My Letter to North Americans....

Dear Canadian, American or wherever you are from:

You have no idea how lucky you are to have the following stores available to you:

• Dollarama (or any such kind of dollar store)
• Bulk Barn (or any kind of store that sells ingredients in bulk)
• Walmart
• Costco/Price Club (or any kind of ware-house sized ingredients for sale - really for huge families or families that consume a lot!)
• Big grocery stores nearby

Why am I telling you this?  Because things change and they always change here without any warning....

What am I referring to?

Don't laugh - but I am referring to....chocolate chips.

I know, it's wild eh?  You're thinking, "Chocolate chips are FOREIGN?! What?!  I'm snacking on some right now....they're on sale for 1$ this week!....My Grandma just makes the BEST chocolate chip cookies in the world!!!"

Well, I'm serious....chocolate chips are not part of the Finnish culture here.

My friend P is on vacation this week - so we rounded up her kids (2 boys) and left mine at home (one has the flu and the other wouldn't fit in her vehicle) and we went to EVERY big grocery store possible today.

We started at Prisma in Sepp�l� (?) area because my friend mistakenly thought the Asian Food Store was there...it's not.  It's at the City Market...so we went there.

They did not sell chocolate chips...and at the Asian Food Store - they only had 1 package of Chinese sausages....my husband nearly had a heart attack when I came home with only 1 package...

But I found wonton wrappers (frozen), BBQ pork buns and some other goodies...oh and when I asked for "Sesame oil" ("ses-ah-mee" is how I said it) - she told me she didn't have any.

BUT!  She had "ses-um" oil...I asked the difference and she said she didn't know.

So she took me to the aisle and up above, I see a row of SESAME OIL.  

(FYI in case you're looking for it too).

We move on to Prisma in Palokka area....no international section whatsoever (so the teenager guy working there said).

We then move to City Market (K Market chain) in Palokka....and here I am ecstatic.  Because I usually buy chocolate chips here about once a month....

Guess what?`

NO CHOCOLATE CHIPS.

The spot where the chocolate chips are usually in the "foreign section" (not joking - chocolate chips are part of the "Foreigners section" or "International foods") was filled with other kinds of chips....like potato chips....The price tag disappeared (by the way they are over 4�/bag) and it appeared as if they didn't sell them at all.

And no, the chocolate chips are NOT in the baking section...they never are and probably never will be - because they are considered "foreign".

There's whole chocolate baking bars...but not chocolate chips.

Chocolate chips are made of semi-sweet chocolate and not of the Finnish milk chocolate that Finland is known for.  (Finnish milk chocolate kicks butt and is way better than the garbage from North America...no funky after taste...no brown slime on your teeth....really a great chocolate!)

So if you know where I can buy "Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips" in Finland - PLEASE let me know.......as I would like to sell some baked goodies with chocolate chips in them!
And chocolate chips are totally different than chocolate chunks in a sense....because Finland doesn't sell "Semi-sweet chocolate"...and because - chocolate chips are chocolate chips!

I'd be soooooooooooooooooooooooo grateful!

Yours Truly,

A North American gal who just wants some freaking chocolate chips.

PS Sinelli has a great sale on their winter craft stuff...pretty much all of it for 50%!! (But then they won't stamp your "regular customer card" -discount card, points card, whatever, - because the stuff is so cheap...even if you spend more than 15�!...unless your other purchases aren't Christmas stuff and they add up to more than 15�...)

PPS I'll check out Behnford's again...but I don't think they have any in...

International Food

I cannot believe I haven't posted about this before (at least I don't think I have...) but let's talk about "International Food".
Food that is not normally sold in Finland - would be American brands and British brands.

The big thing I missed since moving to Finland was Kraft Peanut Butter.  I don't think anywhere in Finland sells that brand (the jars are generally bigger) but that's okay...I eventually got used to the "Finnish" version of peanut butter, although it's not crunchy and it's more oily than the Kraft brand I'm used to.
Although, bonus points to Finland for selling Nutella!

Anyhow, a friend of mine, introduced me to this store, Behnford's, located in Helsinki.  They have their site in English (which I've linked for you) and they also ship based on weight and size of the package.

A friend of mine had gone to Helsinki and picked up a jar of Skippy's Peanut Butter - the jar was relatively small...I made it last as long as I could (got it in February I believe...) and the last bits were gone 2 days ago.
A very sad day indeed.

So, yesterday I got the chance to go with a friend (who thankfully has a car) to the big grocery store, City Market.

I wandered around and got the meat for the week and some other "heavier" stuff (bigger boxes of juice, extra milk cartons, pop - a real treat!, a big bag of potatoes) that can be a pain to carry home while walking....and then I remembered I was out of PB and Nutella!

Once I was in that aisle for spreads and jams - I looked across and saw a sliver of Heaven.

I bought 3 bags...the husband doesn't know.  I can finally make LOTS of treats and goodies with these!

Nutella is sold at all grocery stores....it's a hazelnut cocoa spread...yum.

The first time I've seen crunchy PB in grocery stores (City Market)

I've been here for almost 2 years and this is the first time I've seen semi-sweet chocolate chips! (Other than in Behnford's shop).

The Finnish version of smooth peanut butter...

So there ya have it...my special trip to the City Market ended with me coming home with special treats for me to bake with!

Marshmallows are sweet and sticky and great for Rice Krispy Squares, S'Mores, and other great little cookies...

Chocolate Chips are wonderful for baking with...like chocolate chip cookies....or chocolate chip muffins...or pancakes...or melting them for dipping small things to coat them in chocolate (although I've lately been using Fazer Dark chocolate baking squares) like macaroons (a coconut kind of cookie - sometimes known as a "hay stack")...

(My friend has never heard or seen them before and thought they looked like hamster droppings...I was mortified!)

I use PB for toast, sandwiches, dipping apples, a spoon of it in milk shakes...baked in cookies...for dog biscuits...

I use Nutella for toast primarily...sometimes in baking and occasionally in a milk shake or smoothie if I want to have something "chocolatey" but not a whole bar if you know what I mean!

These items were pricey (and not a brand name I recognize - but I don't care!) - however, if you factor in the cost of shipping from a friend or the cost of shipping from Behnford's....plus the potential of squished marshmallows....it works out to be cheaper than Behnford's and definitely cheaper than shipping from the US or Canada!