Storming the Castle: just another summer's day

Be sure to scroll down for more photos and enlightenment

Burg Lichtenberg is a cozy little castle, high on a hill overlooking the city of Kusel.  Don’t worry if you haven’t seen it yet.  It’ been standing guard over the valley since 1200 and is not likely to disappear soon.

The neat thing about Lichtenberg is that it’s useful, which is more than you can say for most things built in 1200.  From spring through fall there are festivals.  Also a restaurant.  Also a youth hostel.  No end to the possibilities.

Last weekend was an herb fest, complete with garden ornaments, plants for sale, the obligatory beer and wurst, plus guided herb tours around the castle walls and an explanatory visit to the castle’s own herb garden.

I forget to mention the three-piece band, with middle aged musicians playing and singing John Denver favorites in German and English. Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. ( his real name) translates well, or at least the emotions do.  Everyone can understand the yearning to go home to West by-god Virginia, or Rocky Mountain High…speaking of herbs.

I learned a few things during the semi-walk around the castle walls.  Camille tea comes from little, white, daisy-like flowers, which I would have known had I paid more attention to the picture on the packaging.  Supposedly, you can also brew a strong batch and use it to heal skin ailments.  I recommend letting it cool first, but hey, you’re your own boss.

The lady who led us around was the college professor who knew too much for our own good.  Apparently, leaving any tidbit out would have been a sin against all of academia.  My mind started to drift when two herbs took the first thirty minutes.  I started to chew weeds and paw the ground. We’d traveled ten meters and it was a loooooog way around the castle walls.  I regretted my lackey hadn’t brought a tent and provisions.  Plus, the soliloquy was in German, so I could only catch every other word:  good, tea, good again, etc.  I yearned for the Cliff Notes.  Time to break ranks and sprint for beer.  Got to the beer stand and put the golden-coldie to my lips just in time.

Next weekend is a much bigger, Medieval Festival, with even more food booths, knights in armor, complete with squires and horses, sword fights, and winsome ladies in flowing gowns.  Beer.  Wurst.  Sunshine.

If you miss that one (and why on earth should you?), I’m sure there are others coming up.  But, if they offer a tour around the castle walls, drag a keg with you.

Scenes From The Zweibrücken Rose Garden

I’m an outdoor kinda guy, but different from some of my friends who like to scamper up forbidding cliffs, fingernails worn clean by scaly rocks, or the odd folk who think nothing of sleeping outside on the hard ground, with only ticks and mosquitoes for company.  Nope.  Not for me.  The almighty didn’t offer hotels with room service and put money in my pocket so I could roll in the dirt with the vermin. I’m the outdoor guy who sits in the shade of a well kept garden, sipping a cool beer, watching the roses smile at the sun, while bees do their sworn duty.

Speaking of gardens and roses, garden season sneaked up like a warm, wet kiss.  I’m ready!  Sparkling days, sunny temperatures, trees and flowers bursting into bloom tell me it’s almost time for the annual Zweibrücken (Two Bridges) Rose and Garden Market.  Scroll down for the rest of the story.

A placid lake leads the way

Zweibrücken’s history dates back more than 650 years and even has a tie to the United States, having sent the Regiment Royal Deux-Pont to help us win our independence from Britain.  Today, one of Zweibrücken’s sister cities is Yorktown, Virginia, where the Royal Regiment fought in the eponymous battle that essentially put an end to British resolve.

Rose and Garden Market

From 09/06/2012 to 06/10/2012

Besides looking and drinking and eating, the rose garden offers all sorts of garden plants and herbs for sale, as well as garden implements, furniture, and decorations.  Expert advice lingers at every sales booth.  For more information, follow this link:

http://www.zweibruecken.de/index.dante?back_id=4077&parent_id=18529&node_id=18960&sid=CIEJDBDADDDCAKEGDBDDDDDHDIDDDIDIDIDHCODIDBDGDADDDJDDAKEMDBDDDDDHDIDDDIDJDADEDEDJDCDCEMAKHEHADBAKCO&aid=1131&dph=&cmd=showevent&kategory=&filtdate=

Also, Don’t miss the Town Market on Saturdays!  0800-1400

A total of 25 market stalls feature all sorts of edibles, under the slogan"Fresh from the region for the region." A large selection of cheeses, baked goods, fruits, vegetables, oils, jams, flowers and plants, fish, meat and meat products, fresh eggs and pasta, dairy products, honey, liqueurs and spirits delight the senses. To make the market experience even better, there is now a great tasting and gourmet zone.

