Isar Cookout

Munich is such a special place and I can never quite figure out my favorite season here. Summer means hanging out with friends along the river and grilling or visiting biergartens, which is the perfect way to spend a lazy weekend day.

Since we love rules here in Germany, there is a city ordinance of where grilling is permitted in Munich. They even created a great map, which is useful so you don't end up getting fined.

Son of Hibatchi - Our friend Roman introduced us to this grill and it is genius. It heats up in 15 minutes and actually gets warm enough to grill on. It's compact and portable, too. We absolutely love it. 

We use Weck jars to transport and store things, but for dish wear it's sometimes cumbersome to bring actual plates, so paper plates, biodegradable dishes made from palm leaves, or even edible dish wear are a good alternative. 

Here are some food ideas to bring:

- Insalata Caprese

- Potato Salad

- Olives

- Cheese cubes
- Bacon wrapped dates

- Crackers + dip

- Crudité

- Fruit Salad
- Chocolate chip cookies
- S'mores - My Americanness is coming through, but s'mores and cookouts go hand in hand. The best place I've found good marshmallows is actually the home goods store Butlers. As for the graham crackers we use the Vollkorn Leibniz.
(I like to add some knister/pop rocks chocolate to add something unexpected.)
- pre-made cocktails if you're feeling luxurious. The smaller weck tulip glasses are perfect for this.

One more tip: If you like Bon Appétit magazine and have an ipad, you can send a subscription to someone in the US and they can give you the digital version, which is what I did with my mom. It has plenty of great recipes and food stories at your finger tips. 

whites

I have an ever expanding collection of white dishware. A lot of pieces are typical, but then I love the quirky everyday things made ceramic.

These are a couple pieces I picked up recently:

pillow plates - made in Ohio for eleven madison park in New York City

berry punnets - for my love of blueberries

pâtisserie plates - like those in European cafés, for cakes, cookies, and confections.

I love having guests and giving them something a little unexpected in terms of servingware. 

It's the little things.

Darkest Chocolate Ice Cream

Chocolate ice cream goes with everything, especially in the Autumn.

As with many recipes using chocolate, coffee is used as a flavor carrier. I don't drink coffee, however the flavor is not noticeable.

There are several other variations in the book, including one using zinfandel and another with mint.

I enjoy it most with a sprinkle of sea salt or crushed pretzels.

Moscow

Way back in 2008 we had planned to visit Moscow. Finally we made it happen.

- Visiting Russia took a bit of work and some hefty visa fees. Through our travels we've definitely learned that it doesn't pay to be an American in need of a foreign visa, because they are often double or even triple European rates.

- After warnings that the Russian consulate is very pedantic, even on German terms, we decided to have an agency handle the rules and paperwork for us.

- Once we arrived at the Domodedovo International Airport and I instantly recognized the scenery from photos of their January attack. Everything was repaired and extra security had been installed.

- It's a strange feeling to see a place and have a personal connection to it when something tragic and heartless happens there. It was a similar feeling to knowing the bombing in Marrakech last month was directly across from the shop where we bought a lantern. It all becomes so real.

- Getting to the city center requires a 45 minute journey on an Airport Express Train and some sturdy elbows to get your ticket beforehand. Evidently people feel very rushed and waiting in line isn't a strong point.

- After entering the subway our map reading skills were tested, because everything, except for several ads, is written in Cyrillic. We typically read the first three letters and devised mnemonics and phrases. There really isn't much that is made to offer any type of assistance to tourists. It made me wish we had one of those photo translator apps, such as SpeakLike or PicTranslator. (I'm among the most techno-unsavvy people, but small translators
like this make me want to enter the 21st century.)

- I printed a bilingual metro map before we left, which was a great asset. I was also hoping to see some of their famed stray dogs riding the subway. There were a couple waiting outside the train station when we arrived, but none navigating the carriages. It could be due to the fact that it was a weekend.

- We did a self guided Metro tour, which is actually quite easy to do. One ticket allows you to stay underground as long as you'd like, so it only costs 28 rubles (approx. 0.70€ or $1) to change between stations.

- It is also permitted to take photos in the Metro, which really is like a museum.

- Being in the subway was interesting, because there are always people standing around. Evidently it's a popular place to meet up with friends. It made me a little bit nervous, because there weren't clearly marked exits. Typically we followed the crowds, but it would be nice to even have some kind of directional icon for safety's sake.

- The militia police roam everywhere and it is advisable to carry your passport - or a copy - at all times. Our hotel had a small informative booklet about local customs, which also recommended this.

