Baby Girl reminded me yesterday that I had promised to let her invite her friends over when the weather is warmer. And I am one who likes to keep her promises and so I did. This afternoon, we picked up her classmate Maeve after school and brought her home with us. Maeve has an Irish mother and a French father and has spent her early years in South Korea.
I also invited Mateja, a 5 year-old little girl (Croatian/Slovenian parentage) who plays quite a bit with Baby Boy in the Kinderhaus. As her mother looked really set on coming along, I decided to invite them over only at 3pm. In time for tea, but past lunch. I did not think that I would be able to cope with cooking lunch, keeping an eye on 5 screaming kids and making small talk (in German) with an unknown mother.
School ending at around 1pm means eating lunch pretty late. Either one has to cook lunch in advance and heat it up, or one would have to get it done really quick. Since I was at Metzingen (Hugo Boss again) this morning, I had to opt for the latter. I have therefore decided to make Tagliatelle alla Carbonara.
I got it out in under 20 minutes. In a mixing bowl, I cracked 3 fresh Eggs in it, added in 100g of grated Parmesan Cheese, 50g of salted Butter (in small pieces), pepper and a generous serving of olive oil. In a frying pan, I browned 200g of diced bacon (lardons) or pancetta (will be better) together with 1 diced onion in some olive oil. When they were golden and fragrant, I added in some white wine and let everything simmer for a few minutes. You should, by the way, time to have your pasta cooked and ready at the same time. I used fresh tagliatelle (500g), so it only took me 3 minutes to cook them in boiling water. Drain and use immediately.
Pour the hot bacon/onions/wine/olive oil onto the egg mixture in the mixing bowl. Quickly add in the hot pasta and mix well. Serve hot.
I actually made a cake for tea, but changed my mind about serving it. I had a can of condensed milk (very precious in these parts, they do not sell the super sweet ones that we like, only condensed milk as in milk condensed) and was cracking my brain about what to do with it. I should have just made French Toasts with it, or added it in my coffee (if I usually drink any), but I had to be Keh Gau and decide to make a really bitter coffee and chocolate cake to go with it. I cut the cake into really thin slices and dribbled the condensed milk on top of them - somehow just doing this brought me back to my childhood. Nostalgia...
One really has to eat the really bitter cake with the super-sweet condensed milk, so the purpose had been fulfilled. But my guests do not share my nostalgia and will probably find this dessert really weird. It was the first time Matthea's mom visited the house and I figured that if she asked, I wouldn't be able to explain my story to her in my lousy German, so I might as well spare myself the trouble in the first place. I served her coffee with industrially-confected branded biscuits and cookies. She spent the time wowing over my house, it is true that compared to her 80 square metres, my 300m2 with all its spiders and other insects must seem enormous.
This week I have to finish up the remaining 6 German classes I have with Berlitz and leave learning German behind me at least for now. I must tidy up the house a little as the Estate Agent will be bringing potential future tenants of the house for a few visits. I must also pack for our coming ski trip (Flaine) followed by another week in Maranello (where Hubby works and lives in now). Baby Boy will finally get to drive his Enzo Ferrari! We'll be gone for 2 weeks starting Saturday. Happy Easter Holidays!
I also invited Mateja, a 5 year-old little girl (Croatian/Slovenian parentage) who plays quite a bit with Baby Boy in the Kinderhaus. As her mother looked really set on coming along, I decided to invite them over only at 3pm. In time for tea, but past lunch. I did not think that I would be able to cope with cooking lunch, keeping an eye on 5 screaming kids and making small talk (in German) with an unknown mother.
School ending at around 1pm means eating lunch pretty late. Either one has to cook lunch in advance and heat it up, or one would have to get it done really quick. Since I was at Metzingen (Hugo Boss again) this morning, I had to opt for the latter. I have therefore decided to make Tagliatelle alla Carbonara.
I got it out in under 20 minutes. In a mixing bowl, I cracked 3 fresh Eggs in it, added in 100g of grated Parmesan Cheese, 50g of salted Butter (in small pieces), pepper and a generous serving of olive oil. In a frying pan, I browned 200g of diced bacon (lardons) or pancetta (will be better) together with 1 diced onion in some olive oil. When they were golden and fragrant, I added in some white wine and let everything simmer for a few minutes. You should, by the way, time to have your pasta cooked and ready at the same time. I used fresh tagliatelle (500g), so it only took me 3 minutes to cook them in boiling water. Drain and use immediately.
Pour the hot bacon/onions/wine/olive oil onto the egg mixture in the mixing bowl. Quickly add in the hot pasta and mix well. Serve hot.
I actually made a cake for tea, but changed my mind about serving it. I had a can of condensed milk (very precious in these parts, they do not sell the super sweet ones that we like, only condensed milk as in milk condensed) and was cracking my brain about what to do with it. I should have just made French Toasts with it, or added it in my coffee (if I usually drink any), but I had to be Keh Gau and decide to make a really bitter coffee and chocolate cake to go with it. I cut the cake into really thin slices and dribbled the condensed milk on top of them - somehow just doing this brought me back to my childhood. Nostalgia...
One really has to eat the really bitter cake with the super-sweet condensed milk, so the purpose had been fulfilled. But my guests do not share my nostalgia and will probably find this dessert really weird. It was the first time Matthea's mom visited the house and I figured that if she asked, I wouldn't be able to explain my story to her in my lousy German, so I might as well spare myself the trouble in the first place. I served her coffee with industrially-confected branded biscuits and cookies. She spent the time wowing over my house, it is true that compared to her 80 square metres, my 300m2 with all its spiders and other insects must seem enormous.This week I have to finish up the remaining 6 German classes I have with Berlitz and leave learning German behind me at least for now. I must tidy up the house a little as the Estate Agent will be bringing potential future tenants of the house for a few visits. I must also pack for our coming ski trip (Flaine) followed by another week in Maranello (where Hubby works and lives in now). Baby Boy will finally get to drive his Enzo Ferrari! We'll be gone for 2 weeks starting Saturday. Happy Easter Holidays!
I hear you about the condensed milk. Only the bigger supermarkets stock them here and of course the asian stores. Some charge as much as 2 euros a pop. I think they have them here on account of the Indonesian influence.
RépondreSupprimerEnjoy your Easter break!
Oy, btws, you must be one of Hugo Boss' biggest customer huh? LOL.
Hey Serene!
RépondreSupprimerCan ask u one thing too? U think I can have a laksa plant leaf or seed or whatever it takes to make a plant grow? Got an empty pot, can use it to try to grow a plant! =) Thanks
Dutchess, not at all. In fact, I always felt so small when I was there, most people buy the whole shop when they are there. They queue up in front of Boss before 10am and just buy everything in sight. What is Lotus with her few shirts?
RépondreSupprimerAnd Pris, you should have taken a branch when I asked you to when you were here. Now I'll be gone 2 weeks and chances are that it'll be dead by the time I get back. Let's see how it goes...
You can get one of those time release thingy for watering your plants from the Bauhaus or Hornbach.
RépondreSupprimer