Kitchen in Action

Some time ago, I wrote about our "old-fashioned" kitchen, which produces much of the food we eat when the family gets together. With the festive season coming up, we'll have another occasion to enjoy each other's company - and food, of course, will be a major part of that.

Over the many years we have developed some "family traditions". One of them is that my wife's expertise in cooking and baking has made her the "authority" to bake "Pulla" - a Finnish bread. It's meant to be served with afternoon coffee or tea, but it goes very well with our dinners, too. My wife learned the recipe from her mother. She makes some of it for most of our get-togethers, and so she did again.

Here are some pictures of the process of making it:


























This is just the first "installment" - these loaves are gifts to other family members. There will be more (yummy, yummy!). It's a lot of work, and a labour of love. The Pulla is especially appreciated by our family members who have an issue with diabetes - they are slightly sweetened with "Splenda" (an artificial sweetener). The recipe calls for some sugar instead, but this tastes just as wonderful.

My wife knows what goes into the Pulla - and it's not preservatives or other "shelf-life-enhancing" ingredients. To preserve them, we freeze them until they are served. I don't think that you could buy these at any of the commercial bakeries or food stores.

This whole process is perhaps a bit "old-fashioned", but that's what you get out of an old-fashioned kitchen.