Goodbye Berghoff

It recently became apparent that Cindy of Food Migration and I had a bit in common. Namely, living in Chicago with our parents, unemployed, and newly returned from 6 months abroad. (And we both run food blogs of course.) Cindy emailed me and we made a plan to meet one another. I suggested that we get an early lunch at Fontanos and then head to the Berghoff Bar for some final drinks before it closed for "renovations." I wasn't sure how my new friend would take my suggestion to hit a bar before noon, but much to my delight she thought it was "the coolest idea ever." I had a feeling we would get along.

It was my first time at Fontanos. One of my old roommates is a big fan and I kept meaning to stop by. John and I got there early and the sweet woman who ran the shop made us a fresh pot of coffee for free and we watched them move in the goods for the day. Later on we even got to watch them move out two 8 foot long subs! Amazing.

The subs were very good. The bread in particular was excellent. Super soft sub breads (like those of Subway) taste wet and spongy, while still others might be so hard and crusty that they hurt my mouth. This bread, however, had the perfect texture and chewiness. All of the ingredients were high quality, fresh, and perfectly seasoned. I am a fan.

Though some people might not give a lot of pause to the Berghoff closure, it did make me sad. I had a surprise chance to be part of a dinner reservation last Saturday with my parents which was a lot of fun. The restaurant wasn't excellent, but I will sorely miss my standard meal of mushroom strudel and creamed spinach. In addition, the staff was wonderful during all of my experiences -- some of the finest waiters I have had the pleasure to meet, the Berghoff Cafe was a lovely little out of the way place where it was almost always easy to find a table on my lunch break, and the bar. . .

. . .Oh the bar. I am one of those people that loves to read in bars alone. The Berghoff Bar was the place for my enjoyment of this past time. An engrossing book and reasonably priced quality beer was one of my favorite ways to spend my hour after work and before beginning the often long commute home. I have met some of the friendliest folks sitting at that bar, and not one of them asked for my number. For a girl who likes to sit alone in bars, the interest in my literary choices as opposed to whether or not I was single was a welcome change. I know the bar will re-open, but I'm not planning to count my eggs before they hatch. I am openly mourning the end of the only charming and laid-back bar in the loop.

Yesterday, the last day, Cindy, her boyfriend Randy, John, our friend Dan, and I spent the hours between 11:45am and 2:45pm with a crowd of half patrons to half journalists. The bartenders were calm and cool as ever and the pure joy of the employed who had cut work to spend a few hours getting boozed up felt frenetic.

I truly hope the Berghoff Bar retains its character and once the hoopla boils down, I hope things become as lovely as they once were. We shall see.

It was wonderful to meet Cindy and Randy. I hope we can share a few more unemployed afternoons together.

Bagels, Manhattans, and Carrot Cake

Mindy, John, and I decided to make dinner together a few nights ago. I have tried to make bagels in the past with mediocre to good success. That afternoon I found myself ogling Floydm's recipe and photos over at the Fresh Loaf and couldn't help myself from throwing together the sponge well before we had decided on a menu for the evening.

John and I had been interested in making carrot cake for the last few weeks so we decided to try our hand at making one for that evening. In general I have no particular lust for cakes, though carrot cake is an exception. I have to surprisingly admit, however, that this was my first time making one. I used the cake and icing recipe from the 1997 edition of The Joy of Cooking.

Mindy made us brandy Manhattans to enjoy while we prepared the food. Up to that point, I had only ever had Bourbon Manhattans. I think I prefer the latter, but these were indeed delicious.

The bagels turned out pretty well. I have to admit that I did not let them retard overnight. The texture of the crumb turned out very nicely and the crust had a satisfying chewiness, but I think they would have become more taut and smooth if I hadn't been so impatient. . . Next time. . .

We assembled a variety of greens, meats, cheese, vegetables, and condiments to make bagel sandwiches and enjoyed the carrot cake for dessert. The cake turned out very nicely. I am interested in trying more recipes in the future, but this was a perfectly respectable basic recipe.

Salad with Warm Soft-Boiled Eggs

Today has been nice. I haven't been outside yet and I am still in my pajamas, but I have been basking in the warm sunshine streaming through the dining room windows while I happily cross various tasks off of one of my many lists (yes, I am one of those people).

I *may* have gotten a really nice job yesterday. More on that in a few weeks. I can tell you it has to do with bread though. . .!

