All posts by mauk2132

Wild Lemmings.

Wild Lemmings

Wild lemmings in the Tundra regions of Norway/Finland.

Wild lemmings in the natural wilderness of the Nordic Lapland. They are almost everywhere where there are some ground cover and protection from predators.  Some of them will give out a warning call when approaching close to them, often it is by their warning call that you find them.  Their furry coat is well camouflaged for the vegetation where they live, different shades of brown and black colors make them blend into the environment.

While walking in the bush I was often the abrupt-ed by a loud squeal of a lemming close by me, looking around to see where was it, where did the sound come from, it was most times right beneath me in the tusks of grass or hiding among the growing lichen.  The lemmings seem to give a warning signal to the others lemmings close by.

Wild Lemmings get noticed by the warning call they give to other lemmings.

Most times when I spotted a lemming was after when the lemming had made a loud warning squeal.  Only one or twice did I spot a lemming when it was out crossing a road or running past the open back door on the back yard.  In the forest there was a good ground cover for them to hide, predator birds do hunt them as well as foxes.

 Wild Lemmings in the Nordic wilderness.

Lemmings presence in the Nordic wilderness varies from year to year, not every year is equal, there are seasons when there are many fold more wild lemmings to be seen, so much that it is impossible to miss them while bush walking in the Nordic wilderness.  During my visit in 2011 to Lapland in north Finland, the abundance of wild lemming was most apparent, and there were lots of them everywhere northwest of town center Inari.

Summer in Norway

Summer in Norway

Summer in Norway is fun when taking a photograph’s of the Natural environment.
During the Summer in Norway, a lot is going on in the natural fauna and flora environment of Norway during the short summer. The lemmings are plentiful this summer, they were everywhere, I have uploaded some pictures of lemmings.  Here are some of the photographs that I have taken.

I visited Norway along the shores of the Tana River, and the Inari River.

The Tana river has an extensive river base that flows full during the spring thaw of snow and ice from hundreds of kilometers upstream. Two main rivers forms the Tana River. They are the  Inari river from the south, that is also the border river between Finland and Norway.  The other is the Karasjok from the Norway side.  As the two rivers meet, they becomes Deatnu, Tana or Teno River.

Norway is re-noun for great Salmon fishing, both in the Barents Sea and the many rivers that flow into the Barents Sea.  Salmon runs upstream during the spawning season that starts during mid-summer.  The Teno river in Norway is busy with fishermen during the summer, locals from both sides of the river, and visiting tourist fishermen that go out to catch their trophy salmon.  The most significant salmon size caught in the Teno river used to be over 30 kg in the old times.  Even recent times the bigger size salmon caught there are still over 20 kg per fish, the average size about 2 kg.

Thak you for visiting www.Maukasmaku.com website. For more similar content visit www.Nordiccuisinefocus.com

The Summer Season Bursting With New Life.

Summer is in full swing of things, flora and fauna regenerating with a fervent zeal.  The vegetation has grown into dark green lush foliage, with an array of wildflowers with all the colors that you can imagine and many flowers blooming.

Summer is here, birds and ducks have nested, and the little ducklings are out on the waters, with their little flipper feet at times paddling in hyper speed, with incredible quick bursts of speed.

Some of the Sea Ducks that have duckling out of the nest already are Somateria mollissima, Mergus merganser, Branta leucopsis, Anas platyrhynchos, and the White whooping swans.  There are also other ducks around, but I have not spotted any ducklings out with them as yet; e.g., Aythya fuligula.

Summer is a very active season, it is the busiest of all the seasons, more new life things happen during the summer season than the other seasons combined, it is the up-and-go-season.

Grain crops in Finland.

Grain crops in Finland.

Grain crops are an essential part of the traditional Finnish cultural cuisine, it has been extensively grown/farmed in the region for several hundred years. Initially, grain crops were first planted and cultivated by the Battle Axe tribes people from the West, that moved along the Gulf of Finland over 2000 years ago.  The original Ingria-land people of the Gulf of Finland learned grain crops and farming skills from the visitors to their land.

