Mid-week Spaghetti

The menu has been pretty light this week and I'm running out of groceries -- I guess that's what $65 gets you these days.

Sunday: Pizza
Monday: Lemon Herb Chicken, Broccolini, Krautersuppe (with added Peas and Bacon)
Tuesday: Balsamic Pork Tenderloin, Parboiled potatoes
Wednesday: Homemade Spaghetti

Kind of uninspired but all freshly made. The Kratersuppe (which means Herb Soup) was from a German Knorr packet and by itself was really bland. Think of a white sauce with herbs that include dill. Yuck. So, we added cooked bacon and peas...marvelous! It rocked!!

Ryan put up holiday lights on our house -- they look fantastic! He ran to the store to get two more strings to wrap it a bit more around the house. He's such a crafty boy.

Oh -- we've been in quite a movie mood...we watched Sommersturm, a german coming out film that was really good, and then No Country for Old Men, which was well written and filmed. Pretty darn violent and bloody. I didn't faint, thank god, but pneumatic cattle prods will forever haunt me........

Tschüß!

Thanksgiving Pictures

OK, here are the pictures!



Tschüß!!!

Looooong weekend

Today feels like a Sunday. Got up early, ran to Einstein's for egg sandwiches (and saw Andy Roddick there eating...he is so damn hot in real life!), read the paper, then dinked around on the computer for a while before we showered and went shopping.

I don't like getting up early for the post-Thanksgiving shopping, but I love going to the mall to see how crazy and busy the stores can get. It was fairly busy at 3 when we got to the mall and generally everyone was in a good, albeit dazed, moods. Our Thanksgiving meal was fantastic -- went to Claudia's for an amazing meal followed by some games of Bunco. It's a fun dice game that's been around for a long time. I ended up winning and took 75% of the pot while Ryan lost and took 25% of the pot. Yehawh! $40!

We didn't really take any leftovers home, but were craving some turkey and decided to have a mini-Thanksgiving meal tonight. The turkey breast is in the oven, mashed potatoes are ready to go, glazed carrots will follow, and a nice yummy gravy as well. Drinking a George DuBouef Beaujolais Nouveau and it's pretty damn good. Ryan's sipping on a Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon. We are watching Sommersturm (Summer Storm) a german "coming of age" gay movie. I hope it's good and not too sappy!

Tschüß!!

Erntedankfest

Yes, I know Thanksgiving is a U.S. tradition, but about.com had a fun German Thanksgiving vocabulary quiz. This morning, I chatted with Corinne for a second and she shared a fantastic Pumpkin Waffle recipe with me. I needed something special and it did the trick! Thanks girl!

I'm in the middle of putting my Cranberry Salad together and Ryan is baking his Pumpkin Chiffon pie. A cold front has taken Austin from a high of 89 yesterday to 43...it's cold!! We're going to my cousin's for Thanksgiving dinner and we were instructed to bring some $ for games. Fun, huh? Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Tschüß!

Reisfleischtopf

Reisfleischtopf means "Rice-Meat Casserole" but literally translated means "Rice Meat Pot" and my co-worker, Barb, insists this should be "Reisfleischeintopf." Regardless, this recipe is a keeper. Savory chunks of sirloin tip, a hearty beef and tomato sauce, and swirling thick flavors. It smelled and tasted so good, we forgot to add Parmesan cheese as a topper.

The cookbook continues to thrill me! Our meals are also staying diverse...Italian (Chicken Parm) on Sunday, German on Monday, Mexican (Taco Wreath) on Tuesday...can I keep this up? I hope so!

[EDIT: I had to remove the picture because apparently it looked more like burnt dog food than a genuinely awesome German dish. Humph. It really was good! I'm a good cook! Promise! .....]

I'm working from home today, which will be nice, and then I'm off for the rest of the week.

Tschüß!!

Wir haben viel zu tun!

The holidays are coming quickly -- I'm starting to feel the pressure of finding suitable gifts for my parents, Ryan's parents, etc. While I normally get pegged as the "lazy, uninterested" half of the relationship I honestly have good intentions! I don't know if it's that I lose attention or just plain forget. I'll simply have to work harder this year.

