Pharisäer Coffee Cocktail- Real German Cuisine Challenge

So, back on the horse. After skipping out on last week's challenge, I managed to raff my self together this week to conjure up the delicious north German coffee-cream-rum treat.

The story of this drink(recipe here) is cute, legend being that the North Sea Germans, fond of coffee but especially fond of rum, thought to mix the two and used whipped cream to hide the sin from the town priest. I, myself, think that whipped cream is sin enough, but apparently it pacified the preacher until he discovered what was hiding underneath all that froth. The townspeople were then denounced as debaucherers with the exclamation "you Pharisees". This is actually a very interesting if not a bitsy bit un-pc remark. See wiki's article: here

My drink was a non political version, and it was easy enough, except that whipping cream is quite a feat for me without a mixer. I managed to splatter it everywhere although I like to think that I burned off at least some of the calories.

I brewed up some delicious espresso in my lovely Italian Caffeteria bought from the market in Padova during my study abroad time there, mixed it up with sugar and then topped it with my hard earned whipped cream.

As an added beautifier, I used a small sieve to dust cocoa over the top. Deeeeelliiiccious. Artur thought so too!!

Kung fu fighting the Märzwinter

I recently read the following advertisement for the "Ninja Umbrella" (pictured below)


Everybody Was Kung Fu Lightning
NINJA UMBRELLA

Rain: Ninja. You are but a mere mortal and no match for my powerful torrent. Do you surrender?

Ninja: Ah, Rain. You are a most worthy opponent and teacher. But I will never surrender.

This is what I need for Munich's March weather. There is apparently a weather phenomenon called Märzwinter bringing the ridiculously cold temperatures and miserable cloudy melty slushy snow blizzardness that has been the last two weeks.

We are currently suffering under the reign of the low pressure system named "Herbert". That's right, they name them here. Maybe it's just Germany's way of dealing with the bad weather. At any rate, it turns out that they've been naming their high and low pressure systems since 1954. At first, all the high pressure systems got male names and the low pressure systems got female names. But then the feminist groups got (rightly) riled up because the bad weather systems were all female, and now the naming procedure alternates yearly.

Also, you can adopt weather systems for your special someone here complete with name and information packet. Too bad valentines day is over.

At any rate, bad weather like this is an excuse for EVERYTHING. Especially not blogging. Or tweeting. Or not making Sauerbraten (guilt!!). I will, however, be venturing to Südbad today to try our their aquafitness course. I have developed a liking for water aerobics.. I'll let you know if that amps up my life motivation, but until then, I will still grumble about the weather.

The B-word

There's been so much going on lately in German current events that I've been sticking with my cooking activities and shying away from any real commentary. But perhaps It's time to delve in a bit.

The most shocking of all the events lately was, of course, the school shooting at Winnendon. As an American living in Germany, this kind of horrible occurrence brings to mind the analysis (and Michael Moore films) that followed the Columbine disaster, all of which seemed to believe that such an event was a purely American creation, coming not only from such relaxed gun control laws but also from some kind of intrinsic cultural violence. Since then, this has been proven wrong and the western world has had its share of similar sad and horrifying incidents. Of course it's only natural to ask such questions as "why us" or "why here" and then "how can we prevent this" and "who is to blame". This discussion has been circulating in Germany for the week or so since the shootings and there is, of course, discussion of stronger gun laws or punishing the father for not locking up his gun. I, too, found myself blaming and questioning, wondering how this could happen in a place like Germany, where I often consider myself to be so insulated from the "dangers" of the outside world.

I also wonder, as an American, if these events aren't probably instigated by globalized media and violence, by a certain illusion of a community and a retreat into a virtual, far away world where such actions seem accepted. The concept of alienation from one's own culture due to rapid changes in that culture, anomia, is a term used in the study of socio-ethnic conflicts. In such a globalized, interconnected world, this phenomena is becoming ever more wide spread. Rapid societal changes instigates instability and insecurity and the ever changing world around causes a sense of isolation from one's surroundings. This term may not be directly applicable to the various psychological analyses of the shooter, but I think it describes the state of many societies right now. Those who are estranged by their rapidly individualistic and quickly changing culture do have an outlet, the internet, where they can try to find acceptance and a group which understands them. But what happens when that very group is one that encourages such acts, and takes participants further away from any sort of value sets or societal moral standards?

