This Weekend: Invitation Design!

This weekend, I have to admit that I was at work a bit finishing up with some graphics for a report, but I was also working on a really fun project too.

I designed the invitations to my friend Leanne's engagement party. She and her fiance are having their wedding at a resort, and they don't get the fun of sending out their own wedding invitations (it was fun for me, at least!), so they wanted to create something special for their engagement party. She asked me to do it a while ago, and I have been working on it in bits and spurts.


It was quite a fun design challenge for me, because Severine (Leanne's fiance) wants to incorporate paisley into their wedding design, and Leanne is using different feathers for the event. I decided to combine the two, and came up with this motif for them. This is the pattern that is used sparingly on the front of the invitation, and also on the backside, to reinforce the theme. I think they eventually want to get label stickers with this pattern on them too! I am so happy they like my design. It was great to see Leanne so excited about it!

I will post the final results (the front of the card) soon - it is missing their picture right now.

Upping the Cuteness Factor

Well, my readers have spoken, and I am listening! "More cute puppies!" you said (that's a lie - no one said that). "We want to read about things, little and furry!" you urged (another lie on my part).

Well, dear readers, for you....

photo by Juan Castaneda

Sebastien and I are puppy-sitting this weekend for a friend of a friend. His name is Beethoven, and he is 2 and a half years old, and very sweet. We went to the farmers' market this weekend, and then to the dog park.

yet another beautiful photo by Juan Castaneda

I wish you a great weekend, filled with many things, cute.

Another Step, Almost Finished!

Today is Wednesday. For the past 15 weeks, this has meant that I will not see Sebastien after work until after 10:pm, because he is taking a class. Specifically, he is taking the Level 3 Advanced Certificate in Wine and Spirits, from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET).

Tonight is his final class, and next Wednesday he is taking a really daunting exam. Even before he started taking these classes, I was amazed by his knowledge of wines, and his capacity to remember minutia, but now....


Let's just say that, as I review flashcards with him for his exam, I am frequently blown away by ability to remember the tiniest details about soils, and climate, and production, and wine regions, and wine law, etc. He is amazing, and I am so proud of his initiative in taking these courses (he took the intermediate course last year).

I have little idea what this certificate may mean in the future, but I know whatever it is, will be great! Way to go, Sebastien! You give me inspiration every day.

-And after you are finished next week, let's go out for some BEER.

Whew!

I am a lady with many missions these days. I have many (fun and exciting) things on the burner; things that will be spoken of soon enough.


I am working on a tablecloth for Tamara, some wedding shower invitations for my friend Leanne, adding some things onto an apron I got as a birthday gift, and I still need to send out those little monsters (sorry Chris and Chip - they are coming!!!). Things are also pretty busy at work, and I just got home from softball practice, and.... and.... Well, like I said, there are many more things on the burner.

Take care. I hope you have a wonderful week.

You Can't Catch Me; I'm the Gingerbread (wo)Man!

Every year for Valentine's Day, I make Sebastien some gingerbread cookies. Don't ask me why....

What I do know is that the first time I made them for him, he literally ate so many he got sick. So I took that as a compliment and have been making them since. This past weekend (I guess in honor of summer?), I made them again. They aren't very summery, but they are tasty, and there were no complaints.


(Extra) Ginger Gingerbread Cookies (adapted from allrecipes.com)

1c. white sugar
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground nutmeg (I use fresh, and it is really nice, but you can use the jar too)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt (I use kosher, because I like getting bites with more "bite," you know?)
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda

1c. melted butter
1/2c. evaporated milk
1/2c. maple syrup
1/2c. unsulfered molasses
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. lemon extract

4c. all-purpose flour

1/4c. chopped dried candied ginger (this is the secret!)

