Tea and Quarkballen

Today is one of those cold January Sundays in Munich where your cheeks are pink from the air outside and all I want to do is curl up with my thick book, a big cup of the Red Rose Tea from one of my mother's carepackages (the tea is what I grew up drinking-a mix of black and orange Pekoe and pretty inexpensive in the grocery stores at home-but is my favorite...and the cup is one of my favorite acquisitions from this past year's Christkindl Markt in the city center-Marienplatz) and a few Quarkballen.  Yum.

Quark is a soft cheese sort of substance that is soft and sort of yogurty. It is often coupled with fruit for breakfast and is used a lot in baking (sort of as we use sour cream in the US for baking).  I am not a huge fan of it alone, but it does bake up a delicious Quarkball, as seen above.  My friend J introduced me to these last summer, and I am not certain that I am going to forgive her for the introduction.  These are too easy to love and an inexpensive (3 for about 1.25 euro) treat.  Ummm...yes, there were 3 when I started this post....

So, off I go, to read and dig into my treats.

Cooking at home: tonight's dinner offering

In keeping with the resolution of cooking at home more...tonight's dinner offering is Linguine with Peas and Lemon.  Light and spring fever inducing, this recipe is a definite keeper! 

I  first saw this recipe on a blog that I read, called  Technicolor Kitchen .  I like the blog because the recipes are accessible...and friendly.  Don't ask, just click through to be directed right to this recipe.

Garlic, wine, cream (not too much...) and lemon zest go into the foundation of the sauce for this pasta.  Freshly grated parmesan finishes it with a bit of sour salt.  Mmmm...divine.  We drank the rest of the wine that I had used in the recipe with dinner.  Lovely.

Next time I think that I will add pancetta or a bit of proscuitto....but have decided that even on it's own, this one is a keeper!  And, we got to use two more of the polish pottery bowls! 

The Cure for what Ails You....Maybe.

I noticed this vending machine some time ago in one of the Sbahn stations, while I was waiting for a friend to meet me.  This machine dispenses what would seem to be a lot of helpful remedies...and is cleverly called "Erste Hilfe med-o-mat" (First Help)  Why, oh why would you need to get your analgesics or pregnancy tests from a vending machine you ask?  Read on!

Several of my friends right now are nursing colds of varying degrees...my friends T and B have had the "In the Bed for Days and Feel Like Death" variety, while I have been nursing the edge of a cold for a few days.  It started out with  a scratchy, borderline sore throat with achy ears and a headache.  Today it has moved a bit into my nose, where I am sure it will take up residence for a few days.

If I were at home, I would have the well illuminated, aisles chocked full of remedies waiting for my self diagnosis.  Stuffy nose? Runny nose? Congestion? Sneezing?  At the local CVS or Walgreen's, they have something for each one of those maladies.  Combination of all of the above? Oh, yes, the word that is the beacon in the fog of any illness:  NYQUIL.  And, of course, it's sidekick: DAYQUIL.

When I go back to the States or visit England, I always stock up on the over the counter meds.  I am used to the anonymous, impersonal self diagnosis that probably keeps all of us doped up on too much medicine, and I must say, I like it!

In Germany, there is only the up-close, self effacing, potentially embarrassing telling all of your problems to the Pharmacist person in the white jacket who then diagnoses what you need to cure what it is that you have told them is ailing you.  Not a lot here is over the counter, not even aspirin.  Yup, you gotta ask for that...at least that is normally behind the counter.  If you are in need of the real-deal drugs, the White Jacket person (and what training does this person have anyhow?!) has to go into some sort of back room that holds all of the good drugs hostage and retrieve what it is they think will cure you. 

And, the pharmacies (Apothekes) are not all open every day-most of them are not open after 2 pm on Saturdays and all but the "Emergency Pharmacy" is open on Sunday.  This is an Apotheke that takes turns with the others in their vicinity to open on a Sunday-you find the location of this Emergency Pharmacy either from the sign on the door of your local one or in the neighborhood papers that they leave in your vestibule (and my landlord whisks away as fast as he can).

But here, in the seclusion of a remote Sbahn station, the price of your privacy is just as far as the coin in your pocketbook...you can get by pressing the corresponding (#):  (1) 20 Bandaids.....(2) 1 Dressing Pack-maybe an Ace bandage?... (3) 5 Pre-moistened Disinfecting wipes.....(4) 5 Kleenex...(5) 1 Emergency Shower (huh?)  (6) tampons, and the like...and that's just the first few.

You can also buy various health related tests.....for (9) pregnancy, (10) prostate disease, (11) sobriety,  (13) a drug test, (14) for the flu,  and for a (15) UTI.

Someone from this company must be a thinker:  you'll notice that the (7) 4 pack of condoms are right next to the (8) mouthwash spray.

Local Color

I have been noticing this graffiti lately around my neighborhood and think it is quite fascinating.  It makes me stop when I see it, and before you know it, I have my trusty blackberry out and am snapping pics...enjoy and let me know if you are as taken with it...