I made myself a huge salad to graze on while I give my full attention to the computer. Salads typically do not excite me. However, when they have mixed greens, broccoli, carrot, tomato, and (these are the really important parts) cold, boiled potatoes, avocado, and warm, soft-boiled eggs it becomes a real meal. I made some dressing with mustard, alfalfa honey, balsamic, and olive oil to accompany the runny yolk.

I have also been enjoying one of Tanya's many orchids that bloomed recently. It is a rare event, but a gorgeous one.

Sautéed Radishes with Nutritional Yeast

I've been feeling pretty anxious since returning to Chicago. I don't know if it is restlessness, the frustration of trying to find fulfilling work, that the dynamics of my circle of friends feels a bit foreign, or hearing "plane crashes on Chicago expressway" over the radio just as my dad's plane was getting into O'hare. Whatever it is, I feel apprehensive and melodramatic.

I am finishing up a long weekend at home, alone. My parents were in various parts of the country and I decided to come out to get my belongings in order and to spend some time with Eileen before she leaves for Mexico.

There is something restorative about this semi-rural town. There is an irreplaceable feeling I get driving down these long country roads, in the bright sunshine, with great music to push me one. Perhaps I just need to spend more time alone.

Here is a made-up recipe for one. The finished product is not very pretty, but it is tasty.

Sautéed Radishes with Nutritional Yeast

Clean and cut tops off 2 C of radishes. Quarter each and add to a skillet over medium heat in which you have melted a few tablespoons of butter and then added 1/3 C of water. Sauté until the water has evaporated and the radishes begin to brown. Season with freshly crushed black pepper and a liberal amount of large flake nutritional yeast. Enjoy warm.

Nutritional yeast can be found in most health food stores. It is a great substitute for salt and it adds a wonderfully savory flavor. It also is a great source of protein, B-complex vitamins, and folic acid--if you're into that. (It is widely held to reduce stress too. I'll let you know.)

DO NOT confuse nutritional yeast with baking/active yeast or you will be very unhappy.

This is one of those bizarre foods that I can't get enough of. I know it doesn't look, or likely even sound, delicious -- but give it a try.

Tastefully Yours

My mother and I went out for a pre-Valentine's lunch last week in Barrington, IL after a misguided attempt to find a new bakery that had been recommended to me. A woman suggested Tastefully Yours to us just before we unhappily entered Einstein Bagels to find something to eat. Located near the train station, this new restaurant doubles as an antique showroom. The decor is unique and quite lovely. Everything from the tables to the salt shakers can be purchased.

My mother sweetly threw ours in with the check after I had fondled them for most of the meal.

The food was pretty good. My mother ordered the grouper po' boy. Panko-crusted grouper with wasabi mayonaise, tomato, and lettuce. It was served with seasoned pita chips and a selction of fruits (grapes, cantaloupe, and pineapple).

I orderd the grilled cheese. Brie with raspberry jam grilled between slices of pecan-walnut bread. It was served with a house salad (mixed greens, carrot, cucumber, and tomato in a balsamic vinaigrette) and the same fruits.

The grilled cheese was good, but it should have been toasted longer in my opinion. The cheese was barely melted and the bread was only warm and pliable. I would have cut the cheese in half and added some fresh apples to the mix, but overall the flavors were nice. The bread was especially tasty.

Sadly, the salad was awful. It consisted of entirely old and wilted greens (as you can see in the above picture). I only managed to eat a few pieces of spinach that had persevered along with the other vegetables. What I did eat divulged a fantastic balsamic vinaigrette. I should have gone with the soup. Oh well.

Tastefully Yours has a great atmosphere and a nice staff. However the service is very slow and they are only open Monday through Saturday from 11am to 2:30pm for lunch and tea on the second Monday of the month beginning at 3pm. They also have a catering service.

I would recommend a lunch stop at Tastefully Yours if you are ever in the Barrington area, though not a special trip.

Tastefully Yours
230 East Main Street
Barrington, IL 60010
847/382-4220

Rosemary Focaccia with Pasta and Egg Bake

Two of the best things about being home are seeing friends and family and having access to their kitchens. Recently my dearest friend Eileen and I made dinner at my parent's house in Woodstock.

I made focaccia with fresh rosemary and coarse sea salt using a recipe from Williams and Sonoma Essentials of Baking. My parents had recently given me this book as a gift and I was eager to prepare a recipe from it.

