My week: August 28 ed.

This was a very international week, with what I'd call a varied cultural program. Oh wait; every week is mostly like that and I find it grand.

I met with my tandem partner and she suggested that each speak our target lessons the whole time. I'm almost always tired when I visit her because it's after a long day of work and my brain is just about kaputt by then. However, I acquiesced and can agree that it was a good idea.

Want to give your brain a workout? Speak your second (or third? I'm not fluent in Spanish so it probably doesn't count) language while your tandem partner speaks her third language, which is your first language. Then correct her 3rd language's grammar using your 2nd/3rd language and get teased when switching back to your first language since it's difficult to keep all the languages and grammar straight when you come from a monolingual background.

Later in the week, I attended a cooking course/cultural night presented by some Georgian students (from the country, not the US state). They played Georgian Youtube videos of traditional songs and dances for us; I especially liked the guys performing prancy type dances (I should've asked for the technical term).

The gals taught us how to make a stew, meat dumplings, bread, salad, stuffed eggplant, sauces, dessert, and more. The event was listed as lasting for seven hours, which I thought was a typo. Well, cooking all those items took 5.5 hours since it was all made from scratch; even the grape juice was pressed from grapes. My friend Ay. and I arrived after work and were completely exhausted by the time the food was done. We did enjoy ourselves though, and heartily ate from the feast.

I asked the Georgians if they'd normally cook like this and they said no. While these are national dishes, some of them are only made at holidays, such as a walnut/honey toffee-like concoction.

A feast of Georgian food

Meat dumplings

I was invited to two back-to-back potlucks on the weekend. One was from a colleague and the other potluck was from the friend of one of my German friends. I enjoyed both of them very much and there was some very tasty food, as well as some German speaking.

Reaching a fun milestone: cooking at home

I'm not a very domestic person. I've been more into intellectual and outdoorsy pursuits instead of knowing how to cook and sew, for example. However, it's never too late to teach an old dog new tricks or for the antithesis of Martha Stewart* to learn some new skills.

I was always in awe of my friends who have stronger domestic skills; they sometimes casually say they'd usually rather just cook at home than eat out because they can cook better. I always thought, wow, that's cool that they're so skilled! I've been asking them to share cooking methods and recipes with me. An awesome benefit of having international and well-traveled friends is that they can either share their families' recipes or demonstrate how to cook food they've encountered while traveling, and they know a lot of vegetarian options.

Now that I've been experimenting with cooking, I often find myself preferring what I've cooked at home to eating out too. To be fair, though, I have to say that I'm just not into German food, or anything that's meat-centric, potato-centric, or always drenched with dairy-centric. Pasta and pizza are on the gives-me-a-headache list so I try to avoid them. I don't live in a large metropolis and there aren't a lot of vegetarian or ethnic restaurants that I really love, outside of Safari (Eritrean food).

Now that I've learned a lot of new vegan and vegetarian recipes, I've enjoyed my meals at home more, and love to share them with my friends, too. I can even enjoy Mexican salsa without having to put up with the addition of sugar and/or curry powder that our local restaurants think are staples for some reason. Now, if I could just get my coworker to show me how to make tamales...



*She makes me nervous for many reasons, including because she's too fancy. However, she does have good taste in horses :)

A forager's delight: raspberry pie!

I baked mini raspberry pies from wild raspberries I foraged and crust I made from scratch today. I have mad skillz; what can I say? Just ignore the sad looking lattice work on the pies. Despite that, the pie I had tasted great and even the gnome would love to dig in with his trowel.

My week: June 21 ed.

I'm freeee! Okay, not quite, but I will now have a little more free time since one of my German classes ended this week. Now I'll only have two lessons a week instead of four. It took a lot out of me to have so many classes per week, with just the amount of time alone that it took!

-I met up with my dear friend D for a walk, some wild foraging, and an evening of German speaking, which I normally don't do with my friends. We also ate at my favorite restaurant. It was perfect. 

