I wish I had a garden full of peonies....

My Dresden: Ratimir about student life in Dresden

I had the pleasure to talk with Ratimir (23 years), originally from Duschanbe (Tajikistan),  about student life in Dresden. Since 4 years he is studying electrical engineering at TU Dresden.  Here's my little interview for you:

How would you describe Dresden to someone who has never been?

It's a cultural city with a stunning Altstadt and a perfect campus; the atmosphere is familiar. Even being more than 35.000 students you often see familiar faces.

The best neighbourhood to live in?

Dresden Neustadt or on the campus (there are a lot of parties)

How do you get around the city?

Students get a free semester ticket for public transport (valid all over Saxony!) -or by bike

Where do you meet girls?

During the week: at the small bars at Dresden Neustadt

On weekends: At Pier 15, a chic and stylish club with beautiful outdoors. There's a beach, a volley ball court and a swimming pool. Perfect place to chill!

The coolest clubs?

Pier 15 (Leipziger Str.15, 01097 Dresden)

Downtown (Katharinenstr.11-13, 01099 Dresden)

Kraftwerk (Wettiner Platz 7, 01067 Dresden)

What is a tourist place you love to visit?

Frauenkirche and Zwinger

The best place to have coffee and watch people?

The cafés at Weiße Gasse and the Borowski (Prager Str. 8a, 01069 Dresden)

What is your favourite restaurant for a dinner with friends?

Va Piano (St. Petersburger Str.26, 01069 Dresden) and Al Capone (Alaunstr.62, 01099 Dresden)

Where do you go when you want to eat something healthy?

(I never eat healthy, haha!) Ok, maybe to Sushi and Wine...

What should you bring back home from Dresden?

Dresdner Christstollen and Radeberger 

A place to stay when springtime comes?

the meadow behind SLUB (University library)

What do you do to stay fit?

I go to Fitness First twice a week and I love running in the Großer Garten.

University Dresden offers courses in football, dancing, riding, tennis, actually any activity you can imagine. 

Your idea of a perfect Saturday in Dresden?

An early morning run along the Elbe, brunch at Rauschenbach (Weiße Gasse 2, 01067 Dresden),

shopping at Prager Straße, chill on a rag at Elbwiesen or Großer Garten, have drinks at BBC (Alaunstr.16, 01099 Dresden) or in one of the close by shisha bars Habibi, Canape and Magnolia,  dance at the Downtown until the morning comes. 

weekend links

If you are a lover of fancy papeterie you'll find a lot of beautiful things on these sites: the magic notebook, rosa cosa and Casa di Falcone.

Currently I feel enchanted, inspired and energized by Mimi Thorisson's blog Manger.

"I believe that traveling alone is the last great test of who you are in the world where everyone aches to be the same" writes Andrew O'Hagan in the NY Times blog on travelling. Read Yes, Please/Party of One.

As my own laziness comes and goes in waves I found it helpful to follow " 4 simple steps to start the exercise habit" by Leo Babauta at Zenhabits.

Someone else just started working with Lightroom 4? Marc Matsumoto's tutorial is a great help!

a welcome and a birthday cake

Today I spent a big part of my time figuring out  a new "best" size for my blog photos (gracias Cristina por tu ayuda), adapting consequently the width of the text and trying out different script types for a watermark. No time at all for cooking and baking!
Nevertheless I also wanted to surprise my daughter with a freshly baked cake which would fill the house with a welcoming smell on her arrival.  Baucks' Lemon Cake Mix did the trick for me. I just needed to add eggs, mil and butter, mix the batter - and into the oven. More time for my readjusting endeavour....

Two thirds of the batter went into my welcome cake, the remaining third I filled into a little heart shaped form as a birthday gift. (I'm not a football fan, but I hope the television will be on tonight!)
The best part of baking is the decorating; the icing and the moment I browse the garden to collect edible flowers. Difficult today. Rododendron is definitely poisonous. The beautiful yellow daylilies (yes, edible) didn't even decide to open at only 12°C... Also the roses need a few more days of sun and WARMTH. Anyway, happy birthday, Christian!

my booklist for rainy days

The Turn of the Screw and the Aspern Papers

Henry James

Vier Arten, die Liebe zu Vergessen

Thommie Bayer

Sire, ich eile

Hans Joachim Schädlich

Die irren Fahrten des Gabriel Delacruz

Jordi Puntí

So etwas wie ein Leben

Amélie Nothomb

A Hologram for the King

Dave Eggers

Das Glück von Frau Pfeiffer

Husch Josten

In Sachen Joseph

Husch Josten


Inferno
Dan Brown

David Tanis' Rhubarb Kumquat Compote

I'd like to recommend you the cookbook A platter of figs by David Tanis. He celebrates radical simplicity, the idea of eating with the seasons, the mastery of perfect cooking and unexpected composition.
Good food has not to be fussy, simplicity is the key!

I love each one of his 24 menus in A platter of figs (6 menus for each season of the year). The Rhubarb Kumquat Compote is part of spring menu n° 6 "Duck for Dinner". Did I intrigue you?  Well, menu n° 6 comprises Crabmeat and Parsley Salad as a starter, followed by Five Spice Duck with Buttered Turnips and Fried Ginger - and as a sweet ending:

Rhubarb Kumquat Compote

2 pounds rhubarb
12 kumquats, sliced

1 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Trim and destring the rhubarb, then slice into small pieces.
Put the rhubarb and the kumquats in a bowl and mix well with the sugar. Transfer the mixture to a shallow baking dish. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the rhubarb is soft. Cool to room temperature.

Serve the rhubarb with plenty of sauce and a dab of Crème Fraîche or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, with whipped cream or plain whole-milk yoghurt.

how to make the best use of the first tender baby beetroots

It's always a feast when Mr. Herzog from Landmarke delivers the first young and tender vegetables of the season. They are so fresh and tiny, you literally can eat them with root, stems and leaves. Here's how I prepared my first spring beetroots:


green smoothie with fresh beet leaves

the leaves of 4 baby beets
a handful of lemon balm leaves
a few mint leaves
1 apple
1 banana
1 teaspoon almond butter
1 cup water
1 cup ice cubes

Mix all ingredients in your blender until smooth.


beet stems in vinaigrette

stems of 4 baby beets
olive oil
vinegar (in case you've got raspberry vinegar, use it!)
salt and freshly ground pepper

Cook the stems until smooth (about 5 min.), cool down quickly in iced water and marinate for half an hour in the vinaigrette.

salad of grated beetroot, apple and turnips

4 baby beetroots
2 turnips
1 apple

Dress with lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Grate the beetroots, turnips and apple (I always use my little Zyliss grater). Add the lemon dressing.
You may substitute the turnips by young carrots, it's equally delicious. Enjoy!

grated beetroot, turnip and apple