Baby Shower Cupcakes

Last night the Saffa and I did a little baking. He made his South African version of lemon meringue pie and got to experience firsthand the fun of trying to back one of his usual recipes in Germany. It looks delicious to me but didn't come out as he expected (been there, done that!). I made some cupcakes and we decorated together. Needless to say, both are not allowed on the diet but today we will have an exception for the shower. It's a gorgeous day in Munich; the crisp air feels like a first taste of autumn and I love that time of year. The only drawback is that the wasps are out in full force and we had a small invasion in the apartment this morning of about 10 wasps. Terrible!

Posted from Munich

Mushroom Risotto

While I am normally a big fan of winter, I have to admit I loved the weather today. The temperature felt almost balmy, the sun was out and so was the entire population of Munich. Everyone here takes advantage of even a hint of warmth and moves outside at the cafes, restaurants and out onto their balconies or about in the parks. I didn't want to feel left out so I decided to go out for a late breakfast and bask in the sun for awhile before setting off on my errands.

I was battling a cold and stomach flu all of last week, which wasn't really a great mood enhancer but all that seemed like a distant memory today. I even got some spring cleaning started and got some long overdue chores done around the house.

Now for a quiet evening. I bought the Harry Potter movies (1-6) on the cheap in London and am on a Harry Potter marathon. Oh, and the photo was of dinner before I devoured it. Mushroom risotto (I always hear Chef Ramsey's pronunciation - ri-ZAW-toe) from the AllRecipes website.

Posted from Munich

After a very promising start to the winter, it seems to have petered out into warm-ish gray days and the snow is all long gone. It's hard to find things to do around Munich when the winter decides to drag out the 'in-between' weather. The die-hard skiers and boarders still head to the slushy, bare slopes. The die-hard cyclists have pulled out the bikes and some of my Sunday cycling crew are out on a trip today. But neither are for me. I'm a fair-weather skier and a fair-weather cyclist. This weather just isn't fair.

Last weekend, I used up the one activity that is always great for this in-between weather. The Saffa and I headed to Austria for a wellness weekend. The concept is fabulous and I try to do it once every winter. You head to a nearby resort, preferably somewhere quaint and kitschy with lots of wood and antlers and a fireplace or two. Book a massage or a facial, then head to the sauna, the pool or the sun lounge to relax even more. Meal are typically included and very nice - a huge buffet breakfast and dinner typically a 4 or 5 course meal. Bring a good book and the camera and it's a perfect weekend getaway.

On Sunday we hiked a few kilometers up a wide trail in the mountains to a nice (and very busy!) hut for lunch and then rented a couple of sleds to fly down the mountain. There was (barely) enough snow/slush left for the run but I don't think anyone can do it without feeling like a giggling child again. Wheeeee!!

So, big idea for in-between weather exhausted and now it's another weekend at home in Munich. After tidying up the house and running a few errands, I decided I felt like another baking experiment. Oooh, did this one turn out delicious!

I decided to make a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. I couldn't find cake pans in approximately the right size so ended up buying two small springform pans. This resulted in a rather tall cake and I had to bake for longer than expected but no harm to the result. I used this recipe from Joy of Baking and only made one changed. I like my carrot cake with raisins, so added 3/4 cup raisins to the carrots and walnuts before folding into the batter. The frosting called for a teaspoon of lemon zest, which I would normally have skipped but I added it this time and the citrus flavor perfects the pairing of the frosting and cake. This carrot cake is light and fluffy, very moist and full of flavor!

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Dinner for A Cold Winter Night

There are different variations of this classic comfort food but for me it is best the way my mom always made it. Ground beef, corn, brown sauce, onion and covered with mashed potatoes and baked.

I used Rinderbraten sauce for the base and added a couple tablespoons of ketchup. For the potatoes, I mashed then mixed in a little bit of shredded Emmentaler cheese, then topped it with salt, freshly ground pepper and a light dusting of parmesan cheese.

And, voila! Shepherds Pie!

Perfect dinner after walking around the city all afternoon in sub-freezing temperatures!

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More Cupcakes

Yellow cakes frosted with Lindt chocolate. Delish!

Lasagna!

Another one from Jamie Oliver.

Mr. Kilt ate three huge pieces! Need I say more?

