Es läuft weiter.....
Life in Berlin is settling down now, but still very very exciting!!
On Saturday we went to Potsdam and had a look around, which was very nice....
Then on Sunday I went to church at the Berlin International Church and met lots of friendly American people. It's an Evangelical church (ish), but without seeming fake like most of the other evangelists I've met in the past. The pastor freely acknowledges that he's not "the perfect Christian" and that he doesn't have the best relationship with God, but they're very very welcoming and so genuine. The atmosphere is a little bit like my home Church in Cotteridge, in that within moments of walking through the front door I was greeted with a smile, a handshake and a look of "ooooh look, here's someone new we can get to know, how exciting!" The pastor is very clear that you don't have to be Christian to be there, you are completely entitled to be curious and doubtful, he's not going to try too hard to convert anyone, and there's definitely nothing about everyone going to hell. I'm actually very impressed. The service is quite unlike any I've been to before - the hymns are more like pop songs, there's no communion and about half of the service is a lecture in bible study - but this year is all about change, and about doing things differently, and this church is another part of that. I've promised myself I'm going to say a big "YES" to every opportunity that presents itself, and really make the most of my time here. Therefore I'm actively seeking experiences I've never had before. It's great fun!!
Along the same theme, I've decided to enroll at the Volkshochschule here in Berlin. For those of you who, like me, are not completely au fait with German culture, a VHS is somewhere that adults can go to get more education, whether they want to learn basics like reading, writing, computer work or whatever, or more adventurous courses such as pottery, tai chi, massage or even the basics of herbal medicine and healthy eating. You can study history or politics or whatever you want. The brochure for this place is about the same size as a small telephone directory, so you can see why I'm having problems deciding which course to take!!
So far the hopefuls are: painting or drawing or pottery; some kind of german language course (cos I still need more!) and some kind of dancing/active sport. I'm almost certainly going to take an all day saturday course in Massage, particularly as it'll make me very popular with the aussies!! (and with Mum, and with Craig, and with pretty much everyone else I know.....)
I've made myself a bit more at home at work now, we baked pizza in the wood-fired oven on monday, and the rosta for cleaning duties went up this morning, so I'm a Fixture. All the kids have their own mug which they decorate and then paint their names on. I am no different, so today I painted mine. It's got a bit of gold in the bottom of the inside, so that there's something good remaining when I've finished drinking, I've written my name round the top in copper, and there's a copper band around the bottom too. Then I've painted flowers: poppies for the English summer I've left behind, Sunflowers for the German summer I've come to; a blue solanum-like flower for the past and a red-flowered bush of my own creation for the future. It's gorgeous, even if I do say so myself. It's amazing how therapeutic I'm finding the work. Rudolf Steiner is a genius, methinks. I'd love to know more about him, and more about his methods of Paedagogy.
Anyway. enough blathering for now. More news in a few days hopefully!
lots and lots of love to all of you. Let me know what you think I should study!
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Grüßen aus Berlin!!
So here I am, safely installed in Berlin, at the Juniorhotel am Wannsee. I'm living with three aussies who are all very nice, in a top-floor flat which has a fan oven - oh Joy!!
The picture (in case anyone was wondering) is of my mum's new cats: Lidii (left) and Rosa (right) who are very very pretty and getting to the tame stage..... nearly!
I've got my first day at work tomorrow, and am very excited about it. It's a Waldorf Schule, so there's a huge emphasis on the natural world, and on learning through experience rather than just sitting down and learning by rote off a blackboard. The teacher I'm working with, Frau Fischer seems really nice and was very excited that I could cook and bake.
I'm also trying to get information about the Folkshochschule here in Berlin, so that I can maybe take up some kind of course in the evenings and meet more German people. The aussies are lovely, but I need to speak a lot of german if I'm going to improve this year! I'm thinking maybe some kind of creative course - painting or something similar maybe.... will let you know!
Anyway, I'm the only one who's still typing so I'd better go. I saw lots of people in Potsdamer platz using their laptops, so I'm hopeful that there's a wifi zone there of some variety. I'm going to investigate cos it would be much better to internet from bea if I can, much more convenient...
