Sharing the Secret Recipe of Finnish Pancakes

Sleeping Giant - The most famous landmark of Thunder Bay, Ontario

Our family's house in Thunder Bay 40 years ago

 

 

 

Our family has deep roots in Thunder Bay as we landed there more than forty years ago. Thunder Bay is a northern city in Ontario about sixteen hour drive from Toronto. 

 

 

 

 

 

It has a population with a little more than 100,000.00 people for the past four decades. It is also a city with the largest concentration of immigrants from Finland in Canada.

 

 

 

Hoito - Our favourite Finnsh Restaurant in Thunder Bay

 

 

Some of us learned to love and enjoy what the Finns enjoy, i.e. Finnish food such as Suolakala sandwich ( salt fish sandwich), Finnish pancakes and their famous Finnish sauna bath!

 

 

Jordon preparing the pancakes

A few  weeks ago, our big fat family had a brunch event attended by about thirty family members with each family bringing something to compliment the delicious Finnish pancakes prepared by Jordon - our nephew,  and his girl friend, Melody who visited Thunder Bay recently.

Jordon is a modern version of the Renaissance man, an engineer by training, but has keen interest and excels in many areas of life such as cooking, photography; he is also a blogger writing on various interesting topics such as science, technology, cooking and travel etc.

Yummmmmy Finnish Pancakes!

His Finnish pancakes served on our family brunch day were just delicious! Many of us asked for the recipe and he was generous enough to share it in his blog. 

 

 

Finnish pancakes topped with apples and avocados

If you would like to read more about Finnish Pancakes and how to make them, please follow this link to Jordon's blog to learn more.

  http://jordanluiuw.blogspot.ca/2015/09/finn-pancakes-and-family-fun.html

 

 

Here is Jordon's recipe for the Finnish Pancake:   

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 cups milk
• 1.5 cups flour
• Butter

Directions

1. Combine eggs, sugar, milk, and flour in a mixing bowl, mixer, or blender
2. Heat a frying pan to medium high heat (regular steel pan is preferred, although non-stick works as well)
3. When the pan is hot, put a small amount of butter (about half a teaspoon) in the pan and spread it around
4. Gently pour a thin layer of batter onto the pan, letting it spread out thinly
5. When bubbles are forming on the pancake, gently lift the edges of the pancake with the spatula to free it from the pan. Flip it and then cook another 30 seconds to a minute. Because each pan is a different temperature, it's best to just lift an edge of the pancake and see how brown it is.
6. Serve and enjoy! Makes about 15 pancakes.

I know I will be busy trying my hands making these delicious pancakes this weekend!

R.T.
Toronto 

Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia - A World Famous Magnificent Drive

Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia

The Cabot Trail!

We heard a lot about this world renowned trail for a long time and we finally were here!

After Sussex, we embarked on the ‘Cabot Trail’ on Cape Breton Island.

The Trail was named after John Cabot who landed in Canada in the late 1400's.

It wound around the north end of the island.  We felt like riding on a long roller coaster as the road went up and down the steep mountains that rose abruptly from the sea. 

Spectacular scenery on the Cabot Trail!

We stayed in a cabin at Baddeck

We stayed in a log cabin in the village of Baddeck for two nights at the Baddeck Cabot Trail Campground,  operated by Wolf, a German Canadian, who kept his campground accommodations clean and tidy. 

The campground office

We especially enjoyed the hot shower in the spotless shower/washroom. Many cabins this day are very comfortable, some even have wifi and private bathrooms. 

A restaurant serving hot meals at the BCTC campground

Most are equipped with swimming pools, play grounds, stores etc. It is great for families and adults alike.

This particular camp ground  even operated a restaurant on site that served lobsters and beer for dinner!

We really enjoyed staying at this type of accommondation. For our sons' information, we don’t always rough it on our trips. Sometimes, but not most of the time.  S. has done an excellent job researching and booking the cabins and  making reservations for us.

Weather on the Cabot Trail is often unpredictable

The weather in the Cabot Trail region is unpredictable. On the day we wanted to drive on the trail, it was raining and foggy.

Bay of Lawrence, Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia

 So we went to the eco centre and also visited the Alex. Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck to learn about its most famous residents -  Alexandra Graham Bell, a teacher of deaf students, who invented the telephone in 1876, married his wife - Mabel Bell who was deaf. Together, they had  a beautiful house built across the bay to escape the summer heat and protection from fame. They lived at their Baddeck summer home until Bell’s death in 1922.

On the second day of our Cabot Trail tour, we had better weather and could appreciate the spectacular scenery.

One of the many lookouts on the Cabot Trail

The Cabot Trail takes about five hours of driving time to go through the entire trail, but we spent three days there.

We took our time to enjoy the spectacular scenery and the beautiful beaches.

