tastes of home

A lunch with expat friends always has a way of making me realize with renewed shock how truly different my life is now.

Yesterday, at a julefrokost (a traditional Danish Christmas lunch), our American hostess mentioned that she found Betty Crocker mixes in Germany. A year ago, the idea of driving to another country to stock up on Betty Crocker would've seemed absurd, I might even have mentioned the evils of processed food and the virtues of cooking from scratch, but today I actually thought up ways to score a ride to the border to procure brownie mix!

Later on, waxing nostalgic for the pizza joint where my sister and I used to overstay our welcome munching on and gossping over onion rings, french fries, and philly cheesesteaks, I realized how discomforting it is be in a place where a Taco Bell burrito, a plate of tater tots, or a bowl of Lucky Charms are not available remedies for a stressful day.

After I went vegetarian and stopped going to the cheesesteak place, I made them at home using tempeh instead of steak. I've found a place that sells tempeh in Denmark, but it has to be shipped in dry ice and the resulting price makes it something like a filet mignon during the Great Depression. All kidding aside, I can afford it, but really, how much am I willing to pay for a cake of fermented grains that goes for $1.69 at Trader Joe's? It's kind of like those $10 pints of Ben & Jerry's... how much do I really want it? It's more about principle than finances.

I've been missing my tempeh cheesesteaks and decided to quite whining and start improvising. I find myself doing that quite a bit these days. I was cool with skipping the tempeh, then I realized that somehow I forgot to bring A-1 Sauce with me.

Seriously. I have an entire room in my basement dedicated to (ok, filled with) provisions. I'd say my shipping container was 50% personal items and 50% American consumables. Opie will have his favorite food and litter, and I will have my favorite peanut butter, salsa, taco shells and seasoning, soy sauce, maple syrup, shortening, liquid smoke, worchestershire, haircare items, soap, and other impossible to find items right up until about the time my visa expires.

OK, I've made a short story long here, but until I was living this experience, I never realized how easy it was to take the little things for granted. Half of my heart is living and experiencing Denmark and Europe, and half is dreaming of a farmhouse on acreage somewhere in the US, not too far from a Taco Bell and/or a place that sells tater tots and Lucky Charms.

While I'm sorting all of that out, I'll have to make my own A-1 and skip the veggie "steak" in my cheesesteaks. And the provolone. They don't have provolone here. Or dill pickles :(

The Sauce:

1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup worchestershire
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 T soy sauce
2 T brown sugar
1 T dijon
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed
black pepper


The Sandwich:

olive oil
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
8 large mushrooms, thinly sliced
garlic powder
pepper
soy sauce
steak sauce
baguette
cheese

Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer 30 - 45 minutes, or until it thickens a bit. Let it cool, then puree it in a blender until the sauce is smooth.

Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet, add the veggies and saute until they begin to soften, but are still a bit crisp. Season with garlic powder, pepper, soy sauce, and steak sauce. Cook a bit longer.

Serve it toasted baguette, topped with additional steak sauce and cheese. I ran mine under the broiler to melt the cheese.

I'm not winning any health points here, but this vegetarian philly cheesesteak almost tasted like home!

god jul

A cozy view from beside the fire :)

bicycles of rome

I've been in love with the romanticism of classic city bikes for as long as I can remember. In college, I bought a blue 3 speed Raleigh from Salvation Army. I painted it black and rode it everywhere.

A few years ago, I found a classic frame ladies bike at the curb on trash night and Jeff made it over into a faux Pashley. He later modified it to a single speed and added a chainguard, and now I keep it at work and ride it around campus.

When I came to Denmark and gave up my car, I deliberated over many bikes and finally splurged on the Pashley Princess Sovereign. But my bike lust hasn't stopped and I plan to add to my fleet come spring. Perhaps something in red :)

Traveling from Denmark, which is a very pro-cycling culture, I was surprised by the general lack of bikes in Italy. Given the climate, I would have expected more bikes, but given the crazy drivers and narrow roads, it's easy to understand why it hasn't caught on.

