Friday, 09th October 2009

I'm very sorry...

... to inform you that I have to end the English version of my blog. It's a lot of work to supply both blogs - the English and the German one - so I decided to focus on my German version. But I will - every now and then - present new recipes in English.

I think, you will like this wonderful recipe:

Cream of Carrot Soup with Turkey Breast Stripes

Ingredients and directions for 4 persons:

Please leave a comment >>

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Thursday, 01st October 2009

About birthday parties and Oktoberfest specialities

The next birthday is due soon. My son is the lucky guy to be celebrated by a birthday party. The time is passing fast – I would even say, too fast for me. Just he was small and cute and now he is eight years old and only cute.

Since long I am thinking of which kind of party I am going to arrange this year. The party should be different and not the normal ones which we had the last years with children games and matches.
Last year we went the first time out and organized a soccer match at the „Socca Five Arena“ at the Olympiapark in Munich as I reported already.
This time it should be something which is worthwhile to be remembered for a long time. The boy is elder now and a proud school boy in the third grade. So we decided to arrange a visit in an observatory.
Starting with a dinner at home we will go later with some parents and a bulk of young boys to the observatory. For the kids it will be very exciting to have action and especially at a time where they normally sleep. And by the way, it will be something for the education, too. We will see, what happens...

Do you remember, last “blog-time” was “Oktoberfest-time” for me and I had to skip a new recipe? But today I am going to follow the used track. I wanted to present you a typical Bavarian dish which matches with the time of the Oktoberfest. The “Obatzda”, the “Apple Graves Dripping” and “Pretzel” I described last year. So I decided to serve a typical “Bavarian Roast Pork with Crackling ”. But before I could shoot the required photo, my family had already started to destroy my creation with the intention to eat it.
Now I had to change the program. I cut the rest of the roast in slices decorated it on a wooden plate together with some pickles, tomatoes, radish, horseradish, sausages, cheese and “Obatzda”. And ready was the typical “Bavarian snack ”.

Just before a horde of 6 to 8 years old kids could attack the new object of desire I could manage to shoot the photo for the blog.

Roast Pork with Crackling (Bavarian Style)

Ingredients and directions for 6 persons:

Please leave a comment >>

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Thursday, 24th September 2009

Let’s go to the Oktoberfest!

The first day at school of my daughter, the prearrangements of  the birthday party for my son and the visit of the Oktoberfest with some guests -  all this kept me busy last week and no time at all was left to create new recipes. But instead I am going to present you some impressions from this wonderful “Oktoberfest”...

Big Wheel

Roller coaster

View to the Frauenkirche

Beer tent

Gingerbread hearts

Bavaria statue

Please leave a comment >>

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Thursday, 17th September 2009

Jackson, our new family member

Our family rose lately tremendous. The object in discussion is 14 weeks old, has a length of 42 cm – the weight is unknown as my scale is out of order. The hair is soft like velvet – the colour is white and black or if you like, black and white.
My children are enthusiastic, similar are feeling my husband and myself about the “little something”.
And I think he is feeling really well in our family with all the nice plants, well tended-furniture and colourful curtains with which he likes to play in his inimitable destructive way. I am talking about “Jackson”, our new young cat. The kids are of the opinion he is “cool”, so do I. But on the other side he loves very much to cuddle. This attribute helps him to withstand effectively all the love-attacks of my children.
They tell him when he has to go for a slash (even if he has no need), they feel when he is hungry (even he does not want anything) and they know when he is tired (even if he is not) and should share the bed with them. Yes, my kids present a large quantity of feelings the last days. But Jackson seems to like all these activities around him or at least he tolerates it. And we try to tolerate all his childish destructive ways of playing, destroying the plants, the curtains and the furniture on his way to grow up.

Beside all that “Jackson-fever” I am testing and creating new recipes.
Bettina, a friend of mine, brought yesterday a basket full of damsons which she got from her mother.
As the last year the  damson harvest was very poor I am now in full operation to use this wonderful fruit to bake cakes, fruit salads and jam.

