BonVivant

Squid and "caviar" lentils. I prefer the tentacles. The partner doesn't mind the squid bodies. The beer. (This craft beer drinker also does beer photography. Well of course.)

Last day of Pentecost long weekend here. Asparagus with Speck and eggs. Mince is removed from casing of lamb merguez. Puréed chickpeas with some crème fraîche. Millet salad with merguez. Leftover chickpea purée now has beetroot added to it. Cream (stabilised with gelatin) and SV rhubarb. Garnished with softened asparagus tips. The rest of the asparagus was warmed together with the cream. This thing contains no sugar, btw. I don't have a sweet tooth... But an ultra rich and creamy one.

Just this. I don't know how to make it look nice today being miserable from my sun allergy* and it's a long weekend so no doctor or pharmacy is open till next tuesday. (*There are 3 kinds of sun allergies and I have 1 of them.) SV rhubarb and tuna steak.

Northern European spring, Australian temperatures. For days on end. It's back to nice and cool again now. Some recent dinners. Clams in black bean sauce (loose fermented black beans with which I made a sauce, not Lee Kum Kee). Sichuan chillies in oil, tamari, garlic, lots of garlic. Simple SV salmon. A quick sear after. The wine, from deep south of Netherlands. To make sparkling Riesling the traditional method they had to send it to Germany. Costs me 50% more than in Germany for this bottle. It's a rather nice and acceptable sparkling Riesling. A fish has to swim 3 times. In water, in wine, and in butter. SV skate wing. Ate the rest of the oysters over the kitchen sink just before making this photo. More food for Australian temperatures.

I don't often eat pork (unless it's the belly or other fatty cuts)... wanted to give the filet a go (sous vide). Turned out OK. It looked a lot nicer before slicing. Partner said "it looks expensive!". Seared the meat and then some butter, olive oil and more thyme were added to the pan. Strained and poured over the meat. Piping hot gratin. Quinoa and Riesling alongside. Nearly always Riesling, only sometimes quinoa.

I could do away with the cheese, or use my own cheese. I'm particular about my cheese. This was in Budapest. Here is the airy inside of the deep-fried bread, for those who haven't eaten it. Had a simpler version in Albania and I liked it more. It's tiny, made in the fireplace by the *Raki-chugging housewife in whose house I stayed briefly. Because of the size you will eat many, but it's so good! (*Raki is Albanian booze. They drink it in large quantities, from morning till night. Yes, even with coffee at dawn.) Also no cooking for me today. Just cold seafood.

It's a 4-day long weekend here. Soft-cooked egg novice. I need more practice. Black Forest ham and grainy sourdough. Sesame-crusted. Sesame oil and rice wine in the miso sauce. Black stuff is ground toasted black sesame seeds, in case I wanted to mix it in the miso sauce. Supposed to be tortillas but I used a little more eggs than I should have. One has fried Speck in it. I always slip it under the grill to finish the top but thought maybe I'd turn it over just this once. I broke it. Still tasted good all the same. More (beetroot) asparagus, with leftover pistachio picada (a Catalan almond sauce). Was part of dinner yesterday. Made asparagus kimchi today. We shall see what happens in 2 weeks time.

I love beetroots and am always finding new ways to give something their stunning colour. Asparagus is my newest experiment. Just boil some beetroots to obtain the liquid and soak the asparagus in it. People here eat asparagus 2 ways and 2 ways only: cook it to death and drown it in some sauce, or make a soup. When I tell them all the things they could do with asparagus they are most surprised. And thank you very much! Some examples... Seared Skrei Spätzle Austrian dumplings with scrambled eggs Beetroot marinated raw salmon Beetroot chicken. Oh wait, not yet. It's not if, it's when.

I replaced the green beans with green asparagus, which is a German lunch dish. My seasonal "Strammer Max". Basically it's toasted bread topped with ham and runny egg. Very typical in Germany. This is the ham I used. "Black Forest ham". Grated cured egg More asparagus. Very nice selection this weekend. This one was about to run. Already quite soft to the touch before cutting it open.

Squid and mince, neither Thai or Vietnamese. I just used Vietnamese fish sauce, garlic, ginger, onions, palm sugar, Shaoxing wine to give it taste. Very small squid from the North Sea. Easy to clean if they are cut open on 1 side so that they curl up on contact with heat. Squid and mince go exceptionally well together, especially if there's also copious amounts of garlic and chilies. (I make my own habanero chili sauce though, this plate was for someone else who can't eat too spicy.) Where's the mince? It's there, kind of hard to see.

The most popular dish in Galicia, Spain: boiled octopus. The beauty of this food lies in its simplicity. Tender octopus, good oil, and paprika powder. (I used both sweet and hot paprika here) It's not often that I eat green asparagus. Here with grated dried tuna roe, from Alicante, Spain. My criteria for eating green asparagus: domestic, young and slender. In southern Spain, dried tuna roe and salted tuna loin ("mojama", an exquisite delicacy, let sit in olive oil for an hour first) are served in slices with some almonds and lots of beer. I have grated dried tuna roe over a lots of things. Took some time to remove the meat from a kilo of crab claws.

Look up "melanzane ripiene", Sicilian stuffed aubergine. This way it will keep its shape. Love aubergine! I like mine with lamb mince.

