Zucchini Garlic Soup with Prosciutto-Feta Grilled Cheese

I discovered this recipe at the Kitchn today and it sounded delicious. Monday has become something of "soup and sandwich" night for Artur and I, so it fit the bill. I started out by heading to Aldi and picking up the only two ingredients I didn't already have (and i am not one with a well
stocked pantry...): Zucchini and Onions (I usually have onions, actually..)

Then I went to work. I started out by melting a hunk of butter and sweating 9 cloves of chopped garlic and 4 sliced shallots until soft. (the recipe does call for onions, but as we walking europeans know.. toting a 3 kilo bag of onions along with the rest of the shopping can do a number on your muscles. So I sprung for the much smaller bag of shallots).

Then, I grabbed my oh-so-handy "cucumber cutter" and mandolined all six zucchinis into the pot. Flew by like a breeze.

I let those babies cook away under cover and, in the meantime, boiled water in my Wasserkocher and dissolved two cubes of chicken boilloin. I really wish they sold cans of chicken broth in Germany!! But these fancy schmancy organic cubes did the trick just as well.

Once the Zucchini was soft, I let everything simmer and mingle for about 15 minutes. The recipe calls for 45...but I was HUNGRY! Then off to the blender in three batches and voilà!

While the soup was simmering, I assembled my sandwiches by thawing whole wheat Toastbrot and slicing my delicious chunk of marinated feta from our neighborhood "middle eastern market" and combining yellow tomatoes and prociutto.

Then off into the pan! I grilled the sandwiches (butter side out, like any good grilled cheese deserves) until toasty and plated everything up. The soup got an extra dose of "crema di balsamico" (my absolute favorite easy gourmet condiment) and fresh chives and dill. Absolutely delicious.

Change and Chili

As part of my new "blog structure update" I will now be posting, as part of my "finger-licking tuesdays" a recipe or delicious food experience weekly.

Today, I present, (drum roll)… patriotic Obama Chili to accompany the inauguration day ceremony. Obama posted his "family" Chili recipe and I'm going to try it out.

We expats sure don't have it easy when it comes to watching events live on TV. I still have a headache when I think of my day of work after the election, having stayed up until 6am to watch the acceptance speech. The Steelers big win at home against the Ravens on Sunday night kept me up until 3:30, and I fell asleep before the end (shame on me). The Superbowl will be a long one as well (HERE WE GO STEELERS!). But this time, we lucked out. I'll be heading home from work today at 4pm just in time to whip up a batch of Chili and settle onto the couch for an evening of patriotic pride (finally).

Obama Family Chili Recipe

1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
Several cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey or beef
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground oregano
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground basil
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Several tomatoes, depending on size, chopped
1 can red kidney beans

We'll start with the shopping, something we expats all know isn't an easy task for American recipes. The veggies should be no problem, the kidney beans either. I'll have to fudge the spices a bit (I could probably find everything, but I'm not sure I want to buy it all…), ground meat, tomatoes… looks like we're in the clear. The cheddar cheese might break the bank, but I'm sure a nice emmentaler would taste great too. Now it's time to go shopping!




Saute onions, green pepper and garlic in olive oil until soft.

Add ground meat and brown.

Combine spices together into a mixture, then add to ground meat.

Add red wine vinegar.

Add tomatoes and let simmer, until tomatoes cook down.

Add kidney beans and cook for a few more minutes.

Serve over white or brown rice. Garnish with grated cheddar cheese, onions and sour cream.


All the cooking went on during the ceremony. I seeded peppers during the vice presidential oath, and during the presidential oath, I, appropriately, cut onions. My tears were plentiful, to say the least. During the speech I quickly browned the meat and threw in the tomatoes, spices and vinegar and then I ran to the sofa to let myself be swept up in the tone and cheers of history.

The Chili was a hit, served with Fresh Whiskey Sours, and I am so happy that the Bush years are over and a new time has begun. Cheers!