Halle (a little Christmas Market)

Son of Halle - Handel..... 'Michael Jackson' of  the 1700  :-)
After Leipzig, we made a short drive to Halle.  The Christmas Market is small and not different from Leipzig. Lots of grill - sausages and game. 

How did he do this ?

While walking through the Viktualien market in Munich, I saw this (DING).  There was nothing else around him.  Looked like he was floating.   What happens when he let go the stick ?

Have a closer look.  Can someone please explain leh.

Christmas Market 2011 - Munich

Here is another CHRISTMAS MARKET to add to collection. It's Munich or München in German. Munich city alone draw tourists like bees to honey, all year round - to Oktoberfest for one. In the city centre, never to be missed is the Church/Marienplatz. A stone throw away is the Viktualien Market which is another must see. There is also a display of the 'button in ear' (remember Teddy Bear) Steiff animals.   It was almost impossible to shoot any photos due to the crowd - please excuse the lousy shots.

Please go to the webalbum to view more

Strange Stuff

What do you think this is ?

Son said it looks like a tabletop toilet bowl, with 'material' !! 

Make a guess before you read further.

YUMMY - Prawns and Truffel

I have finally made up my mind so off we went to Munich to finalize the purchase. While the papers were being processed, I went into the city for a round of Christmas Market tour in the city centre. Photos will be posted soon. After an hour of pushing crowds, decided to have a good lunch. And here is our lunch. Huge butter prawns on salad of sour cream red beets - with oven fresh baguette.

Linguine with Truffel cream sauce

Happy decision, happy tummy !

Crispy Trout with Green Sauce

Easy to prepare, packed with goodness
I picked up 2 flipping fresh trouts from the fish farm nearby in the morning.  They were scaled and gutted on the spot which saved me the messy job of doing that at home. My initial plan was to bake them in foil so I went into the garden for some fresh dill.  No luck !   Frost got to them during the night. So I decided to panfry them.  While running water over the trouts, I didn't notice that the tap was on HOT and......
Uuups! Naked trouts.

Crab Apples

If you don't know what  crab apples are, they're basically tiny sour apples.  Some say you can't eat them raw but I did !!  :-)  Very crunchy and packed full of pectin flavour - meaning SOUR

Applecake 11.11.11

November 11, 2011 (11.11.11)
Many people worldwide find this configuration set of numbers facinating. Some people had to get married. Some people had to have their baby or babies.  Auspicious ?
What will they do on 12-12-12 ?
Hmmm.... wait and see.    Naaaah ! No babies for me cos I've closed shop :-)  
For me, it's the first day or start of winter because icy wind was blowing and when I went into the garden to get some fresh mint for tea, they were all wilted from the cold.
And I had to have applecake!!  

Wheat Grain & Beans Salad

Wheat grain with beans - Wholesome and healthy.

Accompanied with green salad and seasoning of yoghurt and cream balsamic vinegar.

Braids/Zopf (Single Strand)

Raisin Braid

Almond Flakes Braid

Nearly every european country has it's own version of braids.  3 strands, 4 strands, button knots, rose knots etc. After watching  a video Lily sent me, I had to make this single strand braid.  It looked so simple. Using only 1 long strand of dough and in 4 steps the lady made a beautiful perfect braid.  Ha !  I was soooo wrong.  Confirmed! . Just watching the steps is not enough.  LEARNING BY DOING !

FATFREE Comfort Food

Autumn is here when daylight gets shorter and cold wind is blowing.  With change of season, so do our tastes in food.  Here is a combination which is particularly well suited for this time of year.

Chocolate Cake

A fast and simple sweet treat with just a few heart stopping basic ingredients.

Linsen Spaetzle

Here is another way to make the swabian pasta - using a device almost like a potato ricer.  Using the same receipe of http://fressgass.blogspot.com/2011/02/swabian-pasta-spaetzle-spatzle.html
You just place the device over a pot of simmering water. 

Fill it up with dough, lower down the cover.  You do not need any effort to press at all.

Playing with food AGAIN !

Arranged this bouquet  for a gathering.

Prickly Pears (Cactus Fruit) Jam

If you've never eaten cactus fruit (prickly pear)before, you must have a try.  I must admit, it is an acquired taste but not unpleasant.  In my opinion, it is a mix of melon and pineapple.  The fruit is as big as a duck egg with thick coarse skin with tiny prickly spines which can be very irritating when stuck in bare hands.  The fruit flesh ranges in colour from yellow to orange, or dark burgundy which makes it good for cocktails.
What is even better is to make jam !  
    

Feast fit for monks

Thai Buddhism people want to invite monks to their home
for blessing and luck.


