xo amys

Archipelago Salad for Lunch

A little piece of heaven that beats to its own drum… this is the country side, where time slows down and you connect to natures organic miracles. I’m a country girl at heart and love gardens, lakes and the feeling it comes with.

What a great weekend behind us. Summer was officially here and it was the first time for eating outdoors, sunbathing and swimming in the lake. Mr. N and I went to M & P’s summer-house where we made delicious foods, drank champagne and spritzers and enjoyed the sunny weather. We spent most time outdoors (men fishing/ ladies sunbathing) catching the first summer rays and eating meals that treated our senses.

This is what luxurious morning’s are made out of…

We woke up quite early on saturday and I stumbled downstairs to see fresh strawberries and blueberries in the kitchen table. What a perfect way start to the day, I love the site of fresh berries! Their country house has an idyllic charm, something out of a fairytale where everything is decorated with style, like a modern country house that pays respect to its historic origins. The old wooden planks creek as you step on them and everything is white and cozy, something out of a Rivera Maison advert, a true mixture of old and new. After we eat our morning porridge, the men are eager to go boating and we more eagerly head outside sipping on another cup of tea and coffee to feel the warmth on our bare skin. The weather was perfect, better than we could have imagined and we sit in the summer outdoor kitchen surrounded with beautiful white hortensia’s and the sound of chirping birds.

After a couple of hours of laying horizontally in the sun, P and I smoked salmon (first time I’ve ever used a smoker) and made an archipelago style salad for lunch. The salmon was totally delicious and actually rather easy to cook. All you need is a smoker, wood chips, sugar cubes and some juniper branches to make it tasty! We were quite proud of this and the salad was a match made in heaven for our setting! As the men arrive back (with no fish) we eat our nordic-style lunch with a glass of champagne outdoors. What a combo and I feel that beloved summery feeling I have so long waited for. * This makes me happy, a first outdoor lunch in the sun after a long cold nordic winter*

Time to sunbathe some more and our men head out fishing again. Our stomachs are full and P and I totally relax, chat away and surrender to the beautiful finnish countryside. Our dogs are also laying on the grass and clearly enjoying the day. Bella keeps on running to the water and exploring the garden as the three smaller ones lay on the porch. Time flies by in good company… and this is exactly what happened.

Later that day, we eat some lobster and beef carpaccio and caramelized pork… heaven to the mouth with explosions of a range of gourmet flavours. In fact, carpaccio and lobster are some of my favourite dishes! The lobster was gratinated with a mild garlic parmesan stuffing and the beef carpaccio had an amazing horseradish dressing. Our passionate baker P, also made a key lime cake that ended the meal with a refreshing sweet taste. Food wise, we were spoiled for choice, everything was superb to say the least. We had a total culinary weekend where we spent a lot of time tasting delicious foods. The great thing is that we all love to cook and have similar feelings towards dining. That’s what makes it so great, we all appreciate the cooking that goes on and preparing it is half the fun! Thank you guys for a lovely weekend! We make a magical team… family thats what we are.

three musketeers that run the household!

A delicious cream cheese and berry freeze that P made for us on Friday and all the ingredients for a wonderful meal…the cutest napkin by Riverdale. Below- Bella is waiting for the pie as it cools down.

Fresh chives from the ground

Hello! I’m small and cute & I know it!