Ingredients:
- Raclette cheese (sliced)
- small potatoes
- bratwurst
- pickles
- cocktail onions
- black pepper
16 July 2013
Recipe: Raclette
This is a classic Swiss dinner. Many people have heard of fondue, but few have heard of raclette. To eat the raclette cheese, you need to melt it. For people who eat this dinner frequently, they usually use a raclette grill like the one shown in the pictures below. If you do not have a grill, you can use a pan on low heat on the stove in the kitchen or a hot plate.
Ingredients:
This is a social meal if you have a grill to put at the table. Everyone can take a potato and cut it in quarters. Melt the cheese on the grill and pour it over the potatoes. Grind the black pepper over the cheese, put some pickles and onions on your plate, and start the feast!
Ingredients:
14 July 2013
Recipe: Paella Valenciana (Spain)
Paella Recipe
What is the authentic paella
There are many different recipes of paella. There are many rice dishes in Spain: Paella, Arroz a Banda, Arroz Reina, etc., etc. Paella is just one of them and not necessarily the best. Many people like other rice dishes better. Paella Valenciana is a dish originated in Valencia, in Eastern Spain, at the Mediterranean coast. However, contrary to common belief, Paella is an inland dish, created by farmers, not by seamen. Paella is not a seafood dish. Many people believe that a good paella is the one that has lots of expensive fish and shellfish. This is incorrect. Paella is an inland dish made out of meat (chicken and/or rabbit), vegetable and rice. The secret of a good paella is to get the meat and vegetable juices absorbed by the rice.
How to make a good paella
Many years ago I shared apartment with some guy from Valencia. We were both in Graduate school and did not have much time to party, but we thought we will set time aside every Sunday to cook some paella valenciana. My roommate used to enjoy saying that in order to make a good paella, you need to be from Valencia, or at least feel like if you were Valencian. One Sunday that he was away, I decided to still cook the paella by myself. Since I am not from Valencia, I could not expect much of that paella. However, as a matter of fact, it turned out that that paella that I cooked by myself came out awesome. Even my roommate couldn't help to admit it. The sad side of the story is that always since then I have tried to reproduce that result, unfortunately, with little success. To date, I still do not know what is that I did so very well that time that resulted in such an awesome paella.
I do not know what is the key for a good paella, but I have some insight. It is something about how you do the first steps: how you cook the meat and the first vegetables. Most reciepes stress the relevance of the last step: how to cook the rice. While it may ruin a good paella if you do not cook the rice well, the key for a good paella lies at the beginning.
What Paella pan should be used
Preferably you should use the widest pan available. It doesn't have to be the biggest, certainly not the deepest, but, in principle, the wider, the better. The reason why we want a wide pan is so that the rice doesn't pile up. In other words, the paella should be as short (in height) as possible. We want to make sure that the rice that lies at the top receives the same heat as the rice that lies at the bottom. If the paella is 'tall', rice at the bottom would overcook, while rice accumulated at the top would remain raw. Do not forget you are not supposed to stir the paella once you add the rice. So, you will not be able to use the simple trick of stirring the rice to ensure it cooks evenly.
There is however a caveat about using a wide pan. Probably, your stove's burner is of normal size, probably, much smaller that the width of the pan. Now, you face the risk that you will overcook the rice in the center, while the rest of the rice will remain raw. There are two options to overcome this problem. The first option is as simple as moving the pan around over burner to ensure that all parts receive the same amount of heat (this is only necessary in the last cooking stage: after the rice is added). The other option is to use some accessory attachable to the burner or some camping stove with a wider burner, so that the heat is spread out all over the pan's surface.
The Recipe
Ingredients:
- Rice
- Meat (chicken (thighs, drumsticks, wings), it is also possible to use rabbit, if you like it). One piece (thigh, drumstick, wing...) of chicken per person is a reasonable measure.
- 3 or 4 garlic cloves.
- 1 average size peeled tomato.
- green beans (a few per person (fpp), optionally white beans (fpp), a few stripes of red bell peppers.
- Optionally you can use artichokes, green peas, chopped green bell peppers, etc.
- salt, water and olive oil.
Directions:
Start frying the meat at high heat with very little oil and adding some salt to the pan and the meat. It may be a good idea to cut the meat in small pieces. The salt is supposed to draw the juice out of the meat. Similarly, I believe, too much oil while you fry the meat, may form a film around the meat and keep the juices to come out.
The meat has to be well done, well golden. When it is done, push it aside and add the chopped garlic. Cook the garlic at low heat. Add the chopped peeled tomato. You can add more olive oil if you want (around three tablespoons). I believe the longer you cook the tomato the better. Make sure you set the heat really low and you can keep it for hours. Do not worry if it starts taking a really dark color. After you add the tomato, you will also have to cook the rest of the vegetables (green beans, artichokes, white bean, peas, bell peppers... depending on what you prefer). At the end you can also add some 'pimenton' (or Spanish paprika). Keep the heat low after you add the paprika, if you allow the paprika to get burned, your paella will be ruined
In theory, you will pour water on the pan as soon as you add the vegetables. Many people think it is easier and yields the same results if you only pour the water after you add the rice. It may also be a good idea to use chicken broth instead of plain water.
There are a lot of theories on how much rice to use and what is the exact proportion of rice and water. Some people will go as far as to say only water from Valencia will work. As a basic rule, add a little cup of rice per person. It is recommended to use high-quality rice that will not overcook. At the end, rice should be tender, but not overcooked (think al dente like correctly cooked pasta).
