Lake Constance/Bodensee

Lake Constance.....I just love Lake Constance. We set out to visit Insul Mainau, an island in the middle of the lake. It's an amazing garden island, but fates conspired to keep Mac and me from our destination.

We had a late start to the day but the drive is only about an hour away from us.

However; road work, traffic and an accident stretched this drive out to a nightmare 3 hours and put us in Meersburg with no time to take the boat out to the island.

We decided not to let that ruin the fact we were in Meersburg. I love it here and you'll find another blog on it in my older posts.  We had always wanted to eat at the Hotel Wilder Mann.  That means "Wild Man" in German.  I suppose it's the name that captured my fancy and made me want to eat here. This 400 year old hotel is well known as a great place for food and dance among our German friends.

We found a seat on their lovely lake terrace.

We were too early for their dance but I took this for my twin sister who loves to Dance.

When the dance floor fills up inside the dancers spill out onto the terrance dance floor.

You can dance under the stars in the evenings.

The hotel even has a private garden for residents.

Mac had the carpaccio which he said was lovely.

I had the fresh fish of the day from Lake Constance. It boasted three types of fish and it had a lemon caper sauce that I will definately try to recreated. It was just delicious.

Mac and I enjoyed our lunch and the wonderful views.

We watched the ships and sailboats pass by, as well as a blimp known as a

zeppelin over here.  There is a zeppelin museum in nearby Friedrichshafen  and apparently you can take a ride in a blimp over Lake Constance. 

It's most probably a bit pricey!

 We intend to check out the museum one day as we have heard it has a recreation of the Hindenburg's cabin there that you can walk through.

http://www.zeppelin-museum.de/

Even though we didn't get to the flower island this time, we did enjoy our meal and the lovely views of Lake Constance at

Hotel Wilder Mann.

Mac gives our day the thumbs up and says to tell you, "Start early in the day if you want to make it to the island in the summer!"

Spaghetti Ice Cream

I am always looking for desserts that  make a child's eyes dance with excitement.

It's no secret here in the ice cream parlors of Germany what the top attraction for children is.

It's SPAGHETTI ICE CREAM!

They say it was invented in Mannheim, Germany in the sixties.

It's fun, unique and now you can make it at home.

Start with a meringue or a scoop of vanilla ice cream in your bowl.

(Thank you for the use of this picture)

Run another scoop of vanilla ice cream through a

ricer or Spaetzle Press.

If you want to you can go out to

spaghettiicecream.com

and order their product.

If you are making it for a large group of people put your ice cream in bowls and place it back in the freezer before you serve it.  After you take it out add

 strawberry sauce to top your spaghetti and grate white chocolate

over it to create the illusion of grated parmesan cheese.

Add some meatballs with Ferrero Rocher.

This dessert never fails to delight children of all ages.

Mac gives it 3 thumbs up and says to tell you, "A dessert that makes a child smile is worth the time and effort!"

WHAT TO DO WITH A KUMQUAT

I've been thinking a lot about kumquats.  It was cousin Terry's meal out in Switzerland that got me thinking about them. She had them served over her chicken dish.

I realized I know next to nothing about this little fruit, so I did some research.

These fruits were native to China orginally, but they are now grown in the United States.

The name 'kum-quat' literally means "gold-orange" in Cantonese.

You eat them whole. They have a sweet outer skin and a tart inside.

I found that it is loaded with vitamins and they say this fruit is very useful if you have bronchitis, a cold, laryngitis, pharyngitis or even a sore throat.

I went to my local store here in Germany and decided it was time to give the humble kumquat a try.

I like most everything.....but I did not care for the kumquat.

Now what to do....I had bought so many.

An old saying came to mind...."When life gives you lemons....make lemonade!"

Why not I thought? Why not make kumquat tea?

I cut a few up and squeezed the them into a tea cup. I poured hot water over them and let them infuse.

Next I took one drop of vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon of honey and stirred them into the tea.

It was really good....in fact so good that it got me thinking.  

Yes, those of you who know me understand that is a little dangerous.

