Mmmmmmmmmmm!

Guess what I cooked for dinner last night?

Valentine's Day

I hope you had a romantic Valentine's Day, filled with chocolates, mushy greeting cards, naughty presents, a candlelit dinner, and a night of passion for dessert! Me, what did I do today? Well, first of all, G is out of town on business. So you know the old saying about when the cat is away, the mouse will come out and play? Oh, yeah, I was a housewife out on the lose! I went to Hugendubel - the bookstore. Whoo hoo!
I bought the latest book by Sophie Hannah, picked up some Kauknochen for Denzel, baked my favorite fish of the moment, Pangasius, and now I'm going to pour myself a glass of Pflaumenwein, and let my wild night of reading begin.

P U

The taste of Seehecht is definitely not worth the smell.

Do You Smell That?

Yesterday I learned a valuable lesson: Never talk on the phone while baking.

Abendessen für Zwei

Our Raclette dinner was fantastisch!
A delicious meal with no real cooking involved.

Sonntags Morgen Brot

Ich habe Vollkornbrot gebacken!

Ein Frohes Neues Jahr!

Happy New Year! So, after rolling out of bed this afternoon and immediately taking pain medication for my schmerzhaft headache, I headed straight for the kitchen and started on my first batch of homemade waffles or Waffeln. I added cinnamon to the original recipe from G's Mother and because I'm a little manic about fat, I scaled down on the butter and eggs. After 20 minutes, G, Robbie, and I had delightfully delicious Waffeln! The color was a little inconsistent but overall, our new tradition of New Year's Day Waffeln was a success!

Food for Thought

Well, after a wonderful Christmas holiday with G's family, we are back in Munich. G's Mutter und Vater were sweet and thoughtful, as always. And considering hosting Christmas with a full house (2 children/adults, 2 significant others, 1 Puggle and 1 Jack Russell) G's Mutter was in a cheerful mood every day and seemed genuinely happy just to have her family together under one roof. And in order to appreciate her cheerful mood, even with the typical Christmas chaos, you have to appreciate her food! First let me explain....G's Mutter is the Martha Stewart of Germany. Seriously. She can cook or make or bake anything. Not only will it taste amazing but everything looks like it has been prepared for a photo shoot in a cooking magazine. She makes her own Marmelade. Yes, with the cute jars and appropriate labels. Every traditional German dish I have tasted for the first time, has been from her kitchen. And this Christmas was no exception. I tried Kartoffelpuffer with Rübenkraut or potato pancakes with a thick golden syrup. I also tried Seezunge, a white fish in a creamy mushroom sauce with shrimp. Dessert was an all day snack for us. G and I ate Weihnachtsgebäck or Christmas cookies non-stop. And G's Mutter surprised him with his favorite dessert, Tiramisu. Every afternoon, we were like children, waiting for her next surprise. But the best meal was, of course, my favorite, Kaiserschmarrn! Kaiserschmarrn with Apfelmus or applesauce and vanilla Waffeln or waffles. It was a meal and dessert all rolled up in one! So, on New Year's Day, she bakes bretzen or fresh soft pretzels. It's a tradition, like my Oma preparing black eyed peas or some Japanese people having Mochi, in order to bring good luck and prosperity for the new year. Because one of her Christmas presents for me was my first waffle iron (she also taught me how to make them from scratch) I've decided to start our own little family tradition of making Waffeln on New Year's Day. I think no matter where we are in the world, or how much we celebrate the night before, or when we eventually have white chocolate babies, I will always be coherent enough to make waffles, right? Well, just in case I don't do so well for the first round on Sunday, I still have a box of my Favorite Aunt's pancake/waffle mix stashed away! Shhhhh!