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Philosophies on London Women......
I went to a gig in London last night - Flogging Molly as it happens - the best gig I've seen in a sauna in my entire life I think!! A and I dressed up as pirates for the hell of it, and thoroughly enjoyed all the strange looks we got. (we're currently planning another outing in london in ridiculous costume - maybe Goth this time, just to see the looks on people's faces…. This could become a hobby….). Anyway, in order to get back to work today, I ended up at Victoria Station at about 6.50, with a good while to buy my breakfast and mooch around WH Smith, where I took advantage of their summer sale offers (buy one get one half price).
The book I bought is called "Liz Jones' Diary - how a single girl got married" and is basically a collection of the aforementioned Ms. Jones' columns from various newspapers from very late december 1999 onwards…. It's not at all like Bridget Jones (as I'd hoped it might be) but she's very honest and even confesses to being mean to her boyfriend about silly things. It's quite refreshing actually, to read the rants of someone else who is infuriated by the way men "leave wet towels on the bed, deposit little piles of coins everywhere and collect weird bits of paper on the mantelpiece" - and I thought it was only C who did those things!! She is, however, one of those scarily high-maintenance london women who actually shop at places like Harrods and Saks and buy Nicole Farhi china for their distressed-look kitchens. She goes for a manicure every few days, a massage/facial every week, does pilates and has her hair cut by the top person at Aveda, from whom she buys specially-blended designer conditioner just for her hair….. Seriously, there's more to life isn't there? These women make me feel quite indignant that I am a Better, Fuller, More Rounded Person than them cos I don't freak out if I break a nail, and don't wear t-shirts that cost more than £80, but at the same time I have a niggling suspicion that I am Lazy, Unkempt and Imperfect. That perhaps I should care if my toenail varnish is chipped, that perhaps I should acknowledge the existence of bad hair days and not just go out with my hair in any old mop, that I should colour-coordinate my wardrobe and keep shoes and accessories in those clear plastic shoe boxes that you can buy for about £5 a pop…. I bet these women never have to do that 'recycling' thing when you've not done any laundry and you've run out of socks, I bet they never have toothpaste stains on their bathroom sinks…..
And then I remember that I can Bake. I can Cook and Bake. I can actually Cook, Bake, Sew and Knit - and wouldn't they be jealous?? If I made them a tray of my marriage-proposal-inducing chocolate brownies, I think they'd forget all about Atkins and secretly hate me for my skill. I am also a secret believer that if you set your standards of living too high, you are consistently disappointed by life. That quaint little café on the beach somewhere suddenly becomes a fly-infested dive and you Worry about catching something…. You can't trudge happily through autumn leaves for the sheer hell of it because your suede Patrick Cox shearling boots might get stained and they cost £250. You can't share a tub of ben and jerry's with your best mates over a girlie film because if you do, your Prada suit may just be a little toooo tight for that meeting tomorrow. And then I remember why I'm not like those women. I have fun, and I'm laid back, and who cares (at the end of the day) if my legs aren't waxed every 5 weeks, or if I am still wearing those threadbare pyjamas my mum bought for me when I was sixteen. I am happy.
The other book is a chick-lit saga about a girl who revisits her mother's birthplace, called The Island. I'm looking forwards to reading it…..
I went to a gig in London last night - Flogging Molly as it happens - the best gig I've seen in a sauna in my entire life I think!! A and I dressed up as pirates for the hell of it, and thoroughly enjoyed all the strange looks we got. (we're currently planning another outing in london in ridiculous costume - maybe Goth this time, just to see the looks on people's faces…. This could become a hobby….). Anyway, in order to get back to work today, I ended up at Victoria Station at about 6.50, with a good while to buy my breakfast and mooch around WH Smith, where I took advantage of their summer sale offers (buy one get one half price).
