kantelemusic.com

The Kantele Player ©2004 by J. A. Thompson
More great photos by J. A. Thompson

I see myself primarily as a songwriter and story teller and I've been writing for over 30 years. However, until I discovered the kantele, I only wrote the lyrics to songs and left the music to my collaborator-husband, D2T. I don't really hear music in my head. My fingers discover songs - one note at a time. The first song I wrote on the kantele was In the Forest .

The Finnish epic, The Kalevala inspires much of my writing. I want to compose a series of songs based on the stories and characters in that book. I also hope to go to Finland some day and visit the villages my grandparents came from. These include Kiuruvesi, Hyrynsalmi, Kangasniemi, and Säkkijärvi.

In addition to writing music, I like to write "Mythorealism" - a type of fiction that contains elements of myth, dark fantasy, horror and magical realism. If you'd like to read a free excerpt from my book The Red Dance which one reader calls "...a great story and one of the most bizarre fantasies I've ever read!" visit my Mythorealism site!

Here I am with my mother. We're playing our kanteles for the family Labor Day get together (2002). She made our Finnish inspired costumes.

Finnish Recipes

KALJAVELJA

(This recipe was a family favorite in my Finnish family when I was growing up. It can be served hot or cold.)
12 cups of water
1-8 oz. box dried apricots
2 cups of raisins
3/4 cup rice
sugar to taste (start with 1/3 cup)

Simmer the apricots in the water for 2 hrs. Mash apricots and simmer for another 1/2 hour to an hour. Add rice and raisins and simmer for another 45 minutes. Add more water as necessary to keep the level the same. Stir in sugar and add more to taste. This is supposed to be a sweet meal. Serve hot over cubes of cheese (as a soup) or serve cold as a dessert.

Grammy Harju's Nisu

2 cups scalded milk
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar

Cool to lukewarm. Add...

crumbled cake of yeast
2 beaten eggs
3/4 tsp. ground cardamon seed
7-8 cups of flour, sifted.

Knead bread dough. Let rise until double in bulk. Shape dough into desired form such as braids, wreathes, buns, etc. Rise again. Bake in a 350 degree oven until done. Upon taking out of the oven, brush with a glaze made from 1 cup confectionary sugar, 1/4 cup hot water, and lemon juice OR 1 cup confectionary sugar, 1/4 cup strong coffee and a pat of butter.

Gluten-free Nisu

(We have six celiacs in our family who like this gluten-free version of Nisu. The dough will be wet, so you won't be able to shape it into a braid, as is traditional. To learn more about celiac disease, click here.

1 cup scalded milk
3 TB. Butter
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 cup white sugar

Cool to lukewarm. Add

3 tsp. Yeast
1 tsp. Lecithin (optional)
2 1/2 tsp. Xanthan gum
2 beaten eggs
1/2 tsp. Ground cardamon seed
1 cup white rice flour minus 2 Tb.
2 Tb. Sweet rice flour
2/3 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup tapioca flour
enough brown rice flour to form the right dough consistency (this is about 1/2 cup)

Mix ingredients and beat with a hand mixer for 3-4 minutes. Pour into a greased loaf pan and rise until the dough is just over the top of the pan. Bake at 350 degrees until done (top turns brown, edges of bread pull away from the sides of the pan, and a knife or toothpick inserted into the bread comes out dry). Upon taking out of the oven, brush with a glaze made from:

1/2 cup confectionery sugar
1/8 cup hot water
lemon juice

OR
1/2 cup confectionery sugar
1/8 cup strong coffee
pat of butter