Nutz

When I took our tupperware out of the fridge this morning to pack them up, a small post-it had appeared on mine. Last night, after dividing chicken salad between the two dishes, I mixed some chopped pecans into my half to give it extra crunch. It seems Backie wanted to make absolutely sure he was not mistakenly assigned the pecan-containing lunch.

The Bounty of Summer Fruit: Cherry-Pluot Clafoutis

I'll learn about something new one day, and all of a sudden it will start appearing everywhere - a word, a book, an event, or in this case, a fruit. Have those mentions been there all along and I just wasn't paying attention? Probably!

My latest issue of Bon Appétit magazine featured pluots (a hybrid of plum and apricot) as their seasonal ingredient of the month. Lo and behold, two days later I spotted them at the Coop next to the peaches and have been wondering since how to show off these gorgeous purple jewels.

My answer came in the form of 2 kg of black cherries gifted to us by our friends Eddie and Alice on Thursday night. A clafoutis! A what? This French dish is like a giant crêpe baked with fruit (stone fruits, often cherries, are the usual) and served up for dessert. The fruit is spread out in a sugar-dusted dish, covered with a creamy egg-based custard, then baked until set. I added almond and vanilla extract to the custard to give it a bit of extra flavor and offset the tartness of the pluots and cherries.

We ate it this morning for breakfast, warmed up slightly in the microwave. Delicious!

Cherry-Pluot Clafoutis

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living, May 2009

Unsalted butter, for dish
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1/3 cup flour
3/4 cup crème fraîche, plus more for serving
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tbsp for dish
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
300 grams cherries, washed, halved and pitted
5 ripe pluots, pitted and quartered

Preheat oven to 190 degrees. Butter a 27-cm baking dish, 3 cm deep. Coat with granulated sugar; tap out excess. Whisk eggs, yolk, and flour in a medium bowl; whish in crème fraîche, milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt.

Arrange cherries and pluots in prepared dish. Strain (do it - the flour can leave clumps and you don't want them in your clafoutis) batter over fruit. Bake until browned around the edges and set in the center, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool slightly. Dust with confectioner's sugar, and serve with crème fraîche.

My First Daring Bakers Challenge: Bakewell Tart

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England. Bakewell is a town in Derbyshire where this dessert supposedly originated.

When Backie and I were first dating, he and my mother had a conversation about candy. Backie was describing the American candy Sweet Tarts to my mother, and in a blatant attempt to schmooze me, he turned to me with a grin and said, "you're my little tart." Unfortunately this backfired on him quite badly since my mother gasped and shot him a very dirty look. Poor Backie was not aware that in Brit/Aussie/NZ English, a tart is another word for... well, a woman of questionable morals. Hence the ellipses above that hastily rename this dessert as a pudding.

The Bakewell Tart was my first ever Daring Bakers challenge and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. However, I must say that tarts are not really too much of a challenge for me - their versatility and elegance make them one of my favorite things to bake and the ingredients for this recipe were really quite simple. Oh, and have I mentioned before that I love, love, love my tart pan? I bought it from Williams-Sonoma in December and it was well worth the few extra dollars. The removable base makes it especially easy to transfer onto a nice pie plate and take to someone's house and the fluted edges make any tart look pretty.

The recipe recommends using your fingers to mix together the crust dough, so I did, but I think I prefer the food processor. The dough came out really uneven and I was afraid to knead it more for fear of toughening. It still tasted fine once baked, though. I added the seeds of one vanilla bean in addition to the recommended almond extract.

A recent visitor left a nearly full jar of four-fruit jam in our fridge, perfect to use up in this dessert!

The tart spread with the frangipane (almond) filling, ready to go in the oven.

And the final product, sprinkled with icing sugar and ready to be served at our Wednesday night church group. It was delicious - moist and tender, not too almondy (B is not a fan of almonds), and a little tangy from the jam. I would definitely make it again. Can't wait for July's challenge!

For the recipe, visit Jasmine or Annemarie's blogs. Don't forget to check out the writeups of other Daring Bakers too!

ZüriTipp: Z'Bürgli

Backie and I got engaged at Restaurant Bürgli during brunch on a beautiful Sunday morning in September 2007, but on our first visit we had no idea that this would become our favorite restaurant in the Zurich area. The brunch on that sunny day was good, but nothing spectactular. Only after one of the owners' husbands became a work colleague of ours did we go back for dinner and begin to realize what a gem of a place this is.