Another thing to consider is a visit to Zweibrücken’s vast shopping complex, The Style Outlets (same name in German and English), featuring many famous and popular brands.

So, ok, fellow outdoor enthusiasts, go straight to the city that boasts over 60,000 roses.  Grab a bier and a wurst and sit in the shade in a most magnificent garden.  Enjoy the great outdoors in style. Buy a few plants for your garden, or pick up a stylish bottle of rose liquor.  No need to roam the jungle and sneak between the mongoose and the cobra to claim your share of nature’s bounty.  Zweibrücken offers my type of outdoor experience.

Pasta with Roasted Tomato & Garlic

There is a lot to be said for convenience foods. They are, well, convenient. I don't really have a lot of convenience food around because I prefer not to spend the money on them, but there are times when they certainly would be handy.

Last night, I got home late from an appointment that went overtime, and when I got in the door it was 7pm and I was famished. But, lacking frozen perogies, KD, and hot dogs, I went with my original plan for dinner, pasta with roasted tomatoes & garlic.

It took forever to cook and I didn't get to eat until well after Survivor was over!

But it was worth it.

Recipe HERE (scroll down a little).

Make Some Rosemary Vinegar!

Snowy rosemary

Worth waiting for!

Herbs are my gardening delight.  They put a smile on my face, like a cold beer in the hot summer, or a hot date in the cold winter.  I especially like Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) and grow a lot of it.   I like the aroma when I run my fingers through it.  Whoops, my mind drifted.  Stuck on the stuff about the cold winter.  Anyway, I just flat like the way a rosemary bush looks in my garden. Even snow covered, rosemary is beautifully verdant and redolent.  On those gray days of winter it perks the senses and carries the hope of spring. 

Hey, one more big, big reason I love rosemary.  For a thumb so brown it makes deadwood look lively, rosemary is a snap to grow, and propagate.   Containers.  Garden. Backyard.  Front yard.  As long as it’s got some sun and a smattering of water once in a while, it’s a happy, healthy plant.  The worst thing you can do to a rosemary plant is be too kind, and by that I mean over-watering.  If you’re container growing, let the soil get dry before you douse it.  And, for goodness sakes, don’t let your plant sit in water.

Just for convenience and because rosemary can take awhile to fill out and up, I plant mine from small, nursery grown plants.

I use rosemary for cooking.  A lot.  Maybe you do, too, but one flavor you may not have tried is rosemary-spiced vinegar.  Easy to make.

Take a gallon jug of apple cider vinegar (16 cups, 3.785 liters) and pour off 2 cups, or a little less than half a liter, saving it for another use.  Put two cups of pure water back in the gallon jug.  You’ve just reduced the acid content from 5% to around 4.3%.  I like my vinegar a bit tamer than 5% for salads.  Add a third cup of sugar (43 g) and stir until all the sugar dissolves.

Thoroughly wash and dry seven or eight healthy sprigs of fresh rosemary, the fresher the better.  When rosemary is cut and sits in the produce aisle, it loses some of its delightfully aromatic oil.  That and the price you pay for a few sprigs in a grocery store are two more reasons I like to grow my own.

Place the washed and dried sprigs of rosemary in the gallon jug of vinegar, water, and sugar solution.  Cap the jug and let it rest in a shady place for a couple of weeks.  Voilá!  You have just made more rosemary vinegar than you could use in a three star restaurant in a year.  I like to bottle it and give it as gifts.

Want a suggestion on how to use your newly made vinegar?  Read a previous post on making vinaigrette, but this time, substitute your homemade gourmet rosemary vinegar.  Yeah, yeah, you’ve just created a masterpiece.  Now wipe that smile off your face!

101 Uses for a Roast Chicken #25: Pesto, Chicken, Goat's Cheese, and Onion Pizza

I've been on a pizza kick these days - probably due to hormones. I was very grateful today for a load of fresh basil from my AeroGarden, with which I made some lovely pesto. I used the crust from the last pizza I made and froze, and some of the leftover roast chicken I had from that pizza, too along with the pesto to make a super delicious pizza. The goat's cheese was a new product from President's Choice, a low fat version of the soft, unripened, famous chèvre. I really like it and can't really tell the difference between it and regular-fat goat's cheese.

I'm really loving my pizza stone for these pizzas; you can't beat it for crusts that are crispy on the outside and nice & tender on the inside.

Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic, and Fresh Herbs

My AeroGardens have provided me with such amazing bounty this winter. The fresh herbs alone have been a God-send, and I am so grateful to my friend Jodi for giving me this huge gift!

