Midsummer feast

We started Midsummer preparations already in May, when JD bought 5kg of veal tenderloin in vacuum. He planned that after six weeks in our refridgerator at 0 degrees the meet would be just perfect to be grilled in our Midsummer feast. At that time we counted 15-17 persons to join us, but the final number reduced to 11, just family and one new partner/friend to my son. So there was plenty of meet…

The weather was perfect on Midsummer eve, sunny and +20C. We fetched the preordered potatoes – the first Siiklis – from our favorite potato seller on Turuntie.  My sister-in-law brought 8 liters of strawberries grown in Muurla.

The day was so hot, that kids were bathing in the sun and even swimming in the sea. I cleaned the beach sauna and started heating it at 3 pm with birch logs.

Then I saw a bird’s nest above the sauna door, it was swallow’s nest. We decided to move it to a better place, but then while moving the nest noticed that it had five nestlings. This was tragic – the mother swallow didn’t find the nest and the nestlings were abandoned. All our fault! Later in the evening another swallow (or maybe the desperate mother) flew against a window and got a heart attack. We had to bury that bird, too. For Emma (5 yrs) this was too much, she cried.

It took six hours to make the sauna so hot that it would stay hot all night for several groups of visitors. Meanwhile, we cooked dinner, and at 6pm we raised the Finnish flag and started eating outside.

Our menu was quite typical Finnish Midsummer menu (for 11 persons):

Siikli potatoes (4 kg), butter, dill
Various types of Baltic herring
Smoked Norwegian salmon (one large fish)

* * *

Veal tenderloin, grilled in one peace (2 tenderloins, appr. 3.5 kg, seasoned with Kosher salt, black pepper and dried herbs)
Green salad with 5 herbs dressing  (Virgin olive oil, white balsamico, Herbamare, basil, sage, thym, mint, rosemary, black pepper, honey)

* * *

Strawberries
Lime Mascarpone cream, mint leaves

The sun was shining all night and the music was reggae. Smaller ones went to sauna first, then to a hot tub and to bed.  Younger men sneaked inside to watch football (European championship games) and others were sitting outside long after midnight.

Midsummer day was rainy and easygoing. We had late breakfast/brunch and went for a walk just before the rain.

We repeated the rituals with sauna and hot tub, and for dinner JD prepared on the grill a special entrecote Wagyu steak from New Zeeland (normally not available in Finland, but he found it just before Midsummer). The two kilos was just enough for good-size rib-eye steaks for the eight of us left for dinner. JD added only Kosher salt to the meat which was very tender and juicy, tasted excellent and turned out to be the best steak we ever had. Even little Ollie said nam, nam.