1. Preheat oven to 350'F and grease cookie sheet

2. Find some cute cookie-cutters that you have tucked away (this time I wanted a summery theme, so I made bees, hearts, and starfish). Set them aside

3. Mix the first 6 ingredients (all dry ingredients except flour and chopped candied ginger)

4. Mix in the next 6 (wet)

5. Stir in the flour. If it is still sticky (mine usually is), add 1/2 to 1c. more. Add chopped candied ginger.

6. Roll to 1/2" thick.

7. Cut and place on baking sheet.

8. Bake at 350' for 9-11 minutes.

The frosting, I am almost embarrassed to put online. I feel like I need to justify it. It does have corn syrup in it, and I adamantly avoid it when I can. It is unfortunately very bad for you, and even more, it is in virtually all prepared foods at the supermarket. So, I think I may have put on sunglasses when I actually bought a container at the store. BUT, I am very careful about my corn syrup intake, and I seldom make these cookies, and it makes the frosting SO lovely and shiny, like a nice glaze. *If any of you know of an alternative to using it that will still result in shiny little cookie gems, please let me know.* So - ahem - here without further ado:

Lovely Glazed Icing

1c. confectioners sugar

2 tsp. milk

2 tsp. light corn syrup

1/4 tsp. lemon extract

whatever food coloring you would like (this time I opted for white)

some lemon zest, if you have it on hand

1. Mix sugar and milk.

2. Add everything else.

3. Dip cookies in, or I like to paint it on with a kitchen brush.

4. Enjoy!

To Umbrella, or NOT to Umbrella?

I am a "NO umbrella" girl.

For some reason, I get bothered when I walk around this grey city in drizzle, and people here are buzzing around with cute shoes, perfectly coiffed hair, and huge golf umbrellas, completely not noticing as they nearly poke one another in the eye. In my head, I am thinking, "C'mon people - this is a rainy climate! Embrace it!" I want to see the sky, and be immersed in the grey-ness of it.

I know, I know - this is my own deal.

I think it has something to do with my time living in Portland. People there don't use umbrellas; they just get wet (as a side-note to this mini-rant, the 2003 movie The Hunted was filmed in Portland, and they had quite a few street scenes. Portlanders kept pointing out how inauthentic this movie was because the people on the street all carried umbrellas in the rain).

However, and here it is a little confusing, but if I still lived in New York, I would own an umbrella (although there, you never know when to use it, because the storms come out of nowhere). Strange, I know.

(This picture was taken immediately after we got engaged, after standing in the rain for over two hours drooling over Radiohead, and is not a good indication of how soaked I am on a given "normal" day of work, etc.)

The other day, I heard the clouds open, and I looked out the window to a full-out (ain't holdin' nothing back) downpour. It was the same type of rain I grew up with, that used to come at 2:30 in the afternoon, in the middle of the summer. This is the kind of rain that makes the heat and humidity of New York bearable.... It was nice. And I thought, "Okay. Umbrellas make sense here, for the moment." Twenty minutes later it was all over, and the sky "cleared" to a lovely grey again. --The "almost sun" we are used to here in Vancouver.

Do you like umbrellas? Don't worry - I won't judge you (much).

Bucket List

I am sure you have had this experience:

One day, you hear the word "dystopia" (or some word equally obscure) and you think, "Hmmn.... I haven't heard that word in ages!" --And then the next day, you are sitting on the train, and someone says, "What a dystopia we are living in." --And then the day after that, you are at work, putting your bagged lunch into the refrigerator, and one of your co-workers mentions that China is in such a dystopic state, and there must be something that can be done. At this point, I usually think to myself, "Have I been in a cave, not noticing this word, or is it that I just happened upon it three days in a row, by random chance?"

Over the past few weeks, this has been the case with the "bucket list."

I always have a "to do" list, at least in my head, of things I want to accomplish. So even though it was never formalized, I guess that was my "bucket list." I just didn't know that at the time.

Two years ago, my friends told me about a friend of theirs, who had been dating a woman for over 7 years. The woman wanted to get married, and their friend dragged his feet about making the commitment, saying he still had things he wanted to while he was single (in the legal sense of the word). One day, his girlfriend sat him down and said, "Okay. We are going to make you a bucket list of things you want to do while you are single, and you can put anything you want on this list, but after you finish doing everything on the list, we are getting married." And that is exactly what happened.


