There are very many reasons people tell me why they do not cook, they feel that they are all correct for them and their lifestyle. Let us look at some of the usual statements:

A time has come in my life where I have to put everything and others aside and look inside myself to find me.

And so my dear readers and my beloved foodie friends, we must also part for 8 weeks.

What better way to leave you all then with something green.

Green is life, spring and nature. Green stands for growth, renewal and health. For healing, for Go and permission to proceed, for going back to what is true to you. Green points to emotions and feelings including hope and heartfelt connections. Dream interpretations associated with green suggest that you ask yourself the following 3 questions:

• What is calling you to grow and get closer to your true self?
• What in your life or your personality is just starting to blossom and needs a bit of attention to fully develop?
• What aspects of yourself or parts of your life do you need to heal the most?

These sound like the right 3 questions for me just now.

So I take leave from you with a lovely green recipe while I embark on my journey of self-reflection and healing.

Be happy and safe my Dears and I will see you again in June.
Love, Karin

Fresh Pea and Wild Garlic Minted Soup
Serve hot or cold

Ingredients:

• 500 grams of unshelled fresh peas (substitute 350 grams fresh frozen peas if not available)
• 1 bunch of wild garlic also know as bear’s garlic, ransoms, or wood garlic
• 1 leek – green part
• 2 medium-sized potatoes
• 2 sprigs of cilantro
• 2 sprigs of tarragon
• 3 sprigs of mint
• 2 spring onions – white parts
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 liter / quart of your favorite vegetable broth
• ½ washed organic lemon – juice and peel – zest the ½ lemon
• 125 ml / ½ cup of cream
• salt & fresh ground pepper

Putting it all together:

Shell and wash fresh peas (or remove frozen peas from the freezer and defrost in a sieve to remove excess water). Wash the wild garlic and divide in to 2 bunches – chop one bunch and set the other aside for later. Peel the spring onions and chop.

Wash and chop the other herbs reserving 1 sprig of mint removing the stems. Peel and chop the leeks and place them in a bowl of water to thoroughly remove the sand. Peel, wash and chop the potatoes.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a soup pot, add the spring onion and stir-fry them 2 minutes so the do not burn. Add the peas, potatoes, leeks the herbs and the chopped wild garlic. Stir-fry again about 3 minutes.

Add the broth and the lemon zest and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to a simmer.

Cover and simmer (lightly bubbling) for 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and purée carefully with an immersion blender taking care not to burn yourself. Add salt & pepper and lemon juice.

Return to the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a lightly bubbling simmer and cook down without a lid for 10 minutes to thicken.

In the meantime cut the remaining ½ bunch of wild garlic into strips and chop the leaves from the remaining mint sprig. Mix together and reserve one handful for serving.

Remove soup from the heat, stir in cream and wild garlic strips and the mint. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve in bowls with crusty bread and reserved strips for decoration.

You can also cool it and serve it cold like Vichyssoise.

Aside from being a famous Frankfurt dish, with origins going back 2000 years to Roman times, Green Sauce is said to be one of the famous German writer, artist, biologist and theoretical physicist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who was born and lived in Frankfurt, favorite dishes. His profile can even be seen on the traditional white paper rolled packages that contain the famous 7 herbs: parsley, chives, sorrel, garden cress, chervil, borage and pimpernel. And although the herbs may vary depending on the season to include for example spinach leaves, any Frankfurt citizen will tell you that it will never, ever include dill, basil or tarragon. When Goethe moved to Weimar to become the chief advisor to Grand Duke Carl August, he is said to have had his mother make his beloved Green Sauce for Maundy Thursday and have it sent to Weimar by coach.

In Germany, Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Good Friday is called Grün Donnerstag – Green Thursday. It is a Christian feast, which marks the last supper that Jesus held with his apostles.

Green Thursday is also the official opening day for selling the packages of herbs for Green Sauce as one should traditionally eat green things (no meat or fish) on Green Thursday, the season then continues on until the first Autumn frost; with the herbs varying as mentioned above according to seasonal changes.

