Category Food

A Bavarian puzzle leads to Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany

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Last year, I found a Bavarian puzzle. I fell in love with this Bavarian city, but the puzzle box did not mention where this city was. I sent the photo to different people asking and asking, “Does this city exist?”

Finally, someone told me, it’s a medieval town in Germany called, “Rothenburg ob der Tauber” north of Munich. So, I started to formulate a plan to visit Bavaria. First Munich, then Rothenburg ob der Tauber for the Christmas Markets. Then fulfill another dream of seeing Andre Rieu in concert.

My daughters were on board and we started our pre-Christmas journey to Germany a week ago. Munich was lovely, so fun and festive to be there this time of year. We had plenty of sausages!

In Munich, we saw the Haribo store. Of course, we stopped in.

Then we headed to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. They had a Teddy Bear store, you can see in the photo that there was a Teddy Bear blowing bubbles from the window. What a great idea! It did catch our attention.

This was a lovely Advent Calendar. Each door we opened would play music and surprisingly there was enough space behind each door to put a chocolate or a small ornament as a surprise.

In Rothenburg, this was the main market where they had a lot of shops. It was wonderful to see the people out with their families enjoying the Christmas Markets, the food, the wine, etc.

Finally, after our visit in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, we headed to Maastricht in The Netherlands to attend the Andre Rieu concert. I’ve watched Andre Rieu on PBS for over 20 years. Always with a goal to see him in person. Realizing that he is now around 74 years old, it was time to go. Perfect for Christmas.

The music and his orchestra were fabulous. We had good seats, row 7 to the left of the stage. He had dancers on two ice rinks on either side of the stage and dancers also came in between the isles where we sat. So, it was extremely festive.

I wish all my Blogging friends a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! If don’t celebrate Christmas, I wish you a very HAPPY HOLIDAY!

On to 2024 soon!

What is your favorite Holiday food?

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It’s that time of year again. Il Pandoro is out and I must have one. In fact, for Thanksgiving, I brought one to my Italian mother. She was so happy, hands clapping, ready to make coffee or tea and have a slice. I warned her though, for some reason, this year, the texture was “different.”

It’s an Italian tradition to have this. Usually, people buy the Panettone, which has the fruit inside. It’s not my favorite, by the time I pull out all that fruit, there isn’t much cake left.

My daughter and I bought Il Pandoro at Jewel (our grocery store). Sorry, I should have taken a picture. It was the Bauducco brand. The texture was strange. It was like a soft dinner roll, instead of bread like.

Every year, I buy one or more. I vow to remember the brand that is the BEST. Of course, every year, I forget and start this process again. This Balocco brand is pretty good.

Next stop, Trader Joe’s for a box of Baci candies. They sell out FAST!

What is your favorite holiday food?

Gardening… The Artichoke!

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I just wrote a lovely post about this beautiful artichoke. Guess what – WP crashed, post GONE! For some reason, the “save draft” wasn’t working well. Early morning tech issues OR the Universe wasn’t keen on the post I had written, wanted me to START OVER! LOL

So, as my creative thought process has now disappeared, I will say… I was in California this past weekend. I went to Half Moon Bay by the ocean. It was wonderful to smell the fishy salty air and hear the fog horn. I used to go there a lot.

While walking on Main Street, I came across a gardening center and saw these artichokes. I don’t eat them much and always wondered how they grew. Now, I know. Seeing them makes me want to give them another try. I was reading that they are a good source of fiber.

Any artichoke lovers out there? What tips do you have to share on peeling / cooking them?

When a PICTURE makes you THINK of pasta!

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When I was at the grocery store, I saw Pierogi, so many choices. I have a friend who gets in the mood for them. It’s interesting, because they are like Italian ravioli. Then, I thought, you’ve got the Asian pot stickers. All a little different, but the same idea with a different name.

Do you have a preference for any of these? I wonder, do the Germans/Austrians have something like ravioli or pierogi? I know they make great dumplings.

Thinking of dumplings, I’m getting in the mood for Matzo Ball soup now!

Holiday Health — The Pharmacy! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Happy New Year — almost! It’s the holidays and with that comes stomach issues. Eating foods we don’t normally eat. Visiting friends who say, “Come on, it’s Christmas, have some!” Our brain says, “NO, don’t do it, you will suffer for it! However, we cave in to the festivities and end up in stomach pain.

For me, lately, espresso coffee/alcohol does not agree with me. I spoke to my mother. She’s been having stomach issues too. In fact, 83 years old, she had terrible stomach pains and ended up in the hospital having her gallbladder out. We both talked about having the same kind of pain. Interesting, right!

THIS IS FUNNY — I went to the pharmacy. They didn’t have what I needed on the shelf. The pharmacist said I needed to press the Customer Service button, then someone would come to assist me.

I innocently pressed the button. I thought a light would flash and someone would come over. NO, worse, I hear on the loud speaker, “CUSTOMER SERVICE NEEDED AT STOMACH REMEDIES – repeat – Customer Service needed at stomach remedies.”

Why is this funny? Imagine if I was in the tampon or condom isle and the loud speaker goes off. Certainly, no privacy in trying to make a purchase. A teenager would be mortified that’s for sure.

I could see this as a comedy skit on Seinfeld. Miss that show.

