Summertime = Farmer's Market Time

Who does not love summer. Sunshine, flowers, fruits, and veggies are abundant here in Portland. I just love it, and going to the farmer's market to me is like a celebration of the season. They are so fun, there is music, dancing, food, and of course the highlights of local seasonal fruits, veggies. We went to the Eastbank Market on Thursday and there was even a vendor selling fresh fish. In so many ways Portland is so similar to Germany, yet so different. Tuttlingen has markets twice a week in the spring and summer, but I have yet to see a band and dancing there :) Here are some links, http://www.portlandfarmersmarket.org/, Hollywood Farmer's Market http://hollywoodfarmersmarket.org/, Montavilla (East Side neighborhood) Market http://hollywoodfarmersmarket.org/, Sellwood http://www.morelandfarmersmarket.org, to name a few. Check this link for a listing of markets throughout the State of Oregon http://www.oregonfarmersmarkets.org/directory.html. Enjoy!

Laugenstangen and Lufthansa...

What?! - Did you know about the great sale Lufthansa is currently running? You sure do, right?! Airfare for about $500 round trip from PDX - FRA, I think Munich was about the same fare. The only issue is that the outbound has to be between Feb/March/April and you cannot return any later than May, 2nd 2009. I really like to be in Germany in mid/late summer but for that price I can honestly say that I will not mind being there early in the season. That will leave the entire summer for a great beach vacation at the Oregon coast....So why did I also put Laugenstange in the title. Easy answer, as I am currently eating one of the delicious Laugenstangen from My little t American Baker in SE PDX. We bought 24 last weekend (we need them special made b/c my kids cannot have milk products) and put a bunch of them in the freezer. Delicious!!! Put them in the pre-heated oven at 350F, warm up for about 10 minutes and you have delicious Laugenstangen for breakfast.

Happy Sunday everybody :)

The taste of home...

I am getting ready for a girls weekend including a great hike and am just so excited. Its a "German Girls Weekend" and I just went to pick-up our snack (Vesper) for the hike. Do you want to know what I got?! Laugenstangen, Pretzelbread...yum. I already ate mine, as I could no longer wait. They are just so, so, so delicious. - FYI - he can also make Brezeln if you pre-order. Minimum is 24 pcs (but I am sure they will freeze great) and he needs a couple of days lead-time. So who is the "he"...My little t American Baker http://www.littletbaker.com/ located at the corner of 26th and Division. If you have not yet checked it out, go...just to forewarn you so today there may not be a lot of Laugenstangen left over as I got a bunch of them ;)

Christmas Eve...we are finally thawing out

Back to normal PDX weather. Well, not quite it snowed again this morning and it now has been raining most of the afternoon. Snow is obviously melting but we had over a foot of snow so I am sure that it will stick for today. Truth be said, I was hoping that it would snow throughout the day today. Just until tomorrow, and then I can be done with snow. I should not complain as we are certainly having a white Christmas.

We have decided to stay in tonight as the roads are so slush, and Ron thinks that they may be freezing. So no mass tonight. I read the Christmas story to the girls earlier today and also made some more cookies. For tomorrow I made the stuffing, and yesterday I already made the red cabbage. I do not feel as prepared as other years so...wonder what I may be forgetting. Oh well, it will be a great evening. The Fleischkaese will be done in a little while, the Kartolffelsalat (potato salad) is done, Gluehwein is on the stove, and presents are prepared...Merry Christmas to all.

P.S.: I will be posting the pictures of the snow yet...

Weihnachtsplaetzchen - Christmas Cookies

This winter weather is having me long for some nice Weihnachtsplaetzchen. I already made some earlier this week, but I already have to remake some...Are you looking for a Christmas Cookie recipe? I did put some recipes up on my other blog http://galactopdx.blogspot.com/. The titles for all of them is "cookies". FYI - you can of course swap out the Margarine with butter, and the Soy Milk with regular cow's milk.

