I love clams! The remind of my childhood in New England and the smell of the Atlantic Ocean in the winter.

Although we often can get fresh vongole mussels from Italy, real clams are a rare treat. These clams came all the way from New Zealand but were as fresh and delicious as could be.

Clams are easy and quick to make and eating them is pleasing, sloppy and fun. At least in my family.

Their preparation is based on the classic French way with julienned carrots and celery and wine, but I have added a pieces of lard which really brings out the salty sea flavor and make delicious sauce for wiping up with baguette.

So if you see clams in the fish store or market and they are very fresh buy them and a piece of lard, some carrots and celery,  a bottle of white or rose, 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, compliment with  a crusty baguette and you will have a quick and scrumptious meal. We had ours for brunch.

Clams in lard, carrots, celery, rosemary and white wine
Ingredients:

• 1-2 kilos of clams
• 50-100 grams of lard or bacon if you can’t get lard – chopped into small pieces
• 2 carrots, washed peeled and grated on the large side
• 1-2 sticks of celery, washed peeled, chopped into small pieces
• 1-2 TBSPs of tomato paste
• 2 cups of wine – white or rose
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 sprigs of rosemary – washed and needle removed and roughly chopped to release their flavor
• 1/2 tsp of sea salt & ground pepper

Putting it all together:

- Wash the clams 2-3 times in lots of fresh water, scrub if sandy, discard clams that won’t close when squeezed.
- Place a large stock pot with a lid on the stove.
- Put the lard in the pot and use medium heat to release the fat without burning it it should not be too brown, add the carrots, celery, rosemary and garlic.
- Stir and cook until the carrots are soft about 4 minutes adding the wine as you go along.
- Add the sea salt,  ground pepper and the tomato paste. Mix well and cover with the lid. Cook on medium heat for 4 minutes without opening the lid bringing everything to a good boil.
- Remove the clams from the water and check again for ones that won’t close, discard them.
- Lift the lid and dump the clams in, stir a few times so the clams are covered in the mixture. Put the lid back on and steam for 4-5 minutes until clams are opened – shking the pot once or twice in between.
- Try a clam one, they should be done and juicy but no longer translucent. Don’t over cook or the will be like rubber.
- Put the pot on the table and ladle into soup bowls with the vegetables and lots of the sauce. Make sure to put a bowl on the table for tossing in the empty shells! And lots of napkins!!

Enjoy the clams and the sauce. yuuummmmm!!

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I am going to move soon. Again, for about the 30^th time. Honestly. If you include moving Transatlantic for 3 months every summer and returning to a new house, a new apartment, maybe a new city usually a new school, every year for 16 years.

I am happy about this move though. It feels like the most important one to me.

Friends, colleagues and neighbors shake their heads in disbelief that I should want to move from my own rented four storey house with fours bedrooms and 3 baths, a terrace, a garage and a garden into a 4.25 room apartment, into a hideous building next to the highway on the 10^th floor.

But I knew, I knew the minute I walked into that apartment that it was going to save me. Save me from gloom and accusations, the hardships of unemployment and endless responsibilities on my shoulders. It would lead me into peace, voluntary family solitude and light. I am ready, we are ready as a family to make a new start.

We are sorting and tossing and donating. At times with ease and at others with excruciation over each object with love, a story, a memory. For me, my son or my husband.

It makes me feel good and light. This reducing to the quintessence of the gatherings of my life since June 1977 when I arrived in Germany with 2 suitcases and my father’s expired French passport with my picture as his daughter in it and my own US one. And, as of 1989, of my life with my husband and since 1997 with our son.

I am throwing off the hardships, the depressions and the struggles, the unhappiness and the strenuous moments, the useless stuff bought in frustration, the superfluous or the unwanted are being discarded. Some of it is sold, some goes to the dump and the precious is given to the darling ladies at Caritas in Hoechst near where we live to brighten the lives of others less fortunate than we are.

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2012. it is here. FINALLY!!!!!!!
It has ended my winter of discontent, severed my endless contract with dark and dingey taking me on to light and newness. One last evening in our house alone with my beloved, cleaning out, reviewing and discarding the superfluous in the search for less.. my selfgiven motto: less is more.The thoughts of the last months often keeping me from sleep are best described by lyrics from dear Faithless in their song:

I want more

“A bum could rummage through ya bin
And live like a king
On just one crumb o’ya cake
N’ya say ya life needs fulfilling
Some would give anything to live like you
Shame your mind, don’t shine
Like your possessions do.
Whining, complaining all the time,
Don’t see no rain on you
What side your bread is buttered on
If only you knew

What d’ya mean
I want more”
I want less: less possesions, less worries, less frustration

AND

I want more: more happiness with simple things, more time spent in speaking and listening rather than watching, more statisfaction with what I have, more light, lightness, patience, understanding and tolerance.

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Dear Readers, Foodies, Followers, Fans… yes all of you,

Thank you for sharing the culinary and discovery world I viewed this year! I hope you had the holidays you expected and are feeling revived.