 You see, I had taking up drinking green tea because it's so healthy for you but, I can't say I am wild about the taste.  I added some of the kumquat concoction to my green tea and it tasted amazing.  I was so inspired that  I made a batch of kumquat tea and turned it into iced kumquat tea for Mac to try when he gets home.

Mac gives the kumquat green tea the thumbs up and says to tell you

"Start drinking green tea for your health!"

A Day Out In Bitche, France (not a day out WITH a bitch!)

10 years ago when we lived near Ramstein, Germany, we often would take our girls and visit

Bitche, France.  Pronounced in German "Bitch".

There were endless giggles from the girls about Mom and Dad dragging them to learn about history in a place named Bitche. One of the things we enjoyed about the tour in days gone by was that they used to pipe in smells to the cidadel. For example, if you were in the bakery, you smelled fresh baking bread. You probably can imagine what you smelled in the stables!

We happened upon a "Ritter Fest" being held at the cidadel, in German that means, "A Knight's Fest",

quite by accident.

Much had changed though in the last 10 years since we'd been to Bitche.

There is now a lovely garden to walk through before you get to the cidadel.

With play areas for children

and interesting art. Click on this picture to enlarge. This one captured my imagination.

Corn for the walls, corn on the floor, corn everywhere.

Since we were hungry, we decided to see what was on offer in the big tent for food.

Here are some men who served up a fried pototo and onion with a side of applesauce.

We watched some combat.

Not quite sure what she was doing with weights on ropes but, she was very keen on it.

We marveled at some peoples ingenuity. This family had built their own little castle.

We enjoyed the music and watching where the serious attendees were eating

and what they were eating. I don't think they had plastic back then...

that's cheating a bit, don't you think?

Finally, we got ready to take the tour where you get headphones that translate into the language of your choice.

Mac and his friend Larry were grooving to their "music" before we even got inside.

What can I say....Mac has a great imagination, apparently Larry does too!

Once inside, you are taken through subterranean passages.

The piped in smells are gone now, but a movie is played with the history of the place as you go from room to room.

It's actually even better this way as history comes alive for you.

All in all, a great day out for families.  A little history and the garden area is a wonderful place for the children to play and explore.

Mac gives Bitche two thumbs up and says to tell you, "If you'd like to see some fun video of our day out, go to Facebook and go to the page Cultural and Culinary Adventures."

Riesling Soup (A Summer Dinner Party Recipe)

I am always looking for recipes that WOW my friends! This simple and elegant soup will WOW yours and you'll be the talk of the town this summer with this unusual and scrumptious soup.

Chop a smallish yellow onion and saute in 2 tablespoons of butter until soft.

Add 3 cups of chicken bouillon and one cup of a nice

Riesling wine.

Bring to a boil and then turn heat down and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.

Here's what makes this soup so different.

Buy a smoked trout fillet.  Debone and cut into even smaller pieces than you see here.

Add two tablespoons cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of lemon

and a generous dash of cayenne pepper,

I kneaded mine by hand because my food processor is still in Maine.

Shave or cut a thin slice of zuchinni (courgettes for you Brits)

Place in a frying pan with butter until they are soft enough to roll.

Remove them from frying pan and pat the remains of the butter off with a paper towel.

Now spread your trout paste on the zucchini.

Gently roll your zuchinni.  You will need two of these per person. So if you have a dinner party of 6, you'll make 12 of these.

Garnish with parsley and place in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap until you are ready to serve the soup.

When your soup has reduced by half, put it in a blender to make sure the onions are ground up smooth.

Return to the pot and add 1 and a half cups of cream. Two if you like it more creamy.

Taste it and add salt and pepper to your taste or let your guests add their own.

Now get ready to serve your WOW soup.

Place your cold zucchini and smoked trout in your bowl.

Take it to the dinner table like this.

Your guests will wonder what on earth is going on, but it will be worth it when you see their faces!

Once they all have their soups, go to each place and pour the hot soup into the bowls.

Here you have it.......a fantastic summer soup, light and creamy

with an impressive presentation for your guests.

This recipe serves four.

Mac gives this soup two thumbs up and says to tell you,

"You really have to try this soup!"