June 19th
2006
The heat has gotten to us. After its long anticipated arrival, we already wish for a bit less. Ironic? Anyway, it made us stay clear of the kitchen for the most part this weekend. Did it keep us from finding good things on the net? No way.
Currently discussed:
Irrespective of being a meat-eater or not, Barbara makes a good point: Why Do People Only Love Cute Animals?
Food politics comprehensively edited to advise the everyday food shopper: An interview with "What we eat" author and nutritionist Marion Nestle.
Macht des Guten (in German), a witty write up on bio food and motivations for buying it: mostly for ones health, often because it tastes better and sometimes to save the world, all in an effort to maintain LOHAS - lifestyle of health and sustainability.
High up on the wish list:
With outside temperatures over 30°C (86°F+) for almost a week now, consequently our ice cream consumption has gone through the roof. Why not make it yourself? It's shiny, it's expensive and I WANT TO MUST HAVE IT: A very elegant looking ice cream maker, something to scoop and funky anodized bowls, everything with the ONE purpose, to finally serve all these fancy creations in. And besides, our old one really has gotten a bit long in the tooth.
Oh, and in case store-bought pints are the ice cream of choice, empty them with style.
Around the corner:
The FIFA Worldcup is all over Germany and the atmosphere here in Munich is fantastic! Go Ghana. Well, and Go Germany of course ;)
Good news for food magazine junkies like myself: Thanks to good friends like Stephanie and Hande or my better half (aka the business traveler) I'm always well stocked with international food magazines. Although I was pretty happy to discover that Sussmann's INTERNATIONALE PRESSE (at the Munich main station, track 24) finally offers a broader selection of English/anglophone magazines like Olive, BBC's Good Food, Gourmet Traveller, Food + Travel, the French ELLE à table and a variety of Italian/Spanish ones, too. Only downer: An obscene markup, prices are almost double the original prices.
Over the last years one of the most wanted travel souvenirs from the US have been Microplane graters. Once you worked with them, you know why they're so popular, they're super sharp, handy and very durable. So in case we do need a replacement or addition we now know where to look for in Munich. Or we'd place an order here!
A little blog talk:
My weekly excursion through food blog land made my mouth water when I spotted a chocolate drowned panna cotta * A pure and simple combo made me crave asparagus again * Plums made it on my shopping list * By the way, Sam, can we - PLEASE - swap pantries?
Too hot?
Here is a cool tip for a hot day: granita, easy to make and so refreshing. No detailed instructions and ingredients are given, since the method is straightforward: mix your favourite fruit puree with sugar and - depending on the choice of fruits - water or lemon juice until smooth, then freeze in a flat container. Stir occasionally with a fork.
Granita is actually not so different from sorbet. It's mainly the freezing method & the amount of sugar you use in proportion to the liquid - and of course the texture of the ice crystals.
How much fruit puree, water (if any!) and sugar is dependent both on how sweet your fruit already is and what texture you are going for in the finished product. The possibilities are endless, you could even replace the fruit/water with any other flavoured liquid. There is little that can go wrong, just give it try! Below our weekend version with both water melon (could have used a bit more sugar) and charantais melon. The only caveat: beware of brain freeze...
The granita look lovely! Just the thing to cool off with on a hot weekend. Stay cool!
Granita! How nice that is! I just have to make the first of this year TODAY!! Thanks for reminding me and what a wonderful pic!!!
Oh my gosh, I want one of these ice cream makers and I want it now!!! But until I have saved enough money, I should be fine with some granita, great picture!
Hey Nicki,
Just a note - Gourmet Traveller is Australian (you mentioned in your email you had not seen much of the Australian table) and a magazine you must get your other half to get for you when he is next abroad is 'Delicious' which is also Australian. There is a UK version, which is a copy of the Aussie one, if that is closer to hand.
Also, Donna Hay here in Australia produces a magazine of the same name which I really think you'll love!
Cheers
Claudine
EDIT: Thanks for the heads up! I just added "anglophone" to the magazine paragraph to avoid misunderstandings.
Btw, I subscribed to Delicious (the UK version) and love love love Donna Hay's magazines, which my dear friend Stephanie keeps sending me from the States. *Sigh* ...too many nice food magazines out there ;) Nicky
I love the colours!! You could almost dip a paintbrush into the bowls and start painting with them!! Beautiful photos.
