Pizza + Intelligence

Lately I have been loving pizza. Unfortunately Germany doesn't do carry out pizza like the US. I have had one carry out pizza here and it was horrible. Instead we typically get them at an Italian restaurant or enjoy a frozen pizza. My favorite brand is 'Wagner's La Pizzia Rusticale'.

Coincidentally Stefan was recently telling me about a new German book titled 'Generation Doof' (Generation Stupid). There was even a write up about it this past weekend in the Abendzeitung. The authors, Anne Weiss and Stefan Bonner, are worried German youngsters are stupid since they instantly think pizza when they hear 'Wagner' as opposed to King Ludwig II's inspiration Richard Wagner. Many children also believe Frankfurt is located in the middle of the Black Forest, but they can recognize the annoying Jamba 'Crazy Frog' ring tones.

What I found comical in the article were the comparisons to the US. At first they were saying that similar books had come out in the US, then the last paragraph of the article said:

"Und, noch ein kleiner Trost für uns: Die Amerikaner sind angeblich noch viel dümmer. Da denkt immerhin jeder Fünfte, dass sich die Erde um die Sonne dreht."

translating to:

"There's still a consolation for us: The Americans are even more stupid. Since every fifth person still thinks the earth revolves around the sun."

I'm not sure if they were trying to be smart rather than saying four out of five people don't realize it does, or if they simply miswrote and therefore don't look intelligent. Thankfully Stefan wasn't sure either.

So perhaps I will read this book and challenge myself with the German and understanding more of their psyche.


In other pizza related things, tonight I made a Pomodori apple dessert pizza. Pomodori's is a delicious wood fired pizza restaurant located right by the University of Cincinnati. However, since we're not anywhere near Cincinnati, I decided to make one tonight.

Delicious!

Which reminds me of the cultural differences... When Stefan first came to the US he didn't realize people don't order an entire pizza to eat themselves, and that a few slices is plenty. We were ordering pizza one night and deciding if one or two was enough for us and my house mates. He was being polite and going with the flow, but he was afraid he'd still be hungry - that is until he found how different the pizza is. I miss those naïve days, but they still make me laugh.

Cosmo Grill

It's probably quite obvious that I am not a big meat eater, however I do appreciate a veggie burger from time to time. I often try to make my own black bean burgers, which always come out a bit too moist, but they suffice.

I was reading a design website a while back when I came across a small restaurant that was up for design awards, which immediately piqued my interests.

I love good architecture, design, and a delicious meal. It just so happens this little gem is in Munich. I've yet to visit... I'm adding this one to another date list, however the ingredients look seriously delicious. You can check out the menu here: Cosmo Grill Menu.

I think my picks would be the Wasabi Tuna burger or the Goat Cheese burger, although I'm still amazed a black bean burger is so hard to find around here.

I'd love to hear if anyone has been.

It looks like Stefan + I will need a home town vacation soon to enjoy Munich's simple little pleasures.


(images from Design Build Network)

Book Love

Imagine my surprise and happiness when I read about Good Stock custom books this morning on Oh Happy Day, one of my favorite blogs.

I've written about my obsession with books and making books, but this has been taken to an entirely new level. The website is beautiful and the limitless options are beyond comparison for a beautiful and personal heirloom. And the first year baby book? - It's stunning.

It makes me think about the boxes and boxes of letters that Stefan and I have written to each other, in addition to all of the family mementos, photos, and old letters that can be beautifully preserved.

As soon as family gets involved I get so nostalgic. What an excellent job it would be helping people preserve their memories.

New York Times does Munich

According to the New York Times yesterday, Munich is 'Germany's Hot Spot of the Minute'.

I found it funny that they open talking about Zerwirk, a vegan restaurant - considering Bavaria loves it's meat. It also happens to be on my list of favorite things in Munich.