Grain crops and bread consumption is prevalent, there are many types of bread influence from the west and the east. Wholesome heavy Rye bread and the quick flatbread called “Rieska.”

Grain crops were a vital food source for livestock also, e.g., in the days when horses were for transportation, especially during the long winter months.  Oats and dried grass/hay would keep the horse’s energy level up for hauling heavy loads and transporting people.

Picture of a grain crop field.

Barley is one of the oldest grain crops to been farmed, it was also the first to be farmed in Finland.  Of the grains listed, Barley has the fastest growing cycle to harvest.  One of the first bread to emerge in Finland was a Barley Rieska, it is quick to prepare flatbread.  Barley bread is very popular even today.

Rye (Ruis) is the most important grain crops in the Suomi-land (Finland), the word grain seed was also the synonym for rye.  The origin of the word is “rug is” it goes back over 2000 years to Germania.  The Rye is suitable for growing in relatively rugged soils and cold climates. Also, the harvesting of grain crop is also straight forward even with a basic harvesting technique.  Rye bread and sachet of salt has been used as a symbol of good luck and success, also an ideal symbolic gift for a house-warming party.  Dried rye grains were also used as a commodity in the previous centuries.  Many gift shops used to sell a gift pack (for show only) with small size rye bread disks and a small sachet of sea salt.  The traditional rye bread was about 30 cm diameter flat disks, with a hole in the center.  The hole in the center of the rye bread was there for a perfect practical reason.  The bread traditionally was prepared and baked in large volume (bulk) then they were hung on the wall of the kitchen to cool down, by a long pole that was hooked on the wall on brackets like a window curtain hanger.  There the rye bread could sit on the wall happily and naturally without getting moldy or danger of any rodents.  Some old black and white photos of kitchens show that type of bread storage in use.

Field Oats (Avena sativa) in the Suomi-land it is ”kaura,” also a word with origin from the Germania and in the Swedish the word is “havre.”  By appearance, the oat plants are very similar to that of long blades of grass.  The head of the grain has thick a thick husk, and the plant is self-pollinating.

Wheat is one of the oldest and the most essential farmed grain crops plants in the world.  It is the most cultivated grain crops in Europe and North America, it is also extensively cultivated in Australia, Argentina, Russia, and China.  In Suomi-land, wheat is the most demanding to grow, because it requires a long growing season and a particularly suitable soil.  Therefore the ever increasing history of grain in the Suomi-land is relatively short.

Grain crops in Finland.

The soil conditions and the growth temperatures of the grain crops do vary from the West to East and the South to the North of Finland.

Apparently due to the proximity to the north pole and the warm air currents that flow from the south-west of Finland.  The grain crops were harvested during the autumn time and re-planted during the same autumn season before the snow falls and the frost appears in October-November-December with some variation year to year.  By planting the grain crops before the winter, that gives the grains a head start for the next spring growing season.  Early of the spring season, the fields are covered with snow and ice when the snow/ice melts, and the fields are soft, wet and boggy which can make it difficult in many cases to plant the grain crop seeds into the soil.  So the grain crops seeds spend their first six months covered with snow and ice and they hibernate in the darkness of the soil, and maybe give some winter sustenance to the field mice and other critters.

The Nordic Spring season.

The Nordic Spring season.

One of the sure signs of the new spring season is the green leaves on the birch trees.  Birch trees get covered up in green leaves early in the spring season, in just two weeks.

An essential part of the Finnish sauna tradition during the spring season is the birch tree branch Vihta/Vasta.

It is made up of the new fresh birch branches as they appear in the spring season.  The branches about the length of an arm that are bundled together, tied with a new branch shoot that forms a tight collar.  A single Vihta has about 10 -20 birch branches in a bundle.

The use of the spring season vihta is to whack the back of a person in the hot steaming sauna.  The whacking motion fan’s hot air, therefore, concentrated heat is applied to the back of the person.  The whacking motion also works like a light scrub or a massage.  The green leaves of the branches slapping the back of the person.

