Every year on the first Wednesday of December, we celebrate Pikku Joulu (Little Christmas) at Irma’s Finland House. It’s a Finnish celebration that kicks off the start to the Christmas season. Be sure to stop by the store on this day for a wonderful party. Our lovely Finnish ladies are always dressed in their traditional costumes and we have a fantastic spread of goodies to sample including rice pudding with fruit soup.

Rice Pudding

1 cup uncooked rice
3 cups milk
¼ cup melted butter
½ cup sugar
3 eggs
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup sliced unblanched almonds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 whole blanched almond
Light cream

Cook the rice according to the directions on the package. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Combine the milk, melted butter, sugar, eggs, and salt. Stir in the rice and pour into a well-buttered 2 quart casserole. Combine the sliced almonds and cinnamon and sprinkle over the pudding. Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees) for about 1 hour or until the pudding has thickened sufficiently. Press the whole almond into the pudding and cover the mark left. Serve either hot or chilled with the light cream to pour over it. Serves 6 to 8.

At Christmastime, a blanched almond is often pressed into this pudding before it is served, and it is said that the person who gets it will have good luck during the following year.

Fruit Soup

1 pound mixed dried fruits (apricots, prunes, pears, and apples)
2 ½ quarts (10 cups) water
1 stick cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch
2 tablespoons cold water
Whipped cream

Simmer the dried fruits in the water with the cinnamon and sugar until the fruits are tender (about 1 hour). Dissolve the cornstarch or potato starch in the 2 tablespoons of cold water, bring the soup to boiling, and stir in the starch mixture. Cook, covered, until the soup has thickened and is clear. Cool with the cover on to prevent a skin from forming on top. To serve, pour over rice pudding and top with whipped cream. Serves 8 to 10.

From The Finnish Cookbook by Beatrice Ojakangas

Sima is the May Day drink of Finland. Finns serve this refreshing lemon drink throughout the summer. Its tangy characteristic taste comes from the yeast that is added in the beginning. Don’t feel like making it? Stop by Irma’s on May Day for a sample!

4 quarts water
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/8 cups (approximately) granulated sugar
2 lemons, washed and thinly sliced
1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon raisins

Heat the water to boiling and stir in the brown sugar and 1 cup of the granulated sugar. Add the lemon slices. Cool to lukewarm and transfer the liquid to a non-metallic container. Add the yeast and stire (but do not add the yeast until the liquid has cooled, or it will not work. To test for the correct temperature, place a few drops of the liquid on your wrist; if it feels neither warm nor cold, it is the right temperature). Let this water-sugar-lemon-yeast mixture stand overnight or at least 8 to 10 hours in a warm place. There should be tiny bubbles around the edges of the liquid after this length of time.

Sterilize 8 pint bottles, 4 quart bottles, or 1 gallon jug, and place 1 or 2 teaspoons granulated sugar per quart of liquid into each container, as well as 3 or 4 raisins. Strain the liquid and pour into the containers. Cork tightly. Let stand at room temperature until the raisins have risen to the top of the bottle (this indicates that the Sima has fermented enough and is ready to drink). In the winter, this may take 2 days or more; in warm weather, only 8 hours. Chill and store in the refrigerator or a cool place. Makes 1 gallon.

From The Finnish Cookbook by Beatrice Ojakangas