However I must comment once again, that the food there is quite delicious. We celebrated New Years Eve 2007 there. It's the kind of place that you might feel slightly strange walking into if you are wearing leather shoes and not wanting to offend those that live the Vegan lifestyle, however I wasn't openly looked down upon for wearing my leather shoes.

It has a homey feel complete with a little dog scampering around and is cosy with clean lines and bright open rooms. Yes, I do realize that I wrote about the dog before, but I never get tired of seeing dogs in places where my American upbringing tells me they should be 'verboten'.

The photo above is of dessert, which was a marzipan ice with pistachio cream and kumquats. Don't ask me how they make a cream without using dairy products.

It's ironic that the restaurant is in the building of an old butcher. As of the first of February the restaurant has changed slightly by now also including raw foods and adding the 'Saf' moniker. It looks like Stefan and I will have to visit again sometime soon... especially with their new Thai curry, which sounds amazing.

We also need to check out the Anish Kapoor's (of Chicago's Cloud Gate fame) instillation at the Haus der Kunst.

Sounds like a great date night this weekend!

Foreign languages

Learning another language can often be a daunting task, particularly when you're not living in a country where it is widely spoken. Sometimes I feel as though I have ample amounts of time to burn so I'd like to do something productive and invest in myself. Sure I'll always have more German to learn and need to brush up on grammar, but you can only do so much. The trick is trying to keep it light and fun.

While attending language school is one way of learning, I also appreciate a site called Live Mocha. It's an interactive website that offers courses in reading, writing, listening, and communicating with other members. The German is a bit too basic for my needs, but I'm able to take online courses in Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, French, and Spanish, which is a nice break from being inundated with German.

It's also nice to for travels, although I don't know how often I would need to say 'You are a man' to someone in any country. I must be honest though - in addition to the picture dictionaries that I am very fond of, I also will sometimes print out a cheat sheet from Single Serving. You can even download the mp3's and listen to them for additional practice.

Happy Learning!

Mixology course

I've complained before about the lack of 'plus one' invitations to German after work functions. Thankfully partners and spouses were included in this event.

We went to a golf course where we had dinner and were instructed on how to create cocktails of our own by the Skyy Flair Boot Camp. It was a unique event and a great time to socialize with Stefan's co-workers. The golf club was a bit different than the ones in the US. It was a combination of golf course and horse track. I also loved that their bar stools were golf tees.

At the workshop we were taught how to make variations of the beloved Caipirinha, as well as other saccharine drinks.

They also told us Pitu Cachaça isn't very good compared to what is in Brazil, but it's well marketed. Instead they suggested a brand called Don Diego if you don't want a hang over.

I must say I didn't wake up with a hang over, but I wasn't drinking much, which led some of the new fathers to speculate why. One even mixed me a non-alcoholic drink. I had to laugh. I'm just not into sweet drink mixes. If they would have had real margaritas the night may have ended differently.

It was fun watching the secretary get into it and I was beginning to wonder if she was going to quit her day job to join the Skyy team. In addition to mixing drinks they also were teaching us how to make exotic drink decor, like the banana dolphin. It was a fun evening and great to get together with everyone.

It's also always interesting when there are new employees that don't know me. One was visiting from Hanover and didn't know I was American, while another introduced herself and said that I'm known around the office for making baked goods and she was happy to finally meet me. One of the mixologist instructors thought I was Dutch. It's always slightly strange to meet people that know more about me than I know about them.

It was a great evening, but don't expect me to quit tours to Salzburg for bar tending.

Roger

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about interior design and redecorating as we consider moving. The most important part, being the apartment, hasn't been decided upon... but I still plan what I would like to do with the space when I have it.

Stefan gets annoyed with my collection of design magazines and I confess it is time to part with them. I tear out the things that I like and neatly organize them into transparent folios for future reference so the magazines don't take up space.

While looking through the pages, I came across an ad about there not being enough art in our schools and it said 'no wonder people think Caravaggio is a guy on the Sopranos'. The art enthusiast in me makes me read the entire ad, agree, and then think back to my own art education, which I absolutely loved.