One of my favorite parts of the holiday is all the food and drink that come with it. We're going to my cousin's house for Thanksgiving and I volunteered to bring the wine -- mostly because I love picking it out, hoping it matches the food, and then enjoying drinking it. While at Specs, a really neat "beverage store" in Austin, I also picked up a Pinot Noir from the Alsace region in France...it's to the west of Baden -- where my Spätburgunder comes from...and it was fantastic. The winery was "Secret Valley" and Iiked it's dry solidity quite a bit.

Last night, I made Chicken Parmesan (it was really good!) and we watched Transamerica. Went to bed around 12:30 and woke up to another grey day. Today should be a good amount of shopping...

Tschüß!

We Got Shagged! (It's art, really)

When we decided to buy this house, we knew that we'd have to start investing a bit more in art. One of our favorite artists is "Shag," who specializes in 60s-type drawings. He is absolutely amazing! Well, Ryan found a triptic collection that we both really liked and started trying to find a place to purchase some prints.




Come to find out, "Worrybirds" was on display exclusively at a gallery in Madrid, Spain. So, Ryan e-mails them...finds out they have 33 signed, hand-pulled serigraph sets... and buys them. We also asked for numbers that matched. A couple of weeks later they arrived in a tube and we whisked them for framing. Now, they are hung and add an incredible quality to the main room.





Amazing find, Mr. Ryan!

Tschüß!!!

Pilz Knödel

I love German packaging -- last night, trying to bring some order back to our kitchen, I put together a meal that also included "Pilz Knödel" which are these amazing dumpling-type balls that include pieces of bread, mushrooms, etc. Think of taking Stove Top, getting it wet, smashing it together in a tight ball and cooking it. It has more potatoes than Stove Top but you get the idea.

We bought some that had smaller Knödel in it -- but since each ball needs to be in a pouch that keeps them together and allows boiling water to get through...these came in their own plastic pouches with two holes for your fingers and a perforation down the center to release it after cooking. Ingenious!!

They were delicious. Last night was a joy -- being home with my hubby, watching some tv, and eating good food. Work today was a bitch but that's to be expected some days.

Tschüß!!

Back in Austin

I love Austin. I was seriously missing some home time -- I loved my trip and had a fantastic time...but there is nothing like coming home, cooking some good grub, and getting ready to watch "Dancing with the Stars." It was sad to leave this morning, but I feel like this trip was the right amount of time and I accomplished all that I wanted to: spend some quality time with Mom and Dad, hang with my brothers and their families, see the new doggie, spend some time with Ryan's parents, and then have a brunch outing (courtesy of my friend Ann and her husband -- Ann used to be my boss but will always be a fantastic friend).

Yesterday was a blast -- family dinner, a Sunday staple, and there was singing, gaming, eating, laughing, caking (?), and simply a lot of fun. We also got to do some family pictures...although we're missing the older three siblings and their family -- this is the core family that make up my High School and College memories.



My flight was fairly early, so I had a quick start to the day -- but my energy peaked on the plane and I did four Deutsch lessons and feel like I made some great progress. Now, I'm cooking turkey filet minions, roasted carrots, a salad, Pilz Knödel, und Drei Pfeffer Soße. I'm a nut! (Ich bin ein Nuße! Okay, that's not quite right...)

If you would like to see the photo album of the trip, then...

2007-11: Salt Lake City

Tschüß!!!

Hometown and Doubt

Bountiful, my hometown, is relatively unchanged. There are improvements, new restaurants, planned developments...but mostly, it's the same old suburban neighborhood I grew up in. It's a gorgeous time of year -- my parent's huge maple tree has dropped all of its paper-sized golden yellow leaves and they sit in massive natural piles in the backyard. It's nippy but not freezing. A quick breeze this morning wiped the pollution out of the sky; however, seeing the refineries in North Salt Lake were shocking -- I forget how close they are and how much crap the spew into the air.

