ESC 2012, Second semifinale

Again in English as I'm again doing this last minute.

About the previous semifinale: I made my gestimation of who will go through to the finale after all the performances and got 7/10 (Russia, Ireland, Iceland, Greece, Romania, Moldova and Hungary) right. I think that's an ok result. I was sorry to see that Israel didn't make it there, but in the other hand happy that Hungary got through despite many saying it wouldn't. And THAN GOD Latvia has such a boring performance that they didn't get enough votes.

If we talk about the show in general, I felt it was set back several years (even something like a decade) due to the not so good camera work, hosts that tasted like cardboard and super huge and boring stage where the performers were mostly just lost. The show has looked so great during the last 5-7 years that the contrast was quite big.

And then to the songs we'll hear tonight!

1. Serbia - Željko Joksimović : Nije ljubav stvar
 Željko is an old favorite and the ballad is a nice one with that special Balkan flavor. I'm pretty sure it'll get to the finale and rightfully so.

2. F.Y.R. Macedonia - Kaliopi : Crno i belo
I'm not a big fan of the fact that this song turns into a rock song in the middle. I like the melody and her unique voice, but I'd enjoyed it better if it had followed more the style it had in the first verse. And the screaming - I'm not a fan of that.

3. Netherlands - Joan Franka : You And Me
I like the song but I bloody hate her Indian outfit. Too bad it seems she'll have that headpiece also on the stage in Baku. When you don't see that I really enjoy the song.

4. Malta - Kurt Calleja : This Is the Night
Kurt seems really sweet on the video, but the song is just very boring pop song that really doesn't stand out from the mass.

5. Belarus - Litesound : We Are the Heroes
Belarus has one of the wost songs this year. The guys can't even really sing can they? I don't really care to hear this song ever again and don't really think it'll make it to the finale.

6. Portugal - Filipa Sousa : Vida minha
The fado flavor in this song is very nice and I think it's always nice when a country picks a song in their own language and with some national character. For that I hope we'll see Filipa also in the finale even tough she's not one of my own favorites.

7. Ukraine - Gaitana : Be My Guest
This is the mother of all football songs and she has all the moves of a diva. I mean, can't you just see this playing on one of those "best goals" things and performed on a football arena? And I do think this is a good song in that "genre". We'll see how it'll do tonight but if they pull of a great show I'll be happy to welcome her to the finale.

8. Bulgaria - Sofi Marinova : Love Unlimited
I can't really wrap my head around this song. It's not really catchy and I apparently can't quite decide what type of music it is either. She has a nice smile tough.

9. Slovenia - Eva Boto : Verjamem
The singers with the ridiculously huge shower caps. That and the fact that this was some kind of a ballad were literally the only two things I as able to remember from this song before re-listening it just now. So no, I don't think it'll make it even tough it's not a bad ballad.

10. Croatia - Nina Badrić : Nebo
Lovely strong ballad that has an unfortunate spot just after another ballad and just before Sweden. Nina is much better than Eva from Slovenia tough. Let's hope she'll go through to the finale.

11. Sweden - Loreen : Euphoria
I don't know if it's because I've heard Euphoria so many times, but I love this song. It's so strong and beautiful. And Loreen has a great voice and I really hope they don't mess her performance with that shady camera work... And I'm curious to see what the performance will be like as there's definitely going to be no such snowflakes and probably some screen action going on. Euphoria is a definite favorite for me personally and in general in the competition.

12. Georgia - Anri Jokhadze : I'm a Joker
He is so slimy, the is no way round it. The song isn't even quite so bad that I'd wish it to be (in a party it would definitely make me dance), but he makes at least the whole video just unbearable.

13. Turkey - Can Bonomo : Love Me Back
This just makes me happy, especially the traditional Turkish instruments and his smile. It's no winner song but as always Turkey won't miss the finale due to the migration, but that's ok.