The book I bought is called "Liz Jones' Diary - how a single girl got married" and is basically a collection of the aforementioned Ms. Jones' columns from various newspapers from very late december 1999 onwards…. It's not at all like Bridget Jones (as I'd hoped it might be) but she's very honest and even confesses to being mean to her boyfriend about silly things. It's quite refreshing actually, to read the rants of someone else who is infuriated by the way men "leave wet towels on the bed, deposit little piles of coins everywhere and collect weird bits of paper on the mantelpiece" - and I thought it was only C who did those things!! She is, however, one of those scarily high-maintenance london women who actually shop at places like Harrods and Saks and buy Nicole Farhi china for their distressed-look kitchens. She goes for a manicure every few days, a massage/facial every week, does pilates and has her hair cut by the top person at Aveda, from whom she buys specially-blended designer conditioner just for her hair….. Seriously, there's more to life isn't there? These women make me feel quite indignant that I am a Better, Fuller, More Rounded Person than them cos I don't freak out if I break a nail, and don't wear t-shirts that cost more than £80, but at the same time I have a niggling suspicion that I am Lazy, Unkempt and Imperfect. That perhaps I should care if my toenail varnish is chipped, that perhaps I should acknowledge the existence of bad hair days and not just go out with my hair in any old mop, that I should colour-coordinate my wardrobe and keep shoes and accessories in those clear plastic shoe boxes that you can buy for about £5 a pop…. I bet these women never have to do that 'recycling' thing when you've not done any laundry and you've run out of socks, I bet they never have toothpaste stains on their bathroom sinks…..
And then I remember that I can Bake. I can Cook and Bake. I can actually Cook, Bake, Sew and Knit - and wouldn't they be jealous?? If I made them a tray of my marriage-proposal-inducing chocolate brownies, I think they'd forget all about Atkins and secretly hate me for my skill. I am also a secret believer that if you set your standards of living too high, you are consistently disappointed by life. That quaint little café on the beach somewhere suddenly becomes a fly-infested dive and you Worry about catching something…. You can't trudge happily through autumn leaves for the sheer hell of it because your suede Patrick Cox shearling boots might get stained and they cost £250. You can't share a tub of ben and jerry's with your best mates over a girlie film because if you do, your Prada suit may just be a little toooo tight for that meeting tomorrow. And then I remember why I'm not like those women. I have fun, and I'm laid back, and who cares (at the end of the day) if my legs aren't waxed every 5 weeks, or if I am still wearing those threadbare pyjamas my mum bought for me when I was sixteen. I am happy.
The other book is a chick-lit saga about a girl who revisits her mother's birthplace, called The Island. I'm looking forwards to reading it…..
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Slow-cooked Lamb Shanks
On friday night, C and I had our valentine's meal, and because he loves lamb i though i would do shanks - plus they're cheap!
After lots of recipe book reading (what a chore!) I decided on the one from Jamie Oliver's Naked Chef. This turned out to be a very good choice as the Lamb was outstanding!
The meat was 'fall off the bone' tender and the tomatoey sauce lent a subtle fruitiness which set off the lamby flavour beautifully.
After i bought the shanks i looked up their points valur in my little book and nearly passed out - 18 points!! On second inspection it turned out that the shanks i had bought were much lighter and more like 12 points. Therefore i chnaged my plan of serving them with creamy garlic mash and did myself some roasted butternut squash (free). I still did a big pile of mash for C, of course!
Jamie's Luscious Lamb Shanksmy recipie here
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
So I've had a couple of questions about why the blog is called Sehenswürdigkeiten, and what the quote means. I tried to translate it myself cos as much as I love Babelfish, it doesn't really get the poetry going.
Here's what I came up with:
Here's what I came up with:
"open your travel map up wide and lose yourself in the most colourful hour.
The great spectacle, which it shows, is the world - look at it"
I have an interview on Thursday for a Job I don't want, but am still revising like fury for it, and wholly intending to do the best I can. Is that Crazy??
Oh, and told the parents about My Future Plans on Thursday night - it went really well actually, I was impressed and pleased!!
Also really enjoyed ER last night. Not sure why, but it was a really good episode. I like Neela a lot, but can't wait for Gallant to get his ass back from Iraq and cheer her up a bit! The new Doctor confused me slightly cos I knew I recognised him. He is John Leguizamo and has been in several things. I think I actually recognised him from Regarding Henry, but he was also Toulouse Lautrec in Moulin Rouge! which channel 5 showed on sunday night.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
The Best Beef and Ale Pie (yet)
"Love, don't order the steak pie, I'll make you one!" Quoth I last saturday. And unsurprisingly, C held me to that!
