Wrestling With This N That N a little more of This

And we're back!  
This last couple weeks has been a blur of illness, cooking, frustration and success.  In other words, Autumn.  For those curious about Autumn in these parts, it pretty much looks like this:

Grey, drizzly, cool, and colorful

Mulled cider

Since we are at roughly the latitude of Vancouver, days have gotten very short.  We get up before sunrise and pick the kids up from school after dark most days.  Highs are in the low 40's (F) and overnight lows are starting to dip into the freeze zone.   I cope by catching all the rays I can, mainlining the hot beverages, cooking seasonal treats, and enjoying snuggly blankets and jammies!

Unfortunately, our whole family came down with a nasty autumn head cold.  The kids got it first.  DS was through it in a day or so.  But, DD got it for a full week.  Unfortunately, that week happened to be a week of vacation which annoyed the, er, snot out of them... cough.  Then David caught it. 

He actually was sick enough that he went to the doctor and got a special note that they call an  "Arbeitsunfähigkeits-bescheinigung" (try saying that with a head cold!).  Here, when you are sick for even a day or two, you need an excuse from your doctor.  In this case, she told him to take 3 more days before trying to go infect all his co-workers.  David very rarely takes sick time, but this was a nasty cold.  I was extremely glad to have him home because by that time I was also sick, however the kids were over it and back in school.  So, trying to do all the driving to and from France was not going to work well if I had to do it alone.  We did make it through with the help of home made chicken soup and a lot of the softest kind of tissues we could find.

In other autumn news, duck seems to be a seasonal food in the markets now.  Our usual roast-chicken stand now carries roast duck, as well.  I got one out of curiosity.  This is how it came:

Yup, looks like 1/2 a duck!

Not bad, but next time I will make an orange sauce and wild rice at home to serve with it!

Black Forest Games Happenings:

Black Forest has taken to doing a weekly webcast, updating viewers on what is going on in the Black Forest Gamingverse and introducing team members, etc.  Last week David was the Chosen One to be interviewed- he tried hard to get Monkey on air.  Here he is practicing and making sure Monkey is well fed before his close up:

Hey, I want some!

Nom Nom!

DD couldn't resist the photobomb

 Sadly, in the end Monkey was pre-empted for more serious "gaming news".  But, David still got to share the screen with Lovely Sarah and the Evil Owlverlord.  I sent cookies for the team:

Orange Ginger Bread
They went over well, but the Germans considered them spicy,
I am told.  To me, they were very mild indeed.

Speaking of Spicy:
This is a wonderful gift!  Grandma Connie and Mom sent me Penzeys Cinnamon.  First off, Penzeys is simply the best cinnamon I have every had.  If you haven't tried their Vietnamese Extra Fancy, then you are missing out on one of the truly beautiful flavors of the world.  Nuff said.  But, more apropos to this blog, American cinnamon and European cinnamon are not exactly the same.  In Europe they use primarily what we would call "Ceylon" or "true" cinnamon.  It is very nice- a little lighter, mellower and more citrussy than what we are accustomed to.  In the US we rely on a sharper flavored cousin of true cinnamon called cassia.  In the states I would seek out Ceylon Cinnamon for a change of pace.  It is fabulous, for instance, in bread pudding or custardy pies.  Here, though, I have yet to find a source for cassia.  I prefer it for things like cinnamon rolls or cinnamon cookies where the brighter flavor can really shine.  So, getting this gift in time to do my holiday cooking was a wonderful pick-me-up!

In other seasonal spicy news, DS and I have been slowly making pomanders.  When DD got back from the dentist yesterday I thought they had used oil of cloves on her teeth- but Nope!  It was just the cloves from the pomanders. 

Lady's Luncheon:
Sunday I met one of David's newest co-workers for an afternoon coffee at a local cafe.  Being the complete food geek, I took pictures not of my new Canadian friend, but, er, of the canapes that I ate for lunch!  Look!  They are filled with ham!  And nothing but ham!  How... German! 

Poor camera etiquette aside, we had a lovely 4-hour lunch and got acquainted.  We figure that as two of a very small number of North American Women in Offenburg, we ought to pool our powers of awesomeness and help each other forge ahead through our mutual German adventures!  I recommended my English speaking doctor.  And she is teaching me some ways to get US television shows.  Also, she introduced me to the fact that local animal shelters let you come be a volunteer Dog Walker!!!  She and her hubby have done this a few times and had a blast. David is afraid we will fall in love and be bummed, but I think it is a win/win.  Borrow a dog for a while- dog gets loving attention, you get loving attention!  Hooray!  Weather willing, we are going to try this out sometime soon.