Beautiful beaches on the Cabot Trail

Surfing, anyone?

S. got too excited taking pictures of this beautiful beach. He slipped and got his really nice camera a little wet on the beach.

Too bad. From then on, he could not take any more pictures with his camera.

An Iron Craft Shop - one of many interesting shops on Cabot Trail

There were a lot to see on the trail. We stopped and visited  many interesting shops and places.  

The Scottish influence was obvious on the Cabot Trail as we came across shops and signs in Gaelic and even a Cholaisde na Ghàidhlig, a Gaelic college! How about that!

Bilingual signs abound on the Cabot Trail - English & Gaelic

The Gaelic Craft Shop, dedicated to things of the Celtic culture, also advertised many cultural and social events happening on the trail.

There was a community Gaelic dinner which we would have loved to attend that evening! But we didn't have time on our itinerary.









We drove by a farm where a large number of life sized dolls dressed in various characters were on display in an open field.

My husband was busy posing with Jean Christien, our former Liberal prime minister.

I was delighted and busy telling a story to a group of eager and obedient children!

There was no admission charge to this wonderful artistic display save a box placed on a table for visitors' free will donations and feedback.

A colourful house on the Cabot Trail

We spent one night  in a house keeping cottage in the Acadian Village of Cheticamp. 



 



 Cheticamp is a lobster fishing community with many of the boats docked at its port ready for work.



 




 The L’Acadie village was festooned with the Acadian flag of the French Tri-colour with a yellow Acadian star added to the corner of the flag. 

The Acadians were forcibly deported by the British in 1755.  Some of them ended as Cajuns in Louisiana and others managed to creep back to Nova Scotia. Today  their language is still protected and the 2600 inhabitants  of Cheticamp is 95% Acadian French.


 One interesting tidbit of local history was that the commerce of the village was controlled by the Robins.  This control resulted in the villagers living in dire poverty.  

 Eventually a  local parish priest organized the coup movement that broke the monopoly of the Robin family and the cycle of poverty endured by the locals.

 The following day we went to PEI  crossing the Confederation Bridge - 12.9 Km in length, an engineering wonder connecting Prince Edward Island to the rest of Canada.

Confederation Bridge - An engineering wonder connecting PEI to the rest of Canada

Victoria Row - Downtown Charlottetown

Costumed actors speaking and reenacting life in  the past

In beautiful PEI, we visited its capital city,  Charlottetown,  the birthplace of Canada,  where the 1864 Charlottetown Conference was held.

On the first evening, we went  downtown and watched a light show projected on the wall of the Province House on the history of the city.

Victoria Row, the downtown street was all lit up and very pretty.

Actors in period costumes walked the street of Charlottetown, greeting and conversing with visitors to the city explaining to them what life was like during the pre Confederation time  before Canada was born.

The Big Fiddle, Sydney, Nova Scotia

The breathtaking scenery, the warm hospitality of the people on the island warmed our hearts.  I fell in love hopelessly with the island! Right there, I was determined I would be back to spend a month on the east coast the following summer!

The Province House, Charlottetown, PEI

We loved our east coast trip and reluctantly said good bye returning back to the big smoke Monday the following week.


R.T.
Our very memorable trip
Atlantic Provinces, Canada

Sussex, New Brunswick - The Mural Capital of Atlantic Canada

Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada

One of the most enjoyable things to do in Canada is a driving trip during the summer months.

We have made numerous driving trips throughout North America. One of the most memorable trips we did was the one to the east coast of Canada!


A little while back, we took a trip out east.  Driving from Toronto, we visited Quebec City where we stayed in a pretty nice hostel and stayed for a couple of night visiting the fall and watched a show.

We departed Quebec City last Friday and reached Sussex, New Brunswick on Saturday.  My brother has been working and living here for  six years.  We had dinner with him and on Sunday he gave us an insider’s tour of the potash mine and processing plant where he works as an electrical inspector. 

 Sussex tries to distinguish itself from the myriad little non-descript towns that dotted the landscape by being the ‘Wall Mural” capital of Canada. Numerous full size murals covered many of the entire sidesof buildings in downtown Sussex. Wayne likes the small town living and seems to have made a few friends there as well.

Sussex is a small town in  New Brunswick with a population of around four thousand people.

Though not a big town, it is known as the Mural Capital of Atlantic Canada.

The Royal Visit

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There are more than two dozens of huge murals painted on the walls of houses and buildings  all over town with the majority of them in downtown Sussex.

The Picnic Mural in Downtown Sussex, New Burnswick

These murals depict the history and the development of the town of Sussex and the region.









 There were a lot to see. When driving past Sussex, do allow some time to visit this impressive outdoor gallery of larger than life murals.

Larger than life murals - Notice the person standing on the bottom right hand corner of the mural

We enjoyed walking around and looking at all the beautiful artwork!