It's been quite hot here in Toulouse and thus i can hear the granitas asking me to eat them.
Lovely picture. I really like the napkin (?).
What lens did you use for that picture? The dof is so beaufiful...
xoxo
Fanny
Just a technical question: isn't the difference between sorbet and granita that for sorbet you should use egg white?
Otherwise, the pics are really nice and the recipes too!
cheers
alex
What a beautiful picture! And granitas are the best way to cool down with this hot summer to come...
Melonen-Granita, super Idee, bei dieser Hitze kann man sich nur mit Eis in jeglicher Form über Wasser halten! Ist das nicht unglaublich, was wir jetzt für ein klasse Wetter haben, nach so einem lausigen Frühling? Und alles nur wegen der WM :)
Yum, looks so refreshing, I could go for some of this right now!
Since I found your blog I visit your site religiously, it's a great source of inspiration :) The granita looks to die for regarding the current temperatures. And those shiny ice cream makers, how I would love to own one!
Eine Eismaschine für Zuhause wäre natürlich der Traum schlechthin, aber abgesehen von der Platzfrage gibt das mein Budget derzeit leider so garnicht her. Aber Träumen ist ja erlaubt. Solange muß die Eisdiele um die Ecke herhalten. Habt Ihr eine Lieblings-Eisdiele in München?
Very refreshing, and the spoons are beautiful!
A bientôt
I just have to run.............to make one of those!!! thaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnk yooooooooou
Hey Fanny, Like for most of our food photography we used a 100mm prime macro lens also for this shot.
Hi Alex, Some recipes for sorbet include egg white while others don't, but it is not required. I tend to not include it, and choosing the proper sugar/liquid ratio I never ran into any texture issues.
Rika, Hm, da wären sicherlich Schubeck's Eissalon und das Sarcletti (Rotkreuzplatz). Beide zeichnen sich durch eine rießige Auswahl und mitunter ungewöhnliche Geschmacksrichtungen aus - manche genial lecker, andere eher gewöhnungsbedürftig :)
That granita picture is just so gorgeous. Perfect image of summer. Wish I could take photos as nice as yours someday! I wish I had one of those fancy ice cream makers too, sometimes those freezer-bowl ones just don't cut it!
You inspired me to make my own strawberry granita and it was delicious! Perfect for today's hot temperatures. Thanks!
your photos are always so mouth-watering!
Oh, Nicky! That ice cream maker! Still waiting for my order of one [only a small one that is! but enough to cure my cravings for home-made ice creams and sorbets]. Friends have hinted i should add a more expensive and bigger one on our wedding list when we finally get to plan the wedding. Talk about rushing it, huh? The Meyer Lemon ice cream sounds devine! And your watermelon sorbets are just so temptingly beautiful. I'm ready for the challenge of a brain freeze...
We could do with a refreshing granita in Belgium as well. Made a 'champagne/apricot' version only last week. Was a hit! Keep up the excellent imagery and articles!
Interna: Meine Blogrolle...
Nachdem ich in den letzten Tagen hier und da an meinem Blog rumgebastelt habe, widme ich mich heute meiner Blogrolle – siehe auf der rechten Seite “Andere Blogs”. (Woher kommt eigentlich der Begriff Blogroll? Die Assoziationen sind nicht ...
I can just say WOW,this is my first visit to your site and you have amasing recipes and pictures!I saw the picture of red onions in your previous posts,its beautiful!You have made such a simple vegetable look so glamorous!:)
Hi Nicky!
Wow!
Can i ask you which camera you have?
Thank yooou
gbye
I`m sorry, i have seen the answer at frequently asked :-)
Wow, would that granita be wonderful today in the mid 90's. Gorgeous pic!!!
Mae, Well, maybe the bigger ice cream maker can be a good way of rushing it. Just kidding ;) Talk about brain freeze: I was all over some lime sorbet yesterday (not homemade though!) and the tartishness did double the damage in terms of brain freeze - or maybe I was just being greedy?
Chantal, Champage/apricot sounds divine! Never used champagne for a sorbet, I think that's next on my list!
Hi Nicky,
Love your site. The bf and I are hitting München this weekend from small-town NRW. Our hotel is in Baaderstr. and we are quite close to the centre, what cafes would you recommend us?
Thanks
Hey? but isn't creativity born of constraint?
Yes, maybe we should swap after all!