14. Estonia - Ott Lepland : Kuula
Estonian is such a beautiful language when it's sung. And it's no exception in this song. Other than that Kuula is a beautiful ballad that gives me goosebumps and a perfect show case of how you can understand the emotions even tough you don't know a word of the language sung if it's the mother tongue of the singer. Ott would deserve his spot in the finale. (By the way, he has a perfect spot just after the energetic song from Turkey and the heavy song Slovakia.)

15. Slovakia - Max Jason Mai : Don't Close Your Eyes
If you know anything of my taste in music you'll know I'm no heavy fan. And this song makes no exception. This just isn't for me.

16. Norway - Tooji : Stay
This is such a trademark Swedish Eurovision song even tough it's presenting Norway and it has some eastern sound in it too. There is nothing wrong with it or with Tooji, but I just feel like I have heard this too many times before (and that Eric Saade just did it better). It'll probably make it to the finale anyway.

17. Bosnia & Herzegovina - Maya Sar : Korake ti znam
This is not a bad ballad but as there is so many ballads in this semifinale, it doesn't really stand out. I'm pretty indifferent about this song.

18. Lithuania - Donny Montell : Love Is Blind
ARE YOU SERIOUS? You sing "love is blind" and then decide to wear a blind fold through half of the song. Not that I'd like this song otherwise either: I've never been a fan of chancing the style of the song completely in the middle of it. I hope being the last song on the stage doesn't guarantee a spot in the finale for him.

In general this semifinale seems to me to be slightly weaker than the first one. Not much but a tad bit. It might be the overflow of ballades tough because they have never been my special favorites in this competition.

As always it's hard to guess who'll do well in the semi before seeing the live performances. But for now I'll guess the ones going further are: Sweden (Loreen is just divine), Norway (boring for me but this definitely has it's fans), Turkey (migration to other countries will assure this), Serbia (Željko already has fans around Europe), Estonia (the best ballad tonight by far), Netherlands (doing its own thing tonight), Ukraine (big, bold, beautiful), Portugal (people love fado), Croatia (or some other of these ballads, I can't really predict which one) and Georgia (because some shit like this always gets through and unlike Belarus he can actually sing).

ESC 2012, first semifinale

I'm bit late with all this, but here is my short commentary of tonights ESC semifinale competitors. To save time I'll write this only in English.

1. Montenegro - Rambo Amadeus : Euro Neuro
This is a sneeky song. It makes absolutely no sence, but I still love it and hope this song will do well tonight, despite the slot as first performer.

2. Iceland - Greta Salóme & Jónsi : Never Forget
In a way there is nothing super special in this song but I still like it a lot. It's so powerful and emotional. Iceland definitely should go throught to the finale this year too.

3. Greece - Eleftheria Eleftheriou : Aphrodisiac
This is pure and uther crap. Sure it's typical Greece song but it's definitely not a good one. And I have permanent trauma from the video and the shiny panties...

4. Latvia - Anmary : Beautiful Song
The horrid ear worm. I can't stand this song and unfortunately I can't get it out of my head either. It definitely doesn't deserve a place in the finale but I bet it'll be one of the songs going throug anyway. I just HOPE it's not going to win...

5. Albania - Rona Nishliu : Suus
The song is odd and beautiful in its own way, but it takes time to understand it. Nice to have something different in the competition but I'm rather surtain it won't do well.

6. Romania - Mandinga : Zaleialah
The durms, the bagpipe, the rolling in the sand. This is europop at it's finest. And I can't help but like it. That said, I have no idea how it'll do tonight altough it has a fantastic slot just after Suus.

7. Switzerland - Sinplus : Unbreakable
Very basic radio friendly rock. I have nothing bad to say about this but there is nothing special in it either. Does it do well or porely? To be honest, I don't really care.

8. Belgium - Iris : Would You?
This song is a constant disappointment for me. It starts sounding like something Maia Hirazawa could sing and then turns into this super nausiatingly sweet song with no emotion in it. I hate to say it as I do love Belgium, but I really wish this won't go through to the finale.

