Töölö, my neighbourhood in Helsinki has been very good to me. It has given me a home in the only neighbourhood I'd like to live in, wonderful restaurants and adorable little shops which in turn have kept the passion that this food blogging has turned out to be, alive. And now Töölö has given me love.
Located in the close-by street of Runeberginkatu, bizarre Bar Bhangra has become my other livingroom, which is something everyone who's ever met me (or has been following this blog's Facebook page!) already knows. Many nights, filled with laughter and wine have been spent there and both its staff and fellow regulars have become a quaint little gang of their own - one where membership luckily does not warrant involvement in human trafficking, drug smuggling or taking down other bars' regulars.
And that's where I met The Boy Next Door, too. Though even I know I should have probably been looking somewhere like at an art gallery, seminar on deforestation or a symphony orchestra concert, full of serious long-term relationship potential that even Hyacinth Bucket would approve of...
So it was only appropriate to have The Bar Maid (who acted as the matchmaker) and the Closet Dutch, one of the hilarious regulars, over for girls' lunch to ponder this massive change in my life that, in its ease and naturalness been nothing short of absurd. The Closet Dutch, desperate for some European treats demanded mussels, so mussels it was. I cooked them in that grape sauce I'd devised earlier for fish and served them with crusty country bread and polenta fries with truffle mayo. And some green salad of course, seeing we're girls and desperate to hold on to our supermodel figures...
Located in the close-by street of Runeberginkatu, bizarre Bar Bhangra has become my other livingroom, which is something everyone who's ever met me (or has been following this blog's Facebook page!) already knows. Many nights, filled with laughter and wine have been spent there and both its staff and fellow regulars have become a quaint little gang of their own - one where membership luckily does not warrant involvement in human trafficking, drug smuggling or taking down other bars' regulars.
And that's where I met The Boy Next Door, too. Though even I know I should have probably been looking somewhere like at an art gallery, seminar on deforestation or a symphony orchestra concert, full of serious long-term relationship potential that even Hyacinth Bucket would approve of...
So it was only appropriate to have The Bar Maid (who acted as the matchmaker) and the Closet Dutch, one of the hilarious regulars, over for girls' lunch to ponder this massive change in my life that, in its ease and naturalness been nothing short of absurd. The Closet Dutch, desperate for some European treats demanded mussels, so mussels it was. I cooked them in that grape sauce I'd devised earlier for fish and served them with crusty country bread and polenta fries with truffle mayo. And some green salad of course, seeing we're girls and desperate to hold on to our supermodel figures...
Serves 2-3
1 kg mussels
2 shallots
butter2 shallots
1 dl puréed green grapes (appr. 200 gr grapes)
1 dl white wine
2 dl cream
handful of chives/ spring onions
salt, pepper
salt, pepper
Brush and rinse the mussels. Finely mince the shallots. Blizz the grapes in a blender to a smooth purée. Heat some butter in a pot and sauté the shallots. Add wine. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add cream and puréed grapes. Stir to make sure everything is evenly mixed and pour in the mussels. Cook, covered for 5 minutes, shaking the pan at the beginning. Discard the ones that don't open. Check the taste and season (go easy on the salt). Sprinkle chopped chives/ spring onions top and serve.
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ANYONE FOR SECONDS?
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