Frankfurt Green Sauce is traditionally grown in the Frankfurt quarter of Oberrad, across the Main River in the south east. 15 nurseries grow and package the herbs which are then sold throughout Germany on Green Thursday and in the State of Hesse throughout the entire growing season.

Each nursery has its own logo and recipe on the traditional white paper roll, designed especially to protect the herbs. At the market, each package you buy is opened for you so that you may see the freshness and whether there are enough herbs in it. If this is not the case, a handful of fresh herbs is added, and the package is once again rolled-up for transportation.

Since May 2007, Oberrad even sports a special Green Sauce monument to commemorate it’s tradition. An association to protect Green Sauce was founded by the 15 nurseries in Oberrad, who have been petitioning the European Union for the protection of Green Sauce with its original combination guidelines.

On Green Thursday, Green Sauce, which is served in many variations, is made up of the chopped herbs, mayonnaise, sour cream or yoghurt or curd cheese, chopped hard boiled eggs, lemon juice, salt and pepper, chopped pickles and onion but never, ever garlic! is served with boiled potatoes and halved hard boiled eggs. On other occasions you can find it on all menus of Frankfurt’s traditional Apfelwein restaurants, served with boiled beef or the traditional egg, accompanied by fried or boiled potatoes.

You can find the recipe including variations and the way Goethe preferred it on every package or in The Best of Hessian Food available at Amazon.

Where are the chocolate eggs I hear you saying? They’re coming now, I promise.

Since Easter wouldn’t be Easter without eggs or chocolate or chocolate eggs, I would like to invite you to visit another traditional Frankfurt culinary highlight, the Konditorei Amendt, located in the Hügelstrasse 177. This confectionary and pastry shop looks back on 80 years of history and tradition and is now run in the 3^th generation by Patrick and Susanne Amendt. Having changed locations several times throughout Frankfurt over the years due to bombings in the Second World War and city reconstruction in the 70’s, they have now been very successfully located in the Hügelstrasse in the Escherheimer quarter, due north of the Main River, for 29 years.

Patrick destined to take over the pastry shop from his parents, met Susanne who also comes from a family of confectioners, when they were both completing their Master training in Heidelberg. Susanne also underwent training in Paris to learn the secrets of French patisserie.

Today their shop and café, offers chocolates, cakes, pastries and cookies for every occasion and I can truly say that their cakes taste like home-baked ones. Susanne always laughs when I say this and says: “of course they do, why shouldn’t they.” It is this belief that she shares with her husband along with high-quality ingredients and a good balance of tradition and creativity that makes all their creations a delight to the palate. The most difficult part is in choosing amongst so much selection.

So when in Frankfurt, slurp some Apfelwein eat some Green Sauce in traditional Sachsenhausen, south of the Main River or “drib de Bach” as Hessians say, for example at our favorite apple wine restaurant Fichtekränzi and then head on over to Konditorei Amendt by convenient public transportation for dessert and some yummy souvenirs.
Particularly lovely are the delicate Easter eggs or the cute marzipan duckies, their cakes and petits fours are delightful on any occasion. Oh and by the way they have lactose-free cake too, hurrah for me!!

Happy Easter from Frankfurt am Main, Germany!!

Are we prepared to accept the challenge? Are we ready to enjoy and revel in the greenness of the new grass sprouting? The pretty flowers and the budding fruit trees. Are we ready to leave winter’s cold and downtrodden thoughts behind?
Nature is challenging us. To think hard. To take a closer look in order to find the sprouting newness. But also to take care by putting on a warm coat for the morning remains of the still frosty nights.

Spots of color, morning birdsong, clearer early light, and bluer skies are calling to us: to take up the challenge, embrace the newness, see the opportunities.

I say: I am ready, bring it on!! I’m done with the sadness and cold of winter, ready for the cheery newness, prepared for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

And while we wait for spring to believe us, to turn on the April showers that bring May flowers, we still yearn for the comfort of hearty dishes to take the chill off that settles like the frosty evening dew, or the cool wind that catches us when we walk in the shade.