Schwaebischer Kartoffelsalat - Swabian Potato Salad

My entire family loves Kartoffelsalat (Potato Salad) this is also a great crowd pleaser, and everyone loved it at the B-day Party yesterday. Here is my recipe - sorry units are metric:-

1 kg Potato's - I generally use Russets
1 large onion
250 ml vegetable, or beef broth
1 bunch Parsley - this is not an absolute must...
5 TBL Oil - I think I usually use a little less oil
5 TBL Vinegar - I like white wine vinegar

1. Boil potatoes in their skins until soft
2. Peel and chop onion into fine squares
3. Drain potatoes, once they have cooled off peel, and slice thinly
4. If using, chop parsley fine
5. Put onions, sliced potatoes, and parsley into a bow
6. Heat up the broth, and pour hot broth over onions, potatoes, and parsley
7. Cover and leave for at least an hour (the longer you leave it the better it gets)
8. Add oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. I like my potato salad more on the vinegary side...

Enjoy everyone....Let me know if you like the recipe.

Remember the Laugenstangen...

Another Friday, and another day we had Laugenstangen (Pretzelbread)...I may sound like a broken record but they are GREAT!!! Go stop by the bakery. Just like in Germany...http://www.littletbaker.com/

Pseudo Schupfnudeln

Schupf...what? Schupfnudeln, I love them...here is a link that shows how they are being made http://chadogroup.com/oma/schupfnudeln/. To me the great thing about Schupfnudeln are not really the potato "noodles" but the Sauerkraut they are heated up with in the pan together. You get the picture, right? Sauerkraut last night...pseudo Schupfnudlen tonight. So what on earth are pseudo Schupfnudeln? Well it is pasta and then it's fried up together with the leftover Sauerkraut. It's great...remember I love Sauerkraut. And yes, Alena loved it too...

Sauerkraut

How stereotypical a German writing about Sauerkraut :)

Is there anything better on a cold evening than Sauerkraut, Kassler and potatoes? To be exact Salzkartoffeln. I am so glad it is fall again and it is chilly. OK don't laugh but the 50s really do feel uncomfortable...So tonight we are having Sauerkraut & Kassler. I have to admit that I do not like any domestic brands but I can get Hengstenberg Mildessa here in PDX. Both New Seasons Market and Edelweiss carry it. This is almost a staple in the cold season. The Kassler (smoked pork chops) I got at Edelweiss this time. In the past I have gotten them from Gartner's. Gartner's a little far for me, so this time we will give the Kassler from Edelweiss a try. They sure do look good.

Stay warm everyone :)

What's for dinner?

It is fall and I am ready for full-flavored, stew type meals. So you may wonder, are there only German meals in our home? Not at all...I am just thinking about this. It was Chili on Monday- OK I am caught leftovers from the Laternenwalk on Saturday :); German Potato-Leek Soup on Tuesday; a Hungarian type of Chicken Paprika with Knoedel on Wednesday - OK also very Germanic; and today we had Cauliflower-Potato Curry...with lots of ginger

So what does this have to do with being German in PDX? Well honestly not much, but writing this down proves to me that no matter what my kitchen is still very Germanic based :)

Laugenstangen a.k.a. Pretzelbread in SE PDX

A new bakery has opened this summer in SE PDX. The bakery been started by the former head baker of the Pearl Bakery. Its name is the "little t baker" and yesterday I stopped by for the very first time. From the car I saw that they carry Laugenstangen a.k.a. Pretzelbread. Wow - I have never had these in the States and seeing them on display caused me to immediately pull over and park. The Laugenstange was absolutely delicious. Not quite as crusty as I am used to at home, but really, really good.

So, if you miss Germany just so much that you need a good Laugenstange head on over to the "little t baker" located on 2600 SE Division Street in SE PDX. There is also coffee, and of course bread, etc. I cannot talk about the bread, croissants, or others as I have not tried them. There is also a web-site check it out at http://www.littletbaker.com/.

Enjoy!

Bread...where to find great bread in PDX

Do you ever miss good crusty bread? Good thing if you are in Portland, Oregon because there are few great bakeries.

