Hello! Welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook!
Today is my day 2 of Adventtide. Today, I’ll be featuring cured salmon, which is a traditional holiday food in Finland.
But first, a short Advent meditation:
This morning, I woke up to a thick fog, and on my morning walk with my faithful dogs, the fog provided good fodder for my morning meditation.
I like fog. I feel like I can really think when it’s foggy. I like taking a walk in it and enjoying the feeling of no distractions. This morning’s fog was so thick that I felt like I was all by myself, wrapped up in an immense fluffy, chilly cardigan. All around me, life continued, but it was all very murky and indistinct. Even the sounds seemed muffled by the fog. I could only see what was right in front of me and everything else was obscured.
I’ve lived in my neighborhood for more than 30 years, so it is familiar and comforting to me each time I return; but this morning, it was fuzzy, a bit undefined and a little mysterious.
I think Advent is like that: we think maybe we know what’s out there, but it’s still a mystery–still undefined. We have to be patient and wait for the fog to lift before we can gain clarity on what’s really out there. I intend to continue to think about this concept as I walk through this Advent journey.
As I continue my observation of Advent through foods of the world, today, I’m turning to Finland. One food the Finnish people eat to celebrate the holidays is cured salmon. My recipe for cured salmon is probably not genuinely Finnish, but it’s very tasty and quite easy to make. You have to plan ahead, as it takes a few days for the fish to cure.
I cure my salmon with salt, sugar and spices, finishing in olive oil. Cured salmon can be cured entirely using a dry cure; but I like the oil after it’s flavored with the spices, as it can be used for other things: like drizzling on a crusty piece of French bread or used in the pan the next morning for an omelette using the cured salmon. Once the curing is done, the salmon will last for 2-3 days in the fridge and is great on a night when you don’t have time to cook–serve it with a salad, some boiled potatoes or some bread and you’re good to go.
Tomorrow, I’ll feature a Finnish salad to go with the cured salmon–
Until then,
Peace, love and good food,
Keri