The Canelés/Cannelés Bordelais Saga:
So, a while back an American friend turned me onto the re-emergence of a regional French "cookie" that has been dubbed Canelés or Cannelés de Bordeaux.  Apparently there is some debate about the proper inclusion of the second "n", and, being French, people on both sides care very much!  But, whatever you call them, these little sweets are a rather pleasant treat, so I set out to try to make some.

First off you need a special pan.  The traditional ones are copper lined with tin and cost something like 15 EU a piece.  For one "cookie".  Yeah, not going there.  Silicone versions are available for much less, but don't get quite the level of browning that true aficionados look for.  I figured I would cope.  Luckily I was able to find one of these silicone pans alongside their copper counterparts at the first French gourmet shop I went to.  So, huzzah!

The next tricky bit was indeed trickier, though.  Traditional canelés are made with... well- what do you think that is there?

A hunk of cheese?  No, think again

 Bee's Wax!  Yes, you use a mixture of wax and butter to give them the right shiny, crispy, brown exterior.  I tried making them without and wasn't satisfied.  So, we went in search of wax.  The recipe was from the states and said that often farmer's market honey vendors will have some wax in back.  So, we decided to try out our local weekly street market.  Now, I want to give serious props to my hubby here.  Acquiring edible bees wax is an advanced move even when you speak the language.  In this case we needed to convince Germanophone honey vendors that selling us off-menu wax was a good idea.  Awk-ward!  But, as soon as we got a Saturday with good weather we set out with a mission.  The first honey-seller we found raised his eyebrows and scoffed. "Bienenwachs? Pfft- Nein!!"  But, interestingly, this time of year almost a 1/3 of the stalls at the markt seem to sell honey!  So, we tried the next likely spot, a place run by an elderly couple.  David asked.  The man looked surprised, but thoughtful.  What would we be using it for?  French cookies.  Hmm..  How much did we need?  Just a little.  He looked askingly at his wife and then they began to rummage around at the back of the stand.  They pulled out a bag that had two chunks of wax.  We motioned to the smaller one.  4.25 EU he said.  We paid and left- now the proud owners of a cheese-like hunk of bees wax!

Here are my results:

Shiny and delicious, but not as dark as many of the examples on the web.
I am going to guess that is because of my silicone molds

Here is the wax and butter mixture I used to coat the molds

Just a little bit, but it made a difference- oh, and this
is my silicone cannelés pan.  It makes eight 1/4 cup cakes

The thing you are going for with canelés is a creamy, custardy inside with a dark,
caramelized outside.

Since I can't leave anything alone, I changed the recipe slightly.  I don't like rum, so I used Cointreau instead.  Also, the recipe I used said to freeze the molds before cooking.  But, I found that to be wrong.  If you want the outside to cook the fastest, let it heat up fastest.  So, I tried it both ways and decided I was correct.  Batter should be chilled, molds are fine room temp.

Coming up: Stephanie is working on a new web site, DD got braces, and DS may get braces.  Also, The Holidays, and maybe, Dog Walking.

Crebain from Dunland, Early Snow, Pan De Muertos, and Darling Piggies

Legolas, what do your Elf-Eyes See?
Crebain from Dunland!

Holy Crow, Batman!  I think that is a murder!!!  Yes, those swarms of birds swooping around our local shopping center are mostly crows.  For those not in on the joke, groups of crows are called "murders".  Some medieval jokester probably thought up that one. But, whatever the case, huge murders of crows gather and create a deafening show around dusk these autumn evenings.  Honestly, it fascinates me.   Here in Germany we have far more crow-varieties than I ever noticed in California.  I have to look them up when I see them.  There are crows, rooks, ravens, jackdaws and magpies! Ravens are just big crows with somewhat lumpy beaks, but the jackdaws and magpies can be surprisingly colorful when their feathers hit the light and shine purples and blues.  Rooks look like crows with a weird white patch at the base of their beaks.  All of them are smart, social and plentiful.  And they really seem to love hanging around the freshly plowed fields where all sorts of seeds and insects have becomes suddenly free for the taking!

They really are pretty impressive when they get together in these huge groups!

 Other signs of Autumn

I have been making a concerted effort to notice the signs of autumn around us.  They are not, perhaps, quite as dramatic as what my step-sister Starr posts about from her home in Connecticut.  I think this is because the Black Forest is a mixed habitat with evergreen conifers interspersed with deciduous arbors that love to put on pretty shows.  Color is certainly not absent.  But, it has an uneven and sometimes scraggly look.  Perhaps for this reason, the locals seem to really enjoy planting glorious color-changing plants wherever they get the chance.  For instance holly:

And whatever this gorgeous bush is.  These line the freeways and roads in many areas and are breathtaking as you pass them!

