On a roll…

Yesterday night we had our Culinary Travel dinner, with this theme being “Taiwan.” Being as it is we’re a bit preoccupied these days, we didn’t get cooking until fairly late in the day and, by the time Christian had rolled his last egg roll and I’d further progressed my carpal tunnel by stirring, stirring, stirring the very glutinous and thick chicken congee, we’d decided our goal of making mochi for dessert was just too much to ask. Oh well, today all we have on our plate is my prenatal appointment this morning and walking the dogs, so it’s mochi and leftover egg rolls and conchee for the foreseeable future (we keep on forgetting that it’s just two of us eating, not the 8 that are typical for the recipes we find).

As always, Christian won this round. His egg rolls simply rocked my world. Crispy and light without being soggy and a grease-fest like most Chinese restaurant egg rolls are. I usually don’t order egg rolls at restaurants (spring rolls? A big YES, but not egg rolls) because they’re just so greasy! My chicken congee (filled with rice, chicken, coconut milk, bok choi, chicken broth, habanero flakes and dried bonito flakes) was a bit on the bland side, but very good for me, considering heartburn has been a constant for the last two weeks.
And for lunch yesterday? My absolute favorite thing in the world, courtesy of Christian… Pfannkuchen! I could…and would… live on the stuff for every meal, every day. Filled with plum jam and a side of fruit salad? God, I can’t get enough!
I’m 37 weeks pregnant now… that is technically full term, and yes, I feel it! There is such a big part of me that wants it DONE, DONE, DONE…but another that will mourn the loss of being pregnant and feeling Hannah growing and moving, safely, inside of me. I’m anxious about this appointment today, I guess because we’ll have a clearer picture about her growth and expected arrival. And we’ll find out if these contractions I’ve been feeling are the real deal or just a “warm up.”
There is still a little voice inside my head that says “Christmas Baby.” But if she is not, and sticks to her due date, I won’t mind. I just hope Christian doesn’t mind another two weeks of moans, groans, sobs, tantrums, weird food combos and sweatpants

A feast for three

Our advent wreath

I’d mentioned in a previous blog that Christian and I, a few weeks ago, got a free turkey for purchasing more than $100 at Albertson’s. It was close to the time that Christian was heading to Germany, and he was going to miss Thanksgiving here altogether, so we decided to wait until he returned Stateside to cook the bird and have ourselves a “Holiday Meal,” (not quite Thanksgiving, not quite Christmas). That meal was last night.
Christian was in charge of the turkey, thank god. I have tried to make a turkey once, and suffice it to say, frozen and fried at the same time is how mine turned out. His first effort? Impeccable. Of course. I’ve never seen the man make a mistake with cooking meat, ever. I knew the turkey was in good hands from the get-go.
I don’t know how Christian does it, oh, wait, yes I do. He FOLLOWS DIRECTIONS. He watched at LEAST two whole videos online about how to prepare a turkey for roasting. He bought all the required AND suggested supplies, and he followed their directions. Uh, something I’m still learning to do at (almost) 40.
At least I didn’t SUCK at the side items, which was my domain. But then again, how hard can it be to dump two cans of green beans, a can of cream of mushroom soup and fried onions together and bake in the oven? Although the creamed onions were a bit more time consuming, nothing I made required the care, constant tending-to, or patience as the turkey which, by the way, WAS the most tender, succulent and perfectly roasted turkey I have ever had. No, it’s not a case of post-party warm and fuzzies. It was just great!
Christian has mastered the American holiday meal. I get to look forward to his German Christmas meal in just about 11 days, and my American Christmas brunch on December 25.
But for now, it’s going to be turkey sandwiches, turkey tettrazini, turkey salad, turkey nachos… I feel like Bubba in “Forrest Gump,” lol… We’ve got LOTS of leftovers, little room, but takeout meals for the foreseeable future!
Here’s some photos from before, during and after last night’s gluttony fest:

Our advent wreath

The turkey “before”

The turkey “during”

The turkey “after”

Creamed onions

Green bean casserole

Holiday salad with Gorgonzola, walnuts and dried cranberries

American as pumpkin pie

Pelmini, please!

Christian was down in the dump … lings … yesterday, making dumplings not only for lunch but for dinner as well, and I may FEEL like a waddling dumpling after yesterday’s very indulgent meals, but I’m in LOVE with the little, decadent pillows of deliciousness.
For lunch, Christian made Griessknockerlsuppe, which, in itself is actually a very light and elegant dish. A perfect start for a very rich meal. But when you can’t get enough of it and end up having three bowls of it, perhaps it’s not so light and elegant. Here’s a version of the recipe:

http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/recipes/griessnockerlsuppe-consomme-with-dumplings/

With the soup, he served a very good tomato/onion salad and I added on a pretzel and some cookies for dessert (I’ve only got a few more weeks of using my pregnancy as an excuse to add on totally unnecessarily to my meals, so I’m taking advantage).

