Yumi Yumi

I've been asked to come up with various Christmas menu options - but by the readers of my Estonian site as well as some university friends. One of the menus is fish-centered, so for the last week I've tried to come up with a suitably festive main course. Although various white fish (pike-perch aka zander, Northern pike etc) are more traditional here in Estonia, then fresh Norwegian salmon is easily and universally available across the country. Therefore I've decided to use a red fish at the centre of my fish menu. Inspiration for this comes from a Finnish Ruokamaailma magazine, but I've tweaked it sufficiently to consider the recipe my own. I served it last night to a group of friends who came over for some food and board games, and it was very well received :) So, for Christmas 2008 the Beetroot Princess suggests: Oven-baked salmon with beetroot ( Ahjulõhe peediga pühadelauale ) Serves 6 1 kg salmon filet, trimmed 2 tsp salt 0.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper 2 Tbsp ...

This must be one of the quickest - and most colourful - side dishes I've made in a while. Having spent all day at yet another cookery course today, testing several sweet Christmas tarts and fancy cakes, I needed something savoury and easy tonight. I went for one of my stand-bys - battered and pan-fried white fish (I used a pangasius filet, which I dipped into a mixture of egg-flour-milk), and chose this colourful recipe I spotted in a Finnish magazine yesterday. It was a success - quick, different, slightly tangy, slightly sweet, and very beautiful. Stir-fried Cherry Tomatoes with Basil ( Vokitud kirsstomatid basiilikuga ) Adapted from Suomen Kuvalehti Gourmet 4/2008 Serves 4 4 Tbsp (olive) oil 500 g cherry tomatoes 1 garlic clove handful of fresh parsley 20 large fresh basil leaves 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves 2 tsp caster sugar salt coarsely ground black pepper Rinse the tomatoes and dry thoroughly. Chop the garlic, parsley and basil finely, place into a small bowl. Heat oil in a wo...

When I first started reading English-language cookbooks I was baffled by coffee cake recipes that had no coffee inside. You see, in Estonia we bake and eat lots of cakes (I've baked a cake to go with coffee each day this week), but they're not called "kohvikook" or "coffee cake". They're called just cakes, and we enjoy them with coffee. Meanwhile, I've been baking a coffee cake - that is, a cake that contains coffee crumbs - for over a decade now. And here's a recipe - originally from a Finnish food magazine in early 1990s, and I've made it over and over again. There's something about eating a coffee cake while drinking coffee, you see. Note that I use simple ground coffee in the cake, not the instant kind. K. originally thought there were poppy seeds in the cake :P Coffee Cake Recipe ( Kohvikook ) 250 g unsalted butter, at room temperature 250 ml / 1 cup / 225 g caster sugar 3 eggs 500 ml / 2 cups all-purpose/plain flour 2 tsp baking pow...

I just realised that I've been posting nothing but dessert recipes in November . That's no good, is it? Hence this creamy-cheesy fish soup recipe today. A similar recipe has appeared in several Finnish food magazines and at least one local magazine. With a few tweaks here and there, I ended up with this lovely, creamy fish soup. Feel free to experiment with differently seasoned cream cheese. I used trout, as it's lighter, but salmon would work well, too.. A lovely weeknight dinner, and it should appeal to small picky eaters, too. Creamy Fish Soup ( Juustune forellisupp ) Serves 4 1.5 litres fish stock 5 potatoes, peeled and cubed 200 g tub cheese spread (something like this ), I imagine) 170 g tub flavoured cream cheese (I used tomato & pesto) 300 g fish filet, cubed (salmon, trout) To serve: fresh dill, chopped black pepper, coarsely ground Bring the fish stock* to the boil. Add potato cubes and simmer, until tender (10-15 minutes). Meanwhile, cut the fish into large c...

I've started making somewhat Christmassy desserts already - I know, I know - but we've got no Thanksgiving to look forward to, you see :) Layered crumbled cookies (I used oat cookies, but gingersnaps or gingerbread cookies would work, too), softly whipped cream (perhaps with some vanilla), lingonberry jam.. That's all. And that's delicious... Kihiline pohladessert

If my previous roasted figs dessert was more of a looker than a taster, then this one is the exact opposite. It looks much humbler, but it tasted absolutely delicious. I guess a syrupy honey-cinnamon sauce on top of roasted figs isn't so unique itself, but just a sprinkling of semi-dried thyme lifted this dessert to another level, so to speak.. Sorry, I simply cannot recall where the original recipe idea is from, but I modified it slightly anyway, so I'm not too bothered :) Roasted Figs with Thyme, Cinnamon and Honey ( Röstitud viigimarjad mee, tüümiani ja kaneeliga ) Serves 6 3 Tbsp honey 1 tsp butter 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon 12 ripe figs 1 tsp dried thyme Place honey, butter and cinnamon into a small saucepan. Heat, until everything's smooth and combined. Cut the figs into quarters, leaving the base intact. Place them into a small oven-proof dish. Spoon the honey mixture on top. Roast in a pre-heated 200°C/400 F oven for about 15 minutes, until the figs are cooked. Sprin...

My pumpkin and apple supplies don't seem to end any time soon, so I'm still trying out various recipes and cooking numerous dishes using those two autumn ingredients. Here's a lovely autumn dessert. The idea for the filling is from an Estonian food magazine, but the crumble topping is my old favourite. We ate this with some soft vanilla ice cream, but custard or whipped cream or even crème fraîche would work well, too. Pumpkin and Apple Crumble (Kõrvitsa-õunakrõbedik ) 2 Tbsp butter 100 ml caster sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon* 100 ml seedless raisins (I prefer light ones) 500 g pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into small cubes (weight after peeling) 500 g tart apples, cut into sixth or eight (weight after cleaning) Crumble topping: 100 ml plain flour 200 ml old-fashioned rolled oats 100 ml brown (demerara) sugar 100 g cold butter * Feel free to use mixed spice (in the UK) or pumpkin pie mix (in the US) instead. Note that a cup is 240 ml, so 100 ml is just about half a cup min...

No recipe, just a simple dessert idea. Halved figs are sprinkled with sugar and topped with couple of Buderim candied ginger nibbles. Roasted in the 200 C/400 F oven for 15 minutes, just to warm through, then drizzled with lemon juice and garnished with lemon zest. Perhaps not the best fig dessert ever, but it's quick and easy, and I love the picture :) ( Röstitud viigimarjad suhkrustatud ingveriga )

Looking for that little something after your main course, but don't feel like baking or making an elaborate dessert? Well, then this simple goat cheese mousse is for you :) It's served from small dessert glasses or espresso cups, and the combination of tangy goat cheese mousse and sweet Nordic berries is a winner. The original rec ipe from a Finnish food magazine MAKU makes a compote out of cloudberries. I must confess that I cheated and simply took another glass of home-made cloudberry compote from the larder and used that. If you cannot get fresh cloudberries (or don't have any cloudberry compote in your fridge), you've got two options: A) use a cloudberry jam (like the one from IKEA), and dilute it with some cloudberry liqueur (Lapponia from Finland makes a good one) B) use a berry with similar characteristics - I'd probably go for raspberries, which are slightly softer, but have a lovely sweet-sharp flavour that would complement the goat cheese mousse nicely. G...