Handmade gnocchi with steinpilze

Saturday was a rainy-gray day, not so great for a walk in the woods, but perfect for gnocchi making. I say that because although it isn’t too difficult, it is sort of time-intensive. First we boiled the potatoes.

We also re-hydrated a handful of steinpilze (could be porcini mushrooms?) to give the gnocchi some character.

Mash up the potatoes, an egg, some flour, mushrooms, salt and pepper.

Add to boiling water and cook until they pop up. Perfect mixed with lots of veggies and a sprinkle of parmesan along with the usual olive oil and sea salt.

 

Pumpkin Stoup

Fall is here!

After a walk in the woods, we wanted something warm, hearty, and filling. Pumpkin soup made with carrots, shallot, ginger, and curry was perfect.

 

 Well, actually it was more like stew because it was so thick, but it was delicious and exactly what we needed.

Happy Fall!

Fresh Mint Tea

On Thursday after work I met Miljo in Cologne. There was a slight chill in the air, and it was too early for dinner, so we headed to a little cafe. I love tea in general, but there is something special about mint tea made with fresh leaves. It just tastes…fresher, for lack of a better description.

 

Cheers!

Honey-Weekend

The weekend after our wedding, we drove down to the Baden-Baden area to hang out. On Friday night we stopped by the gym, where Milo got to play badminton for an hour or so, while I chatted with some firends I hadn’t seen since spring. Afterwards we went to the Vogelbrau for a beer and schnitzel. It was great to see people and catch up on whats been happening in life (several weddings and a baby!)

On Saturday morning, we checked out the Rastatt market, which is astonishingly quite good.

Artichoke flowers.

Apple season has arrived!

Who wants to make pickles?

Assorted celery and root veg.

Heather!

Apples are awesome, crisp and juicy and sweet.

Then it was off to Strasbourg, where we enjoyed walking around in the sun. We stopped along the way to pick up a baguette and scallop pate, which is so yummy and much healthier than liver pate (at least that is what I am telling myself). We had a little picnic on the river.

In town we stopped at Galleries Lafayette for some Macarons. YUM! I only get to eat macarons when we go to France, so it is lucky we are moving that direction very soon!

On Saturday night we ate dinner at our favorite place in Alsace, Auberge. As usual we got a classic flammkuchen, and we also had a celery salad, salad with grilled chicken and mushrooms, and naturally a sweet banana/apple flamm for dessert. And some Gewurztraminer to drink.

On Sunday, we had our first “oven roast” of the season. Chicken with root veg. Fall is definitely here.

After lunch we went to Baden-Baden, where we walked around the park and woods. And through the town as well. I want dried herbs in my kitchen window too.

 

Milo found chestnuts.

 We also visited the castle. It was a fabulous weekend!

Ni Hao Chinese

On Thursday evening we went into Cologne, not really sure if we would stay for dinner. But we were more in the mood to stay out than go home, so we decided to check out Ni Hao, a chinese restaurant we had walked by before (Brüsseler Straße 44).

We got soup to start, as well as some dim-sum dumplings which were very yummy.

We shared the veggie-tofu pot with rice, which was also great and more than enough for the two of us.

I would just like to say, that if the people sitting next to you have what appears to be a fried chicken claw on their plate, it must be authentic. Our whole meal was 15 bucks and full of veggie goodness. Perfect!