“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 972 (Monday) – Karjalanpiirakka

Ten weeks can fly by in a blink, and that is exactly how it felt for the ten weeks of Finnish language lessons. In our tenth class, we went through our homework and did new exercises. At our coffee / cocoa / tea break we were introduced to Karjalanpiirakka (Karelian pies) made by Saija, our teacher. They are a rye crust with a rice filling, which we topped with egg butter, which is hard cooked egg mixed with butter. It was quite delicious. 

Saija's Karjalanpiirakka and egg butter.

Karjalanpiirakka are included in the Finnish cookbook I bought a year or two ago with high hopes of learning Finnish cooking and baking. Unfortunately, by the time the book arrived, recipes were reviewed, and the rye flour needed for many of the recipes, including Karjalanpiirakka, was ordered, the mood had passed. This is not a surprise and is not the first time. If it’s not possible to strike while the iron is hot, well, my iron can cool pretty fast.

I can’t believe the class is over and we won’t have more in-person classes again until spring. Luckily, our teacher has online language classes and a couple book clubs in the meantime. It’s a way to avoid forgetting everything between now and the next class.

Now that I know what freshly made Karjalanpiirakka taste like and what the goal is, the iron is warming again. Maybe next Monday, to fill the hole where class would be, I can make Karjalanpiirakka.