Another recent bit of news is that German youths are more right-leaning than ever, and are showing especially pronounced rates of xenophobia and hostility towards foreigners. It's no wonder, in tough economic times, in times where societal problems are nearly always blamed on the "others".

Blame. Finding someone to Blame. The Bush years were about Blame. Blaming the terrorists, the Muslims, the axis of evil. For the shootings, we blame the school, the parents, the gun laws. In this economy, some people blame foreigners for taking their jobs away, for working for lower pay, for ruining the economy. I'm starting to think that, in hard times, the best thing to do is to stay away from the B-word, and think about our own contribution to the solution.

In one of my classes, we are learning about the ZOP method of project planning (Zielorientierte Projektplanung), where, in order to solve a problem, a list of smaller problems that make up the bigger problem is made and put into a "cause-effect" tree. Then, the biggest "original problem" is chosen, the one that is the cause of most of the other problems. And here comes the important step: you turn the problem around into a formulation of what the situation will look like when the problem is solved. This is your goal. Example problem: the education system in Germany divides up the "classes" too early. Example goal situation: a flexible system where students are fostered in their strengths and helped with their weaknesses without a distinct "separation" at any point.

I think this method is a very good way to turn around blame and take real action. Find the root of the problem, and make it into a goal. Then, strive towards that goal.

If anything, I am hopeful for the triumph my American optimism…

Root Soup - Wurzelsuppe - Real German Cuisine Challenge

Welcome to the fifth week of the Real German Cuisine Challenge! After Semmelknödel mit Pilzen, Rahmgulasch, Käsespätzle and Apfelstrudel, his week was an easy, straighforward (and nutritious!) soup from the Schleswig-Holstein region (far faaarrr north). Get the recipe here

The whole thing began by measuring out the ingredients. Thank goodness for my scale (and here's a glimpse of the ugly but taste German "Celery" which is actually celery root.

And everything sliced
This is me. With my leek. My big giant leek. That inspired me to play baseball. Maybe I'm homesick... but in the end, i'm a pittsburgh gal... we're steelers fans, after all.
Everything got tossed into the pot, and cuddled up with some sizzling butter for five minutes or so. Then in with the stock, on with the top, and I let it simmer away! I used those cubes of veggie broth... (gasp!) because I just don't have homemade stock. Does anyone have a good easy recipe that I can freeze?
Then the whole thing went into my beautiful Philips blender (a birthday present from Artur). The thing doesn't shoot the blending stuff into the air like most, instead it makes a lovely blending tornado. Look! And it has lovely blue lights, kind of like the blender version of a VW Golf.
The a nice glob of Cremè Freiche and some dill and... TADA! Easy monday dinner. I used frozen dill from the grocery store to garnish... a great alternative to always buying (or raising) your own!

BTW, I met Christina from Amiexpat and her lovely husband and adorable son last thursday (on her birthday, what an honor!) and it was lots of fun to chat with a fellow blogger! We talked about German TV and the school system...two favorite gripe topics of mine. Perhaps a future blog post in the making...

Next, I'll be telling you about my spring project for the apartment: a balcony veggie garden! (perhaps some fresh dill is in sights..)

Weird quirks that I have developed while living in Germany:

• Irrepressible need to take off my shoes and change into house shoes when entering my or someone else's home
• Penchant for cold cuts for breakfast
• Need to frequently "air out" a room
• Frustration at trains and subways that are more than 2 minutes late
• Answering the telephone simply with "Flechtner" instead of "hello"
• Constantly carrying cloth shopping bags with me
• Giving exact change when paying for anything
• Buying overpriced Sunday night wine at the gas station
• Checking grocery stores and discounters for their weekly specials and, when I find something I like, buying it all right away. After all, they won't have it anymore in 24 hours.
• Buying every piece of outdoor wear possible. Yes, I have a rain suit.
• Using the German keyboard and getting frustrated when I'm at home any I keep typing Emilz and crayz!
• Getting a headache when the alpine wind "Föhn" is blowing
  

I'm sure there are many more. What are your "weird Germany quirks"?

Apple Strudel - Real German Cuisine Challenge -

Another entry in the Real German Cuisine Challenge being run by Christina from Amiexpat!

I was really scared of this one. Dough. Filling. Baking. Ayayay!