9. Finland - Pernilla : När Jag Blundar
Let's be frank, I'm completely unable to say anything objective about this song. I mean, it wasn't my pick from the Finnish candidates this year but I do like it and as a Finn I just have to wish it does well. I thruely wish Pernilla will get to the finale even just so she'll get the experience as she is such a sweet girl.

10. Israel - Izabo : Time
Israel, one of my definite favorites this year! I love the positive energy they have and that Israel didn't turn this into a political thing. I really wish they'll get to the finale and am very pleased that they have such a good spot just after two ballads.

11. San Marino - Valentina Monatta : The Social Network Song (Oh Oh – Uh - Oh Oh)
If Latvia is an horrid ear worm, this is just plain horrid and definitely one of the most hated song in our library (there are two of us big fans here). I just hope San Marino isn't holding its breath for the win...

12. Cyprus - Ivi Adamou : La La Love
I didn't get this song at first but it did get under my skin after a while. A good europop song and a very good looking video. If they put up a good show they might do well tonight.

13. Denmark - Soluna Samay : Should've known better
I guess there is nothing really wrong about this song but the thing is I just don't like it. And that pretty much averyting I feel like saying about the song.

14. Russia - Buranovskiye Babushki : Party For Everybody
If you have followed the ESC scene at all this year you'll know what a phenomenom these Russian Babushkas have been. And I have to admit I do like them too, they just aren't my favorites. But it's safe to say they'll do well in the competition, no mather what.

15. Hungary - Compact Disco : Sound of Our Hearts
I'm pretty sure Compact Disco won't be one of the big winners this year (all tough I hope I'm wrong), but they have definitely stolen my heart with this song as well as with their very interesting video. Let's hope they have a good show tonigh.

16. Austria - Trackshittaz : Woki Mit Deim Popo
Am I the only one who get's their blood boiling when this song comes up? Yes? No? Oh well, it's safe to say this is not my song nor am I probably the intended audience for it...

17. Moldova - Pasha Parfeny : Lăutar
I have to admit that I can't remember at all how this song goes. But I do remember it's something I enjoy hearing it and that Pasha is very sweet.

18. Ireland - Jedward : Waterline
You know, Jedward was one of my big favorites last year with Lipstick. It was fun and energetic and just made me laugh and dance at home, especially in the semifinale where they happened to have the last performance just like this year. Waterline has all the same Jedward trademarks on it but it's bit less everyting compared to Lipstick. And even tough I'll cheer the this year too, this song just doesn't quite have that special something Lipstick had. I'm sure they'll get far in the competition, might even win too. Just, I wish they'd done it last year.

To conclude, the songs I think will definitely make it to the finale from this semifinale are Ireland, Russia and (unfortunately) Latvia. And the ones I really hope will also make it are Israel, Finland, Hungary, Iceland and Montenegro.

So there you have it, my 2 cents about the songs in this first semifinale. In few hours we'll know how it really goes. I can wait!

Kokeiluja keittiössä - Kitchen experiments 2

En noin yleisesti ole mikään Stockan Hullujen päivien fani, mutta minulla on jo useamman vuoden ollut eräs Hullut päivät -perinne: käydä Herkussa ostamassa vuohenjuustoa. Joka vuosi kun herkussa on myynnissä miltei puolen kilon painoisia chevrepötköjä naurettavan halpaan hintaan. Samaan syssyyn matkaan yleensä tarttuu yhtä sun toista muutakin syötävää, mutta chevren takia minä siellä käyn. Ja sitten kun kaapissa on vuohenjuustoa pienelle kylälle, pitää äkkiä keksiä, mitä kaikkea siitä voisikaan tehdä. Tällä kertaa ensimmäinen ruoka näytti tältä.


