We talked about visual arts and photography with a friend of mine the other day (she's a painter). It's intriguing how you pour yourself in your art, how it's a channel of emotions, how your art reflects so much about you as it reveals how and what you see. I came to the conclusion that if I had to pick my all-time best photos it might have to be these two. In Koutiala, Mali, they were a colourful, big family on the YWAM base. She was from a western country, living there with her family, he was Malian. When I sat him down for this photo I saw this serious look for the first time; he was such a happy boy, but I was stoked because it was exactly what I'd wished for to pair with her photo. These are shot in the spring 2003 with a pocket film camera; I bought my first SLR camera when I settled in Oulu soon after that. It was around those times that I started to fall in love with photography.

Slow mornings are one my favorite things in life. This morning I enjoyed luscious coffee from Kenia (Tekangu Karogoto), bread fresh from the oven and the sun shining in. This fruit & nut bread just might beat the one it was inspired by (second photo on this post). I am so pleased with this recipe, oh my.

FRUIT & NUT BREAD

300ml water
25g fresh yeast
1tsp salt
1tbsp cane sugar
200ml coarse spelt flour
450ml wheat flour
50ml olive oil
120g dried figs
100g soft dried dates
70g hazelnuts


Warm the water in a large bowl up to 42 celsius. Mix in yeast and after that salt, sugar, flour in parts and olive oil. Lastly mix in figs, dates and hazelnuts (throw them in whole to have beautiful big clumps in the bread). Cover the bowl with cling film (the bowl should be more at least double the size of the dough for it will rise alot) and place in the fridge overnight. In the morning knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes; this is important as the dough warms up and the yeast awakens. Grease a bread tin and have the dough rise in it for 45 minutes in a warm place under a kitchen towel. Bake the bread in 175 celsius for about 45 minutes and to get crispier edges take the bread out of the tin and bake for another 5 minutes without it. Tap the bottom of the bread and if you hear a hollow sound the bread is ready. This bread is really best with just butter on but it goes awfully well with good ham and goat cheese gouda, or the like, as well.

HOT CHOCOLATE

50g dark cocoa powder
40g raw cocoa powder
90g organic cane sugar
30g lucuma
8g cinnamon


Weigh everything in a bowl (pouring cocoa powder through a sieve) and mix well. Store in an airtight container.

Warm up about 250ml whole milk in a casserole but don't let it boil (milk gets an awful taste when it boils)! Whisk in 3 heap tablespoons or so of the cocoa mixture. Wrap yourself in a blanket, listen to good, calming music and enjoy.

(If you want the measures in millilitres, holler, I could measure them the next time I make some. But really, a digital scale comes in very handy in the kitchen!)

There's something really special in having friends you've known for 25 years. Them having babies feels all the more special. I was in Oulu for the weekend and got to meet two darling boys I hadn't met yet and both stole my heart right out. I also got ridiculously spoiled with good food at Rantakatu again. Some people just know how to.