Get the recipe here: Apfelstrudel

But, it was alright. Messy, but not as messy as Käsespätzle.

I started by making the dough, which consisted of piling 250 grams of flour on a board, putting a cracked egg and some oil into the middle, and kneading. And kneading. Well, what I got was sticky hands and very crumbly dough. I'm starting to believe that this cookbook is from a time where chickens laid much larger eggs. Or 250 grams weighed less. Or gravity was different. Anyways, I had to add water to even make it "smooth" like it was supposed to be before adding the water, but after that addition it seemed to be a fairly happy dough.

are those wavy lines?

I painted it with olive oil (I didn't have any vegetable oil) and put it to "rise" under a "warmed" bowl (my warmed bowl was plastic run under hot water… and I am wondering how it was supposed to rise without any yeast. Maybe it was just supposed to rest..)

Then, the apple marathon began. 1.5 kilos of apples. That's 3.3 pounds of apples. That's a lot of peeling. A lot of coring. A lot of chopping. But I have to say, I am so very proud of my very best European kitchen skill: the ability to peel fruits and vegetables in my hand with a paring knife in one long glorious spiral of skin.

This pride and glory got me through the first kilo or so. Afterwards, it was pretty boring. But I made it. The apples got mixed with the spices and then lemon rind and juice, and then came the fun part… rolling out my "risen" (or rather just well rested) dough.

Without a rolling pin. I just don't have one. But my 1 liter thermos which I use regularly for my homemade teas worked just fine. I spread the dough with sour cream and heaped the apple mixture and the plumped raisins on top of it. Oh so many apples and raisins. Then I brought the edges together (a bit of water helped them stick) and, as the directions indicated, "BOLDLY" flipped my strudel.

Then I read the next step "place in a U form into the pan). Hmmmmm. I think my kitchen counters would have to be longer to make a strudel that would by able to form a U. Mine was more like a… like an I! Or a #1! (or an elongated blob...)

Anyways, after brushing it with butter and pouring milk overtop, into the over it went. For an hour. Getting a quick breather with periodic bastings. I also made the Vanilla sauce. But I skipped the beaten egg white step. No mixer, no egg whites (too much work for me…). The sauce tasted delicious but was very liquidy.

All in all a HUGE success. I brought what Artur and I didn't eat for dinner (that's right, apflestrudel for dinner)… to work, where it was promptly gobbled up and I was serenaded with stories of various regional versions of apple strudel from my German colleagues.

All I have left to say is "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…"

Real German Cuisine Challenge—Käsespätzle (or: the attack of the killer slugs)

I want to say right off the bat: this recipe was really funny. Hilarious. And it made a giant mess. Get this hilarious messy recipe made as part of the Real German Cuisine Challenge here.

I didn't have a spätzle press, so after mixing up the dough, browning the onions and boiling the water, I had quite a time of "spätzlehobeln" as I clumsily tried to use my knife to scrape delicate portions of the dough into the water.

What I got, instead, were giant spätzle blobs. They kind of looked like big slugs. Not very appetizing. I thought it was rather hilarious, though.

I also had problems with the dough. The amount of water called for didn't even absorb the flour, so I had to keep adding until it had any reasonable consistency. Then, it was very sticky. I basically developed the technique of running my knife under water after every third spätzle to keep them from sticking.

I got better though, and as the layers formed in the pan, they started looking more and more like the spätzle I know. Last but not least I topped everything with the onions and extra cheese, and the final creation was yummy. But the smaller noodles were definitely better.

Lessons learned:
GET A SPÄTZLE PRESS!
Onions browned in butter taste DELICIOUS and i'm sure they would spruce up any dish
Giant Spätzle slugs are also yummy... a bit tough, with a "robust" quality
This dish can be reheated. Reheated. And reheated. And gets better every time.
German food is hard. Schwabian women are amazing.

I'm kind of scared for Apfel Strudel. But a wise woman once sang: cream colored posies and crisp apple strudel...when the dog bites, when the bee stings... i simply remember my favorite things. And then I don't feel soooooo baaaaaaaaaaaddddddddd! (sorry. gotta love sound of music. why else do you think i moved here? found out too late that it's austria...)

PS: I really enjoyed reading my fellow challenger's recipes! Thanks especially to Christine and Yelli!