Focaccia is relatively easy to prepare. I would suggest that new bread bakers give it a go before other types of yeast leavened bread. The olive oil makes the dough quickly come together for kneading and the second rise in the baking pan helps to visually assure the baker of a structurally perfect rise (you can see my bread just before it was put into the oven in the above photo).

Be sure to diligently oil the baking pan before spreading out the dough in order to avoid burning the bottom of the bread. I think that next time I will also brush some oil over the top of the dough before putting it in the oven to bake. The top crust came out a bit on the dry side.

I had found some spinach and red peppar tagliarini in the grocery store and the small round nest that each bunch made inspired me to try an irregular method of preparation. I set each nest flat in a glass baking pan with sides that came up above the pasta. I then prepared a tomato and pesto sauce to completely cover the pasta. Lastly, I cracked a raw egg into the center of each nest, sprinkled the tops with fresh rosemary, covered with foil, and baked at 325F while watching it closely.

The experiment turned out pretty well. Next time I would make a thinner sauce and add an excess of it. The moisture baked off fairly quickly and left the very tops of some of the pastas a bit dry. I would also use a glass top for the baking pan in place of the foil. The eggs would have baked just fine that way and the top would have trapped more moisture.

Brno, Czech Republic

I spent the last few months traveling from London to Beijing. Here is a taste of one place we spent time. Follow the links to read about others.

November 11th-15th, 2005

We left Liszó, Hungary, spent one night in Budapest, and then headed to Brno, Czech Republic. There we visited a friend from college, Chris, who has moved to Brno with his awesome girlfriend Kate. They have a beautiful apartment and were kind to let us stay with them while we were in town.

John and I arrived a bit worn-out from our quick-paced recent travels and spent a lovely few days with them eating, drinking, playing pinball, cooking, visiting the Mies Van Der Rohe Tugendhat home, and watching VH1's top one-hit wonders.

John and I had not had a chance to cook in a very long time. We jumped at the opportunity to use their kitchen and decided to try our hand at making pierogi. This was our first attempt and it went fairly well. Next time we make them from scratch I think I will have to research dough recipes better. The one we found made decent wrappers, but they were a bit too thick and bready for my tastes. A more delicate recipe would do the delicious potato filling wonders.

I also made some marjoram and olive bread. Typically I would not have chosen marjoram, but it was one of the few herbs I could identify in the grocery store. It worked pretty well, but didn't add too much flavor. I also used both green and black olives, chopped.

Both the pierogi and bread turned out well. We bought a selection of delicious Czech beers and shared a nice dinner with Chris and Kate. It was nice to relax with them for a few days and it certainly prepared us for the transition into a nice and slow six weeks in Poland.

Liszó, Hungary

I spent the last few months traveling from London to Beijing. Here is a taste of one place we spent time. Follow the links to read about others.

November 8th-10th, 2005

Our Croatian friends set us up with a friend in Varaždin, Croatia where we stayed for a night. Our new host subsequently set us up with a place to stay in Liszó, Hungary--and drove us there as well!

Liszó is a beautiful little village in the southwest, just outside of Nagykanizsa. It boasts pleasing, rolling hilltops on which grapes for wine are grown (you can see a few bunches that a local man gave me from his vineyard in the photo above). Nearly every home on our hilltop grew grapes and produced wine--generally at a low volume for personal consumption.

Many people in Liszó still use a version of the old-fashioned wine presses pictured above. Large beams that would take many people to manipulate are lowered and then tightened with a carved wooden crank.

We stayed with a young Australian man, Daniel, who had just moved to this village where he purchased a vineyard and an old mud house. We arrived at night and were greeted by Daniel who offered us his homemade wine as he finished cooking a giant pot of fantastic goulash over an open fire outside. The next morning the goulash was finished off with fried eggs and bread.

Daniel heats his house with a wood-burning oven that we cooked a meal of pasta and vegetables over one evening. Next year he hopes to weatherproof the house, which at this point is unsuitable for living in during the winter. It was very cold at night when we were there in early November. Daniel was hoping to spend this winter in Turkey where he would arguably be a bit warmer. I hope he made it.

Our time in Liszó was unlike any other part of our trip. We only stayed three days, but it was a welcome break from the business of cities, trains, and restaurants. In Liszó there was little more for us to do than start a fire and drink wine. It was a very cozy place and one that I am fortunate to have visited.