Rucola-vuohenjuustopasta


Tämä on nopea ja helppo resepti, jonka kehittelin ihan omasta päästä. Olen joskus nähnyt jossakin samankaltaista pastaa, mutta sopivaa reseptiä ei ollut käsillä, joten improvisoinniksi meni.

Ainekset:

• 125 g pastaa, mieluiten penneä tai simpukkapastaa
• 1 sipuli
• 15-20 kirsikkatomaattia
• n. 200 g chevreä eli vuohenjuustoa
• n. 50 g rucolaa
• oliiviöljyä
• suolaa
• pippuria
  

Työvälineet:

• leikkuulauta
• terävä veitsi
• kattila
• paistokasari
• paistolasta
  

Valmistusaika: 30 minuuttia, joska aktiivista valmistusaikaa 30 minuuttia

Määrä: 2 annosta

Valmistus:

1. Keitä pasta.
2. Leikkaa kuorittu sipuli suikaleiksi ja puolita kirsikkatomaatit.
3. Poista chevrestä kuori.
4. Kuulota sipulit nopeasti kasarissa oliiviöljyssä.
5. Lisää pannulle kirsikkatomaatit, mausta suolalla ja pippurilla ja anna paistua 1-2 minuuttia.
6. Ota kasari pois kuumalta levyltä, lisää joukkoon pasta, palasiksi murennettu chevre sekä rucola.
7. Valuta päälle vielä hieman oliiviöljyä ja sekoita.
8. Jaa lautasille ja tarjoile saman tien.

Olen ehkä hieman puolueellinen sanomaan, koska resepti on oma ja vuohenjuusto suurimpia herkkujani, mutta tämä oli todella herkullista. Rucolalle ominainen pieni kitkeryys ja vuohenjuuston maun pehmeys olivat mukavasti tasapainossa. Suolaa olisin ehkä maustaessa voinut lisätä maustaessa hieman enemmän, mutta toisaalta sormisuolan lisääminen valmiiseen annokseen toimi erinomaisesti. Suosittelen kaikille vuohenjuuston ystäville!

* * *

Stockmann, the most well known department store in Finland, has twice a year a discount event called Hullut päivät ("Crazy days"). I usually go there to buy food, especially goat cheese which they sell in big quantities with a really low price. And as the Crazy days are this week, I now have a lot of wonderful chevre to use.


Rucola Chevre pasta


This is a quick and easy recipe that I improvised myself. I've seen something similar before but as I had no recipe, just the idea, I had to get creative.


Ingredients:

• 125 g pasta, preferably penne or conchiglie
• 1 onion
• 15-20 cherry tomatoes
• about 200 g chevre (goat cheese)
• about 50 g rucola
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
  

Tools:

• chopping board
• sharp knife
• pot
• a big pan
• spatula
  

Preparation time: 30 minutes, active preparation time 30 minutes

Quantity: 2 portions

Preparation:

1. Cook the pasta.
2. Cut the peeled onion to slivers and the cherry tomatoes to halves.
3. Remove the skin of the chevre.
4. Glaze the onion in olive oil in the pan.
5. Add the cherry tomatos to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and let them fry 1 to 2 minutes.
6. Take the pan of from the hot plate and add pasta, crumbled chevre and rucola.
7. Pour some olive oil on top and mix everything.
8. Portion out to plates and serve immediately.

I might be bit biased to say as the recipe is mine and I love chevre, but this turned out delicious. The softness of the goat cheese and the slight bitterness of rucola balanced each other nicely. I could have added slightly more salt while seasoning, but adding some finger salt to the plate worked very well with this dish. I can definitely recommend this to all who love goat cheese!