But the time for heavy stews and casseroles is behind us, we need something that is comforting but light and like spring tastes of the promise of the delightful summer treats ahead. Not beef, or lamb, or pork or chicken, but something we don’t make a thousand times, something different.

I chose rabbit.

Rabbit is a light meat with almost no fat and therefore perfect for stewing. Letting the sauce develop its own tasty glory by mingling the flavors of new fennel and carrots, the old winter favorite leeks, the tastiness of marinated olives and a fresh white wine. With no fat except some tasty bacon, some early olive oil. No need to skim or congeal and reheat. Light, tasty, warming.

Perfect for spring and new beginnings!

Rabbit Stew with White Wine, Carrots, Fennel and Olives

Rabbit Stew with White Wine, Carrots, Fennel and Olives

Inspired among others by “Pot Roasted Rabbit” by Giulia Scarpaleggia of Jul’s Kitchen in My Grandma’s Recipes
Ingredients:

•  1 Rabbit cut into stewing pieces – about 2.5 pounds serves approx. 4 persons
  *This equals 7 pieces, if you don’t have a whole rabbit, you can also use 6 fore and hind legs. We do not like innards but if you do you can add the liver to the stew during cooking

•  2 TBSPs very fresh and light olive oil (preferably young)
• 50 grams of cubed bacon or raw dry cured ham
• 2 carrots
• 1 leek
• 1 fennel bulb
• 1 pickled red pepper (skinned and in jarred in oil or water rather then pickled)
• 3 small onion or 2 medium-sized ones – peeled and chopped
• 1 clove of garlic – peeled and chopped
• 200 grams of your favorite green olives (stone in)
  *preferably marinated ones that have been “slashed”, you can also slash them yourself by making 2 cuts into the olives so they absorb the liquid when cooking

• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, 1 twig of fresh thyme and oregano, washed and finely chopped – if you don’t have fresh herbs use 1 tsp of “herbes de Provence”
• 1 sprig of cilantro washed and chopped – optional because not everyone likes cilantro
• 1 pinch or more of chili flakes
• 1 tsp of garam masala
• ¼ tsp of pimenton (smoked paprika)
• ½ washed and chopped organic lemon
• 1 cup of light white wine
• 400 ml low-fat chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 TBSPs of flour
• 2 TBSPs tomato paste
• sea salt
• ground black pepper
• 3 laurel leaves

For preparing/marinating the rabbit:
Enough cold water to cover the rabbit pieces, ½ washed organic lemon (juiced), 3 laurel leaves

Putting it all together:

 1 hour before cooking the stew – 2 hours before serving:
Fill a large pot or bowl with very cold water. Pour in the lemon juice and the lemon itself, add the laurel leaves and the rabbit pieces. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Then:

Peel, chop and wash in a bowl of water the carrots, leek and fennel bulb.
Chop the bacon or ham into small cubes, cut the pepper, drain and slash the olives if needed.

About 20 minutes before the rabbit has finished soaking:
Heat a large casserole with 1 TBSP of the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, and bacon. Stir-fry about 3 minutes taking care with the heat that the bacon doesn’t burn but only browns. Add the carrots, fennel leek and fresh chopped herbs. Stir-fry a further 5 minutes until the vegetables are shinny.

Add the white wine and bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes to boil off the alcohol. Add the broth and the olives, bring back to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and carefully pour the vegetables and sauce into another bowl or pot. Set aside.

Wipe out the casserole with a paper towel, return it to medium heat and add a further TBSP of olive oil.
Remove the rabbit from the refrigerator and place the pot/bowl next to the stove. When the oil is hot, remove the rabbit piece by piece from the water, shake off the excess water and place the meat in the hot oil. Fit the pieces so that they fit in one layer. Let them brown until they no longer stick to the bottom (about 4-5 minutes). The pot will spit and make noises as the water from the rabbit is cooked off – don’t worry but watch the pot and adjust the heat if needed. When the pieces no longer stick to the bottom, sprinkle them with sea salt and pepper and turn the pieces over to brown them on the other side in the same way. Again sprinkles with salt and pepper.