Daniel sent me off with a giant bag of these gorgeous walnuts that a tree in his backyard produces. They were fantastic company for train rides through Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland. We spent one night in Budapest and then made our way up to Brno, Czech Republic.

Home.

We have returned to Chicago in one piece and with most of our belongings. It is disorienting to be in familiar surroundings after so long in so many new places. These last 5 months have been some of the most fascinating of my life. We met amazing people, tasted delicious foods, and saw breathtaking sites. I am a very lucky person to have had such an opportunity.

I wanted to post to say hello to everyone, that we have made it home safely, and to ask for a few days of patience while I get organized, unpacked, and begin to look for work. I hope to start putting some serious time into the site soon.

Thank you to everyone for your kind wishes, hellos from around the world, --and in some cases-- even your hospitality these last few months. It has meant a lot to me.

xxoo,
g

IMBB #22: Rice Noodles in Beijing

We have arrived at our final destination before returning home --Beijing.  This city is full of friendly people, mind-boggling cultural sites, and of course-- delicious food.  One restaurant that we have been to twice so far is Chuannriver Restaurant.

I will post one day soon about the extent of our meals at this establishment.  Though, for now I will simply post about our Sichuan Style Rice Noodle dish in the spirit of IMBB, which I have been a lousy participant in of late.  But how could I be in China and not submit an entry to the noodle theme?

These noodles were not as spicy as we thought the double chili pepper image on the menu might entail, but they had a bit of a kick.  They had a very strange texture, though that is not to say they weren't delicious.  The noodles were served cool, seasoned with a wonderful combination of spices, and bathed in a savory broth.  They were also beautifully garnished with spring onions and minced garlic.

If you are ever near the main Beijing railway station and looking for a bite to eat, I would heartily recommend this restaurant.

Thanks to Cooking with Amy for hosting this event!

Zagreb, Croatia

I spent the last few months traveling from London to Beijing. Here is a taste of one place we spent time. Follow the links to read about others.

November 4th- 7th, 2005

John and I visited Zagreb, Croatia after spending some time in Rome, Italy.  While in Zagreb we visited a huge indoor/outdoor market in the center to have yet another inexpensive and satisfying picnic.  We bought bread from Pan-Pek, a nice and hearty semolina loaf that had a lovely golden brown color. 

It was perhaps not the freshest, as the crumb and crust were a bit dry, but we did visit late in the day.  Overall, the quality of the bread was nothing to write home about. We also bought two white farmer's cheeses from a stand.  The first was of a hard texture with a very salty taste and a strong, pungent smell.  It was very good, but perhaps a bit too salty for us. 

The second was a gorgeous soft cheese with a subtle tangy flavor and a smooth, cool texture.  It went well with the bread.

We stayed with two lovely girls, Mia and Danicza.  I will forever be indebted to them for introducing me to ajvar, a spread of sweet red pepper, eggplant, garlic, and spices (with origins in Serbia according to Wikipedia).  I am completely addicted to the stuff now but have yet to find any as good as the one they had me taste.  They kept us out late and showed us a great time.  I wish we had had more time to spend in their city.  Thanks!

After a brief stay in Varaždin, Croatia we made our way to Liszó, Hungary.

Pro Bono Baker turns 1!

One year ago I published my first post on Pro Bono Baker. While attempting to make naan and searching for recipes, I stumbled across Alberto's site, Il Forno. Never before had I found such a site, but I immediately knew I would enjoy such an endeavor of my own.

I began on Blogger, but soon moved over to Typepad where I have been happily posting from since.

A lot has happened in this past year. When I began I was living with three lovely roommates and the world's greatest dog in Chicago, working at a law firm in a fairly undemanding job, and yearning to do something different. Lo and behold I am now in Tallinn, Estonia (though I will be in St. Petersburg when this is published), traveling from London to Beijing with my boyfriend John. I sure found my change.

I have no idea what my plans will be when I return to Chicago in February. I will be looking for work, a place to live, and I will be trying to decide what to go back to school for. Will it be law school, the San Francisco Baking Institute, or something far away from either. . .? Perhaps I will be able to answer that question by the time this blog's 2nd birthday rolls around, but for now I will leave you simply with the promise to post more after the completion of this long and wonderful journey.

Thank you to everyone who has made me feel at home in this unmatched community of food lovers, to everyone who has commented on my site, to everyone who has quietly passed through its doors, and to all those who will in the future. This is a fun past-time, but even more so when you know others are sharing it with you.