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Jamie Oliver

When I was back in the US, I made the requisite trip to the bookstore to stock up on whatever looked interesting to read. Browsing through the cooking section, I came upon the heaps of Jamie Oliver cookbooks and decided to add one to my stash of book loot. I never really watched his show or got into the craze over the last years but after a scan through a couple of his books I could see this was my kind of cooking. Nothing overly complicated, emphasis on freshness and flavors extracted from all over the world.

Since I've been back I made two of the dinners and both turned out wonderfully. I'm definitely a fan now.

Yesterday I made a trip to the Viktualienmarkt, the granddaddy of all farmer's markets in Munich, and stocked up on goodies for the rest of the weekend. Fresh fruits and veggies, truffle ham and Scottish highland cheddar, my favorite German birdseed dark bread, appetizers ranging from stuffed cherry peppers to spanish olives to dolmas and headed home in the chilly autumn air to get cooking. It's just hard not to be in a good mood on a gorgeous day like yesterday surrounded by all this yummy goodness.



We started with the delicious Mediterranean appetizers and a very dry Spanish wine. I opted to make Moroccan Lamb with Chickpea Sauce and Couscous from Jamie Oliver's for dinner. Unbelievably good! And for dessert, an Apple Streusel Cake from one of my favorite baking websites (discovered during the ill-fated early cupcake chronicles) the Joy of Baking.



Yes, hearty cooking (and eating!) season is upon us. Oh, my waistline!



Posted from Munich

Cupcakes

Lately I have been craving cupcakes. I don't know where it came from although it could possibly be from watching How I Met Your Mother, where cupcakes featured in an episode I watched recently. A friend of mine told me they are all the rage in the US.

Only problem with a cupcake craving in Germany is that the Germans don't eat cupcakes. So there are none to be found and no mix in the store to make them.

So I decided to try to make some myself.

First attempt was on Tuesday night. I take great pride in my cooking and baking skills so I was devastated with the results. Maybe I was being too ambitious. I wanted to make Salted Caramel Cupcakes and found a recipe on the internet. Actually it was three recipes - one for the cupcake itself (kind of a sweet-salty cake), one for a salty-caramel frosting and one for caramel sauce. It was a long, difficult process and at the end I had heavy, flat cakes, liquid frosting and a good caramel sauce. Everything tasted right but the textures were a disaster. Into the garbage.

Second attempt was on Thursday night. I decided to switch to Red Velvet cupcake with a Cream Cheese Frosting. I did some research on the flour situation, which is different than flour in the US, and decided to combine a few tips I saw. First, mixing 405 and 550 type flour (half-half), weighing instead of measuring the flour and adding some baking powder to the flour. Well, the cupcakes came out almost flawless. Taste and texture were great, food coloring to make the cakes red didn't do anything. The frosting was another disaster. It called for whipped cream, easy enough to make normally. However, when I was whipping the cream it decided to chunk up and separate on me. It was late, stores were closed, and I had no more cream to try again. Into the garbage.

But as you know, if at first you do not succeed, try, try again. So today I gave it another go. Decided to go for a rich chocolate cupcake with buttercream frosting. I used my flour tips again to get it right and was a little worried when the batter turned out a lot more liquidy than the last time. Baked them up anyway and they came out absolutely delicious. No issues with the buttercream frosting either and I piped the frosting on to make it look a little prettier, sprinkled on some chocolate and topped with a just in season blackberry.

Yum yum yum.

Now I need to stop with the experimenting. I am starting to look like a cupcake.



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Sick Days

It seems to be going around. Gallons of nasty snot, sore throat, fever and eventually a hacking cough. Fatigue.

So, being in between projects again, I spent last week in Frankfurt doing some internal work while feeling miserable at the start of this nasty bug. Towards the end of the week I was feeling better and thought it was passing. Then it came back with a vengeance on Sunday at which point I decided to take myself out of the game and stay home for a few days to recover.

No going out. No staying up late. No travel. No fasching. Just rest, homemade chicken noodle soup, videos and reading.

And french toast. Yum.

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Pasta!

I found myself unexpectedly home on Monday night and the first priority was a good home cooked meal. I made a simple but delicious arrabiata sauce. Hot and spicy - perfect to fight the chilly, snowy weather! The stay was short-lived and I am off to Frankfurt tonight for a couple of days.

