Some recipes arrive quietly and stay. This roasted beetroot with ginger, chives and a peanut lime dip is one of those dishes for me. It is simple, earthy and deeply satisfying, yet layered. The sweetness of beetroot, the warmth of ginger, the freshness of chives and the calm richness of peanuts come together without forcing anything. When I made it again recently, I realised how closely it mirrors the guiding word I have chosen for 2026: Yutori.
Bavaria meets Asia!
One of the current projects I am working on for a new Travel, Food and Lifestyle magazine, will take me to Bavaria a couple of times this year. I am really looking forward to it as not only does the State of Bavaria have a uniquely varied landscape and wonderfully multi-faceted locals, but also the Bavarian cuisine, which is hearty and rustic traditionally, has been undergoing an impressive reform. That is where my project docks on and takes it a step further.
Remember those university days when we literally lived on packets of instant ramen noodles after long hours in the library or in lectures or … at parties? The energy level at an all time low, often I had just enough to tear open a packet, drop the contents into a bowl and pour hot bubbling water from a kettle. As it steeped, I would snooze, head on the table!
If the British have their roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and the French the Blanquette de veu – then this is Thuringia's all-time classic Sunday lunch - beef roulade stuffed with paper-thin slices of bacon, onion and gherkins and spread with a hint of sharp mustard and served with braised red cabbage spiced with all-spice, juniper berries and cloves. The steaming hot potato dumplings - the famous Thuringian klöße are the exceptional darlings of every family here in Thüringen.
It’s officially here! Summer vacation is just around the corner and all three of us are looking forward to two and half weeks of lazy days, without routine, sun soaking, refreshing hikes, stylish city tours, good food and just quality time for each other.
This weekend was busy and filled with lots of fun, friends and food. It was the annual Onion Market Festival (I wrote about it in 2008) here in Weimar this weekend. The Onion Market in Weimar is always a great occasion for us to invite friends and simply enjoy Weimar in a totally different atmosphere.
He joined the running club at his school this year and has been training hard. His aim was simple: not to repeat the debacle of last year, where he fell and scraped his knees fairly badly. Being the tough kid he is he got up and continued running, making it to the finish with a few tears but determined to come in as a finisher. This year he was driven to do better. His will and resolve did surprise me and I had all my toes and fingers crossed for him.
He had worked out a simple strategy and in the end it worked well for him.
The weather was simply perfect, the gorgeous blue skies with speckles of fluffy white clouds certainly made the Onion Market experience memorable. We spent the whole day at the Onion Market, enjoying the Zwiebelkuchen, Federweisser, riding the Ferris wheel and simply indulging in good company.
That evening Soeren’s last words before he went off to bed were “I’m nervous to check my ranking in the computer tomorrow!” He came in 12th in his age group. He was fairly chuffed about the result!
The weekend also brought in some great news, one of which was that my feature for In The Kitchen With over at Design*Sponge was live. I think it was back in April when Kristina and I began working on the feature together. I loved her easy going way and professionalism. We contemplated a few ideas and quickly decided on one – it fit perfectly.
These Thai Red Curry Noodles are pretty much what my kitchen is all about! Head on over to Design*Sponge to get yourself a bowl of theses spicy noodles. Let me know what you think!
I’d like to say a huge Hi! and welcome to everyone who’s visiting my little space here from Design*Sponge. It’s great to have you all over and hope you’ll stay around for more. Maybe you’d like to get to know me better, or just browse through a few of my recipes – grab a cup of tea though – I have over 600, or even travel with me to some exciting countries and cities. Hope you are ready to join me on my crazy roller coaster ride.
More fun news to come later and stay tuned – tomorrow I’ll tempt your sweet tooth again!
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2010 Meeta Khurana Wolff unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First
So tell me – have you gone out and taken a big deep breath? I mean a BIG breath – really filling your nostrils and lungs with the air outside. Can you smell it? It may be distant but it is there – at least for us folk in the Northern Hemisphere. Spring is in the air.
The year really has started off so well! My sun dried tomatoes and purple basil pesto entry to HHDD #24 was one of the two winning entries. I am sharing the honor with another lovely blogger, Tartasacher of Mil Postres who presented a grand panna cotta with sweet pesto and raspberry sauce. When Joey wrote to me telling me the news I could hardly believe it. But yes - it seems for the first time since the begin of Hay Hay it’s Donna Day! there has been tie.