So, after a lot of ferreting around and bothering people who make good pie (Thanks Ames!) I kinda cobbled something together that tasted pretty good! Okay, so some of the gravy ingredients were a little imaginative as you'll see, but it tasted so good, apparently that C has asked me to make it "forever" and not change the recipe at all. Wow!
Sadly there's no photos cos it was devoured too quickly (and because the pastry lid went a bit awol in the fan oven!!). One of these days, I'll get into proper pornographic food photography and this little place will be a fully fledged food blog, but not yet.
So, here's the recipe:
1kg Beef, cut into cubes. (we used a roasting joint cos they're cheaper than stewing steak)
2tbsp seasoned flour
1 large onion, halved and then sliced
2 carrots, diced
1 bottle Ale (Newcastle Broon works, but you can do a delia and buy the prettiest bottle if it makes you happy)
5 or 6 mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp herbes de provence (or thyme, rosemary etc.)
1 beef oxo cube
worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup, cocoa powder and black treacle
1 pack ready made puff pastry (I have great respect for those that make it, but I am not one!!)
Butter, for frying.
Toss the beef in the seasoned flour to coat, whilst heating some butter in a heavy based pan large enough for your ingredients. Batch fry until sealed all over and slightly browned. Remove the beef to a bowl (to catch all those juices). Fry the onions until soft and just golden, stir in any remaining flour at this point. Add the carrots and herbes. Cover the pan and sweat for about 5 minutes. Return the beef to the pan, adding any juices that have accumulated, and pour over the ale. Add any blood that may have been in the meat packet (don't say ew - what do you think juices are?). Stir to start dissolving the flour, add the mushrooms and allow to bubble away for about 10 minutes to reduce the sauce to workable quantities. Sprinkle over the oxo cube and add worcestershire sauce. The other sauce ingredients are, I guess, optional but when I tasted the gravy it was a little lacking so I played with it a bit. If you have tomato puree, that might be better than ketchup but I did like the spicyness it added. The cocoa powder is a slightly strange idea, but it comes from the same reasoning of adding cocoa to chilli con carne. Often beef dishes lack a certain meaty earthiness (that I'm sure you'd get from a good helping of proper glacé but I've not followed Mr. Bourdin's advice on that yet) and I find that the cocoa does add that. Be sure to use the 'meanest darkest' cocoa you can find and NOT that sweetened rubbish you buy in the states. The treacle added a bitter-tempered sweetness that lifted the earthiness nicely. You could use balsamic vinegar instead. I used a heaped teaspoon of each, for guidance.
TASTE your gravy and make sure it's okay for seasoning. If all is well, pile your now unctuous and luscious beef casserole into a pie dish. Roll the pastry enough to cover and cover the dish. Pie is really that complicated! I found that moistening the edge of the dish with the milk I used to glaze helped the pastry to stick to the dish. If you want, decorate the pie, but don't if you don't have time or can't be bothered. The whole thing will probably be eaten before anyone really notices the decorations anyway.
Bake the pie in a normal oven (170°C fan) for 25ish minutes till the pastry is risen and golden. It makes sense to put a baking tray under the pie dish in case that gorgeous gravy boils over.
Serve with potatoes to mash into the gravy, and a fresh green veg like sugar snap peas. Drink Ale with it, if you're so inclined.
Ironically, while C was helping with the washing up, I picked up the Good Food Calendar for 2006 to have a browse. The recipe for November is Beef and Ale pie. I think mine might be better though!
I also made a carrot cake this weekend - Dad loves it. It's an old recipe from a book my primary school printed when I was in year 3, but I've made it dozens of times.
Also in the exciting news, i got a birthday present from the dear Drs - a Rose-shaped bundt tin!!! I am planning on baking in it for Valentine's Day, and will try and post the photos of it then. I think that considering the shape of the tin, it is allowed to use a smidgen of pink colouring to make it prettier!! I was SO excited when I opened it, I LOVE the Nordic Ware bundt tins - so pretty!!