So, moral of the story… Be careful what you eat / drink on New Year’s Eve. Don’t over indulge; otherwise, you will be pressing that Customer Service button.

I wish you a blessed and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Special Christmas Gift — Tea time!

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Every year, my sister and I send each other a little Christmas present. This year, she sent me some tea cups. They are so pretty. By chance, at the Antique Shop, I found this tea pot. I loved the bright colors.

The shop owner was a good saleswoman. She happened to walk by and saw me analyzing the tea pot and said, “You are the second person who was looking at that tea pot.”

I smiled and thought, maybe she saw me 10 minutes ago holding it, and didn’t realize it was me. Of course, MAYBE another person WAS looking at MY tea pot. She sold me on it. I couldn’t let someone else have it, I would be thinking and thinking about it on my long 3 hour drive.

Don’t they always say, “Someone else’s junk is another person’s treasure!”

Since the weather is so dreary now, wet and rainy, when I look at the tea cups and tea pot, I smile. My sister is the greatest! Those tea cups are beautiful, they remind me of Spring time.

Time to make tea!

Do you NEED that much cheese?

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Ever since I can remember, I’ve bought this parmigiano reggiano (parmesan) cheese from Costco. We’re Italian, it lasts a long time and we like to have it on hand. So, my daughters grew up thinking nothing of it. Doesn’t every house have parmesan?

UNTIL… my daughter’s boyfriend opened her fridge and saw this HUGE hunk of cheese and acted horrified. Why do you need that big piece of cheese, it’s ONLY you? What are you doing with that?

My daughter said her first reaction was to become defensive. Grab the parmesan. YES, protect the parmesan! She started to explain, than thought, “WAIT, it’s normal, what’s HIS problem! Why shouldn’t I have this?”

I didn’t know this happened until the other day. I was heading to Costco and asked my daughter if she needed some parmigiano reggiano cheese. It used to be around $12.99, now it is $17.99. We need to treat it like GOLD. Inflation is real.

That’s when she said, “I have a funny story to tell you about my hunk of cheese.”

We both laughed!! I said I was PROUD of her for defending the parmesan.

Lately, I’ve been in a pasta mood. I found this pasta noodle, I love it. It’s called, “Fusilli Corti Bucati.” If I go for a different noodle, other than spaghetti, I go for the bow ties or orecchiette. THESE are so wiggly, just a fun noodle shape.

If I had this noodle when I was young, I could see myself flinging one of the noodles at my twin brother. When he would get angry, I’d say, “It’s not my fault, the noodle flew off my fork!” Now, that would be FUNNY! We did goofy stuff like that.

So, here’s to pasta, Italian heritage and defending parmesan!!

We ALL have our pantry staples, right! What do you have that we might laugh at?

What’s for dinner tonight? No curry, we go Italian!

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What do you do when you can’t find your favorite curry?

This S&B Golden Curry is from childhood. My father had traveled to Japan many times and ate this curry. He would get in moods for it. He also liked the Fukujinzuke pickled vegetables, they came in a can. He was insistent on eating those with the curry.

In those days, you could only find this curry in Chinatown. So, off to Chinatown we would go. We loved exploring the shops and learning to eat with chopsticks.

Well, this just means no curry. Maybe there is a supply chain issue again?

So, GUESS WHAT!

I’m going Italian. YES, I’m making bolognese sauce. Hopefully, the store isn’t out of tomato sauce.

If they are, I’ll keep going around the world. Maybe tacos or matzo ball soup? What do you think?

What’s your speciality? Having trouble finding ingredients?

Halloween Birthdays! Gift idea: Liquid Death?

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What do you think? You have a friend whose birthday is on Halloween. Would they appreciate receiving a case of Liquid Death on their doorstep? SURPRISE, HaPpy BiRtHdAy — THINKing of YOU?!

The name itself conjures up some scary thoughts. Then to find out it’s a Sparkling Water out of Austria. So, good quality, scary name — ALL YEAR ROUND.

Take a look, they have some interesting names for their flavored sparkling water.

How far does humor go? Would it be appropriate to go visit your grandparents drinking a can of Liquid Death? Give a can of Liquid Death to someone who is going to climb a mountain or off to fight in the war? How about giving a can to a Priest before Sunday mass to quench his thirst. So many inappropriate scenarios for NOT giving Liquid Death to someone.

Obviously, the founder thought this was funny and others did too, because the company is valued at 525 Million. They have a good following.

Have you heard of Liquid Death or tried it?

Wondering, is this here to stay or a fad?

Did you hear the news? PURPLE has just joined the M&M’s candy crew…

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Big news in the candy world. PURPLE is the new color for M&Ms. Purple is the first M&M to represent as a female for the brand. As far as male or female, I’ve gotta be honest, I’ve never given it much thought. This Purple M&M is meant to represent loving your “true self.” You’ll see this in the song. We are being hit with political statements every where we turn.

Apparently, they haven’t had a new color in over a decade. Did not realize this. I’m not sure why, but I always prefer the light colored peanut M&Ms (orange, yellow, green). I get in moods for them.

Enjoy the weekend.

I leave you with Purple’s debut song, “I’m just gonna be me”

What do you think? I like her eyelashes!