Swabian Night

One of my dear friends is leaving Tuesday to move make to Germany.  It truly makes me sad since I feel like she just moved here.  In order to keep from being too sad, a group of us got together last night to enjoy delicacies from the German region of SWABIA (PLUS SOME FLAMMKUCHEN).

Recipe to come soon

We made schnitzel and spätzle and a mushroom sauce to go with them both.  Schnitzel is a breaded boneless pork chop.  Spätzle is an egg noodle that is often served with a sauce or gravy, but I have had them with caramelized onions and cheese also.

I have previously learned to make the sauce and schnitzel but I have wanted to learn about the spätzlel. In fact, my friend’s mom sent my own spätzle shaker. I will say that it was quite fun to make and resulted in lots of laughs as we worked to get the “dough” or “batter” in the right consistency.

While there were two Germans present to help us with making the batter, I think it was a first time for the whole group to make our own noodle. Since my shaker only holds the portion for two, we made the batter in a bowl and just used the shaker to shape the batter into strings over a pot of boiling water.

After a few tweaks, we nailed the consistency of the batter and quickly cooked all of our noodles.

While I did not manage to take a picture of the finished product, I was lucky that my friend took a picture of her plate with her iphone.  Sadly, the schnitzel is missing since she does not eat meat.

I think too much about food

1. It is officially fall in Heart of Dixie.  I broke out the crockpot this weekend and made this bolognese sauce. I will say that this one was no where near as good as my usual but way more time consuming recipe.  Think that I am going to try this one soon. If that fails, I think I will just return to my usual one that is similar to this link.  But I will make mine in a large batch to freeze smaller portions for later. 

2. Since I have broken out the slow cooker, I am wanting to make a pot roast.  I do not follow a recipe anymore but I do add way way way more carrots that anyone else thinks is normal since nothing tastes better to me than carrots roasted in beef drippings.  I will try and write out a recipe when I make this next weekend.

3. This point led me to retitle the post since it seems that everything will revolve around food today.  When it is cool, all I want is french onion soup.  I have been making my grandfather’s recipe since I was in elementary school.  It cannot be beat. What is better than caramelized onions, beef broth, cheese and a crusty piece of bread all served piping hot?  I will try and document this recipe soon. 

4. I have one of my supper clubs this weekend, but I have not decided what to make.  I am supposed to bring a green side dish (not a salad).  I am thinking brusel sprouts or fresh green beans.  If you have any suggestions, feel free to shoot them to me before Tuesday Morning.  

Have a great Sunday!

Living Like a Hobo

While packing up my former house, my friends definitely made fun of me for owning almost every kitchen gadget known to man.  I will have to say that while that was not true, but I do have more than most …

Dreaming of Fall Foods

One of the things I love about fall is the abundance of food that Warms the Soul!  I go through this great desire to have cool weather food as soon as I get a day with the temperature below 70.  It probably does not help that I spend the work day in a sweater all year long because they freeze me there.

While I have not bitten the bullet (because it not really chilly in Dixie YET), I am been scouring the internet for recipes to make as soon as I deem it cool enough. You better believe that I will probably stretch it a little and make some this weekend!

1. I am blessed with many friends that hail from across the pond.  My German friends have introduced me to several foods with which I am now obsessed.  One of these items is spaetzle.  In fact, my friend V’s momma sent me a spaetzle mixer that I plan to use in the next few weeks.  So you ask what spaetzle is?? It is an egg and flour noodle that is cooked in boiling water then can be served with numerous items (Traditionally like Jagerschnitzel – Breaded thin boneless pork chop served with a mushroom cream (or yogurt in my world) sauce).  While I love it the traditional dishes, I am thinking about this grilled steak and spaetzle sauce.

2. Flammkuchen or Tarte Flambée – I first had this in the Alsace region of France on a day trip this past December.  I have been hooked on this ever since then.  I have even made it in the Winter and will probably make it again soon!  It is the combination of delicious caramelized onions, bacon, fromage blanc (quark or farmers cheese), creme fraîche and nutmeg.  It is such a simple dish yet it shines!  I used this recipe, granted I made my own dough similar to this recipe.