My entire life I have been blessed with interesting characters as art teachers. They are usually an eccentric bunch with right brained mentalities. I even had a theory growing up that tempera paint had something to do with pregnancy, because my elementary school went through so many art teachers who became pregnant and moved on.

Something I miss about attending a university are the dynamic professors. Of course they are few and far between, but once you have class with them you never forget. My philosophy of art professor has had so many professions in his life including aerospace engineer, patent lawyer, and professor. He also had fascinating stories about growing up in an orphanage, having a best friend there that murdered his entire family, teaching himself to read, surviving a plane crash, nearly going blind 'so everything looks like a Monet painting' - it goes on and on.

His lectures were always filled with random comments, like 'if I were a homosexual I'd say Michelangelo's David was pretty well hung', or stating that in college 'you party and have fun, but then you search for something more to life, which is when you find art'. I would always write down his strange quotes along side my notes.

Needless to say I went on to double major in art education and art history. It was my art history teachers in college that I loved the most. They were personable, creative, articulate, and very observant. Even with their PhD's, they always insisted you call them by their first names.

One of the best teacher's I've ever had was Roger. He was studying to be a lawyer when he decided to take an art history course and then found his true calling. He always would remind us to stop and consider who the patrons were and how ideas and materials were transfered through trade routes. We would discuss the processes of making art and paint during the Renaissance versus today and there was never a dull moment.

So as I looked at this Caravaggio ad and think back to Roger, since his specialty is Italian art. Now it seems ironic to me to look at interior design magazines knowing I will most likely pick the majority of furnishings, upholstery, and decorations, while the paper trail leads back to my husband. Sometimes I have to laugh at how history repeats.

I love art history's ability to connect cultures and time periods, which unites humanity in the search for what life is about.

Interestingly there are many replicas of Michelangelo's David around the world, including the one above, which we were surprised to see in Copenhagen. I'm sure he never imagined his works would be replicated and made into kitschy tourist mementos.

Now I'll have to send that ad to Roger.

Hyacinth

Today was such a beautiful day. The flowers have finally bloomed and the sun was shining bright. We somehow even were able to evade the forecasted rain.

One thing I absolutely love about Munich, is that there is a lot of care and attention to the flowers in the city. Even in cement heavy pedestrian zones, there are large planters filled with daffodils, hyacinth, and ranunculus. And it's not uncommon for the flowers to get changed out mid-summer.

I always take note of these tiny details and of course take tons of photos. Be prepared for plenty more!

Reading

One thing I think is fascinating is how much things are censored in America. I still recall being in London when the war on Iraq broke on March 20, 2003. The coverage on the BBC and other British news programs was much more graphic and real than the things that were being shown in America.

My friends and I went to Speaker's Corner that weekend and discussed things with people, which was really eye opening for me. It was my first time in Europe and the fact that something like Speakers Corner existed was an interesting concept.

Sure some people are there for theatrics and rocking next to their signs declaring they had been abducted by aliens, but there was dialogue without aggression and anger. I'm a visual person so it's always nice to put a face to a cause, but it was really interesting to be able to talk to people who are directly affected.

The reason I thought of that is because I really love to read, and entering a German book store with an English section is quite an experience. The books seem more controversial and dynamic. Perhaps on occasion they are hiding in the shelves at other shops back home and I neglect them for less heavy reading. Here there are limited options, so things stand out, and if it looks remotely interesting I'll jot down the title or buy it. I'm especially partial to non-fiction, which isn't so plentiful here.

Every time I come home from the US my bags are packed to the gills with books. It's not even unheard for me to pay extra for a bag simply for this purpose. Some months I will read a book or two a week.

I never thought I would read books online, which is a bit strange since it takes that tactile quality away. I'm pretty old fashioned with things like that.

Then I came across this online book by a professor at Clemson named Skip Eisiminger. It has short stories about random things in life that resonate with me. The book is called Felix Academicus.

