Category: life in finland
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Finnish Flower Arranging 101
This is the kind of flower arranging they don’t teach you at those fancy workshops with the shallow bowls of floral foam and the instructor murmuring about negative space. Which is a shame, because it’s a public service, technically.
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In a Vase on Monday | 22nd June 2026
The seven flowers of midsummer, per Finnish folklore — with one columbine getting in on a technicality.
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Lapskoussi Vindication
The last time I tried to make lapskoussi, the carrots won. The town I live in claims the dish, so redemption was non-negotiable.
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Vappu, From the Outside
I went looking for Vappu photos and didn’t have any. Sixteen years in Finland, and I’d never documented it. So I took some.
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Notes to My Past Self | 25th March 2026
My mother made sandwiches with the cheerful logic of someone who saw no reason why ingredients in the same refrigerator shouldn’t share the same bread. Ham, cheese, butter, jam — all of it, together. I spent decades thinking she was doing it wrong. Turns out the sandwich wasn’t wrong. The cafeteria was just too small.
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Deconstructed Meatballs
Same spices, same cream gravy, same venison from the same local hunter — just without the part where you stand at the counter listlessly rolling tiny spheres. A lazy Sunday riff on Repatriated Meatballs.
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The Agreement
I saw them within the first weeks of moving here — summer 2012, barely unpacked. A doe with her fawns at dawn, moving along the strip of forest that separates our property from the neighbors. Then again in autumn, eating the fallen apples and plums alongside the hedgehogs and foxes. Roe deer — a doe,…
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Repatriated Meatballs
Swedish meatballs evolved from ethnic to regular food, becoming a staple in American homes. The author recreates them in Finland, blending traditional ingredients with local flavors, highlighting their rich culinary history and personal connection.
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Pannukakku with an Accent
My husband taught me to call it pannukakku. This was back in California, fifteen-odd years ago, when he was still “the boy” and I was still learning which of his food preferences were actually Finnish and which were just him. (The man will put ketchup on things that should not have ketchup. That’s not cultural.…
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Key Lime Pie* (*May Contain Trace Amounts of Actual Lime)
A creative twist on key lime pie blends limited lime juice with lemon, citric acid, and lime syrup, resulting in a festive dessert that surprisingly complements traditional Finnish Christmas fare, earning positive reception from diners.