cakewench

Cadburys have a lower percentage of cocoa than Hershey's. I have a few personal favorites with Godiva, but that's based on the quality of the fillings rather than the chocolate itself. For example, I just can't get enough of their raspberry-filled... anything. I've been in Germany for a few months now, and I would like to put a vote in for their standard Ritter Sport bars as being some of the best chocolate I've had. ESPECIALLY considering the price (.60 euro for a 100gr bar. sigh.) er, and I should add that I don't dislike Cadbury. I still love their Fruit and Nut bars, and their cream eggs will always have a place in my heart. and stomach.

Thanks for the responses, and the recipe! The only muesli I have seen labled as 'bircher' has also had fruits and other things already mixed in, unfortunately. I want fruit in there, but not the ones they want me to have, evidently. The recipe sounds perfect, Boris, thanks! I assume the spoons are the big soup spoon-sized things. That's according to my (German) bf, anyway. He makes fun of me for my tablespoons and teaspoons, but it appears as if there is a similar system in place here. hah. I should be able to try this out by Monday. I will report back.

Hey :) I was wondering if any of you had a good recipe for Bircher oatmeal? I've had a few fantastic bowls at various B&Bs (not here, but in Australia of all places), and I've now become addicted to Movenpick's little single serving cups of the stuff. It gets a bit pricey, though, and I'm interested in making my own. I'm even happy to improvise on the fruits/nuts myself, but I would like a good starter recipe. Most importantly (possibly): what type of oats found here in Germany are best suited for this? I'm assuming they should be a bit tougher than the average 'zart' ones, in order to not get too mushy too quickly. Thank so much!

Nessa, I second that opinion! I'm currently in Germany (and will be for another 2 months), and my bf and I have been to several local doner kebap joints. They are all incredibly cheap, considering how fresh all of the ingredients are. And, as a bonus, a lot of them do pretty decent little pizzas, too. mmm falafel. For prices: usually around 2 Euro for a HUGE serving of food.

mmm spiral bound Hardcover.

quince paste! Yes, please, if you haven't tried quince paste (membrillo) with some nice sharp cheese, do so! Upon arriving in Australia last year, I shared a cheese plate with a fellow backpacker. It was served with a lump of the stuff, but I had no idea what it was. It was so good that I obsessed over it for over a month, and only found out what it was when I stumbled across Maggie Beer's version (Maggie Beer = South Australia's Martha Stewart. um, but without the millions of dollars and annoying commercial tie-ins). I immediately got my Aussie friends hooked on it. I loaded up on it when it was time to leave, along with some interesting 'cabernet paste' I found at her shop in the Barossa. Oh, man. I want some now. I wonder if I can find quince in Germany.

Hey! I appreciate the thoughtful replies. Yes, I believe I will just pack a couple of cans of pumpkin to bring with me. It's cooked, so it should be okay to take overseas. I can always fall back on making American-style chocolate chip cookies, with the peanut butter chips I'm bringing along. They really seemed to like those last time. Thanks again, you two! (hmm pumpkin seed oil..)

I was in Australia for 7 months, and never did try the kangaroo. None of my Australian friends ate it, though they encouraged me to try it if I wanted to, because they knew I probably wouldn't be able to get it once I was back home. Anyway, the explanation most Aussies gave (especially the older folks) was that 'roo meat used to only be used in stuff like dog food, until maybe 15-20 years ago when the government started to allow it for human consumption. It was a sensible move. Kangaroos are indigenous, and don't require all of the resources that cows (or, insert name of other 'imported' animal here) do. It's a move that is taking a long time to settle into the heads of a lot of Aussies. The Skippy factor: Jokes about eating 'Skippy schnitzels' (Skippy= beloved old TV kangaroo, on par with Flipper or Lassie here in the States, and schnitzel= extremely popular way of eating random 'meat' in Oz) abound. I think the Skippy idea holds a lot of people back, actually. You'll find it as an option in nice restaurants, certainly in Sydney or Melbourne. That is where most tourists go. Finding it at the local chip shop is another matter. The most telling example of this was going from Adelaide (the city I lived in most of the time, not a popular spot for tourists) or Perth, and seeing it maybe once or twice on menus, to someplace like Cairns (tiny place just teeming with tourists. Has to be something like 70% tourists there) where I saw it on menus everywhere. I'm sure the Skippy stigma will wear off eventually.

I'm going to be in Bochum, Germany for 3 months, beginning in early December. I would really like to make some of my pumpkin bread for my bf's family, but when I asked him if they had sugar pumpkin available, he said he didn't think so. I believe he asked at one or two stores, but they all said no. So, I'm curious, have any of you seen pumpkin in Germany? Or, do you have any idea what is available there that might substitute well? I really appreciate it!

That certainly is rather... orange. Are you cheese (cheez?) in camoluflage? Thanks for sharing the pics! and to the topic at hand: Pumpkin soup is good, too! I'm a sucker for anything pumpkinesque. Your recipe sounds really nice.

