, my desserts will all be brittle based.