A-Schnitzel-and-a-glass-of wine

My Mother's Cookbook: Memories from Another Era

2012-01-27T04:01:00.000-08:00

The three things that I knew how to make when I got married were French fries, fudge and date-filled oatmeal cookies, none of which made a meal! And none of which were in my mother's black cookbook. I remember all of them from watching her make them when I was a child. I loved those cookies and often helped Mom make them, rolling out the dough, cutting them into circles and then spreading the date filling between two cookies before they went into the oven.

As I browsed through her handwritten black book, stopping here and there as I remembered those recipes she baked, roasted or cooked, other memories were triggered as well: of people, of times at the table and of other recipes not in her book, but ones I loved--and some that I did not like at all. I also remembered our kitchen, which is usually where she would be. My mother's life was a busy one, although at the time I did not realize it.

She did not have all the luxury items we have today to make cleaning, cooking, washing and ironing easier. In the 1940s her iron was heavy and one which she placed on the hot wood stove to heat up. I remember that iron as I used it as a young girl before we moved to Nova Scotia. In those days, nearly everything was ironed! In N.S. we finally had an electric iron, an electric stove and an electric fridge. Up until then we had had an ice box, with ice delivered to the house. The ice man would come down our gangway to the backyard, carrying that dripping cold block with large tongs. I remember it sitting in the sun on the back steps leading up to our back door, awaiting my father to take it--still dripping--to the top, two flights up.

All Mom's recipes, except for some of the later ones, are short and to the point, with very little method given. One has to guess how to make them. Obviously she knew how and perhaps learned next to her mother or grandmother in those long-ago kitchens of the early 1900s when she was growing up.

On the left is Grandma Tillie in the late 1950s.

I used to sit beside my mother and watch her bake and prepare food for our dinner when I was very young. I loved that time with her, but I never learned to cook at home. I really wasn't interested and she didn't push any of us. I learned the hard way by trial and error--some flops and some successes--after I was married. I sometimes wrote to her asking for a particular recipe and via return mail it would arrive in our mail box, with full directions.

The photo on the right is the house where I grew up as a young girl in Charlottetown. It is still there. Things have changed a lot since then as the houses on each side were torn down and a Best Western is now to the right, where once chestnut trees and a large house once stood. Our gangway was to the right of the house.

I'm not sure how Mom managed to find the time to bake and cook such wonderful meals as she not only went without a lot of the appliances that made life easier later, but she also had four children to contend with in the third-floor apartment of my grandfather's apartment house. But bake and cook she did: cookies, cakes, pies, bread, preserves in the fall and all manner of home-cooked food for the table.

Those were the days of sugar and butter rationing, which meant baked things were usually not as sweet as they are today; less butter was also used (shortening and often lard were used instead). Our stoves have also changed, so the timing for baking can be somewhat different. In the 1940s in Charlottetown my mother was baking in a coal and wood stove oven; today I am baking in a convection oven.

Below left, the filled cookies

I decided that I would make those long-ago remembered oatmeal cookies once again. I made them for old-times-sake and to see if they were as good as I had thought back in the 1940s when I was a young child. One day last week I made them. They turned out well, but they are time-consuming to make and a fair amount of work. Although the recipe said it was my mother's, they are not as I remembered them. They definitely were not sweet enough and they were chewier than they should have been--or so I think now.

Mom had two recipes for them and both were almost identical except for the amount of oatmeal and water called for (all other ingredients and amounts were the same). I made the one calling for two cups of oatmeal, not the one calling for a cup and a half. That second one also called for three tablespoons of water; the one I used didn't call for any. I used oatmeal flakes and not the finer oatmeal. Perhaps those things made the difference. (I did add water to the version I baked as otherwise it would have been difficult to gather it into a ball and to roll it out. Here is the recipe.

Mom's Date-Filled Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter and shortening, mixed (I used all butter)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

2 cups oatmeal

4 tablespoons water (my addition)

Date Filling

1/2 lb dates, stoned and cup up (I would use more dates next time, about 3/4 lb; mine came already stoned)

1/2 tablespoon white sugar (with more dates, use a bit more sugar and other ingredients)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

The only directions my mother gave: "Just let the dough rise overnight and roll out thin. Cut, place filling between two cookies and bake in a 375F oven."

The cookies at right are shown with the filling on them and ready to be topped with another rolled out one.

My method: In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter mixture until light and fluffy. Mix the dry ingredients together and add to the butter mixture. Work in well with your hands as it is too difficult to do otherwise. Add the water, enough so the dough is damp. Mix well. Leave in bowl and let rise overnight, covered with a towel. (I did this, but I don't really think this step is necessary. It does mean you don't have to do it all the same day however.) Next morning, form into a ball. Preheat oven to 375F (190C).

Filling: Place cut-up dates into a small saucepan. Add enough water (about 1/2 cup) to keep them from burning and cook until soft, stirring constantly. Add the sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix well.

Dough: Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into 1/8-inch thickness (1/4 inch is too thick). Cut into circles with a cookie cutter or a glass with a thin edge. Place them on a cookie sheet. Spread them with about a teaspoon or two of filling, almost to the edges, but not quite. Then cover each cookie with another rolled out one. (I placed only so many at a time on the cookie sheet before adding the filling; otherwise, I might have run out of enough filling.) Place the cookies in the oven, baking for about 12 to15 minutes or until lightly browned. I had two pans of 12 double cookies on each pan. (Note: I would use more dates another time.)

My thoughts after I had finished baking them and tasting them? I might try making present-day oatmeal cookies next time, placing cooked date filling between two of them after they come out of the oven. That's only if I decide to make them again!

That second thing I liked--French fries--I make every so often. When I have the time, I make them from scratch. We didn't have French fries often when I was young but occasionally Mom made them with fish. I discussed the Belgian way to cook them in an earlier blog post (June 11, 2010; Green Soup, Waffles and French Fries). I do soak my cup-up potatoes in cold water as the Belgians do for a good 20 minutes but not always do I cook them twice.

On the left, the thinly sliced potatoes in cold water; on the right, the almost ready potatoes frying in hot oil.

One of the ways I love them is slicing them very thinly, no more than 1/8 inch thick. All you need for that is a sharp knife. I soak them well in ice cold water and then dry them thoroughly with a clean tea towel and/or paper towels. I separate them as I put them into the hot oil (making sure they are dry), stir them often, and when they are crisp looking and golden brown, I remove them from the pot and drain them well. I did fry the first batch quickly the second time after I removed the second batch from the oil. I then re-fried those quickly again as well. That ensures the fries are crisp.

On the left, the fries just out of the pot, crisp and golden. On the right, ready to have with some chicken wings (another of my favourite foods).

They are almost like potato chips and with some salt, they are so good! In Belgium and here in Germany as well, many use mayonnaise instead of Ketchup with pommes frites (as they are called here), although young children use the latter more often these days.

The fudge I loved I make once or twice a year and it always brings back memories. Dad loved fudge, too, and he would sometimes make it, although it was Mom who usually did. In those days, he would put it on a plate when it was ready and pass it around. We would each take a piece and then he would pass it around again. So a second one. But that would be about it (there were six of us altogether). Naturally I always wanted more!

One day, when I was a young teen and my parents were out and my sisters were as well, I decided to make some myself. I had watched often enough so I knew how. I made the fudge. It turned out perfectly. I cleaned everything, leaving no trace behind. Then I took the whole plate to my bedroom where I hid it and ate every single piece myself! That satisfied my craving for it then and there. I never did that again, but I have never forgotten the thrill of having it all to myself!

Here is the recipe I made that long-ago day and again this past week.

Chocolate Fudge
3 cups sugar (half white, half brown)
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup milk
Butter
Vanilla
Chopped walnuts

Note: I often make two-thirds the recipe (as this time): 2 cups sugar, 2 Tbsp cocoa, 2/3 cup milk plus butter, vanilla and walnuts. I also used dark brown sugar this time as I didn't have any light brown and it was just as good, perhaps even better.

Method: Place the sugar, cocoa and milk in a saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly (do not stop stirring). When it comes to a boil, turn down the heat and let it simmer, without stirring, until it reaches the soft ball stage. Now, my way to test for the soft ball stage is the way I do it still, although you can use a candy thermometer. I put a small saucer or dish in the fridge freezer so that it becomes very cold. When I think the fudge is nearly ready (the mixture will be low in the pot), I test a small bit on the cold fridge plate. If I can form it into a soft ball, it is ready.

As soon as the soft ball stage has been reached, I remove it from the stove. I immediately add a large piece of butter (about two tablespoons or so), without stirring it in, and then set the pot aside until the candy cools a bit. I then stir in the butter, add a good teaspoon of vanilla and beat it until it begins to thicken.
The picture at right shows the butter melting in the fudge mixture.

These walnuts we gathered last fall. They are best left a while before using; they were perfect now.

The picture at right shows the walnuts in the pot mixture and almost ready to pour into the dish.

Before the shine starts to disappear and just before it becomes too thick (the trickiest part), add chopped walnuts and immediately pour the fudge onto a buttered pie plate. Don't leave it too late to do that or the candy will harden before you can pour it in. If that happens, put it back on the heat just long enough to soften it, stir quickly and pour it quickly again on the plate.

On the left, the newly poured fudge. On the right, ready to eat!

This is a delicious and creamy chocolate fudge.

As I looked through my mother's small black cookbook, with names and recipes from the past rising from its tattered pages, my young life rose to the surface along with them: great Aunt Emma's gingersnaps, great Aunt Willie's ginger cookies, Georgie's Scotch cake, Aunt Grace's cupcakes, her mother's sultana cake and my father's mother's plum pudding along with many others.

On the left, Aunt Emma's gingersnap recipe. No method other than soften butter and lard. Add molasses.

On the right, Georgie's recipe for Scotch cake, the ones I make and gave the recipe for in my blog post of 14 December 2009.

The most interesting to me in Mom's cookbook was my grandmother's dandelion wine recipe, mainly because I had never seen her take a drink of alcohol of any kind. Not to say that she never did. I don't remember my mother ever making this and I doubt that I ever shall, not with all the wonderful wines we can buy today and considering the work this wine would take to make! But this is a very old recipe so interesting for that alone. Here is the recipe (I clarified it somewhat from the written page):

Grandma Tillie's Dandelion Wine

To each quart of dandelion blooms add one quart boiling water. Stir well and cover. Let stand three days, stirring occasionally. Strain off the flowers.

To each gallon of liquid, add 3-1/2 pounds white sugar, rind of one lemon, a little root ginger and boil for a short time. Cut one orange and one lemon into the hot liquid. Cool. When sufficiently cold, ferment with yeast cake. (J: In those days yeast was in a solid piece, in squares that I remember still.) Add small piece of toast and 5 c. of isinglass (according to the Oxford dictionary, that is a kind of gelatin obtained from sturgeon, etc.). Let the mixture stand two days; strain and put away for two months. Then bottle.

So many of these recipes in her cookbook she made over the years and so many of them made for special occasions. Not all of them though; many she made for regular meals for dinner or supper throughout the year. Another era, now long gone, but an era that shaped my life and the lives of millions of others.

Note: Keep in mind that you can enlarge any of the pictures in order to see them more clearly. Just click on the picture.

The Days of Christmas

2011-12-26T07:25:00.000-08:00

During those days leading up to Christmas the aroma of baking wafts through the house. Decorating the house inside and out with our two cats underfoot starts on First Advent weekend and finishes on the 24th, with cards and letters to friends and family written at the kitchen table from late November onwards. In the last week before Christmas we buy our scallops for Christmas Eve supper and the goose for Christmas Day. During those last weeks, we enjoy many outings to fine restaurants and family Gasthäuser, with good food, good wine and good company. As it is for everyone, a busy time of year.

Here are some of our highlights this past week or so:

On Fourth Advent Sunday we picked up our friend Lina in Freiburg and headed to Glottertal, well known for its many beautiful restaurants and Gasthäuser and one of our favourite places in which to dine. Some years ago now I counted fourteen restaurants (perhaps even more today) in that small town of about 600 residents. It is situated about twenty minutes northeast of Freiburg, a university city of about 150,000 people. On any given day or evening, many of the guests will be from that city. Glottertal became known all over Germany and elsewhere in Europe in the early 1980s because of a television series, "Die Schwarzwald Klinik," filmed there. Of course, the town has always been renowned for its hotels and restaurants, its food and wine. Many Canadians stationed here in Lahr knew it well.

On this occasion, we went to Zum goldenen Engel, a Gasthaus-Restaurant in the Black Forest Style: red and white curtains on the windows, the waitresses wearing Trachten and with many lovely decorations inside and out. It is a very old Gasthaus, one of the oldest in the town, dating back 500 years. Its wooden floors and ceiling, soft lighting, tables topped with sparkling white linen, candles and glasses along with the friendly owners and staff, welcome one to come in and enjoy the ambience, good food, wine and other liquid refreshments.

The picture at left shows one of the rooms with the Stammtisch at the forefront, left.

We had not reserved ahead as we weren't sure about the weather beforehand. It was becoming colder and snow was in the forecast. Fortunately, the roads were fine that day. On a Sunday in Glottertal or almost anywhere else where there is good dining, it is recommended to book a table. Luckily, two tables were free, the only two in that huge restaurant as all the rest had been reserved.

On the right, another of the rooms. This was 4th Advent Sunday but only three of the candles are burning as the one behind had burnt itself out!

We sat near the bar, where one has a great view of the Gasthaus, the guests, the food and drinks being served. We were also close to the Stammtisch, where on that morning (it was just before noon hour when we arrived) some of the elder men from the town were enjoying glasses of wine before heading home for Mittagessen (their midday dinner).

Hans took this picture for me. The men raised their glasses in a prost to us, which we returned, as we sat just kitty corner from them. That table is very old and is filled with initials carved into it over the years.

Just below right is our table facing the bar. We always like to sit where the action is.

Lina, at age 95, is as young as a person in her 40s when it comes to her mind. She has trouble walking but goes out on her own with her walker. She mentioned that many of her friends who are also quite elderly told her that they do not buy any new things for themselves anymore and wondered why she did. That day she wore a new white and lace blouse with a lace underlay, as well as a very smart black jacket with white trim on it. She was her usual talkative and interesting self. She listens well but also has an opinion about everything, from politics, to customs, to men. Oh, to be like her in our old age!

The three of us having a wonderful afternoon, enjoying the ambiance.

Lina ordered Zander, a delicacy (shown at left). The perch was served over Sauerkraut and a delicious sauce, along with Schinken pieces. (You may remember that I wrote about another outing with her, saying how upset she was when those smoked bacon or ham bits were served with the Chanterelle mushrooms. This time she mentioned it to us but just laughed. Hans again ate her bacon bits!)

Hans and I both ordered Schweine Medaillons (pork filet). It was accompanied by creamed Wirsingkohl, which is Savoy cabbage. Hans cooks that at home from time to time when we have a beef or pork filet. It is not a vegetable that we see people buying often in Nova Scotia, but it makes for a delicious vegetable dish. Our meal came with gnocchi, but we both requested Bratkartoffeln instead. Those fried potatoes sauteed in butter were crisp and delicious. (As a note of interest, in many Gasthäuser in our part of Germany--as at Zum goldenen Engel--instead of being called Bratkartoffeln, they are known by the Allemannisch name of Brägele.)

Hans' Wirsingkohl: He just slices the Savoy cabbage (as you would a regular cabbage), adds it to boiling water and some vegetable bouillon (not too much bouillon), then lets it simmer until tender. He then drains it well, adds cream, salt and pepper and voila!, you have a superb vegetable dish.

I spent some time doing some Christmas baking during the last couple of weeks. My mother's recipe book came out from the bookcase and once again I made her Scotch cake, better known elsewhere as shortbread.

On the outer circle are whipped shortbread. On the inside, ginger snaps; on the inner circle, my Scotch cake. (I gave the recipe for my Scotch cake in my post of Dec. 14, 2009.)

The ginger snaps I made particularly because an English-Canadian friend of ours loves them and as they are not known here in Germany he is unable to buy them. So he has a few and so do we. Many of my cookies I give as gifts.

