Pfannekuchen (2)

A followup crepe pic:


Just thought I'd note the delicious feigen jam (actually confiture de figue--from Hélène in France) that I've been devouring. Oddly, figs--like persimmons, cactus, some mellons, sometimes bananas, and various other fruits--have a flavor/texture that I just can't stand for more than a few bites. I don't really understand this, but the jam is just fine. I think I like the apricot jam I got even more though, but I took it to work so I can eat it with my morning croissant!

Wanderlust

This weekend's wandering: the Europäishes Brotmuseam in Ebergötzen.

In reality, not very exciting. The didn't even have any free bread! or anything on the chemistry of bread making or yeast or the changes in bread-making technique. It was basically a collection of bread-related things. But they did have a selection of different grains and I can now distinguish roggen (rye), weizen (wheat), haffer (oats), and a bunch of others. They even had a garden with a bunch of different things growing. AND the most amazing apples. I might actually not dislike these. AND a windmill and watermill. AND I got to play inside them. It was fun.

Ebergötzen is pretty far away--17 km by the highway--so this trip was kind of a whole day thing. Most of the way there were nice paved bike paths, but occasionally the road disintegrated into gravel. I'm still in awe that you can even get around on a bike and that people let you pass through their property. Maybe it's just part of the integration of city and country in Germany. The village is quite small actually--I guess most of these villages are agriculture based? I don't know where else money comes from for these people. The surrounding countryside is also really pretty: larger rolling hills and a broad valley which ends at the base of the Harz mountains (which were barely visible to me).

Rock formation and bluff in the middle of a forest. Bike paths often run along the old roads between villages and this one looked ancient.

A very old, Roman? style mud oven. It would be fascinating to use one of these! I saw a TV program on it recently and the results looked delicious.

Grain garden with oats, wheat, millet, linseed, rye, barley, sorghum, and others.

Bread machines.

Funk isn't really that common of a name. Funke might be a little more common.

Nice little watermill. Nothing like the grist mills in the Smokies though.


My way home took be through Seeburg, a nice little village on the banks of the Seeburger See (descriptive people, these germans). The See was hard enough to find and not terribly spectacular, but a nice detour. I swear ever yard I saw had a cute little wooden windmill in the yard. Deutschland macht grün!

And I came back through the south, by way of Groß and Klein Lengden (which is ironic because Klein ist größer als Groß Lengden). Altogether, 39.5 km as the car drives, probably more for me, and in about 6 hours. Of course probably more than half that was stopping for Brombeere and Pflaumen (Zwetschgen actually).

A Zwetschgen. I took about 10 of them home and all but one had worms inside. Very sad.

Seeburger See. Might be nice to visit with a boat.

The road back was long and hilly, but very scenic.

Bovenden und Heidelbeere

...doesn't sound as nice as Bovenden and blueberries.

Actually this isn't in Bovenden, but Eddigehausen. Tiny little town at the base of Berg Plesse. In the middle there is a big barn-like structure with a nice little pond out in front.

In another little town I discovered a neat trail that runs along a bluff. I was tempted to climb, but I decided it wasn't worth risking my neck.


And finally, I bought some blueberries. They were good. I'm happy.

Apfelsoße

Let me mention again just how much I really, really, really don't like apples. Or pears.

I bought two very beautiful pears the other day and I've been collecting apples for a week or two. Unfortunately, I really had no idea what to do with them until the other night. The pears I cut and cooked in a pan with butter and ate, mashed on toast, with some quark. Then last night I was tired of seeing apples in my fridge so I made applesauce!

I might mention here that I do like cooked pears and saucy apples. Really, the reasons I don't like them normally (raw) are--in order of importance--thus: 1) (disgusted:)Hand picked fruit tends to be home to critters. There are very, very few things worse than biting into an apple and finding a worm or bug or whatever has made it it's home (of course, barring the discovery of only half a worm, bug, etc). 2) (flustered:) The skin is really annoying and gets in your teeth and won't come out until you get home and floss. 3) (just picky:) The texture of a raw pear and many kinds of apples is something like that of wet cardboard. 4) Fructose:fiber is too unbalanced.

Now that I have made my case against apples and their cousins in their uncut, uncooked form, I will admit that I LOVE applesauce (and most every cooked apple/pear pastry or pie)--provided it is made my way! That means peels left on (trying so hard on #4), marginally chunky, essentially no sugar added (again #4), lots of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, a splash of vinegar, and whatever else I feel like adding (like caramelized onions).

