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.

Paula's biscuits...

Paula can think of no better place to be than baking in the kitchen and so it is my good luck to be the frequent recipient of these Syrian delights. They taste even better than they look!

Floriditas...

Cuba St, Wellington has many good restaurants and cafes but  my favourite [other than the Matterhorn bar and restaurant] would have to be Floriditas. Besides the totally charming interior, the food was excellent with a focus on the best local produce and products. All food including cakes and jams are made on site.

 We enjoyed breakfast there most days and usually managed to fit in something from the pastry cabinet  as well- there was always something different. On this particular day we chose a  feijoa tart and a cranberrry cupcake, both served on old mismatched china. The owner must have noticed us enthusing over  the daily baked items featuring the feijoa and kindly gave us a jar of his feijoa jam as a farewell gift. Lovely - and it tasted great on hot, toasty bread.

The hard working staff were consistently caring and efficient, and always seemed to cope well despite the large daily crowds.

Go if you get the chance... 

www.floriditas.co.nz
161 Cuba Street
Te Aro 6011, New Zealand

Summer grill at the Louisiana...

After an exhausting day of viewing art at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, a short train trip north of Copenhagen, Dr H relaxed on the Calder Patio and enjoyed the view of the Oresund Strait  across the sculpture lawn. A tough life for some.

In the summer, the gallery serves a grill [cooked to order] with a salad buffet for the reasonable price of [AUD] $40 approximately ['all you can eat'].

Dr H devoured a tuna steak and prawns and followed this with a veal steak. He rated the whole experience as excellent [despite getting lost while trying to find the train station on the way home].

Soren K...

Another decadent lunch for Dr H, this time at Soren K at the Black Diamond [the new edition to the Royal Library in Copenhagen].

The salad includes a variety of beetroot, watercress, goat curd with grilled proscuitto-like meat. The other course was pickled fish with cloves, served with beetroot and dill on a malty, creamy sauce.

Dr H sat outside on the terrace overlooking the stunning harbour.  A beautiful way to spend a couple of hours.

Where: Søren Kierkegaards Plads 1
              1016 København

www.soerenk.dk

Smushi...

These photographs were taken at the Royal Cafe in Copenhagen [www.theroyalcafe.dk], the cafe of the well known Royal Copenhagen fine china. 

Dr H enjoyed his lunch of 'smushi', a term derived from "smorrebrod" - the traditonal Danish open sandwich, and "sushi". The small size of these signature open faced bite-size  sandwiches mean that you can sample more than one of the inspirational range without feeling full.

Dr H ate his smushi in the charming courtyard - and, of course, all food is served on Royal Copenhagen china [the Elements  range, a reworking of  traditional Royal Copenhagen designs by Danish designer Louise Campbell].

Fondue...

Step1: Choose the cheeses for the fondue and grate [or ask your providore or cheese maker for a *ready made mix, which will come already grated]. Use 400g of cheese per 2 people.

Step 2: Rub the fondue dish with cut garlic. I like to leave the garlic in the fondue but this is a matter of personal taste

Step 3: Add 150ml of dry white wine [the best quality you can afford] and a squeeze of lemon. Heat until gently simmering

Step 4: Add grated cheeses to the wine

Step 5: Stir the mixture continuously over a low heat until it boils . Be sure to stir thoroughly, covering the whole base of the pan as the mixture will easily catch and burn.

Step 6: Continue to stir until the cheese has fully melted. I like to add pepper at this stage. You may also like to add a small glass of kirsch, but once again, it is a personal preference.

Step 7:  Transfer the fondue dish to the table and place over the warmer [medium flame]. It's important to keep the fondue stirred so the it remains amalgamated. The best way to do this is to to use a slow stirring movement from side to side as you dip your bread and other condiments.

The traditional condiments are  kirsch, cubes of crusty bread, gerkins, and pickled onions. I love to dip the bread into the kirsch before dipping it into the fondue. It's delicious and is so complementary to the cheese. The remaining kirsch is drunk at the end of the meal and cuts the richness of the fondue.

Of course you can include anything that you like. Try broccoli, asparagus, potatoes, cauliflower, apple, brussel sprouts or broccolini.

*Note: I get my cheese mix from Christian at Fromart. I can highly recommend their cheese. Christian is a Swiss cheesemaker incidentally.