The Pearl Bakery has Vollkornbrot, "Broetchen" (aka rolls), great crusty bread, etc. The shop/cafe is located in the Pearl at 102 NW 9th Ave. When we go for breakfast I generally order the "Mohnbroetchen" and a nice Soy Latte. Yum! - They supply fantastic raspberry jam, and (if you like) butter for the Broetchen. They are also selling the bread on various Farmer's Markets around town and their bread is sold in other stores such as Pastaworks as well. The official Web-site is www.pearlbakery.com

Another great bakery is Fleur de Lis in Northeast Portland. I especially love their Multigrain bread. Crusty, full of grain, hearty, just like you would expect a bread from a German bakery to taste. The multigrain is available in two sizes. Go visit their cafe/story at 3930 NE Hancock St, Portland, OR 97212Phone: (503) 459-4887, or buy their bread at farmers markets around town. I have seen them at the Hollywood, and Montavilla Farmers Market.

There is a third bakery which is truly German. "Fressen" has outstanding bread. All of it is fantastic. The bread is available at various Farmers Markets around town, or you can place your order on the Web, or by phone. They actually also offer Bretzeln :). Check it out on the Web-site at http://www.fressenartisanbakery.com/

Fun at Fubonn Shopping Center - aka the largest Asian Shopping Center in Oregon

Friday before the German Spielgruppe the girls and I had so time to kill. We needed some food so I thought about going to Fubonn. At 9:15 AM the mall was close to empty, great '80s music, merry-go-rounds, and a ton of interesting stuff to look at. Fubonn has the largest Asian grocery section around and it is so fun. Lychee's by the bag; whole large fish, live oysters, live mussels, live crabs...besides that a HUGE selection of rice cookers, woks, big (and I mean really big) bags of rice, mochi, Chinese beer, any type of Asian food, condiment etc., you can think of. But you know what else they have? HARIBO...yup exactly "Haribo macht Kinder froh und Erwachsne ebeso"...sweets I grew up with. I also saw Toblerone, packaged Marmor Kuchen, how much fun we had. We danced, sang, bought a couple of interesting looking items, and the girls also rode the merry-go-round :)

In the mall there is also a store offering nothing but tea, tea cups, etc.; a Sheisheido store; Chinese bakery...just amazing. Look at it here http://www.fubonn.com/index.php

After our excursion we went to the Spielgruppe, then back to the all American world. I have to say that it one of our "multicultural" days.

Wurstsalat...do you really mean sausage salad?

Every now and then I really have the urge for comfort food. Comfort food for me is Linsen und Spaetzle (lentils & spaetzle) in the winter, Kassler und Kraut (smoked pork chop & sauerkraut), and my absolute all time favorite Wurstsalat. I LOVE Wurstsalat and yes, it is true it translates to sausage salad in English. Does not sound right in English! So what is it...as far as I know it is a Southern German thing. The Wurstsalat I make contains Fleischwurst, onions, chopped pickles, a little oil, vinegar, and some pickle juice. Mmmmhhhh! I love it and I actually made it yesterday. Sadly so my husband does not like Wurstsalat at all, but both of our girls also like it a lot. It is probably one of those things that you need to grow up with in order to like it. Just like Root beer. I just started to like Root beer a year ago...that is after having tried it time and time again for almost 13 years :)

But going back to the topic Wurstsalat, I used Gelbwurst yesterday and it also turned out great :). In the region I am from you can generally order three different types of Wurstsalat...Wurstsalat - the "plain" version, Schweizer Wurstsalat (Swiss) - includes Swiss cheese, or Schwaebischer Wurstsalat (Swabian) - this one is made out of blood sausage and I have to admit not one of my faves...my personal absolute favorite is the Schweizer Wurstsalat.

I do not really have a recipe for the type I make, but if you are interested drop me a line :)

Camping Part II with a German twist

We went camping again last weekend for one night. Our campground of choice this time was the Milo McIvor State Park by Estacada. http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_142.php

The park is less than an hour away from our house. It amazes me how in less than an hour you can go from urban to totally rural. The campsite was very private and we were surrounded by great, big trees. Birds sung and we actually saw hawks close up. We took a little tiny hike to the hatchery and a deer crossed our path. Again, how amazing is that less than an hour outside a large city?! This time I did miss the convenience of a European campground just a little bit. Why? Let me tell you...I forgot the propane cartridge and since there is no store on the campground I had to drive to Estacada to get one. At least we were able to get the propane. The upside was that I got to see a little of Estacada. To me it looks almost exactly like one imagines a town from the wild west :)

So where is the German twist...OK - Ron cooked dinner again (see picture), we toasted marshmallows, made Guacamole, and then we also made Stockbrot. My sister told me about Stockbrot. It is really fun. Basically its bread you cook on your stick over the campfire. The recipe is also easy. It works best if you put the bread dough on bamboo sticks, just make sure that you do not use more water, or make sure that you bring along extra flour. Here is the recipe for 4 people, easy to increase, decrease etc.