-I collected more Holunderblüte, or elderflowers, and put together a mix for a fizzy elderflower lemonade-style drink. I'm really enjoying learning more about foraging wild food. While I was looking for some more sambucus (Latin name for the tree), I found some wild cherry trees. Score! It will be awesome to learn more because being able to identify plants and their uses changes one's perception of the countryside.

-I went to a group campout with a dear friend I haven't seen since earlier this year. We had been partners in the "crime" of wearing Dirndl in the Pfalz. We also met up with an awesome guy and fellow cat lover whom I had met in Munich in January. All of us got along fabulously and we hope to meet up in Kaiserslautern...sometime. All of us have such crazy schedules that it's hard to get together. It's hard to say, well, maybe we could all see one another again in August, or...?

I was even more excited when I found out that first friend is planning a trip to the US next year with her boyfriend. They'll be there the same time I will be. My good friend from work, C, had already planned to meet up with me. After some excited conversation and some texting to the US, we determined that all four of us will meet up and go on a road trip. I'm super excited; it'll also be an opportunity to introduce them to my US friends. I love how small the world can be sometimes.

-Even though I was super tired after coming home from the campout, I did drag myself out of a nap and met up with some friends for dinner. That was awesome!

So, this week was tiring but excellent, with a chance to reconnect with some friends I know from all over, and to plan for future adventures.

Making Elderflower Cordial with locally foraged flowers

 --WARNING: this blog entry is for entertainment purposes only. If you are interested in foraging wild foods, please check with a professional first. Use plant identification guides from a reliable source to make sure you are foraging the right plant to avoid toxicity.--

Walking through the woods in May and June, one might come across an interesting smell. It's slightly flowery, ranging from a sweet scent to one with slightly bitter undertones. Following the scent, one might come across a bushy tree exploding in clusters of creamy white flowers. The flowers themselves are beautiful little creatures, with lovely petals adorned with five jaunty yellow stamen  jutting up like a 60s-influenced satellite design.

Oh you pretty little elderflower you! Please use a plant ID book to be sure you're foraging the right thing.

Hello elder shrub! Please use a plant ID book to be sure you're foraging the right thing.

These lovely bushes are Sambucus, or elder shrubs. They can even begin to look like trees. Those who've watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail might have to stifle the overwhelming urge to holler, "your mother was a hamster and your father smellt of elderberries!"*

 
Even better than the Monty Python reference is that these bushes can be harvested to create some delicious things! For those living in Germany, one might be familiar with Holunderblütensirup, which basically translates to elderflower syrup, made from the shrub's flowers. It's often used in Hugo cocktails, a refreshing mix of sparkling wine, the elderflower syrup, fizzy water, mint leaves, and lime juice. 

Since I'm on this weird Susi Hausmacher kick lately, I decided that I too would make some elderflower syrup (often called cordial). I'm very lucky in that I have access to an area that has a plethora of lovely foragable treats so finding elderflowers was a breeze. Now that I know what they look like, I have also seen them all over, even within the city limits of Kaiserslautern.

I found a recipe online and made a sugar syrup to start the Holunderblütensirup making process. Since I'm new to this, I bugged out a bit when I found out how much sugar one would use: this particular recipe called for four pounds of sugar to a little more than five cups of water! I guess that's where the syrup part comes in. After the syrup had boiled, I poured it over the flowers, oranges and lemons, and their zest. I will steep it for a day and then bottle it and freeze it. The recipe didn't call for citric acid so I have to be careful with storage and handling even with the high sugar content and citrus fruits. I can't wait to make my own Hugo at home, with the elderflower syrup that I made myself.


*Oh, wait, let's be honest: I did quote the Monty Python line, quite gleefully, in fact. We were obsessed with this in high school and even watched part of it as part of our Humanities class. I'm not entirely sure why, except maybe because...um, the Crusades or something? I went to a Catholic high school so it's ironic they'd show it.

Meze dinner success!

I had three friends over for dinner on Saturday and pulled together a tasty dinner of Lebanese-influenced meze, light appetizers. I made so many of them that there was no threat of leaving the diners hungry, for sure!