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Away We Go

I rarely write about movies, which is kind of odd given how much I love the movies. Well, I love the idea of the movies. There is only the rare film though that touches me in one way or another, whether it be a good laugh, a good cry, a good scare or leaves me with something to think about more than five minutes after the movie ends. If a movie leaves that kind of impression on me, I usually buy it to add to my collection and enjoy watching it again from time to time. I don't own very many movies though.

Last weekend when I was sick I watched Away We Go directed by Sam Mendes and starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph as Burt and Verona, an unmarried couple expecting their first child and searching for their own place to call home. I can't quite figure out what worked for me in this movie but work it did. I think it was just the right combination of sweet and funny and sad.

The music was perfect too, featuring Alexi Murdoch, who I had never heard of before but I ended up buying the soundtrack I enjoyed it so much.

I made it back to Munich from Mexico last night and am trying to get my bearings. I am jet-lagged, confused about the seasons and the weather and still facing a nearly empty apartment that seems hopeless to ever get set up and furnished. I had planned to do some furniture shopping today but didn't fall asleep last night until about 4.30 and then ended up sleeping until almost 2. Eventually I got on my bike, went down to Marienplatz to run a few errands and then came home to do some cooking. Homemade soup for dinner and banana-chocolate-chip muffins for breakfast tomorrow.

I'm up early for a bike tour tomorrow so hope I get some sleep tonight!

And it's back to Mexico in a week.

Posted from Munich

Sunday Brunch

I am not a creature of habit, preferring the spontaneous, unplanned and even absurdly random to the predictable rhythms of day to day life, but there is one tradition I hold sacred and that is the Sunday brunch. There are several versions of an enjoyable Sunday brunch for me, including brunch and wine with the girls at a nice restaurant and the picnic version at a beer garden on a sunny day, but I think my favorite is the still in pajamas, snuggled on the couch, cold weather version.

The weather has definitely taken a turn for the fall-like in the last two weeks. My wide, tree-lined street is covered in leaves and the trees are turning yellow, brown and red. It's not as spectacular as a New England autumn, but it will do.



This morning when I finally decided to roll out of bed I started up a breakfast for the Sunday brunch works. Soft boiled eggs, ham and leberwurst, sesame carrot bread from Hopfisterei, Swiss emmenthaler cheese, and a pot of Assam tea. My friend A. remarked to me one times that one of the things she found endearing about European life is how they have something for everything when it comes to cooking and eating. I have to agree on that. It's not in the loud American way (think any kitchen gadget infomercial in the US shouted out with Monster Truck announcer enthusiasm) but more matter of fact. Utensils for any situation, tea pots with tea light candles to keep it hot, bread boxes and different glasses for espresso, cappuccinos and latte macchiatos, for example. A. and I also wondered how the kitchens and houses can be so small and still fit all these specialized items but that is a mystery for another day I suppose.

One of my favorite gadgets I bought recently is the PiepEi. The PiepEi is a plastic egg that you throw in with your real eggs when boiling them. The egg sings a little song when they are ready and it is sold in three versions, one for hard boiled, one for medium soft and one for soft doneness.





Nevermind that it is just me. I spend a good one to two hours between preparing, eating, and cleaning up Sunday brunch. Music is carefully selected and must be either music that reminds me of the beach and vacation, country music or classical. Reading material is either a newspaper, magazine or google reader to catch up on all my blogs. It's simple but it's the good life. Oh, and the burnt edges on the toast? Just as I like it.



Posted from Munich

Cookies Underway

It was quite a slow start yesterday but Cookiepalooza 2008 is underway. The big delay came when I decided to make some soup (Ukrainien Borscht - my favorite) and at the same time could not find my mixer for several hours. I have a full kitchen packed away in my parent's basement from when I moved to Europe. I look forward every year to digging out the mixer, the pizelle iron, and the cookie press to make my Christmas cookies. However after several attemps of digging around in the boxes, my Kitchenaid was missing!

Once the cookie making was underway, things got better but there were a few mishaps. We won't mention the coconut macaroons (dad's favorite) other than to say something went wrong this year. He's a good sport and eating them anyway.

