For the Love of Food

The large amounts of snow have made it more bearable. We get to do fun things like ride the sled to preschool, make snow angels, and sled down hills. The other day I took him for a 4 kilometer sled ride and pulled him home on the sled the extra long way. Now, while I would rather be running after him down a sandy beach, the snow will have to suffice for now.

So, everybody, I wanted to share this very happy morning with you today. And, the even better news now (2 hours after taking this picture with my cell phone) is that the sun is now fully out from behind the clouds. I could just run through the streets shouting for joy.

All of you who live in the north and have very short days like we do – just know it will soon be coming to an end…only 1,5 months left!

I am so embarrassed…I am late with my Taste&Create post. Lately my days have just been melting together. It’s the end of January – where did November and December go???

I have been so exhausted lately: a baby, a toddler, a house hold, planning and organizing our move, cooking daily, etc…etc…etc… And, to keep me sane, I am taking a 45 minute jog with a friend once a week where we manage to run 6k. I was so surprised the first time we went running that I made it that far…I could never manage more than 3,5k in my life and always felt like falling flat on my face afterwards. Now, I just feel like a million dollars to do nothing but run and talk with my friend about life. So, our goal by April is to be able to run 10k. Currently it’s unimaginable, but I’m looking forward to the feeling of being able to reach my goal.

So, back to cookies. In all the stress of life, it’s important to stop and make time to bake. Because, although it is extra work, just being able to grab a cookie and close out the world for a few bites will keep you going throughout the day.

And, my partner’s peanut butter cookies are so very delicious that I ate most of them…I love peanut butter cookies. Please, check out her delicious recipe here on Dil Se..

About a year ago our friends from Hempe Kommunikations Deisgns invited us over for a delicious traditional Franconian meal of pork roast and potato dumplings.  I’m not sure whose idea it originally was, but our friends ended up taking step-by-step photos of the process and giving me the recipe.  It was not only a fantastically delicious meal, but it seemed simple enough for me to reproduce.

So, after some practice, I thought it would be great to use my opportunity to through another Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 event and show my friends how well I have learned their recipe myself.  And, since it’s the right time of year, I decided it was time to break out the wooden Spekulatius boards and make some spiced cookies.

I was so excited when I pulled the pork roast out of the oven and saw the look on my friend’s face..and hear the words that came out of her mouth: look at the crust, I don’t think we’ve ever had a crust like that on any of our roasts!

And, as many cooks, what do I like more than cooking and eating my own creations?? : when people love my food.

The roast was a huge hit – crunchy, juicy, perfectly flavored – same with all the side dishes.  The cookies..well, they were ok, nothing to talk over…a shame.  But, we will keep trying until we get the perfect recipe.  After the fact I was doing some things and came to the realization that I used all local products to produce this delicious meal – wines and beers as well.

Ok, bellow I will leave you with 3 great recipes (pork roast, potato dumplings, and spekulatius cookies) all with step-by-step pictures which makes this a long post.

Between all the delicious Franconian wine, beers, delicious food, and conversation I never ended up taking any pictures of my guests enjoying the meal!  Continue Reading »

About two months ago I saw a small sign on my way to kindergarten with my sons that said “Markt der Ideen“. No other information. So, I googled them and found not much more to help me. So, I went and ended up with a free ticket from a friendly lady leaving the convention, and I made my way inside.

Wow.

It was handmade/homemade heaven! Cookies, cakes, jams, jellies, sauces, postcards, paintings, dolls, tapestries, etc, etc…

I dream of selling fantastic homemade goodies here one day!

Just see all the awesome things I found bellow: Continue Reading »

So, a few months back I was meandering through my local grocery store when I came across a package of “wild tomatoes”- also known as heirloom tomatoes. Having heard so many wonderful things about heirloom tomatoes and never having seen them in any of my local stores before, I got excited and bought them.

Never buy tomatoes out of season…it’s always so very disappointing…I wish they’d just take the temptation away.

Anyways, getting past the disappointment, I was sitting at the table watching my son cut tomatoes into funny shapes and eat them when something caught my eye. Continue Reading »

The other day I was perusing one of my favorite blogs (Steamy Kitchen) and I found Jaden’s post on the Pioneer Woman’s Buttermilk Fried Chicken. I have a weakness for fried chicken.

If you can make a good fried chicken, you can win over my foodie heart.
And, if you can make perfectly crispy homemade fries…well…I will just been sitting next to you with a big smile and greasy fingers.

But, since I’m the cook around here, I am the one in charge of satisfying my cravings. So, I got to it.

You will find that the secret to a crispy crust is not a soggy wet batter, but rather a crumbly dry one. I recommend checking out the Jaden’s post with step-by-step images.

And the fries, well, it’s easier than you think to produce perfectly crisp fries at home. It’s a trick a friend of mine taught me. It’s all about the double frying. Which, is basically what you do when you buy the pre-cut frozen fries from the grocery store. Continue Reading »

I am always on the look-out for a good stir fry. I’m also always making new attempts to find the perfect recipe that will satisfy my Asian-food cravings – often with little success, but this time I really hit the spot!

It’s very fresh and delicious and pretty simple. I surprise myself sometimes. Continue Reading »

Sometimes the simplest meals are the most flavorful. I’m always surprised when I can find something “new” at my local butcher that has been staring me in the face for the last 5 years. How could I have missed out on this perfectly thin-cut fennel salami for so long???

I layered it on a mixture of spicy tomato paste and cream cheese.

Just want to share some of the past few months with you…

About a month ago I was in our local mall and I found this amazing Lebkuchen (a cake-ee German Gingerbread type cookie) shaped like Saint Nicolas. My son was so very excited to receive this big cookie with chocolate candy coated eyes, nose, and buttons; a coconut beard; and sprinkled hat.

The cognac gives the onions sweet overtones, so if you are looking for a sweet onion flavor and not the even sweeter flavor of cognac on top of that, just leave it out. Continue Reading »