Razor clams. Too hot to cook or eat outside otherwise I would have grilled them on the Weber. 25 degrees Celsius today but felt like Australia. Sun is better for plants, not me.

Asparagus e.ve.ry day. Mantou, steamed bread. Pieces of roasted pork are pressed into the deep incisions. Cheesy Swabian noodles. Chives blossoms were to be torn and sprinkled on the noodles.

Mussels (Calalan style). Made this 2 days in a row as fresh mussels can't be kept for long. Catalan Picada sauce is delicious with all kinds of food. Basically it's ground almond, olive oil, parsley, garlic and breadcrumbs. The bread in the photos above. Got it in Koblenz on my way home from Bremm, Germany. Text on paper bag: "Happiness lies in making others happy". Not a literal translation but that's basically what it's meant to say. Rhubarb with fig jelly on the base and top. Someone was very happy with these. I prefer the tea. Brought back from Uji (a tea-producing town between Kyoto and Nara, Japan). Can't roll anything, especially rice paper. I'm a sea rabbit sometimes. These rolls contains only vegs (asparagus, turnips and their leaves, Italian chicory, chives etc). Red strips are shaved asparagus that has been soaked in beetroot water. I like eating almost everything, especially cheese. The BEST food in.the.world! The "small breast" is actually quite big. A young, creamy cheese from Galicia, Spain.

I almost never eat my precious asparagus with a thick sauce. This one has cream and grated Tuscan cheese in it. Crisp-fried Tyrolean Speck on top. Ate with sourdough bread I brought back from Germany yesterday. Would add a slug of Riesling to the creamy sauce next time. Last week... Boiled prawns. Prawns in cream on bread. Red thing in background is salmon roe soaked in beetroot water. Asparagus in cream, hot smoked salmon belly and potatoes fried in Mangalitsa fat.

Made my Riesling dream come true again yesterday. Walked to the next 2 villages (4km each way) where W.J. Oster winery has a tasting room. All Riesling. Last 3 on the list are sparkling. And more Riesling with dinner when I got back to my lodging. The village where I am staying. Known for being postcard-perfect, having the steepest vineyards in Europe (65 degrees), some of the most exquisite Riesling, a ruin surrounded by vineyards, a river bend that's on every postcard etc.

It's made the classic way and was cellared for 3 years. I got it from the winemaker's residence, which also doubles as a wine tasting spot, about 50 (?) metres from my lodging. Sparkling Riesling is hard to find. It's not made in large quantities and most remains near its source. That's why I have come here to make my Riesling dream come true! Everything was closed today but I will be drinking at Toni's soon. (The winemaker's homepage, in German.) All the winemakers in this pretty little village have racks like this out front. And like this. Another place to get wines and have a tasting directly from the winemaker.

Germans use marjoram in sausages and soups, and is also found in Saumagen. The "sausage" is formed with finely minced pork, potatoes, garlic, marjoram, nutmeg and parsley. It was invented to use up leftover bits and pieces. The lowly home-made dish now even served in some (semi) fancy restaurants.

Farmer's ham of Eifel (a big area around here). Asparagus comes from Bruchsal in south western Germany. Sow's stomach in the style of Pfalz. It's not sausage and not haggis. (Name in German is Saumagen) 3 Riesling with my asparagus. Making my Riesling dream come true! First Riesling last night upon my arrival. The Riesling was drank with dinner, which I brought with me from home knowing everything was closed on sunday.

The end (probably) of my meatball-making lark. Loosely based on the recipe on the maker of the pear-apple syrup's web site. I used La Trappe bock beer and some Bovril in the sauce. The syrup. Leftover Liège meatballs in a roll. With tea soba. In the mince: harissa paste, kebab spice mix, minced onions and garlic. In the sauce: Turkish red pepper paste, tomatoes, onions, seasoning. Leftover lamb meatballs. Even better with giant white beans and chard.

Duvel, that's a lot of peanuts. Are they fried in oil? I would eat donkey, happily. Intestines on the other hand... I've tried countless times but couldn't get into it, mostly because my incisors and molars are dull (I think). On top of this the texture of trails. ---------------------- Recent lunches. These days I hardly eat anything besides asparagus and chard. Taking my sweet time eating North Sea crab claws, North Sea shrimp, North Sea oysters. Salmon roe from Denmark, I don't remember anymore. Aberlour scotch and beetroot water in the cure. Faroe Islands salmon. I no longer want to cook Faroe Islands salmon. Pickled herrings in cream sauce. One has cucumber and parsley, the other beetroots and dill. Leftover sausages. Small asparagus farm and bakery inside a windmill in the countryside 3.5km from my house.

Farls, soup, croquettes. I like Kartoffelkäse /"potato cheese", Bauernfrühstück/Farmer's breakfast. Gröstl is a similar dish in Austrian Tyrol. And a kind of dumpling called "Schupfnudeln". These things are typical lunch dishes in Austria and southern Germany. (Both have been posted before) With Speck and Sauerkraut. I think every restaurant in Swabia serves this favourite of mine. Can also be a sweet dish, with poppy seeds. Potato cheese Tiroler Speck top right.

Braised chicken in dry Riesling is nice. Have never tried it with a sweet Riesling. Also, I don't touch sweet Riesling. My favourite white wine!

Tastes almost exactly like tinned cod liver. Just eat it on toast and a squeeze of lemon.