Finnish sandwiches and mehu

The Finnish sandwich is something of an art form. It is not unusual to be served a platter of open faced sandwiches. Typically there is a little meat or cheese and thin slices of vegetable and possibly some herb decoration. Subway sandwiches may be stuffed chock full of anything that will fit. But, as one of our English students told us: In Finland, it's all about the breadand the rest is to add a little flavor. The bread in the picture is a ruis palat which has become my bread of choice. It is 10-15% fiber and very dark brown. The glass in the picture is filled with mehu, the Finns answer to Kool-aid (without the chemicals). A lot of people we have met pick their own berries in the forests and make berry concentrate for their mehu. And the grocery store shelves are filled with a huge variety of bottles filled with berry concentrates which are then diluted 1:7. Every time we have had refreshments or a meal at a Finnish home we have been offered mehu.