In My Kitchen in August

Oh dear, it's already August and I'm back to my own kitchen after the holiday. I brought some Finnish products home with me, like my old Kuksa that was still at my mum's place. It's a wooden cup in the style of what Sami people in Lapland use. Mine isn't unfortunately such a Sami original, but it's nice nevertheless. Here are some more items from Finland.

I ate quite a few of these Vihis while I was in Finland. It's a vegetable pie in a deep-fried doughnut dough type of pastry, and they are just so tasty. Traditionally these pies are meaty, but now a few veggie brands have appeared in the shops, and they seem to be a great quick snack.

The perfect accompaniment with Vihis are Crafty Ciders dry apple cider made by Saimaan Juomatehdas. I think I've mentioned this product here before, but it's worth talking about more. The cider is unfiltered and made from apple juice in a traditional way, and it's also vegan and gluten-free.

This Pässi IPA goat IPA was also a very pleasant drink with a nice label.

I brought these dried crushed peas and dried whole broad beans in Finland, and they will be a really handy dry staple in my kitchen. I've already made some burger patties from the pea crush, and might publish the recipe here soon.

I cooked a creamy and cheesy vegetable bake with courgettes, carrots and cauliflower for my family, and it actually went down pretty well. It's a shame that all the vegetables are hiding under the cheese, otherwise it would look quite vibrant.

So that was my haul from Finland pretty much aprt from th eusual rye bread and favourite cheese. I haven't bought as many strawberries this summer as I would like to have, but got to enjoy them a few times. However there is still time!

I tried these vegan cheeses by Astrid och Aporna, and I'm not sure, if I like them that much. I think that the smoky one was alright, but had quite a rubbery texture. I didn't like the vegan parmesan, as the flavour was too strong for me, although the texture was fine in that one. What's your favourite vegan cheese, any recommendations? Or do you perhaps have any ideas, in what sort of dishes should I use the rest of these not to waste them?

Finally I want to share a breakfast pizza with you, as it's the finest thing to have the next day after you've been making pizza. I think that a homemade pizza is always tastier the next morning. This is a pineapple pizza, my favourite!

I'm sharing this post as usual with Sherry from Sherry's Pickings and the In My Kitchen challenge.

Your VegHog