Ordinary People - Alltagsmenschen

The pictures below depict an ensemble of concrete figures entiteld "Alltagsmenschen" ("Ordinary Peolpe") by Christel Lechner, a German ceramist, sculptor and installation artist.

We went to look at this wonderful  installation in the small town of Viersen (Provine of North Rhine-Westphalia) and I took a few pictures. In addition to numerous towns and cities in Germany, Lechner´s whimsical concrete figures have been exhibited in the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria.

Until the end of September, you can look at the installation of about 70 of her "Ordinary People" in the town of Wiedenbrück. Once we have visited Lechner`s exhibits there, I will post more pictures. I think these figures are wonderful and I cannot wait to see more of Lechner`s work very soon.

For more information on the artist, please visit her website at http://www.christel-lechner.de/christel.html or http://dewikipedia.org/wiki/Christel_Lechner (unfortunately only available in German).

May Plaice with Almonds - Maischolle mit Mandeln

At this time of year,  in addition to the regular plaice, you can often find the so-called "May Plaice" (Maischolle) at the fishmonger. As its name implies, the May plaice is only available for four weeks in May and fish lovers appreciate the fine taste of this young fish (fishing grounds are the North Atlantic and the North Sea).

Im schönen Monat Mai kaufe ich gerne mal Maischolle beim Fischhändler meines Vertrauens. Die Maischolle ist keine eigene Schollengattung, sondern die junge Scholle, die, wie der Name schon andeutet, im Mai im Nordatlantik oder in der Nordsee gefangen wird. Eine Maischolle misst etwa 35 bis 45 cm und hat besonders zartes Fleisch.

This recipe showcases the wonderful fish and at the same time combines the elements of two classic dishes. On one hand there is the use of the browned butter, an element from the traditional “sole meunière”, in which the fish, often whole, is sautéed in browned butter. On the other hand, there is the use of almonds, an element from the “sole amandine”, in which the fish is finished with sautéed sliced almonds. For this recipe, the May Plaice with Almonds, you lightly coat the fish fillets with ground almonds, sauté them in browned butter, and serve them with sliced toasted almonds, freshly chopped Italian parsley and some lemon juice to brighten the flavor of the fish.. Please note that the following recipe is meant to serve two, as I usually serve two fillets per person. But of course the recipe can be multiplied. If you have to prepare the fillets in batches, though, it is best to lightly cover the sautéed fillets and keep them in a pre-heated oven (at 150 degrees Celsius) while you fry the remaining fish, using a little extra butter for each subsequent batch. Although you could make the nut mixture earlier in the day or even the day before, the fillets should really be enjoyed as soon as they are cooked. It is also useful to ask your fishmonger to fillet the fish for you - each fillet weighs about 200 grams - all you will have to do then is to prepare this lovely recipe.

Das heutige Rezept lässt diesen wunderbaren Fisch richtig gut zur Geltung kommen und ist eine, wie ich finde, gelungene Kombination von Elementen zweier klassischer Gerichte. Einerseits kennt man ja die Verwendung von brauner Butter, aus der Zubereitung der traditionellen "sole meunière" (Seezunge Müllerinart) in dem der Fisch, gerne auch im Ganzen, in brauner Butter angebraten wird. Anderseits werden ja auch im Rezept für "sole amandine", Mandelblättchen in Butter gebräunt und an den fertigen Fisch gegeben. Für die Maischolle mit Mandeln werden die delikaten Fischfilets mit gemahlenen Mandeln paniert, dann in brauner Butter angebraten und dann mit gerösteten Mandeln und frisch gehackter großblättriger Petersilie und Zitrone angerichtet. Das folgende Rezept für zwei Personen berechnet. In der Regel serviere ich zwei Filets pro Person. Aber natürlich kann man das Rezept beliebig verdoppeln. Falls man mehr als zwei Portionen zubereiten möchte, ist es ratsam, den jeweils fertigen Fisch im vorgeheizten Ofen bei 150 Grad Celsius, leicht abgedeckt, warmzuhalten. Für jede weitere Portion Fisch muss immer wieder ein wenig neue Butter verwendet werden. Möchten Sie die Maischolle als Filets zubereiten, bitten Sie den Händler, die Maischolle auszulösen. Die ungefähr 200 Gramm schweren Filets muss man dann nur noch zubereiten. Obwohl man die Nuss-Mischung für die Panade auch am Vortag zubereiten kann, sollte die Filets wirklich frisch genossen werden, sobald sie gar sind.