First and most importantly, the food is amazing and the reason we keep going back. Emphasis is on the local and organic, in particular meat from animals that have been raised in decent conditions. The chef even maintains his own garden so he has the freshest herbs! The focus is also on seasonal ingredients, which means the menu (english) changes every couple of months, so you can be sure to find creative and delicious asparagus or bärlauch or pumpkin specialities. It's also quite a small menu - 3 or 4 options each of starters, meat, fish, vegetarian and dessert. And, from the dishes to the meat source declaration, everything is charmingly hand-drawn.

There's one thing on the menu that doesn't change though, and that's their famous Entrecôte Café de Paris and french fries. I always have the hardest time choosing between one of the seasonal dishes and this one! (It also depends how health-conscious I am feeling; this is not exactly summer-bikini-friendly food.) The meat is juicy, the butter herby, and the french fries salty and piping hot with 'refills' included. You can see what side of the fence I fell on last time we were there...

The house itself was built in 1834 and has been a restaurant nearly as long - since 1892! They have a gorgeous garden with views of the lake for summer evenings, and the front dining room area (below) is smoke-free.

All this comes at a price, of course - a dinner for two with starter or dessert and wine will probably run you around CHF 150. This is not the kind of place we dash out to on a mundane Tuesday when we just feel too blah to cook after work - it's a special treat for a celebratory evening or when a dear friend is in town. Happily, I was given a (hand-colored!) gift certificate for a dinner there as an end-of-school-year present by my thoughtful and generous assistant principal, so I can already look forward to going again soon!

Restaurant Bürgli
Kilchbergstrasse 15
8038 Zürich
+41 (0) 44 482 81 00

http://www.restaurantbuergli.ch/

Couchsurfers: Meet Ji-Hye and Ji-Hyun

Meet our latest couchsurfers, sisters Ji-Hye (right) and Ji-Hyun (left)! They arrived on Sunday night on a late flight from Seoul and have amazed us with their sightseeing stamina - three full days of walking around the city and they look just as fresh in the evenings as they did when they walked out the door! Ji-Hye is a stage design major at the Korea National University of Art and was especially interested in the art museums and galleries. Ji-Hyun spent three years studying abroad in New Zealand, so we've been able to have some funny conversations about "Kiwi speak."

They thoughtfully brought a whole bag of traditional Korean ingredients with them and cooked us a yummy dinner on Monday night - a fried rice-type dish with kimchi and a taster plate of other foods.

Clockwise from the top are beans, squid in a spicy sauce, seaweed with sesame seeds, pickled peppers, and pickled garlic. I especially liked the seaweed and the picked garlic which both tasted really good mixed in with a bite of rice.

Tomorrow morning they're off to Milan to continue their adventures. It's been a pleasure meeting them!

A Berry A Day

Among the many things my grandmother taught me in the summers growing up was how to spot certain plants when we were out for walks. She would always point out holunder (elderflower) which in summer has flowers to flavor a special lemonade and in fall yields berries to make my favorite jelly. Nettles leave a nasty itchy rash but make good tea, and rühr-mich-nicht-an (don't-touch-me) leaves, when ripe, spring open at the barest touch of a finger to shower their little seeds on the ground.

And berries! Tiny wild strawberries hiding under leaves, ready to be gently plucked and collected in a cupped palm. They're so small that you might think they're not worth the effort of retrieving them, but oh, you would be wrong. Even one fills your mouth with an intense, sweet strawberry flavor that I only wish their larger, commercially-grown cousins had.

My walk to and from work takes me along a wooded path, and last week I was delighted to spot the telltale dots of red peeking out at me from under the leaves. Every day I find one or two more strawberries (and the occasional overachieving blackberry) that are ripe enough to enjoy on my way home.

Almost Not Diet

Romy (taking a sip of the coke Backie brought her): Hey, this is diet coke! What the heck!
Backie: Yeah, we need to finish that one bottle in the fridge from last week's barbecue, it's going flat. But don't worry... it's not diet anymore.
Romy: Huh?
Backie: I added real sugar.
Romy (spying the layer of sugar crystals at the bottom of the glass): What?! Ack!! You added sugar to coke?!
Backie (pleased by his ingenuity): Told you it's not diet anymore.

Money Matters

Remember the Lord your God, for it is He that gives you the ability to produce wealth. ~Deuteronomy 8:18

The sermon at church last night was about money, and consequently some thoughts I've been chewing over the last few weeks are once again fresh in my mind.

