Mint Juleps...Better Late Than Never!

Mint Juleps are always associated with the Kentucky Derby in this part of the country, and although the Derby happened over a week ago, this beverage is a refreshing drink that can be enjoyed throughout the summer.  I had had mint juleps before, but had never made them at home.  This year, though, we had family from Wisconsin and California in town to celebrate my son's first birthday, so we had an impromptu Derby party.  My mother-in-law made us hats out of construction paper, and I made us drinks.  We all chose a horse to back and cheered them on with our homemade hats and drinks in hand.

We used Maker's Mark for our juleps.  You can use any good-quality bourbon...just make sure to save the really good stuff to drink straight up.  :-)  I've seen lots of different versions, some of which include muddling the mint in the bottom of the glass and some of which just involved throwing some leaves in the glass, but I liked this one because the mint is infused in the simple syrup.  The perk to this is that you can use any leftovers in iced tea or other drinks...or just save it for your next Mint Julep.  ;-)

Mint Julep
From Epicurious

Minted Simple Syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 bunch mint (about 40 leaves)

Julep:
Scant ounce of minted simple syrup
2 cups crushed ice
2 ounces bourbon
Fresh mint sprig, for garnish

Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved.  Raise the heat slightly and simmer for about 5 minutes more.  Remove from the heat and add the mint.  Let steep for about 15 minutes.  Strain and refrigerate for about 3 hours or up to a week, covered.

In a bourbon glass or a silver mint julep cup, add a little less than an ounce of minted simple syrup.  Add about 1 cup of ice, bourbon and a splash of water.  Add enough ice to almost fill the glass.  Stir well and garnish with mint.

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A Festival in Regensburg, Germany = Music, Sausages and Beer!

Ahhh....summer in Europe, and in Germany in particular, is rife with outdoor festivals full of food, music and, of course, beer! Before moving back to the United States, we took a two-week vacation (for me) and work (for my husband) trip around Germany and Austria. Luckily we rented a car, so we were able to stay in a few larger cities and make several day trips. One such trip was to Regensburg, a beautiful little city on the Danube. At first, we couldn't figure out why the parking lots were jam packed, but once we drove past one of the main streets in the old town, we realized that they were holding a summer festival that day! (My husband, who spent a summer in Regensburg a few years back, says that there are many, many festivals that are held throughout the summer months there...)

The festival had food, drink and wares booths as well as several music venues set up all over the old town. One of my favorites was this juice/wine booth, where you could get several flavors of non-alcoholic juice or wine mixed with juice. The punch bowls were just beautiful!


There were also several outdoor ovens where they would make your pizza for you right then and there:


And of course, there were oompa bands--which my daughter thoroughly enjoyed!


We went for the traditional sausages and beer...all freshly grilled and tapped.


And if that wasn't enough, my daughter begged for one of these gigantic donuts! I just couldn't resist... (She never finished this monstrosity, thank goodness!)


I'll be posting more of our German fare in the next week or so, along with some of the recipes for my CSA veggies, so come back for more!

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My Last Day at the Strasbourg Market

A couple of weeks ago, my sister-in-law and her friend visited us in Strasbourg. One of the places I like to take visitors is the bi-weekly outdoor market near our house. Europe's markets never fail to impress friends and family since most of them live in places that don't have this luxury. That day, we ended buying a lunch of sausage, cheese, a baguette and cherries...the best kind of lunch!

The sausage was encrusted in herbes de provence, and had a very fresh sausage smell (aka pork). I wasn't so crazy about it because I'm picky about pork, but everyone else loved it.


And the cherries right now in France are almost irresistible. As the sign says, "Everyone enjoys cherries!"


I bought so many cherries that I ended up making a quick bread with them. (Stay tuned for the results of that one!)


And one of my favorite finds of the day was this strawberry nectar. Who doesn't like a little freshly pressed strawberry juice?! The man selling it suggested we try adding a little water/sparkling water to it, but I liked it as is.


As it turns out this was my last trip to the market in Strasbourg, and I'm really going to miss it, as I will a lot of things about France, but living here has really opened my eyes to cooking with fresh, in-season ingredients, and I'm hoping that I can sustain that when I return to Kentucky in three weeks.

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A Walk in the Alsatian Countryside and Vineyards

On Saturday, we decided to go walk part of the "Route de vins" in the Alsatian countryside. Although other regions of France are more widely known around the world for their wines (Bordeaux, anyone?), Alsace can hold its own with certain grapes. The most well-known are the Riesling and Gewurztraminer varieties, but they also excel in the Pinot Gris, the Pinot Noir (which is more of a rose here), and their crémant, their version of champagne that contains mostly Pinot Blanc grapes. I know it may be sacreligious, but I actually prefer the slightly sweeter crémant to champagne.


After a four kilometer trek through the vineyards between Riquewihr and Ribeauville via Hunawihr, we bought a bottle of crémant to celebrate when we got home from the Giersberger winery. We added a tiny bit of crème de cassis to make it a nice summery drink. Mmmm...I could get used to this life!


In France, it's common to have a little wine with lunch as well, and I've really enjoyed trying the different wines of the region. I think I've started a little love affair with the slightly sweet and light Pinot Gris.

Although it was 90 degrees out, it is still spring here, so the vines aren't heavy with grapes quite yet...we only got a glimpse of baby grapes waiting to become delicious wine.

So, next time you see an Alsatian wine on the shelf, you may want to check it out--it can be surprisingly tasty!

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Confiserie Schubert in Saarbrücken, Germany

Last weekend, my family and I took a day trip to Saarbrücken, Germany, only about 90 minutes from Strasbourg. When we left Strasbourg, it was a beautiful fall day with a blue sky, but by the time we arrived in Saarbrücken, it was overcast and downright cold! So we stopped in a little café to have a snack (really, a second breakfast!) to warm up. Confiserie Schubert was the perfect place to stop. I ordered a hot chocolate and my husband ordered a coffee, while our daughter ordered herself a true Berliner (jelly-filled doughnut). Our drinks were so cute that I didn't want to drink mine. (I know, I'm a sucker for a little cookie and a tray!) My husband's coffee came with whipped cream instead of the normal liquid version.


The café also had a little storefront for their baked items. The petits fours were so beautiful:


They even had the cutest little hedgehog cakes...I'm not really sure why, but aren't they cute?

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