Highlight of yesterday -- Siegfrieds. It's a german restaurant and store smack in the middle of downtown. And it was SO good! I had Hungarian Goulash as well as Gurken-Tomaten Salat. Also bought some Kinder chocolate, which was fantastic. I wish Texas had a nice restaurant like that...for all the "Germans" it's surprisingly sparse on culture. They had a large cold cuts section and all these older ladies would do their orders...all auf Deutsch. Cute!!

Last night, we went with my parent's neighbors to "Doubt," a play at Pioneer Theater Company up on campus. It was nice to be back on the U campus and the play was very good. My parents and their neighbors have been going there for about a decade, and we made desserts afterwards. Fun.

Today, we're going to Hires for burgers and then to the University art museum -- Mark is coming up with Sara and Ella (Mark did come for lunch yesterday -- he's such a neat brother) and then tonight we're going to dinner with Ryan's parents. I miss them big time and will be happy to spend time with them.

I did drive by the high school and saw the musical is "Thoroughly Modern Millie"...ah, I have such a soft spot for high school musicals. :)

Arriving and Surprises

I'm in my old room in my parent's house. Strange! Last time I came back I stayed with Ryan's parents, since my parent's house was full of other siblings. The flight was fine, Dad picked me up and we went to Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. It was very good -- it's always good. Not as good as I remembered it, but I suppose my tastes have changed a bit.

While waiting for a table, I hear "Scott??" from behind me and low-and-behold Lia is standing there. Holy shit, I could not believe it. We had JUST arrived there, I hadn't been in Utah for more than 20 minutes. It was so great to see her! We had a brief chat together, saw her incredibly beautiful girls, and then their table was ready. I didn't really announce to many that I was coming and it's such a short trip, I don't know if I will be able to see her. But, I am hoping that I don't stay away too long next time.

Ooohhh .... half-price books!

I finally went to "Half Price Books," an Austin institution, and found a treasure trove of German language books...also found a history of King Ludwig II, the King who built Neuschwanstein Castle in Bayern. I'll be bringing it with me on the trip, definitely!

Tschüß!!

Going to Utah

After packing in too many hours into too few days, I'm heading to Utah for a visit. I haven't been back since July 2005 and really owed my parents this visit. I haven't seen them since April 2006 (I think?) so it's been far too long. I am looking forward to it because I won't have the ghost of living there messing with my head like it did last time. This visit is just for them and that's all I'm going to focus on.

Last night, we went on 'date night' to The Woodland...I love a good meatloaf and theirs was awesome. Ryan had the porkchop. We sat on barstools and brushed feet. :)

Deutsches Umfrage

A few weeks ago, I was poking around www.db.de, the website for Deutsche Bahn, and somehow clicked on a survey...alles in Deutsch. I figured most of it out, using my dictionary for help.

Then, I receive an e-mail asking me to setup my profile on this Market Research company's site - so I do. I now get surveys every week or so, asking my opinion on different things...today's was quite thorough and asked about my Getränke (beverage) preferences, etc. It's actually an amazing language lesson for me! I did get tired after a while...was looking up way too many words.

Grete's spay operation went very well -- I stayed home yesterday to watch her and she's been sleeping it all off. I feel bad having to do that but know it's the right thing to do. Now we need to watch what she eats so she doesn't gain a million pounds and turn into Garfield.

Our friend, Mary, called me yesterday and asked if I would help her save a table at a bar for a game later that day -- I was so happy she called! Of course, I said, especially if drinks are involved and acceptable at 2:30 p.m.! Afterwards, we're going to Melissa and Robert's house for dinner -- should be a great night!

Last night, we were SO LOCAL I couldn't stand it -- we walked 1/2 block to the nearby Mexican Restaurant, called Sazon, and it was awesome -- listening to live music, ate queso, and both had great dishes. After, we mozied another half block to Horseshoe Lounge for a beer -- it was packed. Had a nice chat and then walked through the backdoor (like regulars) down the back alley, and across the street to our house. I love this neighborhood!

Tschüß!