Well, in the last few weeks, I have been thinking (and hearing) a lot about bucket lists again. People have been talking about what they want to do before they move from their apartment, or what they would like to accomplish at their current job, or finish before they die.

Here are a few things that are on my bucket list (although not all of them - a girl has got to keep some things to herself!). These are (it will be obvious in a moment) in no particular order, and may be added to (or subtracted from), at any time. I reserve that right.

• quilt a duvet cover (from my beautiful Marimekko fabric!)
• start a design firm
• camp (in Hawaii)
• make more time to sew much, much more than I currently do
• travel to many more places (there are too many to list)
• hike the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, from France to Spain
• see the Grand Canyon
• buy a house and restore it
• design my own house, and help build it
• stay out all night clubbing in Copenhagen again
• help people plan and pull off their weddings
• take a class in sewing
• take a class in pattern-making
• write a children's book (about chickens)
• write a follow-up book (!)
• visit family more
• volunteer at a retirement community
• rescue a dog/cat
• get my PADI certification for scuba-diving
• teach classes at a college or university
• travel to give lectures
• learn French
• become fluent in Spanish

There are probably many things I've forgotten.

What is on YOUR list?

Even Monsters Love Photo Booth

Well, I was home from work this afternoon (with a stomach ache), so I put my time to good use, and finished the three little monsters I started a bit ago!


Like l.o.m. (little orange monster), these little buggers are more than a little lively!

Maybe they are taking after me a bit (or maybe this is just monster-nature), but the first thing they wanted to do was play around with Photo Booth, and - well, I'm a pushover. These are the results. Yikes! I hope Christine and Chip are willing to put up with goof-balls! OK - I'll admit it - I joined in the fun, too!

I will try to get them sent out this weekend, along with some other treats, but first we may tour Vancouver together (they are insisting). Cross your fingers for some sun this weekend!

Dinner Date

My favorite part of just about every day is the time I get to sit down with Sebastien for dinner. We are both busy, busy people, so on those crazy nights, frequently we prepare something quick (usually a stirfry or burritos). Every night, one of us sets the table and puts on "dinner appropriate music" (what that is, is debatable - sometimes even Hot Chip is okay dinner music; sometimes not). We hold hands across the table and say the following prayer (by Satish Kumar - although I didn't know this before just now):

Lead me from death to life;

From falsehood to truth.

Lead me from despair to hope;

From fear to trust.

Lead me from hate to love;

From war to peace.

Let peace fill our hearts, our world, our universe.

Amen

After we say this prayer, I feel quieted, and we can continue on with a lovely dinner. Even though it is sometimes a much quicker meal than I would like, I really appreciate the time we have to gather our thoughts, join our hands together, and give thanks for all our blessings.

33 (!) Years Ago....

Far, far away in Upstate New York, a mother and father had a baby girl. They named her Hope, for their expectations for this young one were great.


She went off into the world, and had many adventures, and expectations and plans of her own.


I appreciate so much everything you, my family and friends, did along the way for this little girl (if you haven't figured it out, it's me). Your love is very apparent, and I am so lucky for it!!!

Gosh darn it, I love birthdays!

(The top picture is with my dad; the bottom one, with Chip and Grandma Telford [I would love to do a Young Me / Now Me of it, if Grandma T were still with us!].... I looked for photos of me as a baby with my whole family, and didn't find any! Next year, perhaps.)

Have a wonderful day!

We've Come a Long Way, Baby!

I am writing this post in response to my sweet, intelligent, and wonderfully creative friend Jenn. She is always doing fun projects around her house, and with her kids, and recently she asked, "So what is your favorite thing in your house? Something you or your child has done or something thrifted/bought out and about? I love sneak peeks into everyone's special spaces!" So, I thought I would give her (and many of my friends and family who unfortunately haven't been able to visit Vancouver) a sneak peek at my favorite part of our little home.

