Fresh Cretan December

Winter Crete is here! Yes the mountains gets every year snow, some years more than other years. It has been unusual cold December, clearly the coldest one I have ever experienced here. More rain, cold winds but also some beautiful sunny days. 

Since it was December, you must of course bake Finnish "joulutorttu", pastries. Traditionally you fill the pastries with plum marmalade, so I was beeing very tradiotional too and made the marmalade myself from dried plums. Obviesly the little doggy found way more interesting to watch outside instead my plum project. 

Home made plum marmalade

500 g dried plums

1 dl sugar

2.5 dl water

little bith of cinnamon, vanille sugar and additionally 3 tbs Cognac or rhum at the end.

Just boil all these ingredients, until the plums are soft. I do not use even a mixer, just crashing a bit with a fork.

Filling the pastries with marmalade

Delicious :)

Yes, warm socks needed!

My local friend brought me plenty of oranges and mandarins (again), so many that I told her that she will get half back as juice. Three liters pressed and still few fruits over. The peals I brought to another local friend who gives them to her rabbits and chickens. Good recycling until the end!

Boxing day was beautiful, It was time to have a nice picnic outside with friends and enjoy the sunny weather with some sparkling wine :)

I like to read books and now first time in my life I was listening an audiobook. First was from a Finnish author Aino Huilaja, pakumatkalla. She left with her husband to live in a van and they were travelling until the Canary islands. Nice story with a good laughter too.If you haven´t tried audiobooks yet, I can recommend it, now in my third one, haha, new addiction.

Today is new years eve, nothing planned, just a normal evening for us, but I want to wish to everyone better year 2022! I wish the coming year will bring this world back to a better place again <3.