After we spent an afternoon finishing up some shopping and getting Christian some new eyeglasses, we headed downtown to watch the turning on of the Plaza Christmas tree lights, a 75-year-old El Paso tradition that brought approximately 70,000 El Pasoans and Juarez citizens to the downtown area. Very impressive and a family favorite, but we didn’t bring our camera, unfortunately. I’m sure just going to Flickr or Shutterfly or Facebook and typing in Plaza El Paso Christmas Tree 2010 will bring a multitude of pictures.
After that, we headed home and Christian went back to his domain, the kitchen (I just LOVE watching him cook!), where he made Pelmini (http://www.recipegoldmine.com/worldrussian/pelmini.html), a recipe his brother gave to him last week when he was home in Germany. SCORE!! Yet another winner for our ever-increasing recipe repertoire, and another meal of overindulgence and no regrets about it.
Tonight we’re making our big holiday meal… Christian will make the turkey, and I’m making a green bean casserole, creamed onions, toasted herbed bread and a salad with Gorgonzola, dried cranberries and walnuts. The pie, unfortunately, is pre-made and boxed. But nothing a huge dollop of cinnamon whipped cream can’t remedy. On Dec. 24, the German celebratory day for Christmas, we’ll have fondue with a variety of dipping sauces. And on Dec. 25, the American Christmas, with a brunch of various coffee cakes, cold cuts, lox and bagels and fruit. Or Jell-O and broth if my due date for Hannah was just a suggestion, lol.

Friday flocked with fun

We did it! Our first tree together is decorated, and it wasn’t tooo much of a logistical nightmare, other than the fact that of course I bought way too many decorations than would fit on the tree. We’ve got our favorites up, and the apartment smells wonderful, and I could just sit on the sofa all night long, mesmerized by the simple lights and holiday smells.
Friday was my all-out fun and too-much-food day… for lunch I made us some Gnocchi, drowning in a sauce made with tomato-basil pasta sauce, sour cream, hot red pepper flakes, diced ham and garlic. Hey, we needed sustenance to decorate the tree, right? And after we decorated, we treated ourselves to dinner at Okazuri, a restaurant that touts itself as “The Floating Bar Sushi Bar” on the sign outside. Never mind the “floating bar” wasn’t functioning last night… it was good food, intimate, and a well-deserved date night for me and Christian. And never mind I can’t have sushi right now. We did start with a Spider Roll, which has cooked soft-shell crab and tempura shrimp; miso soup; and chicken teriyaki for me (I could manage about a THIRD of what was offered) and beef teriyaki for Christian. And never mind that twenty minutes after dinner, we stopped by Starbucks and I COULD manage to find room for a grande Americano and a slice of gingerbread. I’ll repent today. But yesterday? NO regrets.

•••

We were going to hit the Weinnachtsnight over at Fort Bliss this afternoon/evening, but, since I was able to go to the Christkindlmarkt last week before Christian returned home AND tonight is the hugely popular lighting of the Plaza Christmas tree and a parade downtown, we’ll hit that instead. Christian’s got to check out the American tradition (okay, in El Paso, the Mexican-American tradition, complete with a posada, lots of churros and elotes for sale, and most likely a mariachi band mixed in. Oh, and Santa is on parade in a lowrider). But at least that way we get a taste of more than one culture’s holiday celebration.

This little piggy went to the Markt

No, my dear friends, that IS how you spell Markt, when you’re talking about the German Christkindlmarkt at Fort Bliss, where I spent the good part of Saturday doing the last of my Christmas shopping for stocking stuffers. The “piggy” part? Oh, let’s just say I did my share of sampling of the plethora of holiday goodies offered by vendors selling items such as Lebkuchen, smoked trout/salmon/herring sandwiches, Stollen, sugared almonds, goulash soup, a room-full of cakes and pastries, bratwurst, jams… if it was German and reflected the holidays, chances are you could find it.

Dad takes on a bratwurst sandwich

Bootie included: two knitted purses (one a green Edelweiss, the other black and red with ladybug buttons…both filled with German Christmas cookies; an imported table runner with Bavarian blue and white bordering and smiling ducks; two Stollen, some Dominostein chocolates, Lebkuchen, and a whole smoked trout (which I’ve promised to save for Christian to share with me when he returns from Germany). Granted, some of the vendors weren’t selling German items (for those who miss going to the “mercado” in Juarez but value their lives a bit too much, there were vendors selling Mexican handcrafts, as well), but for the most part it was a very decent replica of the sights and smells of the real deal. It certainly was a treat to be immersed in the culture, language and cuisine, even if I DID get a little sunburn on my face and had to call 911 for an elderly woman who fell and hit her head right next to me (she is okay, thank god).
I couldn’t go to the Christkindlmarkt at Rohr, or at Abensberg, or Regensburg or Frankfurt as I did last year (I hit all four of those, some more than once)… but at least a little of them came to ME.