As a general rule, you should add a little bit more than twice as much water than rice. If you poured the water right after the vegetables, you should use more water than this rule prescribes, because you will lose quite some water before you add the rice (that is why it is easier to pour the water after you add the rice). In any case, the level of water should be such that all the rice is well covered by the water. You may want to test for salt, in case you need to add some
Finally, raise the fire to high heat, add a bit of saffron and cook the rice, vegetables and meat at high heat for ten minutes. After this time, the water should barely cover the rice. Some rice should start popping out. If you have too much water, let it cook a little longer on high heat to reduce the amount of water. Possibly, increase the heat. If you have too little water and the rice is still pretty raw, you may want to add some water.
After the first ten minutes at high heat, turn the heat low, cover the pan with tin foil and let it cook for ten more minutes. If everything goes well, after this second period of ten minutes, all rice should be evenly cooked (but not overcooked) and there should be barely any water left. If you run out of water before the rice is cooked, you used too little water. keep the pan covered with foil and try to have the rice finish cooking on low heat). If you have much water left by the time the rice is cooked, you used too much water. Uncover the pan, increase the heat and try to evaporate some water. A little excess of water in the paella is not such a big deal anyway.
After finishing cooking the rice, leave the paella sit for five minutes and eat right away. Paella is not supposed to be reheated, so after all that work, make sure you do not leave anything on the pan.
Photos:
*read the directions above thoroughly. The directions provided with the photos are not really sufficient to make a good paella. They are only there to help you understand the photos.
- Rice
- Meat (chicken (thighs, drumsticks, wings), it is also possible to use rabbit, if you like it). One piece (thigh, drumstick, wing...) of chicken per person is a reasonable measure.
- 3 or 4 garlic cloves.
- 1 average size peeled tomato.
- green beans (a few per person (fpp), optionally white beans (fpp), a few stripes of red bell peppers.
- Optionally you can use artichokes, green peas, chopped green bell peppers, etc.
- salt, water and olive oil.
Directions:
Start frying the meat at high heat with very little oil and adding some salt to the pan and the meat. It may be a good idea to cut the meat in small pieces. The salt is supposed to draw the juice out of the meat. Similarly, I believe, too much oil while you fry the meat, may form a film around the meat and keep the juices to come out.
The meat has to be well done, well golden. When it is done, push it aside and add the chopped garlic. Cook the garlic at low heat. Add the chopped peeled tomato. You can add more olive oil if you want (around three tablespoons). I believe the longer you cook the tomato the better. Make sure you set the heat really low and you can keep it for hours. Do not worry if it starts taking a really dark color. After you add the tomato, you will also have to cook the rest of the vegetables (green beans, artichokes, white bean, peas, bell peppers... depending on what you prefer). At the end you can also add some 'pimenton' (or Spanish paprika). Keep the heat low after you add the paprika, if you allow the paprika to get burned, your paella will be ruined
In theory, you will pour water on the pan as soon as you add the vegetables. Many people think it is easier and yields the same results if you only pour the water after you add the rice. It may also be a good idea to use chicken broth instead of plain water.
There are a lot of theories on how much rice to use and what is the exact proportion of rice and water. Some people will go as far as to say only water from Valencia will work. As a basic rule, add a little cup of rice per person. It is recommended to use high-quality rice that will not overcook. At the end, rice should be tender, but not overcooked (think al dente like correctly cooked pasta).
As a general rule, you should add a little bit more than twice as much water than rice. If you poured the water right after the vegetables, you should use more water than this rule prescribes, because you will lose quite some water before you add the rice (that is why it is easier to pour the water after you add the rice). In any case, the level of water should be such that all the rice is well covered by the water. You may want to test for salt, in case you need to add some
Finally, raise the fire to high heat, add a bit of saffron and cook the rice, vegetables and meat at high heat for ten minutes. After this time, the water should barely cover the rice. Some rice should start popping out. If you have too much water, let it cook a little longer on high heat to reduce the amount of water. Possibly, increase the heat. If you have too little water and the rice is still pretty raw, you may want to add some water.
After the first ten minutes at high heat, turn the heat low, cover the pan with tin foil and let it cook for ten more minutes. If everything goes well, after this second period of ten minutes, all rice should be evenly cooked (but not overcooked) and there should be barely any water left. If you run out of water before the rice is cooked, you used too little water. keep the pan covered with foil and try to have the rice finish cooking on low heat). If you have much water left by the time the rice is cooked, you used too much water. Uncover the pan, increase the heat and try to evaporate some water. A little excess of water in the paella is not such a big deal anyway.
After finishing cooking the rice, leave the paella sit for five minutes and eat right away. Paella is not supposed to be reheated, so after all that work, make sure you do not leave anything on the pan.
Photos:
*read the directions above thoroughly. The directions provided with the photos are not really sufficient to make a good paella. They are only there to help you understand the photos.
Prepare the chicken legs and thighs. We take off the skin, cut some of the meat off the bones, and salt the meat thoroughly.
You can boil the tomatoes to take off the peel. This is not obligatory, but a good idea.
A lot of garlic is used (but never onion!). You can mince very finely, or even just put through a garlic press.
Use very little oil when you start with the chicken.
Put the chicken in the pot when the oil gets hot enough. Put the skin, bones, meat - everything. You can take the skin out later, but putting it in at the beginning adds a lot of flavor.
Once the chicken has browned a little you can add the minced garlic.
Peel the tomatoes and chop finely on a plate to retain the liquid.
Add the tomatoes to the chicken and garlic. You can move the chicken over to the side so the tomatoes get thoroughly cooked. You may even want to take it out. In our case we left it in for a little while with the tomato, but eventually took it out when we were going to add the peppers.