When Sebastien was away this past fall, I was pretty down in the dumps for a while. I was very busy: studying for a really big exam, going out a lot with my friends here, taking walks and having dinners, and using every opportunity I had to talk with Sebastien. --But I was still sad. I considered moving to a different apartment in a different neighborhood (just for kicks), but then thought it would be too much work, on top of my already busy schedule. I decided to put my energies into positive changes around our apartment that would be a nice surprise for him, when he returned. In a day of cleaning, I found some picture frames, and then I went out the next day to find 3 more matching frames in the alley (if I haven't told you about our "magic alley," I would be shocked - it has given us the most interesting stuff we have in our apartment)!

Anyway, I wanted to feel some productive creativity, and finally inspiration struck. I spent over a month arranging and rearranging all these frames on a table in the middle of our living room (I had been listless around the house, to say the least). Finally one Sunday, I wanted to turn my mood around, so I went to the hardware store around the corner and got a few new bottles of paint, and went to town on the frames. My idea was that I wanted a whole wall that would complement the paper poppies I made, and that would cheer me up a bit. The paints I bought were magenta with glitter, fire engine red, basketball orange, some light hard red, and some french grey (I already had yellows, black and white).


It definitely took me WAY too long for this whole project, but I am STILL cheered up every time I look at the fun frames and photos of family and friends. I think it is nice in the context of the rest of our bedroom too - it definitely brightens it up a bit!



Thinking back on the many projects that Sebastien and I have taken on in our three years here, we've definitely come a long way. I am very happy with all the work we've done, and look forward to more fun projects like this (although I hope they go a little quicker!).

To conclude, I will repeat Jenn's question: "So what is your favorite thing in your house?"

Whistler Weekend

Here are some pictures from last weekend, my not-so-secret getaway with Sebastien:

First Things First

Get Our Bearings a Little - We are Basically Staying Between Whistler and Blackcomb

Forecast For the Weekend? High in Spirit, With a Chance for Relaxation Throughout the Day

Happy to be Out of Town for a Couple of Days

The View of the Mountains Through the Binoculars

The Biggest Surprise, a Few Hours in the Scandinavian Baths

I Fell in Love With the Chairs - I Think I am Going to Have to Find Some for Me!

As Always, I Made Sebastien Go Watch Skateboarders

I Was Sick the Whole Time, so This Is Pretty Much as Active as I Got the Whole Weekend

Some Skunk Cabbage on Our Walk - Right Near a Picnic Spot

The Beautiful Quilt in the Beautiful Whistler Library

I think I am ready to go back again!

Secret / Not-so-Secret Getaway

Sebastien and I are going away for a getaway, just the two of us, this weekend. I am super excited.

This is a trip I thought about a lot when he went to California to work at Saintsbury winery for three months, three weeks after our wedding. If this is the first you are hearing of him working in the Napa Valley, my apologies. Let's just say that it was a great learning experience for him. For me - well, let's just say that I am happy he is back, and we aren't going to do that long of a stint again (at least not right after the high, high emotions of getting married!).

While he was gone, I thought a bit about the two of us going away to reconnect a bit, and have some relaxation time together. As it often goes, though, we put off the weekend because there were so many things to catch up on, around the house, with our friends, and in our lives.

So suddenly it is Christmas, and so I give Sebastien a weekend away voucher.


And so this weekend, as a "Welcome Back from California"/"Merry Christmas" present, I am taking him on a secret (not so secret) weekend vacation. He knows we are going away but doesn't know where. He did figure out we will be in Canada, though.... He was nervous about me leaving the country (I am waiting for renewal work-papers right now), and I didn't want him to worry about it, so I told him that yes; it was a lie when I said we needed passports.

I will tell you though - I think it is going to be nice and relaxing. I am very excited for the down time. Life around here has been hectic lately, to say the least!

I will be sure to upload pictures when we get back!

Holy Meatwad, Batman OR Very Busy Weekends

Disclaimer:
If you are vegetarian, you may want to wait until my next post to read my blog.

If you aren't vegetarian, I will share with you a few facts, and a conclusion.