This time I am going to combine damsons with sparkling wine.
Below I am showing the result:

Ingredients and directions:

Please leave a comment >>

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Thursday, 10th September 2009

Résumé of a vacation and a visit to the movies

We are back again. After two weeks in Gargano/ Italy the normality has returned to my life but with one difference: I am really relaxed.
If I think about that beautiful place I can imagine to spend my life there and do my writing at a place which seems to be made particularly for artists and all those people who need for their creative work places with such a charisma and beauty.
Everything is to be found there what you are dreaming of, like beautiful ancient houses, the fantastic lake, serpentines climbing up the mountains ending in a beautiful view over the Lake Garda and after dark the sea of lights, illuminating the coastline, the lovely maintained gardens, the nicely decorated verandas and the planting creeping up the frontages of the houses and not to forget all the small roads winding through the village like lovely snakes.
Here are some impressions which I took along for you:

To let these beautiful days of recreation end in a true way I am presenting an original Italian pizza which I am calling simply “Gargano Pizza”.

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Ingredients and directions:

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After I settled in my old life again , somebody told me about a new movie called : “Julie and Julia” with Meryl Streep. As I was very much interested I moved in.

Here the story:

Just before and due to her 30th birthday Julie fell into some kind of depression. (AMY ADAMS). Searching for a new direction or interest for the time after, she found something what gives her not only satisfaction but even real passion. She started cooking.
In the following year she cooked all 524 recipes of Julia Childs (MERYL STREEP) most famous cooking book–classic “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. All the experiences she made she posted it on her blog and the fan-community rose constantly at the Cyberspace. Nora Ephron (“Sleepless in Seattle” and “e-m@il for you”) who wrote this scrip, too, and even directed this amusing movie which based on the award-winning novel “Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen” of Julie Powells. Starring was the wonderful Amy Adams (("Verwünscht", "Der Krieg des Charlie Wilson") and Meryl Streep ("Mamma Mia!") who got already  several times the famous “Oscar”. She played the role of the eccentric Julia Child, who changed and revolutionized the American cuisine during the fifties.
(source: sonypictures)

Summarising the movie I can say the first part was due to the well known comedy talent of Meryl Streep, very amusing and it is worthwhile to be seen. The second half was a bit lengthy. And at the end many questions were still open, as example: is Julia returning to Paris or what has become of her? I think it would have been a perfect end of the movie if Julia would have met Julie.

My final conclusion is: this movie is a “can” but not a “must”.

Please leave a comment >>

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Thursday, 20th August 2009

Back again

Yesterday we returned to Germany. And tomorrow we’ll travel to Italy / Gargnano, where we already spent one week in June. And we will stay there for – believe it or not - two weeks! Unfortunately I won’t be able to report in that time. So have a wonderful August and we will meet us here in September!
But first of all let me present you a new recipe I created in Portugal: the Fig and Red Wine Jam.

Ingredients and directions:

Please leave a comment >>

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Friday, 14th August 2009

Impressions from Portugal

One week ago we arrived in Portugal. And it has been a wonderful week. Today I won't present a recipe, but impressions from Portugal.

Let's start with my parents' house:

View to the house

...and again the kitchen

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Fishing boat at Armacao de Pera

Fishing boats at the beach of Armacao de Pera

And again: a visit at the "Fiesa", the famous sandsculpture exhibition

 

Please leave a comment >>

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Friday, 07th August 2009

Back to Portugal again...

More than one year has passed and now we are back again. Back again in Portugal, the land of sailors and conquerors.

Evening sun at the beach

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Visit at the market in Alcantarilha

More precisely in Alcantarilha, a small town in the South of Portugal, near Armacao de Pera/Algarve. Here are living my parents and I am coming every year to spend some weeks at the sea, to relax from the stressing life in Germany. But not without updating my blog with new recipes I tested under the sun of the South.   