Chop the bell peppers. We chop the green bell peppers into small 1cm cubes, and the red bell pepper are 1cmx3 or 4cm long.
Add the bell peppers to the pan with the thoroughly cooked tomato. In our case we took the chicken out.
Prepare the green beans. We cut them about 3 or 4cm long.
When the peppers are partially cooked, add the green beans.
Once the veggies are cooked, you can add the meat back into the pan (if you took it out). Then you can add the smoked Spanish paprika (pimenton).
Because it is easier for us and we do not like to use up too much propane with our big paellero (a big pan for cooking paella), we usually cook everything in a smaller pan on the stove first. Once all the vegetables and meat are cooked, we then move it into the paellero. Probably this is not common. It is absolutely fine to cook everything in the big pan. Most people will not have a paellero, so they will need to cook everything in one big pan on the stove.
Now everything is in the pan, we are adding water, and we are waiting for it to simmer.
Once simmering, separate the vegetables and chicken to make a wall of rice in the center. You can then mix it with everything else. Make sure to read thoroughly the instructions on cooking the rice above. This is the most delicate part of making a paella!
!!DONT FORGET THE SAFFRON AROUND THIS TIME!!
After you have simmered the rice for a while, you will cover the pan and turn down the heat. It takes time to learn this process and get the cooking of the rice correct. Don't worry if you overcook the rice the first time you make this. It takes practice!
Check the rice after a while and if it is ready turn off the burner. Let sit for a few minutes.
Enjoy!
04 July 2013
Glacier National Park: The Spanish Summit
During my final semester of university, I was introduced to a Spanish post-doc who worked in forestry. At a Sunday lunch me and Javi hosted, we discussed with him the possibility of traveling to Glacier National Park together. Several weeks passed, school finished for the semester, and summer commenced. We still had not made good on our plan.
I had just started a new job with the BLM. I was occupied during the week and exhausted during the weekend. When Independence Day was just a week away, we finally made plans to go up to the park.
We planned to leave in the middle of the week. In the end it was four of us; a visiting professor from Barcelona also joined. We left midday and started the drive up through the Flathead to the park.
The first place we visited inside the park was Apgar Village. On the shore of Lake McDonald, this town is where my grandfather and his siblings grew up. During the late 40's and early 50's my great grandfather worked on the Hungry Horse Dam. From the stories my grandfather tells about growing up in Apgar, these seem to be some of the most memorable years of his childhood.
Apgar:
This is the one room schoolhouse that my grandfather and his siblings attended school in.
Lake McDonald:
We continued our first day in the park by venturing up the Going to the Sun Road. This road is very famous. Constructed on steep cliffs, it was made with only one switchback called "The Loop" - quite an achievement in engineering.
At the top of the road is Logan Pass. There is a very beautiful hike to Hidden Lake at the pass. This trail is incredibly crowded with tourists, but once you get past the overlook it gets quieter.
Logan Pass:
Hidden Lake Overlook:
There are serious issues with wildlife becoming habituated in the park. This marmot must have had some very strong association between humans and salt. When this marmot saw us it came running out of the rocks at full speed to our friend's bare legs. It began to lick the salt off. When we tried to get away it would chase after, or hold onto his shoe. The marmot had absolutely no fear of humans.
Once we finished our hike to Hidden Lake, we went to find a campground. We saw on the notice boards that most campgrounds were full. It was the 4th of July weekend, remember? There was one site which still had open spots - an isolated and undeveloped site called Cut Bank. We found a spot there after dark, set up our tents, and cooked some ribs on the fire.
The next morning we packed up and headed south to the Two Medicine area. Our idea was to hike the Dawson Pitamakin Loop trail, and then spend the night at the Two Medicine campground. We found a campsite when we arrived and got ready for the day-long trek.
Dawson Pitamakin Loop Trail (17 miles): in Two Medicine
You hike along the lake and ascend to this ridge. You follow the ridge for quite some time before you descend back towards the lake.
We don't have photos of it, but when we were almost back to the campsite we saw an enormous grizzly bear heading up the valley adjacent to the trail. It seemed on quite a mission - cruising at a brisk pace. We could see it stop after a while and start digging up a rotten log. There must have been some delicious treats there.
The long hike along the loop was tiresome, and we were all happy to finally reach the campground after dark.
The next day we set off to the Many Glacier area. We wanted to hike up to Grinnell Glacier. In the end we were only able to hike partway up the trail. There was still snow on the last half, so we could go no further.
Grinnell Glacier Trail:
I had just started a new job with the BLM. I was occupied during the week and exhausted during the weekend. When Independence Day was just a week away, we finally made plans to go up to the park.
We planned to leave in the middle of the week. In the end it was four of us; a visiting professor from Barcelona also joined. We left midday and started the drive up through the Flathead to the park.
The first place we visited inside the park was Apgar Village. On the shore of Lake McDonald, this town is where my grandfather and his siblings grew up. During the late 40's and early 50's my great grandfather worked on the Hungry Horse Dam. From the stories my grandfather tells about growing up in Apgar, these seem to be some of the most memorable years of his childhood.
Apgar:
This is the one room schoolhouse that my grandfather and his siblings attended school in.
Lake McDonald:
We continued our first day in the park by venturing up the Going to the Sun Road. This road is very famous. Constructed on steep cliffs, it was made with only one switchback called "The Loop" - quite an achievement in engineering.