(The photo above was taken at Balthasar in Tallinn, Estonia-- A restaurant devoted to garlic! It was pretty expensive for our dwindling pockets, but we did enjoy some --gasp-- garlic ice cream! It was very good and has reinstilled my desire for my own ice-cream maker. We also tasted some delicous house-infused garlic vodka.)

Rome, Italy

I spent the last few months traveling from London to Beijing. Here is a taste of one place we spent time. Follow the links to read about others.

October 27th- November 1st, 2005

When John was young he spent a few summers living in Rome with his family.  As a result he has many fond food memories from the city and we were excited to seek them out together after visiting Venice.  The two favorites concern two very important food groups: Gelato and Pizza.

We sampled the Gelato at Giolitti, which is often heralded as the best gelato in Rome, and found it pleasing.  The best thing about our visit was watching a well-to-do middle-aged man in a suit slink up to the gelato counter looking like a heart-broken small child with an empty cone in one hand and a palm full of fallen gelato in the other.  The help behind the counter quickly repaired the situation with a fresh serving and the man went back to his table with a huge smile.  I think a country where ice cream is not just reserved for small children must be doing something right.

However, the best gelato by far can be found at Fonte Della Salute on Trastevere.  As well as having tastier gelato and a better flavor selection, this establishment feels more welcoming and than Giolitti. John used to live nearby Fonte Della Salute and became quite a regular here as a child.

Though I sampled countless flavors of gelato in Rome, I always come back to the pistachio.  The sweet, slightly salty, nutty flavor combined with the impossibly creamy texture is irresistible.

Just down the street is Pizzeria Ai Marmi (Trastevere, 53-55-57-59) where, conveniently, the best pizza in my opinion can be found.  Sit outside, enjoy some wine, and people watch for the best experience.  Our favorites are the four cheese and the unmissable zucchini blossom pizzas.  The flavor on the later is so simple, yet so thick and unctuous, that it pairs perfectly with the thin, fire-baked crust.

In keeping suit with our picnic theme, which is both enjoyable and inexpensive, we put together a lovely lunch and sat in the enormous. Villa Borghese park. We purchased breads at Forno Campo dei  Fiori bakery and produce in the Campo dei Fiori market.

We enjoyed a flat bread (pizza rustica) which was seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper.  It wasn't too oily and had a good, simple, straight forward flavor and a perfect chewiness.  We stuffed panini, which I learned are crusty rolls that you can pull the top button off of and you find a hollow bowl of bread that is perfect for stuffing with meats, cheeses, and vegetables. 

The olive bread had lots of green olives, a crisp crust, and a dense white interior.  Though the crust was a bit too dry.  It was a decent bread, certainly far more palatable than our olive bread experience in Venice.

We ate extremely well in Rome.  The gelato and pizza are the best I have had (unless you are talking about Chicago style pizza of course) and I eagerly anticipate returning to Rome one day to enjoy them again.  We had a great time seeing the sights and, of all things, our hostel was evicted on our second night in town.  We had a humorous and memorable (though of course only in hindsight) experience when we returned from the Trevi Fountain late one night to find the contents of our hostel spread out on the street with tired and worn looking travelers and employees curled up beside our belongings.  After several hours of being thoroughly confused, we were finally taken to another hostel around 4am, handed a beer by the lovely staff, and showed to our rooms.  I bet that hasn't happened to many people.

Lastly, I would like to leave my readers with these fantastic photos of a street-food-joint near the St. Sebastian Catacombs.

Does that make you hungry?

Next up, Zagreb, Croatia.

Venice, Italy

I spent the last few months traveling from London to Beijing. Here is a taste of one place we spent time. Follow the links to read about others.

October 25th- 27th, 2005

After leaving the chestnut farm in France John and I spent a few days in Venice with my uncles from Chicago who were also visiting at that time.  All over Venice are businesses where for a few euro you can fill up empty bottles with very decent wines right from the barrels.  This inexpensive option combined with lovely weather made for some excellent picnics.

We enjoyed prosciutto and various delicious cheeses.  A few months ago Alberto from Il Forno mentioned a cheese, Caciocavalli, in a top ten list of Italian foods to try.  With such a recommendation I could hardly pass up the opportunity to try some. 

This cheese (on the right) had a more subtle flavor than I was expecting, though it was bold and delicious hidden just beneath a truly buttery texture.  This was a great cheese and I would love to try more varieties of it in the future. 

