Warming Gluhwein....

Just about everyone is out at their weihnachtsmarkt eating, drinking, socialising and doing the odd bit of shopping. It's a great place to be despite the particularly harsh winter in Europe this year. A great way to warm up is to stop at a gluhwein stall and enjoy a cup of this hot, sweet, fruity, spicy red wine. Before you know it, it's feeling like it's at least 0 C!

Delicious Dinnele at the Konstanz weihnachtsmarkt...

Dinnele is a traditional German food of peasant origin. Served straight from the wood fired oven. I think this is my favourite food stall at the market - always great.

Hmmm, which one to have? Potato and cheese; garlic and cheese; vegetables and cheese or perhaps one with speck? I love the garlicky, oil that is spooned over before eating.

Schwagalp cheese....

Lovely maturing cheeses

In the brine bath

Mutschli [left] and a mild alpine cheese

Another visit to the Schwagalp cheese makers, at the base of beautiful Mt Santis, Switzerland. Their butter is also excellent.

Yam Yam....

Just the perfect thing for -10 in Berlin: a steamy bowl of Bibimbap served in a hot stone bowl, with house-made kim chi. The mung bean pancake with vegetables was fantastic. We rounded all this off with complimentary raspberry lollipops. Lovely.

yamyam berlin

korean cuisine

alte schonhauser str.6

10119 berlin

t +49.30.24 63 24 85

Baked semolina gnocchi with gorgonzola...

Step 1: warm milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg

Steps 2 and 3: whisk in semolina and simmer for 15 minutes

Step 4: add parmesan

and whole eggs and egg yolks

mix well

Step 5: gently press semolina into an even layer

Steps 6 and 7: cut into squares or rounds and place in a buttered dish

Steps 8 and 9: brush with softened butter and sprinkle with crumbled gorgonzola and grated parmesan

Step 10: bake in oven at 220 C for 15 minutes

Baked semolina gnocchi with gorgonzola

Serves 6 as a starter

1 litre milk

pinch salt + pepper

1/2 tsp nutmeg

250g fine semolina

2 egg yolks

2 whole eggs

80g grated parmesan

topping

90g [approx] very soft butter

200g gorgonzola

80g grated parmesan

1. Bring milk + salt, pepper, nutmeg to the boil

2. Whisk in the semolina until the mixture thickens

3. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 mins – stirring from time to time [pay attention to the bottom + sides of the pan]

4. Take off  the heat – add whole eggs, yolks and parmesan. Mix well.

5. Spread onto a greased tray – 2.5cm deep

6. When cool, cut into squares or rounds with a pastry cutter

7. Arrange them overlapping in a buttered gratin or baking dish

8. Brush with the softened butter

9. Sprinkle the top with the crumbled gorgonzola and the parmesan

10. Bake in oven at 220C for 15mins until golden brown – serve very hot

If I remember correctly, this recipe came from Antonio Carluccio and is a favourite of ours. It's very easy and great when you have friends visiting as you can prepare it, to the point of baking, before they arrive. The gnocchi have a wonderful puffed, mousse-like texture. Delicious.

Lazy Saturday lunch...

Another delicious visit to Cantina Rabaja. House made spinach ravioli in a sage butter sauce was followed by a warm compote of plums served with a vanilla praline parfait/semi freddo and hot cinnamon dumplings [which I think was knodel - a nice German touch]. Both dishes were made with the usual perfection that you can expect from Cantina Rabaja and they tasted wunderbar! It was all rounded off by a perfect short black and the best Linzer I've tasted - it was heavenly.

Little apples...

These perfect apples were growing in an orchard on Mainau Island, Lake Konstanz. Sadly I didn't get to try one [although it was very tempting to help myself to a sample].

Yesterday, on a walk to Gottlieben in Switzerland, I passed many trees laden with apples just growing on the side of the road. Clearly, some are wild and belong to no-one - if only i could reach the fruit! I'll have to settle for picking wild blackberries.

Banana muffin recipe...

• Grease muffin tins

• Preheat oven to 180 C

Dry ingredients:

1 1/4 cups [180g/6oz] plain flour

1 1/4 cups [180/6oz] self raising flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon [optional]

1/2 cup [100g/3.5oz] raw sugar

Wet ingredients:

2 large very ripe bananas

1 large egg

1 cup milk [skim or low fat]

3 tablespoons vegetable or nut oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup [70g/4oz] chopped prunes

walnuts [generous handful] - roughly chopped

1. Sift flours, bicarb soda and cinnamon into a large bowl.

2. Add raw sugar and mix together. Set aside.

3. In another bowl, mash the bananas with a fork.

4. Add egg - whisk into the mashed bananas with the fork.

5. Gradually add milk, oil and vanilla extract - mix in with fork until all are well combined.

6. Add prunes and walnuts.

7. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the bowl of wet ingredients.

8. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients using a mixing spoon or rubber spatular: try to do it in approximately 14 strokes or less, until just combined. Do not over-mix or beat! This will result in tough and rubbery muffins. The mixture should look rough, chunky and like it hasn't been mixed enough - if it doesn't, you've gone too far.