My mother’s kitchen  with the typical flair of the Southern area

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The pomegranate tree

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The fig tree

In my parents' garden you find amongst others a pomegranate- and a fig tree. Both trees are full of fruits, but I suppose that the pomegranates are ready not before I’ll leave this country. But the figs are soft and sweet now. To use this opportunity I have thought for long how to incorporate this fruit into some kind of dish. My first idea was to create a jam but at the end I decided to make a cake out of this wonderful fruit - and so I did.

Ingredients and directions:

Please leave a comment >>

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Thursday, 30th July 2009

How important are regular family meals?

Day before yesterday when I had lunch together with my colleagues we had a discussion about a newspaper article which I read some days ago. Subject was a study about the eating culture of the families. The result of this study was that children taking meal regularly together with their family members (at least 5 times a week) are living much healthier than others. And the social affiliation of these kids is much higher than that of the other children who eat irregular and alone. One effect that was found out, too, was, that these children meet their parents more often after they left their homes for good.  Another effect is, that a chat during the common meal is very important for the psychological well-being of the kids as there can be discussed problems and how to solve them. This can lead to help to avoid or at least reduce eating disorder or drug problems. I investigated in the internet (like "teen health" and "indianexpress") and found different articles about that subject.
But these days it is for everybody very difficult to live a real collective family life due to the enormous challenge to survive in this hectic world.
I try to keep the old rituals alive but it does not work always.
To find out how it is practised somewhere else I have organised a public opinion poll and I am looking forward to the result.
I would love if you could participate.

>> To the poll >>  

Talking about common meals I was asked to contribute something in respect of food for the closing ceremony of the school year. I decided to cook “Fillet of Pork with Herbs on Lamb's Lettuce with Mustard-Honey Dressing” and for the dessert I created a “Strawberry-Banana-Curd Cheese”.

Ingredients and directions:

	Fillet of pork:
				Wash…
	600	g	Fillet of pork	and pat it dry. Then add...
	some		Salt, pepper, garlic and noble sweet paprika.	Put fillet in a pan after adding…
	some		olive oil	Sauté the fillet. Then wash…
	3	sprigs of	rosmary	and chop it. Now wash…
	2	sprigs of	thyme	and chop it, too. And now grind…
	2-3	tsps	szechuan pepper	with a mortar and a pestle. Then mix all spices and herbs and cover fillet with it. Pour...
	2-3	tbsps	olive oil	into a casserole dish and add fillet. Preheat oven to 120 °C, then put casserole dish for 1-1,5 hours into the oven. The fillet must be pink inside and it must have a core temperature of 50°C. Then wrap aluminium foil round fillet and let it rest. Afterwards cut it into  slices (0,5 cm).
	Salad:
				Clean…
	3	fistful	lamb’s lettuce	and arrange on a plate. Then cut…
	4-5		cherry tomatoes	Into halves and arrange them on the plate, too. Now chop...
	5		walnuts	and add them to the salad. Now mix....
	3	tsps	medium-hot mustard	and…
	3	tsps	flüssigen Honig	In a bowl. Then add…
	2	tsps	lemon juice	and add…
	3-4	tbsps	olive oil	and stir again. Add dressing to the salad and arrange pieces of the fillet.



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	Strawberry-Banana-Curd Cheese:
				Pour…
	1	kg	low fat curd cheese	into a bowl. Now wash
	200	g	strawberries	and puree them. Then peel
	3		bananas	And puree them, too. Add them to the curd cheese. Add
	3	tbsps	vanilla sugar	and mix it. Add…
	3	tbsps	sugar	and mix it again. Pour cream into bowls and decorate it with strawberries.