Excuse the bad color, but this was the Flammkuchen from the Alsace region. It is what started my obsession!

This is my homemade Flammkuchen. I used farmers cheese since it is similar to fromage blanc and quark.

3. Soups – I am dreaming about Butternut Squash soup this week.  I am debating about trying a new recipe or use my old standby (that is if I can find the old standby).  I also think I am going to make Nigella’s Corn Chowder again! I cannot forget the family french onion soup (unfortunately, I do not follow a recipe anymore and just make it to taste…Maybe I will work on a recipe this year).  Do you have any favorite soups or stews?  Please share I would love to try.

4. Hearty and Meat meals – I am totally drooling over Guinness and Beef Pie made in the slow cooker.  It is definitely on my list to cook real soon!  Also recently, I made this spicy sausage dish.  I tweaked it slightly to suit my needs and will let you know how I altered it. This slow cooker bolognese sauce looks so yummy!

Please share any recipes that make you think of fall!

Being Honest and Moving Forward

I have written and rewritten so many drafts in the past nine months to explain what is happening in my life, but each time I hesitate.  Today that changes!

I am DIVORCED!  I am not really comfortable unloading all of the personal stuff involved on this blog, but I do want to keep it real!  So here is a synopsis of what I have learned so far in 2013:

1. My family is AWESOME!  In fact, I am tearing up just thinking about how wonderful they have been.  They have definitely supported me throughout this whole experience.  I will also say it is not all roses and at different times some of them have momentarily overstepped their boundaries. (But when does that not occur?)

2. I truly have the best friends that anyone could ever want!  I have had more trips, weddings, and dinners than I can count.  They have truly provided the perfect recipe for recovering from the big D… Laughter!

3. Travel needs to be a priority in my life.  I truly have a case of wanderlust that can only be cured with experiences while traveling! 

4. I am stronger than I ever imagined.  I have come out of this experience with a greater understanding of myself.  You might ask what mumbo jumbo I speak?  I know now that I can handle almost everything thrown at me.  That does not mean that I will not sometimes I get overwhelmed.  It does mean that after a QUICK moment of self-pity or freak-out, I put on my big girl undies and tackle the problem at hand.  I will be the first to admit that when it first became apparent that the divorce was inevitable, I was not sure how to get through it.  I started therapy immediately, and I made a conscious decision that this will not define me!

5. I will tell you that before I started my divorce, I thought I knew what to say and somewhat how it felt.  Let me tell you that unless you have done it, you do not not really know what it feels like.  If you have a friend who is going through this I offer this advice: A. That you are sorry that they are going through this and you do not really know how it feels (unless you do!). B. Try to make sure that they are not sitting at home wallowing in self-pity.  Their budget may not allow for nights our, but invite them over for dinner or to go on a walk with you.  Just try to help them take a break from their own reality and enjoy life again.  That does not mean that you should not listen when they need that.  Just do not let them dwell in a negative space!

OK so now that the cat is out of the bag, perhaps I will post more often.  I am not sure where exactly this blog will be going, but hopefully you will stick with me as a I adjust to the new normal.  

Road Trip

I am writing this as I am on the first road trip with my siblings in almost 10 years. My mother’s best friend is lucky enough to be included in this adventure to Charleston. We are 2 hours into the drive and only six more to go.
I think we are going to survive this. Granted I am ditching the crew when we get to Charleston. They have a wedding to attend and I am visiting my friend.
Granted we have the return trip on Sunday so I am thinking I will have enough fam time in the car to last for a while.

Pieces scarve

Pieces scarve (see more floral scarves)

ASOS necklace

ASOS necklace (see more collar necklaces)

Turquoise Wrap by Margaret Elizabeth | Margaret Elizabeth

Turquoise Wrap by Margaret Elizabeth | Margaret Elizabeth (clipped to polyvore.com)

Emerald Cut Drops Green Onyx

Emerald Cut Drops Green Onyx (clipped to polyvore.com)