The murals often cover the entire walls of the buildings where they were painted

The best part about this - there was no admission charge at all to this display! So anyone can enjoy these artworks as many times and as long as they wish.

Early pioneer settlers

Taking the time to appreciate the details  of the artwork, we learned that each  scene of the mural tells a story of its own.

Hockey – a rural religion 

These murals depict the different life aspects of the region

The Merchants of Sussex

Visiting my brother at Sussex, New Brunswick at his office trailer

 

R.T.

Blog posted Sept 2015

Visit in July of 2011

    

A Breakfast Feast Brings Our Big Fat Family Together in Summer!

Enjoying the pool during the scorching hot Labour Day weekend

Though it was the Labour Day long weekend, the last official weekend of summer, Toronto and its surrounding area were experiencing a heat wave.

 It was a scorching hot day at 33 degrees C., with the humidity, it was a whooping 37 degree C!

My sis planned the pancake brunch with style and precision!

Thinking about our family get together and  all the Finnish pancakes we were going to have the next day, I was too excited to sleep!

The syrup & sauce basket

 I love our family get together especially when my sister, Rosie, is hosting it at her home.

A breakfast pancake feast

She has a spacious lovely house and she plans everything with style and precision.

A pancake face decorated the centrepiece

This time was even better as she was hosting this party with lots of help from some great cooks of the family's younger generation.

Finnish pancakes cooked by Jordon and Melody

Our family has deep roots in Thunder Bay, a small city in northern Ontario. One of the family's favorite eateries is Hoito Restaurant, a Finnish Restaurant serving authentic Finnish dishes.

J. got the secret pancake recipe!

Our family's all time favorite has always been the Finnish pancakes. Every time when we, at different times of the year, return to visit our hometown, we always pay a visit there and order this dish.  We love the food but none of us thought of asking for the recipe.

Mel cooking up a storm in the kitchen

Recently, J. and his family visited the restaurant and with his natural charm , he managed to obtain the secret recipe for their famous pancakes.

Together with Melody, Jordon took up the challenge, cooked up a storm and served pancakes to his hungry relatives on the Labour Day weekend!

Dave -manning the BBQ

Upon learning this good fortune, my sister sprang into action and invited J. to cook the much loved pancakes for her.

Grandma and the great grand kids

She was generous enough to invite all the family members to partake in this breakfast feast!

Basic ingredients of the Finnish pancake

I love the Finnish pancakes therefore, I watched closely at Jordon and Melody and tried to learn how to make my favourite pancakes.

The basic ingredients are flour, milk and egg.

Mixing the ingredients in a blender

To save time,Jordon mixed  these ingredients in a blender.
Why didn't I think of that? I always mix the pancake in a big bowl and keep beating the mixture until my hands are tired.
This is a smart and better way!

Fresh fruit toppings for the pancakes

R. organized the pancake brunch and asked each of us to bring some specific fruit/ food items.

Chopped apples and hot dogs

Her instructions were so specific that I was wondering of the reason.

But when we got there, everything was crystal clear of what her brunch plan was. 

We could build our pancakes as suggested in the pictures

To inspire us to be creative and try different type of pancakes, our host printed out pictures of the pancakes topped or stuffed with a variety of toppings.

For meat lovers - pancakes,  sausages and bacon

Depending on our preferences, we could cover our delicious hot pancakes freshly off the frying pans with in season fruits such as chopped apples, slices peaches, bananas, avocados, raspberries etc.

The pancakes go really well with crisp sliced bacon--delicious!

For those meat lovers, there were smoked salmon, salivating sausages, or crisp bacon slices.

Our yummmy dessert creator at work!

There were choices that catered and pleased all tastes. It was not just a pancake breakfast, but a feast fit for the king!

Healthy roll oats & fruit desserts

 We enjoyed a lot of fresh and delicious food!

We always enjoy our family time together

The best part of this great pancake feast was bringing our family together during the Labour Day weekend.

Opportunity to catch up with family members!

It was great catching up with family members whom we have not seen for a little while.

There were family members who drove all the way from Ottawa to attend this pancake get together!

Celebrating my brother's milestone birthday and retirement!

Ah! We also celebrated my brother, Paul's 65th birthday and his retirement at this family event!

It was a lovely lovely afternoon spending time with family members!

Toronto is a big city and even though most of us live within the Greater Toronto Area, it's not easy to see each other often.

Putting together an event like this for a big fat family takes planing, organization and lots of work from many people.

Hats off to the main organizers

The brunch was a fun event!

We were fortune that both Rosie's and Jordon's family took the lead on this one allowing us to have a great time and enjoy some great food together!

A big thank you to both of these families!

Love to see that becoming a family tradition every Labour Day!

R.T.
Richmond Hill
Ontario