I had thought I might make my mother's mocha cakes--one of her baked sweets I loved the most--but they will wait until next year as they are a lot of work and time ran out. First you must bake a cake and then cut it into squares. Then you frost all sides with chocolate icing and roll the squares in crushed peanuts. The recipe for Stollen that our friend Ursula gave me this year will also wait until 2012. It is Ludwig's mother's recipe from Dresden (where it is renowned) and is a very old one, which was passed down to her. Stollen is somewhat similar to English fruitcake.

The Bruckerhof Gasthaus at right (taken in spring)

Last Wednesday we women joined the men at the Bruckerhof. It is now traditional for the men to invite us to join them before Christmas. Many Canadians knew this Gasthaus well when they were stationed here. It is not a place one finds easily as it is down a long, narrow country road (wide enough in places for only one car at a time); then you drive up a hill and through a farmer's yard before finally reaching the Gasthaus at the end of the road.

The group of us at the left. I ordered a Cordon Bleu and Hans, saure Leber. We both took half home! The servings are huge. Sour liver is one of the specialties in Baden-Württemberg. It has vinegar in the sauce but is not really that sour in taste. Each Gasthaus will make it somewhat differently, with more or less sourness at each place.

The liver came with a salad and Bratkartoffeln.

Hans' liver below

One of our friends ordered a steak with onions. It is almost as large as the plate!

Just down from our table was a large group of elderly men, all there to celebrate the 89th birthday of one of them. I remarked at the time that he looked to be in his 70s, not in his late 80s. They were having a great time, singing and prosting with their beer and wine glasses. After they had eaten, they began singing German folk songs, accompanied by one of the men on an accordion. What a great pre-Christmas celebration for all of us!

Although the picture on the right is dark, you can see the raised glasses in song.

On the Thursday before Christmas, we drove up into the hills to get our tree at a farm we go to each December. We had put off getting it, as early in the week there had been snow, none of which stayed long, but in the hills it might have been tricky for driving. All their trees are Nordmann spruce and do not shed their needles easily. After we made our choice, we sat in the little warm hut, heated by a pot-bellied wood stove. Everyone who buys their tree there is offered various types of Schnaps (on the house), produced there by the farmer and his family. Hans also bought a good-sized salami to take home with us.

Fourth Advent had arrived and now it was Christmas Eve. We had our traditional Coquilles St Jacques (the best I have made I think), followed by Hans' potato salad and German wieners, along with an excellent bottle of 1993 Chablis, still perfect after 18 years.

Food and drink and our customs at Christmas, almost more than anything else or any other time, bring back nostalgic days and times spent with family and friends over the years. Those memories are to be treasured as are all those we continue to make each year. We hope you all had a very:

Merry Christmas! Frohe Weihnachten! Joyeux Noel!

and

We wish you all a Happy New Year and all the Best for 2012!

Prosit! Cheers! A Votre Sante!

Fondue, Wine, Schnaps and Other Cheese Things

2011-12-13T03:43:00.000-08:00

I have never been a true "Cheese" person, although many I know are, including Hans. He loves cheese in every way and especially by itself with some good bread. I like mild ones; he loves the strong ones: the stronger the better in taste and the stronger in aroma, the better he also likes it, it seems to me! I enjoy cheese just as it is from time to time, but I especially enjoy it in baked dishes or melted at the table with some French bread or potatoes.

The Christmas season is now here with the New Year not far behind. What better way to spend a simple and cosy evening than over a cheese fondue during this busy time of year. We have had in the past fondue or raclette on New Year's Eve, which was a great way to end the year. Just last weekend, on Second Advent, we had cheese fondue once again.

A fondue is a lovely way to enjoy a leisurely supper on a cold, winter's night. It has perhaps gone out of fashion, but in the 1970s and 1980s it was a popular way to entertain a small group of friends or the family. It still is a great way to do so! It is easy and relaxing with little preparation ahead. Fondues--whether meat, fish, chocolate or cheese--have one thing in common: they follow the custom of everyone eating from the same pot.

For a cheese fondue, the mixture and the pot used are important. One can buy the ready-to-make fondues and that can be fine; however, it is better when one adds to it. When we buy the fondue mixture, Hans always adds more of our own cheese (Emmental or Gruyere), more white wine and Kirschwasser.

The traditional ceramic-type pot or dish sits atop a burner, one using spirits, which means the pot or dish must be heatproof. If you do not have the traditional pot, use a pot that withstands good heat. You can start heating the cheese fondue in a pot on the stove and then transferring it to your fondue pot over its burner or you can start it directly over the fondue burner. Here is the recipe for the original Swiss fondue as given with our made-in-Switzerland "Spring" fondue set.

Swiss Fondue - Serves 4: Rub the pot with 1 cut clove of garlic. Warm 1-1/2 cups of dry white wine in the cheese pot; to the wine, add 1 teaspoon lemon juice (the dry wine and the lemon juice help to melt the cheese). Add gradually, stirring continuously (do it in a figure 8-motion), 20 ounces grated cheese (half Emmental, half Gruyere. If there is no Gruyere cheese available, according to "Spring" add a pinch of salt to the Emmental cheese in the pot.) Do not stop stirring.

Add 1 teaspoon cornstarch to a jigger of Kirschwasser (Schnaps), stirring until the cornstarch is dissolved. (A jigger is about 4 tablespoons.) The Schnaps does add to the flavour. Kirschwasser is the traditional one used. When the cheese is bubbling, stir in the Kirschwasser/cornstarch mixture. Season according to your taste with some pepper, nutmeg and paprika.

Hans doesn't always follow recipes, but when he does use one, he adds to it and changes it to suit his own taste. It was no different with the fondue this time.

Hans' Fondue: First, he rubbed the cheese pot well with a cut garlic clove. He then melted in our fondue pot, on top of the stove at low heat, about 700 grams (1-1/4 pounds or so) of equal amounts of Emmental and Gruyere cheese, cut into pieces. (Grating the cheese, as called for, would be better as it would melt more quickly and would be easier to stir.) He added one garlic clove, minced, and some butter (not really needed). He did not use any flour or cornstarch.

Below, the Gruyere cheese is shown on the left; the Emmental on the right

He added at the same time a good splash of lemon juice and about a cup of Weissherbst, a rose-type wine found only in three or four German grape-growing states. It was excellent in it. It has good acidity and is flavourful. (We would not use a regular rose wine from France or Italy nor a Portuguiser rose from Germany, as the fondue would have an entirely different taste.) Normally, we do use a dry white Riesling. Hans stirred continuously (as did I).

Hans then added a good jigger of Kirschwasser and then placed the pot over the fondue burner. He added more Kirschwasser and more again just before eating, stirring it in well. It may sound as if it would overwhelm the cheese (and our taste buds), but it did not. You need that flavour. I rarely drink Kirschwasser and normally do not like a lot of its flavour in a dish, but this was not too much--although I was saying while he poured it, "No, No, No!" The fondue flavour was excellent. A sprinkle of pepper and paprika at the end and it was ready. Nutmeg is also usually added. Note: Do not mistake North American Kirsch for Kirschwasser; Kirsch is a cherry-flavoured liqueur and not suitable in a fondue.

With the fondue, serve fresh baguette, cut into cubes. (Bread cubes sauteed in butter and garlic ahead of time and then set aside until ready to fondue add extra flavour.) On New Year's Eve one year we also dipped small, whole potatoes, cauliflower florets and mushrooms into the bubbling cheese (none of them should be too soft or cooked too much beforehand). Olives, sweet pickled onions and sweet pickles are also very good as accompaniments on the side. Make sure to have the long fondue forks to use for the dipping.

Wine to serve with a cheese fondue is usually a Riesling--or the white wine used in the pot. On this occasion we had a 2005 bottle of Huxelrebe Rheinhessen Kabinett, one we have bought many times as it is one of our favourite white wines to have in the afternoon or without food. It also goes well with flavourful dishes such as the cheese in a fondue. This particular bottle came from vintner Holdenried in the town of Partenheim, a place we have visited many times over the years for their white wines (they also have an excellent Weissherbst). We have given many of those bottles as gifts because they carry Hans' surname. At some long-ago time someone who passed along the family name likely came from Partenheim.

Over the years we have hosted several wine and cheese evenings, both here in Germany and in Nova Scotia. On at least one of these occasions at our house in N.S. we passed out paper and pens and asked everyone to write down their favourite cheese and wine combinations. Hans had matched each type of cheese with the appropriate wine. The winner was Munster with a Gewürtztraminer Spätlese or Auslese wine. The second favourite was Roquefort--a blue cheese--with a Sauterne. This was the same result as at our house in Germany. This really surprised us in Nova Scotia as we had wondered whether Canadians would enjoy either cheese, as these two are not to everyone's taste (nor to mine, but they are Hans' favourites).

(I took the following four pictures from snapshots, thus the reason they are somewhat unclear.)

Below, our friend Rosi from Nürnberg, Germany beside Hans, before the other guests arrived.

Hans is opening the first bottle of wine to get the cheese and wine party started. My sister Paula is in yellow.

Canadians have, of course, been enjoying wine and cheese evenings since about the 1970s when it became a popular way to entertain. In those days, however, the variety of cheese available was small in comparison to today. I lived in Winnipeg during several of those years of the '70s, during which time a cheese boutique opened in the Shopping Mall at Polo Park. They had a good selection, although their cheese was expensive.

For our cheese buffet we had brought all the cheese--except for the Cheddar and Feta--to Nova Scotia with us from Germany (all of it bought in Germany and Alsace, France) as one is allowed to bring into Canada up to 20 kilo. If you do buy cheese to take back from Europe, make sure to declare it on your customs form. You cannot import cheese in liquid, such as Feta, into Canada. That one we bought at a cheese farm just south of Aylesford, about 40 minutes from our house in N.S. His wife is the daughter of good friends of mine.

Our guests making their decisions on what to have and what they like best.

Years ago, when posted to Marville, France, we had cheese every so often. Up until then I likely had had only Cheddar and perhaps Velveeta or cheese slices. My husband loved all kinds of cheese and would buy several types, keeping them in the fridge. As it happened on one such occasion--in about 1962/63--my sister Paula was visiting us. She had come over with a friend to tour Europe. Later, she came to stay with us for a while.

As she wanted to make herself useful and help out, she decided to clean out the fridge one day while we were out. "Goodness," she said to herself, "this smells terrible! And so does this!" And out of the fridge it went until all of her brother-in-law's cheese was thrown into the garbage can. He, of course, went looking for it to have for supper and that is when she had to confess. She didn't know, of course, that such cheese as Munster, for example, does smell pretty high. My husband took it in good stride and Paula learned that not all that smells bad is! (We make sure to keep all cheese well wrapped and in an air-tight container in the fridge so that the aroma isn't so pungent when opening its door!)

This was Hans' supper last evening. (I had a Schnitzel and a glass of wine!)

Here is a long-time dessert recipe of mine that I have made over the years and one that my friend Mary in Ontario still makes often when she entertains. It is an uncooked cheesecake that can be made ahead and frozen. It was one of Mary Moore's recipes published in the Regina Leader Post in the late 1960s. At that time we were living in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

Cheesecake: Makes 8 servings

1-1/4 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (200 gram box of chocolate wafers, using about 3/4); roll into crumbs

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

2 three-ounce packages cream cheese, softened (about 200g total)

1/2 cup white sugar

Pinch salt

2 eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Green food colouring (optional)

1 basket strawberries (optional, but worth it)

Combine the crumbs, brown sugar and melted butter. Press the mixture into an 8-inch or 8-1/2-inch spring form pan (sides need to be removed later). Chill.

Beat the cheese, white sugar and salt together until very light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and vanilla; beat well. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites (with clean beaters) until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the whipped cream and the egg whites into the cheese mixture. Tint mixture a soft green with a little food colouring, if wished. Pour over the crumbs. Cover and freeze 6 hours or overnight. Remove cheesecake from the freezer 1-1/2 hours before serving and place on the fridge shelf. To serve: Place pan on a serving dish and remove the sides. Cover the top with whole strawberries or pass them separately. Cut into wedges and serve. Note: If you serve this in the summer, it will soften quickly. The trick is to cut it and serve it to your guests before it does.

We have just celebrated Third Advent, with Christmas just two weeks away. Enjoy the lovely season!

All About Cheese

2011-11-24T03:00:00.000-08:00

In Germany and across the Rhine River in Alsace, France, we are able to purchase so many varieties of cheese that one is hard-pressed at times to decide upon which ones to choose. Cheese is reasonable in price here, which means one doesn't think twice about buying a large round of Brie, Camembert or Munster for example. (The cost in Nova Scotia is two to three times higher, although this doesn't include Cheese Whiz or other similar processed types as they are sometimes cheaper in Canada.) The above cheese was showcased at the Edeka, a medium-sized supermarket in Ettenheim, Germany, . That below is a small sampling at the supermarket in Rhinau, Alsace, France.

Recently we had Canadian friends for a "cheese board" supper. Hans had bought ten different types of cheese, some of them in the Alsace, some of them in Ettenheim. All were excellent. Along with the cheese, we had freshly baked baguette, which Hans bought in the Alsace at a small bakery in Rhinau that same morning. With it all, we served cherry tomatoes, radishes, grapes and a small dish of caraway seeds--a must with Munster cheese.

Below, from top right and then clockwise: Munster (from Alsace, France), Camembert (French), Coulommiers (French), Soumaintrain from Burgundy, France and Bavarian Bleu (Germany). These are all soft cheeses.

Below, from top and then clockwise: goat cheese (France), Roquefort (France), Parmesan (Italy), English Cheddar (Shropshire, England) and Comte, the most often purchased cheese in France. These are hard cheeses except for the goat cheese, which is semi-soft.

Some cheese requires a red wine, others a white; some require a wine with a lot of flavour, others a milder one. The picture below shows the wine we had that evening. The first, on the left, is a red Bordeaux; the one in the centre is a red given to us by a former Legionnaire, one that the French Foreign Legion members enjoys as a table wine. The last is a German Gewürztraminer from the Kaiserstuhl--half an hour south of us--and one that is recommended for Munster cheese. We had also had a Champagne-type wine, a German Sekt.

A few days later, we had a cheese board again with our friend Jean visiting from Nova Scotia, who proclaimed it to be her favourite meal.

According to the small book, The Cheese Companion, the production of cheese goes back at least 5,000 years, so for all those years since then it has been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people in many different countries around the world. No one knows when cheese was first made. Sheep were domesticated thousands of years ago and Ancient Egypt raised cows, with cheese being made from the milk once its potential was realized. Later, Roman soldiers received a regular ration of cheese, so wherever the army went and set up camp, cheese making followed. That included Germany as the Romans marched through here about 2,000 years ago, leaving behind their ways for not only cheese making but also for grape growing and wine making.

Cheese in those long-ago days was all made from raw milk. When Louis Pasteur invented pasteurization in the1850s, the making of cheese changed. Some cheese makers still do make cheese from non-pasteurized milk, but they must be careful as certain microorganisms can spoil the cheese as well as endanger the person eating it. When done properly, most cheese connoisseurs prefer their cheese made from non-pasteurized milk; however, that cheese is becoming more and more difficult to find on the shelves these days, which is a shame.

Hans always looks for the raw milk cheese to purchase as it is far superior than the type made from pasteurized milk. We can find it in France, particularly at a farm fromagerie, but also at a supermarket there; in Canada, it is still produced and sold in Quebec, the only province I believe that allows it.

The Munster cheese above is from the Alsace. The words "Au Lait Cru" mean it is made from non-pasteurized milk.

One of our favourite suppers is raclette, using an electric raclette device that we bought some years ago in Gruyere, Switzerland. It is similar to the type used at the restaurants in Gruyere, where Hans and I had raclette on that same day trip.

The picture below shows a typical piece of cheese for raclette.

For raclette one needs a good-sized piece of hard cheese. Many supermarkets or cheese counters sell cheese with the name Raclette; otherwise, buy a good-sized piece of Emmentaler. With our machine, the cheese is set on a steel swivel that is placed against the hot burner. As it melts, you lift the melted cheese off onto your plate of hot boiled potatoes. You can, of course, add salt and pepper to the potatoes before the cheese.

