News & Updates from Taina Kankare

Christmas is fast approaching, and people make preparations for the festive season with all kinds of decorations. My brother made our parents two log reindeers to be placed in their front garden. And what a cheer they brought!

Even though the reindeers are of very schematic make, they do have pretty eyes and a snout. Unfortunately neither of these is Rudolph, but anyway, our parents appreciated the gift. So, here is a tip for all handy crafters. You can bring some Christmas joy to your family and friends by making similar kinds of creatures for the gardens.

Its now real winter here in southern Finland. The temperatures at night are about -20 Celsius, and at daytime about -10 Celsius. Theres about 10-20 cm of snow and sun is shining.

The end of last year and the beginning of this year were unusually warm and we did not have much snow, though it snowed occasionally quite a lot.

But because the temperatures were near zero and sometimes it rained, most of the snow melted fast away. But now it is finally time for the frost flowers, skiing, skating and sledding!I found frost flowers from our nearby bus stop.

The bus shelter walls are made of tough glass, and in a weather like this they are completely beautifully decorated with frost.

Because both the inner and outer surface of the thick glass were decorated, it is difficult to get a sharp photograph.

But I tried my best and enclose a photo of our winter wonders for you to see.

The autumn has arrived in the southern Finland. The leaves are turning yellow, orange, brown and red and the nights are getting colder. In some mornings there has already been some autumn mist, which wraps the nature into a mystical haze.

The birds dont sing much, and there are not many nature flowers left. But it is also the harvest time. The crop fields have turned to yellow and gold. The apples are ripening. The forests are full of lingonberries and mushrooms. The mornings after rainy nights smell of autumn.

I have always loved the autumn colors and the smell of dry, fallen maple leaves. So, when I saw this maple tree in my sons school yard, I just had to take a photo of it.

I wish you all a wonderful autumn!

The autumn winds are here, and the summer is soon over. Yesterday I noticed something strange, which in my opinion proves the theories of the climate change true. I saw the rowan tree in front of our house both having blossoms and ripening berries. This happened also last year.

Last winter we did not have much snow, neither cold. I must say that it was a disappointment. The temperature in winter here in southern Finland should be somewhere like -5 Centigrades to -20 Centigrades. A thick cover of snow protects the plants from the cold, so it would have also been welcome.

But no, we had a wet and almost snowless winter. During the summer we did not have many hot days. In fact I like, when it is not too hot, but there are others, who would gladly welcome temperatures over +25 Centigrades.

If the weather in Midsummer is colder than in Christmas, it is somehow ridiculous.

We Finns have started joking about this saying, that we nowadays have only two seasons: during the first season it sleets or snows and during the other one it rains.

One of the most traditional foods here in Finland is the MÄMMI, which is eaten at Easter. It is a kind of baked rye flour and malt porridge.

Heres one recipe I found from the Internet:MÄMMI4 cups of water (1 liter) 1/2 cup of dark molasses or rye malt (1 dl plus 3.5 teaspoons)1/2 teaspoon salt(2 tablespoons of bitter orange peel or orange peel)1 cup rye flour (2.5 dl)Boil the water, molasses or malt, and salt to a slow boil.

Use a whisk to stir in 1/4 of the rye flour. Whisk vigorously and turn off the heat.

Let the mixture cool for at least 10 minutes, then whisk in the rest of the flour.Stir in the remaining rye flour (and two tablespoons of bitter orange peel if you are using it).

Remove from heat and pour into a 1.5 quart (1.5 liter) casserole dish.

I sprayed the dish with some cooking spray first, the recipe didnt say that it was necessary to grease the dish, but I think it would stick terribly if you didnt.Bake at 275 F (135 C) for 3 hours.Serve with whole milk or cream and a sprinkling of sugar.

Alternatively you can also serve it with vanilla sauce or ice-cream. In that case you do not need any sugar.