Duvel

Enjoying the weather we went hunting for abandoned mine shafts today. Our area is dotted with these, be it for silver, lead, barite and other ores ... After returning and a well deserved break, I prepared local white asparagus with all the fixings: sauce Hollandaise, new potatoes with parsley butter, several ham varieties and half-sized Schnitzel. Enjoyed with a well matched Sylvaner from Alsace ...

Friday night - no energy to cook. Bread & cold cuts are fine (when accompanied by a BBC documentary & a off-dry Grauburgunder) ...

Because the gold color comes from the (toasted) wooden cask the alcohol is stored in. Ethanol and its watery dilutions do not „age“ in inert material, e.g. glass, stainless steel etc. in terms of color, which is nostly an extraction process. They do undergo reactions, e.g. acidic compounds present in the distillate form esters with the ethanol, so there is a bit of chemistry going on over the years. However, this is in sub-o/oo concentrations. It does not affect the color much ...

I know it looks terrible, but this was so good: Cassoulet, made with white haricot beans, SV duck confit & all its bag juices (and fat 🤫), saucisse de Toulouse and enough garlic to render all of Transylvania vampire-free ...

Well - there was a leftover piece of St. Maure in the fridge, and not enough tomatoes to open a burrata for, so ... 😌 Edit: Sorry, and flavorwise they are not the perfect match. It was ok-ish, but the cheese overpowered the tomatoes a bit.

Matjes, potato cucumber salad, tomatoes w/ St. Maure, remoulade ..

It‘s a tool. I find the „stirring while cooking“ concept appealing (a someone who spend almost a decade working in labs, surrounded by magnetic stirrers). I also think that the motor is quite powerful and makes a good mixer. I cannot subscribe to the emotional attachment some of my friends (who are decent cooks) have formed, but they produce appealing meals with it. But - so far - I haven’t encountered anything so striking or impressively made easier that I would purchase a Thermomix.

It was „a thing“ in Hong Kong. Maybe because a lot of expats owned one ? I remember my secretary purchasing one (even though she basically didn’t cook), and when I checked on her experience a few month later she explained that „it makes good congee“. Which basically means its useless as everyone owns a rice cooker that makes good congee 😜

The days are getting more pleasant. Today we spend the whole day outside - first on a tour through the nearby Odenwald forest, exploring the „barite gorge“ ... Then enjoying a lazy afternoon on the lower terrace (interdispersed with some trampoline „exercises“). Finally, in the late afternoon a BBQ. Veal neck, marinated with herbs and garlic, asparagus, burrata with tomato and pesto, ajvar, potato salad, zaziki ... Other options included: sausage, cevapcici, grilled cheese and pork loin skewers. Herb butter bread and condiments on the side.

Glorious - I think you could easily sell this as chanko nabe 🤗

Had to choose between the “thanks” and the “lol” button ... and as much as I appreciate the clarification on the grain, your geeky word play really made my day 🤗

On a Friday night, after too many video conferences, when noone wants to cook or even prep the table, „build your own Hot Dog“ on IKEA plastic ware is just about the right solution ...

I noticed that alcohol consumption tends to shift my purchasing behavior towards the slightly insane. When I was living in Hong Kong, there were a couple of instances where we received the odd package of Mentaiko (cooled) or some weird Koji mold from Amazon Japan. There might have been some whiskey highballs involved, but who wants to follow up ... When we moved back to Germany, I canceled my account. Better safe than sorry ...

Like grain picked by the elderly ? What kind of grain is considered „ancient“ ?

I never had a Banh Mi in a restaurant setting. In fact I never had Banh Mi outside of Vietnam. The many, many times I had the chance to enjoy it there, usage of cilantro was liberal and thus for me something is missing without. YMMV.

You make a very valid point. For me, this is the essence of the “skill” cooking. To know why a certain quality (acid, fat, salt ...) is required in a dish and how to creatively adjust or substitute it. If you combine that with a solid repertoire of basic preparations (frying, braising, grilling, ...), you are all set ...

For me this is an essential part of the game. However, I would not overstress the authenticity part. From my viewpoint, it is a kind of street food and inherently flexible. I usually aim to have these categories of ingredients in it: creamy/fatty: pâté, mayo (I like kewpie) protein with mouthfeel: cooked/braised/grilled meats, slices crunchy/fresh: quick pickled curls, carrot, daikon, cabbage herbal: cilantro, mint, garlic chives salty/umami: Vietnamese hoisin, bean sauce spicy: chili, chili condiments

Cheeeeese !!!

When I don’t have daikon at hand (more often than not), I use just the quick-pickled carrot ribbons and cukes. For me, its about that fresh crunch, paired with the cilantro (which is not optional) ...

Lazy evening: Quiche Lorraine from store-bought fresh dough ...

This is what we call a Römerglas - classic indeed !

The weather was pleasant enough to light up the BBQ and sit outside to enjoy the dinner ...

Two steps back and zoom in.

5 liters in Germany ... beat ya 😜 !

Isn’t this whole topic all about drinking in style ? 😉