1. It would be an gross understatement to say that I like sausage. I adore it, really. That also sounds a little gross to me, but so be it. It is out in the open now: I LOVE (definitely in caps) sausage.

However, there is a bit of a rub. I don't like to buy it in the store, because I have no clue what the $*@% is in the stuff you buy there. Use your imaginations, folks. Whatever gross thing you are picturing in your head is probably in most of the sausage at the store. Sorry - it is true. I would be a total liar if I said I don't eat the stuff though every once in a while. I do. (In fact, one of my favorite food venders here in Vancouver is called Japadog, and though I don't go there often, I do go there.)

2. Sebastien and I love to travel, and we love to cook, and we love trying new recipes. When we were in South Africa, we got really excited about boerwors, literally "farmer's sausage," that was served at every braii (barbeque) we attended. We had a really hard time locating some when we arrived in Vancouver from Cape Town, so we thought, "Hmmmn.... Maybe we could get our butcher to make this for us! We'll just give him the recipe." Then our thoughts changed to, "Why don't we just do it ourselves?"

3. For Christmas, Sebastien's sister gave him a sausage attachment to use on our Kitchen Aide (thanks, V!), so now there were no excuses.

In CONCLUSION, we are now sausage-makers. (The strange part about all this is that I don't think we cook meat more than once every two weeks, if that.)

We've done about 4 batches so far, and each one has been totally different from the rest.

We made a classic Italian sausage first (because it was pretty basic), and then moved on to boerwors (free range organic pork & beef, a little bacon, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, garlic, and some chilis), then did a merguez, and the most recent one we made was pork with apples and leeks. All have been delicious, and all of them I can stand behind.

What has caught me by surprise is how excited people got when I told them what we were doing! So many co-workers were interested in getting some, and so now we are having a hard time keeping up with the demand! That isn't a bad thing at all. It seems like other people were also looking for quality sausages!

Because we've been making so much, this is an (almost) all-day process. We purchase the meat and other ingredients from the best suppliers we can think of (without a car, which makes bringing home 12-15lbs of meat home more interesting), and then prep the ingredients, chopping and grating (in the case of the boerwors, we had to grate a few tablespoons of nutmeg - you could totally taste the difference).

First we partially freeze the meat, to make it easier to cut into cubes and then grind. Then we season it all (which uses every large bowl we have, to make sure the seasoning is dispersed evenly). We put the ground, seasoned meat back through the stuffer, and load the casings onto the "nose," being careful not to tear it. After the casings have been filled, we make links and then dry them, in the refrigerator. The following morning is when we are able to cut them apart and bag them for our friends!

Here are some photos of the process (these are from the italian sausages):

Some ingredients - garlic, fennel, parsley, chili flakes, and casings.


Sebastien looking very intent on grinding the meat - this takes a couple of hours usually


Cutting apart the links - after putting the seasoned meat into the casings


The finished products

We've been making one batch per month so far, giving most of it away (well, not giving it away, but...). I am sure we will keep it up, experimenting with different recipes and ingredients. If you have any recipes you've tried, let me know!

What My Life Feels Like Lately....

I have really been craving more sun, now that it started teasing us every once in a while!

I had a bit of a tough day yesterday, so I wanted to share something that is fun and always makes me smile.

Here is a video Sebastien made last year, on our honeymoon. We did spend one day at Disneyland (I know, I know...), but it was SO much fun. We had a hoot! It makes me feel a little better that I did have a mini-meltdown while we were there, about consumerism! Ah well....

(Pause my jukebox for a full experience!)

CRAZY Busy Week!