The oregano I originally didn't think would make it has become quite prolific, and the thyme is doing excellently, too. The basil is awesome, as is the Genoa basil plant that has a very anise-y flavour to it. The lemon basil is pretty much kaput and I think I'm just going to yank it out and put in some cilantro in its place. The mint is hugely prolific, as is the dill. I almost have an overabundance of both!

While wondering how to utilize all this hydroponic bounty, I had a brainwave: last fall, after the garlic festival I attended, I made this yummy meal, and so I made another version of it the other night. I didn't have the fancy garlic this time, but that was OK. I still used about a head of garlic in total, and I roasted the tomatoes & garlic with a bunch of sprigs of thyme. After it was done roasting, I added chopped oregano and basil. And Bob's your uncle!

It was another simple, spectacular, and very cost-effective meal ('cause I'm more about cost effective now than I ever was before).

Spoil-myself Food

When I feel like spoiling myself, I often make these shrimp salad rolls. They have fresh mint in them from my AeroGarden. They are very easy to make, but are a bit finicky. They are so worth it, however! And when I feel I'm worth it, I make them. This afternoon was such a day for such a treat!

Magazine Monday #77: Flaky Biscuits

Wow, two recipes in two days - go me!

I just whipped some borscht out of the freezer for dinner tonight and needed something to go with it, so I flipped through my clipped recipes and found a biscuit recipe I hadn't tried yet.

This is it. It is, once more, from Canadian Living, this time the May 2010 issue.

I added fresh dill from my AeroGarden and some grated cheddar cheese, and they were fantastic hot out of the oven! This is one of the nicest biscuits I've ever made, I think. Definitely keeping this in my repertoire!

Magazine Monday #76: Egg & Shrimp Sandwiches

My AeroGarden containing the herb mixture is doing great, I am happy to report, especially the dill. In fact, I have so much dill I'm not sure what to do with it all. I might start drying it for a rainy day. Tonight I am planning a dilly pasta for dinner, and now I am obsessed with finding recipes with dill... Dill bread? Dill biscuits? Dill cookies??? There is so much dill I don't know what to do!

So, in an effort to use a teeny bit of what I have on hand, I decided to make this sandwich today for my lunch. This is the Open Faced Shrimp & Egg Sandwich, made on a toasted bagel, from the June 2010 issue of Canadian Living Magazine. The recipe is here.

Very easy, very tasty. And it hit the spot. You can't beat fresh dill - unless you have too much of it and it beats you!

Dill = Awesome

My AeroGardens continue to produce awesome stuff, providing some much needed zazz to my diet. The dill has done tremendously; I couldn't be happier with it. And I finally got around to using it tonight.

I inherited some nice baked potatoes from a catering job I did over the weekend, and this was very exciting because A) they were free, B) I didn't have to bake them myself, and C) I immediately knew what I was going to do with them once they were in my hot little hands - and I knew that my plans would involve dill.

I have felt a need for a shot of summer now that we are in the dead of winter, and nothing says summer more than potato salad! With lots of dill!

Very simple:

2 large baked potatoes, cubed
4 green onions, chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
2 small carrots, chopped
a whole bunch of dill, chopped
enough mayo to bind everything just nicely

And voilà:


Sooooooo looking forward to this winter being over and done with. In the meantime, I have another use for my dill, also inspired by the catering I did on the weekend, but that is a post for the near future!

At Last - Salad!

My AeroGardens have come through! Yesterday I harvested the first lettuce from my lettuce AeroGarden, and I made a nice fresh salad for dinner. While purchasing the other salad ingredients in LOGS, I gave the lettuce section in the store the finger!


The AeroGardens have been growing for 32 days now. Here are the herbs & tomato plants:

AeroGardening

I have some really generous friends. After complaining about the crap lettuce at LOGS lately, a friend of mine offered to send me some AeroGardens she had bought for herself but never even taken out of the boxes. One thing led to another, and one day the Purolator guy showed up at my place with a huge box full of three 7-pod AeroGardens.

I had no place to put them at first, but as timing & good luck would have it, my dad got a new dining room table yesterday and I got a new bed. Dad came down to help me assemble my new bed and he brought down his old dining room table, and I just set the AeroGardens up on it in my spare room.

This is so exciting! Since I have three, I am dedicating one garden to my dad so he can have cherry tomatoes. The other two are for me; one is for mixed salad greens so I don't have to rely on the crappy stuff from LOGS over the winter (or ever again, for that matter), and the other one is for a 7 herb mix that includes dill, mind, oregano, thyme, and three kinds of basil.