At the top of the road is Logan Pass. There is a very beautiful hike to Hidden Lake at the pass. This trail is incredibly crowded with tourists, but once you get past the overlook it gets quieter.
Logan Pass:
Hidden Lake Overlook:
There are serious issues with wildlife becoming habituated in the park. This marmot must have had some very strong association between humans and salt. When this marmot saw us it came running out of the rocks at full speed to our friend's bare legs. It began to lick the salt off. When we tried to get away it would chase after, or hold onto his shoe. The marmot had absolutely no fear of humans.
Once we finished our hike to Hidden Lake, we went to find a campground. We saw on the notice boards that most campgrounds were full. It was the 4th of July weekend, remember? There was one site which still had open spots - an isolated and undeveloped site called Cut Bank. We found a spot there after dark, set up our tents, and cooked some ribs on the fire.
The next morning we packed up and headed south to the Two Medicine area. Our idea was to hike the Dawson Pitamakin Loop trail, and then spend the night at the Two Medicine campground. We found a campsite when we arrived and got ready for the day-long trek.
Dawson Pitamakin Loop Trail (17 miles): in Two Medicine
You hike along the lake and ascend to this ridge. You follow the ridge for quite some time before you descend back towards the lake.
We don't have photos of it, but when we were almost back to the campsite we saw an enormous grizzly bear heading up the valley adjacent to the trail. It seemed on quite a mission - cruising at a brisk pace. We could see it stop after a while and start digging up a rotten log. There must have been some delicious treats there.
The long hike along the loop was tiresome, and we were all happy to finally reach the campground after dark.
The next day we set off to the Many Glacier area. We wanted to hike up to Grinnell Glacier. In the end we were only able to hike partway up the trail. There was still snow on the last half, so we could go no further.
Grinnell Glacier Trail:
23 April 2013
Bass Creek
Our first months back together in Montana were busy. I was finishing my last year of university and working. Javier was looking for work. We did not devote much time to fun.
Spring break was coming up quickly, and I was determined to get out for the week together. I thought it would be fun and new for us to go back-country backpacking together. I had extensive experience with backpacking, and Javier had also spent a lot of time in the woods, but we had never gone out together in that manner.
We began preparing. It was a long time since I had gone out into the Wilderness. We discussed where we would go. I suggested Bass Creek, a beautiful valley in the Bitterroot I often visited when I was a teenager.
It was spring, but we knew the valley would have deep snow. Our packing was centered around this fact. We needed snowshoes and plenty of warm clothes for the five days we were planning. After years of winter camping, I was accustomed to packing for this kind of trip, but it was pretty new for Javier.
Our plan was to try and get to the lake 8 miles back in the valley. Without deep snow this is easy to do in one day, but we knew it would take longer. We started out on the trail mid-morning. For the first couple of miles the trail was dry, but then for a few miles after that we had to deal with melting water and submerged trail. It was sunny and unseasonably warm. We hopped between rocks and grassy islands, doing our best to keep our boots dry. We were glad to pass the runoff and start trekking through snow.
We put on our snow shoes and did our best to navigate the trail. There was no worn path, but we could find our way by the branch stripped stems of the trees. At about five miles we started to notice there had been many avalanches over the previous days. It was clear that the warm sunny weather had loosened the packed winter snow from the rocks above. We began to move cautiously forward. We made it about 6.5 miles before it started to get dark. We set up camp for the night.
The next day was another extremely beautiful day. We packed up our stuff and began the final mile and a half to the lake. This last trek took much longer than expected. The going was slow. The snow was very deep and there was no way to know where the trail was. We wound our way through scree and open slopes, falling through holes between rocks. It was a relief when we finally crossed over the last hill and could see the lake.
The base of Bass Lake is very windy. To try and get some shelter from the gusting wind, we camped in the shelter of the dam. There was plenty of firewood in the area, and we spent most evenings huddled by the fire. During the day we walked around the lake. The snow was so warm and slushy that we had trouble navigating the shore.
We spent three nights at the lake before we decided to head out one day early. With the heavy wet snow, it was hard to explore the lake area. There was very little left for us to do. The hike back to the trail head was quick; we made it back before mid-afternoon. It was nice to go home, shed our wet clothes, and have a nice meal.
Spring break was coming up quickly, and I was determined to get out for the week together. I thought it would be fun and new for us to go back-country backpacking together. I had extensive experience with backpacking, and Javier had also spent a lot of time in the woods, but we had never gone out together in that manner.
We began preparing. It was a long time since I had gone out into the Wilderness. We discussed where we would go. I suggested Bass Creek, a beautiful valley in the Bitterroot I often visited when I was a teenager.
It was spring, but we knew the valley would have deep snow. Our packing was centered around this fact. We needed snowshoes and plenty of warm clothes for the five days we were planning. After years of winter camping, I was accustomed to packing for this kind of trip, but it was pretty new for Javier.
Our plan was to try and get to the lake 8 miles back in the valley. Without deep snow this is easy to do in one day, but we knew it would take longer. We started out on the trail mid-morning. For the first couple of miles the trail was dry, but then for a few miles after that we had to deal with melting water and submerged trail. It was sunny and unseasonably warm. We hopped between rocks and grassy islands, doing our best to keep our boots dry. We were glad to pass the runoff and start trekking through snow.
We put on our snow shoes and did our best to navigate the trail. There was no worn path, but we could find our way by the branch stripped stems of the trees. At about five miles we started to notice there had been many avalanches over the previous days. It was clear that the warm sunny weather had loosened the packed winter snow from the rocks above. We began to move cautiously forward. We made it about 6.5 miles before it started to get dark. We set up camp for the night.