May Plaice with Almonds (serves two) Ingredients for the Fish 50 grams natural almonds, ground 1 tbsp AP (plain) flour grated zest of 1/2 organic lemon, plus some of the juice fine sea salt freshly ground black pepper 4 plaice fillets (2 per person) 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl about 2 tbsp cold butter Ingredients for the Garnish sliced almonds, toasted Italian parsley, chopped lemon wedges (organic, please) Preparation of the Fish Whisk the ground almonds, flour, and zest together and season with salt and pepper. Pat the fish fillets dry. Set up the fish, the egg yolk, and the ground almonds assembly line fashion. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat one side of each fillet with a little of the beaten egg yolk (coat the side that previously had skin.) Dip the coated side of each fillet into the nut mixture. Place a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and a small pinch of salt, if your butter isn’t salted, and cook the butter until it turns light brown, about 3 minutes. Slip the fillets into the skillet, nut side down, without crowding the skillet. Reduce the heat and cook until the coating is golden and the fish is cooked halfway through, 3 minutes or so. Season the exposed side of each fillet with salt and pepper, add another 1/2 tablespoon cold butter to the pan, and very gently turn the fillets. Cook, spooning some of the browned butter over the fillets once or twice, until the fish is opaque throughout, about 2 minutes more. If it looks like the pan is dry, add a little more butter. Give each flounder fillet a squirt of lemon juice, then scatter over some toasted almonds and parsley. Serve with more lemon wedges and enjoy.

Maischolle mit Mandeln (für zwei Portionen) Zutaten für den Fisch 50 Gramm Mandeln, gemahlen 1 EL Mehl geriebene Schale von 1/2 Bio-Zitrone, sowie den Saft etwas feines Meersalz frisch gemahlener schwarzer Pfeffer 4 Maischollenfilets (2 pro Person)  1 Eigelb (L), mit einer Gabel verquirlt zirka 2 EL kalte Butter  Zutaten für die Mandeln Mandelblättchen, leicht geröstet großblättrige Petersilie, gehackt Zitronenspalten (von Bio-Zitronen) Zubereitung der Maischolle Gemahlene Mandeln, Mehl und abgeriebene Zitronenschale mischen. Salzen und pfeffern. Fischfilets abspülen, trockentupfen und leicht salzen. Den Fisch, das verquirlte Eigelb und die Mandelpanade nebeneinander stellen. Mit einem Pinsel jeweils eine Seite der Filets bestreichen – am besten die Seite, auf der die dunkle Haut war. Mit dieser Seite dann in die Mandelpanade legen und andrücken. Eine beschichtete Pfanne erhitzen. Einen EL Butter und ein wenig Salz in die Pfanne geben und auf mittlerer Hitze kochen, bis die Butter eine leicht braune Farbe angenommen hat. Das dauert ungefähr drei Minuten. Fisch darin auf der panierten Seite anbraten. Die Filets dabei nicht zu dicht beieinander in der Pfanne braten. Die Filets brauchen ungefähr drei Minuten. Die unpanierte Seite salzen und pfeffern und dann ½ EL kalte Butter dazu geben und dann ganz vorsichtig wenden. Während der Fisch brät, ein oder zweimal die braune Butter über den Fisch träufeln und die Filets so lange braten bis sie gar sind, das dauert zirka weitere zwei Minuten. Je zwei Fischfilets auf einen Teller geben, über jedes Filet etwas Zitronensaft träufeln, mit den gerösteten Mandelblättchen und der Petersilie garnieren. Zitronenspalten dazu reichen und möglichst sofort servieren.