Ok, she is sort of menacing with her sword and all...but I hope that you find it as interesting as I do.....where else would you find street art with Lederhosen and a Mass of bier?  I am sure that there will be more popping up here in the city and I will continue to snap a pic, to share with you.

Resolutions

Many of you know that I used to work, once upon a time, for a major culinary retailer in the States.  You also probably know that I love pottery, dishware, tabletop and cooking tools.  What you probably didn't know is that while I worked at that job that I really did love a lot, I didn't get to do much cooking.  Cooking for one person is really not that inspiring, and I worked long hours.  It was mostly easier to grab something quick or pre-made instead of cooking.  And the clean-up!  Yikes.

In my new life, I have found that I have been exploring cooking much more now that I have more time on my hands.  Often the Hub gets in late and really appreciates it when I have dinner on the stove or in the oven, waiting for him.  He can forgo the airport food and we have a chance to sit down and chat while we eat, together.  I have instituted a rule in this new life, and it goes like this:  "If I cook it, we sit at the table and eat together".  I feel like if I put in the effort to plan, cook and serve a meal then it and I deserve that.  In our first year here, we explored our neighborhood eateries.  We are lucky in that we have Thai, Greek, Turkish, Italian, Vietnamese, Indian, Bavarian, and Chinese restaurants (to name a few off the top of my head) in our immediate neighborhood.  But, this year I felt as if some at home cooking was on, well, the menu.

In general, it would be very safe to say that I am not any good at resolutions, ones that come in the beginning of the year especially.  I tend to abstain from these sorts of things~I mean, really, why set yourself up to fail?  It all seems like a vicious circle-one makes a resolution for their betterment, they have all and only good intentions, they start out well enough, and before the end of January they have given up in defeat, feeling really cruddy about themselves.  Ugh.  No thanks.

So when the words "my resolution for this year is..." popped out of my mouth while talking with my mum the other day on the phone-I was surprised that I had put it out there in a public way. Not that the resolution is one with boundaries and unattainable goals, because it's not.  I just am not a resolution kind of gal.

The picture heading off the post is my first attempt at a roast chicken-lemon and garlic in the cavity, olive oiled and seasoned on the outside.  Easy peasy.  And yummy.  So good, that I turned it into soup the next day!

The above pic is while it is simmering-I had just added the noodles...and the carrots and celery were starting to soften.  But tonight is where the real beauty shot comes in:

We ate the soup in our polish pottery soup plates that I bought at the festival this summer and talked about in this post , along with some hearty sunflower seed bread.  The bowl above is one of my favorites~you can't see it, but it has bee skeps on it.  Aw, heck, here it is empty, with another of my favorite purchases from that trip:

I think that when you have pretty things, cooking is more fun!  So wish me luck on this cooking adventure, and I hope that you will enjoy being along for the ride.

Quick trip to the UK

We were home from the States for a few days over New Year's Eve and had time to celebrate with friends here in Munich-but 2 days later we were off again to the UK.  The Hub had a business trip in Manchester which coincided with our anniversary, so I went along to get my fill of British shopping and tv.  In Manchester, there is a wonderful tea shop called Teacup and Cakes.  I visited them the last time that I was in the city with the Hub and wanted to make sure that I found the shop again on this trip.  The staff are delightful-friendly as can be-and the food is top notch.  Last time I went, I tried their eggs benedict. Holy hollandaise was it good!  This time, as you can see above, it was the cream tea that I sampled.

Cream tea consists of a pot of tea for one, two scones and clotted cream and jam.  I am always undecided about the proper order of the clotted cream and jam on the scones, and I forgot to ask my server (they were busy and I was hungry).  So, I went with what I knew: warm scone topped with clotted cream and then jam on top.  No one gasped or stared and pointed when I did this, so I guess it was executed in a satisfactory way.  Anyone have an opinion about this process?  The team at Teacup and Cakes lets you hang out as long as you like and even offers you a warm-up of more water for your fresh leaves.  Brilliant, as they say!  If you ever get to Manchester, find the Northern Quarter, and on Thomas Street, go and have tea. (On a side note, the scones were so good that I almost ate them without the clotted cream and jam....almost....)

After spending the week in Manchester, we headed down to London (it's only about 2.5 hours by train!) for the weekend where we spent a nice weekend discovering a new part of the city-Marylebone/Hyde Park.  I wanted the Hub to get to see Hampton Court since he missed visiting it there with my this past Spring...and so we spent our Saturday there.  It felt like a quick trip, but I know that we were away for a week.  It was fun to stay in a completely different part of London and explore and we have promised that we will stay in another area next time we are in jolly old London town!

Dinner for One-a German Sylvester tradition

Last year we were introduced to an unusual German New Year's Eve tradition, watching this British comedy sketch from the 1960's, Dinner for One.  Wikipedia has a detailed page for it here .  Take a peek at the sketch by clicking on the link I have posted below...and let me know what you think of this cult classic.....

  Dinner for One

Happy New Year to all, with the auspicious starting date of 1/1/11, this year promises good luck and happiness! Claim this year as your own! 

*I could not find an owner of this photo-grabbed it off an Associated Press article.