On German Cereal & WIWW.

Linking up here.

shirt, cami, leggings: WalMart sandals: Target 

Hey guys!!

Normally... leggings are not pants. Actually... always. But yesterday I sort of made an exception. Mostly because I was wearing a tunic-type shirt that covered my butt. Oh, and the fact that I didn't leave the house probably helped me to be a little more okay with this look.

And... I'm not a huge fashionista or anything, but I did a super fast tutorial on the braided top knot, and you can see it below. It's pretty much perfect for lazy butts like myself.  

In other news... I have a formal complaint that I would like to launch against The Land of Lederhosen. 

Their cereal tastes like cardboard. 

I'm not talking about the Muesli - that stuff is delicious, and I don't think that anyone can beat Germany in the Müsli department... Especially when it comes to the chocolate kind. 

Anyway. About a week ago, I decided that I really missed American cereal, and went to the grocery store to see what I could find. Kellog's cereal was about 5 EUR a box, and I refused to pay that much for a box of cereal. Then... something caught my eye. A bag of wannabe fruit loops. I was desperate, so I decided to grab them. 

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BIG MISTAKE. I got home, so excited to eat those puppies. Grabbed a bowl out of the cupboard, filled it to the brim with the cereal, and poured the milk over it. I took a spoon out of the drawer and started stuffing my face. Immediately, I ran to the sink and spit everything out. I checked the bowl to make sure I hadn't accidentally somehow poured paper into my bowl... Nope. This crap was supposed to pass for a breakfast food? WHO ARE THEY KIDDING??? 

I mean, honestly. This is the same country that eats Nutella, schnitzel, spaghetti eis, and bratwurst. HOW COULD THEY POSSIBLY THINK THAT THIS CEREAL TASTES GOOD??? Ugh. 

Moral of the story: Super processed/sugary/bad for you breakfast is easier to find, cheaper, and more delicious in the states. Soon enough, I will resume my 24/7 cereal habits, and I am super happy about that. Maybe a little too happy, considering the fact that I don't have dental insurance. 

I Miss Cheeseburgers [& Other Things]

Hola! 


I don't know if you guys know this, but I kind of love food. Like, a lot. 


You should also know that Germany has some amazing food. We're talkin' Schnitzel, Bratwurst, Döners (actually Turkish, but they are sold everywhere here, so I count it), Bratkartoffeln, Spaghetti-eis, Knödel, Haribo candy, any type of Schokolade, etc. etc. 


You should also know, though, that there are some areas where Germany just cannot compete with the good ole USofA. Food items that are just plain better in America include:

TexMex. I mean, seriously. You can't even buy tortillas and taco seasoning in a normal grocery store! And when you find tortillas - holy balls are they pricey! And dude. You don't even want to know what passes for salsa here.

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Cheeseburgers. Whether it's from McDonald's or a nicer sit-down place, America just does burgers better. Our beef is better (at least in the midwest), our burgers are juicier, and we have more options. Not to mention the fact that we eat them with our hands. Unless you're at McDonald's here in Germany, you'd better pick up a fork!

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Pizza. Again, in America... we eat this with our hands. We also understand the importance of cheese.  And that pepperoni is meat, NOT little peppers (okay, that's just a language thing). And stuffed crust. Actually, not just stuffed crust, but crust in general. Germany, have you never heard of deep-dish pizza? No? Research it. You'll thank me.

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Steak. I will say this again: beef is just better in America. I love me a good, juicy steak, and steak here is just, "meh."

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Any Fast Food Anywhere. While my waist-line is probably thankful that Germany sucks at fast food, my taste buds that occasionally crave the goodness that is Taco Bell, are not. Sure, they have McDonald's and BK, but those two places somehow manage to taste even worse than their American counterparts.

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Also.... If you're German, please tell me WHAT IS UP with finger foods with a fork thing? I mean, WHY?!


PS: Check out the latest blog design at Sara in Le Petit Village (and stay a while at her blog - it's awesome)! 

Back to the Future!!

So, after a few long weeks, we are back! We have been waiting on our DSL internet connection for about 4 weeks, and we FINALLY got it today! Words cannot describe how happy I am to be back in touch with not only the wonderful world of cyberspace, but my FAMILY and FRIENDS! I have been on Skype pretty much constantly since we got our internet up and running, and it's so nice just to hear the voice of family and friends. I have definitely needed it, since I've been feeling pretty homesick lately.

I really can't remember anything that's happened lately, except that I've been doing a TON of baking/cooking. I think I'm going to start archiving recipes here on this blog, that way I can easily find them, and if anyone else is interested, you can use them, too.

Last week was Mike's birthday, and, since we're here in Germany, I decided to make him Apfelkuchen for his birthday cake. Since we live in the middle of nowhere, I couldn't find a store that sold candles (I don't even know if they do candles on birthday cakes here... do they even do birthday cakes? I'm so uninformed!), and I found a store that had cards, but didn't have any cash on me, and they didn't even take EC cards. UGH. Anyway, he really liked the cake, and I was pretty proud, because I had to do EVERYTHING by hand (including beating butter and egg whites).

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

Cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup milk
• 8 medium (about 3 pounds) cooking apples, such as Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Gravenstein, Greening, Jonathan, Macoun, Pippin, Starr, Winesap, Yellow Transparent, or any combination, cored and diced (peeling is optional)

Glaze

(The glaze is optional - I prefer the cake without, because it's still plenty sweet, but has WAY less sugar)

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, or 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk or water

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a kugelhopf, 10-inch Bundt pan, or 9x13-inch pan

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat the butter until smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Stir in the flour mixture and milk.

3. Beat the egg whites on low speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold one-fourth of the whites into the batter, then gently fold in the remaining whites.

4. Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Spread with half of the apples. Top with the remaining batter, then the remaining apples.

5. Bake until golden brown, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then transfer to a rack and let cool completely.

6. To make the glaze if using: Combine all the glaze ingredients, stirring until smooth and of pouring consistency. Drizzle over the cake and let stand until set.

Note: I used a cinammon sugar mix with the apples that I put on the top layer. It was delicious!!! 

That's all!!! 

--M&A