9. Spoon mixture into greased muffin trays.

10. Bake at 180 C for 20-25 minutes, until nicely browned: an inserted skewer should come out clean.

11. Delicious served warm and best eaten on the day. Freezes well.

Recipe makes 12 large muffins

Tips:

• An dried fruit, or combination, can be substituted for the prunes. I usually rehydrate the fruit by covering the fruit with fresh orange juice and zest [orange or lemon] and cooking in a covered dish in the microwave for 1 minute on high. Leave to cool before adding to the mixture.

• Try different nuts and seeds eg:almond, sunflower, pepitas [pumpkin seeds]

• Experiment with using a small amount of seasonal fruits, in addition to the bananas eg: finely diced and peeled apple or pear; blueberries; raspberries.

• A great variation to using just milk is to use 1/2 cup yogurt mixed with 1/2 cup milk; or use buttermilk.

• Try decreasing the amount of sugar - I usually only use 1/4 cup or less. I find the fruit and dried fruit to be sweet enough for my taste.

• For additional fiber, use wholemeal flour or for a lighter result: 1/2 wholemeal and 1/2 white flour.

Banana muffins...

I make these muffins all the time. They're quick, low in fat, high in fiber and they're a great way to use up over ripe bananas. Best of all they have a great moist texture and they taste delicious - like something far worse for you! Keep some in the freezer - good to take for lunch.

Servietten knodel with Pfifferlinge....

I was at a local restaurant in Staad, where we live, for lunch recently and ordered this lovely dish of Servietten Knodel with Pfifferlinge [refer previous posts on mushrooms] in a cream sauce. Knodel is a dumpling most commonly made of stale bread and usually accompanies a cream sauce.

The Knodel dough can be formed into balls or a log shape before being poached in water. Unlike the balls the log is rolled in muslin [or similar] and the ends tied before being poached - hence the name 'servietten', or serviette. Once cooked the 'servietten' is removed and the Knodel log is sliced and finished in a pan. These were very good - light and fluffy.

Reginbrot...

Reginbrot is my favourite baker in Konstanz. It was opened about 20 years ago by a guy that came from Berlin, so I'm told. All organic as well. They make the best baguettes I've ever tasted - fantastic crust.

Soren K, Copenhagen...

Soren K is located on the ground floor in the Black Diamond, the spectacular extension to the Royal Library, overlooking the canals. It's the perfect place to enjoy some wonderful food.

Firstly, a complimentary course of sliced beetroot topped with a smoked soft cheese, herbs, tomatoes and crisp breads. Dr H's included seasonal local fish.

For entree I chose the stinging nettle soup with asparagus and a poached egg. The dish was served initially as a poached egg sitting on a mound of 'mash' which I assume at least contained asparagus, due to the green colour but perhaps some other vegetable. The bowl was beautifully decorated with thinly shaved strips of asparagus. The waiter took the jug off the serving tray and poured the hot nettle soup into the bowl. It was so delicious - the best soup I think I can remember eating!

Dr H's entree was a type of ham served with 3 types of melon [prepared in a way we unfortunately cannot describe]. Dr H said the melon was like nothing he had tasted - looked like it had been macerated/candied yet tasted perfectly ripe and fresh. A selection of leaves completed the dish.

My main course was a dish of vegetables and was much more exciting than you might imagine. At the centre was a wedge of young cabbage which was surrounded by pieces of cauliflower, mushrooms and herbs - all finished in a light creamy sauce. It was cooked just how I like it and was very enjoyable.

Dr H's main was veal done 2 ways and served with baby vegetables - all perfectly cooked and delicious.

Our shared dessert was a vanilla panacotta covered with a jellied strawberry consomme, fresh strawberries and a strawberry sorbet. Flavoursome and very refreshing  - perfect for the hot weather.

Cantina Rabaja...

Cantina Rabaja is never a disappointment. For lunch on Saturday I ordered the house made tagliatelle with summer truffles and marsala sauce. It was wonderful.

Cantina Rabaja

Kreuzlingerstasse 7. D-78462  Konstanz

Telefon ++49 (7531) 917 884

www.cantina-rabaja.de

www.rabaja.de [their internet shop]

Market produce at St Stephansplatz, Konstanz...

Finally, after quite a hiatus from blogging, we've relocated to Konstanz [on the German/Swiss border] and are feeling settled in. So I'm glad to say, I'm now free to enjoy the great produce and food it has to offer.

The market I usually go to is in the old town at St Stephansplatz. It's very good and there's a real focus on 'bio' [organic] and thankfully, plenty of free range eggs.

At the moment there are plenty of berries, a large range of tomatoes and mushrooms [which I'm very excited about].

Pfifferlinge, the orange coloured mushrooms [pictured] from Gunnar Doberstein's stall [mushroom specialist] are in season now and very plentiful. They are a wild mushroom from Austria and it seems that everyone loves them! All the restaurants have a separate pfifferlinge menu in honour of the season. My favourite dish is Semmel Knodel or Servietten Knodel [will post photos soon] which is a traditional dumpling served with anything in a cream sauce, which in this case is pfifferlinge. A perfect combination.

The cheese maker is Rolf Keller, pictured here with his range of Bregenzerwalder Alpkase [alpine cheese: mild, medium and matured]. He makes a few other varieties including Tilsiter and Romadur. Rolf's cheeses seem popular with other market goers as well. Beautiful and fresh.