Finnish Christmas Baking

Baking. I love baking and being my last week here in LA, I decied to bake some Finnish goodies for my co-workers as a good-bye. My friend and I baked Karjalanpiirakat and Joulutorttu. My mom helped with the ingredients. 

I found websites that had both ingredients & directions:

Karjalanpiirakat

Joulutorttu

Enjoy the pictures of our attempt. :)

My all time favorite is Karjalanpiirakat. It's a pastry that is made with rye dough and a rice filling made with whole mike. What makes this even better, top it with egg butter. YUM! 

Karjalanpiirakat (Karelian pies)

Rice filling

300ml water 4 cups whole milk 2 tablespoons butter 2.5 cups short-grain rice, or sushi rice 1 teaspoon salt Rye dough

300ml water

1 teaspoon salt

250g rye flour (extra to work with)

Basting

50g butter (melt more if needed)

4 teaspoon milk (optional)

Egg Butter

~6 eggs, hard boiled

4 tablespoons butter

Baking Time
425°f oven for 15 minutes

After the rice filling was finally made and was cooling, we started making the rye dough. Rolling out, not too thin, cut them into disk using a cup, this way everything is the same size. This will make them small. 

Bigger the rim, the bigger the piirakka you'll have once you shape it. 

Once you rolled them out, fill with a bit of filling and fold the 2 sides over so they lay flat, this is much easier when your making normal size piirakat, and take the thumb and index finger and lightly pinch to give the ripple design along the sides. 

We had to pinch upward since our filling was a bite runny, but not too bad for first attempt. I personally think it's all about the taste, as long as it taste like a piirakka, add the egg butter and everything will be tosi hyvää! (really good) 

Joulutorttu(Christmas Stars)

Again here is for the Joulutorttu website. 

Simple way to make the filling, I just took the dates(prunes) in a blender, few at a time and blended with water.

The best ready made pastry dough for the is Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets.

Lay the sheets out and make even squares. 

Slice the corners midway toward the middle. 

The best way so that your pinwheel doesn't pop open, add the filling on top, AFTER you take the corners and stick them in the middle, making a pinwheel. 

What more filling??? You can also put some filling in the middle before you fold in the corners to make the pinwheel, then add a bit more on top in the center. 

Enjoy ja hauskaa joulua! 

Thanks for reading!

Fit and Healthy Dairy

2 Months In

These past couple months I've been getting my butt in gear. Running and working out and I thought I should document my progress thus far because I recently went and bought a pair of new jeans and WOW, I went down a size.

I like to run 2-3 miles every other day and 30 min workout on the off days, I leave weekends for light workout, usually to give my legs and arms a rest and focus mostly on core.

When I started becoming pro-active with getting myself fit, I realized I was eating more calories than I burned and started weeding out useless foods that gave no real meaning. I took out soda and started drinking more water, I'm not a heavy meat eater, but I do try to get it in my diet.

 No need to snack pointlessly on cookies, ice cream and my all time fav, chips and salsa, but have them as treats. I try now to eat things that will benefit me on a healthy level. I still have my treats and yummy gooey goodness, just not as often.

Duh! Common Sense Misha

I do eat out, but I do it smarter now. I'm more aware now of what is going into my body and how much of it. I still eat what I like but I am AWARE. By doing so I've lost water weight and went from 138 lbs-126 lbs, granted 5 lbs was extra water weight.

No way am I focused on losing weight, I don't need to, my goal is to be a fit and a tight size 6.

WOO-HOO! So far my changes have stayed for 2 months, like they say:
"takes a month to build habit" ???- anyway....
Since they were not drastic changes, like becoming vegetarian or vegan, it has been do-able.

See you in the next update

Thanks for reading!

Ramen

I went with my aunt for dinner and we ended up at Tatsu, not the 6 flags ride, the restaurant I had my very first Ramen, not the 20 cent kind you get from Wal-mart, but nice tasty Ramen. For their website click here.

