We went ice-skating with friends today. Or rather, the kids went falling on the ice while the fathers prevented them from breaking their necks every ten seconds. True to myself, I was indoors sipping coffee and trying to win the “who is laziest” contest with the other mom.. (I’m pretty sure I won).

Eventually, when we got home, noses frozen and outdoors pants wet, the kids were raging hungry and were in no mood for compromising, so I quickly defrosted some store-bought Karelian pies (karjalanpiirakka) that had been patiently waiting for their time to shine for many weeks. Five minutes in the oven, an outrageous amount of butter & a sprinkle of sea salt later,  and the kids were finally quiet, biting eagerly is the warm, milky, soft rice center and the chewy rye base. If there is one Finnish food item I will bring with me anywhere, it’s without a doubt the karjalanpiirakka. They are simply enchanting with their contrasted texture and the infinite amounts of toppings that can adorn them! I’m so obsessed with them that it’s literally the first recipe I insisted on learning when I moved to Finland (the second was Salmon soup but more on that later…)!

For the bigger people in the house, it was leftover-day as well. The lemon chicken tagine had nicely absorbed the turmeric sauce and the potatoes and chickpeas had taken a thick yellow coating that announced exciting flavors to come!

As for me, I was in the mood for something a bit different. How about a Tartine (or open-face sandwich)? Leftover roasted red paprikas and eggplant seemed to be calling for a last minute twist of fate, so I caved and double-toasted rye bread..

Don’t you just love the burnt edges on rye and the smoky flavor that develops when toasting rye a bit longer?  Double toasting is my trick to control the level of heat and avoid eating char-coaled toast! Try it it’s amazing

I then covered it with an unreasonable dab of Dijon mustard & Humus and added the roasted veggies in colorful and precarious little mounts of deliciousness; and because everything tastes better with cheese, I shaved some Parmesan on top! There is no describing it, you can only taste it – but i’ll try anyways. Imagine the mustard’s heat giving way to the smoky flavor of the roasted paprikas and the crisp of the rye contrasts with the soft eggplant, the whole thing almost perfectly balanced by the creamy humus finish..

Aren’t Leftover days the best?