When the pieces no longer stick to the bottom of the pan, lower the heat, sprinkle the pieces with the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to evenly distribute the flour – about 3 minutes. Add the pimenton, garam masala and the tomato paste. Stir-fry another 2 minutes and remove from the heat.

Pour the reserved vegetables and broth over the pieces. Stir and return to the heat. Bring back to a boil stirring all along to incorporate the flour into the sauce, scraping the bottom so nothing sticks. Lower the heat to simmering, then cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to turn the rabbit pieces over so that they cook evenly.

After 1 hour turn off the heat and let sit with the top on. If need be reheat before serving.

Serve with mashed or cubed broth potatoes, or noodles, kasha or anything that will absorb the delicious sauce.

P.S. We had leftover stew so I removed the meat from the bones and added it to the rest of the sauce and vegetables to warm up the next day.

Come on Spring bring it on now, my tummy is full and I’m ready for the challenge!!

These are just some of the questions that were answered when I visited the 1^st “Land & Genuss (Country & Indulgence)” fair. The Fair was organized by the DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts- Gesellschaft – German Agricultural Society) which was founded in the year 1885. Today the Society has over 24,000 members and is a leading organization in the agricultural and food sectors who’s motto is to give impulses for progress focussing on such activities as: knowledge transfer, trade exhibitions, machinery and farm input tests, and food tests.

In Germany a reborn interest in country living along with the expansion of urban gardening and the general boom of gourmet cooking with specialized produce, lead the DLG and their cooperation partners and sponsors to give this new fair a whirl.

There was something for everyone at this fair along with an educational and entertaining side, and most visitors I spoke to felt that the 10 € per adult or 18 € family fee was well invested in an interesting and yummy day or afternoon.

My interest was definitely on the food side, looking for new ingredients, inspiration while also seeing what impulses can be found in the German culinary scene whose reputation isn’t as high as that of its neighbouring countries which is quite unfair since Germany has much to offer and the focus on healthy and sustainable products rises from both an interest in healthy living and as a growing and worthy industry. The German products which included charcuterie and game products, natural cheeses and interesting condiments, vinegars and wines were complimented by products from Italy, Austria, and Switzerland along with exotic teas, spices and fruits from farther away.

Many stands offered products that can normally only be ordered online and the sellers I spoke to were very pleased with peoples’ interest, the amount of products they sold at their stands and the tasty advertising they accomplished.
The combination of fresh produce and tourism was also an important topic at the fair particularly for those producers from the former East German states. Here, country life is still more authentic, most regions are still unknown to tourists although the food, landscapes and less expensive lodgings have much to offer. From the Region of the Lusatia (Lausitz in German), a former agicultural cooperative Kuh-Käse-Kilowatt continued on after the wall came down, modernized in 1999 and now also produces energy from natural biogas along with delicious cheeses from the milk of their 300 cows and calves. You can visit the cooperative, pet the cows and see how cheese is made. Also from that region I bought tender dried and smoked raw wild boar ham, absolutely delicious. The men working there were friendly, pleased with the visitors’ interest in their products and their region, answered all the questions and gladly gave out samples of their wares.  They were a good example of the type of combination exhibitor the fair was aiming to bring together with consumers.

Agrotourism is very popular in Germany as more and more city families choose to vacation in special farms that are holiday retreats and give their kids opportunities to see where food comes from, play with “real” domestic animals and enjoy healthy fresh air. Many booths represented these special “resorts” mostly through regional organizations that can also be found online. Families enjoy these results as they meet other families from all across Europe and their kids literally sow their wild oats.

As I mentioned before the growth of urban gardening has also led to new designs and materials for everything from mini greenhouses, special fruit and vegetable vats for your city balcony, to robot lawn mowers for the busy Frankfurt investment banker. All this could be seen inside and outside at the Land&Genuss fair. Fancy handmade BBQ grills such as those from Feuerdesign that run on wood and will warm you and let you grill your veggies or even fry your eggs all at the same time raised much interest from the BBQ enthusiastic German audience. Insect hotels for restablizing beneficial insects in your garden could be built or bought, beekeeping and honeymaking safely explored.