The plaice is good with simple sides, like boiled potatoes, preferably small new potatoes (tossed in butter, lemon juice and some of the chopped fresh parsley), oven-roasted spring carrots, or steamed spinach. You can also serve a Grilled Asparagus Salad on the side.

Einfache Beilagen wie zum Beispiel Salzkartoffeln, oder kleine neue Kartoffeln, die in Butter, frisch gepresstem Zitronensaft und gehackter Petersilie geschwenkt wurden, oder Frühlings-Möhren und gedünsteter Spinat, passen vorzüglich zu Maischolle.   Aber auch ein Gegrillter Spargelsalat schmeckt wunderbar als Beilage zu der Maischolle.

Grilled Asparagus Salad Ingredients  6 stalks white asparagus, tough ends trimmed, peeled, cooked and cooled freshly ground black pepper some sea salt 1 tbsp white wine vinegar 3 tbsp olive oil, plus some for grilling the asparagus Italian parsley, washed, dried and chopped 1 tbsp capers, rinced 2 tbsp bacon, cubed and fried Preparation Cut the asparagus in half lengthwise and place the halved stalks in a heated and lightly oiled grill pan. Grill for a few minutes. Cool slightly. In a bowl, mix together the pepper, salt, vinegar, and oil. Add the parsley, capers and bacon. Mix. Place the grilled asparagus on a platter, add the vinaigrette, and seson some more with salt and pepper to taste. Serve alongside the May plaice.

Gegrillter Spargelsalat mit Bacon und Kapern Zutaten 6 Stangen weißer Spargel, geschält, holzige Enden entfernt, bissfest vorgegart und etwas abgekühlt frisch gemahlener schwarzer Pfeffer etwas feines Meersalz 1 EL Weißweinessig 3 EL Olivenöl, plus etwas für die Grillpfanne großblättrige Petersilie, verlesen, gewaschen, getrocknet, abgezupft und gehackt 1 EL Kapern, abgetropft  2 EL Bacon, klein gewürfelt und gebraten Zubereitung Die Spargelstangen quer halbieren. Eine Grillpfanne erhitzen, ein wenig Olivenöl hinzugeben und die halbierten Stangen für wenige Minuten anbraten. Leicht abkühlen lassen. In einer Schüssel Pfeffer, Salz, Essig und Öl mischen. Petersilie, Kapern und Bacon zu der Salatsauce hinzufügen und vermischen. Den gegrillten Spargel auf einer Platte anrichten, mit der Salatsauce beträufeln, nach Belieben nochmals mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen und zur Maischolle servieren.

This fish recipe tastes wonderful with the May plaice but you could substitute regular plaice, sole or even flounder. No matter which flatfish you decide to buy, when you prepare your fish with that wonderful nutty brown butter and the sweet almonds, it will always taste delicious and look elegant - just perfect for serving in springtime.

Dieses Fischrezept schmeckt wunderbar mit der Maischolle aber man kann auch Scholle, Stein- und Heilbutt, Flunder oder Seezunge verwenden. Egal für welchen der wunderbaren Plattfische man sich entscheidet, in brauner Butter gegart und mit Mandeln paniert und garniert, wird das Fisch immer köstlich schmecken. So ein Gericht zusammen mit frischem Frühlingsgemüse serviert passt großartig zum Frühling.

Benches, tables and chairs

This is a collection of photos that I took during the last couple of days of some colorful benches, tables, chairs, folding chairs, and wicker beach chairs. The pictures were taken in front of different stores in the Cities of Bonn, Köln (Cologne) and Münster.

Tuesdays with Dorie - "Hungarian Shortbread - A Truly Royal Treat"

Hungarian Shortbread is today`s choice for the Tuesdays with Dorie baking group. Shortbread is a classic Scottish dessert and calls for only three ingredients, namely, white sugar, butter, oatmeal flour and no leavening agents. Today´s recipe was contributed by Gale Gand and deviates in a very good way from that traditional recipe – it is a “Hungarian” version and has a thin layer of homemade rhubarb jam between two layers of buttery and crumbly dough.

