Chaga pow(d)er

I'm a smoothie fan. It's a great way to enjoy your daily fruits and berries and green things and you can even replace a meal with a well-planned smoothie. I usually stick to my own tried-and-proven recipes, but every now and then I want to try something new out and, like any other person, I'm quite curious about the so-called superfood, like chia seeds or chaga powder. This time I decided to test Jaakko Halmetoja's chaga chocolate smoothie recipy and this is how it turned out:

The smoothie's indeed very chocolaty (and certainly full of antioxidants and proteins), but a word of warning: the chaga has a rather strong and particular taste that won't please everyone, so don't hesitate to add more water or a bit of rice milk for extra smooth(i)ness - or then start out with the hot chaga tea.

***

Chocolove Chai Chaga Boom

6 dl hot chaga tea

1 dl cashews (preferably soaked)

4 tbsp raw chocolate powder

1 tbsp chia seeds soaked

2 cm piece of ginger (or ginger powder)

1/2 tsp cardamom 

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of unrefined salt

1 tbsp honey

Add about 1 tspb of chaga powder into one litre of water. Let the tea simmer for about 30-60 mins, until the colour is dark enough. Add more water if needed. Filter the tea. Then place all the ingredients into the blender and blend until you have a warm and creamy drink. Taste and add flavours to your liking. Enjoy your chaga smoothie hot. 

 ***

 Hot chaga tea

5 dl hot chaga tea

2 tbsp raw chocolate powder

1 tsp maca powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom  

1 tsp vanilla 

Try also with:

pinch of cayenne powder

pinch of unrefined salt

1 tbsp honey

Prepare the chaga tea, add flavours and honey and enjoy in a good company!

Soprano talk

Music has always been a big part of my life, in one way or another. I've sang in different choirs and I've played different instruments in different orchestras and groups. For quite a few years now, I've also been taking singing classes - and due to my nomadic lifestyle, with quite a few teachers, too.

In classical singing, your voice type is of course of particular importance. It's the material you work with and it also pretty much determines what kind of repertoire one should be singing. However, even a skilled vocal couch may take a while finding out what your particular voice type may be and even then you may someday end up changing fachs as your voice evolves and changes with the age. During the years I've been singing, I've got quite different views on my voice type, ranging from a dramatic mezzosoprano to a mezzo aiguë and a soprano. And to make things more complicated, my teachers have often changed their minds in the course of the year... In the end, I didn't really know if I was a mezzo or a soprano or a some kind of strange mix in between!

Now that I've been studying singing with my current teacher at the conservatory, things are finally starting to fall into place. She's been convinced from the beginning that I'm a soprano and it seems indeed that she was right, I was simply blocking my upper register. Since my voice wasn't properly placed I had only a limited access to my upper notes - until some time ago when something quite amazing happened (well amazing to me at least!): something just clicked and all of a sudden my voice opened all the way up.

These are things that you hear happening to other singers, like the story about an alto turning into a coloratura soprano you've probably all hear of, but I didn't expect it to happen to me. I'm still no coloratura and probably never will be - my voice type seems rather be evolving into a soprano lirico or a lirico spinto -,  but now I get to work on a new repertoire and it's great fun!

One of the pieces I'm working on now is Batti batti, o bel Masetto - a soubrette aria where the peasant girl Zerlina, after nearly succumbing to Don Giovanni's seduction at her own wedding party, tries to win back the affection of her future husband Masetto. It's a beautiful melody, with quite a few interesting leaps and runs. Here it is sang by Joan Rodgers.

 

Blue wool by Samuji

In the spirit of this period of winter sales, let me indulge myself in hyping one more Finnish designer:
Samuji ♥

My friends already know that I love beautiful clothes. I probably own too many of them too, no excuse for that. For quite a few years now, though, I've tried to follow one rule: buy less, but better quality. Small-series production or hand-made, ethical working conditions for the workers, low ecological impact on the environment, and so on. Clothes that could last a life-time (or several years at least!). Not that easy to find, but fortunately there are some brands in the fashion world that take interest in sustainable design.