Maybe it's my need to read and feel like I am doing something intelligent from time to time, but I've found many universities have interesting things that are free. Even if you're not enrolled you can still take advantage of materials like this. So if you find yourself needing to read something to read you can check it out.

I'm always up for more suggestions too if you're reading something great!

München Munich

Since I am evidently not the only one that adores M. Sasek's children's books, I wanted to share this information.

I was under the impression my mother had found the 'This is Munich' book, when she had found a book titled 'München Munich'. I can't imagine the books are different with the exception of this version being bilingual, which I love.

The illustrations are beautiful, as always, and I love the witty comments like this one in reference to the the Oktoberfest:

"When the 'Gaudi' is over there's always a herzl (gingerbread heart) or a maxi-Brezel (large pretzel) for a souvenier - and a headache."

Although many a Münchener will dispute the notion that their beer gives headaches, even after a day at the Wies'n (an affectionate name for the Oktoberfest that takes place at Theresenwise), you should be reminded that beer is considered food here. And they still maintain their strict purity laws.

Regardless, the humor and illustrations are terrific.

Postcards from yo Momma

My sister knows me so well and understands my sense of humor, which I would hope after 20 something years of living together.

Once again she comes through in sending me a terrific website called Postcards from yo Momma.

Rather than postcards like Post Secret, the website contains messages and emails sent from mothers to their children.

It's definitely hilarious and a fun glimpse into the lives of others. It's also nice to know there are mothers that worry more than my own -who would have thought?

Don't worry mom... your emails won't be submitted to this website, but I will enjoy the fact that other people's mothers can be quite neurotic.

Thanks Meem!

the joys of baking

Thankfully I was able to replicate my father in law's karottenkuchen with great success. There are days like today, where all I need is a little something delicious and beautiful to keep me going.

I topped the cupcakes with a cinnamon vanilla cream cheese frosting.

It looks like I'll be doing a lot of baking and cooking until the weather warms up towards the end of the week.

Here's to hoping for more recipe success.

Karottenkuchen

My father in law is a great baker. He is always making tortes and cakes that are unique and delicious. I keep hoping that Stefan will gain his skills through osmosis or over time, however it's not looking likely. Fortunately, my father in law is willing to share his recipes and entertain my desire to bake.

I often joke that Germans add apples to virtually every dish. Since living here I have seen apples in salads, potato salad, cakes, yogurts, sauces, and ice creams. When in doubt or if a baked good is remotely moist, the answer is often apples. My mother in law said she never thought about it until I mentioned it and now agrees.

This weekend my father in law made a delicious carrot cake with... you guessed it - apples. His cake reminded me a lot of the lebkuchen from Nürnberg, because it also doesn't have flour and instead uses ground almonds. It's easily the best carrot cake I've ever had.

I'm going to attempt this German recipe with more predictable results. Hopefully I am able to replicate it and put it into my permanent recipe collection, although I will make mine cupcakes with a dollop of cream cheese frosting.

foreign currency

Since Uli + Verena were preparing for their trip, they showed us some of the Australian currency. This comes as no surprise to people who live or have traveled to Australia, however I was so surprised to see that their dollar bills are made of plastic. I also like how their money is so bright and colorful, plus there is even a small transparent area which is quite unique.

When we traveled to Liechtenstein and Switzerland, I really loved the Franc's and that one depicted Giacometti's art work. The US has such dull money. Sure it's laden with hidden figures and symbolism, but I like when countries have more art and color. The only difficulty is remembering it's not monopoly money.

Something else they were telling us about their upcoming trip, was that if a koala is sitting in a tree you could apply a bit of pressure to the top of their head and they would climb down and climb up into your arms. I'm not certain where they got this information, but I am definitely looking forward to seeing their pictures.

schachtelfest

Uli and Verena are heading to Australia for 9 weeks, and Verena's schachtelfest was the last time that we were going to see them before they leave for their trip.