Shortbread was given its name because of its sandy/crumbly texture and it is traditionally formed into one of three shapes: either it is baked in one large round which is divided into segments very soon after baking, or it is formed into small round shortbread rounds or an oblong shape that gets cut into individual bars. The Hungarian Shortbread recipe calls for baking the dough in a 9- by 12- inch baking pan – I chose a French fluted tart pan with a high rim and a removeable bottom instead. When I prepared the recipe I ended up with double the amount of dough that would fit into the tart pan – so I just had to bake two shortbread rounds. I happen to like the round shape and the segments are easy to cut after baking.

In order to get started you need some homemade rhubarb jam. At this time of year, rhubarb is widely available at the fruit and vegetable markets. It was not a problem at all finding some. Even got some organic rhubarb. The recipe for the jam is easy and quickly prepared. It contains nothing more than rhubarb, sugar, water and a vanilla bean. The jam can be cooled while you put together the dough and wait for it to chill in the freezer.

The dough is prepared with only six ingredients, namely flour, baking powder, salt, butter (used Irish butter for the Hungarian Shortbread…) egg yolks and sugar. After you have prepared the dough, freeze it for 30 minutes. Once the dough is firm, you grate half of it into the baking pan, pat the dough gently to get an even layer, then you drizzle the jam on top and finally grate the rest of the dough over the jam and the first layer of dough. The shortbread then gets baked for about 40 minutes. As soon as the shortbread is removed from the oven, you immediately have to dust it heavily with confectioner´s sugar. By dusting the shortbread while it is hot, the sugar melts somewhat and creates a bit of a glaze. You have to let the shortbread cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting it into your desired shapes, wedges in my case. I did line the bottom of my tart pan with parchment paper, just to be sure the shortbread would release properly and not break.  Right before serving, you can dust it with a bit more with confectioner´s sugar and then, enjoy!

Since it is the first of May today, which means it is Spring festival time and a day off from school and work, we decided to drive to the Town of Brühl, about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from where we live. There we visited the Baroque “Augustusburg Castle” (1725) with its extensive gardens and a famous staircase by Balthasar Neumann (1740-46).

Within Augustusburg`s gardens is the smaller „“Falkenlust“ (1733), a hunting lodge, where Clemens August of Bavaria (1700 – 1761), a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne enjoyed receiving guests in a more casual environment. There, he loved to serve hot chocolate, tea or coffee to his guests.

The Hungarian Shortbread would probably have been perfect to serve to his guests alongside the tea or coffee because it tastes wonderful. It has a pronounced buttery taste and crumbly texture and the rhubarb jam is a nice addition, not too sweet, just right.

My family and all my guests greatly enjoyed it

The castles were both designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984 (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list)).


Today`s recipe is hosted by Cher Rockwell of The Not So Exiting Adventures of a Dabbler and by Lynette of 1smallkitchen. A big “Thank You” to our hosts!

To see how the other members of the Baking with Dorie group prepared the shortbread, please click here.

And for more information on the “Augustusburg Castle”, you can visit the website of the castle www.schlossbruehl.de.

French Fridays with Dorie - Navarin Printanier

Today´s choice for the French Fridays with Dorie group is Navarin Printanier or Lamb Stew with Spring Vegetables. The title of this recipe already sounds delicious. It seems like the perfect dish to prepare on a windy and rainy Spring day like today.

It turned out that the most difficult part of this recipe was getting fresh, good quality boneless lamb shoulder. I was glad that I had gone over the ingredient list a few days ago. There are no local traditional lamb dishes around here and not many peolpe eat lamb on a regular basis. So I had to order the meat a few days in advance, decided to double the recipe and ended up getting 6 pounds (about three kilos) of lamb shoulder.