- I also read that should you be stopped it may be best to open your passport yourself to the proper visa as opposed to handing it over. We thankfully did not encounter any issues, but were extra cautious having known friends that have had problems.

- Russians are extremely superstitious, so said our guide book. It was comical to see people tossing coins and almost immediately after the coin would hit the pavement someone would take it. There was even a little old lady with a magnet. She was certainly shameless.

- The guidebook also stated what a huge deal it was to have clean shoes, which appeared to be a big object of pride.

- St. Basil was really striking, yet smaller than we had envisioned. The colors are vibrant and the architecture is certainly beautiful.

- More onion domes can be seen by going to the Kitay-Gorod area.

- There were several trends we noticed: brown cars, expensive over the top flashy cars, excess polyester, a love of white, white shoes and white pleather, virtually every woman wearing mile high stiletto heels, baggy bottom tapered leg sweat pants for guys, and one that actually looked nice was flesh toned tiny fish net tights for women.

- We saw an enlightened Homer Simpson before an unknown movie premier. Every day we passed this square close to our hotel there were metal detectors and a lot of security.

- We paid a visit to the Novodevichiy Convent, which is a UNESCO world heritage site.

- The neighboring cemetery is the second most prestigious place to be buried and includes the graves of Boris Yeltsin and Nikita Khrushchev.

- Most of the food wasn't anything special, however they did have Hazelnut M&Ms (they tasted a little smokey) and a lemon lime mint soda (which was great). We were expecting things to be more expensive and had quite a bit of cash left over at the airport, so we picked up a key chain to transform into a Christmas ornament and a bottle of cranberry vodka in a matrioshka bottle.

- Overall Moscow was a lot how we had envisioned it, although there were a few things I didn't quite expect. Racism is rampant. The tourist booklet at the hotel said not to venture out at night if Asian or dark complected. It wasn't dusk until around 22:00 in mid-May.

Bunnies

These Lindt chocolate displays always make me happy to see all of those metallic bunnies in a row. This year I've even seen white and dark chocolate available.

Gift guide: Him + Her

1. Graffiti Mug - Draw until it's perfect then bake for a custom mug. (image plastic land)

2. Beer + Chocolate tasting - Find the perfect mix of salty and sweet. (image theo chocolate)

3. Bike spooklight - Charges by USB, enables braking and turn signals for optimal road safety. (image 50 cycles)

4. Buck Stacking game - A modern game of skill. (image uncommon goods)

5. Magwear Helper - A simple way to hold screws and nails. (image spoon sisters)

6. New Skewers - Nature inspired skewers that help foods cook faster. (image nextrend products)

7. Your name novel - Insert the names of yourself, friends, or family in timeless novels. (image u star novels)

8. O'Clock Watch - A beautiful array of versatile watches. (image oclock)

9. Light up books or the enlightenment - Perfect for bibliophiles or as a quirky accent piece. (image light up your world)

10. Tulip USB - More USBs in a decorative manner. (image fred flare)

11. Westelm Manzanita Candelabra - The perfect touch of nature for an elegant table decoration. (image west elm)

12. Colorku - A great Sudoku twist for visual types using color instead of numbers. (image garnet hill)

Congratulations!

Cliff1976 was the winner!

Best of Luck to his favored team - Mexico.

Please click the envelope below to send me an email, so I know where to send your M&M's.

red, white, + blue

So I have a little secret I've been keeping... we're spending much of the World Cup representing Germany all the way over in the US.

We only told a couple friends in town that we were coming, because it gets awfully old rushing around trying to visit everyone. Somehow people easily forget we traveled roughly 4500 miles / 7200 km and expect us to travel to visit them once we get here. It's exhausting. The short trip doesn't make us feel so guilty. Our only full weekend in the US is being spent at a wedding, so we won't be here long.

The good news of being on a mini-vacation is spending ample amounts of time with family and the dogs. We're also enjoying the food, of course. Oh, how I've missed Mexican food.

This is also a great excuse to share photos of Josh + Mieka wearing their German leis and American bandanas. They are bipartisan soccer supporters.

Now that I've shared our secret I'd also like to share some of the red, white, and blue fun through M&M's. I was able to track down a few small bags of pretzel, coconut, and cherry (I didn't even know cherry existed).

Anyone can win - both the M&Ms and the World Cup, so simply leave a comment stating which team you're cheering for and check back on June 23rd when a winner will be chosen randomly.

Best of Luck!

[The giveaway has ended. Congratulations to Cliff1976!]

World Cup M&M's

Germany is going absolutely crazy for the World Cup. Everything is African themed and there are displays in virtually every store window - some have even gone as far as having TVs to broadcast the games in their shop windows.

