On to the fabulous veggies… I’ve always had an awful black thumb. When it comes to houseplants and herbs, I’d be a convicted murderer. So many times I’ve bought herb plants and they died within a week or so. My mother is the queen of African Violets (and many other plants) and my dad has an enormous vegetable garden, so I don’t know where my black thumb came from. I guess I just didn’t understand (or appreciate) how simple it was to grow your own food… until recently.

The past few years, we’ve visited Stephan’s parent’s in September which is the tail end of growing season in Germany. I would eat dozens of amazing cherry tomatoes every day when I’m there (along with the AMAZING German Bread… mmmm.) I decided this year that I would actually try my own garden. The fact that my in laws were coming to visit us a few months later and my father in law was going to hook me up with an automatic drip irrigation system really helped boost my confidence. So I did it. I planted a plethora of tomatoes and peppers and now I see the light. Yes, I have to spend time on the garden and it is definitely a daily chore, but the benefits are so amazing that it is totally and completely worth it. I haven’t bought peppers or tomatoes in at least 2 months. I figure I have still at least another month of both.

Every other day I go out and pick two pints of cherry tomatoes and a regular tomato or two. Can you imagine how cool it is to go out in your backyard and do that? Very. I highly suggest anyone that has a little bit of yard or even a big apartment terrace to try planting some veggies. You can’t beat the flavor and it is truly organic.  If you want to see more pictures of my garden, check out my flickr gallery.

In keeping with our new health kick, Stephan and I joined a gym.  Can you believe I’ve gone every day since I joined?  The fact that I joined two days ago is a minor detail.  lol!  On a whim, we tried spinning for the first time yesterday.  I don’t know how many spin enthusiasts there are out there, but what’s up with the butt pain afterward?  I think I might need to order one of those embarrassing inflatable donuts to sit on!  Yowsers!  All jokes aside, I truly enjoyed spinning and definitely plan to continue with it.

Now on to the food… This is a very quick miso glazed salmon.  It’s flavorful and oh so healthy!  Next time I make this I want to grill the fish instead of broiling.  I think it would be even better!  Oh yeah, and those gorgeous salad greens…… I grew them!!   :::patting self furiously on the back:::

Miso Glazed Salmon Recipe

1 tbsp miso paste
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp water (approx)
2 salmon filets
pepper

1. Preheat broiler for at least 15 minutes to make sure it is very hot. Set the top rack to the highest setting.

2. Combine the miso paste, soy sauce and sesame oil and stir to incorporate.  Add just enough water to thin out a little.  You want the glaze to be thin enough to coat the fish, but not watery.

3. Place the fish in a small bowl and pour the glaze over it.  Turn the fish a few times to coat with the miso mixture.  Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for a half hour to an hour.

4. Place the fish on a foil covered broiler tray and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.  The foil is very important unless you want to spend some time scrubbing the pan.  Broil for about 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of your fish.

This is us in Prague, close to the Castle and the Famous Charles Bridge



The first stop, Prague, was fabulous!  Prague’s history is just amazing and there was such beautiful things to see in every direction.  Stephan had a field day photographing the old buildings and the famous Prague Castle.  As for the eats, the food we ate was fresh and tasty but nothing to write home about.  The two restaurants we had dinner at were Kolkovna and Cafe Savoy.  Kolkovna was packed with all kinds of different people, not just American Tourists (thank god!)  We had a nice table outside overlooking the Jewish Quarter.  We both had the typical Pilsner Goulash which was flavorful and very filling.  As for Cafe Savoy, it looked really hip and modern, but the food was a bit lacking… I think it would be a great place for breakfast, as they have tons of pastries, though!

More Weiners and meat than should be legal….

Second stop was Vienna, Austria.  And no, I did not see any kangaroos or boomerangs.  Weird, eh?  Our hotel was very close to a street that was lined with restaurants that all featured outside dining.  I picked Witwe Bolte (the Widow Bolte), the most crowded one where I could hear no English spoken.  It was a VERY good choice.  I, of course, had the very traditional Wiener Schnitzel.  This was a HUGE slab of thinly pounded veal that was breaded and pan fried.  Not the healthiest thing, but fantastic!  The food highlight of this leg of our trip was enjoying the Sacher Torte with a Cafe Melange at the Hotel Sacher.  This was the one thing I wanted to do when I was there, and it was well worth it!  Stephan had the apple strudel there which was also amazing.  I highly suggest you treat yourself to this if you’re ever in Vienna.

Sacher Torte from Hotel Sacher

Apple Strudel from Hotel Sacher

Our last stop on our Euro road trip was the heart of Bavaria, Munich…. which is now my favorite city in Germany.  I could have spent DAYS wandering the Viktualienmarkt, which is an enormous outdoor market that has stand after stand of amazing veggies, cheeses, meats and casual foods.  All of the veggie stalls looked like a professional stylist just finished arranged it for a photo shoot.  This market is where I tried the very traditional Weisswurst (White Sausage) which I did not like.  It was a bizarre white sausage with the texture of a very soft mousse.  The flavor was tasty, but the texture was just plain icky.  However, the sweet mustard and pretzel that came with it made up for the yucky sausage.  Then we went to the Hofbrauhaus, which everyone knows from Lampoon’s European Vacation.  It was a huge old touristy place that actually had good food.  I was all wursted out by this time and ordered Pfifferlinge in Krauterrahm (Chanterelle mushrooms cooked in herbs and cream served with a dumpling.)  Fall is Chanterelle season in Germany, and this dish is seen on many specialty menus.  Its worth trying and a welcome vegetarian treat after eating so much meat and sausage.

The weird Weisswurst… not my favorite thing

Check out these veggies at the Viktualienmarkt!


The Hofbrauhaus

Chantrelle mushrooms with Knodel (dumplings)

The whole trip was an absolute blast and I am ready to go back again.  Other than the road trip, we ate very well thanks to my mother-in-law cooking and father-in-law’s garden.  It was a good time, all around!  So now that I am back home I’ve dusted off the old Wii Fit and need to get back to exercising and healthy eating!  Wish me luck!

We’ve named her Chica temporarily because it seemed wrong to keep calling her “the other dog.”  She is an absolute sweetheart…. but definitely categorized as special needs.  She is partially blind and has difficulty walking due to hip dysplasia, but she hobbles around.  Her disposition, however, is very sweet… and I’ve done some unspeakable things to her like forcefeeding her pumpkin and yogurt with a syringe. I won’t go into why I was doing this… after all this IS a food blog! lol!

We currently have her in our home in Ft Lauderdale.  We would love to keep her, but we already have 2 chihuahuas and just don’t have room for another. Also, with our busy schedules and traveling, we don’t have the time to give her the attention she needs.  If you know someone who would like to adopt a special needs pet, please email me at candace at maloman.com.  She would be the perfect lap dog for an elderly woman or man who needs companionship. 

I’d like to give a big thank you to Dr. Loeser, my fantastic vet, who donated her time to run tests on little Chica.  Check out this beautiful image Stephan took of little Chica.

For everyone else, Happy Holidays!!!  Every year, we create custom Holiday Cards, and this year is no different.  When I saw this blog post, I knew what our 2008 theme had to be.  This is my favorite card we’ve ever done, and now we have the pressure to top this next year.  So here’s our version of a 1970ish Olan Mills portrait…