My butcher  (the same one who usually orders the lamb chops for me) gave me a strange look but I figured that since the kids already love different kinds of stew that I often prepare, such as "Gulasch with Spätzle" and  "Gaisburger Marsch"  - prepared with potatoes and Spätzle - and since they enjoy lamb chops, they would eat this French lamb stew as well.

The Navarin is a traditional  French stew and there are hundreds of variations of this recipe.



















Dorie Greenspan' s recipe calls for a number of vegetables. You will need garlic, small white onions (one more challenging ingredient, I finally found them at a small greengrocer), carrots, turnips, small potatoes (bought the "new potatoes") and peas ( no chance of getting fresh peas at this time of year, so frozen peas will have to do - according to Dorie "almost everyone" uses them).

In addition to the vegetables, you will need a few fresh herbs. Dorie lists parsley, thyme and a bay leaf. Love these herbs...

After I brought all the required ingredients home, I started out by cutting the lamb shoulder into cubes and trimming off the excess fat. The rest of this one-pot meal was easy to prepare since the instructions in Dorie´s recipe are quite straightforward.

Nothing seems to spell comfort better than a pot of stew simmering on the stove. When my husband and the kids came home, it certainly was nice to hear them say that although they did not know what I was preparing, it "smelled great".

As suggested by Dorie, I served the stew in individual shallow soup dishes and I sprinkled a bit of chopped parsley on top. We had a big loaf of crusty French bread and lightly salted French butter on the side. The meat was tender, the vegetables rounded out the meal beautifully and everyone around the table ate and liked the Navarin Printanier!

Voilà! Great success!

I am glad that my family likes eating lamb because I do too and it is nice to know that they all will venture past marinated lamb chops mediterranean style!

(When we were in Rouen, Normandy, we found this wonderful indoor market with vendors selling vegetables, fruits, cheeses, cured meats, eggs, and much more - wish I was there right now...)

To see how the other Doristas prepared the Navarin Printanier this week,  please click here.

Bonn Marathon - April 22, 2012

On Sunday, the Bonn Marathon took place. Every year this is the largest sports event held in the City of Bonn. It was called the "Deutsche Post Marathon Bonn" since it was sponsered by the German postal service. The Bonn marathon event got started in 2001 and, over the years, has gained much in popularity, so much so that it has made it into the top ten of German marathons.

The 42.195 km route always leads along the right and left banks of the Rhine river. The finish line was located at the beautiful Bonn market place.

On Sunday, in addition to the main marathon, there was a half-marathon, a relay competition for schools, a competition for company teams and wheelchair users. Inline skaters and power walkers were also admitted. The focus of this event is always to attract as many participants as possible from all walks of life - to have top athletes and amateurs participate together in the same race.

The organizers counted a total of 12,128 participants from 53 different nations. And about 200,000 spectators lined the streets of the City of Bonn to cheer them on.

So, in order to cheer on the "marathon runners" in my life, I decided to bake some "Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies" (by the way, the organizers distributed about 27,000 bananas to the participants - that is a lot of bananas).











Banana-Walnut Chocolate-Chunk Cookies
(as adapted from Martha Stewart "Cookies",  published in 2008 by Clarkson Potter)


Ingredients:

1 cup (140g) AP flour
• 1/2 cup (70 g) whole-wheat flour
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (120 g) superfine sugar
• 1/2 cup (100 g) light-brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg (L), use free range or organic whenever possible

• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or 2 tsp. pure vanilla sugar
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
• 1 cup (110 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
• 8 ounces (230 g) semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Lindt Excellence 70 %)
• 1/2 cup (60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)


Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper (unbleached if possible) or silicone mats.

1. In a small bowl, whisk together flours, salt, baking soda and cinnamon.

2. Place butter and both sugars into the bowl of your electric mixer, mix on medium until pale and fluffy.

3. With the mixer running on low, add egg and vanilla and mix until combined.

4. Mix in the mashed banana.

5. Add the flour mixture, mix until just combined.

6. Then stir in the oats, chocolate chunks and walnuts.

7. Using an ice cream scoop, drop dough onto prepared baking sheets.

8. Bake cookies for 12 to 13 minutes and let cool on sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes.

9. Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool completely.

