Mothers' Day

Every 2nd Sunday of May we celebrate Monthers' Day in Estonia. I think it is a nice tradition, to take time and go to see our mother, grandmother, grand-grandmother (for the lucky ones) or those who have been like mothers for us: guiding, teaching, being a role model...

I am so lucky to have a wonderful mum, 2 great grandmums, even a French "maman" and 2 other women that I appreciate a lot. All those women have definitely had a great influence on me and I have learned a lot from them.

According to a recent survey, in Estonia there are the most single mothers in the EU. It is sad, as it is also the same group most vulnerable to poverty.

I think there are so many amazing women in Estonia, that can manage so much: work full time, take care of the kid(s), look good and also educate themselves. I guess the more you do, the higher demands you have as well for the partner.

As the male-female ratio is out of balance, it does not really make the guys make great efforts. Instead, what I've noticed, they tend to derogate their foreign brothers that appreciate the local ladies and find excuses not to change.

I was once having a discussion about men-women with a good (male) friend of mine (half-Estonian) and he told that Estonian men want a service from the women. I tend to agree with him.
The least we could do, is to start appreciate, notice each other and the efforts that are made for us, in order to feel good and loved.

To lighten up, I will add a recipe of one of my favourite cakes, that I made for my mum and grandmums: Pavlova.

This dessert take a bit time to prepare, but is surely worth it.
You can also prepare the meringue a day in ahead, so that on the big day, there's no rush.

For one big or 4 individual meringue you need:

3 big egg whites (on room temperature)
bit salt
150 gr sugar
1 tsp potato starch
1 tsp vinegar or lime/lemon juice
Vanilla extract

Whisk the warm eggwhites in a glass bowl (make sure it's nice and clean, no grease, that makes the eggwhites not to rise well). When they start to get white, start adding sugar. Whisk until you get a nice, rich mousse. Then add starch, vanilla, and acid liquid. Mix well.
Then you need to decide, whether to make one big dessert or individual ones; I prefer smaller ones as they look nicer to serve.
Place the rich foam on a baking sheet, shape it so, that you have a slight hole in the middle for the cream later.
Bake in 150 degrees for 10 min; then lower the heat to 110 and bake 1,5 hours. Then stop the heat and let cool for 30min. (Do not open the door! It will make the meringue to fall down) Then you can place a wooden spoon in between the door, so the oven can cool off slowly. You can leave it for overnight for example.

For serving you need:

Whipped cream
(curd- kohupiim, in Estonian.. I prefer Alma's vanilla kohupiimakreem, with real vanilla seeds)
Sugar
(vanilla)

Fresh berries: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries...

Whip the cream, sweeten as you like and mix with curd, if you wish. (I like to add it as then it's not too sweet).
Fill the meringue with cream and put the berries on top. Serve immediately (as the meringue will get soft later).
Enjoy with a smile and good company.

Happy mother's Day!