The next day was another extremely beautiful day. We packed up our stuff and began the final mile and a half to the lake. This last trek took much longer than expected. The going was slow. The snow was very deep and there was no way to know where the trail was. We wound our way through scree and open slopes, falling through holes between rocks. It was a relief when we finally crossed over the last hill and could see the lake.
The base of Bass Lake is very windy. To try and get some shelter from the gusting wind, we camped in the shelter of the dam. There was plenty of firewood in the area, and we spent most evenings huddled by the fire. During the day we walked around the lake. The snow was so warm and slushy that we had trouble navigating the shore.
We spent three nights at the lake before we decided to head out one day early. With the heavy wet snow, it was hard to explore the lake area. There was very little left for us to do. The hike back to the trail head was quick; we made it back before mid-afternoon. It was nice to go home, shed our wet clothes, and have a nice meal.
23 December 2012
Recipe: Weinachts Guetzli - Swiss Christmas Cookies
| Hasselnuss Stängli | 100gr. Butter | 100gr. Sugar | 150gr. Fluor | 1+1 Egg yolk | 100gr. Hazelnuts | ||
| Hausläckerli: | 125gr. Sugar | 350gr. Fluor | 100gr. Powder Sugar | 100gr. Hazelnuts | |||
| Mailänderli | 250gr. Butter | 250gr. Sugar | 500gr. Flour | 3 Egg whites / 6 Egg yolks + 1 Egg yolk | |||
| Schokoladen Herzli | 100gr. Sugar | 1 Tablespoon | 2 Egg whites | 300gr. Almonds or Hazelnuts | |||
| Schwarz-Weiss | 250gr. Butter | 250gr. Sugar | 500gr. Flour | 1 Egg whites | 3 Eggs or 3 Egg yolks | ||
| Zitron Gebäck | 100gr. Sugar | 100gr. Powder Sugar | 2 Egg whites | 300gr. Almonds |
Hausläckerli: 250g Beehoney, 1 TBLSpoon lemon juice, 50g Orangeat/Zitonat (dry/backed peels), 1Tablespoon ground clove 1/2 tspoon cinnamon, 1 tspoon Baker's amonia (amonium carbonate). Amonium carbonate can be substituted by double the amount of backing powder.
Mailänderli: 1 lemon zest, 1 eggyolk for icing 3 eggs or 6 eggyolds for dough.
Schokoladen Herzli: 100g Chocolate, 1 pinch Cinnamon.
Weiss-Schwarz: 4 TBLSpoon NesQuick 2 TBLSpoon Cocoa.
Zitron Gebäck: (2 Lemon Zest, 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
Zitronengepäck »
* Ingredientes / English version cut in half
2 Eiweiss / 1 Eggwhites
1 Prisen Salz / 1 Pinch Salt
100 gr. Zucker / 50gr. Sugar
300 gr. gemahlene Mandeln / 200gr ground almonds
2 abgeriebene Zitronenschale / 1 lemon zest
100 gr. Puderzucker / 50gr powder sugar
wenig Zitronensaft / a little bit of lemon juice
Bereitung:
Eiweiss steif schlagen, die Hälfte des Zuckers beigeben, mitschlagen, die zweite Hälfte anschliessend darunterziehen.
Mandeln und abgeriebene Zitroneschale unter die Masse ziehen.Teig ca.1/2 cm dick auf Zucker auswallen, Förmchen ausstechen. Mit Vorteil lassen wir das Gebäck über Nacht antrocknen und backen es dann kurz bei starker Mittelhitze.
Mit dem Puderzucker und Zitronensaft eine dickflüssige Glasur herstellen, Gepäck noch heiss damit bestreichen
Preparation:
Bring Egg whites to a 'point of snow', add half of the granulated sugar and keep beating. Add the second half of sugar and finish mixing. Add nuts and grated lemon zest and mix. Spread some sugar over the counter and extend the dough to 0.5cm thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut cookies out of the dough. Lay cookies on cookie pan and leave them to dry overnight. Bake for 10-20min at high heat on oven's middle shelf. While cookies are baking prepare a thick icing with lemon juice and powder sugar. Brush cookies while they are still warm with icing.
################################
Schokoladenherzen »
* Ingredients
2 Eiweiss / Egg whites
1 Prisen Salz / 1 Pinch Salt
100 gr. Zucker evtl. Puderzucker / 100gr Sugar or Powder Suger
100 gr. geriebene Schokolade / 100 grated dark chocolate
1 Prise Zimt / 1 Pinch Cinnamon
1 kleiner Messloeffel Mehl / 1 small tablespoon Flour
300 gr. Haselnüsse oder Mandeln / 200gr each of ground Hazelnuts and Almonds
Bring Egg whites to a 'point of snow', add half of the sugar and keep beating. Add the second half of sugar and finish mixing. Add nuts and grated chocolate and mix. Add cinnamon and flour and mix. Spread some sugar over the counter and extend the dough to 0.5cm thickness. Use heart-shapped cookie cutters to cut cookies out of the dough. Lay cookies on cookie pan and leave them to dry overnight. Bake for 10-20min.at high heat (400 degrees Fahrenheit) on middle shelf.
Bereiting
Eiweiss steif schlagen, die Hälfte des Zuckers beigeben, mitschlagen, die zweite Hälfte anschliessend darunterziehen.
Mandeln (Haselnüsse) geriebene Schololade, Zimt und Mehl unter die Masse ziehen.Teig ca.1/2 cm dick auf Zucker auswallen, Herzförmchen ausstechen. Mit Vorteil lassen wir das Gebäck über Nacht antrocknen und backen es dann kurz bei starker Mittelhitze. Wir müssen es sofort vom Blech lösen.