Here are some of the things I have been doing this week:

1. Helping instruct architecture students for an urban design charette.
2. Celebrating a great friend becoming a registered architect (with a surprise party). Congratulations, Sarah!
3. Helping arrange said surprise, and making sure said friend got to said party without knowing what was going on.
4. Catching up a little bit with my sister-in-law about the goings on, on their side of the family.
5. Going to IKEA to get some lovely (and inexpensive) fabrics!
6. Wandering around Vancouver's Chinatown (although my mission was unsuccessful because all the shops apparently close early - I guess I'll have to go back!).
7. Curling-as-team-building for a project I am part of at work.
8. Lots and lots of paperwork (at work).
9. Wine Club.
10. Attending a lecture by a really cool designer.
11. Walking home along the seawall, and becoming awe-struck at the quiet.
12. Looking at dirty dishes in the sink, shrugging it off, and being okay with just going to bed.
13. Making plans (!!!! What am I doing!?) for this weekend.

What I haven't been doing is blogging. More to come!

I hope you have a great weekend! What are your plans?

A Glorious Vancouver Weekend!

I had been hearing rumors all last week that the weather was supposed to be cold and rainy. Needless to say, I was SO happy when I woke up Saturday morning, and the sun was up! I did a little sewing in the morning (working on the monsters), and then met Sebastien for a nice long walk along the seawall before dinner.


This is one of the first places we walked, I have always wondered about this installation. This particular quote reads fully, "Come to time where people talk different but good together." For a little insight...


My sweetheart, looking sweet.


Us trying to take a picture of ourselves lying on the grass together. I have to admit that I like the way it came out, anyway!


The concrete factory on Granville Island.


An art installation along the seawall. The bird's wings flap in the wind (the sails are a little worse for the wear right now though).


A very cute and VERY excited puppy we saw on our walk.


The floating ramp to the water taxis.


Logs on the beach.


Sunday we went to church, and then I met a good friend for an exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver, and then we went for a walk around our neighborhood with our friend and former professor, Stephen Duff, making a map of interesting restaurants and points of interest for a group of architeture students. The students are from the University of Oregon, and are doing a three-month study abroad term in Vancouver. I am very happy to say that I will be helping out with their urban design charette this week (giving the students design feedback)and then assisting through the term as well as an adjunct instructor.
These are just a few photos we took around our neighborhood:

This is a block or two from my office.


There are so many flowers in bloom!


Here are three trouble-makers, up to no good.

Spring Will Soon be Going to the BIRDS!

Yep. It is that time of year again. That time when the crocuses are just about past their season, and the hyacinths are in full bloom! The air has a wonderful smell of soil and grass. The animals are preparing homes for their soon-to-come young ones, and I will likely be running in terror on my way to work. Yes. It is (almost) that time of year when the crows get protective about their fledglings, who are just beginning to roam from their nests. It is that time of year when workers gather around the proverbial "water cooler" to exchange stories of people who've been dived upon. I am here to say that I am one of those people...


I have been attacked five times by the crows in front of my office. There have been five times that I've been on my way to work and felt a thud or a set of talons on the top of my head. Once, a crow swooped on my head, grabbed my hair, flew off and before I knew what hit me I saw his buddy coming down to finish me off! -And so, I am starting to get a little bit paranoid about my safety, anticipating fledgling season. I think I am also a bit nervous because I've had my suspicions confirmed that crows never forget a face, and even if I knew what I did to offend them, there is nothing you can do to get back into their good graces.

It makes me feel like Tippi Hedren, running away from the flock of crows in Alfred Hitchcock's classic film The Birds. Ah well.... How did that movie end? Only one person died, right?

Maybe this year, I will bring seeds and corn with me to work (and old Chinese food - they seem to like that). Until then, I am going to follow some of these guidelines I found:


What to do in case of a potential swooping bird attack (taken in its entirety from the Compleat Wetlander):

1. Avoid the “swoop” area—this is an open area between stands of trees, like a marsh, a wet meadow, but could also be a recreational park area.
2. If riding a bike, wear a helmet, and if birds begin to swoop, get off the bike and walk it to safety. Swooping birds can cause a cyclist to have an accidental injury.
3. Warn others. If there are others who might be unaware of swooping birds, such as children, let them know to be observant or to avoid the area, especially during certain birds’ breeding seasons.
4. Travel in a group. Most birds only swoop down onto individuals.
5. Be confident and face a swooping bird. Like tigers, birds tend to attack prey that are facing away from them.
6. Do not panic and run. It will only encourage a bird to continue its attack.
7. Wear a hat in the area where there are swooping birds.
8. Paint “eyes” on the back of your hat. Wearing sunglasses on the back of a hat has the same effect.
9. Holding a stick or umbrella over one’s head will deter a bird attack.
10. Do not harass, interfere or throw stones at birds. This only makes them more aggressive and defensive, especially if they have nests nearby.
11. Do not destroy nests.
12. Do not feed or try to befriend swooping birds.

