barbabietola/beet

I can never repay my blog back for all it has given me.  It has taught me (food) discipline, after 5 years and over 1100 posts. It has initiated wonderful friendships with amazing people.  And, it has helped me become a pretty good cook of some pretty decent meals.  Blogging has also ignited, not only an unconditional love for food, but an appreciation and interest in learning about what I have not been exposed.

For instance, cuisines from across the pond are not familiar. Living in the south, and not traveling like I used to, my exposure to global cuisines is limited.  So, I was lucky to receive an email that intrigued me with something unfamiliar and with potential to teach me about something new and unusual.  Inquiries about reviewing cookbooks or trying products don’t come my way often, and that’s okay.  I am not a review blog. But, I was thrilled, and my ears perked when given the opportunity to check out Simply Scandinavian: Traveling through Time with Finnish Cuisine and Nature, a Finnish cookbook by authors Tero Kallio and Kimmo Saira.

Many moons ago, I was in Helsinki, but my trip was a layover on my way home from Moscow and I never left the airport. Sadly, I was not able to familiarize myself the Finnish culture, let alone the cuisine.  Since I was just a teen, I imagine I wouldn’t have valued the experience, anyway. This cookbook is a beautiful glimpse into what I missed.  Now, I want to go back!

Simply Scandinavian is an effervescent tabletop book that steers its readers through a seasonal journey of culinary palatability. Now, several ingredients included in the recipes are not available on this side of the pond, or at least not in Atlanta. Unfortunately, neither Whole Foods not the Farmer’s Market carries reindeer, cloudberries, and ceps.  But, those recipes spark ideas for regional substitutes.  The other dishes are very applicable, like the soups, pork or lamb entrees, as well as the berry and meringue desserts.

The book is organized in a non-traditional way.  Where many cook book I read are arranged by category or course, Simply Scandinavian is sorted by season, then by course.  Pretty photos of the recipes and stunning captures of Finnish landscape fused the content seamlessly.

Anxious to dive in, the soon question became, which recipe do I try first?  Because Atlanta was in a marathon 90 plus degree temperature days at the time, I immediately tried the lemon lime sorbet, minus the sal ammoniac sauce.

Then, I went onto the Nettle Pasta with Beetroot burger.  Nettle?  mmm,  yeah, no idea.  According to Cook’s Thesaurus, Nettles have long been used in Europe as a substitute for spinach or kale, but they’re tricky to use.  The tips contain formic acid, a nasty irritant that can give you a serious rash on the outside and cause even more damage on the inside. You can remove the formic acid by cooking and/or soaking the nettles, but don’t try this unless you know what you’re doing.  If you’re harvesting your own nettle leaves, select young ones.    Substitutes: escarole OR beet greens OR spinach.

Perfect!  Since the beetroot burger was the other recipe I decided to try, the greens were readily available for the pesto.

I adore beets, so the burgers didn’t disappoint. Having made pesto with other green leaves, like herbs (parsley and basil, sage & mixed), spinach, and arugula, I matched it the beet green pesto with spinach fettuccine.

The Bubbly Pea Soup is the next recipe that is waiting in the wings.  It looks refreshing and perfect for the August heat.

One important note for novice cooks. I did notice that some of the recipes are not as detailed as in some  other cookbooks.  They are written with some level of assumption.  An example is the recipe I am including below.

CONGRATULATIONS!  Maris will be receiving her book soon!

Interested in checking it out?  Want a copy?  Well, here is your opportunity. How? It’s simple.

Just leave a comment (with email if it is not on your blog) and let is know you’re interested.

If you would like more than one chance to win,
“Like”  the Simply Scandinavian page on Facebook , then leave an additional comment here saying you did so. And/Or “Like” the Mele Cotte page on Facebook, then leave an additional comment saying you did so.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only and will run until Friday, August 5, 11:59 pm EST. Winner(s) will be generated via a random number generator software program, then notified via the contact email. Once contact has been made, the publisher will forward the book to the winner.

Disclosure:
This giveaway is provided to you by Smith Publicity. The views and opinions expressed on Mele Cotte are purely my own and based upon my personal experiences with the product. I was given the product(s) free of charge; however, I was not monetarily compensated for a positive review or giveaway.

Tagged as: beets, burgers, finnish cuisine, finnish food, lemon lime sorbet, pesto, scandinavian cuisine, Sorbet, Vegetarian, vegetarian burger