Along with the cheese and potatoes, we have a mixture of sweet pickles, small white pickled onions and finely chopped coleslaw. You can also use mushrooms or vegetables of choice, such as cauliflower (which should be blanched or partially cooked first).

Wine for raclette is usually a white wine, although a rose or Sekt (Champagne style) is also very good. Others might prefer a red. One of our favourite wines is a Scheurebe which goes well with it; however, that wine is usually only found here in Germany.

Cheese is a mulit-faceted product and one that can be eaten by itself as is, baked or broiled with other food or added as an ingredient to many types of recipes. Here is one of my specialties that we have a few times a year at home, usually accompanying peppercorn steak flambeed with Cognac, a Chateaubriand or other special beef or pork tenderloin dinner. It also goes perfectly with roast lamb and is usually served with it in a good restaurant here in Baden-Württemberg.

This recipe came from the cookbook, Geniessen auf gut deutsch. I translated it from the German and made a few changes. It is one of our favourite potato gratin dishes.

Kartoffelgratin mit Sahne (Potato Gratin with Cream)

A 9-inch square baking dish is large enough for 2 to 4 persons. For the two of us, I use a round 8-inch pottery casserole that can be put in the oven.
Preheat oven to 400F/200C.

First, rub freshly cut garlic all over the inside of the dish. Butter the dish well. Place the sliced potatoes (as many as you want to use, raw or partially cooked) into the buttered and garlic-rubbed baking dish. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with nutmeg. Sprinkle with minced garlic; I mince the garlic used for rubbing the casserole dish plus one or two more, depending on the size of the cloves, but don't overdo it as you do not want the garlic to overpower the flavour of the gratin. (The additional garlic added is not part of the original recipe. I did not use all the garlic cloves shown below.)

Note: You can cook the potatoes first until they are almost but not quite tender (and then slice them), which means they will take less time to bake in the oven. Or you can slice them uncooked, which means they will take about 45 minutes more to bake than the cooked ones. Note: When using uncooked potatoes, you can instead place the casserole dish in a slower oven, 180F/80C to 250F/180C for one hour; then raise the temperature to 400F/200C and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and nicely browned. I have baked mine from the cooked and the uncooked state. It is definitely faster using cooked potatoes, but don't overcook them. Last week I used them raw.

Pour whipping cream over the sliced potatoes until you can see the cream through the potatoes (the cream will not be covering them totally). Gently, using your hands, mix the potatoes with the cream so that none are sticking to each other. (I use half whipping cream and half creme fraiche; the recipe just calls for cream.)

Sprinkle Swiss cheese (Emmental or Gruyere or half and half of each) over the potatoes. I sometimes use half Emmental and half Cheddar, which is also very good. Last weekend I used half Emmental and half Mozzarella, also tasty. (The recipe just says Käse without saying which type of cheese.) Cover it well with dabs of butter. Bake in the preheated oven until the potatoes are tender, about 40 to 60 minutes. Cover with foil if the cheese browns too quickly. The time will depend on the size of the dish and the amount and type of potatoes you have used. (With the dish shown, we always have enough left for a second meal.)

This was our dinner last January: pepper steak flambeed with Armagnac, Steinpilzen (a special type of mushroom), broccoli, fennel and potato gratin.

This was our dinner a week ago: pepper steak flambeed with Cognac, gratin, caultiflower, brussel sprouts and carrots, with hollandaise sauce served separately.

For wine, we always have a red Bordeaux with a steak dinner. This was a 1996 Grand-Puy Ducasse (Pauillac, Gironde). The label had mold on it but the wine was perfect still.

Bon Appetit!

Autumn Celebrations and Fests

2011-10-29T07:06:00.000-07:00

September and October herald the autumn celebrations in both Canada and Germany. For young and old it is a time to be thankful for the bountiful harvest, for the trees changing colour during usually sunny, beautiful days and for fresh root and trailing above-ground vegetables in all the markets. Thanksgiving in both countries is in early October, just one week apart; in the United States, about six to seven weeks later.

The picture at left shows the fall vegetables at a market near Berwick, Nova Scotia, taken the day before I returned to Germany in mid September.

The picture of the grapes on the vine was taken by Hans in the Kaiserstuhl, south of us here in Germany, in September. The forecast for the grape harvest this year is that it will be both plentiful and of good quality.

The market below, one of our favourites, is held in the countryside in Freiamt--about 30 minutes southeast from us--every Friday afternoon.

Onion tarts and new wine are traditionally served together. The onion tart has a pastry crust, with sour cream or creme fraiche (sometimes sweet cream) mixture spread on top and covered with onions and Schinken (similar to bacon). It is then baked in a special oven. That first new wine is sweet and with each week that passes it become drier and clearer (note the colour of the very new wine in our glasses below). Some of that wine is kept for the fall harvest period and onion tart time; most of it goes into barrels and will not be sold until the following year.

Below is the Zwiebelkuchen we had at the Freiamt market with our glasses of Neuerwein from the newly pressed grapes.

Zwiebelkuchen (Onion Tart) - The pastry for onion tart is not like North American pie crust. There are various recipes for it, depending on where it is made. The crust will be made with flour, sometimes yeast is added, salt, milk or water or sometimes light cream, sometimes an egg, butter and sugar. The topping will include either sour cream or creme fraiche (often a combination of the two) or sweet cream. One that the German cook at former Canadian Forces Hospital Europe made had fresh cream and eggs in the topping.

Our friend Monika uses flour, yeast, salt, a little water and a little oil for her crust. For the topping, she mixes together 200 grams of sour cream (about three-quarters of a cup), 1 egg, salt and pepper. She cuts smoked Schinken (or smoked bacon)--amount wished--into narrow strips. She slices about a pound of onions (or the amount wished) and puts them into some sour cream to soften them, leaving them in the cream for two to three hours in the fridge. (Or instead, as some recipes call for, saute the sliced onions in a little bacon fat until soft, but not browned.) Note: Sour cream in Germany is naturally soured, not artificially as it is in North America; therefore, it is much milder in taste.

Assemble: Spread the onions and bacon over the crust. Pour the cream mixture over all. Bake in a hot oven, about 400F to 425F (200C to 220C) (depending on your oven), for 35 to 40 minutes. Don't let it burn; cover it lightly if necessary during the early baking.

Autumn also heralds many Oktoberfests, one of which is our favourite and it takes place each year on the last weekend of September. Those celebrations are held at the Gasthaus Linde in Wallburg, just seven or so minutes from where we live. Now we make sure that each year we return from Nova Scotia in time to attend. This is the same Gasthaus where I go for chicken every week, so I know it well--and they know me well, too!

Albrecht and Waltraud: the Wirt and Wirtin at the Gasthaus Linde

The Oktoberfest at Rust, which I wrote about a week ago, and the one at the Linde are a contrast in size. In Rust, it is a huge hall with a thousand people in it. In Wallburg, it is small, friendly, warm and personal. As we would say in Germany: Gemütlich! Both fests have good food, lots to drink and great live music.

Below, a view of the area, showing Hans in both.

The Linde set up for their fest in a covered area behind their Gasthaus, with the traditional benches and picnic-style tables covered in the Bavarian blue and white colours. Red geraniums (still perfect from spring), hung from the walls as did blue and white banners.

Below, a good view of the area (geraniums in the back) with the band master (forefront) taking a break

The table service was excellent, with the servers or waitresses in Trachten as was the case at Europa Park's Oktoberfest. (I did err in my blog post about that when I said the servers at Europa Park wore Black Forest Trachten. They actually wore Bavarian Trachten as did those at the Linde and as did I. These two fests are, after all, Bavarian-type fests.) What stood out at both was the number of people wearing the traditional dress, more than we have seen in the past few years. This, too, added to the Gemütlichkeit. My own dress I bought two years ago, wearing it on a number of similar occasions.

Here I am with Hans' beer stein in front of me and my own glass of Weinschorle, a mixture of half white wine and half carbonated mineral water. I find that at fests the white wine is not to my particular liking as it is generally just a normal table wine or everyday wine. Weinschorle is a good substitute and has only half the alcohol content.

The Oktoberfest weekend at the Linde began on Saturday evening with food and live music; then, again, on Sunday morning for Frühschoppen; once more on Sunday evening and, lastly, on Monday evening. Live music, food and beer were part of all the celebrations. (Bavaria is known for its beer and Oktoberfest is traditionally a beer fest!) Waltraud told us later that on every single day or evening all the benches were filled. One night they had to bring in more tables to accommodate the crowd. Each year, as it becomes more and more known, it becomes more and more popular.

Here I am (centre) in mid morning, with things just getting underway

Hans and I went for Sunday morning Frühschoppen at around 10.30, which traditionally begins after church services. Throughout the year many Gasthäuser have Frühschoppen on Sunday mornings, although it is usually just the men who go after church, sit at the Stammtisch and enjoy a beer and conversation, while their wives go home to prepare the traditional Sunday Mittagessen or noon dinner. For a fest, everyone goes to Frühschoppen--men, women and children--and partakes in the food that is offered along with beer and wine and, of course, soft drinks and mineral water.

The band started playing at 10 a.m. and they continued until 3 p.m., with breaks just every half hour--and not for long. That band is also one of the reasons that brings us there. They are fantastic. They call themselves "Die Lustige Funfzigers" (The Happy Fifty-Year Olds) and all, with the exception of perhaps three or four, are now well over 50 (there are more than 25 of them altogether). The average age is 66, which means many of them are now in their 70s, one of them being in his late 80s. They play the music we love: marches, folk music, popular songs, polkas and drinking songs. Clap along music! And, as at the Europa Park Oktoberfest, lots of "Prost, Prost, Prost!" ringing throughout.

Hans doing his bit: Prosit!

Hans' favourite piece of music at a fest and one of his favourite at any time is "Alte Kameraden," military marching music. Below, this was the piece of music on their music stands and it was played specifically for him as he had requested it, something he does each year. It is all about "old or former comrades." Everyone clapped to that wonderful marching music.

The cost of the food and drinks at a fest is always reasonable--usually less than at the regular Gasthaus prices--although with less choice than if ordering from a regular menu inside the Gasthaus. (At a fest, it will nearly always be a special menu outside and also inside if the fest is taking place there as well). Here, at the Linde, as at Europa Park, Bavarian specialties were the order of the day.

Below is the food I ordered: Schweinebraten and Sosse, Rotkohl and Kartoffelbrei (roast pork and gravy with red cabbage and mashed potatoes). That is a typical Bavarian meal and also one found all over Germany. Delicious! I gave Hans' recipe for red cabbage in my blog of December 16, 2010.

Hans ordered Haxen mit Kartoffelsalat und Brot (pork hock with potato salad and bread). The potato salad was not made with mayonnaise but with broth. Hans said his meal was also excellent.

The beer came from Bayern as it did at the Europa Park. At the Linde, they had Löwenbräu, another well-known Bavarian beer.

As a note of interest, the original (first) and largest Oktoberfest is still at the "Wiesn" in Munich. This is and was a great Oktoberfest, one to which we shall return, next year perhaps with friends from Canada.

Autumn is a time to enjoy nature and the bounty from the fields and gardens; a time to visit the markets and to sit in the sun with a good glass of beer or wine. It is also the time to reflect on life's pleasures and one's own life, to think about family and friends near and far, present and past and, most of all, to be thankful for all that we have.

The Thanksgiving display at the beautiful 350-year-old pilgrimage church in our small town

May you all have had a wonderful Thanksgiving and beautiful autumn season and may our friends and relatives, who live in the United States, enjoy theirs in November.

Germany's Oktoberfest Days: Sausages, Pretzels and Beer

2011-10-24T03:31:00.000-07:00

Our Canadian and American family and friends usually celebrate Thanksgiving with a turkey dinner and all the trimmings. Here in Germany--although good food is also important--this is the time for many fall fests. This year we have enjoyed several, one of them with good friends visiting from Canada, a wonderful day for us all. The largest Oktoberfest in our area is at Europa Park in the town of Rust, about a 30-minute drive from our house. Our friends had arrived in the area at the perfect time.

Two views of Europa Park before entering: the one on the left from outside in a parking area; the other, inside the fence but not inside the amusement park itself.

Europa Park is a huge entertainment park in the manner of Disneyland and Disney World. It is the largest seasonal theme park in the world, with 4 million visitors a year. Each year it becomes larger, with new rides, new buildings and new live entertainment, attracting families and others from all over Europe and beyond.

The picture below: Blue and white are the colours of Bayern. The beer glasses (each is a Mass--1 Liter) are also Bavarian, with the label of the Hofbräuhaus on them.

In late September and early October the owner brings in a band and entertainers from the Hofbräuhaus in München. There is no cover charge and no cost other than for any food and drinks that one might order. This year, a Mass of beer (1 liter) cost Euro 8.80. Not cheap, but the entertainment was free. The largest Oktoberfest in the world is held in Munich each year during the last week in September and the first week in October, with the most famous beer hall being the Hofbräuhaus, which is open all year. The beer hall has nothing to do with the Oktoberfest, but they do have a huge tent during that period along with another 13 or so other large tents erected for the celebration.

Below, on the left: Bob, me, Jean and Leslie; on the right foreground, Erin. Hans took the picture.

Jean, Leslie and Hans in the picture at left; Hans and Erin in the one below right.

Our friends Jean Robertson and Leslie and Bob Climie with their daughter, Erin, all of whom had recently arrived in Germany on holiday (from Nova Scotia, British Columbia and Ontario) joined us at the Oktoberfest in Rust. The hall, which is large, had as many people as we have seen there (we've been several times), perhaps about 1,000, maybe more. We had gone early, so we were fortunate to find a front row table. Everyone sits next to another at picnic-style tables and benches stretching in long lines throughout the hall. At a fest, everyone, young or old, gets into the spirit of the day or evening. Before you know it, you are "prosting" with someone across from you or with someone beyond you.

Jean and I

The server beside Bob is dressed in Black Forest-style Trachten.

The young girl opposite is also dressed in Trachten.

The fest brings to mind another visit to the Europa Park back in the early 1990s. In years past, Hans organized medieval dinner evenings there for Canadian friends and colleagues who were still here (before the closure of Canadian Forces Base Lahr in 1993 and 1994). These dinners were held during the winter months when the park was closed. (It still offers many forms of entertainment during those months, including the medieval dinners. The park closes for the season this year on 6 Nov 2011, re-opening in early April 2012.) On that particular occasion in 1993, we were one of the last to leave, getting home a little after midnight.

We had, of course, drunk quite a lot of red wine, as it flowed throughout the dinner--all as part of the price, which at that time was 95 Marks per person, steep for that era. Today, it costs 69 Euros per person, about $35 per person more than in 1993. We both felt at the time that it was well worth the cost as it included a six-course meal, all the wine you could drink, and entertainment that included a juggler and minstrels.

The group of us below at the dinner in June 1993, less than two months before Canadian Forces Headquarters Europe and Canadian Forces Hospital Europe--where each of us worked--closed.

Shortly after getting home that night, I realized that I did not have my reading glasses. Unbeknownst to Hans (who had gone upstairs), I headed back to the park. The gate was still open and the lights were on. The building in which we had had dinner, however, was locked. So what to do? I wandered around hoping to find someone, but I finally had to give up, so headed back to the gate. Lo and behold, it was now locked and I could not find another exit! I sat on a bench to decide my next course of action. By now, it was at least 1 a.m. Not a soul was in sight, so I concluded that I was locked up there for the night. (I had no cell phone as one would have today.) The next thing I knew, a guard with a dog--barking and snarling--came toward me. The guard asked what I was doing there. In my poor German I nervously tried to explain about my "Brille," luckily a word I remembered. I talked as fast as I could and thankfully he understood me and believed me. He led me to the gate, unlocked it and out I gladly went. I breathed a sigh of relief when I climbed into my car and set off once more for home--without, of course, my glasses.

Both of us in our bibs at the dinner. The spots on us were on the negatives received, so it is not that we were sloppy!