Here are the delicious, fresh dishes we ate:

Falafel (bought from Vitamingarten)
Lebanese salad
Red beet hummus
Hummus
Tabbouli
Fresh veggies for dipping
Homemade pita chips (sorry, Stacy, but mine are so much better ;)
Tzatziki sauce
Spargel strawberry salad (this is German)
Hugo cocktails
Unsweetened iced tea (I'm a Northerner so we don't ruin it with boatloads of sugar ;)

With the exception of the tzatziki and falafel, I made everything else from scratch and dang was it delicious! I impressed myself, especially since I'm not a person with domestic skillz. My friends enjoyed everything, but didn't talk too much during the meal. They were too busy chewing. All in all, it was a success and we enjoyed one another's company and a very fresh, summery dinner.

The Most Exciting Cake Ever: Or, Why My Coworkers Are the Best

It's my birthday soon and I wanted to have a few (well, maybe 15-20 or so) friends over for a party. The last few years I've had lower-key birthdays but this year I wanted something a little bigger, especially since I know more people now and it's always fun to party!

My coworkers are awesome. S asked me if I'd like a cake and offered to make carrot cake. That sounded awesome so I took her up on it, finding out that she made a Bundt cake. Of course that prompted us to watch the scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding where the main character's non-Greek future in-laws bring a Bundt cake to her Greek family, with hilarious results. We were in hysterics.

S decorated the cake in the style of the movie's cake but made it even ever so much better. I just about died of delight when I saw it. It's the most exciting cake I've ever seen! I love all the little chocolate bugs around it with the unsettling, anthropomorphic faces. The bunch of lollipops with happy birthday candles shooting out is very lively. She even wrote multiple letter As around the cake.  There's so much going on with this over-the-top cake that it is beyond fantastic.

Best. Cake. Ever. Thanks, S! It is such a treat to work with such awesome, thoughtful (and funny!) coworkers.

Is this not exciting?

Don't squash me! I have a human face! says the chocolate bug.

Lazy, easy, interchangeable cheap vegan crock pot soup recipe

You could call this "Everything but the Kitchen Sink" soup recipe. Or you might call it: "let's raid my non-gourmet, cheap, mostly vegan pantry because I need soup to pack for lunch" recipe. You would also be justified if you wondered if this even will count as a recipe because I'm not going to give out very specific measurements. Those kinds of recipes from other people make me crazy because I don't have mad domestic skillz and need less ambiguity. However, I've found that this recipe is easy to modify to one's tastes and available ingredients. I'd say go easy on the ingredients with strong tastes; you can add more seasonings or vinegar later. By the way, let's talk about the vinegar: holy heck, is it ever awesome in this soup! Along with a small helping of the red chili flakes, it helps give this soup a taste slightly reminiscent of hot and sour soup from Chinese restaurants, without all the greasiness or overly sour taste.

Lazy, easy, interchangeable cheap vegan crock pot soup recipe

-Cut and peel some vegetables; I used carrots (3) and onions (1/2 of one)
-Add some uncooked lentils (I used about a cup)
-1 packet of Knorr® Vegetable recipe mix* or vegetable bullion or stock (to taste)
-Red pepper flakes or sambol oelek, to taste, starting small (optional, but it helps amp up the flavor)
-Red wine vinegar, to taste (I used 2 Tbs)
-Some form of non-meat based oil; I used 1 Tbs olive oil and 1 Tbs sesame oil

Throw all of this in a large crock pot, and add enough water to cover everything with an inch above the ingredients. Cook until the vegetables and lentils are tender.

I cooked mine on low heat for 8 hours, but that was because I was lazy and let it cook while I was sleeping. You could try cooking it for a shorter period with higher heat. Experiment (and don't get ticked at me if it doesn't work to your liking; I'm not a food blogger by any means ;)



*I absolutely promise that this post is NOT sponsored by the company. I just happened to pick up a ton of these packets on the clearance shelf and had to do something with them.

How I spent 2014 Christmas

This year's Christmas day was somewhat low-key. I spent half the day lounging around then texted a friend to go for a hike. I needed the diversity in activities, after all.

