Straight to the Bar

All Things Strength

HELPING YOU GET STRONGER SINCE 2004

Seeing Stars
Posted By Scott Bird

Christmas starsAnother Christmas treat – once again from Finland – decided to fill the kitchen this morning. Joulutortut, or Christmas stars, are pastries with plum jam that seem to go well with almost everything. Despite the large production line, eating them only took a matter of minutes. At least it seemed that way afterward.
To make the jam (for the filling) :
100 ml pitted prunes (dried plums)
100 ml water
50 ml vanilla sugar
pinch cinnamon
Soak the prunes well (overnight if you have time), add the sugar, water and spice and bring to the boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 mins.
The pastries themselves are simply sheets of puff cut into 9 equal squares. Cut a Maltese cross into each square (the pictures here will show you what I mean) and put a spoonful of jam in the centre. Fold the corners in to the centre (making the star shapes), brush with a little milk and pop into the oven at about 225° for 10 minutes or so.
Be warned – make a large batch. These are great for snacks.

Incidentally, if this has got you thinking about your own diet, you might like to swing by Examine.com. Fantastic site.

Over to you. Drop us a line on X/Twitter ( @scottbird ), or add a comment below.

Cheers.

 

NB : if you love talking about strength-training as much as I do, you might also like to check out the weekly newsletter. A regular dose of fitness-focussed discussions, absolutely free.

And if you'd like to check out any of the stuff mentioned above (or in the comments), swing by Amazon. Huge assortment of fitness gear.

0 Comments

What's This?

Straight to the Bar is the online home of fitness enthusiast Scott Bird, and looks at the many training approaches, essential techniques, uncommon exercises and superb equipment to help you become as strong as humanly possible. In short, this site is the home of all things strength.

images of strength

Strong.

Want to see (and learn) more Feats of Strength like this? Dive in.

Ever Tried Kettlebells?

If you’ve seen people using them but never taken the plunge yourself, here are the ones I use personally. You can also pick up a book/DVD/course if you want to learn how to put them to work.

Just Joined Us? Try These.

There are some incredible writers on the team here. To give you an idea, check these out :

If you enjoyed these, check out the complete ‘Best Of Straight to the Bar‘ list. Fantastic.

Logan's 'Quarantine Sale' Courses

As much as I love training with free weights (and the occasional machine, for specific things) I'm partial to the occasional dose of bodyweight goodness. Particularly when travelling.

If you're keen to dive into this training approach even deeper, you may wish to check out Logan's 'Quarantine Sale' Courses.

Various courses looking at the world of bodyweight training from many angles, perfect for when you're housebound for a little while.

Wherever You Are, We Are.

In addition to the main site, you can share your strength-training passion with a like-minded community on :

Wherever you like to hang out, get your regular dose of strength. Straight to the Bar.

Written By Scott Bird
Scott is a long-time fitness enthusiast (Jan 2004!), writer and photographer living in Sydney, Australia. If you share the passion for spending a bit of time under a bar, welcome. Love hearing how everyone else trains. You can connect via X (Formerly Twitter), Facebook and the various networks listed in the sidebar.
Drawing of Scott Andrew Bird performing a deadlift. Artwork by Vince Palko.