we like to party

Dear Toni,

I’m still recovering from last Saturday. Stefano’s birthday party was a success, but I spent most of the day cooking and getting ready so I was already tired before anyone arrived. And little did I know that everyone would be there from 8pm to 1:30am! Estonians can party.

So, the food. I made hummus (which is entirely unfamiliar to most Estonians), an onion dip (with kalamata olives and a roasted red pepper), and a baked artichoke dip. To serve with those I cut up carrots, celery, and cauliflower, and put out crackers, chips, and a fluffy lavash for the hummus (I couldn’t find pita anywhere). I also made an extra-large batch of my stuffed mushrooms, which were gone in almost no time. We served three cheeses (brie, blue cheese, and goat gouda), and three kinds of olives (Spanish black, Spanish green with pimentos, and the aforementioned kalamatas). This time I didn’t even have time to take photos.

We had a variety of drinks available. The Marques de Caceres 2000 Rioja Reserva went quickly, and we didn’t have much left of the de Neuville 2004 Cabernet D’Anjou or the Maxime Trijol Pimeau des Charentes at the end of the evening. One friend drank Saku Kuld (Gold), and then most everyone drank Coke and whiskey (we had Ballentine’s, Jack Daniels, and Johhny Walker). I drank mostly water during the course of the evening, but did have one glass of Bicardi and Coke. A few friends (the designated drivers) only drank very early on, because Estonia has a zero tolerance policy (meaning that the legal alcohol limit is strictly 0).

My sister had suggested making Nigella Lawson’s chocolate mousse, so we bought the necessary ingredients and I followed the instructions to a T, but it never set. Part of the problem is that our refrigerator doesn’t get very cold, but some of the cups hadn’t set after a full day so something went wrong. Who knows? I really never make desserts, but I’ve got to find some kind of kick-ass dessert that I can make when necessary.

Anyway, I think we satisfied the sweet tooths with the capucchino we served. I, of course, had tea.

I was reading this Veggie Chic post the other day about microwaves. Did I mention that I haven’t used a microwave in nearly five months? We don’t have one here, and I decided to try life sans microwave before buying one. Well, I’m not going to buy one. The main reason is that we have a small kitchen and a microwave would take up a lot of space. The other reason is that the food I eat tastes better when reheated on the stove or in the oven. A microwave is faster, but I haven’t needed anything faster than the stove or oven. There’s something about the U.S. way of living that makes microwaves seem so necessary, and I couldn’t have imagined life without a microwave before now.

While I can do without a microwave, I couldn’t do without a mixer. I’d been wanting to make hummus for a while (I’ll share the recipe at some point), but couldn’t do it without a mixer. Since space is an issue, and I wanted something to match my kitchen (the appliances are black and brushed metal), and I wanted something multifuctional and relatively powerful that wasn’t too expensive, I had to shop around.

Stefano found this Philips HR 1372 5-in-1, 700w hand mixer for under $100 (plus he got an additional discount because it was his birthday). I’ve always been a sucker for kitchen gadgets, but I’ve already made use of all the attachments so this was a very practical buy. I’m quite pleased!

Ciao for now,

Rae