He brought a friend and the three of us hiked from the university up to the Humbergturm, a tower with a nice view over the city of Kaiserslautern. We had a fun time hiking; both guys are Bangledeshi and very merry. We chatted about different holidays, including in their country, and how people celebrate them.

On the way, we passed a decent amount of hikers, including two cute older ladies. They wished a merry Christmas and told us to hike faster to get to the top. Considering that we were already going at a good clip, it was pretty funny! I'm always so impressed by the active elderly Germans. They totally kick it on the trails.

Once at the top, we climbed the tower and admired the view and debated what various buildings were. One can see the whole city of Kaiserslautern from there.

Humbergturm, Kaiserslautern: built 1900

View of Kaiserslautern, to the north, from the Humbergturm

On the way back, some German hikers asked if we were returning to the city and if they could follow us, which we agreed to, stating that we were going back to the university. I can totally understand how it's easy to get lost; the only reason I knew where I was going was because I had been up that way two years ago for a volksmarch to the tower. In total, we hiked about 12 kilometers.

When we returned to the car, I said bye to the guys and hustled home. C was cooking Christmas dinner and I threw together a side dish and a pie. In total, we had:

• Crock pot ham, marinated in cranberry juice with cloves stuck in the top (for every pound of ham, add an hour of cooking in the crock pot at low heat)
• Mashed potatoes with bacon, leeks, celery, and garlic
• Cornbread stuffing with added cranberries, celery, and bacon
• Brussels sprouts cooked in a glaze of maple syrup and balsamic vinegar with blue cheese and fresh cranberries (I used this recipe but steamed the brussels sprouts first because otherwise they are too bitter for my taste; I also omitted the barley and pecans)
• Apple pie, using Uncle Paul's Pie Crust recipe

All of it was delicious! C did a wonderful job of creating everything and gave it that special touch, which is, in my book, pork products, which she knows I like ;) Since I am done with the vegan challenge, I could enjoy it all.

After dinner, we watched The Signal, a sci-fi thriller about alien abduction. It was super interesting, with lots of moving pieces. The plot kept building and building without us being able to see where the movie was going. In fact, they did such a good job of it that we couldn't exactly get the ending! A bit of Googling made it clearer. We both that the director had quite a bit of talent and will only get better as his style matures.

It was late so C turned in. I skyped my family for a bit to wish them a merry Christmas. It was a lovely day, spent with friends and connecting with family.

Some resources for being vegan in Germany

Being vegan takes a bit of added work, but that doesn't mean that one must be stuck eating uninspired salads. Doing a bit of research first makes all the difference. Earlier I wrote some tips for being vegan in Germany. Now I'll share some helpful sources.

• Happy Cow is a restaurant guide with reviews and listings of vegan restaurants around the world and there is coverage of many areas in Germany. It's a great way to identify some restaurants of interest. There is also information about vegan stores, organizations, and even B&Bs! 
• A Vegetarian in Germany is an eclectic blog filled with useful reviews of restaurants in and around Saarbrücken (as well as information about living in the area). The author provides helpful information about the menus and the ability of the restaurants to cook vegetarian and vegan dishes or modify existing dishes.
• Finding Vegan Strength blogger Shannon G. wrote a comprehensive guide to being vegan that was featured on the Germany Ja! blog.
• Visit the Reformhaus. What, go to jail, you ask? No, silly, go to the health food store; Reformhaus is the German name for that. (I love the name, because I imagine that if the store could talk, it would say that it intends to reform people into veggie and organic eating machines). Alnatura is a chain of health food stores in Germany.
• Use the interwebs as additional inspiration and a DIY approach; find a new favorite blog or recipe website for ideas. I recently stumbled across The Vegan Stoner and was totally charmed by the site's adorable illustrations and easy, delicious recipes. I have to admit that I a bit confused about the "Stoner" part of the title (after all, there didn't seem to be hemp seed recipes or anything like that). I read on the site that the recipes are so simple that even a stoner could make them. Um, okay. It's a cute site though.

