Eat Up. Or NOT, Suckahs

Sharf, Defined

andBerlin has a write-up of a Currywurst vendor that always seemed a little too non-amateur for my taste, in that I prefer the individually owned stand. But in Hauptbahnhof, beggers can't be choosers, and Curry 66 (a reference to the year the Currywurst was made popular in ehmahlige West-Berlin,) has the added kick of added kick... or a rarity to Currywurstdom of pepper-hotness that might give a sniffle to a non-German.

This time when I tasted my Currywurst it was definitely spicier than any other I have had in Berlin so far and a real contender for ‘The Best of the Wurst’, as I’ve come to think of my quest for the tastiest Currywurst in Berlin – it comes with plenty of sauce and by the end of my meal the plate was wiped clean.

Here's the thing: it's not the heat, it's the sweet. Currywurst is made with a kind of specialty ketchup which is often too sugary to my taste, so the added heat can only come as an improvement. What's BAD (and I mean bad,) is when you find that Currywurst-ketchup snuck into other things. You can detect it immediatelty, and should immediately head for the hills. Another note to gourmands of the good: you CAN get a decent burrito after the fashion of the trend in the US in Mitte - at a place called Dolores. Evidently they are also doing well enough that they are a maturing operation, evidence by graduating to a non-hipster-disposed part of town at Wittenbergplatz. Watch this trend. Chipotle is opening a store in Paris, and has opened one in London. It won't be long before the trend starts to spread.

“You can eat those???”

An outsider considers the humble peep.

Colleague: “Aw, those are cute.” Me: “This is a typical American Easter candy. Try one!” Stunned colleague: “You can eat those???”

All I have to say is... :-)

Keep my Meatwhistle out of this...

Why not show your lurrrrve with a slightly marbled center cut?

Let's play Guess that Foul Recipe

To wit:

•2 lb. fat trimmings from pork
•1 apple (optional)
•1 onion (optional)
•Salt (optional)

Have you given up yet?

A Nation of Sitzpinklers

Canada becomes Sweden.

Even more surprising, though, was the sign above the toilet, showing a stick man tinkling into a toilet with a line through it. Yes, Edible Canada has banned men from peeing standing up.

It’s a true advancement for social justice

Good Gravy, What am I waiting around for?

The Swansboro Mullet Festival is a tradition in Onslow County. Last year, 25000 to 30000 people came to celebrate the mullet. "It's not the hair cut, no, it's about the gathering of the town of Swansboro," resident Damein Martinez said.

"We're talking about the fish mullet that swim in the sea and that we actually, unfortunately, fry here for folks to enjoy as well," Swansboro Festival Committee Director Judy Hailey said.

Dag.

Admitting to Many Things

I once had Whale Sushi. It was in a charming, overpriced tavern, in a charming, overpriced country called Iceland.

What I plan on doing is telling the priest about it in my next confession, just to see if he gives me 3 extra Hail Marys of that politically incorrect sin.

Or maybe just to see if I get a rise out of him.



No, it does NOT taste like chicken.

Recipes from the Near Distant Ago: „Restesoljanka” or Soljanka from Leftovers

A RECIPE FOR 4 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS:
Leftovers that can still make a stock (meat, sausages, vegetables)
leftovers from vegetable salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, radishes, onions, cheese ...)
Margerine, for frying
Pickled cucumbers, peppers (or ragout - subject to availability)
Ketchup
bay leaf
allspice
lemon slice
sour cream
Salt & pepper


PREPARATION:
Chop all the meat and meat leftovers into small cubes, add salt and pepper
Sear them in a pan.
Add the diced vegetables, cucumbers, peppers.
Add the leftover sauce, vegetable salad, cucumber and / or pepper
Cover to the top with water.
Season with bay leaf, allspice, ketchup, salt & pepper.
Let it come to a boil

Recipes from the Near Distant Ago: Meat Soljanka, Russian Style

A RECIPE FOR 4 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS:
800 g beef
150 g veal
1 carrot
1 parsley root
2 onions
1 bay leaf
150 g chicken, finely diced
100 g ham, cut into small pieces
2 sausages (such as frankfurters), cut into thin slices
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
2 pickles
10 salted, real saffron milk caps, chopped (can be substituted with mushrooms),
12 olives, black
1 tablespoon capers
1 cup sour cream
Salt & pepper


PREPARATION:
Make a broth of beef, veal, carrot, onion, parsley, and 1 bay leaf. Add pepper.
Remove some meat from the pan and use it for another course.
Add to this broth the chicken, ham, and sausages.
Chop the onion finely and fry in butter and flour. Thin with broth and add to the pot
Add the pickles, mushrooms, olives, and capers. Let it come to a boil, and then let simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes.
2 minutes before end of cooking, thicken with sour cream.