With so much cheese we naturally sought out breads as well.  The best bakery we found in Venice was Mauro El Forner de Canton, where for under four euro we purchased 2 Grissini Naturalli, 1 Ciabette, and 1 Pane con olive.

Everything was excellent.  Unfortunately we also tried another bakery nearby, Panificio F. Paronuzzi  where we bought Strudel con Olive e Formaggio.  We were lured in by what seemed to be appealing breads, but were rock hard, dry, crumbly, and made with limp and lifeless olives.   But it looked so beautiful!

We stayed in Marghera, just outside the city, in cheaper lodgings than we could find in the center.  While it was sort of a pain to take the bus in each day, we did have the opportunity to enjoy the Piccolo Lounge Cafe.  One of the best things we ate here were little morning donuts made of lightly sweetened bread and filled with a fine and smooth, sugary-sweet apple filling.  Delicious.

One other fun find was this salt bearing my first name.  I have never met another Gemma in the states, so it is always fun to see my name in print.

Next stop, Rome.

Ardèche, France

I spent the last few months traveling from London to Beijing. Here is a taste of one place we spent time. Follow the links to read about others.

October 18th- 24th, 2005

We are enjoying our last week in Kraków, Poland.  Our time has gone fast here.  It is sad to be leaving and I am amazed how little I have worked on my grand plans to fully update this webpage.  In an effort to still complete a bit more, I am going to cheat and cross-post John's account from our travel webpage and add a few of my own comments.  We worked on a Chestnut farm in the Rhône Alpes of Ardèche, France after spending a few days in Garmisch, Germany.  We are members of the International WWOOF (world-wide opportunities on organic farms) Association and were able to work on a chestnut farm through these contacts.

With that, I will allow John to speak for us, who is endlessly more witty that I.

The world produces 470,000 tons of chestnuts every year. This year Gemma and I have personally sought out, retrieved, sorted, and carried, at least half of those. For those of you unfamiliar with chestnuts, they’re nasty little fuckers. They bite and scratch and hide under leaves. They grow on steep earthy slopes and they fall when it’s cold and wet. Ugly little worms crawl around in most of them. They are most easily retrieved in very heavy, wet nets, that are prone to catch on any of the numerous sticks, rocks, and sharp plants that grow in the forest.

It isn’t that we aren’t enjoying ourselves in Ardeche. It’s hard to complain about working in the forest for 8 hours and then retiring to your free private suite that rents for many many euros in the tourist season, to build a fire, read, wonder whether a sauna would make our skin too dry, and how to get to Venice.

We’ve worked three days now, and tomorrow is Sunday so we get the day off. It will be nice to explore a little-- so far we’ve started working at sunrise and finished dinner after sunset. Tomorrow we’re going to hitchhike into town to meet the guy who was working with us today. He is staying by himself with the brother of the man we’re working for. He seems to do lots of seasonal work. He says that for grape picking you get 50 euros a day, plus room and board and all the wine you want. He also says it’s very hard work and that you start at 5:30 am. I don’t remember his name. He didn’t remember the dog’s name. I always remember the names of dogs and I never remember the names of people.

Continuing this post after a couple weeks...

The guy’s name was Marco. He’s from Calais, and I hope if he’s reading this that he isn’t offended that I said Calais smelled like bleached fish. We didn’t manage to get a ride into town, only for about 2 km, and so we walked the other 10 km. We had already gone for a two hour walk that morning. We had a beer and a pastis and a pizza, and hitchhiked back. Both men that picked us up on the way back knew Anika and Ludwig by first name, even though we were many miles from their farm. Apparently, they met in a cult of some sort and were married by the cult leader. Anika also told us that she walked once from France to Italy, all the way south and then north again in Italy, through Austria and Germany and Poland, up to Sweden, and then back to France.

There are donkeys here, and they think you have chestnuts, and so they come over to you and try to stick their noses in whatever your’re carrying.

The chestnuts are sorted in a big tub of water. Bad chestnuts float, good chestnuts sink. The good chestnuts are then sorted by hand, and ones that show signs of worms are fed to the donkeys. Good chestnuts are dried in a house called the clede, with a screen floor and a huge wood burning stove beneath it. This year, some of the slightly bad ones will be dried too, since the worms crawl out, fall through the floor, and burn up. The slightly bad ones can be used for flour. They make chestnut flour, chestnut butter, chestnut cakes and cookies, and various chestnut spreads.