###############################
Hausleckerli »
* Ingredients
350 gr. Mehl / 350g Flour
50 gr. gehacktes Orangeat und Zitronat / 50gr finely chopped Orangeat and Zitronat*.
1 grosse Prise Nelkenpulver / 1 big pinch of ground clove
1/2 kleiner Messlöffel Zimt / 1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon.
1 kleiner Messlöffel Triebsalz (5 - 10 gr.) / 1 Teaspoon Baker's Amonia**
250 gr. Bienenhonig / 250 gr. Bee Honey
125gr Zucker / 125gr. Sugar.
100gr. grobgehackte Haselnüsse / 100gr coarsely chopped Hazelnuts.
For Icing:
100gr. Puderzucker / 100gr. Powder sugar.
1 grosser Messlöffel Zitronensaft oder Wasser / 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or water
* Orangeat and Zitronat are dry candied orange and lemon, but can also be very well substituted by finely chopped dry/backed orange and lemon peels.
** 1 teaspoon Backer's amonia (amonium carbonate). Amonium carbonate can be substituted by double the amount of backing powder., or 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon and baking soda.
Instructions:
Heat Honey and sugon in a saucepan. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix them well. extend the dough to 1.5cm (half inch) thick rectangle. Place dough on a greased baking pan and bake at high heat fo 5-10min on middle shelf.
Prepare icing with sugar and lemon juice or water and spread it over the dough, as soon as it finish baking. When the icing starts to dry, cut dough in 3cm x 2cm rectangles.
Bereitung:
Honig und Zucker erhitzen, alle Zutaten vermischen, gut verarbeiten. Wir wallen den Teig sofort auf eingefettetem Blech aus und backen ihn bei starker Mittelhitze 5 - 10 Min.
Puderzucker, Zitronensaft (Wasser) eine weisse Glasur herstellen, die heissen Leckerli sofort damit bestreichen.
Sobald die Glasur angetrocknet ist, schneiden wir das Gebäck in gleichmässige Rechtecke von ca. 5x4 cm Grösse.
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Mailänderli
Zutaten - Deutsch:
Grundrezept
1 Teil Mehl : 1/2 Fett: 1/2 Zucker
250 gr. schaumiggerührte Butter
250 gr, Zucker
2 Prise Salz
3 Eier oder 6 kleine Eigelb
abgeriebene Zitronenschale
500 gr. Mehl
Eigelb, 1 Prise Zucker, einige Tropfen Wasser
Ingredients - English
250 g (9 ounces) butter or margarine
225 g (8 ounces) sugar
1 pinch of salt
3 eggs
1 lemon zest
500 g (18 ounces) flour
1 egg yolk, 1 Pinch sugar a few drops of water.
Preparation:
Stir butter in a bowl until it is smooth. Add sugar, salt, eggs and lemon zest. stir until ingredients are evenly distributed. Add flour and knead to a soft dough. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for two hours.
Spread a bit of flour on a flat surface and extend the dough over it to a 5-7mm thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Add a few drops of water and a pinch of sugar to the remaining egg and sweep it over the dough rectangles. Place on baking pan. Bake at hight heat (200°C / 400 °F) on middle shelf for 10-15min. Let the cookies cool off completely before serving.
Bereitung:
Butter, Zucker , Salz und abgerieben Zitronenschale schaumigrühren. Mehl dazusieben, kurz mischen, bis ein gleichmässiger Teig entsteht, der 2 Stunden kaltgestellt wird.Teig 1/2-3/4 cm dick auswallen beliebige Förmchen ausstechen, mit dem Eigelb bestreichen und bei guter Mittelhitze ca. 15 Min backen
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« Haselnuss Stengeli »
* Ingredients
100 gr. schaumiggerührte Butter / 100gr soft (room-temperature) butter
100 gr. Zucker / 100gr Sugar
1 Prise Salz / 1 Pinch Salt
2 Eigelb / 2 Egg Yolks
100 gr. Haselnüsse gemahlen / 100gr ground Hazelnuts
150 gr. Mehl / 150gr. Flour
Bereitung:
Butter, Zucker, Salz und Eigelb, alles zusammen schaumigrühren. Mehl und Haselnüsse beigeben, kurz mischen, bis ein gleichmässiger Teig entsteht, der 2 Stunden kaltgestellt wird.
Den Teig wallen wir 3/4 cm. dick aus, schneiden 1 1/2 cm. breite und 6 cm lange Stengeli, bestreichen sie mit Eigelb und backen sie 10-15 min zu hellbrauner Farbe
Instructions:
Stir butter in a bowl until it is smooth. Add sugar, salt and one of the eggs. stir until ingredients are evenly distributed, Add flour and ground hazelnuts. Knead to a soft dough Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for two hours.
Spread a bit of flour on a flat surface and extend the dough over it to a 5-7mm thickness. Cut dough in 4cm x 2cm rectangles. Add a few drops of water to the remaining egg and sweep it over the dough rectangles. Place on baking pan. Bake at hight heat (200°C / 400 °F) on middle shelf for 10-15min. Let the cookies cool off completely before serving.
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« Schwarz - Weiss »
Ingredients - English
500 gr Flour
250 gr room-temperature Butter
250 gr Sugar.
2 Pinches Salt
3 eggs.