-List adapted from the Department of Sustainability, Victoria, Australia

Good luck, and for your own safety, please wear a hat.

Sneaky Peek(y) Monsters

These aren't finished yet (one still needs his back/front sewn together), but I will likely send these little monsters off in the next week or so. They don't quite have names, and I need to take pictures of them hanging out yet, but here are little bits of the little guys! Just think of it like Highlights for Children, but fun.

For Thom:


For Samson:


For Henry:


I hope they like these sweet little toys for three sweet little boys!

Happy Easter!

We have a busy day lined up for Easter this year: breakfast with Sebastien, church this morning, wine tasting this afternoon (with some people from Sebastien's wine education course, so it is technically "studying"), hors d'œuvres with friends, and then off to dinner with different friends!

I wanted to bring something special for our friends who are kind enough to share their Easters with us. That is why I was so busy yesterday in the kitchen!

One of the treats I made is pulla, a Finnish cardamon bread. I grew up eating it, with Raili and Carl, and their kids, whose home served as my "second home." I love this bread, and it isn't too complicated to make; it just takes a bit of time (it usually takes me extra time, too because I inevitably forget one of the ingredients at the store).

The recipes I've found online are all relatively similar to one another. I have been looking for good recipes for years, and have never tried a "bad" one, but definitely some are nicer than others, in how the bread turns out. I use bits and pieces from many to cobble together my pulla. As a rule, any recipe you find online is lacking in the cardamon department. That is what makes this bread so complex and tasty. However much they call for, I use about 5-7 times that amount. Trust me on this.


Pulla (my cobbled and adjusted recipe):

Need:
3 Tbs ground cardamon (Two of the best recipes I've found use 1-2 teaspoons - too little!!)
5 or 6 cardamon pods, if you have them around
2 c milk
2 pkg active dry yeast
2 eggs, beaten
1 c sugar
1/2 c melted (unsalted) butter
3/4 t salt
6 1/2 to 7 cups all-purpose flour

For glaze:
1 egg, beaten
sugar (I use pearl sugar, but it is a bit hard to find - I've heard Ikea has it though!)
maraschino cherries (just on special occasions - usually they are too sweet for me, but they are so pretty and festive.)

Do:
1. Heat milk and cardamon pods on stovetop at medium heat until a skin starts to form on the milk and it bubbles slightly. This should happen around 115'F. Remove the cardamon pods from the milk with a slotted spoon.
2. Combine ground cardamon, sugar and salt in a large bowl, then add the scalded milk and stir.
3. When you put your finger into the milk (and it is just very warm; not too hot), add the yeast packets and stir to dissolve yeast.
4. Add the eggs and butter and mix with a wooden spoon.
5. Add half of the flour and mix well.
6. Add the other half and mix more.
7. Knead about 10 minutes, until dough is smooth.
8. Place mixture back into covered bowl to rise for a couple (or few) hours (until it doubles in size).
9. Cut dough ball in half.
10. Cut each of those parts into four pieces (or three if you aren't comfortable making 4-stranded braids - or MORE if you are a REAL fancy-pants!) and make into strands as long and thin as you are able to make, without having the dough break apart.
11. Braid loosely (ensuring your dough rises as much as it needs), and tuck in the ends. Place on parchment paper or rub your baking tray with a little butter or oil.
12. Let raise again for a few hours. It should look like this:


Mix the last egg and brush on the loaves. Use the pearl sugar on top, and if you like, the maraschino cherries.


As the Finnish would say, "Nauttia!" (or "Enjoy!).