This one is just kitty-corner to our apartment.

Otherwise, much of what I see is pretty similar to what one might notice in a well-planned and watered area of CA. 

Neighborhood trees

Tree outside our apartment building.

On the other hand, THIS is not something we saw much of in CA- We got an early snow storm moving through this week.  Local wisdom seems to be that this may be a strong winter because it was a hot summer.  Dunno if one necessarily follows, but it is off to a cold and early start!

Never did manage to stick more than on a few rooftops at our level.  But, cars from the local hills brought down piles that they dumped on the roadways whenever they made a sudden stop :)  DS was absolutely in his element, though!  He LOVED it.  And, much to his pleasure, the weather has taken a definite turn for the COLD ever since.

Here he is frolicking and catching snowflakes on
his tongue

It fell all day long

And did collect a little on the roofs

DS went for a scooter ride in the snow

He brought back a snowball he had gathered.

It broke into three pieces when we threw it :)

Then it was hot chocolate time!!

Speaking of chocolate, here is a local food update:

This is a "chocolate muffin".  It is much more
like a cupcake, but about 2ce the size and no frosting.
If you accept that it is neither a muffin nor a cupcake, it is delicious!

This was a failed effort by a local bakery to make something
Halloweeny.  It is a sweet roll that is supposed to
be in the shape of a witch.  It was dry and flavorless, though
so no one wound up eating it.

This, however, was delicious
Chocolate covered strawberries on a stick!

David's favorites: Cinnamon Almonds- sold hot in a paper cone from street
vendors all season long.

Another of David's favorites, not commonly available.  So I made some.
Cinnamon Sticky Rolls!

Autumny Meal: Chicken galette, apples (dipped in honey- just 'cause) &
tangerines, and spiced glühwein

And, homemade pumpkin pie
(the pumpkins on the table will make pies later!)

Our friend makes these wonderful little piggies and sells them on Etsy.  There are some really darling ones--  I encourage you to browse.  (EDIT: She just made the local paper with her business!  Woot!  Article is here.  Go Charlotte!)  They come in a dizzying array of colors and characters.  But, I asked if she would create something special.  DS loves the combination of Dark/Bright Blue and Black and he has been trying to teach himself to juggle well.  I asked if she could make blue/black pigs with a slightly heavy filling.  So, she kindly obliged, and DS is now a happy pig-hurling kid!

Black and Blue Piggies!
My photo doesn't do them justice.  They have really cute faces!

getting started

getting the hang of it!

Halloween in these parts isn't much of a thing, really.  Though, interestingly, perhaps, All Souls and All Saints days are work holidays!  So, DH gets Thursday and Friday off this week.  But, for the most part you might catch someone having carved a "schnitzenkurbis", a "carving pumpkin" into a jack-o-lantern...

I had to look hard, but then I did spot them.  They are on the posts.

...or notice that there are some special candies on sale (not for trick or treating) and, of course, there are costume parties at the local clubs and, sometimes, ghostly treats at the local bakeries-- like the witch above or the "Gespenst Kuchen" (specter cookie) DS is eating here.

Much better than the witch.  This was a lemony flavor!

But that is about it.  So, I am trying to get more into the spirit of things, ehem.  I started off with Pan De Muertos. 

Mom thought it looked spidery, but it is supposed to be a skull and bones

Skull got a little deformed in the oven, though!

That was delicious (and even better, there was enough to make into French Toast the next day... and maybe even enough left after that for some bread pudding.  It was a BIG loaf is what I am saying!)

I am not sure what else to do, though.  Just the four of us getting costumed up and sitting at home seems.... well, a little anti-climactic.  We will definitely watch Nightmare Before Christmas on DVD and possibly some other seasonal favorites.  Hmm.  May have to go with the flow on this one and call it a split-holiday.  Since, really I think Fasching takes over a lot of the Halloween role in this region.

The kids are on vacation for two weeks, though, and David has the end of this week off and some vacation time to spend.  SO, we are trying to think of wunderbar seasonal ways to entertain ourselves.  As I mentioned, it has gotten cold- and Daylight Savings ended here, so it is dark quite early in the evenings all of a sudden.  Puts one in the mood for the holidays.  So, Stay tuned!  

 Upcoming: Well, looks like more autumn and winter and such!

Hot Chocolate, Hamburger Fish, Orcish War Machines and Changing Colors

Hot Chocolate done Right- Real chocolate pearls and whipped milk

Hamburger Fisch Markt is in town!