Eve Hietamies: Yösyöttö

Otava, 2010

Kun Antti Pasasesta tulee isä, ei mikään mene niin kuin mies on odottanut. Vaimo, jonka oli tietysti tarkoitus jäädä kotiin pientä Pasasta hoitamaan, hyppääkin Naistenklinikan edessä taksiin ja ajaa pois ilman isää ja poikaa. Kun äidistä ei ole pojan kasvattajaksi on Antin otettava pesti vastaan, vaikkei se juuri houkuttelekaan. Mutta miten ihmeessä lapsen kasvatuksesta selviää iso mies, joka ei edes tiedä, miltä osastolta kaupasta löytyy se "äidinmaito"?

Yösyöttö oli mainio lukukokemus, joka tuli ahmaistua ihan poikkeuksellisen nopeasti. Asetelmasta on selvästi tarkoituksella tehty hieman koominen, mutta onneksi Hietamies ei sorru vetämään tarinaansa pelkäksi vitsiksi. Kuvaus Antti Pasasen elämästä yksinhuoltajaisänä sai minut niin nauramaan kuin itkemäänkin. Kirja oli erittäin koskettava sortumatta kuitenkaan olemaan yhtään siirappinen tai liian raskassoutuinen. Ennen kaikkea Yösyöttö herätti jälleen pohtimaan sitä, millaista erilaisessa elämäntilanteessa olevien ihmisten elämä on. Lapsettomana sinkkuna opin tästä myös jotain siitä, mitä on olla vanhempi. Ja oli kirja samalla kiehtova läpileikkaus laajemminkin lapsiperheiden elämästä.

Kaiken kaikkiaan hyvin kirjoitettu kirja, joka ponkaisee suoraan suosikkilistalle ja jota kehtaan suositella niin miehille kuin naisillekin. Minä tartun varmaan pian seuraavaan Pasasten elämästä kertovaan kirjaan eli Tarhapäivään.

* * *

(Title in English: Night feeding) When Antti Pasanen becomes a father, nothing goes the way he has expected. His wife, who was obviously supposed to stay at home and take care of the baby boy, jumps into a taxi outside the hospital and speeds of without the father and son. And the mother is not able to be there and raise their son, it's Antti who has to do the job, even if he really doesn't want to. But how on earth does a big man, who doesn't even know the real name for infant formula, manage that?


Night feeding is a great reading experience and a book that I finished really fast. The whole setting was obviously given a flair of humor in purpose but luckily Hietamies had not written the book to be just a joke. The portrayal of the single dad life of Antti Pasanen made me both laugh and cry. The story was very touching without being too sugary or heavy. It also helped me to imagine what is a different life like. I, a childless single, also learned a lot about what it's like to be parent as the book did portray many different families.


All in all this was very well written book and it went straight to my favorites list. I'll be happy to recommend this to both men and women. I'll probably dive soon into the next book about the live of Antti and his son called Tarhapäivä (Kindergarten day).

Kokeiluja keittiössä - Kitchen experiments 1

Kuten muutama merkintä sitten mainitsin, olen ajatellut tehdä muutamia muutoksia täällä. Yksi ajatuksistani on ollut laajentaa vähän käsiteltäviä aihealueita ja kirjoittaa juttuja myös selkeämpinä sarjoina. Innoittajana tähän on toiminut mm. Inarin blogi, jossa on juttuja kasattu kivasti erilaisten otsikoiden alle. Nyt ensimmäisenä ajattelin aloittaa sarjan otsikolla Kokeiluja keittiössä, jonka alla on tarkoitukseni kirjoittaa nimenomaan kokkauskokeiluistani. Samalla yritän kannustaa itseäni kokkaamaan enemmän uusia juttuja, koska vaikka pidänkin ruuanlaitosta, jämähdän ihan liian usein niihin samoihin perusruokiin. Nyt siis yritän tehdä useammin jotain uutta.

Sopa de batata doce eli bataattikeitto

Ostin bataatin, koska pidän bataatista, mutta minulla ei ollut mitään erityistä suunnitelmaa sen varalle. Tänään päätin tehdä siitä soppaa. Sopivan tuntuinen resepti löytyi Roderick Dixonin kirjasto Ruokaa rippeistä (Art House 2008), sivulta 94. Kirjan mukaan resepti on brasilialainen. Pääpiirteittäin seurasin ohjetta, joskin pari pientä muutosta tähän tuli. Alla oma versioni keitosta.