I was amazed when we arrived to what I thought would be a rather intimate gathering. Instead it was Verena and her friend Melanie with nearly 100 friends and family celebrating. Verena's Dad and his band provided entertainment and everyone enjoyed crazy amounts of food - not to mention the drinks, and my favorite - desserts.


I secretly hoped that Uli would have wrapped a ring and proposed, although I knew it wouldn't happen. People don't get married for ages in Germany.

Stefan and I are always met with astonished faces when we tell them we are married, like the lady when I was buying my dirndl. Just moments after she was telling me how to get gravity defying cleavage she went on to tell me how to tie my apron. The way you tie it designates your availability: 'On the right if you are married, on the left if you are single, in the middle if you are a virgin, and in the back if you are the waitress'. Then she said, 'So we'll tie yours on the left.' To which Stefan stepped in and said 'actually we're married'. I loved it.


Back to schachtelfest... our box was one of the last to be opened and I had to laugh because I decided to wrap many boxes of 'nerds' the American children's candy. I wasn't entirely cruel since they were euros randomly taped to them. Needless to say they had a great time opening tham and reading the messages I had written on each box.


The night was a success and everyone had a great time, although I must say I am not envious to the load of junk they received and now have to figure out how to dispose of. Someone even gave them an American flag - unbelievable!

unique German traditions

We are going to a 'Schachtelfest' tonight, for my brother in law's girlfriend Verena.

In Germany there is an old saying that when a woman turns 25 without being married she is an 'old box'. It's a bit of a mockery where she is given many boxes, which are wrapped inside one another. Sometimes they will contain a gag gift, while other times they will contain a small gift that is more meaningful. It's more of a provincial way to celebrate.

We have been collecting and saving boxes for sometime and I am really looking forward to celebrating with her. It's also going to be fun taping origami money inside so she has to open them all.

As stoic and precise as Germans often are, I always appreciate the sense of humor and having unique celebrations even if there is a bit of a gender bias.

Another interesting one was when Stefan and I were engaged, his co-workers decided to have a bachelor's night for him. They started the evening with dinner at someone's house and then gave him a sign to wear. On the front it said 'Bachelor Farewell' and on the back it read 'your last chance'.

After getting him suited up he was handed a basket filled with random things - tools, a baby outfit, a toilet brush... really strange items. The object of the evening is to sell these items and use the profits to buy drinks for the group that he was out celebrating with. He even told me someone offered to buy his shirt off his back.

Since this will be my first and last schachtelfest, I will be sure to take a lot of photos. And fortunately that was Stefan's last night as a bachelor.

thanks mom!

I was talking to my mom about the M. Sasek 'This is Munich' book, and wondering when the reproduction would come out (my guess is this year or next year).

Leave it to the infinite powers that only mother's have... she found a vintage copy for me.

To top it off it isn't an old library copy with tons of markings, it didn't cost an arm and a leg, and it's bilingual with English and German.

I am already excited to look at the beautiful illustrations and to see what kinds of things around town Sasek thought were worthy of documenting.

Trial + error cooking

I figured seeing the final product of my first German recipe would be appreciated.

Let's just say the Caipirinha torte looks better than it tastes, even despite the fact piping it into the cups wasn't a success either. You can take the girl out of America, but you can't take away her love for American style baked goods or her desire to recreate them. My first tip off should have been that I was creating a torte with yogurt, low fat cream cheese... and alcohol. I don't think dairy and alcohol mixing (with the exception of Bailey's or Kahlúa) is ever a good idea.

Even tried and true recipes here are just slightly off, which sometimes forces me to be adventurous. I have to remind myself the water's different, the flour is even different, not to mention using the metric system is another issue. I still recall my mother in law's astonishment that I measured things in ounces, which was something her mother did and seemed so archaic to her. Cooking is entirely a new process here, but I appreciate the challenge.

On the bright side I appreciate that it's made me learn to do things from scratch and discover some great kitchen gadgets, like my digital scale that changes between grams and ounces. (Notice it's helped me find things to make cooking easier, but doesn't guarantee success).

