This morning, GMA's Dianne Sawyer was in northern Finland, in Kemi, Lapland to be precise. There are some wonderful video clips available on their web site of Dianne taking the plunge in 1°F waters, the world's largest ice hotel and some Finnish shouters (not singers). In the snow castle there is a fire place which, apparently, is turned off periodically to allow the area to re-freeze. One of the interesting things about this segment was that the Finnish used to have a horrific rate of heart disease which has now been reduced by 40% partly because for $50 a year they can go to any one of numerous health clinics for any kind of treatments they need. Only very rarely do people need hospitalising. They also live a very healthy life and there is great emphasis on exercise.
You can also go aboard and experience crashing through the ice on the
Sampo which is the world's biggest ice breaker and then go for your ice water dip. The final segment from Dianne was of Finnish food which looked absolutely delicious, it was cooked over open flame in a tepee by a top Finnish chef. They started with very fresh salmon which had onions as a dressing, followed by reindeer with morel mushroom sauce and finished off with grilled reindeer milk cheese in a sauce topped with cloudberries. There are quite a few video clips
click here as well as a slide show and a connection to an article about Finland. Really worth reading I thought. I couldn't find the recipes unfortunately, not that I think we have a lot of access to the ingredients.
GMA also had a crockpot contest and the winner was announced this morning, those recipes are posted if you are interested. Follow the same link. The winner was a crockpot dressing made with all kinds of ingredients which included non sweetened cornbread and chicken. I will certainly be trying out some of the recipes, they really looked good.
Its a bowling day again today, so I have to get moving. I'm running late as I stopped to watch the whole of GMA this morning, which included segments of Sam in a pool with dolphins somewhere in Florida. Matt was green with envy as he would love to swim with dolphins, not that Sam was swimming.
Here is a recipe from one of the finalists in the GMA contest.
Ribs Served With Mashed Potatoes
By Patricia Freeman of Arlington, Mass.
Ingredients for Ribs:
2 lbs pork ribs
2 tbs molasses
1 c catsup
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs Dijon mustard
A little salt 1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs soy sauce
5 cloves of garlic
1 large onion sliced
1 jalapeno chopped
Ingredients for Mashed Potatoes:
4 potatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tbs butter
1/4 cup milk
Directions for Ribs:
Simmer ribs in boiling water for 15 minutes to release some of the fat.
Put ribs in the Crock-Pot for 2 hours then add all the other ingredients.
Cook for 6 more hours on low heat or 4 hours on high heat.
Check after 4 hours to see how they are cooking. Length can vary.
If they look a little dry, add a little catsup mixed with a little water. They should fall off the bone. Delicious.
Directions for Mashed Potatoes:
Four potatoes boiled with two cloves garlic. Mash with 1/2 cup sour cream, 3 tbs butter, and 1/4 cup milk. Add more milk, if dry. Garnish with chives.
Have a great day.
This morning, GMA's Dianne Sawyer was in northern Finland, in Kemi, Lapland to be precise. There are some wonderful video clips available on their web site of Dianne taking the plunge in 1°F waters, the world's largest ice hotel and some Finnish shouters (not singers). In the snow castle there is a fire place which, apparently, is turned off periodically to allow the area to re-freeze. One of the interesting things about this segment was that the Finnish used to have a horrific rate of heart disease which has now been reduced by 40% partly because for $50 a year they can go to any one of numerous health clinics for any kind of treatments they need. Only very rarely do people need hospitalising. They also live a very healthy life and there is great emphasis on exercise.
You can also go aboard and experience crashing through the ice on the 
Sampo which is the world's biggest ice breaker and then go for your ice water dip. The final segment from Dianne was of Finnish food which looked absolutely delicious, it was cooked over open flame in a tepee by a top Finnish chef. They started with very fresh salmon which had onions as a dressing, followed by reindeer with morel mushroom sauce and finished off with grilled reindeer milk cheese in a sauce topped with cloudberries. There are quite a few video clips click here as well as a slide show and a connection to an article about Finland. Really worth reading I thought. I couldn't find the recipes unfortunately, not that I think we have a lot of access to the ingredients.
GMA also had a crockpot contest and the winner was announced this morning, those recipes are posted if you are interested. Follow the same link. The winner was a crockpot dressing made with all kinds of ingredients which included non sweetened cornbread and chicken. I will certainly be trying out some of the recipes, they really looked good.
Its a bowling day again today, so I have to get moving. I'm running late as I stopped to watch the whole of GMA this morning, which included segments of Sam in a pool with dolphins somewhere in Florida. Matt was green with envy as he would love to swim with dolphins, not that Sam was swimming.
Here is a recipe from one of the finalists in the GMA contest.
Ribs Served With Mashed Potatoes
By Patricia Freeman of Arlington, Mass.
Ingredients for Ribs:
2 lbs pork ribs
2 tbs molasses
1 c catsup
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs Dijon mustard
A little salt 1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs soy sauce
5 cloves of garlic
1 large onion sliced
1 jalapeno chopped
Ingredients for Mashed Potatoes:
4 potatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tbs butter
1/4 cup milk
Directions for Ribs:
Simmer ribs in boiling water for 15 minutes to release some of the fat.
Put ribs in the Crock-Pot for 2 hours then add all the other ingredients.
Cook for 6 more hours on low heat or 4 hours on high heat.
Check after 4 hours to see how they are cooking. Length can vary.
If they look a little dry, add a little catsup mixed with a little water. They should fall off the bone. Delicious.
Directions for Mashed Potatoes:
Four potatoes boiled with two cloves garlic. Mash with 1/2 cup sour cream, 3 tbs butter, and 1/4 cup milk. Add more milk, if dry. Garnish with chives.
Have a great day.
Jo - I take it that a crock-pot is a pressure cooker, no? Let us know what the ribs taste like when you try the recipe one day. One associates ribs with Chinese food mostly these days.
ReplyDeleteLapland should be good to experience. At Cmas time it's especially beautiful as I understand.
No a crockpot is not the same as a pressure cooker Marilyn, it is a pot which is heated by electricity and can be left with food in it too cook for a number of hours. A slow cooker I think they are called in Europe. Not sure.
ReplyDeleteYes, I would think Lapland would be gorgeous at Christmas time.
ice walls it does have something magic in it, whatever it is igloo or castle like ^^
ReplyDeleteice sculpture are so surprising too !
Yes, ice sculptures are really fantastic, but I guess an ice hotel is just a lot bigger sculpture. We saw a demo of an ice sculpture once, it is very clever.
ReplyDeleteSand sculptures are incredible too.