Good: Managed to finally get a parking vignette for my car (go, Luxembourg’s Bierger Center).
Bad (though understadable): HotCity internet connection is payable as of two days ago except for city info sites. Will Zoki follow suit when copying the system?
As mentioned before on this blog, rumours of nothing happening in Luxembourg are gravely exaggerated. For example, the Neumünster Abbey puts on a jazz concert every Sunday at 11.30 a.m. It takes place in the brasserie area, so one can come and enjoy nice music while/before having brunch with friends. As far as the brunch goes, reservations are a must.
photo source: Neumünster Abbey
Today, the Apéro’s Jazz programme featured “Schneeweiss & Rosenrot”, a group from Denmark consisting of a German, a Swiss, a Swede and a Luxembourger.
What fun! The girls and guys were obviously having a good time and the venue, which was packed full, shared their good spirit. Their CD is coming out in a couple of weeks and I’m planning on buying one.
A wonderful way to start a Sunday, I must say. Good music in a lovely setting and in good company so I can well imagine going back for more of the same.
You can read about the group at http://www.luciacadotsch.com/
(click “projects”)
If I do eat bread, I want it to have some taste. I miss the spelt bread from Ljubljana and have not yet found anything as yummy over here, so decided to try some baking. Here comes my first attempt at buckwheat bread.
Ingredients:
I came across tips on making yeast solution in place of the usual mixture of yeast, warm water and sugar. It works like a charm. So to start this bread, mix a cup of cold water with a cube of yeast and a teaspoon of salt and let it sit in a cool place (room temp is fine, e.g. on a window shelf) for 5 to 24 hours. Overnight works well. Takes some planning ahead, but the results are worth it.
Most recommend cooking buckwheat flour prior to using it, but I tried using is straight from the sack and it worked, so why make things harder on you. Just mix the two types of flour, add the yeast solution and mix well. Let the dough sit until it rises twofold.
Knead the dough again, form a loaf (I made a small loaf and several mini ones) and let it rise again. For a nicer crust, you can whisk an egg and coat the top of the loaf before baking, but in any case, make several cuts across the top to prevent the loaf from breaking open at the side.
Bake at about 180°C for about 35 minutes, depending on the size of your loaf/loaves. Once baked, wrap in kitchen towels and let cool before cutting.
Came out pretty good. Finally, bread with actual taste to it again. I sliced my loaves, put them in the freezer and have a couple of slices for breakfast.
Dober tek!
A week ago I noticed green tomatoes in the grocery store. I honestly don’t remember ever having seen them before, but this time I felt a strong urge to try making fried green tomatoes. Who hasn’t seen the film, right? Anyway, off into the shopping basket they went. A note: no idea if this is true of them in general, but these stayed nice and firm in for a week. A good thing as I tend to overshop my veggies. After some web research for a recipe I wasn’t sure which one to use, but since I don’t like fried foods in general, I was thrilled to have found this site: SimplyRecipes not because of the originally posted recipe, but one of the comments.
Claude wrote:
“Sorry, those aren’t real fried green mators! I was raised on real ones since I was 3 years old. The recipe is simply this (pasted down from grandparents living in the 1800’s)…
Slice em no more than 1/4 inch thick
Dip in milk
Dip in flour mixure (salt & pepper only)
Fry (on med heat) until dark brown (in lard, corn or veggie oil)Simple huh? That was the way it was and that’s how they were made.
ps we used lard but veggie oil is better for you; I now use corn oil.
No eggs, no cornmeal or olive oil…if ya want’a zest em up, use seasoned salt instead of regular salt. I still eat them at least once a week and at 89 years old I’m still doing fine!”
So Claude’s way it was. I did exactly as described above.
Slice and dip in milk
Dip in flour mixure (salt & pepper only)
Fry (on medium heat) until dark brown (in lard, corn or veggie oil)
Thanks, Claude! I had no idea these things were so good! And without even trying to make them with batter using eggs, olive oil and fancy spices, which I do normally enjoy, I knowI prefer them this way.
Such a nice combination of fresh and sour with the warmth of the frying pan. Delicious. Will be made again around here.
Photo: Exhibition on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the Skopje earthquake
Sometimes, every second counts
(in Skopje, Macedonia; photo by dr. filomena)
Since I missed this blog’s first anniversary, I had set up a notification in my mail-handling software (not paid to advertise a multinational, am I <g>) to note a year and a half from the first post. Which is today.
But then, watching the McCain and Obama speeches at 5.30 this morning, it struck me that this is less than the length of the Presidential campaign of the next US Commander-in-Chief. Time is an interesting matter issue to debate, but let us get into that on another day.
I will just say that I find time to be rather well spent in the company of friends and good food. With that in mind, here is my first post on this blog: slastno (a ricotta pasta and swordfish “alla pizzaiola” recipe) and I’m off to try and make some buckwheat bread for the first time.
Got time?
photo by dr. fil
Paraphrasing one of the most memorable speeches in Slovenia’s history. Difficult times lie ahead not only for the future US administration, but the entire world. For the sake of us all, because despite my mCObamaCAIN post I do of course believe that US policies ultimately affect all of our societies, I hope that the nation’s newly-elected President will (survive and) live up to the promise of bringing unity rather than division.
Congratulations, Barack Obama. May you keep your eye on the ball.
photo: Zara making it all the way! You go, girl! (pic by dr. fil)
I have been intrigued and at times amused by the political agitation taking place in Europe on behalf of Barack Obama’s US Presidential campaign.
Some of the vocal Obama supporters seem to forget that it is realistic to expect that whoever wins the elections will put America’s best interests to the forefront and in relation to the rest of the world, their potential policies would not differ all that much. Where their stance is truly different is on issues that affect US citizens directly, particularly those belonging to the increasingly ambiguously defined middle class.
I certainly hope all Europeans so involved with the issues surrounding the US elections will be as active next year during EU’s elections. Not to mention the ones in their own individual countries. Those might indeed affect us.
photo by dr. Filomena; click to enlarge
I still feel exactly the same as I did last year, so I will only post a link to the previous post on this subject:
“Remembrance to me has little to do with actually going to graves, preferably dressing up according to the latest fashion trends and decorating the grave once a year. It is about keeping my loved ones in my thoughts year-round and remembering the times we spent together and what I’ve learned from them. Undoubtedly, one of the lessons that stuck is to enjoy the company of those who are very much alive. Here and now.”
Read the entire post: https://www.drfilomena.com/2007/11/remembrance/
This milkman’s truck was the first thing I saw thins morning coming out on the street from the apartment in Brussels. Apparently, this particular milk delivery service favours French language. That *is* an issue in Belgium, you know.
Photo by dr. fil the cat; click to enlarge
Izzivam vas, da odgrnete svoje kristalne krogle, se zagledate globoko vanje (ali v oči Boruta Pahorja, kar vam je ljubše) in poskusite uganiti sestavo nove slovenske vladne ekipe.
Kakšno bo število članov vlade? Koliko bo “neministrskih” mest in kako se bodo imenovala? Kdo jih bo zasedal? Kako bodo resorji razdeljeni med stranke? Koliko konkretnih imen si upate napovedati na posameznih ministrskih stolčkih?
Pobiram vladne stave 🙂
Kdor bo najbolj približal balinček, bo dobil nagrado. (res)
Se bo kdo opogumil?
