Food. We were spoiled (in so many ways) on our trip, where to begin? Perhaps with our objectives, or in other words, our cravings for down-to-earth, hearty food as well as looking forward to our joint cooking sessions with Stephanie and David. Two weeks felt barely enough to fit in all the dishes and courses we had in mind, including Italian, Mexican cuisine, all the way to a full fledged Bavarian breakfast with the obligatory white sausage (Weisswürschtl) with sweet mustard. As a funny side note, we found the Weisswürschtl we got at Wimberger’s Old World Bakery and Delicatessen in Colorado Springs at least equally good, if not a tad better than the ones we have in Munich (home of the Weisswürschtl) – it may border to “betraying one’s country”, but still how funny is that?

The first two days already gave us a good feel of what was to come and the magnitude of the “trouble” we got ourselves into: a yummy Donna Hay dish cooked by S on our arrival night, the next day a visit to the small but wonderful local farmers market (you were offered to try anything you wanted, with the best peaches one could imagine!), later breakfast at a little French bakery followed by a real tail gate party in the afternoon at the USAFA stadium in Colorado Springs with friends and family of S&D. Jake, D’s dad even got his birthday cake there…

Jake invited us over for his 75th birthday and besides the fun time we all had, especially with our mixed German and English conversations – J owns an impressive German vocabulary due to his background! – we so much enjoyed the excellent food the very attentive catering service provided: they served the best beef I’ve ever had – I kid you not! It was on the medium-rare side, tender and juicy beyond belief; but as much as I tried, the cook wouldn’t want to reveal his secret: “Sear it first and then cook it at really low temperature” wasn’t as precise as I would have liked his answer to be ;)

The breakfast table at The Gable House has been so nicely decorated by Heather, who runs this charming bed & breakfast hotel, and again we were spoiled with granola cereal, fresh and still warm muffins and yummy omelet/egg variations…..

An apple a day keeps the doctor away…our first time tasting a sour crab apple (cherry size). I could easily imagine to make a real good tartish jam of it, raw, I’m sure it could give you a belly ache. Sour, sour, sour.

As it’s virtually impossible to find an even half way decent burger in Germany, we of course had to fully seize the opportunity while traveling abroad. A worthy representative we found at Ken & Sue’s (636 Main Avenue, Durango) another yummy, leaner buffalo burger we had at Handlebars (Silverton). Although the ones we had over at Jim’s house (very dear friends of Stephanie, who kindly invited us over for dinner) were so much better, we missed to take proper evidence, ie. photos. We just had such a good time at the dinner table with Jim, Claudia, Jenny & Danny (not to forget little Lauren) that we must have completely forgotten about it and perhaps it also had to do with Jim’s fantastic Margaritas! – especially the one without the mix :)

What a treat! An all true Mexican night at Steph’s parents house, wonderfully prepared by Rita (S’s mom) who introduced us to tamales (which, so we were told can be pretty time consuming to prepare – based on the perfect outcome I’d say worth every second!), made yummy stuffed green chiles, peach cobblers with self-picked peaches. Soooo good. One of those dinners, you would want to “reset” yourself and start all over again with the appetizer…

Isn’t Cramer cute? The first popcorn loving parakeet I’ve met – he’s just not allowed to go to the movies…yet.

To celebrate O’s birthday we made reservations with the Blue Star in Colorado Springs (1645 S. Tejon) – excellent wines, appetizers and entrees really made this a special night! Another night that ended without dessert – there was simply no room left! We didn’t even bother to try…unfortunately.

After our Bavarian breakfast, on yet another sunny morning, S made some super yummy and fluffy raspberry pancakes. And guess what? A little arm twisting can do wonder – I now know the secret to them, too :)

Death by chocolate – S’s cute looking molten chocolate cakes were serious business. It was a man’s job to finish these, literally…

Certainly among the best sushi we had in a very long time, Sushi AI (4655 Centennial Blvd., Colo. Springs) made some repetitive business with us. Especially the Unagi and the Super Spider Roll (the monster above) made us go there again.

