All posts filed under: Blog

Food Corner: Vanilla Cookies

Published by Sula H.

Usually, I only present you with short descriptions for the food corner. Today, however, I have something special in store for you: A very easy cookie recipe. You will need: 2 cups flour (all-purpose) / 250 g wheat flower 1/3 cup granulated sugar / 75 g sugar 1-2 teaspoons vanilla powder / 2 pouches vanilla powder (16 g) 1 pinch salt 1 egg (medium) 1/2 cup softened butter (unsalted) / 125 g softened butter or margarine Time: about 40 min. Difficulty: Easy Preparations: Preheat oven to 350 F (180-200 °C depending on your oven). Lightly grease baking sheets, or line with parchment paper. Dough: Sift flour into a bowl. Add all other ingredients. Stir until the dough is smooth. Take some of the dough, roll out to about 1/4-1/3 inch thick (about 1/2 cm; depending on the crunchiness you prefer). Cut out cookies with shapes/cookie cutters, and place cookies on your baking sheet. Bake for about 9 min. If desired, decorate the cookies with melted chocolate. Yield varies on how thick/thin you roll the dough …

St. Nicolas Has Come

Published by Sula H.

December 6th. In Germany that is a date all the children look forward to. Because it’s St. Nicolas Day. That morning kids wake up to find a Santa boot or a Christmas stocking in front of their door – filled with sweet treats like cookies, chocolate, candy, some fruits, and nuts, and maybe even a small present. Waking up this morning, I knew I wouldn’t find said boot in front of my door. No one even knows about St. Nicolas here. But that doesn’t mean I can’t leave a little love in front of someone else’s door (or in their mail boxes for that matter!) So, I spent all afternoon together with my students baking cookies. And while I have no Santa boot or stocking for the cookies to  go with, I know some people around here still will be glad that there’s something like St. Nicolas Day. And that there’s someone here who cares about St. Nicolas Day. On that note, happy St. Nicolas Day to all near and far!   PS. The cookies you …

Thrown for a Loop

Published by Sula H.

Got off on the wrong foot today. At least that’s what it seems. First thing I realized after getting up this morning was that it was raining. Yet again. Now, rain isn’t necessarily a bad thing -except when it rains on Mondays or Tuesdays. That’s when my classes are on the far end of the campus, which means, I have a long way to get there. And when it rains, I can’t really ride my bike to class, and that means, I need twice as much time to get to work, which is twice as much time to get soaked by the rain. Second thing, last night, I wasn’t able to get the copies I needed for class today, so I had to get them this morning before class. But you know how things work when you leave them to the last minute (which is why I usually do everything I can to avoid that) – they throw you for a loop. Now, in order to avoid that loop, I made sure to get up …

What Mountain Climbing Has To Do With Cookie Baking

Published by Sula H.

I went mountain climbing with friends today; and thanks to one of my friends, I learned something new. There’s that old saying that goes like this: The earthen vessel may not blame its potter, asking, “Why have you made me this way?” Likewise – my friend felt free to instruct me as we were hiking – the baker shouldn’t blame his cookie: “Why have you turned out so sweet!?” And don’t you know – I had to agree with my friend: There’s quite some truth to that. What? You’re still not quite understanding what cookie baking has to do with mountain climbing? Well, here’s the story: I’d brought some homemade cookies with me for sharing as a snack with others during the hike (it’s Christmas season after all). I’d made those cookies combining two recipes, and while they still tasted pretty good, they also were a little too sweet for my liking. It made me feel like I had to apologize for the cookies when sharing them. But my friend was right: I couldn’t really …

Let the Season Begin!

Published by Sula H.

It’s filled with goodies again this year. My advent calendar. I have very few traditions that I keep up, but this is one I was glad to revive last year. Admitted, this year the goodies are only half as good as they were last year (then they came directly from Germany with a huge assortment of choices – and Germany does have some great treats, I assure you!). But still, it’s a full blown advent calendar; that serves as decoration and comfort in a place where there’s otherwise few indications of the season! And if there’s no sign of Christmas outside, well then we have to make it even more like Christmas inside! In that sense, let the season begin! And I wish all of you a wonderful Christmas season 2011!

Food Corner: Chocolate Cake

Published by Sula H.

Yes, you can find them in China. Those rare occasions of having real good chocolate cake. This one was actually made by my Chinese friend (note: Chinese people don’t normally bake; ever), but my friend is a full-blown exception. This cake had a very soft and moist consistence, with a rich layer of chocolate all around. It might look a little homemade, but it definitely was worth the treat!

A Small Beginning

Published by Sula H.

I’ve been so wishing and hoping for this. Not the traffic, I mean. The snow, of course. Well, I wanted it a little whiter, and a little colder. So that the snow would stick around for a bit. But it’s at least a start, and some wise person once said that you should never despise the small beginnings. He knew a thing or two! And that’s why I’m thankful still. And why, of course, I had to take my camera out and capture this tiny beginning – even though there’s not really much to look at! Let’s hope for more snow tomorrow!

Getting Ready: Christmas Greetings

Published by Sula H.

  Ok, so let’s get one thing straight. When it comes to birthdays, holidays, etc. I’m usually not the most organized person. As a matter of fact, it’s rather likely for me to get my act together after the event, and I’ve been known to present birthday gifts, Christmas presents, etc. even months later. I even have one birthday gift sitting on my shelf that I meant to give to a friend almost three years ago. It’s still sitting there, all packed up and what not, just waiting to be handed over to its true owner. So, you get the point: I’m not an early bird when it comes to gift giving or even card sending, for that matter (and it’s not something I’m proud of, really!) This year, however, is special. As a matter of fact, I managed to mail out my Christmas cards a week before Thanksgiving (though psst! – I’m not telling you here that I meant to mail those cards last year, and the year before; just never got to it). …