Variation: The poultry can also be sauteed in butter and then added to the Soljanka

Recipes from the Near Distant Ago: Vegitarian Soljanka

A RECIPE FOR 4 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS:
150 g mushrooms (canned are acceptable)
1 onion, finely diced
250 g fennel bulb, jullienned
350 g cucumber, diced
1 / 2 bell pepper, red, sliced into strips
1 / 2 bell pepper, yellow, cut into strips
2 tablespoons oil
1 liter of Tomato soup (canned or powdered)
2 cl Doppelkorn or potable Grain Alcohol
Salt & pepper

PREPARATION:
In a saute pan with a little hot oil, add mushrooms, onion, fennel, cucumber and bell pepper.
Stirring frequently, let it cook for 5 minutes, then season with salt & pepper.
Add the tomato soup and boil briefly. Season again with salt and pepper to taste. Optionally clear liquor such as Doppelcorn, Grain Alcohol，or Vodka may also be added.

Recipes from the Near Distant Ago: „Housewife” Style Soljanka

Don’t get all “reactionary” on me, bro - I didn’t come up with the name.

A RECIPE FOR 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS:
3 onions
40 g margarine
4 tablespoons of tomato paste
1.5 liters broth (or even from powder or paste)
Leftovers from cooked meat and sausage
1 pickle
1 teaspoon capers
lemon
sour cream

PREPARATION:
Chop the onions and cook in the pot with hot margarine. Fry to a golden brown.
Add the tomato paste and the broth
Chop the leftover meat and sausage in another pan, and fry.
Chop the pickle into small cubes. Add them along with the capers to the soup.
Let simmer thoroughly.

Add a slice of lemon and sour cream to each bowl prior to serving

Recipes from the Near Distant Ago: Meat Solyanka, DDR Style

A RECIPE FOR 5 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS:
500 g cooked beef
1 carrot
1 parsley root
1 onion
1 bay leaf
2 onions, finely chopped
margarine
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 pickles
500 g of meat and meat leftovers such as sausage
5 grains of allspice
Salt & pepper

GARNISH:
Lemon slices, seeded
sour cream
Parsley, chopped

PREPARATION:
Cook onions in margarine until golden yellow.
Add tomato puree and sprinkle immediately with some of the broth.
Slice cucumbers into thin slices,
chop meat scraps and small amounts of onion.
Bring to a boil the meat broth with the carrot, onion, pepper or peppercorns.
Add allspice, bay leaf and salt. Fill with hot broth. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes,
Season again to taste.

Garnish before serving with lemon slices and a dollop of sour cream settle in the middle. Sprinkle with parsley.

She Brings Home the Bacon, and Fries it up Too

There are heroes in the fields of battle. There are heroes in medicine.

Here's my heroine of the kitchen: Jo's the rock-star of recipes.

A Legacy left behind by the Red Army: Soljanka

Of which there were very few good legacies, but like that evil genius Ripley’s love of Gulasch, mine is a weakness for Soljanka, a picante soup made popular among Eastern Germans by way of contact with their Soviet military comrades / douchebags / occupiers.

I have translated the recipe from the original Klingon, to which I’ve added my personal touches:

- 200 g /7-8 oz. of Yellow onion, finely chopped (avoid the vidalias or any new-fangled mild varieties)
- 100 g /3-1/2 oz. of unsliced bacon, cubed into small pieces
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 100 g /3-1/2 oz. of Tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon of Paprika
- 2 medium sized pickles (dill or sour are best), “julienne” cut to the extent one can with a pickle
- 500 g of meat: sausage, leftovers, or trimmed tips of pork or ham (anything, really, even leftover chicken!)
- (Add a tbp. of butter, if the meats are all lean.)
- 1,5 liters/ 3 pints of Beef stock (powdered stock may also be used, but omit the salt if you do)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon of capers

For decoration:

- Thin lemon wedges (thin sliced rings cut into triangles)
- Sour crème
- Dill

Optional:

- Parsley
- A few sliced olives, or any other pickled favorites.
- Pepperoncini (one of my favorites)

Preparation:

Sauté the onions and bacon in the bottom of your soup pot, until the onions clarify. Do not let them brown.
Add all of the meats, pickles, and paprika for a few moments until they soften.
Then pour in the soup stock.
Add the lemon wedges to the stock, salt and pepper to taste.
Let it come to a boil, and then let it simmer for at least 15 minutes and up to 45 minutes.
Just prior to serving, add the capers, and all the optional faves, as well as the sour crème dollop right in the middle of the bowl.

Decorate with small lemon wedges an a small dollop of sour crème. Some prefer the sour crème “on the side”, or otherwise spoon out the amount they deem excessive prior to stirring it in. Some the dill reserved from preparation is also a good thing to drizzle on top.

Makes 4 servings, or 2 if served without any other dish. Serve with rye or black bread on the side, the gamiest smelling type that you can find.

This is one of the simpler recipes, prone to a more pickle dominated taste, but is easily tempered by using a little bit more bacon or sausage.



Clink on the photo for an excellent Ukranian Soljanka recipe, which has a much fresher taste, not masked as heavily by the tomato paste. It should take on the taste of creative variations more readily.

News Digest from the Fake-Crisis Management Center, no. 2010\11-C

'Immediate hummus shortage probable'
Ynet News, Israel

Is Israel's national food about to become very expensive? Hummus manufacturers are warning that a legume shortage is leading to a shortage in hummus, which will likely lead to a price hike.

The crisis reached the legume sector because of the drought, fires caused by dry heat waves and weather damage in Israel and around the world.