It's no secret that Jesus taught on the subject of money a LOT - our attitudes toward it, its power, using it for good, and honoring God in our finances as well as all the other areas of our lives. When I first started going to church when I was 15, I was quite reluctant to give anything at all. Partly because I was a high school student and (relatively) poor, partly because I kept thinking to myself, "I shouldn't have to pay to go to church," and partly because of a strange distaste I felt at mixing something so mundane and worldly as money with a time of prayer and worship. These attitudes started to change after my first year at MercyHouse when I could see real needs around me, and that even the little bit I could give would make a difference. I simply loved the church and the people and felt at home there, so giving money (among other things) naturally flowed out of that.

When Backie and I got engaged and started working out what our married finances would look like, we both agreed that supporting our church here in Zurich was a priority. Now after three years of attendance, I'm starting to have second thoughts. You see, our church, like no other I have ever known or heard of, turns a surplus. We are wholly supported by the tithes and offerings of the congregation, and yet we actually have to give away some money because we have too much. It's not that I think money given to IPCZ is wasted - the extra goes to many worthy charities and ministries. But when I hear about all the ways that MercyHouse is growing, and read about Lou's teams bringing aid to the most remote and needy villages in Nepal, and see Heidi going to India to help finish the construction of a school, or Lois going to Honduras this month, I can't help but wonder if that monthly money wouldn't be put to better use supporting dear friends with projects that are much needier than IPCZ is.

Backie points out that if everyone thought that way, IPCZ wouldn't have anything either. He's right of course, and it would still feel a little strange to withdraw our contribution entirely. What do you think? Should we give to our own local church despite its present abundance, or is supporting the Church (in a worldwide sense) through other needier ministries making better use of the money for God's glory?

A Summer Spinach Dip

Crunchy cold vegetables say "summer" all the way to me, and this lovely green dip for them is about as healthy as it gets, full of spinach, watercress, yogurt, avocado, and so tasty! I served it last night at a barbecue as the appetizer and it was gobbled up in no time.

Creamy Spinach and Sweet Onion Dip from Martha Stewart Living, July 2008

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium Vidalia or other sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
8 ounces (6 cups) fresh spinach, stemmed
1 ounce (1 cup) watercress leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 avocado, halved, pitted, and peeled
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt, preferably Greek
1 teaspon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, add garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion and garlic are very soft and golden, about 20 minutes. Add spinach and cook, tossing often, until wilted, about 4 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Purée mixture in a food processor until smooth. Add watercress, avocado, yogurt, lemon zest and juice, hot sauce, and salt, and season with pepper. Puree until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or up to 3 days). Stir the dip, and serve with crudités.

No cheezburger on dis map

http://www.icanhascheezburger.com/

An Afternoon in Baden

I must confess that I've always had an rather low opinion of Baden, founded on the complaints of expats who had the 'misfortune' to get stationed there rather than Zurich, the fact that a lot of industries seem to have their factories there, and well... it's in canton Aargau, notorious for having a pretty high crime rate (by Swiss standards).

So I wasn't expecting too much when we decided to take an afternoon trip there on Saturday with our visiting friend Mary Katharine, but I was quite astonished to find a beautiful old town, castle ruins, and party in full swing. A local butcher was celebrating 100 years of business and put on a big street party outside their store with cheap and good sausages, potato salad, and roasted ox for lunch. Note the cake with 100 candles!

After lunch, our meanderings through town revealed other sights such as an old clock tower currently under renovation, a bustling flea market, and a view of the river with the old and new bridges in plain sight.

We also discovered a little Zurich copy-catting going on! Do these huge painted hearts, found all over Baden, look familiar? The campaign here is called Baden Zeigt Herz (Baden has Heart).

Finally, after Backie had hopped on his bike back towards Zurich, Mary Katharine and I climbed the stairs to the ruins of castle Stein which lie on the hill overlooking town. Once quite a fortress, all that is left now is a few crumbling walls, old metal doors, and a beautiful view.

The one thing we didn't have time to do is what Baden is most famous for - its thermal springs (Baden actually means "baths" in German). With a million liters a day of 45 degree water flowing up from a depth of 3 km, they're more suited to a snowy winter's day than a sunny Saturday in spring. Now that I know how beautiful the city is, we'll certainly have no trouble coming back in a few months to take advantage!