Cheshire Cat cupcakes

A couple years ago, my Detroit friends and I had the opportunity to participate in an awesome, underground-style event that only happens in one city each on the east and west coasts, and in Detroit as well. The whole event was super creative, participatory, and inclusive. My friends made art and costumes for the event and I was awed by their creativity. I made a costume for myself and I was awed at how not creative I am ;)

Anyway, for the event, I made 76 cupcakes. If I remember correctly, they were all vegan. I am not good at domestic skills either, but wanted to make some fancy cupcakes. I'd give myself a B- (mostly because of the effort!). I found a super cool guide to making them here. Mine didn't turn out exactly the same but I was okay with that even though they looked like some really weird demons.

Hostess of the Year Award

Last weekend, some friends came over for an event we were attending together. It was wonderful to have them over but I was a bit frazzled; I won't lie. I had planned the event for 20 people and had helped coordinate another event later that evening (though my role was minimal on the latter). That week German class and work had been busy all while I was getting over being sick for a month.

After the first event, I sent my two friends on their way to my house along with my house keys to let themselves in while I dropped off the other friends I had given a ride. When I showed up, I wanted to offer a snack and a drink to the friends who had been waiting.

Keep in mind: I am no Martha Stewart (which is totally okay with me, since I find her a little bit scary even though she's talented). I also live like a total bachelor (female version though). My fridge contained vegan margarine, an onion, and tahini. I couldn't exactly MacGyver an appetizer out of that. I hadn't been grocery shopping because of being sick and too busy afterward. I turned to my cupboard, which at least had a few other options.

I had it! I offered my guests a choice of Stovetop stuffing or some cheddar biscuits from a mix, since those were pretty much the only convenience foods I had in the cupboard. My friends happily picked the Stovetop stuffing and drank fruit tea with it.

I happily file this entry under Domesticity Fail, even though everyone enjoyed the stuffing.

How NOT to eat a pomegranate

Here's a very helpful video on how to deseed a pomegranate the easy way.

Since I often screw up the simple things in life, let me share a cautionary tale on how I learned what is NOT the proper way to eat a pomegranate.

1. First of all, know your Greek mythology. Remember Persephone, who was stuck in the underworld for 3 months of the year (winter) because Hades convinced her to eat pomegranate seeds? That is a helpful hint. Don't be an idiot like I was the first time and attempt to eat the fleshy part inside the pomegranate and throw away the seeds. The seeds are your friends; the fleshy part is not. It's horrible and bitter.

2. The youtube video above is really helpful for removing the seeds. Cut the pomegranate in half lengthwise and whack the pomegranate like it's part of a 50 Shades of Grey novel. The seeds will fall out. It's even better when they fall out into a pan that you had the foresight to put down ahead of time.

3. There is a caveat to step 2 though. If trying this at work, be careful when pulling the pomegranate apart as seeds and juice might fly out unexpectedly and make a horrible mess of the break room, leaving the person shocked and holding half a pomegranate but being extremely grateful that none got all over the white work trousers. I'm sure a slow motion video of this, and the look of shock on the victim's face, would have been hilarious. Cleaning up the mess was not hilarious.

4. Pomegranate seeds are quite delicious when one is able to survive eating the correct part of the fruit and deseeding it.

Uncle Paul's Delicious Pie Crust Recipe

As I was growing up, I watched my Mom do all kinds of domestic things, like cleaning, cooking, and sewing. From her, I learned the cleaning part, mostly because I was forced to take part in it (oh, the humanity! ;)  I'm thankful, though, because I know how to clean things really well and how to be picky about cleaning. Such knowledge does not mean that my apartment is spotless; it just means that I know how to make it spotless.

Unfortunately, the cleaning part is the only thing I learned super well from her. I did a little with baking and can sometimes make passable baked goods but I pretty much missed out on the sewing bit. As strong, educated, professional woman, I originally thought I didn't need domestic skills. After all, I'm too busy with my career!

However, now I wish I had paid more attention. I think that there is much to be said for someone who is like a Renaissance (wo)man: to be educated but also to have a wide range of other skills, too. I'd love to be able to sew totally awesome clothes for myself (mostly because clothes to wear when going out dancing or something never have pockets and I'd like to make something that does!). I'd also like to make awesome gourmet dishes to impress friends. I wish I knew how to make great cocktails and how to serve tea properly. Oh yeah, I wish I were also better at accounting, computer programming, and foreign languages.

