At the Embassy’s 4th of July celebration, food united people as many guests were willing to get their hands a little dirty to enjoy the feast of Louisiana-style crayfish, shrimp and jambalaya. Food also played an important role during my recent weekend trip to a cozy and idyllic summer cottage near Loviisa.
Finnish summer cottage
The meals that my hosts and I enjoyed throughout the weekend were a blend of American and Finnish culinary culture. I tried Finnish viili for the first time. Wikipedia describes viili as “a type of yoghurt (a mesophilic fermented milk) that originated in the Nordic countries. It has a ropy, gelatinous consistency and a sour taste resulting from lactic acid.” It doesn’t sound so tempting from that description. Upon opening the package, the viili didn’t look so tasty either due to its Elmer’s glue-like consistency. But, with a little bit of sugar and lots of fresh Finnish strawberries and blueberries, viili was a nice breakfast meal.
I brought fresh ears of corn from Helsinki’s market square to cook on the grill as my hosts had never tried grilled corn on the cob. With a little bit of butter and salt, the corn was a big hit! We also grilled hamburgers and they provided all of the typical American toppings – ketchup, mustard, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and individually-packaged slices of cheddar cheese. I even persuaded my hosts to forego the boiled new potatoes that Finns can’t seem to get enough of during the summer months. It just didn’t feel right to grill hamburgers and corn on the cob to eat alongside boiled potatoes. So, after a bit of convincing, boiled potatoes were replaced by potato salad – a much more appropriate side dish, in my humble opinion. However, we did have lots of boiled potatoes the next day with lamb steaks.
Desserts included home-made blueberry pie (with Finnish blueberries, of course), famous Brunberg kisses from Porvoo, pancakes made on the grill, and lots of ice cream as the Finns’ annual consumption of ice cream is the highest in Europe. I made America’s favorite classic yellow cake from a box with chocolate frosting and rice krispies treats, which were initially met with apprehension as I mixed butter, marshmallows and cereal, but then were consumed with exclaims of delight.
Pancakes
In addition to all of the eating, I took advantage of the summer mentality of relaxation. I spent a lot of time swimming in the Gulf of Finland and experienced my first Finnish sauna, which was much, much hotter than I anticipated. I even enjoyed “roughing it” the Finnish-summer-cottage-way with no indoor plumbing aside from a kitchen sink, using an outhouse, and showering with a hose and bucket.
Despite the abundance of mosquitoes, bees, and flies, it was a tasty and memorable weekend. I can’t thank my generous hosts enough for the opportunity to experience the Finnish countryside.
Loviisa sunset
