Bread stuffing-- sauna finger food

 This is a snack that's really quick to make and is very delicious. You can create your own stuffing at home from any bread you like. However, I decided to buy the pre-made stuffing bread at the store for a whopping $2.99. 

Once you have the bread, sprinkle a good amount of salt (I like salty stuff with my beer). Add olive oil and garlic paste. Mix well. I think it tastes a little better when it sits in the refrigerator for a bit and soaks in the flavors.

This is a great finger food snack that's easily sharable in the sauna. Having made it last week, I can tell you it goes fast!

Bread stuffing with salt, olive oil and garlic.

Uzbek Plov/Pilaf warms the sauna

 Uzbek plov/pilaf is like the Spanish Paella or the Indian Biryani in a sense that it is loved and argued about who has the best recipe. I've never been to Uzbekistan to try the plov at the source. I have visited Uzbek restaurants and have tried my friends' cooking. Although they all taste different, the common thread is, you can't stop at just one serving! The dish fills you and warms you up and so it is perfect for sauna. As always, the journey is as fun as the destination, so the process of preparing and making the dish is very enjoyable. 

Sauté the onions and meat.

Add lots of carrots!

Add back meat, rice, spices, whole garlic, serrano pepper and water.

Cook until rice is ready.

Mix and share with sauna friends!

Chimney Sweeping and Soot Cleaning

 Searching through my previous posts, it seems that the last time the chimney was cleaned was in 2018. Today, I finally got around to doing the dreaded dirty deed. Running the stove consistently once per week for 4 years, I think it was time.

The two things I hate about sweeping the chimney are:

1. Climbing up on the roof.

2. Taking the pipes apart and putting them back together.

This year, I figured I try and make it easier and sweep from the inside. Since the pipes need to be taken apart going from the stove to the ceiling anyway, as I need to catch the debris, sweeping from the inside was worth a try. This part was definitely a win. Worked just fine and got the pipes clean. No need to be on the roof.

The separating of the pipes is of course a pain. Partially, because they rust due to humidity. However, my biggest PITA is the top pipe that slides on the collar pipe near the ceiling. It's a very tight fit. To get it to slide, you need to put WD-40 or something slippery on it. The problem is that after a few twists, WD-40 dries up and you're stuck with the pipe being too far in and it doesn't want to move. This is even worse in reverse, when trying to put the pipes back.

Once I was able to separate the pipes and get them out of the way, here's what I found:

Soot inside the stove.

Soot inside one of the pipes.

Soot inside the dampener pipe.

Soot inside the collar pipe in the ceiling.

Some collected soot along the way.

As much of a pain as this was and always is, I'm glad I got the cleaning done. Now I can enjoy a few more years of sauna without worrying about a fire or inefficiency of the burn.

Do you have any tips that you've picked up which make this job easier? Especially removing the pipes. Please share in the comments.

Pizza and wings satisfy the sauna crowd

Special meals in the sauna are great. Planning what to cook, buying the ingredients, cooking the meal-- all adds to the preparation and excitement of sauna later in the day. However, sometimes, you just want to order out and get the food without putting in much effort. After all, sauna is for relaxing ;) 

My go-to delivery food for sauna are wings in some sort of spicy sauce. The kids, of course, love pizza. Part of the fun is trying new restaurants and finding something new to like. Everyone makes ordering online these days too easy. The delivery staff gets a kick out of delivering to a sauna as well! 

Spicy BBQ Sauce Chicken Wings

Stuffed Crust Delivery Pizza

Of course, not every sauna goer cares deeply about the quality of food, some like these 2 dogs, will take anything they can get:

Sauna dogs Bruno and Tigri

Food or no food, they love sauna. They rush towards the sauna building any time they're outside. They love going into the hot room and getting warm.

Tell me about your favorite delivery food for sauna. What kind of food do you order out for to eat while warming up?