rekindled spirit

Herr Patrice Heib

one of the nice things about being surrounded by farms is that you can always find natural (or bio, in german) fruits and vegatables that are in season, delicious milk, cheese, and eggs. every wednesday and saturday, Herr Heib sets up his “fresh from the farm” stand in the center of the village. he sells fruits, vegatables, honey, and fresh, natural milk products (he can tell you the name of the cow from which he used the milk to make it!). this week i brought home by far, the best spinach in the world. 

it beared a striking green and was so fresh, it made me think twice about cooking it

used it to make spanakopita (greek spinach pie) and it was still delicious.

living just about in the middle of nowhere combined with having two young ones makes it close to impossible to go out to eat. a night out on the town with tall, dark, and handsome is a rarity and when it does happen, we talk about it for days like two kids that just arrived from disneyland. so we either go somewhere child-friendly or have fun getting creative in the kitchen. on sunday we made sushi for dinner. it was the third time we made it at home using a wonderful guide that uses simple step by step instructions. laborious, yes but very simple and absolutely delightful to make! it obviously can be scary at first so one must use very fresh fish. we are fortunate to have one of the best fish houses in the world located nearby at the lakeside . They have fresh fish delivered daily and it is delicious. we enjoyed nigri with salmon, shrimp, mackerel, red snapper, and hosomaki with smoked eel and sausage (korean style) for the sun and moon.

sophia’s cookies, german weihnachts plätzchen

sophia baked her first christmas cookies today. she was very proud and so were we

michael, eager to help his sister

vanillekipferl “classic german christmas cookies”

250 g flour

1/2 tsp backing powder 

125 g sugar

2 tsp vanilla (if possible bourbon vanilla)

a pinch of salt

3 egg yellows

125 g ground almond

150 g cold butter

2 tbs powder sugar

mix the flour and baking powder and set aside.

blend together the sugar, vanilla, salt, egg yellows, and ground almond and pour into the the flour mixture.

slowly add the butter and blend well (you can use your hands or a mixer).

cool in the refrigerator for 30 min to an hour

traditionally these cookies are formed into moon shapes then baked. we spread out our dough and used cookie cutters.

place on baking paper and bake at 175 degrees celcius for 10 minutes.

let cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar

butterplatzchen (classic german butter cookies)

250 grams butter

250 grams sugar

2 tsps vanilla

4 eggs

500 grams flour

mix the first 4 ingredients with a mixer then sift the flour in and blend until smooth. refrigerate for one hour. roll out with a rolling pin then use cookie cutters to form shapes.

bake at 160 degrees celcius for 10 to 15 minutes.

let cool and then the best part: decorate as you like. we dipped ours in chocolate and then sprinked them with shredded coconut. use your imagination.

had a lot of fun baking together. like in many other cultures the germans bake a lot during christmas time. this is not something usual for me but i have merrily added it to the list of traditions to start for my family.

 

thanksgiving 2006

roast duck

1 (5lb/2000gram) duck

2 tablespoons soy sauce

11/2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon ginger

1. wash and dry the duck

2. combine all remaing ingredients and stir well

3. brush the marinade inside and outside of the duck

4. roast at 350 degrees for two hours while basting with dripping occasionally.

all ovens are different so baking times may vary. check on your bird regularly. i have also tried this marinade on salmon and chicken. always turned out fantastic!

here is sophia enjoying a leg. tonight she saw kofi anan on television and called him opa michael (opa is grandpa in german. both are black with grey hair). quite amazing considering she saw him a month ago for the first time in over a year.