Enjoy!

See you there next year on April 14, 2013

French Fridays with Dorie - Coconut Friands

Today's recipe schedule for the French Fridays with Dorie group calls for Coconut Friands.

As Dorie Greenspan mentiones in her introduction to the recipe, Friands and Financiers are both very popular small French tea cakes. The difference between the two kinds of "Petits Gâteaux" is not always easy to make out. Financiers usually contain almond meal, browned butter and confectioner`s sugar.




The Friands, on the other hand, often contain desiccated coconut, small pieces of fresh or dried fruit or even a bit of jam.

The Friands have become very popular in Australian and New Zealand baking and are widely available treats at the coffee shops there.

They are often baked in small rectangular or oval shaped baking pans or mini muffin trays.

As mentioned above, bakers often add a bit of fruit such as raspberries, strawberries, blueberries or even apples to the batter before baking.

Since both the almond meal/fruit version as well as the coconut/Dorie version of the Friand recipe looked delicious, I decided to bake two batches. First, I baked Almond Raspberry Friands, following an Australian recipe.

The recipe that I chose contains almond meal as well as some shredded coconut. It yields only six little tea cakes and seemed perfect for the half dozen mini loaf pans that I bought the other day. The addition of ground almonds made these pretty little cakes very moist and the raspberries were a nice compliment to the nuts. We liked them a lot.

Then I pulled out twelve little tartelette molds.These molds are from my very favorite Dutch/Belgian kitchen supply store but I had never gotten around to using them before. I guess they were just waiting to be used for Dorie's recipe. I buttered (and lightly floured) them. Prepared the batter, baked them for 17 minutes and turned them out while still hot because I was scared that they would never release from these mini molds.

But they did not stick to the molds and I ended up with 24 Coconut Friands, one dozen with blueberries, the other dozen plain, as per the original recipe.

These dainty little cakes turned out to be crisp on the outside with a soft and chewy macaroon centre.

Looking at them, I believe that they can be served dusted with some confectioner`s sugar, with a bit of vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream on the side or, simply, just on their own.

They certainly are delicious, no matter how you serve them and whether you add fruit to the batter or not.

All in all, the Friands are quite easy to prepare and the whole family enjoyed them, no real preference there as to the addition of fruit or almond meal. I will certainly make them again soon.

To see what the other Doristas are up to, please click here.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Lemon Loaf Cake

If life hands you strawberries and lemons, bake a lemon loaf cake but use a large brioche pan instead of a loaf pan and top the cake with fresh strawberries. Do not forget to serve some whipped cream, on the side.

This is my first post for the Tuesdays with Dorie group. When I read that the recipe chosen for today was a lemon cake, I was thrilled because lemon desserts are my favorite desserts. I love lemon pudding, lemon cupcakes, lemon just about everything...

So to change my usual routine of grabbing a loaf pan when baking a lemon pound/loaf cake, I decided to use a large brioche pan, drizzle the cooled cake with a bit of a confectioners' sugar glaze with lemon juice and top the cake with fresh strawberries.

There are a lot of strawberries available at different farmers' markets around here and  I just love the combination of strawberries and lemons. Sometimes I serve a little bit of softly whipped cream on the side.

Todays recipe yields a nice and dense cake - my family liked this cake quite a bit.

Ode To The Lemon by Pablo Neruda


"From blossom
released
by the moonlight,
from an
aroma of exasperated
love,
steeped in fragrance,
yellowness
drifted from the lemon tree,
and from its plantarium
lemons descended to the earth.
(...)"






This weeks´ recipe is hosted by Truc of Treats and Michelle of The Beauty Of Life and if you would like to see what the other members of Tuesdays With Dorie were up to this week, please click here.