Last but not least, there were live cooking session sponsored by the cooks from the Frankfurt Genuss Akademie, educational fun & games offered by the DLG, beehiving and honey-making lessons, more German, French and Italian wine to taste than you could possibly sample in one day, you could even order your custom-made whirlpool, the height of country living?

Domestic animals including: cows, calves, a horse 3 sheep, 2 goats, 3 large hens and darling little piglets gave the kids and adults an opportunity to take a closer look at and catch a whiff of country air. And even the calves were far different and much larger then the cow milking dummies in the fair’s educational area.

Along with very interesting conversations, I also enjoyed the best and purest white tea from Teekenner and the quirky mixtures and exotic packaging from Spice for Life and I can highly recommend all the creative and resourceful products such as the orange and vanilla vinegar, the raspberry honey or the sesame oils from Vanilleladen.

And I will hold dear my autographed card from Sina the Rose Queen from Steinfurth were I submitted a new rose name to win 2 entry tickets to the special Steinfurther Rosenfest- the Rose Festival – to be held this year on July 13th – 16th – I hope to see you there. When asked what you needed to do to become a Rose queen, Sina told me that aside from being from Steinfurth you had to know all about roses but most children who grow up in Steinfurth start helping in the rose fields at the early age of five. Sina was gracious, pretty and knew all about roses. A worthy Rose Queen and a pretty additional to this potpourri fair.

I would say the fair was a success for all involved and I hope to tell you more about the 2^nd Land&Genuss that will hopefully take place in Frankfurt again next year.
P.S. Interesting magazines in German only on Country Living and Recipes can be found here: Landlust and LandGenuss.

The move went like a whirlwind – 6 weeks from the initial apartment visit to actually living in our new place. It was exhasting, in parts frustrating, definitely expensive as moving can be. But the best part is:

I LOVE THE NEW APARTMENT!

I love the light, the warmth, being on one floor instead of 4, having parquet under my feet, the stunning views, being back so close to the city, and having so many public transportation options to choose from.

And of course I am learning to love my new kitchen. It is a slow love, that needs ripening and nurturing. It is based on practicle things such as induction cooking and a steam oven rather than the warmth of gas and the glow of my old copper pots. It is also sometimes a love of convenience like an arranged marriage that needs to settle in and learn to appreciate the good points of such a matching.

It is not just the appliances and cookware that I miss, it is also the space. The kitchen in our old house was approx. 24 square meters large – my kitchen now has 480 cm length but only 175 cm width a total of 8.4 square meters. A closet, a tube, do they even make submarine kitchens this small in width? We bought new cupboards and appliances, and had a cabinet maker do the best possible job. And I brought along my beloved refrigerator. But it is still strange to me that when I bend over the pots drawer, my bottom opens the cabinet behind me. LOL! I take it with humor and just push back.

But that is how it is. You take the good with the not so good and make the very best of it. I am learning new cooking methods and who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

I think I am going to definitely love my steamer oven – it was my biggest wish and I got it and it is a Miele – simply the best!

So to celebrate all this newness here are 2 delicious recipes I cooked in my new kitchen with my new appliances.

Steamed seabass with estragon oil and lemon butter sauce and an adaptation of Gordon Ramsay’s soufflé: goat cheese, spinach and leek soufflé. Lighte and airy with a touch of lemon zest fantastic with the steamed fish and great the next day cold on a bulky roll.

Steamed Seabass with Estragon oil and Estragon Lemon Butter Sauce – read recipe below

Steamed Seabass with Estragon oil and Estragon Lemon Butter Sauce
Ingredients:

• 3-4 or more Seabass filets
• Estragon oil – I get mine from the wonderful http://www.frankfurter-senfgalerie.de/
• sea salt & fresh ground pepper
  For the sauce:
• 2 TBSP butter
• juice of one lemon
• 4 sprigs of fresh estragon
• sea salt & fresh ground pepper

Putting it all together:

Wash the filets in very cold water and remove any stray fishbones. Pat them dry with paper towels. Cover the perforated steamer tray with foil and lay them on it. Place the tray over a non-perforated one.
Grind sea salt and pepper over the filets and then use a pastry brush to apply a coating of estragon oil.
Place the fish in the middle of the steamer oven.
Heat the steamer oven to 100° C / 212° F and then steam for 4 minutes. Leave the filets in the turned off steamer for another 2 minutes.
In the meantime, melt the butter in a sauce pan, add the lemon juice (if it is a lot of juice: add 1/2 and then more according to taste), grind in sea salt and pepper. Wash the estragon and using your kitchen scissors snip in the estragon. Do you boil!! Swirl it around to mix and transfer to a sauce warmer.
Serve the filets with the sauce on the side or spooned over the fish.