Yum. Sorry if I offended any apple lovers.

schöner obstgarten und bismarkturm über göttingen

i discovered this little public orchard a while ago and decided to revisit this weekend to see if the apples were ready. unfortunately, i remembered about 5 varieties in that i don't really like apples very much. the ones i tried were ok. unindustrialized apple cultivars have a distinctly wilder flavor, and these were quite pleasantly adventurous. you definitely remember that apples are in the rose family anyway.


i forget the name, but this was one that was particularly tasty.

not far away and on the way back to town is the bismarkturm, named for otto von bismark who apparently has some history in göttingen. i should have taken a picture of the informational panel, but i forgot. it must have been built sometime in the late 1800s. it looks very sleek and well built, but retains the kind of old-world charm lacking in american monuments and buildings.
looking down. some 50 meters?

i think someday i want my ivory tower to be built like this...

pflaumen bei nikolausberg

delicious. sweet and juicy, but still a little tart and mostly undisturbed by bugs (i’m not sure what the clear drops are. maybe crystallized sugar, but it didn’t really taste like much). i was so happy to find these. i’ve been wondering where all the plums are here. the kirschpflaumen that i’ve found are good, but i’ve been dying for real plums too. these were in the middle of a few fields on a hill just below nikalousberg (below)--near the MPI. it’s a nice little hilltop town with a lot of old houses and supposedly a very old and nice church.

also, i really really need a limb cutter or a light bulb clamp. maybe a reverse version of ‘the claw’ (think toy story):

heute zu essen

this is actually food from this week or so:

rice+lentils, sauteed tomato and onion, schafskäse (white cheese from sheep soaked in brine--extremely good)

früchte der erde: kirschpflaumen (cherry plums--think cherry tomatoes but with plums), äpfel (very good, sweet but not mushy), and beet leaves (might have stolen those..) and horseradish leaves (i saw someone taking them and i was curious). turns out, horseradish is not really edible and sugar beet leaves are not as good as red beets. too bad. the pflaumen were hard earned: never ever fight ants for fruit. especially if they are well armed with formic acid and you are poorly defended with, tada, flipflops.

apple tree from which i got the apples. apple trees are much nicer than cherries i've decided because they stay low to the ground.

plantain. i've decided i really really don't like plantain at all. maybe i'm not cooking it well, but i've decided i'm not going to try again. i'll wait till i get to a tropical country and see how they do it.

and the total sum meal: rice (mixed wild and basmati), steamed leaves (later trashed), and plantain (choked down somehow).

wunderbares website

http://www.foodsubs.com/

that is all.

ich esse das auch...

recently (last night) discovered:



absolutely delicious brombeere. just a few suggestion about eating these: 1. be careful, these things are surrounded by nasty thorns and usually grow with thistle which are even nastier; 2. they don't keep--eat upon picking; 3. you will stain your clothes; 4. you should look like you've killed someone when done--if they are ripe, they will bleed; 5. be careful; 6. see point 1.

früchte, aller art

früchte!

ok, it's time i share the wealth. deutschland is absolutely filled with amazing fresh früchte of all kinds. it seems like most public areas have had fruit trees planted or opportunistic trees and bushes have grown. i guess since people get out more here, there is more demand and it is easier to find with more walking space by roads. most everything here i found on my own just by walking and biking around and keeping my eyes open for little bits of red, black, blue amongst the green. some of it was a little bit out of the way, but definitely worth it. i think you develop a skill after a while for finding fruit. i never noticed anything the first week or two, but now, i see it everywhere!

also, i've seen a ton of fruit just in people's yards or kleingartens (more later), but, out of fear/respect, i've kept my distance from things that have been planted. last thing i need is a run in with angry germans.

and, of course, there are some things you definitely don't want to eat. somehow though, it's pretty easy to tell which things are going to taste good and which bad. maybe it's years of experience, very defined eating habits, or something ingrained.

ok, anyway. pictures.


fresh black cherries, just before ripeness. these were in a field far back from the road. definitely worth a little mud and hay.

red cherries are also really common and very tasty. these ones are bigger and are ripe while still red.

i've promissed myself i'll come back to this orchard when it's apple season. i missed all the cherries. there wasn't much when i was here, but i did find a lot of raspberries around the sides

i haven't actually figured out what these are, but they are tasty. i think they are a kind of plum. sweet and a little tart, but very delicious. i might have obsessed about them for the better part of a week and then discovered a few trees not far from work and gorged myself. i'm on the lookout for more now.

blueberries! but not exactly like ours. these are tarter and have a little off taste. i'm hoping they will get sweeter as the season goes on. there are huge bushes right down the road on my way to work.

more black cherries in their final form. these are perfect: sweet, juicy, and come right off the pit. if your hands aren't stained red by the end of the day, you aren't enjoying yourself enough

apples are utterly everywhere. you really can't go 10 meters without seeing another apple tree. these weren't quite ready, but any day now they will be sweet and plentiful.

these were the most amazing strawberries i've ever eaten! juicy and flavorful all the way though! i had to sneak onto a strawberry farm one sunday to get at them, but i didn't get caught and i really didn't eat that many. besides, they were so ripe, they probably would have gone bad soon!

ok, that's all for fruit pictures. i actually have more, but they'll have to wait. i wish fruit-finding was this easy in the US. apparently it is in portland, oregon. i'll have to make a pilgrimage out there and test out the site.

liebe portland

http://urbanedibles.org/

props to klavierspieler for finding this amazing site! i'm in awe of the awesome residents of portland, or who have compiled this awesome list of more-or-less free fruit. if only this existed in germany. on the plus side, i'm well on my way to making my own such list. more on that later.