The morning after the night before, I said nothing. Instead, I went back out to the car, ready to go back to the park. First, though, I did a thorough search of the car. And there, on the floor between the seats, were my glasses! It had been too dark the night before and perhaps because of the wine or because I was tired, I had not found them then. It has ensured that I have never forgotten that Medieval Dinner at Europa Park. It also has ensured that I was very careful at the Oktoberfest this year!

Below is the certificate Hans received as the organizer and go-between for Europa Park and Log Branch HQ

Back to the present with Bob, Jean and I in the swing of things, though I seem to be working at it! We are waving and clapping to the music, along with others

The six of us ate, drank beer and wine and soft drinks, clapped our hands to the live music, held arms and sang and swayed back and forth together--sitting and standing, but not on the benches as many of the younger crowd did, although it was tempting; in earlier days I suspect most of us would have done so.

Below, a view of a part of the hall with a group standing on the benches

Note that both Hans and I were in Trachten. That means wearing traditional dress. Both the Schwarzwald and Bayern are known for theirs. That of the Black Forest is different than that in Bavaria, though all Trachten have similarities. Hans and I were in the Bavarian style dress; the servers were in Black Forest style.

A young woman serving a salad, pretzel, bread and soup.

The food at the Oktoberfests usually keeps to the theme; in other words, Bavarian specialties.

Weisswurst is one such specialty and served with it is a Laugen Pretzel, along with sweet mustard that is made in Bayern. For me, the mustard is as important as those white sausages, perhaps even more important. (That mustard would also be excellent spread over a pork loin or shoulder before placing it in an oven to roast. Of course, not everyone likes it, as one of our friends did not care for it, perhaps because of its sweetness.)

Weisswurst and a Pretzel

A sharp knife always comes with the sausages as the skin is removed before eating them. There are several ways to remove the skin, but a good friend, who had grown up in Munich, showed us the way she had been taught as a child. Hans now demonstrates to other friends how to do it her way. Each time I have Weisswurst I have to remember all over again as I keep getting it wrong!

The key is putting the fork into the sausage correctly and then placing the knife correctly. For those who wish to do otherwise, some simply cut the skin down the length of the sausage and then remove the skin all at once. Others cut the sausage into sections and remove the skin from each section. Our late friend Linda's way is more fun! The pictures below show how to do it her Bavarian childhood way.

The fork is placed at the end as you see below left and right. The knife is placed above it on a similar slant as the fork (almost touching it). The last picture, below centre, shows the fork holding the piece of sausage and the tip of the knife holding onto the skin and slowly removing it, while lifting with the fork the piece that is being cut--minus the skin. Much easier, of course, watching someone do it in front of you. Hans demonstrates every time for me, although I think I got it right at the fest the first time!

Note the mustard on the Bavarian plate. These pictures were actually taken at home when we had them a while ago.

The ingredients shown on the jar of mustard are as follows: water, brown sugar, mustard seeds, brandy and spices. Of course, the spices make a difference and they are not mentioned.

Below right, the mustard from the jar in our Bavarian dish.

The young crowd standing and clapping on the benches beside us and Hans on the right with a filled Hofbräuhaus beer glass.

The day of the Oktoberfest was a day to remember for all of us.

Hans saying goodbye to Leslie and Bob

Aufwiedersehen!

A Stroll Through Bridgetown Today

2011-09-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

Bridgetown began as a small Acadian settlement more than 400 years ago. Today, its population is not large, but it is a relatively thriving community nonetheless, although not in the manner of its great heyday of the early to mid 1800s to mid 1900s. Unfortunately, many businesses have come and gone, mostly due to its small population and the population in the area overall. It has, however, many facilities for the townspeople to enjoy, such as a curling arena, hockey arena, lawn-bowling area and an outdoor swimming pool in summer. (Across the river, about six kilometers east, is the Eden Golf Club.)

For nature lovers and campers, there is a campsite (shown below) directly in Bridgetown along the Annapolis River, as well as one on the crest of North Mountain, in Valleyview Provincial Park, between the Bay of Fundy and town.

The summer festivals bring tourists, many of them filling the campsite. As well, the town has several bed and breakfasts, a motel in the heart of Bridgetown and a motel with cabins close to the crossroads of Highway 201, on the southern edge of town.

Harrington House on Granville Street

Reminisce Bed and Breakfast, on the road leading south over the bridge

Jubilee Park--located on the western side of Bridgetown but still near the center of town--is under construction and renovation, but it is still accessible. It should be completed before next summer.

I spent some time this past summer talking to the pleasant young woman in the small tourist bureau and visiting the park. It lies along the Annapolis River just off Granville Street West and is a lovely spot for a picnic, for a stroll or just to sit beside the water. A pathway takes you directly into the main part of town, about a five-minute walk or so.

Two views within the park and of the river flowing past

These two pictures show the pathway leading into town and a quiet picnic area.

An old-timers' car show takes place here each summer, as well as festivals. The Cider Fest was in mid September, which I missed by a day. The cider itself, though, is pretty mild. You likely won't find any with alcohol, unless a tent is erected, or perhaps at night in the arena. Unlike Europe, no alcohol will be found along the street in booths. The fest itself, though, is fun and a lot of work goes into it. July 1st celebrations include a great fireworks display that night. Another fest takes place on the August 1st weekend.

The above sign likely now reads "Welcome Back!" Education-wise, Bridgetown has a high school and an elementary school. (Within a twenty-minute drive, there are two community colleges, one in Lawrencetown and one in Middleton. Acadia University in Wolfville is about an hour's drive east. Nova Scotia has always deemed education to be important, with several universities in a province of less than one million people.

The high school is below left; the elementary, on the right

Queen Street (shown left and right; the northern end is in the forefront), named after Queen Victoria, is the
main shopping area in town and is an historic street, with many buildings from the early to late 1800s. As you turn left onto Queen from Albert Street (far end), you can see the pattern that Captain Crosskill created in 1821. Almost all of the original boundaries remain, although the majority of the 90 x 90 foot lots have been divided.

The Bank of Nova Scotia, on the corner of Queen and Granville Streets (shown at left), was present in town before 1900, built by local dentists of the time. It is on the site of a tavern and an inn, where, in 1824 at a meeting, the name of the town was chosen. It was also where the stage coach stopped for many years.

At that same intersection, just across the street, is The Royal Bank (above right). It has been on this site since 1910, although the present building is only a little over 60 years old.

The two pictures below are of The End of the Line Pub. The end wall of the train station/pub was painted by an artist in the town.

The End of the Line Pub is past the bridge, heading south. This was the town train station for many years. I took this train a couple of times from Bridgetown to Halifax, where it pulled into the city station next to the Nova Scotian Hotel. Most of the train tracks across Canada were removed, leaving only main lines now running across the country.

Our friends the Nashes from Chester, on Nova Scotia's South Shore, and the Kranabetters from Nürnberg, Germany inside the pub this past summer. One of the things I always order not long after I arrive in Nova Scotia is a hot turkey sandwich. It isn't fancy and it is full of calories, but I like it. It is not something one will find in a German Gasthaus, so I always look forward to it. This is one of my Canadian weaknesses!

Rosi and Dieter on the pub deck on another occasion this past summer

There is also a small chicken take-out with a few tables and a pizza place for take-out as well. You have to leave town to find a restaurant.

The town center has several businesses, including a drugstore, hardware store and supermarket, but to find a good clothing store, one must head to New Minas or Halifax. The variety store does carry some clothing.
The Liquor Commission, for wine, beer and spirits, is now situated in the same building as the supermarket, which, for us--and likely most others--is convenient.

Below, a few of the services:

The post office is one of the gathering places and whenever you go there to pick up mail or to send off a letter, you will likely see people having a discussion or two.

Two of my favourite stops in any town, the town library and the secondhand book store.

The most striking of all in Bridgetown are the beautiful homes that line the streets, the majority of them built in the 1800s and early 1900s. Here are a few of them.

My father spent the last ten years of his life in Bridgetown, all but a year of it in the Victorian house on Granville Street with my sister Paula and Laurie, where he had his own suite with a veranda, built onto the house for him in about 1979. The house itself was built in the 1890s. The two pictures below show the house: the bottom one, a side view, shows the extension at the back where my father lived. The house in those days was white.

I visited that house and Bridgetown many times over the years before coming to spend the summer months at our own place. That is what brought us to Bridgetown, along with the beauty of the area and the friends we had met through Paula and Laurie over the years and, of course, because of Paula and Laurie themselves.

The picture below was taken in 1988 on Dad's small deck, with Dad, my sister Carol and me

The Bay of Fundy is just fifteen to twenty minutes north. This is the view one sees as one comes down the hill on the other side of the North Mountain. This is where the great lobsters come from, freshly gathered from the lobster traps in those deep waters of the bay. My brother-in-law, Laurie, buys lobster fresh out of those cold waters from a fisherman in Hampton, the small village at the end of the road.

All in all, Bridgetown is a great town to bring up children or for anyone craving peace and quiet. No heavy traffic mars it, whether within the town or on the highways beyond it. There is no night life to speak of, so for the younger crowd it likely wouldn't be appealing. After saying that though, many of the young people would like to stay if they could find work. There is little industry now and few jobs, so most have to leave to find work elsewhere. The town is one of Nova Scotia's prettiest with its lovely houses lining not only the main street but many of the side streets as well and with the river meandering through its center. The slogan--The Friendly Town--is as welcoming as its residents, who always have time to say hello.

For those who wish to visit Bridgetown, it is situated about 200 kilometers west of Halifax via highway 101, about a two-hour drive west of the Halifax International Airport.

Note: As with my previous blog post about Bridgetown, some of my information came from those same sources I mentioned: the official Bridgetown website and brochures from Jubilee Park, including the one on "A Walking Tour of the Town of Bridgetown, Nova Scotia."

Bridgetown's Historic Past

2011-09-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

The Annapolis Valley lies in northwestern Nova Scotia, bordered on its northern side by the Bay of Fundy. Bridgetown is located at its western end, the last town before Annapolis Royal, with the North Mountain on its northern edge and the Bay of Fundy just beyond. It once was thriving with industry, but today it is pretty quiet. The beautiful old homes, many of them Victorian or Edwardian--a legacy of more bustling days--line Granville Street, the main street through the town. Four are shown below.

Bridgetown was originally established as a small Acadian settlement along the Annapolis River in the 1600s and early 1700s. At that time it was called Gaudetville. The rich soils of the river's tidal marshes attracted the Acadians, who successfully drained and farmed the area. In 1755 the British government expelled the French (Acadians) from Nova Scotia and expropriated their lands. Four years later, in 1759, a land-grant proclamation addressed the newly acquired lands.

Two hundred land grants of 500 acres each were laid out--each running from the Annapolis River north to the Bay of Fundy--and quickly settled by New England planters. All the lots running south from Granville Street to the river were each 90 square feet. (Granville Street is a continuation of highway #1, which goes through the centre of town, from east to west.)

The house below, on Albert Street just south of Granville, was built between 1826 and 1828 and it includes most of its original 90 x 90 foot lot, the only house still to do so.

John Hicks began a ferry service to cross the river in the early 1770s, one that continued until 1805 when the first bridge was built. (The area became known as Hicks' Ferry.) It was the first and only crossing point above Annapolis Royal and it is still the only river crossing between Annapolis Royal and Bridgetown, although there are others today as one heads east.

The picture at left shows the present-day bridge from the park on the west side of the town. The one on the right shows the bridge heading south, towards highway 201. That street, the continuation of Queen Street heading to the junction of highway 201, is the oldest continually used highway in Nova Scotia.

The present bridge was opened in 1992, the fifth to be constructed. The second bridge (from the late 1870s) was a covered bridge, which was known for its famous sign: "Keep to the Left and Walk Your Horses or You Will Be Fined." The bridge became a symbol for the town. It was the 1920s before the Town Council agreed that everyone should now drive on the right.

The picture below shows the present day Masonic Hall at the north side of the bridge. (Note the bridge look-off, a pleasant spot to rest on a summer's day.) That building was originally the Presbyterian Church and it was built in 1879 from bricks outside Bridgetown. This is a provincially registered heritage property.

Several of the churches follow: The first, on the left, is St. James Anglican Church, which was begun in 1884, with its first service in 1885. The second, on the right, is the Baptist Church, erected in 1891. Both these churches replaced earlier ones.

Below left, St Alphonsus Catholic Church and its small cemetery, located on the street leading to highway 201.

Below, the United Church, built in 1872. This also replaced an earlier one.

The ferry back in the late 1700s and early 1800s transported people and goods. After the bridge was built in 1805, the area remained as a trading and commercial centre and prospered from agriculture and forestry. Ship building was important as was the fruit industry, in particular apples and pears. This industrial prosperity lasted for almost one hundred and fifty years. The importance of the river as a shipping route resulted in an era of prosperity, thus the many lovely homes from that period to be admired today .

My brother-in-law Laurie's apple tree on the left, one of his 80 trees. Apples from our own tree on the right, picked not long before I left Nova Scotia to return to Germany.

The yellow house is on Granville Street and the brick one, with the look-out windows on top, is located on the street leading south from the bridge.

Captain John Crosskill arrived in the area in the early 1800s and acquired control of three adjoining land grants. Their river-front boundary included the bridge. The Captain recognized the importance of this crossing point and believed that a town should be established. In 1821 he designed and laid out a town plan. He surveyed enough to take care of the town's growth for one hundred years, deeding the streets to the county for public use forever. The town was named Bridgetown after its most prominent feature. It was incorporated in 1897. A former owner of Crosskill's house insisted that nothing hinder the view of his house, which faced the Annapolis River below. Today, the house faces Jubilee Park, which edges the nearby river, but the river can no longer be seen from that house today.

Below, Crosskill's house, 1815, and located on Granville Street West.

The following are several of the oldest houses in the town on Albert, Court and Water Streets, all from the early 1800s:

On the left, on the corner of Water and Court Streets, this house was built between 1822 and 1823. The house on the right, on the corner of Albert and Court, was built in about 1826.

The next three houses are all on Water Street and closest to the river: The house, below left, was built in 1822-1823. The other, on the right, was built shortly after 1825. It was originally a public house and a rooming house for sailors.

The house below is another of the original homes. It was built in 1822. It is considered to be one of the oldest of all.

Three buildings on Queen Street in the shopping area were also built in the early 1800s.

The green one below (left picture) dates from about 1830. The third floor was added in the 1890s. The white house beside it dates from the 1820s, possibly on Acadian foundations. The store was added in the 1880s. The blue building on the right, a business today, was erected in about 1825.

The red brick building below (also on Queen Street) was built in the 1820s and is the oldest brick building in Bridgetown. Today it is a veterinary clinic.

The present day James House Museum on Queen Street was built in about 1835. It features an upstairs ballroom and a five-door gallery. It is maintained by the Bridgetown and Area Historical Society. Admission is free.

Bridgetown today is a town of less than 1000 residents without the industry it once enjoyed. It is, however, still a community of friendly people, set in a peaceful valley not far from the cold water of the Bay of Fundy, where the best scallops and lobster in the world are found. My next blog will show what the town today offers.

Note: Much of my historical information came from the brochures I obtained at the Tourist Centre in Jubilee Park, particularly from the brochure "A Walking Tour." As well, I used Bridgetown's official website (www.town.bridgetown.ns.ca) and the James House Museum brochure.

To view the pictures in a larger format, just click on the one you wish. To return to the blog, click on the arrow on the top left corner of the page.

Summer Days Ending and Heading Back to Germany

2011-09-14T20:06:00.000-07:00

Above, me in the cockpit of a West Jet aircraft this summer.

I had planned to have a new post up about Bridgetown, but the days have been busy and have disappeared quickly. I shall be writing about it from Germany on my return. After that, it will be back to writing about the wine and food and fests: the time of year for new wine and onion tarts, October Fest and beer.

Below, my sister Paula on the left, Carol with her grandson and I on the right at Paula's beside their pool in July

Below, me, Carol, Jean and Laurie beside our pool enjoying a little wine

The summer has for the most part been good weather-wise with the last weeks of August and most of September being sunny and warm. We have had family get-togethers here, at my sister Paula and Laurie's just up the road beside their pool and at my sister Carol's place in Hubbards.