Chestnuts are gathered by hand by seasonal workers, in this case a young French couple and a middle aged French woman, for 60 euro cents a kilo. The season was extremely bad this year, and I think that these people probably gathered about 40 kilos a day. That’s 8 hours of bending over and sorting through spiky shells, breaking them open, tossing out bad chestnuts (maybe 75% of the ones I picked up), and putting the good ones in baskets. The trees are on steep hills, and everything was wet.

Chestnuts are also gathered in huge nets that spread out across large portions of the forest, which has been cleared of all other trees and bushes. The nets cover wood piles and descend to the edge of precarious declines into ravines. We helped haul in about 50 nets, ranging from about 25 square meters to about 250 square meters. You shake everything into the center of the nets, wrestle the net onto a sled and drag in to a machine that sorts the nuts from the shells, leaves and twigs. The outer shells of the chestnuts have dozens of needle like spines, that poke through the nets, through clothes, and through gloves. The rain had soaked the leaves, and we were saturated after moving one or two nets. The storm had knocked many leaves from the trees, and those gummed up the machine. Gemma and I swept big armfuls of chestnuts and leaves into the shute leading to the machine, and Ludwig fed it into the hole, where everything was shaken around, the chestnuts fell into a crate by the side, and leaves and shells were blown out the other end. At every step, we pulled sodden clumps of leaves out and threw them aside.

On our speeding, pre-sunrise race to the bus, Anika told us that many kinds of crops have had bad years, not just this year, but for the last few years. She said that people have no respect for the environment. She told us, chillingly matter-of-factly “The world is dying, and we will have to find a new way of life.”

Next stop, Venice.

Garmisch, Germany

I spent the last few months traveling from London to Beijing. Here is a taste of one place we spent time. Follow the links to read about others.

October 14th- 17th, 2005

A while back we visited my friend Thom in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany after spending a bit of time in Copenhagen, Denmark.  I met Thom, a fellow philosophy major, during my first and only year at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa.  Thom is now an R&R instructor for the U.S. Department of Defense.  (So, he basically gets paid to do really difficult things like ski, hike, and rock-climb).

Our stay in Garmisch was visually stunning, gastronomically pleasing, and full of great company--exactly as one might imagine rural Bavaria.  We spent many evenings at a fantastic little bar called Zirbel where we played chess with the bartender and had trouble paying for drinks.  Thom took me to the second best local bakery in Garmisch (the name has escaped me, but perhaps Thom will be so good as to remind me).  Apparently the best bakery is owned by the second best baker’s father and it is never open.

I ordered a hearty spirulina roll with sesame, which was delicious and too lovely in it’s pale green color to pass up.  I also ordered a gorgeous breakfast confection called a schmalznudeln.  This deep-fried donut was sprinkled with sugar and very delicious.

We ate in some gorgeous outdoor restaurants where I enjoyed plenty of Käsespätzle with roasted onions.  Mmm.  Salad might be the last thing to come to mind when thinking of Bavaria, but I was continually impressed with the unbelievable salads that I ate--half a dozen types of greens, sprouts, and the freshest assortment of other vegetables. 

On our last evening, in search of apple strudel, the three of us ended up in the Joseph Naus Stub'n restaurant at Hotel Zugspitze. They were unfortunately out of apple strudel, but we enjoyed Weiss beer, tiramisu, and the most elegant and unique cheese plate I have ever had the pleasure to sample--all for a very modest price.  The staff was fantastic as well.

Garmisch was absolutely beautiful.  I really love Bavaria and I hope to spend more time in that area of the world in the future.  It was really fun to see Thom again after a few years and to catch up with him.  I hope we get the chance to do that again soon. 

(Believe it or not, we hadn't had anything to drink yet.)

Next stop, Ardèche, France.

Cookie Swap SHF/IMBB: Sesame-Butter and Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

The SHF and IMBB events have teamed up to bring us a cookie-swap.  This event should leave everyone with plenty of sweet ideas for the holiday season.

Sadly, our place in Kraków has no oven.  I have been at more of a loss with cooking that I expected.  The bright side is that I am learning new recipes (though I would really love an oven all the same. . .).

For this event I made sesame-butter and oatmeal no-bake cookies.  These take a matter of minutes to create.  While I have to admit that I would rather a just-baked cookie any day, for those of us without an oven these are a delicious option.

