Welcome!

Hello one and all!

Welcome to my little world of home cooking, creating, reading, exploring and living. This is my happy place, where I get to curate my world and share it with you. It took me a lot longer to get this site up and running because I had to re-create it from scratch after realising my provider was not going to give me all the functionality I needed, not to mention December was just a crazy month. Also, I lost my beloved pappa (grandfather on my mama's side), and some days, I just didn't feel up to doing anything much. But better late than never! 

Sometimes I my brain is so full of ideas I feel like my head will burst, but having this space allows me to organise, store, share and in the process become a better creative and cook. And this week in the kitchen I whipped up a mud cake topped with mocha cream and berries. In Finland, and in most cultures I would assume, it's custom to welcome people to your home and your table with a beautiful cake, along with other sweet and savoury dishes. So I welcome you to my table with this super dense, gluten free, dairy free mud cake. It's pretty damn delicious, and if you're a chocolate fiend, it will last about 5 seconds. If you don't eat it right away, it's a great cake to offer as a gift, or to take on a picnic as it travels well and doesn't collapse in warmer temperatures. I should know, it's been ridiculously hot here in Melbourne over the past few weeks, but today it's blessedly temperate. You can grab the recipe in the desserts section. Let me know if you make it!

I know some of you might have been following along since 2014, when I first started blogging, so this site will look a little different. I needed to update it so it would work for me in the future as I expand on what I'm doing, how I'm creating and what I'm creating. Also, my diet has changed quite a bit since I started on my blogging journey, so not all the recipes are going to be vegan. All are vegetarian, but the earlier recipes will include butter and eggs etc. I wanted to leave them in their original form, especially my mama's apple pie recipe, because they are special to me, and part of my journey. You can still make them by simply substituting the ingredients and they should turn out fine, especially is you're used to experimenting, which most who prescribe to a vegan diet are. 

Like many of you out there, there is a hell of a lot I would like to achieve in 2018, and I'm excited by the prospect of sharing my projects here as they develop. I feel like I will be more inspired and somewhat more accountable for sticking to deadlines if you guys are out there cheering my on. At least, that's what I hope will happen. I plan to make this year my "creative year," the year I finish a number of projects I have been working on for some time now.

I want to illustrate a children's book I have written and get a Nordic inspired store up and running that my mum, sister and I have been working on. There is lots to do, and who knows if I'll achieve it all, but I'm excited to try and ready for a creative challenge this year. That's not to say the foodie in me will be put on the back burner (never, as I love cooking and food too much), but I will try to balance my interests and hopefully find time for them all. I might read this in a year and laugh at my naive optimism, but hey, you have to try, don't you? Do you guys have any projects or goals you want to achieve in 2018? If so, please share. I'd love to know what you're up to!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas holiday and New Year's Eve celebration. I wish everyone an exciting 2018, full of love, good food, adventure and blessings.

From my heart and kitchen, thank you so much for dropping by.

Love and light!

Susanna xo