Please leave a comment >>

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Thursday, 23rd July 2009

Spending the beautiful warm summer evenings together with my computer

There are days where you do not check what is going on. Last week I had even more of these days. Of course there are times where nothing happens and everything runs smoothly. But frankly speaking, I do not remember having such a day for the last weeks. In my vocabulary the word "quietness" does not exist at all and particularly the word “boredom” is more than a strange word for me. So I can and will not understand if the youngest members of my family just sprawl around  and  declaiming and complaining how boring the life is today. I started to explain how many toys and books they have in their rooms, marking all the toys and items for playing  waiting for them in the garden, and emphasizing last but not least that their best friends are living just in the house next to us. And at the end I hit their nerves and they vanished direction neighbours. But the  quietness lasted  only for some moments and they returned again, but now four of them, declaiming that they bored to death.
I wish I could have the opportunity to feel similar but as I told you, there is no chance at all.
I am aware that the time between the Whitsun- and summer holidays a lot of work is coming up but additional to all that I got a call from a journalist of the “Starnberger Merkur” telling me that the paper intends to issue a report about “Table Talks” and if I agree. Of course, I did, but at the day of issue I found out that all of the comments on my homepage, given by the reader of “Table Talks”, just disappeared. There was not a single one left. I was more than frustrated. I get quasi a „free of charge“ advertising in the newspaper and people have no chance to place their comments. I tried to find out what can be the reason, checked everything and talked to the people of the concerned company, but without any success.
I decided even to build up a new homepage with an own commend-script and bought a very expensive web design program. The most of the evenings I spent together with the computer of mine,  trying to solve the problem.
Today I received a new code from my provider and I could not trust my eyes, suddenly all the missing comments appeared - just so. And belief it or not, everything works smoothly again so as nothing has happened before.
Forgotten were all the lost evenings which I spent  with my pc instead of sitting comfortably on the veranda sipping a glass of wine and reading a good book. But it was worth it!

Now I am presenting a wonderful recipe which does not need much time to prepare and matches well with the beautiful summer days, a tomato-chutney which can be added to the grill-food or served even as a light dinner snack.

Ingredients:

	500	g	tomatoes
	3		shallots or spring onions
	1	clove of	garlic
	1		organic lime
	1-2	tsp	honey
	2	tbsps	olive oil
	1	pinch	salt
	1	pinch	pepper
	1	leaves of	coriander

 

Directions:

1. Wash, quarter and seed tomatoes. Then dice them.
2. Clean shallots or spring onions.
3. Mince garlic and mix it together with tomatoes and onions/shallots.
4. Wash the lime and grate zest of lime. Then squeeze 2 or 3 tbsps. Mix grated zest of lime together with honey and olive oil.
5. Mix dressing together with tomatois and onions. Then add salt and pepper.
6. Chop coriander leaves and add to the chutney.



Please leave a comment >>

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Thursday, 16th July 2009

About Presents and favourite recipes

The end of the school-and kindergarten year is near. Like every year a lot of presents are due. Presents for the school teachers, kindergarten teachers, football- and gymnastic-trainers and so on.
And everyone should get something special. It should be handmade, not to big, useful and what reminds on the common time with the children. Last but not least she or he should get the feeling that it´s very personal, too.
To get the right ideas we, the parents, had to realize this project requires a lot of thinking and discussing. Slowly the fog parted and we achieved a result.
No, I am not going to betray now all our inspirations as nobody knows who is actually reading this pages, but one of the present I have to tell you, hoping you keep this secret.
As the kids are used to cook once or twice a week during their stay in the kindergarten we decided to create a cookbook as a gift for the kindergarten  teacher with all the favourite dishes of the children. Every kid should contribute two dishes which they like most. The pages of that booklet will be created and painted by the children themselves. The finishing of this present I will do.
After this decision I asked my daughter to name me two of her favourite dishes. This question of mine was actual only a rhetorical one as I knew the reply in beforehand.
“Rice pudding“
“Always rice pudding. Do you like something else beside this sweet stuff?”
“Chocolate cake, but only this one which you make.” “Ok, what more?”
“Oven ceese!”
Slowly I grew impatient.
Ofenkäse is a ready made product from the supermarket and there is not much cooking involved. So I asked again: “Do you like more beside the rice pudding, chocolate cake and oven cheese?”
“Chocolate!“
“I mean a real dish.”
“Pancake!“ Slowly I got the impression, this cookbook will consist recipes of sweets only.
" Is there nothing what you like in addition and is healthy too?”
“Of course, oven cheese, but you do not accept my….“
I gave up and decided to include the banana pancake with caramelized pieces of mango in the said booklet.
I made it last week and the kids liked it very much.
My daughter cheered when I proposed to enter this dish in that booklet and I hope the kindergarten teacher believe  that my children are not only living on pancake and chocolate cake but also on vegetable and fruits (if I force them )...