I have made so far the ill-fated macaroons, peanut butter kiss cookies, almond crescents (Polish Rogaliki) and sugar cookies. I may make a few more kinds in the next couple of days depending on my mood. I've been kind of tired and trying to rest up for the coming months that are sure to be hectic.





In addition to cookie making, I treated Mom and myself to a spa day in Essex. What else can I say about that? Great!!

The snow finally stopped yesterday and the sun was out today. However, in true New England fashion, when it is not snowing it is freaking! cold! out! We stopped by the stables to meet with my mom's trainer. I am supposed to hack a couple of the trainer's horses while she visits her parents in Florida. We'll see if I can hack (no pun intended) the cold!



My sister is coming home tomorrow (yay) and we'll see what kind of additional trouble we can get into. All in all I am enjoying the time in Connecticut and the break from normal life.



Posted from Connecticut

Borscht

So delicious and so yummy on a crappy winter day! I've made this recipe twice now (vegetarian version) and it is perfect. First time was for Christmas dinner - I pureed it to make it a little more upscale. Today, just the basic recipe and I think it is even beter. Yum!

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Epilogue: The Juicer

For those curious how it all turned out...

The Juicer

It arrives

8 months after the purchase of the Life Altering Juicer (and 7 months after its last use), it was sold to L. & B. last night. We got a fresh glass this morning from them. No fear though...

M. has already ordered the citrus squeezer because this time, it will be different.

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Zwetschgendatschi

I tried my hand at making a 'German cookie' as M. would say.

This took awhile to make as the recipe was all in German and there were some mystery words for me. I had to send an email to Christina to figure out how to measure in metric and that resulted in a new kitchen gadget for me. I love new kitchen gadgets. The dough is a yeast dough so rising time was needed.



I went to the stand to get some zwetschgen and the guy there was laughing at me - you try saying 'Ich haette gerne zwei kilo zwetschgen' and you will see what I mean. He said, 'Machen sie datschi?" Indeed, my Bavarian friend, indeed. He cut up one on the spot for me to try, smiling at my reaction.



For those who don't know what zwetschgen are*, they are basically plums, but smaller and firmer. This makes them ideal for baking with since they hold their texture under heat.

In the end, I think it was all worth it but I need my taste tester here to confirm authenticity. A couple of notes on the recipe though...

It seems that 1 kilo is more than enough zwetschgen. Fine for me as I will eat the other kilo this weekend. Yum! I wonder if Mom and Dad remember last year when they were here and M. sent us on our way to Vienna with a couple kilo of zwetschgen that we toted and ate for 4 days straight. There were still a kilo left when we got back.

Also, it would have been better if I didn't roll the dough so thin. It ended up more like a pizza with crust than an evenly distributed cake.

Other than that I think I need to invite the neighbors over for Kaffee and Kuechen to make a dent in this!

Before:


After:


*I was summoned at work recently by a friend of a reader of this blog who said he was being asked what a dirndl was (prompted by a previous post of mine). You know who you are ;-) I will try to be better about explaining German things to the Americans in the future.

Posted from Munich

More Pie!

I was inspired by recent discussions with SM and postings from Mausi to bake something I definitely don't need to be eating. But yum!



In other cooking adventures this week, I made a very successful chicken green thai curry and tom yum goong soup. I also tried a pork vindaloo with basmati rice and tomato-yogurt salad last night. I was critical but M. loved it!

For M.'s final two nights in Germany, we will have sesame and wasabi coated tuna (tonight) and mushroom raviolis with butter and fresh sage sauce.

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Rhubarb

Tis the season for strawberries and rhubarb. M. came home from shopping yesterday and informed me he had bought a couple of kilos of rhubarb and could I please make something nice with it. Absolutely!

I was browsing around the internet when I coincidentally saw Unswiss Miss's suggestion for compote. M. had requested that we use half the rhubarb for compote so he was in charge of that recipe. I was thinking more something like rhubarb crumble or rhubarb pie. After some deliberation, I settled on this strawberry-rhubarb crumb pie from Allrecipes (what can I say, seemed like the perfect mix of all options).







As we were baking, the first thunderstorm of the season blew in and it got all dark. We lit some candles, fired up the country music and sat out on the porch watching the wind, rain and lightning. I love a big thunderstorm in the afternoon. For a moment, I felt like I was back in Virginia. The pie was fantastic.



Posted from Munich