Fried Squash Blossoms

Yesterday I was in Lucca,Tuscany,Italy. While I was walking along a street,I saw these fresh squash blossoms at the local vegetable store. The weather was very hot,around 33 degree centigrade,and I still needed to drive 6hrs more to reach home. But these yellow coloured very fresh squash blossom were begging me to take them with me. So I bought and wrapped them with paper to prevent desiccation.



1. Trim the blossoms.

2. Prepare the batter lightly.
Mix well 2 eggs, 2 table spoons of flour, 1 dl of cold milk, a pinch of salt and pepper.

3. Heat oil in the frying pan.

4. When oil is hot,dip the blossoms into the batter, one at the time. Fry them until they become golden on both sides.





5. Drain well on the paper towels. Serve immediately while it's hot and crispy.

 

 

 

 

My first snap shot.

 

My Belcony Garden

These photos are which I shot when I was travelling around.Still learning how to use camera...But I can feel a slightly improvement. Hope that in future I can shoot better photos which can make you WOW!!!!

Karjalanpiiraka (Finnish Rice Pastry)

This is one of my favourite Finnish bread or pastry. I really enjoy the mild and simple taste of Finnish food although I can be described also as a spice lover. This bread is made of rye flour and rice porridge.

The best part of this bread for me is the taste of porridge which is cooked with milk and salt on low heat. It gives a milky, slightly salty taste and sticky feeling.

Instead of rice you can use either potatoes or carrot for the filling. And for the pastry you can use ordinary wheat flour instead of rey. My preffered choice is rye flour and rice porridge.

For final touch, you have to smash the hard boiled egg with butter, a pinch of salt, black pepper and a small amount of finely chopped parsley. You have to stir until all of the ingridients form a puree. In my case, I added finely chopped crispy bacon which makes the best taste ever.

Serve with the pastry topping with egg puree.
It sounds a little bit funny to have bread with rice and egg puree. Believe me, if you don't try, you will never know how good it really is.

I remember my old busy days,this bread was good lunch and dinner for me.I didn't even have the time to make puree, so I just heated up the bread in micro and brushed with salted butter.It is also another way to enjoy it. Even now,being away from Finland, these piirakas are with me all the time in my heart.