Goat Cheese, Spinach and Leek Soufflé
adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s “Spinach and Goat Cheese soufflé”
Ingredients:

• 2 cups / 400 grams of pre-cooked, thawed or steamed fresh spinach leaves
• 2 leeks, hard outer leaves removed so that the whites and light greens remain
• 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of dried oregano
• 3 TBSP olive oil
• 1 shallot peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 clove of garlic peeled finely chopped
• zest of 1/2 of a washed organic lemon
• 1 heaping TBSP of flour
• 1 grind of cayenne pepper or 1-2 pinches of cayenne flakes to taste
• 2/3 cup / 160 ml of skin-milk (I used 1.5 % lactose-free)
• 1/3 cup / 80 ml of light cream (I use lactose-free)
• 1 cup / 200 grams of soft goat cheese
• 2 TBSP grated Pecorino with or without peppercorns; you may use Parmesan
• 4 large eggs separated
• softened butter for the ramekins

Putting it all together:

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C / 390°F . Brush 8 ramekins or one large soufflé dish with soft butter. Put them on the baking tray and cool for 15 minutes.

Wash the leeks and finely chop them into thin slices. Place the slices in water so as to remove any sand. Wash several times if necessary. Then drain well.
Squeeze the spinach again well, so as to remove any remaining water and roughly chop.

Heat 2 TBSPs olive oil in a medium saucepan and add the shallot and garlic. Stir over medium heat for 4 minutes until soft and then add the leeks, the spinach, the cinnamon, the oregano, sea salt and pepper, the cayenne and the lemon zest.  Stir until mixed and warmed through about 4 minutes over medium heat. Remove to a bowl and let cool, set the pan aside. When the mixture is cooler add the egg yolks and mix well.
Return the pan to the heat with the remaining 1 TBSP of oilve oil. Add the flour and stir over low heat 3-4 minutes until smooth and bubbly. Remove from the heat and gently add the milk and cream stirring constantly. Return to the heat and simmer and stir until the mixture is thick and smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool somewhat. When cooler add the goat cheese and the Pecorino. Stir well to combine.
Add this sauce to the spinach mixture and combine well. Set aside.

Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with an electric mixer until they hold firm peaks, then fold them gently and slowly into the spinach mixture until just combined, don’t overmix and keep it airy. Best done with a fork.

Spoon into the prepared ramekins or soufflé dish and tap gently on the work surface to get rid of any air pockets. Run the tip of a small knife around the edge of each one.

Bake for 16 minutes and then let stand with oven off and without opening the door for another 4 minutes until risen and golden brown on top.

Serve immediately. Soufflés will deflate slightly when removed from the oven.

Eat any leftovers cold on a bulky roll. Or reheat for 8 minutes in amedium oven. Yum and more……

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 wineClams 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!!

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.

A new wind is blowing for me, it is calling me to grow once again, to bend and change, to adjust and develop, to listen and to lead, to imagine and inspire.

My biggest sacrifice is in relinquishing my “ballroom-like kitchen” with its gorgeous window and my beloved Italian Modena gas stove and my adored copper tri-ply pots from Caphalon… sniff..

My new – think empty – kitchen is 480 cm long and 176 cm wide – yikes, no, no I don’t want to speak or think about it until it has been installed – the story is long and difficult and I am going to trust my husband to fix the situation and have the kitchen installed just the way I want it – basta!

In the meantime selling off my kitchen has been a really sobering experience. I have learned that *SURPRISE* you can’t influence who is buying your stuff. You have to let go. Even when your beloved things are carried out the door by strangers with very different lives from yours.