Anyway, I promised my friend that I would make a pumpkin and apple pie for our expat Thanksgiving dinner. These would only be the second and third pies I've ever made so I was a bit nervous. However, I knew that at least the crust would be delicious because I was using my Uncle Paul's recipe. He makes his family's pies every year with this light and flaky crust. When my Mom doesn't use this recipe and instead makes a Dutch crumble top for her pies, I always get a serious case of the pouty face because Uncle Paul's pie crust is just that good (and I also dislike the crumble topping).

Anyway, here is the recipe that is helping to propel me toward being more domestic and can help you too:

Uncle Paul's Pie Crust

1 and 1/2  cup flour

2 - 3 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

-Mix, then add:

1/2 cup canola oil

3 - 4 Tbs. milk

Mix and roll out very thinly between two sheets of either wax paper or Saran Wrap. Don't handle it too much - the cooler it stays, the better. Press into pie pan.

Make your pie the usual way. Cover the edges of the pie with tinfoil to prevent them from getting burned.

An expat Thanksgiving...times two

For Americans, Thanksgiving is a time to spend with those who are special and to be thankful, of course. Thanksgiving is a truly American holiday and besides Christmas, it's when most* US stores and businesses are closed so people can spend time with family and friends.

This is the second time in my life when I've been thousands of miles away from my family for Thanksgiving. The first time, I was a student in a suburb of London (England). I spent the evening with two of my friends, who also happened to be American. We took the train to London and ate dinner at Cheers (yes, it's based on the show!). As we walked through the park and to Buckingham Palace after dinner, I called my family to wish them a happy holiday. It was a neat experience.

That was thirteen years ago. I now live in Germany and faced another Thanksgiving far from my hometown. It was not a lonely Thanksgiving, though; thanks to the connection that expats feel and to my friend's kindness, a bunch of us gathered at her place for a lovely meal on Thursday evening. We had a late dinner since only the two Americans had the day off. It was to be quite an international event, with Americans (just two of us), friends originally from the UK (the largest group there, strangely enough, and I teased them that we had this holiday because the Pilgrims had been trying to get away from their forefathers), a Romanian, and some Germans. It was really fun to share our holiday with them.

In the wonderful way that merging social circles goes, my friends from town were also invited along. My two groups of friends met through a party at my place and then at subsequent events.  We left for Heidelberg a bit early and dropped off the pies that I made (more to follow about them in a future entry!) and some of ingredients for the other dishes I was going to prepare. Then, we headed to downtown Heidelberg to take a peek at the Christmas market. It hadn't officially opened yet but the booths were open, regardless. It was very pleasant to wander through them and not have to fight crowds.

Since it was going to be a few hours yet before dinner and I hadn't eaten much all day, I grabbed an ice cream cone from Gelato Go. It was quite cold out so it makes total sense to eat something even colder, huh? I don't always make the wisest choices in this regard but I didn't care because the ice cream was delicious! I ordered a scoop of marizpan (I think) and a scoop of Spekulatius, which had bits of chopped cookie of the same name. I forgot how huge the scoops of ice cream are there so I had quite a bit to eat! Some people complain about the price for the ice cream (mine was 2,20 euro for the two scoops) but I don't think that the prices are bad considering how much they give per scoop and that their offerings are organic. There are even vegan offerings!

We walked around a bit more and I did some scouting for the upcoming trip that I'll be taking there with my cousins, who will be visiting from the US in December. It was then time to head back for the dinner.

In addition to the pies I made, I prepared green bean casserole (which I personally detest, but it's such a typical dish that I felt that I needed to make it or else I'd be denying my Midwestern roots). I also made a dish of seared brussels sprouts with gorgonzola, pecans, and cranberries from this recipe. If I were to do it over, I'd probably bake or steam the sprouts first, then sear them in a pan, adding the cranberries almost at the end. I felt that they were slightly bitter since they didn't cook as much. The cranberries split open so that's why I'd add them later. It was a tasty dish, nonetheless, and I wouldn't mind adding it to my painfully slowly expanding repertoire of things I cook for events.

