Things to do #4

Today's list by #4 nediam_nori, Finland:

- Take a bicycle tour around your city.
Don't have a bicycle at the moment, so I'd probably be doing a walking tour around my city.
- Eat Finnish traditional Easter dish "mämmi".
Seems to be a time consuming recipe. If I have some time around Easter, why not :) I'm with all hands up for sweets. (Recipes under the cut.)
- Buy Iron Maiden´s CD and adore the music.
I'm already adoring the music!
- Watch the Japanese animation "Spirited Away".
I love all Miyazaki Hayao works. ^__^ 
- Start to grow herbs.
If I'm allowed to use some space on the windowsill I might start growing something useful for my cooking exercises.
- Clean your closets and find interesting things...
Oh, I have a lot of interesting things in my closets... There still should be something from the times before I moved out to the dormitories. 
- Start to write a diary - when you are old it is great fun (or not) to read your thoughts.
I already wrote about my diary writing experience in one of the previous lists.Mämmi



Simple recipe
6 quarts (6 L) of water
1 lb. (1/2 kg) of rye malt (recipe originally had 1 kg as equivalent to 1lb)
3 lbs (1.5 kg) of rye flour
molasses to taste
1-2 tsp. of salt
4 tbsp. of chopped orange rind
(syrup)

Method 1: Mix 500 gm of malt with 1 litre of tepid water and put a thick layer of rye flour onto the surface. Cover, and leave it in a warm place for two hours. Sift the remaining malt and flour together. Uncover the pot, mix thoroughly and then add 1 litre of boiling water. Make another layer of malt/flour on the surface, cover the pot and again leave for an hour in a warm place. Repeat until all the ingredients are used. Finally add the salt and bigarade or orange zest and boil for 10 minutes, stirring well. Cool by whisking well and half fill molds with the cooled mixture. Bake at 150°C (300F) for three hours.

Method 2: Mix the malt and flour. Heat the water until tepid. Put 2 quarts of the water into a pot and gradually add flour/malt mix until it forms a thin soup. Sprinkle a layer of malt and flour onto this soup, cover and put in a warm place for one hour. Mix well and then repeat the process until all the ingredients are used. When using the last of the water, season to taste with molasses, orange rind and salt. Cook for about 10 mins., stirring constantly. Whip till cooled. Place in low pans. Do not fill too full, because mämmi will rise in the oven. Bake in moderate oven for about 1–2 hours.
 
Quick recipe
for 5 punnets (traditionally made of birch bark):
7 liters (7 quarts) of water
2 kg (4.4 lb.) of rye flour
½ kg (1 lb. and 2 oz) of rye malt
3 tablespoons of syrup
2–3 tablespoons of salt
4 tablespoons of bitter orange peel for spicing

First stage Heat the water to 60 °C (140 °F) and beat in just enough of the rye flour and malt to form a thin porridge. Distribute a thick layer of the remaining flour and malt onto the surface of the porridge. Cover the pot and leave in a warm place for an hour to sweeten.

Second stage Whip the mixture and add 1 liter (4 cups) of hot water. Then, as in Phase One, add a layer of rye flour and malt to the top of the mixture and leave it to sweeten for another hour. Repeat these steps until all water, flour and malt has been used.

After sweetening, cook the mämmi for half an hour, stirring well. Spice during cooking. Whip the cooked mämmi until it cools off and pour it to punnets rinsed with cold water. Sprinkle sugar onto the surface and bake the mämmi in the oven for about three hours at low heat.