Ainekset:

• 2 rkl voita
• 1 sipuli 
• 3 valkosipulinkynttä
• n. 6 rkl hienonnettua persiljaa
• 4 tomaattia
• 1 keskikokoinen bataatti (n. 600 g)
• 2,5 dl maitoa
• 1 l lihalientä
• suolaa
• valkopippuria

Työvälineet:

• 1-3 kattilaa (määrä riippuen siitä, haluatko pestä niitä kesken valmistuksen)
• leikkuulauta
• terävä veitsi
• kuorimaveitsi
• perunasurvin
• kauha
• kulho

Valmistusaika: 1-1,5 tuntia, aktiivista valmistusaikaa n. 30 min

Määrä: 4 annosta

Valmistus:

1. Kuori ja pilko bataatti. Keitä bataatinpalaset kypsiksi.
2. Muhenna bataatti perunasurvimella.
3. Kalttaa, kuori ja pilko tomaatit.
4. Kuutioi sipuli ja murskaa valkosipulinkynnet.
5. Paista sipulia, valkosipulia ja persiljaa voissa noin 3 minuuttia kattilassa.
6. Lisää muut ainekset kattilaan. Mausta suolalla ja valkopippurilla oman maun mukaan.
7. Kiehauta sekoittaen, kunnes keitto sakeutuu.
8. Koristele tuoreella persiljalla.

Keitossa oli mukavasti samassa paketissa sekä makua että pehmeyttä. Tekstuuriakin on, kun ei pilko aineksia liian pieneksi. Suosittelen nauttimaan kyytipoikana hyvää tuoretta leipää tai tekemään itse krutonkeja vaikka ruisleivästä. Ne sopisivat tähän soppaan varmasti mainiosti! Tätä tulee varmasti tehtyä toistekin.

* * *

As I mentioned couple of posts back, I've decided to do couple of changes in this blog. One of my ideas has been to broaden the subjects I write about and write them under more defined titles. A definite inspiration among others for this has been Inari's blog. To start this I wanted to launch a series under the title Kitchen experiments, where I obviously write about my cooking experiments. I do this also so I'd actually go and try to cook new things. It's too easy to just always do the same old stuff, even when you really like cooking.



Sopa de batata doce or sweet potato soup

I bought a sweet potato couple of days ago because I like it, but I had no idea what I'd do about it. Today I decided on a sweet potato soup. I found an interesting recipe from the book Ruokaa rippeistä (Food from the remnants) written by Roderick Dixon. The recipe is originally Brazilian. I modified the recipe slightly  so here's my version of the soup.



Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoon of butter
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• about 6 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 medium-sized sweet potato (about 600 g)
• 2,5 dl milk
• 1 l broth / stock
• salt
• white pepper

Tools:

• 1-3 pots (the number depending on if you want to wash them in the middle of the preparations)
• chopping board
• sharp knife
• pealing knife
• potato pestle
• scoop
• bowl

Preparation time: 1-1,5 hours, active preparation time about 30 minutes


Quantity: 4 portions


Preparation:

1. Peal and chop the sweet potato into piecesi. Boil it.
2. Mash the sweet potato.
3. Scald, peal and chop the tomatoes.
4. Chop the onion into cubes and cruch the garlic.
5. Fry onion, garlic and parsley in a pot with the butter for 3 minutes.
6. Add other ingredients to the pot. Season with salt and white pepper.
7. Let the soup boil while you mix it  until it thickens.
8. Garnish with fresh parsley.

I'll definitely do this soup again. The soup turned out very tasty and soft. It also has some texture when you don't chop the ingredient into  too small pieces. Serve the soup with fresh bread or make some croutons to go with it.