 

Ingredients (for 3 or 4 persons):

	3		egg whites
	2		bananas
	5	tsps	confectioner’s sugar
	300	g	flour
	250	ml	milk
	3		egg yolks
	1	pinch	cinnamon
	1	tsp	grated lemonzest
	1	pinch	cardamom
	7	tsps	butter
	1		mango
	1	TL	caramel sauce

 

Directions:

1. Beat egg whites until stiff.
2. Add 1 tsp of confectioner’s sugar and beat again.
3. Mix flour, milk, egg yolks, 2 tsps of confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, lemonzest and cardamom in a kitchen machine.
4. Then melt 3 tsps of butter and add to the batter.
5. Puree  bananas and add them to the batter and mix batter. Now fold in beaten egg whites.
6. Melt 2 tsps of butter in a pan. Spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the hot pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. Brown on both sides and serve hot.
7. Peel mango and cut into pieces.
8. Heat 2 tsps butter in a pan, add 2 tsps of confectioner’s sugar and leave it to caramelize. Add mango pieces, leave it one minute, turn it around and leave it another minute.
9. To serve add mango pieces to the pancake and sprinkle it with confectioner’s sugar oder caramel sauce.



Please leave a comment >>

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Thursday, 09th July 2009

Jam Session: When Mum makes jam...

Usually when I start my annual jam production line I have two excited watchers on my side - sometimes even more. They hope I would ask them to give me a hand or have afterwards the chance to lick the remains from the pots. Very proud my children  tell their friends that me, their mum, is the best jam maker of the world. And when the glasses are filled with the delicious product and lovely labelled resting decorative on the kitchen table, their pride does not know any limit. Immediately an inner force tells them to grab that wonderful stuff from the table and distribute it to all the neighbours, the friends of the neighbours or to everybody they know with the very important message that this was made by their own mother.
From now on every morning when they eat the bread or rolls nicely covered with the new jam they do not hesitate to praise the quality of that sweet thing on their bread.
I like the way how they celebrate this “event” in their small world and at that moment I wish they will remember these times when they are grown up. That are experiences which you do normally not forget and which accompany your entire life like mile stones.
I have similar memories. The “Dampfnudeln” (sweet yeast dumplings) which my mother used to cook on my birthday I will never forget. Or the “Zwetschgenknödel” which my grandma made for me only, also a favourite of mine. I remember even the sweet smell dancing through the house.

I would like to know, if my two little kids remember all that things which they experienced during their childhood – the jam-session or the chocolate cake-session or all the other adventures.
Of course I do not know, but I enjoy this moments of life very much indeed, when the two little dwarfs sitting beside me accompanying my doing with wide open eyes and waiting for that what is coming up.
And here is the source of the story: the james I created two days ago:



Physalis-Apricot-Jam

Ingredients:

	200	g	Physalis (Cape gooseberry)
	150	g	preserving sugar (2:1)
	200	g	apricots
	100	g	preserving sugar (2:1)

 

Directions:

1. Remove the physalis from the hulls and cut in half. Put physalis into a pot and heat it. Add preserving sugar and bring it to boil. Then remove pot from the oven and puree physalis.
2. Wash, remove cores and quarter apricots and put them into a pot. Add preserving sugar. Bring it to boil over medium heat, stirring every minute, until the consistence thickens.  Then puree it. Add Physalis and stir it.
3. Then fill it into the cleaned jars, wipe the rims with a clean cloth or paper towel, and close the jars with the cleaned covers. And now turn the jars upside down for some minutes.

