Mummo Goes to Kozy Shack
Finnish riisipuuro meets American pudding cup, mediated by British custard powder, in a slow cooker made in the USA. Multiple countries in one dessert.
Piimä | Cultured Buttermilk
Piimä is a fermented milk drink — tangy, pourable, and thinner than yogurt. If you’ve had buttermilk in the US, you’ve had its distant American cousin. They’re not wrong, exactly. But they’re not entirely right, either.
Kuohukerma | Whipping Cream (Pasteurized)
Finland’s pasteurized heavy cream — the one that handles heat. Kermojen aatelia, the nobility of creams.
Chicken + Scissors = Dinner
I cut my chicken with scissors. Into the pan. From frozen. No cutting board, no knife, no thawing overnight. It’s heritage cooking knowledge from my mother’s kitchen and the dim sum ladies she learned from — and it happens to be the fastest way to get dinner on the table when nobody planned ahead.
Grahamjauho | Graham Flour / Whole Wheat Flour
The whole wheat flour a 19th-century American minister designed to suppress the urge to get frisky. Also the one sämpyläjauho is cosplaying as.
Fusilli Alfredo
There are three ways to make alfredo. The Italian way uses three ingredients and decades of technique I don’t have. The American chain way uses flour, which is cheating. My way uses cream, butter, and cheese — just dairy being dairy. A Roman nonna would not approve. My son came back for seconds.
Sämpyläjauho | Bread Roll Flour
Sämpyläjauho is a Finnish bread roll flour that looks like multigrain, sits next to whole grain flour on the shelf, and radiates wholesome energy. Read the ingredients label. It is refined white flour wearing a costume.
Hiivaleipäjauho | Bread Flour
Hiivaleipäjauho is Finland’s bread flour — a higher-protein wheat flour whose name literally means “yeast bread flour.” Refreshingly honest labeling for a country whose all-purpose flour is called “semi-coarse.”
Mannapuuro in a Cocktail Dress
Mannapuuro is Finnish semolina porridge — simple, austere, the kind of thing your mummo made. My version uses cooking cream, vanilla sugar, and a tempered egg, which technically makes it a custard. Add strawberry jam and it tastes like strawberry ice cream. I didn’t plan this. The Year of Custards keeps claiming victims.
Puolikarkea Vehnäjauho | All-purpose Flour
Puolikarkea vehnäjauho is Finland’s default wheat flour — the bag you reach for when a recipe just says “jauho.” The name literally translates to “semi-coarse wheat flour” which sounds rustic but isn’t. It’s your standard all-purpose flour with a complicated linguistic relationship to the word.
Blue Raspberry Gelatin
Last time I made jello, the French syrup turned it into an accidental dinner party dessert. My son was unimpressed. He wanted BLUE. So I reverse-engineered radioactive blue raspberry gelatin from Finnish soda syrup, citric acid, and enough food coloring to stain the spoon permanently. Formula locked.
Vispikerma | Whipping Cream
Vispikerma is Finland’s shelf-stable whipping cream — 38% fat, UHT-treated, designed for cold applications where the cream needs to hold its shape. Its pasteurized counterpart kuohukerma handles heat better. Finnish bakers know the rule: vispikerma on display, kuohukerma hidden inside.
Maitojuoma | Milk Drink
Maitojuoma — literally “milk drink” — is a legal category that covers lactose-free milk, protein-reduced budget milk, and plant-based alternatives. Most of the time it’s lactose-free. For cooking, it’s interchangeable with regular milk. But the story of how Finland solved lactose intolerance while the rest of the world was still treating it as an inconvenience?…
Citron Vert Gelée
I wanted nuclear green, wobbly, trashy lime jello. Finland doesn’t sell it. So I built it from French lime syrup and powdered gelatin — and got a champagne-chartreuse gelée so accidentally sophisticated I could have served it at a dinner party. I ate the whole bowl standing at the counter. The French syrup said non.
Ruokakerma | Cooking Cream
Ruokakerma is the workhorse cream of the Finnish kitchen — a starch-stabilized cooking cream (10–22% fat) that won’t curdle no matter how long you simmer it. Thinner than heavy cream, trickier than half-and-half, it sits in a gap American dairy doesn’t bother to fill. Here’s what it actually is, what it’s made of, and why…
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.
The Stealth Bread Project: Case Files 1.8 & 1.9
In which the jar of shame gets a redemption arc, the Nutella Protocol is deployed, and we learn that some grains need backup.
The Stealth Bread Project: Case Files 1.6 & 1.7
In which I finally fix the one obvious thing, then prove the method works with a second grain. Husband selects stealth bread voluntarily. Unprompted
The Stealth Bread Project: Case File 1.5
In which I ignore my own advice about hydration, recreate a familiar disaster, and the bread screams ‘I’M WET’ while I theorize about gluten.
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.
The Stealth Bread Project: Mission Brief & Case File 1.0
In which I declare war on visible nutrition, do some math about bread prices, and introduce the concept of witness protection for grains.
Carbonaughty: A Confession
A bare fridge prompted a creative carbonara using excessive bacon, eggs, cheese, and mushrooms. The dish maintained its classic essence despite the overabundance, resulting in a silky, flavorful meal that delighted a young diner.
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.
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.…
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.
I Miss Trash
The author reflects on their longing for nostalgic American comfort food while living in Finland. Despite recognizing the superior quality of Finnish ingredients, they find that the unique flavors and textures of childhood treats can’t be replicated.
Hunted, Foraged, Traded, Inherited
Venison osso buco braised in a Tatung rice cooker, with chanterelle cream sauce from Finnish forest finds. A cross-cultural recipe with a biography.
The Great Hawaiian Bread Disaster (A Comedy of Errors in Four Loaves)
The author’s attempts to make Hawaiian bread illustrate the importance of proper liquid measurement. After three failed attempts, they discovered a crucial error in liquid quantity, leading to a successful, fluffy loaf using Finnish ingredients.
My Favorite Matcha Smoothie (Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Drink from the Blender Cup)
The author shares their love for smoothies, particularly a banana matcha version that keeps them full until lunch. They discuss sourcing ingredients and offer a detailed recipe with creative add-ins.
Dandelion Jelly Time
For the past few years, I have been looking forward to the end of May because it means… jelly-making time! We’ve always observed an unofficial sort of No-Mow May, if only because things don’t really dry out and start growing until June anyway. Even the weeds take a while to get going this far north,…