The sauna house gained popularity because of the need to warm up after working and toiling outside during the freezing winters of the Nordic season in Finland.  Forestry timber work was backbreaking labor, and it created sweating workers which eventually (when the action stopped) turned into ice and sore muscles.  After a days toil, the Lumberjacks needed to wash up warm up and refresh for the next day toil.  The sauna was the ideal remedy for those people of the land in the early years of the 18 century.  The sauna was often the first building built when moving into a new area of land for farming or forestry workers campsite.

Pictures of the spring season birch tree Vihta.

There have been many types of sauna’s, and various heating methods, fireplaces and the heated rocks that create the steam inside the room.  Most of the early ones were heated with the smoke staying inside the sauna room, there was no chimney.  After the rocks were hot and ready, a window would be opened to let most of the smoke out, then the bathers could go in, throw water on the rocks and enjoy the hot steam in the heated sauna.  The walls of those smoke saunas are always black from smoke, there would still be a visible tell sign if someone had leaned on the wall of a smoke sauna.  I’m not sure where/what they sat on, without getting the black soot on their butt.

Pori Tori.

The Pori Tori is a market square in the city of Pori, on the west coast of Finland.

There are various types of stalls at the Pori tori, depending on the season and the time of the year.  It is open through the year, there are many flowers stalls, fresh fish, fruit & vegetables, handcrafts, second-hand items/books, baked goods, and a cafe.  It is open Mon-Saturday; morning 7:00 am until noon, pack up/closing time about 2:00 pm.

I visited the Pori Tori today, and it was good to see that the new products in this spring season are well on their way.

Already there were new season local fresh herbs and local tomatoes available for sale at the Pori tori, and as usual, the quality was excellent.  There was an excellent supply of fresh fish and also smoked fish products.  Potatoes and carrots also available from the previous season at the Pori tori, the quality of the vegetables looks excellent, I was told by one vendor that the potatoes are stored underground in a cellar, that is the traditional storage method of fruit and vegetables here in the Nordic region of Finland.  The beauty of an underground cellar is that no electrical motors are running 24/7 12 months of the year (e.g., cool rooms/fridges), so there is no energy consumption, other than lighting, e.g., when fetching supplies from the cellar.

Pori Tori, market square.

As the spring warms up and the summer arrives the fresh ingredients will continue to build up and increase at the Pori Tori.

The season usually peaks in the middle/end of summer as the berry and mushroom season peaks and tapers down in August-Sep.  The new potatoes season that comes onto the market at Pori tori is a Menu favorite for many; e.g., Boiled new potatoes (halved), boiled eggs (9 minutes), chives with tomato, cucumber (seeded), red onion salad and citrus chive olive oil vinaigrette. Served with pieces of smoked salmon or Baltic herrings, yum yum.

Recipe Idea:

New potatoes start in cold salted water, bring to simmer, turn off heat allow to soften with a lid on until just perfect al dente. Allow cooling a few minutes and portion the potatoes into1/4 pieces. Add some olive oil and toss lightly, let the potatoes absorb the olive oil for a few minutes. Crack some pepper as well if so desired.

Salad:  Dice cucumber 1cm x1 cm (remove seeds), tomato 1cm x 1cm, red onion 5mm x 5mm, chop chives into 1mm bits,  add some dressing to it when ready for service.

Eggs: Bring water to boil, prick the end of each egg with the point of a sharp knife (to let air out as they cook). Place the eggs into the boiling water, cook for 9 minutes sharp. Remove eggs and place into cold water, refresh.  Peel eggs after about 5-10 minute wait, then cut the peeled eggs into 1/2, lengthwise.  Use a little Turku mustard to add flavor to the eggs.

Smoked fish:  Salmon; break up the fillet along the grains into 2-3 cm pieces.  Smoked Baltic herrings; peel off the skin, remove the sides from the backbone, remove the stomach cavity.

Dressing: Place lemon juice, sugar, salt, and vinegar into a blender, run the mixer and add the olive to it slowly so that the emulsion becomes light.

Presentation:

Place potatoes onto a clean plate, add the salad (ready dressed) on top, followed by the egg halves, and the portions of the smoked fish.  Garnish with some chives and a lemon wedges.