Hans and I with our German friend, Rosi, at The End of the Line Pub in Bridgetown; underneath, a bowl of the pub's excellent seafood chowder

Below, Laurie reading a card on his 75th birthday with his granddaughter looking on

Laurie's birthday cake

Carol and I at The Rope Loft in Chester. Another bowl of delicious seafood chowder, but a different style, shown underneath

I enjoyed lunch and supper with friends at the pubs in the area including a special lunch with my long-time friend at a restaurant in Kingston, NS.

Below, my friend Peggy and I at the Aurora Inn in Kingston in early September

Peggy and I both chose the deep-fried fresh fish. It was excellent.

I hosted a book club meeting, attended my sister Paula's writers' group get-together, joined friends at the Lakes for TGIF (Thank God It's Friday) beside the Annapolis River and visited good friends, the Nashes, in Chester one afternoon with my friend Jeanne playing the accordion and singing.

Jean on the accordion at her home in Chester

We flew to Ottawa for a wonderful visit with Heiko and his family in July. Unfortunately, I didn't get to Prince Edward Island to visit with other family relatives and friends, so I shall have to wait another year.

Along with Hans, we hosted Paula and Laurie at dinner a few times as they did for us as well. I shall be having dinner there again tonight, with our friend Jean Robertson joining us.

Below, a Chinese dinner I served Paula and Laurie this summer. It included chicken chow mein, sweet and sour pork, Chinese steak strips and a vegetable dish.

One of the fun things was talking to my sister Anne yesterday on Skype, she in Toronto and I here in Bridgetown. So now I would like to have Skype in Germany, as it is a great way to keep in touch with family and friends.

All good things come to an end. Summer is almost over. The memories, however, will remain of the good times, good friends and good food. One of those memories will be of the four deer that wandered on our property in front of our house, a doe with three fawns, three of the group shown below.

I hope you've all had a great summer and that autumn will be lovely, a special time of the year in eastern Canada.

Historic Moments in Time: War and Peace

2011-08-25T09:45:00.000-07:00

We were in Ottawa only a few days but two sites stood out for us: the Cenotaph--Canada's National War Memorial--and the Canadian War Museum. We visited the Cenotaph on our first day, while walking about the city. We spent our second day at the War Museum.

National War Memorial

The Cenotaph, above, is located in the very heart of Ottawa, in Confederation Square, at the corner of Elgin and Wellington Streets. The Memorial was originally built to commemorate World War I. It was re-dedicated in 1982 to include World War II; in 2000, to include the Korean War. All those who gave their lives during those wars are commemorated here.

Two sentries stand on guard daily in summer. The body of the Unknown Soldier is buried at the base of the Memorial. He died near Vimy Ridge in France in 1917, the site of one of Canada's most famous battles and its greatest victory during WWI, perhaps its greatest victory of any war. He was laid to rest at that time at Vimy, which is located just north of the city of Arras in Northeastern France.

His remains were later exhumed from Vimy and re-buried at the base of the Memorial in Ottawa, with Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson, veterans and a large crowd attending on May 28, 2000. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier symbolizes the sacrifice made by every Canadian who has died or may yet die for his or her country. The headstone of the Unknown Soldier can be found in the Canadian War Museum at the Memorial Hall.

Below, the two guards with the granite sarcophagus which encloses a coffin containing the remains of the Unknown Soldier.

The Battle at Vimy Ridge

The Battle at Vimy Ridge began in the early morning hours of 9 April 1917. At the end, three days later, more than 10,000 Canadians of the 35,000 who fought there had died or been wounded. Ordinary men from all parts of Canada had united to become the Canadian Corps. The names of all those killed in France during WWI--but unidentified--are engraved on the Memorial at Vimy, a total of 11,285 names. Those who were identified are buried in the cemeteries in the area, each with a headstone. More than 7,000 are buried in 30 war cemeteries within a 20-kilometer range of the Vimy Memorial. About 66,000 Canadian service personnel died in the First World War from a Canadian population of about 8 million.

The magnificent Vimy Memorial below

At the base of the Memorial appear these words in English and French:

To the valour of their Countrymen in the Great War and in memory of their sixty thousand dead this monument is raised by the people of Canada

The two pictures below show some of the names engraved on the monument and a Canadian cemetery in the area. All the cemeteries in the region--German, French, British, Canadian--are beautifully maintained.

The first time I visited Vimy was in 1962. My husband and I, our two children and my mother-in-law, Kate, headed to the coastline of western France to visit Dieppe and parts of Normandy. Vimy was an important stop enroute for us. It was early evening on a Saturday when we pulled into a large parking area at the main square in Arras. We knew it would be too late to visit the Memorial and the cemetery, but we needed to find a campsite for the night. We wanted one near Vimy but we weren't sure about which way to go. As we looked at our map, there was a knock on the car window. Looking up, we saw a gentleman in his late 40s smiling in. He asked us if we needed any help, speaking very good English. He knew from our license plate that we were Canadians, he told us. We explained our dilemma. He immediately offered to lead us to a campsite near Vimy, which was several kilometers north of Arras. So off we went.

He insisted when we got there that we go to a cafe with him and his wife first. There he ordered drinks for all and proceeded to thank us--Canadians--for all the help we had given France in two World Wars. He told us that he and his wife--and France--would never forget Canada, as in both World Wars Canada was there from the beginning. Giving us his card, he also told us that if we ever needed any help to call him. We were just a few hours from our home in southern Belgium, making that a wonderful introduction to our trip to visit the war cemeteries in northwestern France.

Vimy Ridge is sacred ground to Canada. It is situated in a 100-hectare park given by the people of France to Canada as a tribute to the Canadian soldiers who fought and died there beside their French allies.

A field of poppies

The National War Memorial in Ottawa reminded me of that trip to Vimy. The Cenotaph was begun in 1926 by Vernon March of Farnborough, England. His theme was to represent Canada's response to war, symbolized by service people from all disciplines marching through a triumphal arch, but with the aim to avoid the glorification of war. March's six brothers and a sister completed the memorial in July 1932 after his death (1930). It was displayed in Hyde Park, London and stored in the foundry before being relocated to Ottawa in 1937. The entire Cenotaph, including the building of the arch, was completed on 19 October 1938.

The Memorial was officially unveiled on 21 May 1939 by King George VI with approximately 100,000 people present at the site. This was just a few months prior to the beginning of World War II. This event and the tour arranged with it marked the first time Canada's reigning monarch had visited the country.

I remember that visit, though perhaps more from the stories I heard. King George and Queen Elizabeth--our present Queen's parents--visited Charlottetown, Prince Edward Isand on that tour. My father took me to see them--holding me high--as they drove past in an open carriage. He told me the Queen looked right at me and smiled, perhaps because I reminded her of her own two daughters back home in London, England.

The Cenotaph is an imposing structure. It stands very high and can be seen from some distance. It is sobering to look upon it and to realize how much sacrifice was made by our men and women in war.

Canadian War Museum

Before we left for Ottawa, Heiko had asked us what we would like to see. At the top of the list was the War Museum. As Heiko and Heather had not yet been there, it would be interesting for all of us. The five of us, including our young granddaughter Natasha, spent most of an afternoon visiting it.

The museum is outstanding and well worth a visit. It showcases our many wars and peacekeeping operations. Both Hans and Heiko had served outside Canada in peacekeeping missions. Hans had spent six months with the Army Medical Corps in both Egypt and Cyprus, the latter during the crisis between the Greeks and Cypriots. Heiko served with the Canadian Air Force in Honduras and Egypt as a helicopter pilot and in Afghanistan flying Hercules aircraft into that country. As we all had a long military association (my late husband had also served in the RCAF for 28 years), it was especially interesting and brought back many memories.

As I type the letters "RCAF" that designation is now official once again. Our present-day men and women in the Canadian military now belong to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and the Canadian Army. Those men and women commemorated on the Cenotaph fought, flew and went to sea under those same designations and names.

The large entrance hall as you come into the War Museum

We were pleasantly surprised to find that the museum was free for all serving members, veterans and their families. That included free parking and a chit towards a snack in the facility's pub. A military or retired military identification card must be shown. For others, the cost was $18. It is still well worth a visit.

The museum takes considerable time to go through and one afternoon is not long enough. Several visits are needed to do it justice and to take in all the various exhibits, written accounts and videos that showcase and explain the history and the stories. One visit leaves indelible memories and a wish to return.

The five of us in front of the War and Medicine depiction. This area was fascinating and well done. The entire museum is divided into areas relating to war and peace.

Below centre, Hans and Heather in front of the German tank

Both the Cenotaph and the War Museum make one proud of those who came before us, those who died for their country and ours in other lands. Canada went to those wars because of our ties with Great Britain and the British Empire. From those wars, we became a country in our own right. We are only 35 million people strong but we have made a name for outselves worldwide. I fervently hope Canada reverts to its role as a Peace Keeper and not as a Warrior.

Much of my information in my post is from the web sites histori.ca; westernfront.gov. and from en.wikipedia.org

Summer Days in Canada's Capital: Ottawa and Family

2011-08-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

I was in Nova Scotia just a few days (Hans longer) when we made the decision to fly to Ottawa to visit Heiko and family. Heiko, Heather and Natasha were in a new house, one we hadn't yet seen; we also hadn't seen them for quite a while. So though our time was fleeting, this was a priority for us this year.

Heiko is a pilot with West Jet and he told us that he would be flying the plane from Toronto to Ottawa on the day we were going. This would be Hans' first time to fly with his son as the pilot. Mine, too. The plane below was the one we boarded for Ottawa.

Heiko met us upon our arrival in Toronto and accompanied us to our gate. There we met the crew that would be flying with Heiko, including Brad, the captain. Heiko is First Officer and on this trip he would be doing the piloting. As we were early, he took us into the cockpit, explaining some of the complicated buttons and devices.

What was surprising is how small a cockpit actually is: seats for the pilot and co-pilot and one seat behind, with barely room to move. Once the aircraft is ready for take-off, the bomb-proof door into the cockpit is locked and sealed off. Shortly before take-off, Heiko gave the introduction to the passengers over the intercom. He surprised us by saying at the end of his short welcome, "As my folks are on board today, I guess the onus is on me to make a smooth landing! And that he certainly did, with everyone clapping approval--a proud moment for Hans and me.

Hans and I in our seats wearing honorary West Jet stickers

From our window, approaching Ottawa as seen below right

As we were to be in the Ottawa area for less than a week, we spent most of the next few days sightseeing. Both of us had been to Ottawa before, but neither of us knew it well. It is a beautiful city with its downtown centre ideal for walkers.

Hans walking along in downtown Ottawa; not far from there, the Lord Elgin Hotel and passers-by.

We five wandered along the canal, where the locks are still manually opened for the many boats going through by turning a crank by hand. The park and walkway are pristine and manicured, with flowers and trees everywhere. The Parliament buildings and towers can be seen from afar and no matter where we were, walking downtown or driving at a distance, they filled the skyline.

The picture below shows the canal and locks.

Natasha and Heather in the park with a view of the Parliament Buildings

The park in the centre of the city and below, pictures of Heather and Hans

During our stroll around the centre of the city, we passed a market that was flourishing and several pubs, one of which we stopped at for refreshment.

Two pictures outside D'Arcy McGee's Pub in downtown Ottawa: Hans above and Heather, Heiko, Natasha and I in the picture below. It was a beautiful sunny day, not too hot and not humid. We were fortunate as Ottawa can have very humid summer days.

On the way home, we stopped for supper at D'Arcy McGee's Pub in Kanata. The place was almost full with people celebrating after a golf tournament. I ordered Yorkshire pudding filled with a concoction of cheese, mushrooms and, I think, potatoes. It was tasty but not memorable. The pub itself was very nice with an old-country atmosphere. It reminded me of pubs we had visited in England. The noise level, however, was something else due to the busy evening.

D'Arcy McGee's Pub in Kanata

On our second last morning, Hans and I drove to Carp, a small, picturesque town north of Stittsville, where the Diefenbunker--Canada-s Cold War Museum--is located. We didn't go in, just checked it out and continued on our way. It was pleasant driving along the country roads after being on so many four-lane highways in the area. Later that same day, the five of us drove out to visit the Historic Site, Pinhey's Point, which isn't far from Carp.

As the brochure guide to Pinhey's Point says, the gentleman who built it, Hamnett Kirkes Pinhey (1784-1857), had an eye for beauty when he selected the site of his 800-acre land grant. He built the house in four stages between 1820 and 1849. The property overlooks the Ottawa River, a stunning location. The house looks small but is actually quite large inside. Entrance is free.

The view from the house towards the Ottawa River; below, centre, Heather and Natasha on the dock below

The only friend we managed to see was Mike Hewes. We made a quick trip to Chelsea, Quebec, across the river from Ottawa, on our last morning. He and Hans had worked together at Canadian Forces Europe Headquarters for several years. In June this year, he and Brenda had visited us in Germany.

On our last afternoon, we went out to the horse stables to watch our granddaughter Natasha ride. She is just 11 and a half, but she's been taking riding lessons for four years. She loves all animals, especially horses and her dog Cody. She hopes to be a veterinarian someday. We were certainly proud of the ability she demonstrated that day.

The proud grandparents below with Natasha and her horse.

Our visit was brief with not enough time to get in touch with others or to take in other points of interest in the Ottawa area. We'll do that next time. On this trip, the family came first, as it should. On our last evening we enjoyed a barbecue at home, with Heiko doing the barbecuing.

We returned to Nova Scotia with a different view of Ottawa. It is a fairly large city with one town after another as you leave it behind. We saw new houses under construction in every town we passed through. What stands out in the city itself is the amount of greenery everywhere: beautiful trees, flowers and parks with walkways throughout for all to enjoy--as we did ourselves

One has to look closely, but that is Heiko's arm below waving out the cockpit window. He left for Winnipeg before our flight left for Halifax, the perfect "Aufwiedersehen."

Canada Day Celebrations in Lahr, Germany 2011

2011-07-05T12:48:00.000-07:00

The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 004 celebrated Canada Day a few days early by having a barbecue on Sunday, June 26th. I joined those that had gathered on that hot and sunny afternoon at the Legion premises at the former Canadian Forces Base Lahr airfield.

I neglected to get a picture of those sitting outside as that, of course, is where many were. The majority, though, sat inside out of the heat. Some of those who attended the BBQ are shown below.

The Royal Canadian Legions in Germany continue to celebrate Canada's special holidays and traditions. They also continue to honor those military members who have died in the line of duty during past and present wars, as well as those who lost their lives during peacekeeping operations. Members of the two Lahr Legions make several trips a year to various Canadian war cemeteries here in Europe.

Below, Erika and Gaetan Bienvenue, both on the executive of Branch 004 (Gaetan as Past President, Erika as Treasurer). They are now in Ottawa on holiday and celebrated Canada Day there on July 1st.

Canada Day

On Friday, 1 July 2011, a small plaque was dedicated to commemorate the opening and closure of Canada Haus. It was placed amidst a flower garden in front of the Canadian sugar maple tree that was planted seventeen years earlier outside Canada Haus on 1 July 1994. A few former volunteers and committee members gathered to toast Canada Haus and Canada, along with a musical rendition by Christoph Haarmann.

The group below includes Christoph on the right; beside him is Herr Sannert, the owner of the building that housed Canada Haus; then Gertrud Binder, Gisela Smotricz, Charmaine Alt and lastly, Charlotte Haarmann. On the right, the maple tree that was planted in 1994. The plaque can be seen in the forefront.

Above, the group with a toast to Canada Haus and in honour of Canada Day. Jürgen Binder is on the right.

Canada Haus closed officially at the end of December 2010. For the following couple of months, committee members and volunteers continued to sell, give away and remove everything in it, including tables, chairs, TV, photocopier, computer, lamps and so on. The last to go were the books from the library, a domain I loved as did others like me and where I volunteered my services for many years.

Gertrud Binder is shown on the left during the flea market. She was the librarian for Canada Haus.

