candy inside: November 2005

Christmas countdown in Vienna

Hannes described to me how his family celebrate on the First Advent Sunday.
It is the first time I heard about Advent, in fact that is the period beginning on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, a season in preparation for Christmas.

Advent calendar, the bags are fillend with candies...

Advent wreath, made by Hannes' wife...

One more lit candle on every Advent Sunday, then on Christmas Eve there will be four of them...

A varitety of cookies, also made by Hannes' wife...

Christmas markets at university campus...

Go to have a cup of Punsch

Strolling through the stalls

Fried dumpling

A little busy these days in lab...
Yesterday I decided to eat something that looks and tastes fresh enough, at the same time, easy to prepare.

In frying pan...

Serve ...

Sweety sweety

Lotus root filled with glutinous rice in coconut cream

1)Choose a section of straight and thick lotus root, chop off one end along cross section and set that end aside;
2)Fill dry glutinous rice into the holes, leave enough space for the increasing volume of the rice while cooking, then lid the choped end in 1) back onto the section and fix with bamboo toothpicks;
3)Boil the lotus root section in water with brown sugar for three hours, then rinse in cold water;
4)Put some coconut cream, brown sugar, Chinese date, haw on the simmer to make the sauce;
5)Finally cut the lotus root section into pieces and sauce with 4).

In hot sauce...

After chilled......

Soup of fried beancurd and mushroom

Some of Hannes' favorites

Semmelknoedel - Bread Dumplings

The popular boiled dumplings are made from Semmel, a type of Viennese roll. They can be served with meal dishes or gulasch.

And this is Baked Viennese Bread Dumpling with mushroom ragout, a special creation from Hannes' wife ^_^

Vanillekipferl - Vanilla Crescents

Small iced shortbread crescents with ground almonds mixed into the dough.

Simple supper

Soup of burdock,mushroom and carrot

Macaroni with cheese and garden sauce

Yeast Dumplings

Hannes just sent me a photo of GERMKNÖDEL, one type of dumplings as typical Austrian dish, which I had never heard about.......

Then I searched for the recipe...and found it:

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GERMKNÖDEL (Yeast Dumplings)

1 lb flour
1/2 pint milk
1 oz yeast
1-2 eggs
2-3.5 oz butter
2 oz sugar
1/2 tablespoon salt
plum jam
1.5-2 oz butter
2 oz ground poppy seed

1.Form a dough out of some lukewarm milk, flour, sugar and yeast.
2.Let rise.
3.Add the rest of the flour, milk, eggs, butter and a bit of salt to make a rich dough.
4.Knead this well and let rise again.
5.Take a little bit of dough at a time, fill with very thick plum jam and form dumplings.
6.Simmer for 30-40 minutes in a covered pot.
7.Serve with hot butter, poppy seed (or bread crumbs) and sugar.
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http://www.austria.org/sep99/dumplings.html
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Dumplings,Dumplings,Dumplings...

The well-known and ever extensible versatility of the dumpling is demonstrated by the variations from country to country, from region to region, from house to house, from generation to generation. It is believed its fans do not simply read recipes but uses them as a starting point for imaginative, and thus also for inventive, cooking.

It is all the same whether the dumplings to be prepared are naked or blind (without filling or seasoning apart from pepper and salt), or are filled (with meat, sausage, vegetables, fruit or whatever), or fried in dripping or boiled in a cloth such as a table napkin.

Dumplings as garnish and main dish are generally bulky, but cannot be distinguished in their function as main or subsidiary matter. No matter what dumpling serves as main dish, great care is needed in the choice of accompanients.

Sweet Dumplings are indeed esteemed mostly as dessert but are also enjoyed as main dish. It is easy to understand that the size of sweet dumplings varies according to their role as dessert or main dish.
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Source: "Nur Knödel" by Helmreich/Stau-dinger; published 1993 in Austria by Verlag Christian Brandstätter; out of print

Sunday alone

I expected to go to the movies 'The Legend of Zorro' (to see Antonio Banderas : )) , but in the past month I was always occupied in some other activities at weekends. Now for the first Sunday at my leisure, I'm not in the mood for any outdoor activities......so I stayed at home and spent my whole weekend on reading novels, only interrupted by meals and a nap. Before supper I finished three books---a quite efficient reader.

Mushroom, gingko nut and cauliflower

Curd of soybean oil with carrot and onion

Add some celery...

Or cook with brown rice....

Pastry making

Mix some cheese with mashed potato; Add an egg and salt, cook it dry in frying pan;

Then make a layer by pressing before cool; Pour chocolate liqueur on surface and chill in refrigerator; Finally cut into small pieces, adhere two pieces on the chocolate surface, and coat every cake with milk powder.