4 tablespoons chocolate powder (Nesquik)
2 tablespoon Cocoa
1 Egg White.
Zutaten - Deutsch:
500 gr Mehl
250 gr. schaumiggeruehrte Butter
250 gr. Zucker
2 Prisen Salz
3 Eier oder kleine Eigelb
4 grosse Messlöffel Schokoladenpulver
2 grosse Messlöffel Kakao
1 kleiner Messlöffel Eiweiss
Preparaction:
Mix butter, sugar, salt and eggs, and stir until evenly distributed. Divide mix in two halves. Add half of the flour to one half of the mix. Add the egg white to the second half of the mix. Also add the second half of flour, cocoa and chocolate powder to the second half of the mix. Both dough halves should be kneaded quickly. Wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in refrigerator of two hours.
Extend both doughs on a flat surface. Brush an egg white or some water over one of the doughs to help it stick to the other dough. Pace the other dough over the egg white coated dough. Cut dough in 10cm wide stripes. Roll all stripes on their width. Use a sharp, non-serrated knife to slice each roll in 1cm thick black&white spirals. Lay on baking pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, on middle shelf, for 10-15min.
Bereitung:
Butter, Zucker, Salz und Eier, alles zusammen schaumig rühren, in zwei Hälften teilen.
Schokoladenpulver, Kakao, Eiweiss in die eine Hälfte mischen, Mehl dazugeben , rasch zusammenarbeiten.
250 gr. Mehl in die andere Hälfte mischen, beide Teige kaltstellen.
Wir können das Schwarz-Weiss Gebäck auf verschiedene Arten formen, Es ist vorteilhaft, die ausgewallten hellen und dunklen Teigstücke mit Wasser oder Eiweiss zu bestreichen, damit sie besser zusammenhalten beim Formen.
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« Kräbeli »
* Ingredientes
3 Eier
300gr. Puderzucker
2 Prisen Salz
1 - 11/2 grosser Messlöffel Anis
eventuel 1 kleiner Messlöffel Kirsch
ca. 300gr Mehl
* Preparación
Eier, Puderzucker und Salz gut schaumiggrühren, bis eine helle, luftige Masse entstanden ist.
Anis leicht rösten, zugeben, Kirsch zufügen. Mehl dazusieben, bis ein fester, aber noch feuchter Teig entsteht.
Daraus formen wir eine ca. kleinfingerdicke Rolle und schneiden 3 - 4 cm. lange Stücke schräg ab. Diese kerben wir mit dem Messer 2 bis 3 mal schräg ein.
Wir legen die Kräbeli auf ein Blech und lassen sie bei Zimmertemperatur ca. 24 Stunden trocknen (sie sollen an der Oberfläche gut angetrocknet sein)
Sie werden bei schwacher Hitze (mehr Unterhitze) 15 - 20 Min. gebacken. (es sollen sich sogenannte Füsschen bilden.
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« Makronen Masse »
* Ingredientes
Grundrezept
auf 1 Eischnee eine Prise Salz, 50 gr. Zucker
60 gr. gemahlene Nüsse (mit Spritzsack
100 gr. gemahlene Nüsse (zum formen mit Loeffel)
150 gr. gemahlene Nüsse (zum auswallen)
08 November 2012
Coming back to the U.S. - A surprise for Alia
Introduction
In February 2012 I received notification my U.S. green card application had been approved. At that time, we were actually in Messina, on the Northeastern corner of Sicily. We were in the midst of our travels through Europe. Alia wanted very badly to be back in the U.S. and rejoin her family. However, I tried to make the point it did not seem a good idea to put an end to our trip, all of a sudden, just to run back to Madrid and get the green card. Indeed, we continued traveling through Europe for several more month, eventually reaching as far East as Cappadocia (in Central Turkey), to finally turn around and rush back to Spain in one last month, going through Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, etc. On Friday, July 20th 2012, we left Budapest with only four days left to cross Austria, the Alps, into Cinque Terre, continue to Monaco and Southeastern France, to finally reach Madrid for my interview at the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday, July 24th. Those four days were quite another adventure!
I passed my final interview for the green card on July 24. After more than two year, we were finally able to go back to the U.S. Alia was ready to resume and finish her forestry studies at the University of Montana in Missoula. She only had one year left! Alia flew back to Missoula on Sunday August 26 2012. I, however, had to stay a couple of more months in Spain to wrap up a few issues, before I could finally go back to the U.S. During those last months in Spain, Alia kept calling me from Montana, asking when I was going to come.
On Tuesday November 6th 2012, I was finally ready to take my flight. However, I had thought I would not tell anything to Alia: it would be a surprise! I thought I would just show up one day: I would just knock on the door and there I was back to our new home in Missoula!
My flight, however, was only to Seattle, so I had to figure out how to get, on my own, from Seattle to Missoula. Once more I thought of the internet and posting some advertisement on Craigslist - Rideshare. A couple of people replied offering some ride. I finally got a ride from an Australian going hunting to Plains, MT. However, another guy by the name of Jeremy had also offered a ride. He even said he was not even thinking to ask for gas money. Next, is a message I wrote Jeremy telling my ordeal ridesharing and hitch-hiking from Seattle to Missoula.
The Story
Hey Jeremy!
Thank you so very much for your message. I am writing finally from Missoula. I finally arrived yesterday night (Thursday night). It was a bit complicated, but the whole trouble was worth it. As I was explaining in my message, I wanted to give my wife a surprise. I could have told her to come pick me up. I guess it was not very sensible to have her pick me up from Seattle or Spokane, but I could have told her to pick me up from Silver Dollar (Haugan) ...