When you first walk in you order your food from a tablet on the wall, pretty cool. It was not that hard at all, very basic. They have pictures of the dishes and items you want to add. Moving around in the menu was easy, forgot to add something, not a problem, click back and you are directed to the previous page. You also pay on the tablet and the receipt is printed. The order goes straight to the chefs and they wipe up your food. 

It was set up like a fast food place, with bar sitting and a large community table, which is a new twist. They had whole garlic with press to add into your soup and extra seaweed to add as well. What was a challenge was eating with chopsticks but the soup spoon helped.

My aunt and I really enjoyed our time there. I am looking forward to going back for the experience and to try a different Ramen or find a place at one of my home towns :) 

Thanks for reading!

Welcome December

WOW! It's now the holiday season! So much to do and only 2 weeks and 5 days until Christmas. Time to search on my trusted Pinterest for awesome crafty and thoughtful gift ideas for my friends. Here's somethings that caught my eye :) 

Some buttons, stamps and a card and with some creativity, a DIY Christmas card. I think this is something special to go along with a gift. HOW CUTE!  

project from www.bangstyle.com

I do like to be a little personal with gifting to friends. To show them how much they mean to me and how I appreciate our friendship. As you get older and faced with big changes, it's interesting who in your life stays with you and who doesn't. 

BUT...

Let's move to more Pinterest DIY.

If you love baking, as I do, this is something you can do. This site has some other DIY gift ideas that could spark inspiration. You can never go wrong with baked goodies :) 

project from: www.andthenwesaved.com

Let's wrap this up. 

The last 2 DIY ideas I loved are great to give because your friends or family can reuse them. I always like to find things that can be reused since it won't get put away and forgotten. 

What I also like about these ideas, they are not done "Christmassy" which makes it easy to use or have out all year round. Obviously if you want to do them in Christmas colors or add snowflakes, go ahead. These are just for your inspiration and mine. 

project from: www.thewinthropchronicles.blogspot.com

project from: www.pleasenotepaper.com

Well got to get going with planning. I have a feeling most of my gifts will be coming from online stores for my family and homemade for friends. :)

Happy Holidays! 

Salami Never Looked This Good

OH MY LANTA FRIENDS! 

While on Pinterest I found the most tasty of tasty snacks! 

They are called "antipasti bites" and they are made with:

Salami

Artichoke Hearts

Red Peppers

Mozzarella

Basil

<3

picture from: blueberriesandblessings.com

I haven't tried these yet, but just the list of ingredients, I know this will taste yummy! With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I will most definitely serve these as appetizers, next to the baked brie my mom's friend makes, another delicious appetizer. :)

But to give credit where credit is due, here is the site where you can read more about how to make these little tasty bites!

And Pinterest friends... HAPPY PINNING :D

Thanks for reading!
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Malibu

Last weekend my friend and I spent the gorgeous weather in Malibu. She was running the Malibu half marathon and I was there for support. There's not much text, so enjoy the pictures :)

We stayed in a really nice home with the most perfect view. This was my first time booking through airbnb and I'm so happy that my experience went so well. 

I feel so lucky that I have the opportunity to have beautiful weekends like this. Defiantly better than Finnish fall. 

While my friend was off running the half marathon, I took the time and went for a morning hike at Dume Point where I was greeted with yet another beautiful view. 

The ocean side is so peaceful and breath taking. I can really see myself living there. Hiking, running and enjoying good seafood. What a life that'll be :) 

           Duke's blonde from Duke's

                       Zuma Beach

 Swordfish Sandwich from Paradise Cove

Thanks for reading! 

Burn Baby Burn (Let's Get Fit With NTC)

So I went to my first Nike Training Club and let me tell ya OUCH! It hurts so good! 

Last night they were letting some try out the new Nike Fuel Band SE, and I was one of them. I thought it was pretty neat to see my number go up and would like to see how it would work with the app, but it was just to try that night. It wasn't bulky on my wrist and honestly, I didn't even notice I had it on. I kind of want to purchase this, but for $149, I would have to think about it.  

