Beatrice Ojakangas: Our Scandinavian Julia Child Bakes Sisu into a Career

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As Beatrice Ojakangas will tell you, she’s 100 percent Finnish (maybe even more than that), the grandchild of Finnish immigrants on both her maternal and paternal sides.

Knowing that, it’s no surprise to read in her latest book, Homemade, how “sisu,” that Finnish trait of tenacity, played a big role in transforming a Floodwood, Minnesota, farm girl into a Scandinavian chef lauded by the likes of Julia Child and Martha Stewart. She’s an author of 29 cookbooks, the host of a five-part Food Network series and a writer for a dozen or so national magazines.

“I’ve got a good Finnish trait, sisu,” Beatrice says. “The other side of it would be being a little bit afraid to promote myself.”

Although she might be shy about self promotion, Beatrice certainly benefited from the must-do realities of growing up on a rural northern Minnesota farm. She took advantage of what it gave her.

In her new memoir, subtitled Finnish Rye, Feed Sack Fashion, and Other Simple Ingredients from My Life in Food, she tells her own rich story, beginning with the immigration of her grandparents.

One pivotal point in her young life comes when she decides to earn a trip to the Minnesota State Fair via her baking skills. It took three years of entries, hundreds of eggs (thank you, farm chickens) and dozens of chiffon cakes before her 4-H presentation at the South St. Louis County Fair in Proctor won a trip to St. Paul.

In the course of her career, Beatrice has been a teacher, a hospital dietary assistant, a magazine food editor (her “dream job” with Sunset in California) and an inspiring cook  specializing in Scandinavian foods.

“When you’re a foodie, you’re always a foodie,” she says. “You notice it and you pay attention to it and you love it. … There’s nothing wrong with being aware of what you’re eating and enjoying what you eat.”

She loves the traditional roots of Finnish cuisine, though these days, she points out, globalization of food – that fusion, or she suggests, confusion, of cultures – has changed flavors and tastes. “I was lucky, being able to study the food of Finland when I did, because it isn’t the same today. You can get a pizza or burger in Helsinki.”

Having bloomed from immigrant roots, though, she understands the transformations of culture and food. She learned that the word mojakka, a stew of fish or meat popular here, does not exist in the home country (though the stew certainly does).

Through her food and writing careers, she’s traveled broadly, visiting Finland and other countries, including France to learn from famed chef Simone “Simca” Beck. After living in California, she and her husband, Dick Ojakangas, returned to Duluth for his work at the University of Minnesota Duluth and she became the unheralded creator of “Jeno’s Pizza Rolls,” turning Jeno Paulucci’s basic frozen egg rolls into U.S. appetizers. Later, she and Dick started and ran Somebody’s House Restaurant.

She also got to cook with Martha and Julia on their television shows. “They are both very, very nice people,” she says. “Julia is more of a woman next door, grandmother, old-time friend, and Martha is very nice, very smart, a quick wit, but she just wasn’t that old-shoe type that Julia was.”

Asked for cooking advice, Beatrice suggests two simple ideas: Use top ingredients and plan, don’t just order out. “I don’t really care for anything that has lousy ingredients, manufactured ingredients. For the same amount of money, you can really put together a really nice, well-balanced meal and in the same amount of time.”

Thin Finnish Pancakes (Lattyja)

“Sometimes we call these ‘flapjacks,’ Beatrice writes. “They are very thin pancakes that are quick to make and perfect for a quick breakfast or simple supper. For a dessert, they can be served with berries and whipped cream. Sometimes I use buttermilk in place of milk – that would make them ‘buttermilk pancakes.’ The batter can be made the night before, then refrigerated. If it thickens beyond being pourable, just add more milk or buttermilk.”

Makes about 20 • Prep Time: 15 minutes • Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs
  • 1tsp. sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 c. milk (or buttermilk)
  • 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
  • 1 c. all-purpose flour
  • butter for the pan

Instructions:

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and salt together. Add the milk, butter and flour, and whisk until smooth.

Cover and let stand for 1 hour before cooking the pancakes.

Heat a heavy skillet or Scandinavian-style pancake pan, and brush with butter. Spoon the batter into the pan, using no more than 2 Tablespoons of the mixture at a time. Cook on both sides until golden and serve hot.