Old German Postcards (Alte Deutsche Postkarten) - #4

Postcard #4: "Segelschüle am Ammersee"
Echte Photographie
Verlag A. Steinbrecht, Diessen

Where I enjoyed 2 weeks leave

Tschüß!

Old German Postcards (Alte Deutsche Postkarten) - #3

Postcard #3: "Town on Ammersee Lake"
Fotostöckel - Hannover 1
Stöckel-Farbfoto-Karte Nr. 5930, Aufn.: Roscher

A town on [A]mmersee lake where I was at rest camp-

I can't fully identify this town - it could be Schondorf but the church in that town is not next to the lake. The next closest fit is Diessen - I have another postcard (#4, forthcoming) of sailing boats and the text "Where I enjoyed 2 weeks leave."

Anyone know?

Tschüß!

Old German Postcards (Alte Deutsche Postkarten) - #2

Postcard #2: "Blick auf den Walchensee"
Die Welt in Farben
Nr. 1612: Farbenaufnahme von Jos. Jul. Schätz
Kunstverlag Georg Michel, Nürnberg-O

On a few of these, my Grandfather write "Emmersee lake" or "south of Emmersee lake" when the true spelling is Ammersee. (Perhaps the military called it something different? I researched on Wikipedia but couldn't find a history of name changes anywhere."


The text says:

A lake south of [A]mmersee lake

I love this picture - it faces southwest, with the Alps in the background (Garmisch-Partenkirchen would be in the valley before the alps). The small town to the right of the outshoot is Walchensee.

Check out this recent photo from a very similar viewpoint.

Tschüß!

Chicken in a Cashew Nut Sauce plus Potatoes in Yogurt Sauce

Oh, yes, that was Valentine's Day dinner! We've had the Chicken in a Cashew Nut Sauce before, but the potato dish was new and well worth it. It's a bit spicy, but I used Anaheim Peppers instead of Jalapeno to keep the heat mid-range, but creamy and a tiny bit tangy.



There is something so unexplainably satisfying about cooking from scratch, especially with lots of spices and unique ingredients. I love having to dig through and pull out all the spices for indian food, using my food processor to pulverize onions, add spices, and then fry it all up.



Over the holidays, we bought a 5 quart Le Creuset pot (on sale at Williams Sonoma, thankfully) and it's awesome! I still use the old one if I have two dishes going in a row, but the Le Creuset is worth the money because it heats evenly, keeps its heat, and makes food delish.

I also baked a cake - German Chocolate Cake - since Valentine's Day is all about a little chocolate. Turned out great, but I should have just baked in a deep pan like my mother since all the frosting on the side slid down and pooled at the bottom. This picture is shortly after it was frosted - you should see it this morning! It's shrugging off its suit!



If a passionate homecooked meal with a chocolate cake wasn't enough celebration of interests, we watched "Strangers on the Train," a 1951 Alfred Hitchcock film based on a Patricia Highsmith (my favorite) book. Great thriller! We also liked that there were two future Bewitched actresses in it, and the mystery that the male lead was born in Salt Lake City, had been committed for psychiatry problems before, and died to an adverse drug reaction given by a psychiatrist one night. Actor/actresses these day are so boring.

Tschüß!

DO NOT OPEN THAT VALENTINE'S CARD!!!

Somehow my feed/blog got hijacked with a fake post - don't click the link as it downloads a file!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Argh!

Photo Recap: Days 12-14, Amsterdam (Europe 2008)

From my journal:

We arrived late - many trains seemed to be running behind - and made our journey to the hotel on tram. Immediately, you are in a beautiful town of great old buildings. Picturesque canals and bikes everywhere. You are also in the center for early 20s hostel travellers looking for a good time. Chance brought us to Amsterdam, so we had no expectations really.

We ritualistically dropped off our bags [at the hotel] and in moments were on the streets hunting for food at 10 p.m. There weren't too many options, places were closing, and we were suffering from not having seen the city in the day.

So we settled - and I swear that I am still paying for it - we went to McDonald's for a 15 euro meal that really wasn't terrific and gave me such terrible [stomach pains] for two days. Ugh!

How romantic...our 12 year anniversary and most of it was on a train and dinner the first night at McDonald's and the second night at a Chinese takeout. Very dutch?

Doesn't matter because we found the cutest place for breakfast the next morning (after only one expensive beer on the Dam plaza) and returned there the next day.

Yes, we did the Red Light district - which was just annoying because of the fake drug pushers - as well as the Rijksmuseum, sobering Anne Frank House, and the Heineken factory tour. But our favorite part was that cafe, around the block from our hotel, and the brief break before the day.





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That concludes the photo recap of our 2008 Europe trip! In honor of our friend Silvia, who has transferred to Milan, I've updated my feature door (upper right) to a clean, modern Milanese door. Ciao ciao ciao ciao ciao.

Tschüß!!

Lasagna Rolls 2009

The last time I posted about Lasagna Rolls I hadn't yet figured out how to keep the noodles from getting soggy or the edges from tearing apart. This time, I had a much better handle on things (well, I just let Ryan cook the noodles for me since he is a human-sized pasta timer) and even tried different lengths or Lasagna noodles to make some fatter and skinnier rolls.



We've made this recipe over the past two years and it never fails! We even do a larger batch so we can freeze a couple for a rainy day. I did cheat out and use store-bought marinara sauce...I seriously just need to make a huge batch of my own and can it. It would be so much cheaper and so much tastier. Mom and Dad - when's your next trip down here?