A thai friend had the honour of having 2 monks coming to her home.  
It was her big day.

The usual ceremony of giving food to the monks on arrival and then proceeding into the house,  holding a sacred cord tied at one end to the Buddha image or idol of the house-hold. They chanted , blessing all around them.  One monk then went around the house blessing trees, flowers, pets (chicken and rabbits) including my car :-)
There was also a bowl of water into which the monk dripped candle wax and from the figures formed, we were suppose to read or imagine our lucky numbers.
After the monks had their meal (before 12 noon), there were presentation of gifts and more blessings. Some seek solace, some seek health.  Astrologies and  palm reading were done - how correct were the predictions ??

Playing with Food - Food Carving

Over the weekend (5-6 September) there was the European Food Carving competition in Leipzig. 
Sigh! Wish I was there to watch the Meisters at work. Wonder what they would say on the following pieces of thai carving.   

Pretty maids all in a row

Typical Swabian Dish

This is a typical swabian  meal ... Pork roast with potato salad ( german Schweinebraten mit kartoffelsalat).
In Schwäbisch (dialect) -Schwoibrade mid kardoffl salad ) 

Strange Combi Salad

This is an almost perfect salad for a hot summer day. The combination might be strange but believe me, they marry well.

Smoked Makerel Salad

A Quick lunch fix without any cooking.

Chanterelle (Pfiffeling) with Linguine

It's mushroom time again !

Swiss Roll Mania !!

Think I caught the swiss roll virus that's been circulating around.

Made 2 versions - a classic sponge and a chiffon method.
I personally prefer the roll from classic sponge method.

Wild Plums (Sauce)

These may look like cherries but they're not. They are very ripe wild plums.  The locals tell me they're not suitable for consumption; hinting about them being poisonous. What rubbish !!   Birds and bees were swarming over them like in an openair rock concert, none seems to be dead or dying.  I plucked a handful, ate them, waited for an hour  and I started to get hungry.  Hungry for more plums.  Taste wise, they're more sour than the ordinary table plums.  Texture of fruit is crunchy (very sour) when green and very mushy when ripe (still sour).
Dear daughter plucked a huge bowl  for me to put them to good use.  And I did.

Cologne (Köln) July 2011

 

On the way to Holland, we made a one-night stop in Cologne.  Most of you who have been to Cologne will recognise this landmark - the DOM.

Black Cumin (Nigella sativa)

The flower of the Black Cumin is decorative in the garden.

Summer Festivals - Schützenfest 2011

A swabian festival - Schützenfest  (German "marksmen's festival") is an traditional annual festival or fair.  Here are photos of the Historical Parade.

If you are curious or interested, you may view more  here

Playing with food - Kohlrabi

I saw this miserable looking kohlrabi, neglected and sad.  So I decided to give it a beauty makeover.   Similar to cosmetic surgery but for vegetables -  You know what I mean.   Afterall, I have not done any carving for months. 
       

Holland - Schreveningen

Crazy weekend !!  Spent half a day in Schreveningen and then 1 day in Dordrecht.   Don't worry, there will not be any windmills :-)

This is Schreveningen.

Maultaschen (Schwabian Ravioli/Pasta)

The Maultaschen (Swabian ravioli) is a kind of pasta filled with seasoned ground meat and boiled in a broth.. The origin is from the Swabian region - rumour is that Swabian monks invented the Maultaschen as a way to eat meat during Lent (A 40 day period, begins on Ash Wednesday and ends a day before Easter).  It would be undetectable since the meat was concealed in pasta. 

Corgettes

Somehow, there are only yellow corgettes growing in my garden this year.   Why?  Blame it on the freaky weather.

Cooool corgettes :-)

Fill them up with  mincemeat, bake for an hour at 180°C.   There was abit of mince left so I filled it into a red pepper to bake as well.  

Viola !    Serve with rice and it's own sauce.

Lillies

Was away for 3 days, came back and what a surprise in the garden.

They were HUGE !

Goats Cheese (Fromage de chevre) with figs

Creamy goats cheese with succulent ripe figs, accompanied by organic black olives preseved with orange peel and chilli flakes - sprinkled over with garden fresh thyme.   Humble dressing of balsamic cream and cold pressed pumpkin seed oil.

Vegetable Omelette - Daily Menu

It was simply too warm to go outdoor and the idea of driving into town to do some shopping is OUT !! For lunch family wanted something light without carbohydrates. Dug into the fridge and found a wrinkled red pepper, a corgette, a slice of smoked ham.  Plus the 'never run out of' items like onions, carrots and eggs. 

Result.....Vegetable omelette with carrot salad