Yes, it is Fish!... from Hamburg.  I guess?  What it really is, is an excuse for a Street Fair.  Missed it last year for some reason.  But the rain abated long enough today to go check it out today.  The first thing we noticed, of course, was that there was a huge pirate ship in the town square- and they are serving Beer!

Lots of Candy Carts, too- bigger than the ones at Weinfest.

And, of course, fish sellers Everywhere!  I was surprised that mostly it is
selling prepared fish, though there was some fresh fish to take home, too.

These folks were hysterical.  Well, to us they were hysterical.
They seemed to take themselves seriously.  And if anyone else thought
it was weird for a pair of middle-aged performers to be
dressed in nautical gear singing nothing but German Fish Songs,
they didn't mention it.  I almost bought a CD.  Almost.

This is one of our local Characters- we call him The Mustache Man, or The Whisker Guy
for obvious reasons.

I had already eaten, but David ordered the Scholle- Served, of course,
with DICED HAM on top!

And plenty of bones inside.  Scholle, it turns out, is
Flounder.  I had a bite.  Salty, but not bad.

They were smoking salmon in this booth.

I still haven't gotten over the fact that glass
is still common here- and that a soda is
.33 liters.

This guy was hawking French cheese like he was running
his own infomercial.  Constant banter.
The only line I remember was "Money, Money,
Come Here Money!!!"
Made me laugh.  The locals just bought cheese.

This guy was also there.  We think
he was someone's ad, but
he had a weird umbrella
and chased Squealing Tweens down the street.

Sneaking up on his next
victims

In hunt for Autumny Things
After the Market, I decided I wanted to go for a quick drive in search of Autumn Foliage.  Seems that it is mostly too early for true color, but we found a few fun things.

Pumpkin Displays and silly children

Me, DD and DS

All Pumpkins 1.30 EU per Kilo

Grass in the meadow was up to his shins-
and full of little wild flowers

We found a Pick Your Own Flowers site.  They trust you to put
money in the can when you are done.

Pick to your heart's content!

Hillside is still pretty green

But, you can make out some yellows and golds mixed in.

many of the vines on walls are turning fall-like colors, though

Other Recent Stuff and Germany Bits

First gingerbread of the season- Light and Orangy

Here is how they do powdered sugar for decoration
you get it in a stick that looks like chalk,
then you rub it on a mesh sieve.

DS asked for this ham and cheese
bread for eating with breakfast.
Yes, he ate it all.  Growing kid!

I made Madeleines.  Not bad!

One of David's favorites, it is Streusel Küchen.  It is very dry
by US standards, but the tons of streusel (pronounced Stroy-sl here)
make up for it in his opinion.

DS's art assignment.  He had to make it with a real pen- that you change out tips and
dip in ink.  He was covered in black smudges by the time he was done.  But,
his patterned chainmail teddy bear looks pretty good!

Just some random building in Strasbourg near the art store.
This is what is different driving around Germany.  You frequently
just sort of wander past buildings that are older than the U.S.

David saw this at the store and thought of me.

 But, check it out.  Made in Belgium.  Sold in Germany.  Printed in... English!

After all that pretty black packaging the chocolates were
surprisingly beat up inside.  AND, they did not, in
fact, have wine in them.  They were just recommended
for eating WITH wine.  Disappointment aside,
they are quite delicious, anyways.

The Harvest
The Orcish War Machine was back this week to take out our corn field.  It took 2-3 days off and on, but the field is now flat and the birds are feasting on the leavings.

A similar war machine with red-colored blades came out of a field on my way to pick the kids up.  It literally emerged from its pass straight toward the car as I drove down the highway.  Stopped not 3 feet from me.  That will keep you awake on your commute!

Looks so benign from the side.

This is what they load the grain onto

And, yes, I had to drive behind him for a few Kilometers.
Not sure how the kernels manage to stay in that pile
without falling.

They just line them up along the edge of the field

I was glad he didn't tag the neighbor's car-
looked close, though!

Orcish War Machine Doesn't stop for nightfall.  Legolas's voice rang out-
" They run as if the very whips of their masters were behind them."
He did stop after a few more passes, though.

This morning he finished the last rows.

Mind you, they are quite LOUD

Dey- Me say De-eh-eh-GU- Just a few cute Degu photos

Trist likes to snuggle in my now-ubiquitous scarf

All three degus jumping back and forth
between the kids.  Humans make great playgrounds!

A little giggly, though!

Giana is Close- David has a current version for playtesting.  So, the kids are doing their share :)