Limppu

This Christmas, I helped out my grandmother with making some of the great traditional Christmas foods. I took some of grandma's recipes along on the way home, because they're definitely worth sharing :)

This is a typical bread from the Häme region, and it's always been a favorite of mine :)
(cooking and oven times may be a little off, because you know no self-respecting grandmother judges doneness by the clock :D )

Note: makes 4-5 limppus
Time to Prepare: many minutes
Time in Oven: ~20+ minutes/loaf

Ingredients:
1 quart buttermilk
4 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (or 2 ounces of fresh yeast)
wheat flour
rye flour
2/3 cup molasses
egg (for glaze)
spices: fennel, anise

Cookware:
two large bowls
baking cloths
baking surface/table
baking sheet
baking paper

Directions:
1. mix room temperature buttermilk with the yeast
2. add wheat flour until very loose porridge consistency
3. add 2 teaspoons fennel and 2 teaspoons anise
4. add ~2/3 cup of molasses
5. mix in wheat and rye flour until more doughlike, but still sticks to your hand. but not too much (lol)
6. cover with baking cloth and let rise
7. form the loaves. Take a chunk about four fists in size, and fold it over itself from the side in a circular motion until it stays in a hemisphere shape. Do this on your baking surface with enough flour so you don't get stuck everywhere
8. let the loaves rise, and then poke holes in them with a fork and "paint" them with egg. Set your oven to 370 F
9. put in the oven until brown

I always, being the weird kid that I was, loved to eat limppu slices with blue cheese. oh yeah.

Meatballs for a Small Army

This Christmas, I helped out my grandmother with making some of the great traditional Christmas foods. I took some of grandma's recipes along on the way home, because they're definitely worth sharing :)
(cooking and oven times may be a little off, because you know no self-respecting grandmother judges doneness by the clock :D )

Time to Prepare: ~45 minutes
Time in Oven: ~10+ minutes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of breadcrumbs (unsweetened)
4 eggs
~1.5 cups sour cream
water
4 tiny onions, or one big onion
2.2 lbs ground beef
1.1 lbs ground chicken
(or substitute with ground turkey, or any mix of the above as long as total mass constant)
spices:

Cookware:
knife
cutting board
oven dish(es)
large bowl
stirring spoon thing

Directions:
1. chop the onion until it is in tiny pieces, almost minced
2. in a large bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, sour cream, eggs and some water so that you get a "dough". note: start mixing immediately to avoid the breadcrumbs chunking up
3. add the chopped onion and the ground meat
4. set your oven to 560 F
5. grease the oven dish
6. roll the meatballs, and set in the dish. They can touch eachother. It helps to have wet/moist hands, so keep a cup of water nearby
7. put in the oven, and enjoy soon :)

This is of course traditionally served with good old mashed potatoes and some lingonberry sauce. mmmmm.....