It also encourages me to try random things in hopes that after so many trial and errors I'll happen upon something that makes it's way into the permanent book. I have to admit I still get excited when trying a new recipe, unfortunately few meet my standards to make it into the book.

Which just reminded me of a great gift idea for the person that has everything. It's called Taste Book. You can create a personal and professional looking cook book, which can be edited and added to at any time.

And my favorite... you can add your own photos. While you don't have to use all of your credits for pages at one time, I am still holding out for a few more happy accidents, and for my Grandma to share some of her secret family recipes before I begin creating one myself.

Until then I'll be happy that I have a husband that appreciates any kind of food I make.

Free night in Amsterdam

Our friend Martina has gorgeous apartments both here and in Amsterdam, where she is currently living. She's been trying to get us to come visit for some time, but weekends have been few and far between lately. We are planning a trip and it looks like it will now be in June. We'll be staying with her but we'll also be able to stay at a new hotel that is opening June 21st called Citizen M. They are small prefab style rooms at their hotel near the airport.

Since I love design I often read up on neat hotels and concepts when I stumbled upon Citizen M, which plans to branch all over Europe. This is what their website says:

"So how are we able to provide such high quality for such low prices? The answer lies in our construction. Called ‘Industrial Flexible Demountable’, our rooms are pre-made in our own special factory off-site. This factory ensures that citizenM’s rooms are of a comparable quality to that of a luxury yacht or private jet. Only the best materials are used and our modular system combines functionality with comfort and design. We like to think that citizenM is an evolution in the hotel industry. But since citizenM likes to be a little bit modest, we won’t shout about it. At least not too much."

I'm still wondering just how much a room there costs, but my guess is about 100€.

Well it looks like we'll have an extra 100€ to spend on food and fun, because they had 100 free rooms to the first 100 people to book and I snagged one! I'm really excited!



It was really a bit of a pain, with tons of error messages, but even checking out a funky new concept for free sounds great to me... and I know Martina will be happy that we'll finally make it and not put her out for an entire weekend.

I will say the rooms at citizen M look exactly as they describe them: like they are on a yacht. Except our view will be over Amsterdam rather than the ocean.

The last time I was in Amsterdam was only for one evening when my flight had to be grounded due to losing gasoline - fun right?

I'm hoping this trip will be equally as memorable, but for different reasons. I'll keep you posted.

Le Bazar de Cuisine

There is a beautiful little cooking shop located in Haidhausen called Le Bazar de Cuisine. Every time I pass I feel as though I am in a magazine spread. The windows change frequently and there is always some kind of interesting table decor or cooking instrument that beckons for me to do some cooking and baking myself. Another thing I love is how personal it seems - they have old fashioned price tags, which are just adorable. It also reminds me of an old Grandma's house that is filled with treasures... even though these treasures are all new.

Today after a long day of spring cleaning I am trying to decide just what it is I want to bake. I am considering a Caipirinha torte with the recipe being entirely German. Caipirnha is a drink that is very popular here and it comes from Brazil. It combines muddled limes, brown sugar rocks, ice, and Cachaça - which is a sugar cane alcohol (typically the brand 'Pitu'), for a refreshing drink. I'd assume the torte (or in my case mini cupcake tortes) can't be too bad either.


US style Brown sugar is a hot commodity here in Germany. I have found a decent substitute called Mascobado, which is whole cane sugar that is unrefined, however, I am going to let you in on a secret. Often times obscure foods from America can be found at the Asian groceries here. They have sweetened condensed milk and just yesterday I happened to find some brown sugar from Thailand that looks quite promising. It has the same wet sand consistency as the brown sugar from the US and I'm quite excited to try it out.

Hopefully between my deciphering of a German recipe and this brown sugar, I will be able to create something like the one pictured in the recipe. If not I guess I will have the ingredients to create a 'caipi' for myself.

(Caipirinha Torte photo courtesy of Kraft foods)