"Love, don't order the steak pie, I'll make you one!" Quoth I last saturday. And unsurprisingly, C held me to that!
So, after a lot of ferreting around and bothering people who make good pie (Thanks Ames!) I kinda cobbled something together that tasted pretty good! Okay, so some of the gravy ingredients were a little imaginative as you'll see, but it tasted so good, apparently that C has asked me to make it "forever" and not change the recipe at all. Wow!
Sadly there's no photos cos it was devoured too quickly (and because the pastry lid went a bit awol in the fan oven!!). One of these days, I'll get into proper pornographic food photography and this little place will be a fully fledged food blog, but not yet.
So, here's the recipe:
1kg Beef, cut into cubes. (we used a roasting joint cos they're cheaper than stewing steak)
2tbsp seasoned flour
1 large onion, halved and then sliced
2 carrots, diced
1 bottle Ale (Newcastle Broon works, but you can do a delia and buy the prettiest bottle if it makes you happy)
5 or 6 mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp herbes de provence (or thyme, rosemary etc.)
1 beef oxo cube
worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup, cocoa powder and black treacle
1 pack ready made puff pastry (I have great respect for those that make it, but I am not one!!)
Butter, for frying.
Toss the beef in the seasoned flour to coat, whilst heating some butter in a heavy based pan large enough for your ingredients. Batch fry until sealed all over and slightly browned. Remove the beef to a bowl (to catch all those juices). Fry the onions until soft and just golden, stir in any remaining flour at this point. Add the carrots and herbes. Cover the pan and sweat for about 5 minutes. Return the beef to the pan, adding any juices that have accumulated, and pour over the ale. Add any blood that may have been in the meat packet (don't say ew - what do you think juices are?). Stir to start dissolving the flour, add the mushrooms and allow to bubble away for about 10 minutes to reduce the sauce to workable quantities. Sprinkle over the oxo cube and add worcestershire sauce. The other sauce ingredients are, I guess, optional but when I tasted the gravy it was a little lacking so I played with it a bit. If you have tomato puree, that might be better than ketchup but I did like the spicyness it added. The cocoa powder is a slightly strange idea, but it comes from the same reasoning of adding cocoa to chilli con carne. Often beef dishes lack a certain meaty earthiness (that I'm sure you'd get from a good helping of proper glacé but I've not followed Mr. Bourdin's advice on that yet) and I find that the cocoa does add that. Be sure to use the 'meanest darkest' cocoa you can find and NOT that sweetened rubbish you buy in the states. The treacle added a bitter-tempered sweetness that lifted the earthiness nicely. You could use balsamic vinegar instead. I used a heaped teaspoon of each, for guidance.
TASTE your gravy and make sure it's okay for seasoning. If all is well, pile your now unctuous and luscious beef casserole into a pie dish. Roll the pastry enough to cover and cover the dish. Pie is really that complicated! I found that moistening the edge of the dish with the milk I used to glaze helped the pastry to stick to the dish. If you want, decorate the pie, but don't if you don't have time or can't be bothered. The whole thing will probably be eaten before anyone really notices the decorations anyway.
Bake the pie in a normal oven (170°C fan) for 25ish minutes till the pastry is risen and golden. It makes sense to put a baking tray under the pie dish in case that gorgeous gravy boils over.
Serve with potatoes to mash into the gravy, and a fresh green veg like sugar snap peas. Drink Ale with it, if you're so inclined.
Ironically, while C was helping with the washing up, I picked up the Good Food Calendar for 2006 to have a browse. The recipe for November is Beef and Ale pie. I think mine might be better though!
I also made a carrot cake this weekend - Dad loves it. It's an old recipe from a book my primary school printed when I was in year 3, but I've made it dozens of times.
Also in the exciting news, i got a birthday present from the dear Drs - a Rose-shaped bundt tin!!! I am planning on baking in it for Valentine's Day, and will try and post the photos of it then. I think that considering the shape of the tin, it is allowed to use a smidgen of pink colouring to make it prettier!! I was SO excited when I opened it, I LOVE the Nordic Ware bundt tins - so pretty!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)