October is a paintbox

.... assorted with soft greens and blues, a broad range of earthy colours and the brightest reds and yellows ever.

I have a juneberry in my garden, so sparkling red, that even on cloudy days it appears to be illuminated!

My juneberry in the evening sun

There's no season in the year which makes me call out so often " I want my camera. Now! How the hell could I leave it at home?" This usually happens  when I'm driving the car to just run some quick errands.  It's bedevilled: exactly in those moments the most unexpected, unique, awesome, irretrievable frames turn up in front of me. 

The pictures below I took the conventional way: riding my bicycle, ready-to-shoot-camera hanging around the neck, photographer's eye ON. I hope you'll like them anyhow! 

My favourite iron legs

May I draw your attention on the legs of my garden table?  ......
Do you like the construction??  ....   I actually love it. Next best are the Barcelona-Chair-shaped iron legs (but this is a different story and a different table...)

To the one who finds out how many times these legs appear in my blog, I'll reveal where to get them. Big or small, outdoor or indoor, painted or pure. (My little daughter just says to me this is a crappy reward, I better should give some beauty package, haha!)

Love from Dresden and a wonderful weekend!

Lunch at Deli Elements

There's a very nice Deli just beside Zeitenströmung, Dresden, Königsbrücker Straße 96.

Recently I went there with a friend, and our mission "lunch" was a true success!  I recommend you give it a try if you are in the area.  The atmosphere is relaxed, food and wine delicious!

If you happen to stand in front of the Elements Restaurant (hungry as we both were) looking for the  Deli,  just follow the street in direction of the beautiful fountain; it's the small door on the left!

The Restaurant, very modern and edgy, located in a huge manufacturing hall, only opens in the evening.

Quinces..

•  have a soft furry coat
• change the colour when cooked from yellow to dark orange
• once were sacred to Aphrodite, the goddess of love
• the Fruit of Paradise in the Garden of Hesperides
• are intensely fragrant; place one in your room or your wardrobe and it will be filled with an exquisite fresh perfume
• cannot be eaten raw
• to handle them you need patience and a good knife
• make a wonderful jelly because  they contain plenty of natural pectin
• poached quinces with ice cream are pure delight
• and don't forget the Spanish"dulce de membrillo" which combines perfectly with Manchego cheese
• have no artificial substitute

Have a happy sunny Sunday!

In the afternoon I'll go to a concert by Rozália Szábo, one of the solo flutists of Staatskapelle Dresden, to Parksäle Dippoldiswalde. If you have no other plans, you shouldn't miss the opportunity!

Dresden's Museum of Military History: first impressions

October 14th,  2011 the Museum of Military History has been reopened after 7 years of reconstruction and extension. Both, architecture (see my January post) and exhibition are breathtaking!

introducing BLACK FUTSU

What sounds like the protagonist of a Japanese action movie or some blackish shimmering ornamental fish  is actually the most delicious kind of pumpkin I had tried in a while. Last week Mr. Herzog, my regional vegetable provider, had recommended it to me. Pure chestnut, only smoother and less dry - and it combined so perfectly with the last field-grown tomatoes!

Black Futsu with the last field-grown tomatoes

Slice the pumpkin (2cm each slice) and remove the kernels. Put the slices into a fireproof form and sprinkle them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes, a big one cut in halves for the end pieces.
Bake them in the oven for 20 minutes to half an hour at 200°C. For the last 5 minutes add the rosemary sprigs, which will fill your kitchen with a wonderful mediterranean smell.

My contribution to a Welcome-the-New-Argentinian-Colleague Dinner: Saffron Ice Cream with Vanilla-Poached Quinces

My friend Carina is working together with scientists from all over the world in the  Dresden Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics. The newest member of the group has just arrived from Argentina, is freezing, has no car, doesn't know anyone and has not made friends with his kitchen yet.

To put him out of his misery Carina organized a welcome dinner.
I hope he enjoys my dessert:

Saffron Ice Cream with Vanilla-Poached Quinces 
inspired by David Lebovitz' recipe from The Perfect Scoop

For the ice cream:

125 ml  (1/2 cup) whole milk or rice/soy milk
250ml  (1 cup) heavy cream or Oatly Cuisine
100g  (1/2 cup) sugar
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon kirsch

Warm the milk, the cream and sugar in a sauce pan. Remove from the heat and add the saffron. Pour into a small bowl and steep in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
Rewarm the saffron- infused mixture in a separate bowl whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm saffron mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Then scrape the mixture back into the sauce pan.
Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Stir until cool over an ice bath. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. Before freezing it in your ice cream maker add a teaspoon of kirsch. If you are a paella lover you may like to add a teaspoon kirsch to disguise the possibly upcoming reminiscence!

For the poached quinces:

3 quinces (1kg)
300g sugar
1 vanilla bean
1l water

Peel and quarter the quinces, remove the cores. Heat 300g (1 1/2 cups) sugar, 1l water, and 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise. While the syrup is heating cut the quinces into small slices.
Add the quinces to the syrup, cover with a round of parchment paper and cook at a gentle simmer for about 1 1/2 hours until the quince slices are rosy and tender. Let cool to room temperature.

Serve the quince slices with a scoop of saffron ice cream and with the delicious poaching syrup.

Just thought,  it would also make a nice dessert for the Christmas dinner...

Simple lunch between painting old furniture for the guest room and fitting new shutters for the girls' room: Fusilli salad with mini tomatoes and blanched spinach

Yes, we are living most busy and crafty times this moment!

So busy that I finally  forgot to take a picture of the  finished salad.  I'm sorry! Instead I'll give you the exact instructions (very easy) how to assemble and some pictures of the renovation in progress.

As for the salad: in the beginning, just follow the pictures 

250g fusilli

a handful of mini tomatoes, cut in halves

500g spinach, blanched

herbs from the garden ( mint, lemon balm and oregano), finely chopped

Assemble all ingredients in a bowl, pulling the spinach to pieces and season with salt, pepper, vinegar and olive oil. Enjoy it lukewarm or cold, it's equally delicious!

Have a wonderful weekend!

desire to travel

Although I love the change of seasons in Germany, as  soon as the weather starts getting really ugly, I dream about travelling away. Far away. To a place where the sun always shines, where the nights are warm and full of exotic flavours and where people  live outdoor most of the time...

Grandma's tree nursery

Powerdrink

Yesterday's one was very simple:

1. an apple
2. some oat milk
3. a teaspoon of acai berry powder
4. a teaspoon almond butter
5. maple syrup to taste

Put all ingredients in a blender - et voilà!

When I recently bought the acai berry powder at my wholefood store I didn't know about its wondrous properties. Do you?  Well, googlesearch helped:

"Full of antioxidants, acai berries are able to combat free radicals. They contain high levels of the fatty acids, oleic acid and omega-6, as well as fiber and protein" and, believe me, they taste much better than spirulina powder... (I tried that and URGHHHH - no way!)