A Skywalk and a Lemon Scented Asparagus Egg Feldgieker Tart

On a Spring day in April, I packed my camera gear and props to make the roughly one-and-a-half-hour drive from Weimar to Eichsfeld. The weather was, as true to April's nature, fairly changeable. It was warm, my spirit was high and I was really looking forward to this trip. The district of Eichsfeld is a beautiful region in Thuringia, with its rolling hills and untouched nature, the landscape at times reminds me of something taken from the chapters of a Jane Austen book: a Nature of beauty and grace.

Chamomile and Saffron Crème Caramel

 

As a child of the 80s, the crème caramel was the epitome of all desserts for me. As a daughter of an hotelier I spent a lot of the 80s giving into the gentle jiggling charm of this dessert. Somewhere into the 90s the dessert disappeared from its pedestal of fame. Apparently the crème caramel had occupied a huge amount of space on restaurant menus around the world for a large part of the 20^th century and probably had to make room for the liquid nitrogen dessert trends that took the 2000s over by storm. Or how about the fusion of any two ingredients possible – cronut or cruffin anyone? 

Punjabi Style Curried Lamb and Peas - Keema Matar

My life – most of it – has always revolved around food. My mother’s father was a hotel / restaurant inspector and my father is a hotelier. As a little girl I spent most of my time in the various kitchens of the hotels. I watched as the pastry chef made my sweet patisserie dreams come true, squealed in disgust as the butcher axed the chickens, was intrigued by the way the sous chef magically whipped up the smoothest sauce béarnaise or waited impatiently as the trucks came into the delivery loaded with tropical fruit and vegetables from all over the world.

Classic: Croque Madame

When many of us think of French cuisine we tend to automatically link it to haute cuisine. It is the foundation of French cuisine evolving from the royals and aristocrats around Versailles and Paris. The 17^th century chef and author Francois Pierre La Varenne is known as the godfather of modern French cuisine whose work has been an inspiration over the centuries and very much responsible for the creation of haute cuisine as we know it today.

Rhubarb Strawberry Pavlova with Cardamon Skyr Cream

Peonies, scoops of ice cream, dances through the sprinkler, warm summer rains and juicy strawberries. All the things that are making summer a blast for us here in Weimar. Those end of year exams are done and dusted for my son, my last workshops and events for the first half of the year are under the belt and we are gearing towards summer break in just under a week.

Cherry Pistachio Meringue Tart

To me it never really feels like summer until cherries arrive in the markets. Cherries announce the beginning of the stone-fruit season and for me this kicks-off my favorite fruit season of the year. For a short time cherries are the stars before apricots, peaches and plums arrive and take over front row.

Breakfast of Champions - The Big Breakfast Post

 

Breakfast is for champions! And according to the trend it is sneaking its way into the other meals of day. We have a tendency to put an egg on everything and serve up “breakfast for lunch/dinner” – a trend that I follow myself, especially when the traditional eggs, bacon, grilled tomatoes and baked beans are concerned.

Cooking School: Crêpes Suzette

The year is 1895 at the height of the Belle Epoche, a time filled with great optimism in France. Paris boasts of its newest acquirement, the Eiffel Tower, lighting the blue touch paper in this “beautiful era”, where science and the arts are seeing a period of development and innovation. The rich and famous celebrate this age buoyantly, traveling in their fancy cars and rejoicing with good food, wine and champagne.