This was our hostess's first time cooking a turkey. She made a gourmet turkey, taking the time to prepare it in a brine. I don't usually eat meat, myself, but I took a small bite and it was quite nice, flavorful and moist. The meat eaters raved about it.

As we sat down to eat, I told the guests that we had to do our very special and typical American Thanksgiving ritual: a special prayer, okay even for the nonbelievers. We even taught the guests the super important hand gestures too. It went as follows: rub a dub dub (rubbing one's belly); thanks for the grub (holding hand out); yea god (doing jazz hands). I wish I could have had a video of this.

We then commenced to eat way too much and it was entirely delicious! Our hostess made a wonderful meal, pulling out all the stops with homemade cranberry relish, cornmeal stuffing, mashed potatoes with bacon (for which I will always make an amendment to my usual disinterest in eating meat), homemade cornbread muffins with bacon and sundried tomatoes, a lovely salad, my side dishes, and for dessert, a cheesecake she made and my pies (pumpkin and apple).

The company was lovely and the food delicious. My friends commented that they didn't that they have ever been so full before! Just before midnight, the three of us who live in Kaiserslautern waddled back to the train station to go home. I was in bed by 2 a.m. It's funny because the last time I celebrated Thanksgiving abroad, I was out really late too. In the US, I'm usually in bed by 10 p.m. after Thanksgiving festivities, probably because of the food coma.

The fun doesn't stop here, though. Another friend invited me to his Thanksgiving celebration, which will be today. Most of the other guests are Germans so it made sense to have it on a day that they wouldn't be working or in school. I purposefully didn't eat much on Friday because I needed a break in between two days of feasts. I must say, though, that I feel lucky to have such great company :)


*too bad it's not all of them! This is an example of where the US can really take an example from the Germans and allow everyone to celebrate holidays with their families instead serving corporate greed.

Some Hallo-weenies!

I saw a cute recipe for "mummified" hotdogs for Halloween. Since I was going to attend a Halloween party I thought I'd give them a try and bring them as a treat.

The recipe is really easy; click here to see it. All it requires is hot dogs and crescent rolls. I bought both and made my own mummy dogs. I lack any domestic ability and they turned out well and people at the party thought that they were fun. If I made them again, I might want the crescent rolls to be a bit colder so they'd be easier to cut, but beyond that, it was easy.

Ready to be baked.

Baked. Got a bit well done.

The one thing that gets me about the original recipe is that the author says that these are part of a healthy meal. I'm not sure on which planet a meat concoction filled with sulfates covered in high fat pastry is healthy, but once I let go of that skepticism, I thought these were quite fun to make and take to a party.

Further obsession at the Kaiserslautern Wochenmarkt

Om nom nom nom.

This will be my upcoming week of delicious eats, for sure, thanks to my visit today to the Wochenmarkt (we'd call it a farmers' market) in downtown Kaiserslautern.

I picked up some goodies: 3 (!) cauliflowers to make the most delicious, cheesy, vegan baked cauliflower dish ever, two bottles of new wine (called Federweisser here), kale (oh goodness, I can't wait! I almost want to delay my trip to Heidelberg for Herbstfest so I can have a kale feast), and feta cheese with herbs. I had to practically waddle home because I stuffed two cauliflowers in my backpack and the rest I clumsily carried in my arms. All was well, though.

I bought some different varieties of my favorites. Last time, I had curly kale (or Grünkohl in German). This week, I bought Schwartzkohl, which has a broader, flatter leaf. Even though it's "black kale," it's not really black; it's just a darker green. I prefer curly kale, but believe me, I'm not giving up any kale opportunities and black kale is still delicious.

I also tried a new type of cauliflower and it's super funky looking! The middle part is green and it's spiky. I tried some and it tastes just like regular cauliflower. It's called cauliflower romanesco, or Roman cauliflower. I have read that when it's raw, it tastes like cauliflower, but when it's cooked, it tastes like broccoli. It will be interesting to try this frankenflower!