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Strawberry-Vanilla-Jam

Ingredients:

	500	g	strawberries
	1		vanilla pod
	250	g	preserving sugar (2:1)

 

Directions:

1. Wash and quarter strawberries. Put them into a pot.
2. Split vanilla pod in half lengthwise and scrape seeds from pod into the cooking pot and the strawberries. Add preserving sugar and heat pot.
3. Bring it to boil over medium heat, stirring every minute, until the consistence thickens.  Then puree it.
4. Then fill it into the cleaned jars, wipe the rims with a clean cloth or paper towel, and close the jars with the cleaned covers. And now turn the jars upside down for some minutes.

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Apricot-Coconut-Jam

Ingredients:

	500	g	apricots
	7-10	tbsps	coconut syrup
	300	g	preserving sugar (2:1)

 

Directions:

1. Wash, remove cores and quarter apricots and put them into a pot. Add preserving sugar. Bring it to boil over medium heat, stirring every minute, until the consistence thickens. Then puree it.
2. Add coconut syrup, stir it and boil again for another minute.
3. Then fill it into the cleaned jars, wipe the rims with a clean cloth or paper towel, and close the jars with the cleaned covers. And now turn the jars upside down for some minutes.

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Strawberry-Cherry Brandy-Jam

Ingredients:

	500	g	strawberries
	7-10	tbsps	cherry brandy
	300	g	preserving sugar (2:1)

 

Directions:

1. Wash and quarter strawberries. Put them into a pot. Add preserving sugar. Bring it to boil over medium heat, stirring every minute, until the consistence thickens. Then puree it.
2. Add cherry brandy, stir it and boil again for another minute.
3. Then fill it into the cleaned jars, wipe the rims with a clean cloth or paper towel, and close the jars with the cleaned covers. And now turn the jars upside down for some minutes.



Please leave a comment >>

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Thursday, 02nd July 2009

Like ice in the sunshine...

Took a long time - but now it is summer. And what matches very good with this season? You are right, music. I have selected some special summer songs which will help you to rise a typical summer feeling.

But thats not all - there is much more what can be done during such lovely days: you can go for an ice cream or play beach volleyball. You can visit a beer garden  or go for a swim. And this we did yesterday evening. Coming from work  I took my children went straight away to the lake and jumped into the cool water. If you are lucky to have the centre point of your living near a beautiful lake like me you have to use each and every opportunity to go there. So we took a swim, set later at the pontoon and took there our dinner in form of a typical Bavarian snack or “Brotzeit” as we say and left for home only after some black clouds suddenly appeared. Shortly after the expected thunderstorm started accompanied by heavy rain.

And today the summer returned. One reason more to have a  real summer drink. So I propose a Mango Lassi, a drink which is very much liked in India and has to be served during the hot days in a very cold condition.

 

Ingredients:

►	200	g	mango (or canned mangopulp)
	250	g	plain yogurt
	250	ml	milk or water
	4	tsps	sugar (white or brown)
	1-2	tbsps	lemon or limejuice
	1	pinch	cardamom, ground
	1	pinch	cinnamon, ground
►	1	pinch	ginger, ground (or fresh)
►	2	leaves	mint or lemon balm

 

Directions:

1. Peel and dice mango. Then puree it.
2. Add yogurt, milk or water, sugar, lemon- or limejuice, cardamom, cinnamon and ginger and mix it.
3. Decorate with mint or lemon balm leaves.



Please leave a comment >>

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>> To the first half of 2009 (January to June 2009)>>