Still, bikes are part of the urban landscape in Rome and here are some of my favorite bicycle shots from around the city...







The quality of these photos was disappointing, but not too bad considering I was juggling a dSLR and an umbrella :)

I just love the look of a well-used, good quality city bike with patina. Sometimes I think I should stop babying my Princess and let her age naturally, out in the elements. Maybe I will.

sink or swim

Sometimes, it's the simplest things that unglue me. My washing machine broke. I opened the door and water came rushing out. I'm generally calm in a crisis. Breathe. Think. Okay, how do I fix this?

It's a old German machine. I managed to find a German owner's manual online, and through the magic of Google, was able to clean the drain pump. I was feeling so hopeful! But when I ran another load, I flooded my basement, again.

I've been fortunate in my adult life that money hasn't been an issue. A car repair or a broken appliance was never more than a slight inconvenience. But right now, I may as well be broke.

I don't know how to get a new washing machine. I found a place to order one online, but they only offer curbside delivery. That's so not going to help me!

My machine also has a weird outlet that's not like the others in the basement, so I suspect the plug on the new machine will also need to be modified. How am I going to deal with that?

I hate that I don't know how to fix things here. I hate that I can't jump in my car, drive to Sears or wherever, speak to the salesperson in English, throw some money at the issue and be done with it.

The benefits of this experience of living abroad far outweigh the negatives, but sometimes, something as simple as a broken washing machine is enough to send me to bed in tears before 8 o'clock.

Sink or swim. There is no other choice. Tomorrow, I will find the strength and determination to swim. Again.

curried lentils

Holy hell, these are delicious!!! My cobbler making, Thanksgiving hostessing, Thailand going friend Tara created this recipe.

It's healthy, inexpensive, easy, and scrumptious. I forever bow to Tara's kitchen goddessness, the girl is good!!!

olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced in half-moons
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 minced garlic cloves
2 cups dried green lentils
1 can chopped tomatoes (15.5 oz)
6 cups vegetable stock, room temperature
1 t dried oregano
1 t dried basil
1 T curry powder
1 t cinnamon
1 t chili powder
½ t cloves
1 bay leaf
1 bunch spinach, fresh or frozen
1-2 T apple cider vinegar
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

In a large pot, sauté the onion, carrots and celery in a bit of olive oil until tender. Add the garlic and spices, sauté 1 minute. Stir in the lentils, tomatoes and veggie stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for an hour.

When the lentils are tender, stir in the spinach to wilt. Just before serving, stir in the vinegar, then season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder if you're feeling it.

I've been eating this on its own, but someday I'll remember to buy couscous at the Middle Eastern market to go with :) Yum!

franca & pino

Most definitely not in the Vatican!

homemade pizza

Pizza in Denmark is mostly made by Turks whose first culinary talent is kebab.

The pizza here is generally bland, bready, and not worth the calories, or the 50 crowns ($10 US or so). Some places sell "family size" pizzas, but usually, each person orders an individual pizza.

After quite a bit of trial and error, and a lot of cursing, I can consistently make homemade pizza that's far better and less expensive than the fiascos the kebab places are selling.

I use this pizza sauce recipe, except I omit the marjoram and parsley in the garlic bread seasoning, I skip the red pepper flakes, and I cut the onion powder to 1/2 t.

Two of my biggest pizza crust making challenges in Denmark are that I don't have a pizza stone, and that yeast is most readily available in cakes, not the individual packets or jars that we're used to in the US, and that most recipes call for.

I've finally figured out that 17g of a yeast cake is perfect for this recipe. Weighing yeast in grams is kind of a hassle, but I'm not going to complain because a yeast cake is only about 20 cents and I can get 3 pizzas out of a single cake, so it's easily one of the best grocery bargains in Denmark :)

If you're in the US or anyplace else that sells packet or jarred yeast everywhere, give thanks, and use the equivalent of one packet to start.