Other great experiences included Dippin Dots (miniature ice cream beads), which we had at the USAFA game, a BBQ at D’s parents place with home made Margaritas and coyotes crying in the background. A culinary surf and turf experience at the ChopHouse in Boulder (921 Walnut St). Belgium Waffles with fresh fruit, and – very essential – pecan caramel/whipped cream at the Alps Canyon Boulder Inn – uh, to die for. A fantastic Chili Blanco at Emily’s and Joel’s house, that made us eat bowl after bowl (thanks for the recipe Emily!) and our in-between visits to Panera (a chain – but really good for bread & soups!). And just before we had to leave for the airport, we indulged ourselves a last time at NORTH (190 Clayton Layne, Denver) in fig goat cheese pizza, strozzapreti with pine nut and fresh mushrooms. Oh what a grand time…..

At Shuga’s (702 Cascade, Colo. Springs) we had to have their much raved about coconut shrimp soup, which inspired us to make our own once back in Munich….

Based on Shuga’s super soup experience, here’s Oliver’s version of the spicy coconut shrimp soup (which, giving all credits to O, turned out really really good and authentic):

Slice and dice the shallots, red chili, ginger, garlic, and lemon grass and the green onions. Add shallots, garlic, ginger, lemon grass and half of the chopped chili in a large pot and sauté until the shallots become glassy. Add coriander and curcuma to the mix and let sauté for another minute.

Add the chicken or fish stock to the pot, the coconut milk and the lime juice (with the lime zest). Let simmer and infuse for at least 20 minutes. Then strain the mix through a fine sieve.

Now add the crawfish (or shrimp), green onions and season with fish sauce (use carefully, very salty), cheyenne pepper and the rest of the chopped chili. Let simmer for another 3-4 minutes. Just before serving, sprinkle some black sesame seeds over soup.

…perhaps you are having the wrong friends? I don’t remember who -jokingly- said it first, but it was the resume of our vacation abroad. The trip was phenomenal, firstly because of all the wonderful people we met throughout our stay and secondly because of the perfect preplanning that our dear friends Stephanie & David had done in advance. Oliver had both lived on the east coast for a few years and has seen quite a bit of the west coast but Colorado was new to us both. What a beautiful state!

>>more pictures (pop-up)

We left Germany in pouring rain (including flight delays, which temporarily gave us the horror of missing our connection to CO) and in the end returned back to Munich being welcomed by the exact same -bad- weather (even more delays). But, much more important, in-between we’ve been blessed with picturesque blue skies and temperatures above 80 degrees Fahrenheit (~27 degrees Celsius). Just perfect conditions for exploring this nice patch of earth and besides, how is that for a great start: on the first night S&D spoiled us with a superb home cooked Donna Hay dish.

Thirst and dryness. Leaving the airport, the first thing that struck us, was the warm/hot-dry climate combined with Colorado’s elevation. The lowest point we got to was somewhere around 6000 feet (~1800 meter) above sea level, the highest close to around 12000 feet (~3700 meter), which we “lowland-Germans” aren’t used to. Our chapstick-supply could have lasted for a full year in Germany. Secondly, how friendly everyone treats you. Reminiscing about past visits to the States, I keep wondering whether or not in hindsight everything looks 20/20, skewing my perception of the kindness and courtesy of the people. But every new visit proved my memories right. Same thing with hospitality. Friends and family of S&D, lovely people we haven’t met once in person before, invited us over to various private occasions and dinners – each and every time producing a sincere and simply unforgettable experience. It was such a joy!