Samuji was founded a few years ago by Samu-Jussi Koski, a Helsinki-based designer who used to work for Marimekko before starting up his own business and releasing his first own collection in 2011. Samuji's clothes are manufactured in Europe and Japan. Admittedly, they also come with a relatively high price tag, but that's just another reason to avoid impromptu purchases that end up in a pile at the back of one's wardrobe.

As for the style, it's classic and timeless, very simple and functional - so very Nordic according to my dear man, but at least this time he cannot complain about the colour!

Pancake Night Fever

It's been a very busy beginning of the year. At the university, the exams are barely over and yet we've already started a new semester with new courses, new students and trainees and loads of copies to grade. At the conservatory, on the other hand, there's a big concert coming up, only to be followed by theory exams and personal auditions a week later. 

In a nutshell, a lot of stuff to feel overwhelmed for.

Which why, of course, it is all the more important to take some time for oneself every now and then and just relax in the middle of all the fuss and stress. For that, there's a great little vegetarian & vegan pancake restaurant that opened its doors a couple of months ago in the centre of Caen: Pancake Night Fever.

We went there with a few friends some time ago on a Sunday afternoon. The restaurant is very small (you'd better book your table in advance), but cosy and a lot of attention has been paid to the decoration in retro style: they've even got talking teeth to scare your fellow diners with... Most importantly though, their pancakes are delicious!

Come to think of it, could book a table there again this week...!

Pancake Night Fever, 23 rue Gemare, 14000 Caen.

Little finds from back home

I'm a long-time fan of Ivana Helsinki. It's a slow fashion brand founded by Paola Suhonen, a young Finnish designer who started up the business with her sister back in 1998. They soon became well-known for their quirky clothes and retro prints and nowadays Ivana Helsinki is quite a big name in the fashion industry, having participated in the fashion weeks in Paris and New York. Fortunately though, the main concept, "homemade in Finland", has remained pretty much the same: the brand produces unique pieces and small-series clothes and homeware that are made in Finland or elsewhere in Europe.

Ivana's flagship store is still located in Helsinki, so while I was visiting the Finnish capital during my Xmas escapade, I popped into their Classics pop-up store to find these little sweeties. Red velvet, girlish bows and cute little bambies - couldn't really resist the temptation, could I?

What Makes a Great Soprano?

Here's an interesting documentary that I recently run into, for those of you who, like me, are into classical singing and opera: Dame Kiri Te Kanawa talks about her life and work as an opera singer and presents other legendary sopranos - definitely worth a watch even if you're not an aspiring young (or a bit older) soprano!

Home for Christmas: Part III, Oulu

The Star Boys in Oulu

My third destination during the Christmas holidays.

The White City of the North (at least in 1605, when the city was founded), aka Uleåborg på svenska, aka Oulu, aka my old home town of many years.

The railway station with a bit of old-time charm.

The cathedral dates originally from 1777.

The City Hall in neo-renaissance style.

Until the great fire in 1822 nearly all the town houses were made of wood. The city centre still holds some buildings from the early 19th century.

It is always a bit strange going back to your old home town. It's like trying to go back in time, only you've changed and the city has changed and nothing is quite the same. Sometimes I'd feel like staying, other times I'm just happy to visit and be gone again.

But the great thing about true friendships is that it doesn't really matter where you are or where you go: your friends are still there for you, as if you never left at all.

In the year 2015

At the beginning of a new year it's pretty common to think back and reflect on the things each and everyone of us would like to change for the coming year. It's the time of year for dreams and wishes and all kinds of optimistic plans.

Plans which, more often than not, a month or two later will be all forgotten about.

Well, I have to confess, I'm surely one of those people.
I like making new year's resolutions and grand plans.

Never mind if they don't work in the long run. I think it's important to dream and to aim for the better. Of course, it's a fact of life that not all of our dreams will be fulfilled. It's also natural that some dreams may be replaced by others. But at the beginning of a new year all the hopes are still up and everything is possible, so why not make the most of it?

And maybe  - just maybe - this will be the year our dreams come true...

So hello there, year 2015! 

 

I have high hopes for you.

I wish to finish a project I've started a long ago.

I wish to start another one that I've been waiting for quite a while.

And I wish to share them with the people that I love.

And yes, yes,  I'll do more sports and stress less and eat better, too.

Wish me luck!