I rounded out my trip by buying some red (rot) new wine, too. I have tried the white and I think it's only fair that I also try the red. Of course, I didn't want the white new wine to feel left out, so I bought a bottle of that, too. It is a good excuse to have friends over for some delicious harvests from the season.

In which I eat cauliflower for a week straight...and love it

I found a vegan recipe for cauliflower baked with a "cheesy" coating of nutritional yeast at the Delighted Momma blog; click here for the recipe. It was so delicious that I have been eating it all week (in addition to the kale that has become my obsession). I know it's kind of weird to eat the same thing all week, but I never try to pretend that I'm normal (I find it boring). I'm also lazy about grocery shopping, especially for fresh produce, so I will buy a lot of one thing and be stuck eating it all week. This recipe was a pleasure to eat though.

The main yum-ifying (is that a word?) ingredient is the nutritional yeast. I know, that name does not sound appetizing at all. However, it truly is tasty and is a great way to get a cheesy taste while keeping recipes vegan. Plus, it's packed with vitamins and minerals and is more healthful than is regular cheese. Delighted Momma has written up more benefits and ways to use it here.

It's possible to buy nutritional yeast at  most health food stores in the US. I'm not sure if it's possible to buy it in Germany; I find the health food stores here a bit daunting because of my lack of German language skills. One common brand is Bragg's. I buy my nutritional yeast from Amazon; I find the prices to be a bit lower and I bought the one pound Hoosier Hill Farm container, which was about $16.* It seems rather expensive, but a little goes a long way and to me, it's worth it to replace high fat cheese.

I also learned an awesome tip about cauliflower (and possibly broccoli too): it's possible to eat the whole head of it! I used to throw away the outer leaves and stem, but now I use all of it except for the really tough veins on the leaves. Those seem to take forever to cook to the point where they'd be tender enough to eat. I especially adore the leaves after baking them; they remind me of kale and they're so delicious and crispy.


*I hope this doesn't come as an advertisement; I don't get anything out of mentioning this, other than helping readers find it if they want it.

Amazing Knoblauch at the KL farmers' market

I am having some friends over for dinner this week so I thought I should stop by the Kaiserslautern farmers' market for some fresh produce. I haven't been home much at all this summer and have been missing locals events, like the market.

At the market, I picked up some garlic, or Knoblauch. It seemed a bit expensive at about two euros for a head of garlic, but I wasn't in the mood to stop at the grocery store so I ponied up the money and was on my merry way.

I'm glad that I did! I used some for lunch and it was great. I've never bought such fresh garlic before; I usually buy it at the supermarket and who knows how long it's been sitting there? This garlic was so fresh that the peels were still supple and not yet papery.

Well played, farmers' market; well played.

Domesticity fail and acting like a weird American, rolled into one

I just couldn't help myself: I was making cupcakes for a party. I had already put on my awesome Dia De Los Muertos cooking apron when I realized that I had left the cupcake mix in the car. I didn't want to take the apron off, so I went outside to get the mix and kept the apron on. Since everyone is nosy around here, I'm quite sure that I had an audience. If anyone asks, I'll say I did it because I'm American, not weird. Around here, that pretty much means the same thing anyway. I just wish that I had on high heels and pearls to go with the apron and the t-shirt and shorts. It would be a typical "ATW is Trying to Be Domestic" outfit.

The back story is as such: I'm not a very domestic person, nor am I a girly girl. However, I feel that it's important to have a wide range of skills and knowledge, so I try my hand at cookery from time to time. Such aspirations have yielded varied results. 

My coworkers erupted in laughter one time when I told them that because I am not domestic, I decided to make up for that by wearing a (faux) pearl necklace and high heels with my shorts and t-shirt when I was baking cookies. I wanted to see how the housewives of the 1950s felt when they were cooking, minus the dress, conical bra and corset, of course.

The results? It was amusing for the time that I made the cookies. However, I wouldn't want to make a habit of it. Plus, I'm not fond of wearing any shoes in the house and I'm clumsy, so traipsing around in high heels and being overly domestic just isn't going to happen, never mind my clumsiness and the inherent danger of wearing anything other than flat soles.