So here I am, amid boxes and my son’s red couch with spaces where kitchen units used to be, making my kitchen look like the mouth of missing teeth on a 7 year old.

We are eating out of the freezer, the shrimp and the veal filet, the duck breast and the sea bass, the last pack of snails in the top corner under the ice cubes, and spinach, lots of spinach. Life could be worse.

But this Saturday I went to the open market in the rain and then to the Turkish market store. And between my boxes, and spices on the floor, with my beautiful pots, on my excellent stove I made this salad – for me, for my family, for you. Enjoy it, it is delicious!

P. S. If you want to buy my stove or my pots let me know! They are my beloved and it would be good to know them in skilled hands.

Eggplant, Tomato, Mozzarella Salad with Sesame Cashew Crunch
Ingredients:

• 3 medium-small or 2 medium eggplants
• 250 grams of date-shaped tomatoes – or cherry tomatoes
• 250 grams buffalo mozzarella
• 3 sprigs of fresh cilantro
• 2 sprigs of fresh mint leaves
• 2 TBSP of blueberry cream vinegar
• 1 tsp of pomegranate sour syrup
• 2 TBSP of vegetable oil or mild olive or sunflower oil
• 1 TBSP passion-fruit vinegar or other fruity exotic vinegar
• Juice of ½ fresh lime
• 2 TBSP of cashew nuts plain not salted, roughly chopped
• 1 TBSP of sesame seeds plain or Asian-roasted
• 1 TBSP butter
• 1 TBSP sugar
• Salt & pepper
• Middle-Eastern spice mixture (containing coriander seeds, garlic, cumin, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, etc.)
• Chili flakes to taste
• Mixed salad greens for serving and crusty bread

Putting it all together:
Preheat the oven to 175° C / 350° C.

Wash the eggplants and dry them, poke them several times all over with a sharp fork and rub them lightly with olive oil. Place them in the preheated oven on parchment paper and bake until wrinkly about 40 minutes.

After the eggplants have been baking about 30 minutes, begin preparing the salad as below:

In a large and pretty salad bowl mix the blueberry vinegar, pomegranate syrup and the lime juice. Add the salt, pepper, several grinds of the Middle-Eastern spice mixture, chili flakes and the oil, beat well with a whisk.

Wash and slice the tomatoes in half, cube the mozzarella, wash and remove the stems from the cilantro and mint and chop it roughly with a sharp knife, add all these things to the bowl with the dressing and mix well.

Remove the eggplants from the oven and let them cool about 5 minutes so that they are cool enough to handle. Chop off the stem and squeeze the eggplant with both hands (opening down) over the sink so as to squeeze out as much of the bitter water as possible.

Transfer the drained eggplant to a cutting board and remove the skin that comes off easily by hand – you can leave some on no problem or all of it if your prefer.

Cube the drained eggplant and add to the salad bowl, mixing as you go along. Continue with the other eggplant. Let rest while you make the crunch.

Heat a non-stick pan slowly having added the chopped cashews and the sesame seeds. Stir and heat on low about 4 minutes until fragrant. Add the sugar and continue stirring to coat the nuts another 3 minutes, lower the temperature some more and stirring constantly so as not to burn: add the butter, ½ teaspoon of salt and some ground pepper. Continue cooking until well coated and sticky about 3 minutes more. Turn off the heat, let rest for 1 minute and add to the salad.  Mix well. Pour the 1 TBSP of passion-fruit vinegar over the salad, mix and adjust the seasoning.  Serve over salad greens with crusty bread!

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.

Faithless rightly says:

“Friend what is it that you seek
What is it that you try to find
Someday I hope you realized
It shined in you all the time.
Hills to climb, sights to see, seas to cross,
Friends to make, hands to shake, the world is yours,
Foods to taste, sounds to hear, love to feel,
Seeds to sew, things to know, fish to reel,
Space to quiz, stones to lift, life’s a gift”

Thank you Faithless, may I follow the path of your wise words and welcome 2012…. bring it on!!!

xoxo K

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