The flea market was held in late November 2010 with many items being sold, including books, CDs and DVDs. A school in another town took quite a few of the books. The Lahr City Library was not interested in any. Little did they know what they missed as we had some beautiful non-fiction hardcover books on Canada, many with colour illustrations. In the end, we were giving them away.

On the last day, hundreds of books were put through the second-floor window into a dumpster below. It was heartbreaking to see them go. I believe that many of those books went to a secondhand store that gives much of the money from donations to good causes. Perhaps someone will buy them, although most Germans will not be interested in a book written in English or French; some great additions, though, for those young people studying English or French or subjects relating to Canada or for those who plan a trip to Canada.

Below and at right: pictures of the Base Commanders from 1967 through 1994 and the coats-of-arms and flags of the provinces and territories.

As well as the loss of books, we also lost all the bound Der Kanadier (CFB Lahr and Baden's weekly newspaper), from the first one in 1967 to the last one in 1994. The flags and coats-of-arms from Canada's ten provinces and territories and the pictures of all the former Base Commanders in Lahr went as well. At least all of that (except for the books) went to the City of Lahr. We hope--as they have said--that those artifacts will someday be in a museum in Lahr to pay tribute to the Canadian military heritage here. If that happens, then they will be available for all to see here.

Below, a view of the Lahr Stadtpark and the gazebo with the two benches donated by Canada Haus.

Shortly after Canada Haus closed, the last money that remained from membership fees and other things went to the City of Lahr with the stipulation that it be spent on two benches for the Stadtpark. The plaque on each bench is engraved with the name Canada Haus and the years it was part of the community: 1994 - 2010. (Another bench was presented by the Deutsch-Kanadier Club somewhat later at a special ceremony.)

A chapter at former Canadian Forces Base Lahr has ended with the closure of Canada Haus, but the presentation of the benches to the City of Lahr in the name of Canada Haus will ensure that we are not forgotten.

Strawberry Memories

2011-06-15T01:43:00.000-07:00

The kiosk below, right, advertising and selling the strawberries, is just a kilometer from our house. They sell more than strawberries just now; also their own cherries, jams, jellies and wine.

When very young and living in Prince Edward Island, I loved the first strawberries, just as I do now. In those long-ago days they were likely even more special than they are today, as one never saw them except in spring. But still today, we all look forward to the wonderful sweet strawberries of spring. This year in Germany they ripened early, and so we have been enjoying them since early to mid April, just as we have the Spargel. Strawberries and white asparagus ripen at the same time, with the fields everywhere filled with men and women picking both, to be served in home kitchens and in deluxe restaurants alike.

The strawberry pickers are on the left, beside and behind the kiosk selling them. The asparagus pickers are on the right, just beyond the Autobahn, the reason for such a fleeting glimpse. We were driving at around 150 to 160 k. per hour.

Green asparagus is grown, of course, but it isn't served as often as in North America.

I grew up in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island during my early years (during my teens, in Nova Scotia). One of my memories from those days is riding my bike out to see my mother's sister--my Aunt Grace--and Uncle Frank during strawberry season. They and my cousins, Bill and Doug, lived on a farm. It seemed to me like quite a ways at the time--I was only about ten or eleven years old--although it was no more than about three miles. Aunt Grace always phoned my mother to let her know I was there, as I usually just went without saying anything beforehand. (I am still pretty independent!)

The picture at left shows me (centre) and my sister Carol and cousin, Billy, at his parents' farm (with barns in the background). The picture on the right shows me on the right, my sister, Carol, beside me, and our cousins Donnie, Billy and Jean. (Donnie and Jean lived in Needham, Massachusetts.)

This picture below shows my good looking father standing at left and Uncle Frank on the right. My mother is on the right below and Aunt Grace in the centre with baby Douglas. Billy is on the far left and my sister Carol, on the far right. This would have been about 1939 or 1940.

On those days when I drove out there, Aunt Grace would pick large, luscious strawberries from her garden patch in the field behind the barn and she would serve me a bowl of them, topped with their own whipped cream, fresh cream from their cows that morning. I can almost taste the sweetness and hear Aunt Grace laughing.

The picture below is of my grandparents--my father's parents--in the early 1900s. I only knew Grandad with a thatch of white hair. His hair whitened when he was young, perhaps in his 30s or 40s. He was of Scottish descent, though born in Canada, and my grandmother was of English descent, and also born in Canada.

When I was quite young, in May or early June, my sister Carol and I would go over to the cottage at Rocky Point with our grandparents to open it up for the summer. I can still remember the smell of the railway tracks and nearby waterfront buildings--almost like tar--as we walked along towards the ferry that would take us across Charlottetown Harbour to Rocky Point, about a 15-minute ferry ride. At the last corner, before turning to go down to the ferry, we would often stop in at McCannell's store for a few groceries and a chat--and always some candy. From the ferry, on the other side, we would then have to walk about three miles, which seemed to Carol and I as the longest walk ever. (Our grandfather didn't drive, perhaps one of the reasons he lived to 101, as he walked everywhere throughout his life.)

Grandad, heading to his late years, with still lots of hair.

That walk from the ferry took us up a long dusty road past the grocery store, perhaps stopping for a few things to take along with us. (That store is no longer there and neither is the ferry. Today, one must drive around, about a 30-kilometer drive from Charlottetown.) Then another walk past a barking dog (I still remember how afraid of him I was!) and up the narrow, red country dirt road to the cottage. That road is still exactly the same, dust, bumps, ruts and all.

That is the road below, showing it from the top down, back towards the main road and the ferry. It looks to be in pretty good shape.

Carol, below, in the early days of our childhood sitting in front of the screened-in porch of the cottage. We children sometimes slept in that porch, protected by netting and rain covers that pulled down in bad weather. We loved it there.

A picture from later years when all we siblings were grown. This picture, in front of Paula and Laurie's cottage, just down from the old one of our grandparents, shows my sister Paula in the forefront on left and her son Ken on the right. From Paula, left, is Stephen, Anne's husband, then Carol and my sister Anne. At the end, Laurie, Paula's husband, me, and lastly, Derek, Carol's husband. Hans took the picture. That was in about 1988. Paula and Anne were younger by a few years, thus were not so much a part of our childhood days, other, of course, than being our little sisters.

When Carol and I went to the cottage in May or June, the fragrance of spring was in the air and every time I go back there, which is rarely these days, it brings back those long-ago memories. The same scents still: wild garlic, wild roses (oh, so lovely!) and, later, sweet hay with a profusion of sweet clover and buttercups along that red road and in the field alongside it. Wild strawberries grew here and there. Later, in summer, we would go picking wild blueberries and raspberries, with our grandmother's blueberry pie and fresh raspberry tarts for lunch and supper.

These wild strawberries grow along the front of our garden here in Germany.

My mother's family, below, in about the late 1920s or early 1930s. Her father is at the left and her mother, on the right with her siblings--my aunts and uncles--in between. Mom is at the front, right.

In early July, we would visit our other grandparents, who lived in Georgetown, a small harbour town about an hour's drive from Charlottetown, where we spent a couple of weeks each summer. Grandpa Louis was the station master in Georgetown for the Canadian National Railway, which meant we would get a treat at the end of the day. The train arrived every evening around suppertime during my childhood. We would hear the whistle far down the tracks warning us that it was on its way. Steaming, huffing and puffing, it would arrive with brakes screeching. Black smoke would be belching and, with a final two or three puffs, all would come to rest. Our big moment of the day would then arrive: Once the passengers came off, we would be allowed to climb up onto the engine. With a loud whistle and a burst of smoke, off we would go as it backed up to the "train barn" a few hundred yards down the track. It was such a thrill and I'm sure every one of us remembers that still.

The picture below is of my Grandma Tillie, my mother's mother.

I can remember coming downstairs at my grandparents' house in the morning and going into the kitchen. During strawberry season, which was still ongoing in early July, my grandmother often had a huge bowl filled to the top with those berries, all covered by sugar and sitting on the table in the kitchen or pantry. I don't remember if she cooked them or not, but I know I always wanted to have a bowl right then and there. They would be on the breakfast table to have with our cereal and toast shortly thereafter.

Spring is such a beautiful time of year with all the lovely fruit, berries, asparagus and many other early vegetables at the farmers' markets and in the home gardens. Many country kiosks are also selling boxes of freshly picked dark red sweet cherries. Our own tree has given us a bumper crop, with more than we have ever seen on it.
The kiosk products on the left include cherries, red currants and strawberries. The cherries on the right are from our tree.

We generally don't cook with either the strawberries or the cherries; instead, we just eat them fresh and whole. I do, however, make a strawberry dessert a couple of times each spring. A week ago we invited four friends visiting from Canada for a Spargel dinner: that special white asparagus, the meal one doesn't have in North America, at least not as we have it here. Strawberries being in season at the same time as asparagus became our dessert, as traditionally the two go together.

Here is the recipe for my frozen strawberry mousse, an easy and make-ahead dessert.

Frozen Strawberry (or Raspberry) Mousse - Makes 6 to 8 servings

This recipe came from Canadian Living's 1985 Summer Time Cookbook.

1 cup sliced fresh strawberries (or raspberries) or 1 package frozen (425g; nearly 1 pound)

3/4 cup white sugar

2 egg whites

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1-1/2 cups whipping cream (I whip about 2 cups)

For garnish: a few strawberries, cut in half (or whole raspberries)

In a large bowl, combine berries, sugar, egg whites, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. With an electric mixer, beat for 10 minutes or until pale pink and stiff. (I beat the mixture for the 10 minutes and it was just right.)

(This is how mine looked after the ten minutes of beating.) Stir in almond extract. In a separate bowl, whip 1 cup of the whipping cream; fold it into the berry mixture. Spoon it into a souffle dish or individual serving dishes or a nice glass bowl--as I do. Freeze it until firm, about two hours. (I make mine the day before and freeze it until the next day. Make sure to remove it from the freezer a good half hour or more before serving in order to taste the true flavour. I did not remove mine as early and it took a while for the flavours to meld.) Whip the remaining cream before serving. Garnish the mouse with the whipped cream and remaining berries. I garnished mine only with the berries and served the whipped cream separately. You can also add the berries to the whipped cream if wished. I made a smaller bowl with the remaining mousse as shown below.

Below is our white asparagus dinner with our friends, Ingelore and Kevin from Victoria, British Columbia on the left, and Brenda and Mike, from Chelsea, Quebec (near Ottawa), on the right.

Hans, the chef, on the left with Ingelore and Kevin. I on the right, with Brenda and Mike, Kevin and Ingelore. The dinner was superb! Some of the best Spargel we have ever had; wonderful Kratzede (torn up crepes, sauteed); new, boiled potatoes; three types of Schinken; Hollandaise/Bearnaise Sauce.

The Strawberry Mousse with whipped cream on the side, rather than on the mousse itself.

Summer is yet to come, with its many warm and sunny days ahead to look forward to, although here in Germany, summer came unofficially around the first of April. Both the white asparagus and the strawberries were early this year and are now coming to an end. We have enjoyed both several times and look forward to next year when they will beckon us once again from the markets and market gardens.

Guten Appetit!

Pyrogies, Wareniki and Days Long Past

2011-05-28T04:29:00.000-07:00

When reading one of my German cookbooks recently--called Alles Soljanka oder wie?--I came across a recipe called "Wareniki." It immediately reminded me of my long-time friend Jerry Sarabin, who had been of Ukrainian descent, and who had often talked about the dish that his mother had made. When I read the recipe, I knew I would have to write about it. Not only because of Jerry and his "wareniki" but also because of the word I know better--pyrogy--which reminded me of my mother-in-law, Kate, as that is what she called them.

Kate below, in the 1950s

I had not seen a recipe for wareniki or pyrogies in a German cookbook before, although perhaps parts of former East Prussia (now Poland) knew that dish. (In this part of Germany, Swäbische Maultaschen are somewhat similar, in that pastry is wrapped around a filling--quite a different filling however.)

Thousands of Russian/USSR troops (including Ukrainian) were stationed in the former DDR during the Cold War era, bringing some of their dishes and recipes with them. As well, East Germans, who were allowed to travel only to the East Bloc countries, likely discovered such dishes as wareniki while visiting those countries, thus bringing memories and recipes home.

The Alles Soljanka cookbook is about the food that home cooks in former East Germany served their families during the DDR era (1949 - 1989). Wareniki (pronounced 'vareniki') is only one of the recipes--but the one that caught my eye. Of course, Kate grew up with pyrogies, her mother no doubt having brought the recipe "in her head" from eastern Austria. I am sure, too, that Jerry's mother knew how to make them long before the family left the Ukraine.

The map below of Galicia and some of the history I found on the website of torugg.org/history, which had excerpted it from the web site of personal.ceu.hu/students.

What is interesting is that both families, Jerry's and Kate's--one of Ukrainian descent, the other of Austrian descent--came from Galicia. That province was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and under Austrian rule from 1771 to 1918. It was created artificially in 1772 with the partition of Poland. The treaty between the last King of Poland and Empress Maria Theresia of Austria took effect on 18 September 1773. (The vertical line near the centre separates the Ukrainian Galicia on the right from the Polish Galicia on the left.)

At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, persecution of Ukrainians by both the Russians and Austrians began. Following the Russian Revolution, in April 1917, Ukraine gained autonomy. In October 1918 they formed a state called Western Ukrainian National Republic, which included eastern Galicia. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was disintegrating.

After WWI all of Galicia ended up being part of Poland again. So many wars, so much history. In 1943-44 the Red Army regained Eastern Galicia and it became incorporated in the USSR's Soviet Ukraine. Western Galicia remained part of Poland. Finally, in 1991, the Ukraine became an independent nation and Eastern Galicia became part of independent Ukraine. Minor parts of western Galicia remain in Poland. None of it remains part of Austria.

I could not understand in the beginning why my mother-in-law Kate's family were Austrian and from Galicia and Jerry's family were Ukrainian and also from Galicia. I now know why: two parts to Galicia and two countries. (Kate's family lived in Austrian Galicia well before it became part of Poland at the end of WWI. By that time, they had been in Canada for more than 15 years.)

I have known Jerry and Marina since 1956. We met at RCAF Station Greenwood, where Jerry and my husband were stationed. We remained friends throughout their careers. In 1970, with both now stationed in Winnipeg, Marina and I began taking gourmet cooking classes together and then putting them to work in our kitchens, often having family dinners at one house or the other. We have continued to keep in touch all these many years later.

Jerry and Marina in 1974 (at right).

The picture below left was taken in about 1975 at the Reminihof in Wittelbach, Germany. The picture on the right, a picnic, was taken near Greenwood, N.S. in 1958. (Marina and Jerry, Satch and young Terry)

Spargel season in the 1980s here at our house in Germany. Hans is demonstrating how to peel white asparagus with Jerry copying him.

Jerry's parents and his sister Olga emigrated to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan about 1931/32 from Galicia in the Ukraine. His father's brother lived on a farm outside the city, thus the reason for choosing that area. Jerry was born in Prince Albert, Sask. in 1935. He grew up speaking the language at home as well as growing up with all the Ukrainian traditions and foods.

He loved wareniki--I think the ones filled with sauerkraut but also those made with cottage cheese. (He also liked cabbage rolls--another of Kate's specialties--made with buckwheat.) Recently, at a Russian grocery store in Lahr, I found frozen wareniki, with a choice of fillings: potato, sauerkraut or cottage cheese. I bought a bag of the potato wareniki to try.

Below, all of us at Dennis' wedding (Satch's brother) in 1960. Mac and Kate on the left (Dennis partly hidden) with three of Kate's sisters (from left, Mary, Lil and Anne) in the photo beside me, Satch and our two young children, Susan and Terry.

Kate's parents, her sister Emily, maternal grandparents and other family members emigrated to Winnipeg, Manitoba in about 1902 from Galicia, Austria. Kate was born in Gimli, Manitoba in 1905. Her parents homesteaded, clearing land for farming. Years later, two of her brothers, John and Adam, had huge farms and many cattle. I remember, from visits there, that the freezers were always filled with pyrogies and cabbage rolls along with homemade pies. Dinner would be on the table in no time with enough for ten people--and usually there were that many of us.