Now it’s time to blow out this dusty old year and bring on the new.

I’m ready for a change ….

Roll in well my friends, see you next year!

karin@yumandmore

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I don’t like soft-boiled, hard-boiled or fried eggs. But I adore poached eggs on a sandwich without béchamel sauce or spinach, but rather in a crusty roll, loaded with cheese and other delicacies.

To make our poached eggs special this weekend we dug into our stash of Tuscan culinary souvenirs: the fresh pepper pecorino and the wild boar polpa (cured ham) bought in Pienza. This special poached egg sandwich Tuscany also has a slice of apple lightly fried in butter and honey-mustard.

Fresh-baked Sunday rolls were bought at the bakers, the deep copper frying pan was set on the stove and water brought to a simmer and we were ready to roll.

First we cut paper-thin slices of the fragrant polpa and pepper hot fresh pecorino. Peel and cored the apple, leaving it whole and making about 6 slices of each peeled apple. Heat butter and honey-mustard in a small pan over low heat and let the apple slices soften without falling apart about 5 minutes turning carefully several times. Leave the slices in the pan with the heat off until needed.

The eggs were broken into little bowls each egg in its own bowl. This makes it fun and easy to do with kids, prevents shells in the water or the egg, and makes the whole process easier with less finger-burning and wet sleeves.

So we have the crusty rolls, cut through the middle, on the insides of the rolls we put mustard (everyone has a favorite kind in our house extra-hot, estragon, honey-dijon) you could also put your favorites sauce hot or not, then the wild boar ham (or any other type of ham you enjoy – cured, smoked or baked), and lastly the cheese. In this case pecorino but any delicious cheese that melts well will do.

Have white vinegar (I used estragon), salt and a fresh pepper grinder at the ready.

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Fall is upon us bringing along that special appetite for hearty dishes. Such as cauliflower and other cabbage dishes.
We are not generally fond of flatulent vegetables but we need to eat more veg and less meat and the cauliflowers looked so beautiful at the market that we took one home.

Now how to prepare it? The American way with cheese sauce? German style with breadcrumbs and butter? Indian style?

No, something new. Something sweet but spicy, cream but not cheesy. Something to compliment but also excite through it’s unexpectedness.

Et voila: Cauliflower in Caramelized Pink Onion and Mustard Sauce, good hot but equally good the next day with only exotic passion fruit vinegar added.

I hope you enjoy this yum and more creation, we sure did!

Cauliflower in Caramelized Pink Onion and Mustard Sauce

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What do you write when you have longingly awaited a visit to an area that you have obviously underestimated? When it was better than your dreams? When you can’t find the words to say how inspiring it was and is? When you can’t capture the sounds and smells in a picture to share?

Have you been to Tuscany before? I hadn’t! So many wasted years!

The love of food brought us together for my visit but I fell in love with Tuscany in a different way. The velvety countryside with its swirling fog. The gentleness of the people and their heart-filled warmth for their region, their food, their traditions. Nothing complicated here to disturb the simple pleasures of life: family, friends, beautiful landscapes, a sense of peace and the enjoyment of traditional dishes and beverages that make you groan with pleasure. Everything accompanied by a smile and a good story.

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I wanted to write about Corsica, I wanted to put the new fish recipes online, I wanted to show my pomegranate infused kohlrabi slices….. but I have just been too busy or on the road… grrrrr… it would just have to wait!

But then, this weekend I got unbelievably lucky!

We all battle our weight in my little family but we also adore eating (could there be a connection, dahhh??) and in a weak moment several weeks ago, I broke one of the golden rules and bought a glass of Nutella.

And, after having scratched the itch by dousing my favorite baguette with it shortly after my purchase (like 10 minutes), it has been sitting accusatorily on the counter in the kitchen daring me!

And what better way to dispose of it then to turn it into a decadent dessert and not just any decadent dessert cake no, no not for yum and more, no I had to combine it with cheesecake. If your going to do it, go the whole hog!
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I love Holland. The shrunken landscapes that are huge because of the wide sea sky, the lushness of the fields, the meandering water, the canals, the bikes, the people and yes, the food.

Over the space of 25 years I have visited many places in Holland from Texel island, little towns along the Ijsselmeer, Sneek, Arnheim Maastricht, Amsterdam, Zandvoort and many more. Various cities, towns and regions during all seasons but I had never stayed in beautiful and historically fascinating Nord Brabant.

Therefore our recent trip on the last gorgeous late summer weekend took us to Eindhoven and for a few hours to s’-Hertogenbosch – a place that you have a hard time finding online or on your navigation system because you just don’t know how to spell it. The locals call it Den Bosch.

North Brabant is a region of Holland bordering on Belgium, its capital is ‘s-Hertogenbosch and it’s largest city is Eindhoven. The region’s history reach back to before the middle ages and the former Duchy has gone through a variety of sovereign hands belonging to Holland, Spain, France, the Habsburgs, and the Belgians. It has been under catholic and protestant influence, has dealt with wars, famines, industrialization and revolution.

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