1 cup warm water
2 T sugar
17 g yeast cake
3/4 t salt
1 T olive oil
3 cups flour

Dissolve the sugar in the warm water. Cake yeast is fussy, so I always use 105 F degree water, packet yeast is more forgiving.

Add the yeast and set it aside for 10 minutes or until it's sort of foamy looking. Add the flour, salt, and olive oil and mix. The flour here seems a bit lighter than what I was used to in the US, so you may want to start with 2 3/4 cups and work your way up. Humidity can also be a factor, so don't take this as gospel.

Knead the dough in a food processor with a dough blade, or in a KitchenAid with a dough hook for 8 minutes. By then it should be smooth, elastic, and not sticking to the sides of the workbowl.

Pour some olive oil in the bottom of a medium size bowl, transfer the dough and flip it around until it's coated with olive oil. Let it rise for at least 30 minutes.

Stretch it onto a baking sheet that's been covered with cornmeal. If it's properly risen, it should stretch out no problem. This is the first pizza dough that has not required me to roll it out with a rolling pin, it's a very smooth and friendly dough :)

Bake the crust at 500 degrees (I'm still and will probably always be a Fahrenheit girl) for 10 minutes. Top it, and bake it another 8 - 10 minutes or until the crust edges look the way you like!

Sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil!

This is a thin crust recipe, so if you prefer thick crust, move along, there's nothing to see here (except maybe that delicious pizza sauce recipe).

True confession: I actually prefer the taste of this pizza to any I had in Italy. Granted, the Italians can knead circles around me in the crust department, oh to be able to make that crust! But pizza margarita, the vegetarian standby, is quite bland and they were sort of stingy with the cheese. But what do I know? I'm American.

ETA: I've since found a better way to bake the crust. I bake it in the bottom of the oven (not on a rack, just set it at the very bottom) at 500 degrees until it looks "done". Then, I top it and broil until the cheese melts.

hygge

It's home. Creamy walls, high ceilings, heated floors, open space, secondhand furniture, snow falling gently like feathers outside my window, a pot of tea, a vintage cup and saucer, scented candles, jazz, soup simmering on the stove, a lazy day spent lounging on my daybed near the fire with a stack of books and my iPad.

It's Opie, sleepy and purring atop the borrowed pillow I keep meaning to return, but that he's claimed as his own :)

trevi fountain

My world was officially rocked the moment I saw the Baroque goodness that is Trevi Fountain! Somehow "fountain" seems to be an understatement for something so spectacular. It took 30 years to build!

Trevi Fountain was of course commissioned by a Pope (isn't everything in Rome?) and sits at the end of an aquaduct that was built in 19 BC, with the help of a virgin (of course), and carries fresh water from 20 km away to supply all of the fountains in the historic Roman Center.

Among the many amazing aspects of Rome are the plentiful public fountains that provide potable drinking water throughout the city. This is particularly cool when you compare the cost of bottled water to that of cappuccino and wine; I know where I prefer to spend my Euros :)

Trevi Fountain is massive, 65 feet wide by 85 feet high! It was completed in 1762, so it's pretty old, but since it's in Rome, I expected it to be quite a bit older, but what do I know?

Love it or hate it, you've got to respect the level of skill required to build something this dramatic!

So cool to see real Corinthian columns in person! Sitting in freshman Western Civ many moons ago, I never imagined I actually see the real deal! I could've happily brought a picnic and looked at this fountain for hours had it not been swarmed with tourists.

At the Center of the Fountain is Neptune, god of the sea, riding a shell shaped chariot pulled by two sea horses, each guided by a Triton and representing the contrasting moods of the sea.

One is calm and obedient.

The other is wild.

As is the custom, I tossed a coin into the Fountain, hoping to ensure my return to Rome. There is a cannoli, a cookie, and a hot chocolate that I deeply regret passing up, and so I need to go back and make things right :)