8 Weeks To Go! (More or Less????)

Today I reached 32 weeks…. 32 loooooonnnnnnnggggg but yet short weeks! That means 8 weeks to go, IF I have the by-the-book by-the-due-date birth. But how often does that happen? As long as Hannah is born AFTER Christian returns from Germany (he leaves Thanksgiving Day and returns Dec. 8), I’m happy.
My nesting obsession continues, along with my frenzied shopping for holiday gifts, decorations and goodies. I can’t walk through a Christmas decoration aisle without getting something. Anything. Thank god I do most of my shopping for daily household items at the Dollar Tree, or I’d be getting a serious talking-to from my husband and the bill collectors.
Since my shower is Saturday, I didn’t feel right not doing ANYTHING to help out, even though I’ve just been asked to “show up!” Soooo, I bought some cute favors and spent the better part of yesterday afternoon getting those little cuties together. NOT something I’d ever even consider doing in my past life (pretty much anything pre-2007 I call my Past Life… no, I’m not Shirley McLaine).
Cooking, sleeping, eating, shopping, power-walking, doc visits, eating, sleeping, cooking, eating, shopping… yep, I think that pretty much sums up my daily existence the last few weeks. I am pretty sure in the very near future that will read: sleeping, eating, doc visits, sleeping, eating…. a definite winding down is happening, and I guess I’ll go along with it! For instance, I used to scoff at those who say they got their daily exercise by walking 20 minutes a day. HA! I would barely consider 20 minutes a cool-down, much less a workout. Well, I bite my tongue, since that’s just about all I could accomplish today. If I hadn’t had to pee every block, I just might have made 30 minutes…barely.
Poor Christian had to work 12 hours yesterday, and didn’t get off until 8 p.m. last night, so I made something simple, fast, hearty and full of sleep-inducing carbs: pasta and a colorful cabbage salad. I guess it also had a little to do with the fact that the cubbard is becoming barer and barer, with grocery day being Sunday. We’re down to pasta, rice, canned black beans, lots of heads of cabbage, Monterrey Jack cheese, a few eggs and tons of apples (which Christian hates). If YOU can come up with a recipe (edible, please) that incorporates those items, I will be most grateful!
Tonight, however, it’s RUDY’S BBQ… we’ve not had our fix of messy, greasy, yummy barbeque in a few weeks, and it’s time to get this poor, waddling mamma to be out of the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant

Only in Cloudcroft…

There are some things I will only do in Cloudcroft. Things like get excited about an art fair that has the same old “art” every year just because it’s a fair and who doesn’t love fairs, right? Or reading from front to back the local “news” paper, which comes out monthly and focuses on what Velma and Mabel served for lunch at the 4-H meeting. Or wearing the same thing every day for four days straight — in public.

Spanish style Rice a Roni...Risotto for the Rambler RV crowd

Or… eating Moon Pies and Rice a Roni. I did all of the above on this most recent visit to Cloudcroft, and I did it with pride and a sense of nostalgia!
We’re heading on back to El Paso in a few hours, but here’s a sampling of our last whole day here, visiting the art fair (where I must say I DEFINITELY wanted the rocking chair being sold there. Perfect for nursing Hannah and just so modern and cool.

If you know who makes these, send them my way!

The winner (but out of our budget) at the fair, by a LONG shot. Grilling pork and zucchini on the porch at the cabin, and serving that with SO WHITE TRASH Rice a Roni and Moon Pies (I would NEVER be caught dead eating that stuff anywhere else).

Saturday's dinner: roasted pork, Kartoffelsalat, jambalaya pasta, ciabatta

Sunday's lunch

Walking around the Lodge at Cloudcroft and admiring its architecture, albeit getting in need of a fixer-upper.

