German Eintopf (One-Pot meal)

Eintopf with schupfnudeln, sauerkraut, onions, and bacon
green salad with carrot relish
pear cider

This was really tasty and quasi-vegetarian (by German standards--there's a sprinkling of bacon in the sauerkraut).  Of course, we can't just buy a package of Schupfnudeln at the grocery store like you can in Germany, so we made ours from potatoes we had lying around as extras from Mother's Day dinner.  Schupfnudeln with a couple of purple potatoes was kinda cool-looking.  They almost looked like bratwurst from the specks of purple that resembles the spices in a Nürnberger bratwurst.

If we could've bought schupfnudeln from the store, I could see this being a quick weeknight meal.

Eierlikör

Waiting for this to get out of the oven....subb'd eierlikör doctored up with a splash of bourbon leftover from making this last weekend....

Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

They sound much more alliterative in German:  Mandeln-Mohn Muffins.

And they were a great use of the leftover creme fraiche and ricotta cheese in the fridge...

Makin' Mozzarella!

When we had our weekend in San Francisco, one of the souvenirs we brought home for Lulu was a cheese-making kit we bought at Heath Ceramics outlet.  She's been asking to make cheese ever since and we finally bit the bullet and bought the gallon of whole milk cheese from Straus Creamery required to make it.

All ready to go!

It's cheese-making time!

First off was dissolving the rennet in unchlorinated water and the citric acid in different unchlorinated water.  Then, we had to carefully heat up the milk to a certain point and add in the rennet and citric acid and definite temperatures to coagulate the milk proteins together.

Lulu was an excited helper...up to a point!

curds and whey

Once that was done, we had to strain out the curds from the whey before heating up the curds (carefully!) in the microwave to stretch them into mozzarella cheese (after adding a bit of salt).

strained cheese, ready for the microwave

stretched cheese, ready for a rest in the fridge...

The good news is that we still have LOTS of rennet, citric acid, and cheese salt, so we can make more cheese than is healthy to eat!  Next up, homemade ricotta....

Terlaner Weinsuppe

Gropius and I made an interesting soup for dinner tonight.  I found the recipe on the website for a German food magazine Essen und Trinken.  I'm not sure what, who, or where Terlaner is, but the soup was definitely tasty.

 

I mean, c'mon...what soup that involves homemade chicken broth, 1/2 a bottle of wine, and cream isn't tasty??

 

We reserved the carrots and chicken breasts used to make the chicken broth and ate them on the side.  I also cut the recipe in half because I didn't think we needed to make 10 servings of soup!  I can't say that I've ever had a soup with cinnamon, nutmeg, and diced apples mixed with chicken broth, but I would definitely make it again!

Rösti via far southwestern Switzerland....

in the background is my new drink:  tumeric juice diluted with mineral water
(very zingy!)

We made an oven-roasted rösti for dinner that was delicious!  I riffed on the basic recipe and added green chiles, cheddar cheese, shredded chicken and some southwestern spices (namely cumin and smoked pimenton).  I baked it in a springform pan to easily remove the sides and make it easier to slice/remove to our plates.  I think the cheese helped hold it all together well.

It was really, really tasty--if not entirely authentic!

Fröhliche Weinachten! Merry Christmas!

Lulu ended up falling asleep on the drive home from Christmas eve services last night around 8:30ish and we put her to bed without dinner because she could barely keep her eyes open.  (one of the benefits of no nap, I guess?)

So, we put out cookies and milk for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer ourselves before turning in for the night.  I also made cinnamon rolls and put them in the fridge to rise overnight while we were sleeping while Gropius made blaue zipfel for dinner.

Lulu slept until 7:40ish this morning...which was awesome.  She was excited to see the new stroller and baby doll Santa brought her and to hug her new teddy bear to hear Umpapa's voice wishing her Merry Christmas.

And then we got around to the serious business of stockings and opening presents.  Note:  I was taking pictures, so there aren't really any of me opening *my* presents.  This is not a representative sample.

Stroller, bear, and baby doll with stockings and tree.

Awwww!

to keep our strength up for the arduous task ahead...

new shiny shirt from Oma and Opa

unicorn slippers from Mommy and Daddy
(in a size 1!!)

alphabet and numbers books from Oma and Opa

new puzzle from Oma and Opa

New book from Oma and Opa

Gropius got a new set of lager glasses from me

baby doll getting changed into her new clothes from Nanny

new underwear from Oma and Opa

new book of Grimms Bros fairytales from my Mom and Dad

new self-locking tongs (very cool!) from me

Lulu wanting to try out her baby bjorn carrier from Mau-Mau and Umpapa

More accessories for the new baby doll

Afterwards, Lulu decided to change into her matching pajamas and push her new baby doll around the house in her new stroller.

very proud of her new presents!

And then we got down to the task at hand:  eating cinnamon rolls!

ingenious--hadn't thought of putting them in a muffin tin before!

look at all those rings!  so pretty.....