'African' food is also everywhere, although splashing animal prints and Serengeti scenes on the packaging doesn't make the foods authentic.

My favorite part of the world cup is seeing German patriotism, which is typically not displayed due to their past. It's even come through in things like these Peanut M&M's in German colors.

You'd think they would have at least made things more exciting with the new pretzel M&M's that are available in the US. Germany loves pretzels!

I also wish they would start carrying the iridescent premium M&M's that the US has, too.

Maybe I just have to move to Japan where they always have interesting twists on global products. At least the M&M's people are trying - they even have Coconut M&M's coming out (again in the US)!

Salt Chocolate

One of my biggest guilty pleasures is salt chocolate. Slowly I can see that it's becoming more mainstream, because I am seeing more companies manufacture it - even the salt companies. That puts me in a bit of a conundrum, because of course I have to try them all.

Here are some of the latest:

in't veld (Berlin) - milk + dark 75%

chocolate orgánico (Spain) - dark 70%

sal de ibiza (Spain / Germany) - dark 70%

domori (Italy) - milk

solnce (Slovenia) - dark 62%

The other new thing I've noticed is in trends is beer and chocolate. That seems especially fitting here in Munich. I still think it's rather unfortunate that the breweries here don't offer tours like the champagne houses in Reims.

There is a combination of the two at a seminar here in Munich on 5 June, at Stolberg Schokoladen for 49€ / person. You can find more information at der biersommelier.

While in Salzburg I picked up a bar of the Bachhalm Schloss Eggenberg bierschokolade. Evidently they even bottle their own beer to go with it, but they didn't have any available.

Black Pearl Cake

I've had this recipe for the Vosges Haut Chocolate inspired Black Pearl cake patiently waiting in my 'recipes to try' folder for what seems like ages. Everyone that reviews it says it's a lot of work, but extremely decadent and delicious. Thankfully Stefan's birthday gave me the perfect occasion to make it.

Typically I try to make things in small portions, so making a cake is more daunting. After halving the recipe it seemed more manageable, especially for the two of us.

It has some interesting ingredients (wasabi, ginger, and black sesame seeds) for a bit of an Asian flair. Even if you don't like wasabi, I'd recommend trying the recipe. You probably wouldn't even guess it was in the cake unless someone told you. As a side note, I doubled the amount since many reviewers suggested doing so. 

The directions are easy to follow and it does help if you make the ganache and syrup the day before to break up the time. I didn't add all of the sugar the recipe called for and it was still delicious. I'll definitely be making this again.

Healthy Cooking

Yesterday I made my favorite sea salt oatmeal coconut chocolate cookies using coconut flour, which is gluten free and high in fiber. The cookies look slightly different than they have when I made them before, but they were equally delicious and healthier than ever.

We are eating fresh fruits and vegetables at every meal, but somehow it doesn't seem to be enough. I'm really trying to learn more about unconventional ingredients that work against peaking blood sugar and are more fiber rich. In addition to the Organic Coconut Flour, I also got some Organic Blue Agave sweetener.

I haven't used the sweetener as of yet, although it can be used in any recipe that calls for sugar. The only struggle is figuring out how much to use since it's slightly sweeter than sugar and comes as a liquid.

Next I may try baked goods with vegetables cooked in.

Celebrating my day

Today I went on a little bit of an adventure. Some bits will have to wait until Thursday, so I don't ruin the surprise for Stefan, but let me just say he's going to be fantastically excited... I am too!

Last year, for our anniversary, I came up with the novel idea of going to Reims for the champagne tours. This year I kept it more local.

We're not really gifty - we'd prefer the time together or a trip somewhere, but I do love throwing a surprise into the equation! A surprise is always more exciting than the 2nd anniversary gift of cotton or china.

Outside of planning surprises my day was spent very productively, and entailed taking a lot of photos, reading on the subway, and buying some much needed chocolate.

What I can write about today is a great discovery - Obacht' ('watch out' in English), which is in the former space of servus heimat in the über touristy Platz'l. Both shops sell similar items, however Obacht' has the most precious Münchener Kindl Matrjoschka's (those sweet little Russian nesting dolls).

Marion, one of the shop's owners, also told me they are getting a dirndl version at the end of the month, which she had a sample of behind the counter. Now I face the dilemma of figuring out which one I just have to have. I also couldn't get enough of her dog that was lounging about the store and gave her some serious eye rolling when she asked him to move.

Happily enough, right across the street is Stolberg's chocolate shop. I tried not to over indulge, but every time I walk in I have to try something new. They always have a large assortment and new flavors... and chocolate makes me happy.

I can hardly contain my excitement, but I have such a fun surprise!