Below, Terry and Kate, in 1957. His Dad had just returned from duty at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, thus the T-shirt Terry is wearing..

Kate was a great cook and a wonderful woman. Although she, her husband and two children eventually left Selkirk, Manitoba for Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, she continued to cook and bake the foods she knew. Whenever she visited us she would make enough pyrogies and cabbage rolls to last us for some time. Here is her recipe for pyrogies as she made them for me and my sister Paula in July 1981, not long before I left for Germany to work at the Canadian Forces hospital in Lahr. I wrote the recipe down as she made them. Below, freshly made pyrogies.

Kate's Pyrogies

4-1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

2 Tbsp oil

1 cup or more water (Kate used 1 cup of the potato water instead of all plain water)

Filling

A Regular carton cottage cheese (drain well and mash fine)

7 small potatoes (mashed) (Save 1 cup of the potato water from boiling the potatoes)

2 tsp salt

1 egg

Mix together the first three dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix together the 3 eggs, oil and potato water. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the liquid ingredients. Mix well and knead (in bowl) until smooth (add a bit more water if needed while mixing). The longer you knead, the better (10 minutes or so). Let dough sit at least one hour. Keep covered with wax paper. In the meantime, mix together the filling ingredients well.

To fill pastry: Take a length of dough and cut it into equal parts and form small balls. Roll each out. Add a tablespoon or so of filling to each rolled out piece of pastry. Fold one long side over to the other long side and crimp the edges shut with your fingers. Keep on well floured wax paper while making them. (My friend Gertrud rolls out the whole pastry, using a cutter to cut each individually--as one does for doughnuts or cookies--and then fills them.) I have watched both Kate and her sister Lil making them by hand and they certainly worked quickly. I'm afraid I was much slower the one time I made them!

Have a pot of boiling water ready with salt and 2 tablespoons oil in it. Place the filled pyrogies into the boiling water, but do not overfill. (Change water every third batch.) Gently stir them to keep them from sticking. Let the pyrogies rise to the top. Allow them to simmer a few minutes and then remove them with a slotted spoon into a large bowl. Gently stir melted butter onto them until all are coated or shake the bowl gently instead. The butter helps to keep them from sticking together.

The just-cooked pyrogies with melted butter.

To serve: Fry some bacon until crisp and then crumble it into small pieces or bits. Melt some butter. Place some pyrogies on each plate and pour the melted butter and bacon bits over them.

Here is the way I like them best: Melt the butter in a fry pan and place the cooked pyrogies in the pan, sauteing them carefully until golden and a little crisp on both sides. Place them on plates and pour the melted butter left in the pan over them and then sprinkle them with fried bacon bits. You can instead add the bacon bits to the butter in the pan if wished.

Kate's youngest sister, Lil, who lived in Winnipeg (and still does), made them for us when she and her friend Edna visited us in Lahr in the mid 1970s. (Satch had been posted to Lahr in 1974 and we lived there for three years at that time.) Lil's filling was similar to Kate's, though with a few differences. Lil's Filling: She used 1 pound cottage cheese, mashed potato (equal amounts of cheese and potato), 1 egg (if cheese wet, yolk only), chopped onion (as much as desired), salt and pepper. Also excellent.

My mother-in-law spoiled me and just for me would make some pyrogies filled with mashed potato and Cheddar cheese, along with a little onion, salt and pepper. I loved them, although I later came to like those with the cottage cheese in them as well.

The photo below, from 1958, is unclear, but another of Kate with Susan.

Another pyrogy the family loved was not really a pyrogy at all; we called them "big pyrogies" to differentiate them from the regular ones. My husband and his brother Dennis called them "blue boys" as they turned slightly bluish-grey when cooking. (Likely, though, as Kate always made a big batch of them at one time, the potato had coloured slightly from sitting a few minutes before being cooked.) Kate called them "karumba" pyrogies, likely the name her mother called them. The only similarity to the regular pyrogies is the filling, which is identical. I have never made "blue boys" but Satch made them each year for the kids for New Year's Day.

Here is Kate's recipe for Blue Boys, Karumba or Big Pyrogies

15 pounds potatoes, grated (hard work!)

Mashed potato (small to medium bowl full)

2 eggs

2 Tbsp flour

Kate placed the grated potato into cheese cloth or a dish towel and squeezed it above a bowl. She would let it hang a while to continue dripping and then would squeeze it again. It is important to get all the liquid out of them. She would then pour off the water but save the starch at the bottom of the bowl, which she would then put back into the grated potatoes. After the potatoes have been drained and starch returned to them, she added the mashed potato, eggs and flour and mixed them well.

While the potatoes are draining, prepare the filling, which is the same as for the small pyrogies.

Now, with your hands or a big spoon, take enough of the grated potato mixture to make a good-sized ball. Then flatten it in your hand, add a spoonful of filling, and close the grated potato mixture all around it until it is well enclosed. Continue until all the grated mixture and filling are used.

Place the balls into a large pot of boiling, salted water (don't overfill). Stir very gently in the beginning with a wooden spoon so that they don't stick to the bottom. When the balls rise to the top, let them simmer a couple or so minutes and then remove them with a slotted spoon into a bowl. As with the small pyrogies, place them on serving plates and pour melted butter and fried bacon bits (if wished) over them. Also, as for the small pyrogies, they are very good sauteed in butter in a frying pan until golden and slightly crisp, especially when having them the following day.

At left, Lil and her daughter Elaine at my nephew Stephen's wedding (Dennis' son) in about 1999.

Lil's Big Pyrogies: Grate and squeeze potatoes as Kate's above. Then add the mashed potato (a cottage cheese dish full); add some salt, and one egg, which is optional; she said it is not needed.

In Germany there are also similar large pyrogies, which are called Kartoffelklösse or Kartoffelknödel, but they do not have the same filling. Hans makes Kartoffelklösse each year for our Christmas Day goose dinner. Every fall and late winter the Kleiner Meierhof serves them with their wild boar.

Those above and at right at the Kleiner Meierhof in Ettenheimweiler are much lighter in colour but similar in size (although a little smaller).

I have made the small pyrogies only once, although I keep saying to myself that I shall make them again. Such a lot of work and I end up, when making pastry, with flour everywhere. I am not a great pastry baker and really don't like making it. My sister Paula, on the other hand, makes wonderful pastry. So did my mother and so did Kate. I'm hoping someone else will make them one day, but, if not, I shall buy the ones in the supermarket. As I did this time! (The package ingredients included potatoes, flour, water, egg, onion, salt and pepper.)

I cooked the frozen wareniki (without thawing) in a large soup pot of boiling water with salt and oil added to it. (Kate and Lil's were fresh, not frozen, when cooked, but they are cooked the same way.) I stirred them gently. After they rose to the top they simmered for a few minutes before I slid them carefully into a large bowl. I poured some melted butter over them and shook the dish gently, before serving them with hot melted butter from the frying pan and crisp bacon bits, freshly fried, on the side. They were excellent!

Guten Appetit!

A Note: My niece Shelley (MacDonald) Reid and Dwain (Sarabin) Sager Wilson, the daughter of my friend Marina, gave me a lot of information about each side of the family. I did know some of it, of course, but not the names of places from which each family came nor exactly when. My friend Marina also contributed to the information.

For those new to my blog, click any picture to enlarge it and then click on the arrow at the top left of the blog to return to the post.

The German-Canadian Club's 40th Anniversary in Lahr, Germany

2011-05-16T02:42:00.000-07:00

On a hot Saturday afternoon (7th of May), several members of the German-Canadian Club began setting up tables in the city park for an official presentation of a bench to be donated to the Stadtpark and the City of Lahr. Jürgen Kull--the founder of the club and its first president--and his wife Gitta were donating it in the name of the club on its 40th anniversary (1971 - 2011).

Sitting on the bench are the following, from left to right: Dr. Wolfgang Müller, the Oberbürgermeister of Lahr, Gitta and Jürgen Kull, Trisha Cornforth.

Below, a couple views of the park and its vegetation and flowers.

The presentation was made and pictures taken. A young German man, Christian Hanold, who grew up in Lahr and who now works at the Canadian Consulate in Bern, Switzerland, presented a bell to honour the closure of Canada Haus. He said that it is traditional in Switzerland to present a cow bell to someone who is leaving, whether retiring or moving on. In this case, it was Canada Haus and its members. It will now have to be decided just where to hang it, as there is no longer a Canada Haus. Christian volunteered at Der Kanadier, the weekly military newspaper (as did I, and where Trisha worked for many years), the year prior to the closure of the paper and of Canadian Forces Base Lahr.

Below, Christian Hanold presenting the bell to Trisha Cornforth, the last president of Canada Haus and the present president of the German-Canadian Club.

A group of four Canadians from Alberta, who live in Gibbons, a small town near Edmonton, had arrived in Lahr the day before with no idea that anything would be happening at the Stadtpark. Bill and Janice Moore had been back to Lahr several times for reunions and we had been in touch since then. Two friends of theirs, Gray and Bev Lysechko, who had formerly been stationed at Canadian Forces Base Baden, accompanied them on this trip. At Bill's request, I had organized a get-together with them and a small group of us here at the Gathaus Damenmühle on Friday evening, the day prior to the German-Canadian Club presentation. Thus four Canadians, all of whom had been stationed in Germany at one time, were part of the celebration on Saturday.

On the left, Hans Partenheimer, Trisha Cornforth, Bill and Janice Moore, Bev Lysechko. In the picture at right: Bev and Gray Lysechko, Ingrid and Jürgen Puschmann and Jürgen Binder.

The totem pole in the Stadtpark was donated by Canadian Forces Base Lahr to the City of Lahr in 1977, the tenth anniversary of the arrival of the Canadian military there. It was carved by Chief Tony Hunt of British Columbia.

The German-Canadian Club members continue to meet every second or third week. Should anyone be in Lahr and wish to join them, please get in touch with Trisha Cornforth.

Beef Wellington

2011-05-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

The first time we had Beef Wellington was on Hans' birthday in March 1999. He had decided to cook rather than going out to eat and wanted to try this dish. It was wonderful. With it, we had whole red potatoes cooked in broth and fresh green beans tied with bacon. The sauce was excellent. For wine, we had a 1992 Cos D'Estournel from Bordeaux, one of our favourite red wines. I had made my frozen chocolate mousse for dessert, but it had to wait for the following day as we could not eat anything more! The next time we had this dish, we invited friends here in Germany to share it with us and after that, we served it in Nova Scotia to family and friends. Superb every time.

The baked Beef Wellington

Hans has prepared and baked Beef Wellington a number of times since then. It is rich, high in calories and a lot of work. But why worry about that, we feel, as it is not as if one eats this every day or every week or, for that matter, every year.

The origin of the recipe is not really known, though most agree that it was named after Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington. (Many of us heard about him in school when memorizing the date and history of the Battle of Waterloo, which took place on June 18, 1815 just south of Brussels, Belgium. Napoleon was defeated by the Coalition led by Wellington and the Prussian Army commanded by Gebhard von Blücher. At the end of that battle, Napoleon's rule as Emperor of France was ended and he was exiled to Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.)

The postcard below is one I bought at Waterloo in 1963. Note the lion at the top of the hill, lying facing towards France.

Many believe the dish didn't come into being until the end of the 19th century, although roast beef with a flour and water pastry wrapped around it was likely served before that time in England and Ireland and perhaps long before that in France. No one seems to know when that dish was first presented, nor who it was: the English, the Irish or the French. As Julia Child and Simone Beck say in their cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume II, the French would surely not have named it after Wellington! (The French translation for this recipe is Filet de Boeuf en Croute.)

Many food writers say that it was popular in the 1960s' era in the United States (likely in Canada also as we all read American magazines), with many hostesses making it the star attraction at dinner parties. I was not one of those, although that is when I began experimenting seriously with different recipes, both for the family and for dinner parties. I had decided that if I had to cook meals for the rest of my life--little did I know someone else would take that on eventually!--I was not going to cook the same thing every week and I would look at it as a hobby. Thus cooking and collecting recipes became a lifelong interest. Although I don't cook that much today, it remains a huge interest of mine. I still cut out recipes and file them away--in file folders in a filing cabinet and on the computer. And occasionally I still do cook! But "Beef Wellington"--that is Hans' specialty.

There are three main parts to the dish: the fillet of beef itself, the goose or duck pate de foie gras mixed with the farce or stuffing, plus the puff pastry that is wrapped around it. We use duck pate as the goose pate (from Alsace) is from forced-fed geese. The duck pate is less expensive (though not cheap) and is also very good.
These days it isn't necessary to make your own puff pastry, but if one is so inclined, it can be made the day before and kept well wrapped in the fridge. We find the store-bought puff pastry to be excellent.

A good sauce is a must and that can also be made the day before, though if you wish to use the liquid from pan-frying the fillet as the basis for it, brown the fillet and make the sauce after removing the fillet from the pan. (Wrap and place the beef in the fridge overnight before cooking it the next day.) Hans made both the sauce and the farce the day before.

There are many recipes to be found for this dish with each one being somewhat different. Hans follows a German recipe from a book we have had since 1982, Das Grosse Buch Vom Kocken by the well-known cooking magazine essen und trinken (to eat and to drink). We have never been disappointed. Here is the recipe, translated from German.

Beef Wellington with Sauce Perigord - 6 to 8 portions
(The Perigord is a region in southwest France renowned for its truffles and also for its goose liver pate.)

Farce or Stuffing
3 shallots, finely chopped
500 grams (approx. 1/2 lb) champignons, cleaned and finely chopped
30 grams (1-1/4 oz) butter
3 Tbsp Madeira plus 4 Tbsp (Hans uses 4 and 4)
3 Tbsp whipping cream
Salt and pepper from the pepper mill
1 bunch Italian (smooth/flat leaf) parsley, finely chopped

1.5 Kilo (3 lb) beef fillet (from the centre of a fillet) (*Hans' fillet was 800 grams, so smaller)
3 Tbsp olive oil
100 gram (4 oz) goose liver pate (or duck liver pate)
About 400 grams (about 14 oz) puff pastry (a good-size piece of pastry that will surround and cover the fillet)
1 egg, separated
1 tsp meat extract
Worcestershire sauce
1/8 liter (1/2 cup) whipping cream
1 piece of truffle, best fresh (Hans uses 30 to 40 grams--2 ounces or so--truffles)**

Note: *Though Hans had a fillet of only 800 grams (more than enough for two full meals for two persons), he made the sauce and the farce according to the recipe above. Any sauce or farce left over can be frozen. **He buys the fresh truffles from a seller on the internet. It isn't cheap, but it is well worth the cost as it adds tremendously to both the farce and the sauce. He adds chopped truffles to both, the amount depending on how much you have!

Farce: Saute the chopped shallots in melted hot butter until they are glassy (a couple of minutes). Add the chopped mushrooms and saute until steaming. Cook until all moisture has evaporated. Add the 3 to 4 tablespoons Madeira and the 3 tablespoons cream and stir them into the mushroom and shallot mixture; cook until all liquid has evaporated. The farce/stuffing must be dry. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper; add the chopped parsley and stir it into the mixture. Remove from the stove and allow to cool. (This can be prepared the day before and kept in the refrigerator overnight.)

Preheat the oven to 225C (440F). (Hans had a smaller fillet at 800 grams; he baked his at 200C (400F).

Season the beef fillet with salt and pepper. Add the olive oil to a fry pan and heat until very hot; add the fillet and brown well on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow the beef to cool.

It is then time to cover the fillet with the farce and wrap it with the puff pastry. (I must now confess that I completely forgot to take pictures as Hans prepared the beef. Instead, I took pictures replicating it well after the fact! Foil is not used, of course; I am using that to represent the farce that would be around the beef (also it stands out). A picture is worth a thousand words as the saying goes.

While the beef is cooling, break up the goose or duck liver pate and mix it in with the cooled mushroom and shallot mixture and stir it all together well. Unroll a piece of puff pastry, a rectangle large enough on which to place the fillet and one that will cover it well.

Place the length of the fillet on the pastry lengthwise, not directly in the centre but a little towards the (narrow) side as shown at the left. Spread the farce all around the fillet with your hands so that it is well covered.

