The Sauna

Sauna is an integral part of the Finnish culture, we have wanted one for a long time.  In the U.S., not many are in the habit of using a sauna, but it is wonderful for cleansing.  I've had a couple of requests for a tour of the sauna we just finished building...hope you enjoy it!  

This is the view into the sauna, we ordered a kit from Canada, and my husband modified for the 45 degree angle door.  The sauna is extremely well insulated and heats up fast with an electric heater.  It is 5x7 feet.

 Every sauna needs a thermometer, I found this one (cheap!) on ebay.  I love the retro look.

 I found this wooden Paula Deen soup ladle at Wal-Mart!  Works great to throw water...

We took out a door and made a dressing area--I love all the hooks and open shelving, so functional with kids and teenagers!

We put in a prefab shower stall to minimize cleaning.  My husband used leftover cedar to make trim.

Our whole family is really enjoying the sauna, and we took an unusable part of the basement and gave it a purpose.

We have snow in the U.S., too!

Here are a few pictures of our blizzard, we are still supposed to get about seven more hours of snow.  The kids are home from school, they got up early so they wouldn't miss any of their snow day!  The street by our house has not even been plowed, I went out with the snowblower but didn't have anywhere to turn around.

Our chihuahua who loves snow has no where to go in this!  I tried to clear a path for the dogs, but the snow was so deep.  It is a good day to stay in and cook and paint.

I have a new cookbook with grilling recipes, but I don't think we'll be trying them today, here is a picture of our grill and picnic table:

This is the birdbath, doesn't it look like a big ice cream cone:

The back patio door is about to be completely covered by a snow drift, I need to find the roof rake and clean this off.  Unfortunately the roof rake is in the shed...the cords in the picture are for a roof heating system to reduce ice damming, but they won't help until the weather warms up and the snow starts to melt.

Happy New Years!

I owe my readers an apology.  We had some wonderful friends over this New Years' eve who brought so much food with them that I have barely cooked all weekend!  But here is a look at what they brought:

 This is authentic Russian borscht from an old recipe in my friend Irene's family.  She is first generation  American and grew up in California.  The soup was wonderful and rich.  Irene also brought piroshki, yeast dough buns filled with ground beef and baked.  Wonderful!

Irene shared her recipe with us, here it is:


you will need a large cooking pot.
I used 2lbs.. beef shin or beef chuck with bone.
9 cups of water
3 med beets peeled and cut in half
1 1/2 Tblspn salt (to taste)
2 medium potatoes peeled and cubed
1 carrot, scraped and grated
1/2 med head of white cabbage shredded (3/4 lb.)
1 ripe tomato, coarsely chopped
6 Tblspn tomato paste
4 black peppercorns
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 Tblspn wine vinegar (I didn't have this so I used old wine)
1 tspn sugar
1 bay leaf
**(I felt the soup needed a little more oomph, so I added about 1/2 of a white onion finely chopped and about 3 med. garlic cloves finely chopped)
Sour Cream

Simmer the meat in the water for 30 minutes. Then add the beets and salt. Boil for 10 minutes more.
Remove the beets from the broth and grate coarsely. Then return to the pot and add the remaining ingredients except for the bay leaf and sour cream.
Simmer the soup until done, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the heat and add th bay leaf. Let the soup cool to room temperature, then chill overnight. Next day, skim off the fat, remove the meat from the bone and cut up into bit size pieces, put back in the soup and reheat. Serve in a bowl with a dollop of sour cream. (I also like to put a bit of dill on top)

 Our friend Anna brought Polish herring like her dad used to make, it was terrific.  She said that she took salt-cured herring and chopped onion, then drizzled on plenty of olive oil and added cracked pepper.  Very tasty! She also brought canapes of dark rye bread with salmon, goat cheese, and tomatoes or cucumbers.  They were my favorite!

I don't have photos, but Greg and Kathy brought homemade friend wontons with sweet chili dipping sauce, they were gone in no time!  I made a simple brisket roast in the slow-cooker, flavored with bouillon and surrounded by carrots and potatoes.  

We had two chocolate fountains for dessert, one milk chocolate and one white chocolate, and Anna brought strawberries to dip, along with pretzels and mini marshmallows.  Other friends sent in trays and trays of cookies.  My daughter baked a cake during the day, all by herself.  She used the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook for the cake base and decorated it with canned cream cheese icing.  It was beautiful and very tasty!

We are so fortunate to have such good friends!  We had so much food left, we have had leftovers all weekend.  I bet my family is ready for some good Finnish cooking again now!