We celebrate Spring in a big way here in Finland. The party starts on the 30th April and ends in the evening of 1st May. We call this Vappu which in english is May Day. It has become a celebration that brings together all ages. If you do happen to plan a trip here, you will surely have fun if you end up visiting us during these two days.
We have certain treats that are a mandatory part of the May Day celebrations and one is doughnuts. I think in the end we bought around 25 doughnuts.
The other mandatory part of May Day is on the liquid side. You must have a embarrassing amount of sparkling wine and also the traditional ‘sima’ which is produced like ginger beer. Underneath you can see a bottle of this sima. We ended up making 16 litres of sima so we’re actually still drinking it. The white hat also plays a important role since it is recieved after you gradute from high school and it is worn through out the May day celebrations.
I also thought that I would make something new. Well I guess it really isn’t a new thing but I knew we hadn’t eaten during May Day. I decided to make a stuffed bread. The idea of this that you have a large bread that you can stuff with pretty much anything. I did a vegetable version since I knew that the May Day buffets, brunches etc. would all include a large amount of sausages .
This is what I put in:fresh spinach, basil, rocket, tomato, mozzarella, mushrooms, red onion and dijon mustard.
After covering the bottom of the bread with dijon mustard I just started adding the ingredients. Here is a little peep into the making of the bread.
After the you have put the bread’s hat on wrap the bread tightly in foil and put something heavy on top. The weight must be around 2 kg at least for it to make a difference. This will help the bread to become compact before eating.
You can let the bread sit in the warm for 4 hours or put into the fridge over night. You can then eat it cold or put it in the oven for 15 minutes. I tasted it both ways and I preferred the warm version.
After May Day had been celebrated it was time to put down the hat and have a last glass of sparkling wine while going through the photos taken during the parties.
Have a great day everyone!
– Alina
Alina 