Happy May Day!

In Finland May Day is one of the biggest celebrations. It’s a national bank holiday, and whether one thinks it originates from Christian tradition (a nun called Valburg was declared a saint on the 1st of May, hence in Finnish it’s called “Vappu”) or international worker’s day, doesn’t really affect the way it is celebrated. These days it can mostly be seen as student’s day, they are the most visible group anyway wearing white student caps and having park picnics.

We spent our Vappu eve in good company, some bubbly and lovely menu of pelmeni and blinis. Pelmenis originate from Russia, and they resemble ravioli or wonton, which means that the filling is usually minced meat with spices and it is wrapped in dough made of wheat flour and water. They are usually served in beef stock or such, as a kind of soup and garnished with big dollop of sour cream and herbs, I liked fresh coriander the best. These pelmenis were the best I’ve ever had, and so have to make the effort of making them myself. They can be easily frozen, so you can make bigger patches at a time. The blinis were gorgeous too, a kind of thick crepes with for example salmon, mushroom salad, onions and roe. And of course sour cream. A huge thank you to Salla and others! It was a great night!