The Lodge at Cloudcroft's tower, where Rebecca the Ghost still wails late at night.,,

Napping all afternoon. Eating. Napping. Reading. Eating. Napping. Reading. Eating…
Didn’t get the gorgeous rocking chair, but I DID get, from our neighbor who has a cabin next door, an old-fashioned, very retro high chair for Hannah, which I LOVE. May not be #1 on the safety list, nor is it “cushy” or “girly,” but I just adore how old fashioned it is, and how simple.
We won’t be coming up for a while, and the pangs of sadness have begun. But Christian and I had our babymoon and we’re on Cloud 9 in Cloudcroft.
See you back in the flatlands and in shorts and flipflops…

Slice of life (and carrot cake)

This has just been the first day of our long weekend up here in Cloudcroft, and it has been like a dream babymoon with Christian. Baby books suggest a final “hoorah” before a couple’s alone time is forever altered, and this is ours. And what better way to spend that time than alone, up at a secluded cabin in the mountains, surrounded by no hi-tech distractions? It’s all about nature and nesting up here, and I’d have it no other way.
I woke up late today…6 a.m. That is late for me, by the way. I mean, it was already getting light outside. Egads! What happened??? Lol. I’m normally getting up at 4, so it was a sleep-in. After making some hot tea and reading a bit, I made my “breakfast of champions,” which was basically a bowl of oatmeal mixed with raisin bran, topped with chopped apple and cinnamon with milk. It totally prepped me for a brisk morning walk along the deserted dirt roads around my cabin.
After Christian got up and had breakfast, we headed on down to Jamocha Bean to use the Wi-Fi and have Americanos. There I made eye contact with a piece of carrot cake that SCREAMED for me with its bright frosting, chunky carrots and raisins and insane verticality (is that a word?). It wanted me. I wanted it. It was mine, although I DID have the willpower to hold onto it until lunch.
For lunch, a very pathetic one indeed, I had made the horrible mistake of buying mini “French” rolls at a Mexican grocery store. Nothing French about them and they taste like plastic. But that’s all the bread we had on hand. Sooooo, I made myself a jalapeno and turkey sandwich I toasted, and Christian had two sandwiches made of leftover sausages from dinner we had last night, sauerkraut and swiss cheese (here’s last night’s dinner and today’s lunch). Saving grace for me was the gargantuan slice CHUNK of carrot cake waiting for me at the end of the boring meal.
After lunch and before the inevitable slump we tend to have after eating so many carbs, Christian and I took a little hike around Cloudcroft. Although the aspen and maple trees are not yet at their prime, the colors were still gorgeous…
When we got back to the cabin, of course we both just lay down in the goose-down, Ralph Lauren gingham and cabbage rose-printed sheets and napped as only one can nap in Cloudcroft. Deep, two-hour sleep that got us all charged up and ready to conquer the task of grilling out on the porch tonight. It’s Christian’s time to cook, thank god (he’s really looking forward to that after today’s lunch) and it will be roasted pork, Kartoffelsalat und Brötchen. No word on whether or not a second chunk of cake of some kind is waiting for me yet again. Probably yes.

Brotzeit with my baby(ies)

Last night, with me on edge in anticipation of my scheduled amniocentesis today (god, in less than 4 hours!), and in great need of something simple, comforting and easy, Christian and I had Brotzeit.
Brotzeit is the customary “dinner” for Germans, who tend to eat their largest meal of the day around 11:30 a.m. or noon, their “hot” meal. So basically what I’ve been showing you for our dinners on this blog is what Germans would have for lunch. But in the evenings? It’s for the most part Brotzeit, which usually consists of some rye or wholemeal bread (we used Marina’s Bakery’s Schwartzbrot, but Bauernbrot is ideal); hot or sweet mustard (Händelmaier’s is da bomb, but we haven’t had a chance to order from Germandeli.com lately); gherkins or cucumber slices; a small serving of a composed salad (we had a fantastic tomato-onion salad in oil and vinegar); slices of cheese (Love Emmentaler, but here in El Paso, a chunk the size of a deck of cards is $9, so we stuck with Munster); Liverwurst or any other spreadable sausage; ham slices or pancetta or salami; hard boiled eggs; and fresh fruit (we had Washington State cherries).
Basically Brotzeit is a build-your-own-open-face-sandwich meal, much smaller and simpler than the mid-day meal, and I find it much easier to sleep after Brotzeit than I do after eating Schweinebraten, Semmelknodeln und Sauerkraut!
Unfortunately we don’t have the special round wooden plates that Brotzeit is traditionally served on here at our apartment, but if you know of anyone who carries them or makes them, do let me know!
We’ll continue our Brotzeit-eating evenings. We’re sorry we had blown them off for so long!
It’s nice to continue the Bavarian traditions with Christian, and especially nice to see how grateful he is and how much he gets a twinkle in his eye when he sees something, eats something or hears something that brings him, in a way, closer to home!

And so I’ll come back and check up after today’s perinatologist appointment with any new news to report. It will be a day of rest for me, hookie from work (hey, it IS doc’s orders!), and maybe, just maybe, knowing this afternoon if we need to be on the lookout for mini-dirndles or mini-lederhosen in the near future