Hungry yet?



Click here for the recipe.

Tschüß!

Old German Postcards (Alte Deutsche Postkarten) - #1

Both of my grandfathers served in World War II - my maternal g-pa served in the Pacific, and my paternal g-pa served in Europe. A few days ago, I got a package in the mail with a bunch of old postcards and a few pictures - with a note:

Scott,
While going through some boxes in storage I ran across these pictures. Enjoy. G-pa.

My grandparents know how fascinated I am with Germany - I've spent long moments staring at my G-pas authentic stein in their living room (long story about that...). He shipped out just as the war was wrapping up and spent most of his time taking German soldiers back to their hometowns and studying in Freising (just north of München - near the airport). Ryan and I were able to go to Freising for a night in 2006.

Postcard #1: "Typical German Village of the Farm Type"
Stöckel-Farbfoto-Karte Nr. 5948, Aufn: Schlagenhaufer (-Döring)



There are quite a few more and I'm so excited about them I just might post more in the future...

Tschüß!

Peacock Watch Day 9

They were nowhere to be seen yesterday, but one of the three came by this morning and Ryan helped him with a snack.

Tschüß!

Cheater Schweinebraten

On our last trip, we had Schweinebraten no less than three times (as many times as I had Goulash) and it all comes down to pork tasting so good in German cooking. I noticed, though, that many recipes take you on a 2 hour journey that essentially roasts the pork, uses the drippings for gravy, and off you go. But when we ordered it during our trip, it seemed like it was really a pork roast that had not been in the oven and had been first cut into 3/4-inch pieces, sautéed in butter, and then served along Spätzle with a mushroom sauce. Divine!

So, I tried to replicate that off the cuff and did pretty well. Pork roasts are so cheap! Just cut them in 3/4 to 1 inch filets, put some butter in the skillet, and saute them until golden brown (I always use an electronic thermometer to be sure). Don't overdo it, since pork can be cooked "medium" and be safe unlike chicken. Anyone who like their bacon a little on the raw side (Melissa U, I'm talking about you!) can corroborate my story.

In München, we were walking back from the Deutsches Museum on the Tal (just past Isartor) and found the "Maggi Kochstudio"! Also known as the "Haus der MSG" we took a peek at the insane amount of product they have! We are more Knorr boys but couldn't resist not picking up a package of Pffefersoße to bring back with us. We made it this night and it was actually a bit like salty pasty glue! Disappointed.

But the pork turned out great! Onion and broccoli on the side...


A package from my grandpa showed up the other day...full of postcards from Germany that he picked up while serving in WWII. They are so precious and show the various places he lived, including Freising, München, and some places in Österreich! I am excited to share them at some time.

Tschüß!

Peacock Watch Day 8

The other night, they slept high up in our neighbor's tree. They're really quite peaceful guys - they go up and roost right as the sun goes down, but were up and at it before the sun rose. One is definitely the leader, another is moderately docile, and the third is submissive. As I watched them climb this tree, flying from limb to limb, the leader and moderate got very high up, but the third was having some issues. After some time, the third settled in where he was, down a few branches. Later in the day, I saw them nesting down in some torn-down bamboo in my neighbor's hard. As beautiful and bright as their colors are...they certainly camouflaged into my neighbor's various backyard junk.

Here's a video of them on the breezeway between our house and the front house. The "beep" in the background is IsaacBird.



Tschüß!!

Peacock Day 7

Yes, still here.......

Peacock Watch Day 3

Our backyard...

Photo Recap: Days 11-12, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Deutschland (Europe 2008)

The night before we left München to go to Rothenberg, a few guys at the Jodelwirt had said there was a massive snowstorm, people were stuck in their cars, and trains were being diverted. (One guy practiced his business English on me since he now had an American boss and needed to really practice. After we talked for a while, he made a very interesting move (had a bit of an "german efficiency" feel to it) - the conversation hit a lull, so he just said "Thank you," turned back to his table and sat back down with his friends and that was it. Not rude, just abrupt since I had served my purpose and that was that.



No matter to me, we were off to Rothenberg the next day - three train changes and a 15 minute walk from the train station through wet streets and pulling our luggage over cobblestones. The thick, heavy snow was perfect for snowballs and our hotel, the Gasthof Griefen, was spectacularly old and creaky - right in the center of town.

From my journal:

The cutest medieval town you can ever imagine - cobblestones, churches, old buildings, horsedrawn buggies, and OLD WALLS! The best preserved, too, and we literally had it all to ourselves.

After dinner at our hotel, we joined the Nightwatchman tour! as random people gathered in the main square, amongst closing [christmas market] booths and softly falling snow, a dark figure emerges from the street, holding a huge axe-looking thing and a black cloack, with a lantern. Come join the Nightwatchman's tour - it was an awesome tour of the city, with stories about history, love, architecture, and more. We both really loved it and had a drink of Franconian wines after, at "Zum Holle" before hitting the sack.

Other highlights:

* Catching the Nightwatchman giving a tour later that night...in German.
* The Medieval Crime and Punishment Museum.
* Ryan's shoes were officially kaputt (after being soaked through in Ljubljana) and stinky - so we literally ran back and forth between the same 3 stores (on opposite sides of the town) since Size 13 shoes aren't too commonplace. We bought a pair from this cute Polish girl who was still learning German and English. She did know some Japanese and Chinese (the town was very popular with the tour groups). So, the shoes we bought on the last trip in Stuttgart were layed to rest in Rothenberg.




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Tschüß!!