Homemade Pesto

Have you ever made pesto yourself before?

I hadn´t.

What was I thinking?!

The tinned mass produced stuff has absolutely nothing to do with your own fresh
and homemade pesto.
Guess I should have known that, eh?

I should really apologise to you basil, I seem to have totally neglected you my friend.
But I will make amends, I promise.

Let me start with this little recipe that you´re surely going to love.

For your own fresh basil pesto you´ll need:

1 handful of fresh basil

pine seeds, roasted

olive oil

parmesan
 

Put all ingredients into your food processor and blend until its pesto-like. You might always add more olive oil if it is not smooth enough.

Now it´s time for your pasta.

  So what do you say basil? Am I forgiven or u still mad ´bro?

An alpine Dream (pt.1)

Trust me, if you haven't been skiing, you haven't lived.

I went to Austria over New Year's eve with my family and some friends. Since I am not living at home anymore these times spending with my parents and my little brother are even more special to me.

We went to a little town called Großarltal near the city of Salzburg [which you should really pay a visit if you have the chance, it's beautiful!] where we have been going since I've been a little girl. 

Its skiing area is part of Ski Amadé which is one of the biggest ski areas in Europe.

The first day it was snowing heavily and you could not really see anything.

 

But we did not have to wait long for the sun to grace us with her presence.

The view you have on top of a mountain is beaten by NOTHING!

The second best part of skiing - apart from skiing - is the food. If I had had to choose what food to 

live on for the rest of my life I would most likely pick Austrian food [and Greek and Italian].

Kaiserschmarr'n, Apfelstrudel and Schnitzel - what more could you wish for?

 

This is called Kasnock'n [cheese spaetzle].

Tiroler Gröst'l [roast potatoes with bacon and egg].

Which I made very short work of. 

Großarltal is also called "Das Tal der Almen" [valley of the alpine pastures] where you can have your well deserved lunch after a morning of skiing or mountaineering in the summer.

I don't think there has been a day when I didn't have a "Heiße Schokolade mit Schlag" - maybe because they are so generous with the cream.

If you're feeling particularly fancy [or cold] you might also have "Heiße Hexe" [trans. hot witch, advocaat/egg liquor with cream].

The absolute mandatory selfie with my mother was made as well. Naturally. 

Comfortable Bell Pepper Soup

Wikipedia describes comfort food like this: "traditionally eaten food which often provides a nostalgic or sentimental feeling to the person eating it, or simply provides the consumer a familiar meal, soft in consistency, and rich in calories, nutrients, or both"

For me the ultimate comfort food is soup.

I don't really like raw bell peppers, however the cooking somehow changes and softens the flavour and makes this soup a total winner.

To serve four you'll need:

8 big bell peppers (4 red, 4 orange or yellow)

1 onion, chopped

600ml vegetable stock (2 tablespoons when instant)

200ml water

150ml olive oil

100g cream 

salt n pepper

Pre heat your oven to 200 C

You want to put your peppers into it on an oiled plate and wait until the skin has popped open.

When they have cooled down a little peel off the skin and cut into pieces.

You also need to chop your onion

Put your peppers, the onion, the oil, the water and the vegetable stock into your blender and blend until smooth. You can always use a hand blender and do it directly in the pot if you have one.

Pour the soup into a pot and heat gently.

Put in your cream grab your salt n pepper and spice your soup the way you like it.

When you're done put your soup into a big bowl, sit yourself in front of the TV, tuck yourself into a soft blanket and watch your favourite season of Entourage or recently Brooklyn Nine-Nine [anyone else obsessed with Andy Samberg?].

That is an order.

Café Paris

There is this little French café/bistro in downtown Hamburg right off the town hall square that really makes you feel like you're in Paris rather than in Germany.

My family visited me for my birthday last weekend and I invited them for a little breakfast.

After having diminished 3! croissants I figured we'd better leave and I took my family for a little tour around the beautiful town hall of Hamburg.

After we all decided it was enough culture for one day we went shopping. Naturally...