Taina and Pekka hosted the dinner on this trip. Minna invited Tuula (since Petri and Tommi had prior commitments) and I invited Karlos. Annaleena had just returned from the U.S., but had picked up some stomach troubles on the trip, and thought it best to stay home. Taina chauffeured me over to the K Citymarket hypermarkets at Iso Omena — a reliable place to pick up Chinese-style tofu! — and I prepared about five dishes, as usual.
On this trip, Minna has been dieting on the Montigniac method — famous for allowing the consumption of red wine and dark chocolate! — so she was off white rice. It turns out that Chinese vermicelli (actually made from mung beans) is low on the glycemic index, so Minna was happy with that.
The evening was enjoyable and relaxing — and we stayed up later than responsible adults are supposed to, on a work night!