Pumpkin muffins! cream cheese frosting! Done now, sorry. You're off to a good start in my book. The scavenger hunt sounds like fun.

Yes, growing up in DC, I learned 'ellipse', as well as the fact that it is District of Columbia, NOT Colombia. That's one of my personal favorite mistakes, btw, especially when made by people who live here. Also, I am reading tommy's 'eeexcellent' in a Mr. Burns' voice. Visualize tenting fingers. eexcellent

This sounds like me when I was first confronted with 'fairy bread' when I lived in Australia. Except they don't even use the semi-edible sprinkles on the bread, they use those impossibly hard tiny candy... dots. I never quite warmed up to it. Certainly sounds like an interesting breakfast food.

grilled cheese My normal grilled cheese is made with Kraft singles, yellow mustard, butter on the outside of the white bread, grilled. Last few times I made them, I added garlic powder to the butter on the outside, and really liked that. In high school, I used to make them with bacon, and used the bacon fat to grill them. I was also at a very unhealthy weight at that point in my life, go figure! My mother introduced me to slightly more 'grown-up' grilled sandwiches, with large pieces of nutty bread, real cheeses (cheddar, swiss, whatever), mustard, turkey, etc... Yum. Still, nothing beats the original. No ketchup, please.

Only 6 minutes have passed between your posts here, and you're already second-guessing your blog! I guess I would feel the same way... any blog I would produce would be filled with an alarming amount of cereal consumption. (blog of the unemployed)

Anyone visiting the Falls Church location this weekend? The article certainly has me interested in checking it out.

Thanks for the welcome, beans. (I love your little chococat, btw) The pay wouldn't ever be able to match what servers currently make in tips. There is no question about that! I remember being offered a management position at another restaurant (while I was waiting tables). I did show a bit of interest, but immediately backed off once I knew that I'd be working twice the hours of the waitstaff and be lucky if I made half what they did. The main reason I left the restaurant business was my back problems, and subsequent surgery. I'm now zzzzzzzz... in accounting. I've thought about the subject more in the last year, as I was living in Australia, and exposed a bit to the restaurant scene through a co-worker there (at Ernst & Young... she waited tables at night). Her hourly wage at E&Y was the same as the one she made at the restaurant. Honestly, I didn't see anything wrong with that. It was nice to be able to go out with a group and not have to police everyone to make sure that the tip was properly covered. Don't worry. It won't ever happen here! I wasn't exactly advocating it, anyway. I just wanted to illustrate why some servers feel the need to rush people through their meals; more tables = more tips.

DC: Paramount Annie's french toast, with extra-crispy bacon.

(wow, I've chosen a hot topic to de-lurk into ) I do love the European method of waiting tables. That, of course, will only truly happen over here when the tipping system is abolished, and servers are paid a livable wage by their employers. [waits for laughter from anyone who has worked in/for/owns a restaurant in America to subside] Well, it's true. Servers here feel the need to turn tables quickly, in order to seat the most tables they can, to earn more money. I've actually seen managers pressure servers to push a table out, as well, so I guess I can't completely blame the servers. There are managers who actually think it's the server's fault that the table has the audacity to sit and have a conversation over coffee or whatever. sigh. Yes, I waited tables, once upon a time. It actually makes me much more picky about service than everyone I dine with. Servers in chain restaurants are trained to be annoying to guests. There is a timeline ('sequence of service', or whatever snappy title it might have now) that they are required to follow. If they don't ask you how things are at set moments (yes, it is calculated out to exact minutes), ask you if want specific drinks, appetizers, entrees, desserts, help with the menu, smothersmother etcetc, they can easily be put on probation once, and fired if it happens again. The chains employ 'secret shoppers' to test the servers. Managers get bonuses for themselves if their restaurants get high shopper scores. The incentive is there. They are not interested in having you in the restaurant for more than 45 minutes, and if it means clearing your tables of everything but the salt and pepper shakers, and that one remaining guest's plate, they will. Can you feel the bitterness through your screen? I did love working at restaurants, I swear! Complaining directly to the management is always the best response. If you don't like having to box your own food (though, yes, some states have laws against servers doing it. As someone else pointed out, they are handling money and dirty plates of other guests all the time), say something to the management. The server might just be lazy. There are people who like boxing their own food, though. Just like there are people who like to have their plates cleared, regardless of the status of others' meals at the table. Again, it's a judgement call, and servers aren't psychic. If you want it cleared, ask them. I should stress here that I am mostly referring to mid-range restaurants. I also have a feeling that most of what I have said here has been said before, in some thread I haven't located yet. These forums are huge! One more time, for the record: complain to the management. Silent protests and witholding tips might make you feel a little bit better, but the only way anything has a chance of being done about the problem is if the manager knows about it. It's pretty rare that a server goes up to them at the end of the shift and says "wow, I sure did chase away a perfectly good customer this evening! Let me tell you how!" ... it's hard to believe it's been almost 5 years since I've worked in a restaurant. Just thinking about these topics is causing me stress.