Now, lift the (narrower) side of the puff pastry onto the fillet as shown on the left. Then lift the bottom of the pastry onto the fillet, as shown at right. (You need more pastry at that end than I am showing but you get the idea.)

Now place the top of the pastry onto the beef and farce as shown on the left; now both ends are covering the pastry. Finally, lift the long and wider side of the pastry onto the fillet so that is is totally covered and all the sides overlap, as shown on the right.

Brush the egg white over the pastry so that the seams are well covered, as that will keep the sections together. Brush the egg yolk over all to give a nice golden colour to the puff pastry when baked.

Place on an oiled baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes if you like it medium-rare. Longer for well done. Leave in the oven until the puff pastry is nicely browned. Remove it from the oven and let it stand for 10 minutes. (Hans baked ours for 35 minutes at 200C (400F); keep in mind that our fillet was 800 grams.) Remove the Wellington carefully from the pan. Then take a picture before carving into slices and placing them on a serving tray or on the plates!

The picture below shows the Beef Wellington as it came out of the oven.

Sauce: In the (hot) drippings left in the pan from searing the beef fillet, add some broth (about 1/8 liter or 1/2 cup water and some meat extract). Stir quickly. (Note: You can use a package of sauce (instead of the broth), such as Knorr or Maggi, one that is relatively neutral. That will help thicken the sauce; otherwise, it will be thinner and need a thickening agent. Follow package directions and then add the rest of the ingredients.)

Add 4 tablespoons Madeira and a little Worcestershire sauce. Let simmer for a few minutes until melded well and then stir in the 1/2 cup of whipping cream. Add the remaining finely chopped truffles just before the sauce is finished. Do not cook more. Place the sauce in a sauce boat and let the guests serve themselves. (Hans tastes often as he cooks and will add a little more to his sauces of certain ingredients when he thinks it is needed, especially when it comes to sweet or sour cream, creme fraiche, butter, Madeira, Sherry, Cognac or wine--though not too much more.)

I have several other cookbooks that also give a recipe for Beef Wellington. In the food of France published by Murdoch Books--a British cookbook--you make your own pate from chicken livers, with garlic and brandy or Cognac added to it. The pate is spread over the puff pastry rather than onto the beef fillet first and then all is wrapped around the fillet. The oven temperature is 200C (400F) and baked for 35 minutes for a 1 kilo (2 lb) fillet.

In Johann Lafer's Meine Kochschule, he adds cooked Schinken or bacon to his farce. For 800 grams of fillet, he bakes it at 230C (450F) for about 25 minutes. Lafer is a chef and owns his own restaurant and has a TV cooking show. He writes for magazines as well.

In Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume Two, by Julia Child and Simone Beck, they recommend brioche dough rather than puff pastry. They say that it is beautiful to look at along with being light, thin and cooked all the way through. They also say that is never the case when using puff pastry as it is always damp under its exterior. We, however, find that our puff pastry was cooked through, though it can be somewhat damp with the farce directly underneath it, a good reason to make sure the puff pastry is browned well and thus crisper. It is also much easier than making brioche dough!

In The Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker, they say they are not devotees to this dish. Their recipe is interesting, however. They roast a 5 lb (2-1/2 kilo) beef fillet for 25 minutes in a 49C (120F) oven. They then suggest, on taking the beef out of the oven, to flambe it with 1/3 cup of brandy. They then spread the farce over the puff pastry (not on the fillet) and set the fillet on top, wrapping the pastry around it. They bake it in a 220C (425F) oven for 10 minutes before lowering the oven temperature to 190C (375F) and baking it for another 20 minutes or so. They allow it to stand for 15 minutes before carving.

In The Gourmet Cookbook Volume II, published first in 1957 (I have the 1971 Third Printing edition), the recipe is somewhat simpler. They season the fillet and then smear it with butter. It is then placed on a flat pan along with small pieces of celery, onion, parsley, a bay leaf and a pinch of rosemary. It is baked at 230C (450F) for about 25 minutes. After removing it from the oven, it is cooled. It is then wrapped with a good layer of pate de foie gras (not a homemade farce) and wrapped in pie pastry (not puff pastry), which is brushed with egg yolk. It is baked at the same temperature for another 15 minutes or until the crust is browned.

The Gourmet Cookbook Volume I also has a recipe, somewhat different. The top of the fillet is spread with pate de foie gras (not a farce) with chopped black truffles sprinkled across it. It is then covered with puff pastry and baked.

As you can see, there are many recipes for this dish with variations, some of which are good ideas. I am sure the other recipes are excellent, but we shall stick with the one we have had for many years as it has always been superb. (We might, however, try flaming it with brandy or Cognac next time--prior to adding the farce and puff pastry--as suggested in The Joy of Cooking.)

Beef Wellington is a meal to remember, whether you have just eaten it yesterday or long ago. It is oh, so good!

Our Easter dinner this year

Our wine was a 1994 Lafite Rothschild. Perfect with Beef Wellington. Expensive these days, but luckily we had ordered a case of it in 1992. I believe we have only one left.

Guten Appetit! Bon Appetit! Enjoy!

Easter and Spring in All Their Glory

2011-04-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

Easter is late this year which means spring is further along than usual. We have had an early spring here, so we have been enjoying the flowers and blooming bushes and trees for several weeks already. Now it is the Easter weekend with signs of the Easter bunny, chickens and Easter eggs. Churches, of course, will be celebrating after the long days of Lent, with familiar music and families gathering together before heading home for special dinners.

Many towns in our area decorate with flower arrangements, coloured eggs, wooden chickens and other signs of spring. Munchweier, the next village to us, decorated their traffic circle at the edge of town in early April.

Every year at this time the town of Wittenweier decorates the centre of their town with hundreds of coloured eggs and various other decorations. Here are some of them:

Spring flowers can be seen beside houses, churches and busy streets in all the towns. The one below shows a beautiful display of daffodils and tulips in Meissenheim in early April, showcasing some of the half-timbered houses in the background.

We were in the Alsace in France this week and a display in the supermarket in Plobsheim took my eye.

Most Gasthäuser also have various displays, the one below showing branches with coloured eggs hanging from the ceiling at the Gasthaus Linde in Wallburg, where I go for chicken most weeks.

Last evening we had our first Spargel Essen at the Engel in Dörlinbach. The white asparagus is not always ready for Easter, but this year the Spargel was early and Easter, late. The picture below shows torn up crepes, two types of ham, hollandaise sauce and the white asparagus.

At home, we have our own coloured Easter eggs to decorate the living room.

Our magnolia, shown below, in full bloom earlier in April

In Germany, this is a four-day weekend and everything is closed up tight on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, a lovely quiet time for all to enjoy.

May you all enjoy your own Easter eggs and hunts and special days this weekend.

Happy Easter to you all!

Celebrating Spring with Good Food and Good Friends

2011-04-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

It is almost Easter and the countryside is ablaze in all its glory. We have had an early and spectacular spring. The wonderful scent of lilacs now greet us as we pass them by. The iris is coming into bloom, and our peonies will not be far behind. My favourite spring flower is the lilac, with the blossom on the left in bloom this week at the edge of our property, a bush we didn't know we had. It was not there last year. I am delighted. The white lilac on the right sits just behind the fence of the Gasthaus Kleiner Meierhof, one we frequent and where we sat outside last evening. The iris is in our garden area.

The cherry trees, forsythia and other earlier blossoms are now gone, but those large, black cherries to come I can imagine eating soon, one after the other, until the bowl is empty. Our tree has thousands of cherries now waiting to ripen--for us and the birds. You can see the new cherries on the branches at left.

The apple trees showcase their lovely pink blossoms, with their scent reminding me of my childhood in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and our apple trees in the back yard. The yellow transparent apples ripened first and I ate many of them, but always when they were still slightly under-ripe (usually hiding that I was eating them as we weren't supposed to eat unripe apples!).

The chestnut tree in full bloom just beyond our yard also reminds me of those in Charlottetown, that were along the other side of our gangway, in the neighbours' yard. My sister Carol and I remember the two large trees that are no longer there, but back then I would look out our dining room window--almost on a level with the top of the trees, as we lived on the third floor of our grandfather's apartment house. To see the chestnut blossoms emerging meant spring.

We would watch the pigeons, too, which nested in the eaves of that house next door and gaze at the baby birds as they learned to fly. I now see many birds--male and female, thrushes and finches--in our backyard here in Germany, looking for twigs to make nests for their babies to come. A sign of spring that we always listen for is the call of the cuckoo. This year, through the open bedroom window, early in the morning, I heard a cuckoo calling for a mate on Sunday, the 9th of April.

It is also Spargel time, that renowned and long-awaited white asparagus that people all over Germany celebrate. We have seen fields and fields of them this year in our area, far more than in previous years. All have been under plastic but now, the plastic off, they are being dug from the ground to head to the restaurants, Gasthäuser, supermarkets, roadside stands--and home kitchens. We shall soon have our first "Spargel Essen," with Hans doing the cooking. He serves one of the best white asparagus dinners I have ever had. A great cook we knew, Herr Rosen, made wonderful Spargel dinners at his Gasthaus in the 1980s, ones we both still remember. Hans organized many of those evenings for Canadians who were here with the military--as we were ourselves.

The display below was outside a Vesperstube we visited last week high in the hills. Many, including us, decorate branches with eggs for Easter.

For Easter Sunday, we shall have a special meal at home. Hans plans to make Beef Wellington, perhaps not the usual Easter dinner, but one that is unbelievably good and fit for any occasion. It is a lot of work, but, in the end, it is perhaps the most delicious meat dish we have been fortunate enough to enjoy. That dinner, though, is still several days away, so I shall write about that later.

Burg Sponeck

These three pictures I took in January.

Just outside Jechtingen, down a narrow country road, lies the Burg Sponeck. It dates back to 1285. Many times we walked along the wooded area nearby and many times we walked up the short hill and road to the old fortress ruins. The family lives behind the gates in the fortress today, having renovated it inside and out a few years ago, while being careful to retain its original architecture, as it is a historic and protected structure.

Jechtingen in the Kaiserstuhl and the Gasthaus-Winzerstube Sonne

Several times a year we pick up our two elderly lady friends in Freiburg and head to a Gasthaus known for its good cuisine. One week after the first day of spring, at the end of March, we picked up our friend Lina, who is almost 95, and along with our friend Monika (younger than all of us), we went to a family-run Gasthaus in Jechtingen, about one kilometer from Burg Sponeck. Anita, age 84, who usually comes as well, was unable to join us that day.

Hans and I know the Gasthaus Sonne-Winzerstube well, one we've gone to many times over the years. Built in 1626, it is a typical family-run, Gutbürgerliches Gasthaus. It is simply decorated but warm, with wooden floors, a supporting (tree) post that was added in 1819 in the centre of the room and deep-set windows (depicting the age of the Gasthaus) that are flanked by draperies. Most often we stopped there to have a bottle of wine in the afternoon when out for a drive--always a Gewürtztraminer Spätlese or Auslese from that town--something we had done in January, after our visit to Burg Sponeck, as shown below.

Herr Gass is a chef and took it over from his parents some years ago. His mother was always in the Gasthaus until she died at the age of 88 a year ago. She would sit at the Stammtisch next to the Kachelofen greeting those who came in. Now, Herr Gass and his wife work together in the kitchen. During the quiet part of the day, one of them will be in the Gasthaus greeting and serving guests. They have two teenage sons and are hoping one of them will be interested in taking it over from them someday.

Below is the Kachelofen, a glazed, tiled heating stove and the Stammtisch (the local's table) against it, with a bench along the oven. The supporting tree post from 1819 can also be seen on the right side. These last four pictures of the interior I took in January.

About twenty years ago we stopped at the Gasthaus for an evening meal. We were driving a brand new Corvette that Hans parked just outside, near the door, and in we went. We ordered dinner and wine, enjoying a lovely meal. I now forget what we ate but I don't forget what happened next. Herr Gass came over to the table and told Hans that he had left his park lights on in the car. Hans thanked him, but replied that the car was new and therefore that should not be a problem. About an hour later we said goodbye, got into this brand-new car and it refused to start! So much for new cars and Hans' trust in them. (Though, in all fairness, the car had probably sat out there for about four hours or so.)

The two pictures below were taken in 1989, shortly after buying the car.

As the Wirt was too busy just then to help jump-start the car, we decided the only alternative was to stay the night. Luckily they had rooms and one was available. I was not exactly pleased with this turn of events, but no doubt it was a good choice if for no other reason than that we had had a fair amount of wine over the course of the evening. The following morning was a Sunday and after breakfast (included with the overnight stay), with Herr Gass' starter cables and his help, we headed for home. Today it is a pleasant memory and a tale to relate.

Below, Lina at the back and Monika at left, along with me

On this Sunday noon hour with our friends we had wine for dinner, which wasn't Gewürtztraminer. That particular wine goes beautifully with a goose or duck pate or with Münster Käse, for example, but not usually with a dinner. Munster cheese in North America is not the same as that produced in Germany and Alsace, France. We have bought ours a number of times direct from a farmer in the Vosges mountains of Alsace and that is the best. That is also where it is renowned and where Münster Käse originated. It is made from raw cows' milk and has a soft orange rind and a very distinctive and strong odour. (A cheese to keep well covered when not being eaten!)

Hans and I chose the same meal, sharing a platter of pork fillet with an herb and garlic sauce, potato croquettes and a platter of fresh vegetables topped with hollandaise sauce. All of it superb.

Monika ordered wild boar steak with mushrooms, shown at left (the mushrooms cover the wild boar). She also opted for the potato croquettes and pronounced it all as being flavourful and delicious.

Lina ordered Reh with Pfifferlingen, which is venison with chanterelle mushrooms. It looked delicious. Lina, though, was not happy! The reason Lina was so unhappy was because Schinken had been added to the Pfifferlingen. That is the usual way to cook those mushrooms as nearly always will the slightly smoked-type, diced bacon be part of that dish. She didn't eat another bite of the Pfifferlingen though she did eat her venision and said that it was excellent. She told the young waiter that the menu should have stipulated that the mushroom dish included Schinken. Each time he came to the table--a very personable young man and the nephew of the Wirt--she brought it up. Lina always speaks her mind! He humoured her and eventually she smiled and said little more about it. We suggested that she should have asked if Schinken was part of the dish, as in the Schwarzwald that is the way it is usually served. (The Kaiserstuhl, though not really in the Black Forest, is part of that culinary area.)

Lina's venison, chanterelles and croquettes

Lina and I had dessert after dinner (both of us had ice cream, mine with a chocolate sauce and hers, scoops of different flavours). That helped to make up for the Pfifferlingen that she loves but didn't eat. Hans ended up eating the mushrooms for her and enjoyed them immensely. He did agree that perhaps there was a bit too much Schinken with them, but that they were excellent (though for Hans, who loves Schinken, it likely wasn't too much at all!) Both Monika and Lina had salad before their meal and cranberry sauce accompanied both the wild boar and the venison.

The drive through the countryside in the sun, back to Freiburg, took us through some lovely villages, which ended a very enjoyable afternoon--Pfifferlingen and Schinken or not!

Note: As in most Gasthäuser and restaurants, meals are served from about 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. or 2:30 p.m. for Mittagessen (noon dinner) and between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. for Abendessen, the evening meal. (Local Gasthäuser sometimes serve somewhat earlier in the evening, perhaps starting at about 5 p.m.) More and more Gasthäuser are no longer open in the afternoons after the noon hour meal, but we have learned which ones are, so when out for a drive, we can always find a place in which to stop for a beer or a glass of wine.

Most Gasthäuser, if open during the afternoon, will usually offer some cold food, such as a cheese plate, a Schinken or ham plate (both with bread) and sometimes a warm egg dish or Bockwurst. A few Gasthäuser serve warm food all day, but that is not usually the case.

The Gasthaus Sonne-Winzerstube in Jechtingen is open all day, except on Wednesdays, their weekly Ruhetag or day of rest. It can be found on its website via "Google" by typing in the name of the Gasthaus, the town and region (Kaiserstuhl).