Our trip lead us from Colorado Springs, where we stayed at S&D’s adorable place, through the Rocky Mountains down to Ouray, Silverton and Durango back to CS, then up to Boulder and finally Denver. Our route took us along one of the most beautiful passes we’ve traveled on, the Red Mountain Pass. With the turning leaves it was picture perfect. Wildlife, which we as city kids don’t necessarily get to see on a daily basis, kept us fascinated: Deer in driveways, racoons on a pedestrian walk, foxes on the college campus, plenty of fun squirrels and chipmunks everywhere you go, coyotes (at least their ululations) at a BBQ, even a black bear next to the road and uncountable horses.

During our side trip, per our friends’ recommendation we’ve been staying at St. Elmo Hotel in Ouray, the beautiful The Gable House in Durango (see image below) and the charming Alps Boulder Canyon Inn in Boulder (all highly recommendable, their individual websites unfortunately don’t do them justice though!)

What kept us busy the rest of the time? Delicious food, more food and even more food (a food special is in the making). OK there was shopping involved, too. Fine, major shopping and for Oliver a good deal of golf. Isn’t this what vacation is about, having a wonderful time? In that regard Oliver and I are a perfect match, while I don’t get bored watching him pursue his favorite sport, he doesn’t have to endure my shopping sprees…

And damage was done. I really do love Munich and its various kitchen stores, but shopping for kitchen utensils in the US is 10 times the fun – much broader variety of everything for less money. Among my favourite stores I always fall for Crate&Barrel, Sur la Table, Le Gourmet Chef, CHEF’S Catalog and – of course – Williams-Sonoma …The only concern I had was, that I may have had to explain to German customs how I was able to fit a ton of kitchen utensils in our suitcases… True happiness I found, however, by discovering and exploring various antique shops along our route. Most prominently the one in Durango (Durango Antique Market, 600 East 2nd Street), who’s owner coincidentally also goes by Nikki (ok, different spelling but still a sign, right?). Needless to say I was SUCCESSFUL.

The only downer was that the horse trail ride I was so looking forward to got cancelled last minute due to weather concerns. While the sky over Durango was blue with a few clouds here and there, 15 miles north in the mountains the ranch was under water… Oh well, on the other hand another good reason to come back :)

As the previous title Outtakes: Savory Dishes suggested, here’s a variety of sweet dishes which have not ended up on the blog:

Fig Tart
Although an eye catcher, still a category A dish, which I had baked with a left over pastry crust…the combination wasn’t too compelling, mostly due to the rather crumbly pastry.

Melon Granita
Another type A experience, the melon taste was not up to par with the nice color of the granita.

Rhubarb Cake
Turned out pretty good – revisiting the images recently, I couldn’t for my life recall the recipe for the batter/dough. Also, it would probably look nicer with pink rhubarb which isn’t always easy to find. Category B.

Ice Cream
Very yummy and fun to eat – a type B – recipe lost (can’t believe this happened, need to look more).

Blueberry Cake
Definitely a hit – unfortunately another one-hit-wonder?! Again, I haven’t written down a word, neither what batter I used, nor what kind of custard-like topping I poured over it. So sad about this B…

Physalis
This really doesn’t qualify for neither A nor B, it’s one of my favorite sweet decorations. Physalis dipped into various kinds of melted chocolate and – if desired – in chopped/shredded pistachios or coconuts. Also perfect as a sweet snack.

Meringue
This meringue looked a lot better before they went in the oven, they turned slightly brown and therefore wouldn’t qualify for perfectly white meringues… hm, an A!

Mutzenmandel
Those little delicacies developed out of leftover yeast dough. Similar shaped ones can be found in Germany, which originally are more crisp than mine turned out, I also didn’t use any almonds (which are rather essential). A mixture between A and B.

Shake
Shakes I usually make out of various readily available fruits – so none tastes the same. B.

Datschi
I’ve been trying to recreate my Grandma’s Datschi (regional kind of plum-cake) for ages, as I don’t have her recipe for the dough. This one didn’t even come close, I’ve prepared better ones in the past. So the search continues… A.

PS: We’ll be on holiday until early October, with limited if at all online access; hence delicious:days won’t be updated per our normal schedule…