At the end somebody had offered me a ride from Seattle to Plains, MT. It was not exactly what I needed, but it was still OK. Plains is very close to Hot Springs and I have a very good friend there. I thought I could stay in Hot Springs and hitch hike from there to Missoula on the second day.
I got to see your message, Wednesday morning, right before leaving to the meeting point for our ride to Plains. It was rather complicated to switch plans. On one hand, I wanted to arrive to Missoula as soon as possible to give Alia as less time as possible to figure out I was actually on my way here, on the other hand, I had not been able to find a place to stay in Seattle, so the sooner I could leave the better.
I felt bad to miss out on the ride you were offering, but it didn't seem sensible to let this other people down at the very last minute.
The ride to Plains ended up being more complicated than I had expected. They arrived to pick me up rather late. As a consequence we got into Montana late in the evening. It was too late to try to get to Hot Springs. I was dropped off at Silver Dollar close to Midnight. I had some hopes I would be able to ask somebody at the gas station to give me a ride to Missoula. However, it became clear very quickly, the place was dead for the night.
If there was no chance to get a ride, at least I needed to try to get some sleep. Unfortunately, the guy at the gas station, Patrick, was a real asshole and did not allow me to stay inside the station, in the convenience store. Wednesday night was freaking cold up there and it had been possible to die from hypothermia. As he kept insisting I should go as far as possible, I remembered I had a very good down coat in my suitcase. I got it out, put it on and was feeling pretty warm, so I even thought of laying down on my suitcase and try to get a couple of hours of sleep. That Alaskan-style down coat was like being wrapped in some bear skin!
I thought I would be able to get a ride pretty soon once there was light again. I was wrong, it became impossible to hitch a ride to Missoula. Everybody seemed to be going the opposite direction towards Idaho. It was really disappointed. Actually, I have had really good experience hitch-hiking in Montana. As a matter of fact I met my wife, Alia, hitch-hiking, thanks to the guy who gave me a ride from Lakeside (up in the Flathead) to Missoula. From my experience, hitch-hiking in Montana works much better that most other places. For example, we tried quite a bit in Southern Europe and it sucked hard core.
However, this time in Silverdollar was really bad. Even worse considering it was freezing cold, with lots of snow and I was freaking tired from not having slept in the last two days: First sleeping in the airport, in Seattle, after a 20-hour flight from Spain, and then sleeping on my suitcase, outside of the gas station, at freezing temperatures.
Worst of all, the asshole in charge of the gas station kept bitching about me and even called the cops on me. Even if I stayed away from the convenience store, he just did not wanted to see me around. Fortunately, the cops did not do anything.
At least, at the Silverdollar hotel and restaurant they were very nice. They had seen me desperately trying to get a ride all through the morning and they were starting to feel pity for me, I think. They started trying to help me and trying to find somebody who could give me a ride to Missoula. However, for some weird reason, anybody who showed any interest turned to be going direction Idaho. At that point it was mostly the women working at the bar who were asking anybody going to Missoula willing to give a ride that poor guy outside, in the snow. Finally some man came out and asked me if I was the guy looking for a ride to Missoula. "Yes!! I am trying to get to Missoula!". "Well, I can give you a ride to Missoula". "Awesome! Where shall i go, what shall I do?". I guess I was desperate and was still wondering if it was for real, if it was going to work out. The thing is the guy was weird as shit! "Well, my truck is over there, give me five minutes". "Where?, your truck is where? I can't see it! I can't miss this one". The guy was gone. I went to the hotel lounge, where they had allowed me put my suitcase: "I think somebody is going to give me a ride!". "Oh! we are so happy for you!". "Yeah! me too!". I run out, but could not see the guy. Finally, I found him messing around his.... truck? That was the weirdest thing ever: it was a crappy pick-up, full of crap, pulling a boat with the biggest pile of crap ever! The guy told to get on, but I was very confused and really did not know how to do it. There was so much crap on the copilot's sleep there was no way to find some sit there. I could only lay on all that crap.
We finally left, so it really seemed like I was finally to make it, ...or, maybe not? I was really not sure if that four-wheeled piece of crap was going to make it to Missoula. The thing did not even have side windows. I was laying on a pile of crap, so my body was lifted, horizontally, several inches over the seat. Actually, my body was at the same height as the side window, so I was holding for dear life, hoping I will not fly off at the first curve!
Well, we made if over the pass and finally reached Missoula. The guy first stopped at some place to have some food. He asked me where I wanted to be dropped off. I tried to tell him, but he made it clear he was not going to bother to go off of his route. We were going down Reserve and I could not see what was my cross-street. I finally told him to drop me off at Rossauers. I still had several blocks to walk to my place, but I least I knew where I was, ...well, sort of. It was really dark and I could barely see anything. I stopped a few cars asking for directions. I had been out of Missoula for a few years, so I could not remember very well. Dragging my suitcase was a real pain. The people who stopped could tell I was desperate. They tried hard to help me: "Are you Russian?". "No, not really". Finally, I reached our place. I walked across the lawn and came close to the window. I could see Alia sitting at the desk in the living room. She looked so sweet! I finally knocked on the door and ran away quickly to hide. She, however, sprung to the door and barely gave me any time. She suspected it could be me. We were together again!
On Wed, Nov 7, 2012 at 10:16 PM, Jeremy Watson wrote:
Hey,
Just checking
to see if you ended up getting a ride over to Missoula. I will be heading
that way Friday morning. If you are still looking for a ride let me know.
not worried about gas money or anything just wouldn't mind a little company and
hey, it always is nice to help someone out.
Jeremy
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