I am totally stoked about this! They are very bright and they make a bit of a humming & gurgling noise because they are pumping water all the time to the bottoms of the seed pods, but that's OK. I can always close the door.

I'll definitely keep you posted!

Magazine Monday #63: Pasta With Shrimp & Cilantro-Lime Pesto

This recipe comes from the July 2010 issue of Bon Appetit, my subscription for which has just run out. As mentioned previously, I will not be renewing. Anyway, the recipe came from the RSVP section, where readers request recipes they've tasted at various restaurants around and about, and in this case, the reader who requested the recipe tried the original dish at Tejas Texas Grill & Saloon in Hermantown, Minnesota. It caught my eye because I love cilantro and an entire pesto made from this ingredient was just too good to pass up! I was not disappointed! This was a fantastic dish. I even invested in a mini of tequila!

Pasta With Shrimp & Cilantro-Lime Pesto

1 1/4 cups, packed, fresh cilantro leaves, plus more chopped for garnish
1/4 cup green onions
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp chopped seeded jalapeno (which I skipped because I don't like them)
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb linguine
1 lb uncooked medium shrimp, peeled & deveined
3 tbsp tequila
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (original recipe calls for Cotija cheese, but this is the boonies, man - good luck finding that anywhere around here)

1. Blend 1 1/4 cups cilantro & next 4 ingredients in a food processor until a course puree forms. Gradually add oil as machine runs. Season with salt. (NB: I did not use the full amount of oil.)

2. Cook linguine & drain.

3. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp & cook until almost opaque in the centre, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from heat; add tequila. Return skillet to heat and stir until sauce is syrupy, about 30 seconds. Add pesto; stir to coat. Remove from heat.

4. Add sauce to pasta & gently combine. Serve with extra cilantro & sprinkled with feta. Should serve 4.

Awesome, tasty, and easy. I'll definitely be making this again, next time with a margarita, perhaps!

Enjoy!

Garden Bounty 2009: Lemon Balm

I do love herbs. I have always wanted a herb garden, and I even had a dream of becoming a herbalist and herbal healer back when I was much younger. Culinary herbs are more my bag now, and this year I grew cilantro (let's not go there, OK?), basil (and we all know how well that turned out, don't we?), chives (which did nothing - I think I planted them too close to the neighbouring peony and they didn't get enough sun) and something wonderful called lemon balm.

Part of the mint family, lemon balm gives off a wonderful, lemony scent. I was surprised to find seeds for this at my local purveyor of cheap gardening crap, Wally World, and when I did, I was delighted and didn't hesitate to purchase a package.

Again, I made a huge error when I planted the seeds: I misjudged how large the neighbouring plants would grow. In this case, the neighbouring plants were my bean plants, and if you recall, these were so out of control and I got so many beans I couldn't give them all away - and I froze nearly 3lbs. This is a big problem for me; I have no concept of spacing when it comes to my garden. It doesn't help that the garden itself is small and narrow, and as such I do take some care in where I plant things. But I feel the need to utilize the space as best I can and this has led to some errors in judgment - like with the chives. And this was the case with the lemon balm.

The seeds took forever to sprout and I didn't see any growth poke through my soil for weeks. They have a longer germination time, as I read on the seed package, but even so, these didn't start showing any signs of action for a long time after I expected them to. In the meantime, the wax bean plants took off as if they were on steroids (I used nothing on them, I swear!) and before long, the lemon balm was living in the shadow of the lush bean leaves. As a result, I got a very poor, very small, very stunted crop. When I yanked the bean plants at the end of August, which was when they started to dry up and stop producing (it was almost a relief, I was so overwhelmed with beans), I thought the lemon balm would have a fighting chance. How wrong I was; it never had a chance. Early frosts, blahx3, and I got next to nothing. I was disappointed and annoyed with myself.
I did get a very small amount, and I had to pick them and do something with them just so I could feel slightly less disappointed and annoyed. I decided to make some cookies. Initially, I thought I would make shortbread with lemon balm, but the idea evolved and I got over-ambitious. I also got a shitty result.

I won't even post the recipe because it's an adaptation I made and since it was just an abject failure I don't even want to spend the time typing it out. It was my own fault; I should have known better than to do what I did and I have no on to blame but myself.

So, what did I do with the cookies? I took them to my brother & SIL's place for our family dinner and left them there! Jem is like Mikey; he'll eat anything!