400 gr flour

1 Pack yeast

400 ml water

1 pinch of salt

- mix it all together and let rise for a little while

Have a great day everyone...

Grieskloesschensuppe for lunch :)

I am so excited that I found Griess to make Grieskloesschen at Edelweiss. I bought it a while ago and am finally making them today. Griess in English is called "Farina Wheat" and let me tell you I searched for it in our regular grocery store for a long, long time. Today is finally the day that I am making them :)

Soup in summer? Well today is quite overcast and a tiny bit chilly so is there anything more perfect than Gieskloeschensuppe? OK - Flaedlesuppe would be fantastic Too :)

Sparkling Water besides Gerolsteiner...

I grew up on drinking Sparkling Water and have a real problem drinking tap, or still water. It just has no fizzle, no fun to it. So for the longest time I have been buying Gerolsteiner at Trader Joe's. To me, Gerolsteiner has to much fizz (I know, I know I am being a bit whiny...but in Germany I like "medium"), I do not like the Poland Spring water and am just not getting enough water. But I went shopping at Whole Foods Market last week and got their Italian Sparkling Mineral Water. It comes in a six pack, and its GREAT. Exactly as I like it. It has fizz, but not too much fizz. Its just right...

Pancakes for dinner...really I am not kidding...

So this is what happened on Monday...a hungry family and we had not gone grocery shopping. Yikes! Good thing we had three eggs, flour, soy milk, salad & herbs in the yard. No, we did not make scrambled eggs for dinner (now that would not be my favorite), but I remembered that pancakes can make a fantastic meal. So instead of sugar, I used salt, added herbs from the garden, made a nice green salad...Voila dinner was ready. I think my husband was not so excited upon hearing that I was making pancakes for dinner...but you know what, he did like it. And the kids? Wow - and I do mean WOW with a German "w" :) both of them LOVED it.

Does it seem silly? Let me know what you think. You would like the recipe? No problem, just let me know. Have a great rest of the day...oh and tonight there it will be just plain old chicken. Nothing exciting :)

The all American BBQ...

Finally summer has arrived in Portland. We have been waiting for a very long time. At least it seems like it. Yes, it is green, roses have been in bloom for a while but we really missed getting sunshine. So finally summer...what is the best way to celebrate this? Of course with a great, all American BBQ. Since this is our first real BBQ of the summer we will be having steaks. Yup! Is there anything more American than that :) I think today will be a day where there will be no German food at all. Steak, baked potatoes, corn (if I can get some corn), pasta salad, and dessert. As for the dessert that is something I still have not really thought about. Maybe a nice fruit salad. Can't have a better start to a great summer.

Farmers Market in Portland

It is the time of year again for farmers markets all around the metro Portland area. I love them. They just such a reminder of home. The downtown market on Wednesday morning/early afternoon is just wonderful. Seasonal fruits and veggies; there are vendors selling sausages, tamales, pita, etc. My youngest daughter and I went this morning. The problem however is that I always buy too much...I better start canning.

The market does remind me of home, but it is very different. In my home town there are two markets, Monday and Friday, the entire year. The other difference include:- the produce, its not just local; sausage, it being Germany the major focus is to sell the Wurst and meat on the market. The butcher also has a grill for the Bratwurst; Eggs and poultry is sold on the market; Fish; Cheese selling cheese from Germany and Switzerland; oh yes and the booth selling Curry Wurst my personal favorite (and yes, my husband does not like it). - So yes, the farmers market in PDX is just like home but different. It does make me a little homesick and then again when I am on the market in Tuttlingen (www.tuttlingen.de) I get a little homesick for Portland....

Have a great day all...we will enjoy our Cherries & Strawberries now :)