Aren't these beautiful?

These pears are my mother-in-law's. I love them because they are so organic looking and they remind me of how I am looking foward to growing my own fresh ripe pears one day. I hope to have a home with enough space to grow a fruit orchard. My parents used to have a pear tree, a sour cherry tree, rhubarb plants, and a raspberry bush. There never seemed to be enough raspberries on that bush. I used to love to go outside in the afternoon and when no one was looking, huddle down behind the bush and pick all the lush ripe red ones! Unfortunately, mom and dad have since removed the pear tree and raspberry bush. Bummer. While I am reminicing about my love for fresh homegrown fruits, I just remembered that my oma used to grow these beautiful little berries in her back yard and make jam out of them for a delicious breakfast treat! Apparently they were banned when I was a little girl and she had to stop growing them. I never knew why they disappeared until just recently when she told me that!

I have to say, my all time favorite season is fall, when the italian prune plums come to the market. They are so beautiful and taste so delicious when they are cooked in a pan with just a little bit of cinnamon and sugar! Mmmm. They are my oma's favorite too. :)

If you like something a little more fancy, a fabulous way to prepare them is to make a short-bread sort of dough and quarter them on top. Bake, and when its fresh from the oven, sprinkle it with sugar. Pflaumenkuchen :)

Doing only what I'm supposed to...

I am in such a spring mood. I want to plant my own herbs and grow a vegetable garden, go to the farmers market to get fresh fruits, pick flowers and put them in vases everywhere, go for walks every morning and ride my bike at the park. Its funny because this is the first year I feel like putting my hands in the dirt. I have never had a fascination with growing flowers like my mom and Oma do. Don't misunderstand me, I have always loved them, and after being in Colorado I realized just how much I really can't live without the lush gardens I have grown up with, but I have just never desired to create them myself. And now, its like they're calling my name. I need to plant!!! And I don't have a home of my own to do it in. I am a nomad right now. :) Oh, I am so hoping that our little house in Germany will have a flowerbox or two! In the meantime, Daniel bought me flowers on my return home from Florida. :) Aren't they beautiful?

This morning I made these lovely baguettes from Mireille Guiliano's book French Women Don't Get Fat. As is typical of me and cooking, I didn't follow the recipe. I used two cups of whole wheat flour and two cups of white. It is delicious!




Baguettes

These 18-24-inch wands of French bread are as much a symbol of France as the Eiffel Tower. And while French women don’t often have need to bake them today, when they are for sale on almost every commercial block of every town and city, there’s no substitute for the intoxicating aromas of freshly baked bread at home. Good baguettes should be crusty, moist and slightly chewy and, of course, flavorful. And they are amazingly easy to make.

INGREDIENTS


4-5 cups flour
1 teaspoon dry yeast
2 cups warm water
2 teaspooons kosher salt

Serving: Makes 4 baguettes; Serving = 1 oz piece

INSTRUCTIONS

In a small bowl dissolve yeast in ½ cup warm water using a fork. Set aside for 10 minutes.Combine flour and salt. Add yeast mixture, stir in remaining 1½ cup water. Mix until sticky enough to knead. Knead for 6-10 minutes; dough should be sticky and smooth. Put in a bowl, cover with a damp tea cloth, and let rise at room temperature until doubled in volume. Punch down and divide into 4 pieces. Roll each into a ball and shape into a baguette. Transfer to slightly greased baking sheet (I use a special baguette-shaped baking pan) and let rise until nearly doubled). Brush with mixture of one beaten egg and one TB water. Score. Pour two cups of hot water in a pan and place in preheated 450° F oven. Bake the baguettes for 15 minutes then lower temperature to 400° F and bake for 10 minutes until golden brown. Remove and cool on a rack before slicing.