BUT I did get a free T-shirt :)

Back to NTC, My first impression was that the trainers leading were nice and motivating and instructing. The group of people, about 40-45 came out that night, were equally motivating as well. There was so much positive energy during the workout. Everyone there was pumped and fitness driven.

This was another "out of my comfort zone" challenge since my friend wasn't able to go this time, so I did this on my own, and I'm glad I went. With all the positive energy, I felt quite welcomed and will be expanding my workouts with NTC. 

I encourage you to see if your Nike store host a NTC in your area HERE. 

It's a great way to workout and be social. 

Thanks for reading!

To The BEACH!

So I finally stepped out of my comfort zone and headed to the beach this past Saturday... IN NOVEMBER!!!

YES! I laid-out in my bathing suit for all to see under the shinning sun, and it seemed some others had the same idea. I'll say it was a great day to start off the new month.

Being a shy person, the thought of going out to the beach alone gives me anxiety, but since last month, I started to become more social and challenging myself to go out and do things on my own.  I did it and I can't be more proud of myself.

To add to my adventure, I even tried Blue Chips. I thought they would taste "blue", but they tasted like normal chips and since I'm making smart choices, I bought the ones with no salt, and did not miss it, especially since I dipped them in guacamole...yum yum yum.

So my goal this month is to continue challenging myself to step out of my comfort zone, I mean, I know I move around a lot and haven't stayed put longer than 6 months and choose to study abroad and live in a country where I only know half the language and having to write a 40 page thesis to graduate doesn't seem that all challenging, but going to the beach alone is???.....

This is why I tell myself, 

"You are just Misha, you are DEFINITELY not average"

Thanks for reading! 

Brussels Sprouts OH MY!

MY OH MY! This happens when you deiced to go with your taste buds and I'm going to share with you friends my impromptu Sauteed Brussels Sprouts  :) 

It's easy as 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8... well you get the picture, so lets look at some shall we???

Toasted Sesame Oil (or oil of your liking)

Salt

Pepper

Red Pepper

Button Mushrooms

THE STAR: Brussels Sprouts

Cut Sprouts in half, careful it can be a little tough... WATCH YOUR FINGERS! 

Brown/Char the Sprouts

 it took me 5-10 mins for this step since my heat was on HIGH.

Flip them around

Once browned/charred, add in the veggies

NOTE: my heat was still on high so keep those veggies moving!

2-3 Table spoon oil 

I used sesame seed

Make sure to stir while the veggies sizzle to limit burning.

Add your salt and pepper to your liking. 

Change heat to the lowest setting and cover for 10-15 mins.

 I found this helped soften the sprouts a bit more.

Bon Appétit! 

If you want some excitement and your a meat lover, you can make it with bacon, chicken or steak :)

Thanks for reading!

If you have helpful tips or tried this, leave a comment! :)

Purely Simple

So I've been using Simple products for 1 1/2 years now and I love it! I used to use Clean and Clear daily moisturizer, but since entering my mid 20's it was time to start taking care of my ADULT face. No longer should I be using something since 7th grade, it's time to graduate. :)

From what I've noticed, my skin feels smoother and brighter since using Simple. Also I made the switch since I have combination skin and with Clean and Clear I've always had to blot, I still do but now once a day if need be, so I decided to try something new and this is why I choose Simple.

What sold me was that price. $9(4.2oz) (Target) 

In Finland the line is also affordable and I found it at K-City Market- it has the moisturizer, face wash, wipes, make-up remover pads seen below....

NOTE: I've been using the Replenishing Moisturizer which has 1 vital vitamin (Pro-Vitamin B5) and 3 skin loving nutrients (Chamomile, Glycerin, Geranium). 

I enjoyed the lotion, I also tried the wipes, Cleansing and Exfoliating.

They both take make-up off well and leave my skin feeling hydrated. Though they do have eye-remover pads, I really don't fiddle-faddel with those, if I really need to, q-tip and Vaseline works for me :)

Well that was a Simple little post  :)

Thanks for reading!