Sesame-Butter and Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies

In a medium sized pot bring to boil 1 1/2 C of sugar, 3 Tbl good cocoa powder, 1/2 C of milk, and 1/4 of butter.  Cook 1 minute at a boil.  It should bubble and froth. 

Remove from the heat and immediately add 3 C of quick-cook oatmeal, 1/2 C of sesame-butter (or peanut-butter), 1 tsp vanilla, a dash of cinnamon, and 1/2 C of hazelnuts.

Drop by large spoonfuls onto wax or parchment paper.  Let stand a half hour or until cool.

Copenhagen, Denmark

I spent the last few months traveling from London to Beijing. Here is a taste of one place we spent time. Follow the links to read about others.

October 11th- 14th, 2005

A few days ago we arrived in Kraków, Poland where we will be settling in for a month and a half.  This a much welcome rest from our manic travel schedule.  We are teaching ourselves Polish and slowly exploring.  Sadly, the sweet little apartment we are renting has no oven.  I had been looking forward to baking bread again, though I will just have to wait a bit longer now.

In mid-October, after a brief stop in Marseille, France, John and I stayed a few nights in Copenhagen, Denmark with the esteemed and wonderfully hospitable Zarah from Food & Thoughts.

We visited a lovely nearby bakery named Emmerys where John and I picked out half a round of Emmerys bread, a tebirkes, a foccacia, and hummus.

The foccacia was super oily, but other than that it was quite good.  Flavored with sage, light and chewy, this was a tasty bread.  The tebirkes was a new experience for me.  A creamy, golden, flaky dough held sweet and mild flavors of honey, butter, and toffee.  The top was dusted with poppy seeds, cutting the sweet tastes with nutty notes.  Very delicious!

The Emmorys bread had a thin and chewy crust dusted with flour which was quite good, though something with a little more texture would have been even better.  The crumb was soft and moist with white and whole wheat flours, a fantastic taste, and a pleasant sour aroma.  A very nice bread. 

The hummus was quite good, but fairly expensive.  It had a smooth texture without being overly oily and a light citrus flavor.  Very good, but nothing that couldn't be created at home.

On our last night in Copenhagen I made a nice little dish by sauteing pumpkin seeds and chanterelles in butter and seasoning with salt and pepper.  A bit of arugula and toasted slices of Emmerys bread finished off a simple meal. 

Thanks Zarah!

Next stop, Garmisch, Germany.

Marseille, France

I spent the last few months traveling from London to Beijing. Here is a taste of one place we spent time. Follow the links to read about others.

October 7th- 9th, 2005

After leaving Paris we spent a few nights in Marseille, France with an old friend of John's. The highlight was a gorgeous day spent on the water to celebrate his neice's 1st birthday. Tables were set up bearing a large spread of food and plenty of wine for everyone to consume while enjoying the hot sun. As we continue to move towards Siberia over the coming winter months I will likely think back on that afternoon quite fondly.

Our host works as a seafood importer and thus it seems a fresh few pounds are never far away. While there he made us octopus in a delicious tomato sauce. As many of you know I am a vegetarian, though I do follow a strict policy of trying everything once. This was my first experience eating octopus and it was quite enjoyable. I do not expect to be presented with such a fresh plate again, so this was a unique treat.

Next stop, Copenhagen.

Paris, France

I spent the last few months traveling from London to Beijing. Here is a taste of one place we spent time. Follow the links to read about others.

October 4th- 7th, 2005

In October John and I spent a few days in Paris after visiting Munich. While there we met up with Michele from Oswego Tea and visited a Poilâne bakery. This warm and rustic shop held a mouth-watering array of breads and other baked goods.

We purchased a lusciously flaky and buttery croissant, butter cookies, and a portion of a Poilâne sourdough loaf.

Of all the croissants I have tasted, I would venture to say that this one was most worthy of the phrase "melts in your mouth." The flaky exterior enveloped a light, smooth, and milky interior. A pleasure to eat.

Michele took us to La Grande Epicerie nearby where we wandered through the store gushing at the fancy (not to mention expensive) goods. John and I bought simple sandwiches at their deli and a fantastic chèvre to go with our bread.

The bread had a thick and chewy crust dusted with flour and beautifully crafted. The crumb was moist, golden, and resilient and had a nutty, sour taste. The simple elegance of this bread is stunning. I politely envy Michele for living so near to this bakery.

Next stop, Marseille, France.