The Cookery Clubs Spring Meet.

It was the last day in April, it started off quite nice, but as the morning wore in it clouded over.

We loaded up the camper with all the necessary cooking utensils and the pre-prepared part of the meal, I was doing a soup and Linda the Asparagus and two different Hollandaise sauces.

We set off at 09:30 which would give us plenty of time to get to Kiel get parked up on Willhelmplatz and meet our friend Kalle at the market. we were not far on the road when it started to rain, just a few spots at first but within a few minutes it was a steady rain, so we drove to Kiel with Klassik Musik and the swish of windscreen wipers.

We got parked up with no bother and then walked the short distance to the market, it wasn't raining hard, but steadily. They had moved a few stalls around and we had a problem finding the coffee stall where we had agreed to meet Kalle, but first I had a matjes brötchen from the fish stall, I think that the Kiel Fish stands are magnificent, when Linda lived here, we would always buy our fish here, it is the freshest and if you want something exotic, you just need to tell one of the stall holders (we always used Frank on the Matjes Lange stand). We then popped along to say hello to Anker on the vegetable stall that we use and bought some new potatoes. It was still raining and so we wandered around looking at the food and plant stalls, it was cold and wet. After a bit of difficulty we found the coffee stand, it had been moved to the outer limits of the market. Kalle had just arrived, so Linda and Kalle had a coffee and I went to the next stall and had a Currywurst, I must say not the best I have had but then I was spoiled with living in Berlin, the home of the true Currywurst.

We then headed out to Carolyn where we would be feasting in the evening, we set up at the rear of the village local (that is being totally renovated so closed).

We had arrived early, but Linda read the Stern and I made do with the crossword from the Lübecker Nachrichten and dozed. Carolyn phoned and said if we wished we could come around, so we did and kept her company (along with a nice glass of white wine) as she got her main course ready for the oven (veal rump).

The rest of the crew arrived, which sounded the start of the evening, with the pop of the cock of the sparkling wine this set the wheels in motion. Marianne made the cocktail (I helped her, I put the ice cubes into the glasses). The cocktail had a very nice Apirol base, it is such a pretty colour and has that nice bitter/sweet taste.

We adjourned to the wonderfully decorated table (lilac themed) in the living room.

 Martin Started us off with his very tasty amuse bouch, served in a glass, it was a Green Asparagus, crayfish tails in a smashing cocktail sauce.

Next was my Cream of Asparagus soup with brown shrimps.

Serves six

2kg of white asparagus (peeled and cut into pieces)
500g of green asparagus
The peelings of all the aspargus
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 shallot, diced

1 large potato, diced

2 ltrs of good vegetable stock (this was used to cook asparagus over 3days)

A piece of lemon skin (outer only)

Juice of half a lemon

1 tsp sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

2 bottles of catering cream (less chance of it splitting)

150g of brown shrimps

A handful of wild garlic leaves shredded

A few fresh basil leaves shredded

I had made the soup base in the morning before setting off, this consisted of an Asparagus stock, that had been made over the previous week, each time we had asparagus I would boil the peelings up and then strain, before cooking the asparagus in the stock. I had started off with a vegetable stock from Knorr (those little plastic pots as advertised by Markus Pierre White).

Over the week t

his became more and more concentrated, until I had the final stock and the house smelling of asparagus

.

I added the final asparagus peelings, a crushed clove of garlic, a couple of slithers of lemon peel and the juice of half a lemon.

This was boiled for 30 minutes, strained through a sieve and the diced white asparagus added, plus a diced potato and a teaspoon of sugar.

When the asparagus and potato were soft I pureed them and passed through a sieve to remove any lumps and fibres.

I next cooked the green asparagus; this would form a puree to drizzle into the finished soup. I pureed the green, adjusted the seasoning and transferred into a piping tube.

Everything was ready, I transferred it to a container for transporting, all that was required at Carolyn’s was to bring the soup just below boiling point, adjust seasoning, stir in the cream and pour over brown shrimps in the soup plate, squeeze over the green asparagus puree and decorating with shredded wild garlic leaves and basil.

Served with some nice stone oven baked bread bought that morning at the market.

After the soup came the main course.

This was Carolyn’s haunch of veal with a butter and herb crust, slow roasted in the oven with carrots and shallots. Served with boiled potatoes and Linda’s white and green asparagus served with two different sauces Hollandaise. One was orange flavoured  and the other a mousseline (whipped cream added at the end to lighten it up)

To finish off the meal was one of Kalle’s desert creations, a trio of rhubarbs, a rhubarb tartlet, a rhubarb crumble and a rhubarb drink, all quite exquisite.

We sat and chatted, before it was time for us to retire to our mobile home and the rest headed back to Kiel and beddy byes.  The end of another wonderful Kikoklu evening long may they continue, the next one is a Summer BBQ at Stodo.

smoked seatrout

First catch yourself a seatrout. Then scale and gut it. then freeze it for a fine day.

put it into a 7% brine mixture, with herbs and spices. Leave in the brine overnight.

Next day. Remove from the brine, wash under running water and pat dry.

Heat up your smoker, put the smoking medium in (beech and juniper).

When it is hot and smoking like billy-o put the fish on the grill, lid down and allow to smoke for 20 mins(depends on the weight and thickness).

Have a look, push a sharp knife into the thickest part and pull at the dorsal fin, if it comes out without any resistance, it is cooked through (but not over cooked).

Serve with fresh asparagus and new potatoes.
I steam my asparagus in a boullion made from the parings from the asparagus, some vegetable stock and a half a lemon.

Pour the boullion into the asparagus pot

The seatrout ready to serve with the asparagus, new potatoes, young wilted spinach sautéed with a shallot, garlic and a good scrapping of  nutmeg. Of course there is also a nice sauce Hollondaise to go with it.

And so now to Sunday lunch. Wonderful!!!!

P.S. Do not throw the boullion away, freeze it, it is the base for a wonderful soup!

A couple of nice Bass and a plate of asparagus soup

It was a fantastic weekend, with the weather up into the high 20's (centigrade that is). Linda was  quite late getting in and I had made a Spaghetti (it was actually Linguine) Vongole. So a nice gin and bitter lemon and a bottle of cold "pink wine" we settled down to watch the recording of master chef that Linda had brought, neither of us saw the end and that will have to wait until later.

Saturday was a wonderful day sun was up and the weather looked as if it was going to be nice (and it didn't fail our great  expectations, who the Dickens said that?)

We set off to Gütersloh market, our normal Saturday when Linda is in NRW is we go to the market and then meet up with our friend Tony for a couple of beers in our watering hole (well I have the beers and the other two light weights drink something that sounds like Cafe latti mucky arti!!!) This week Tony wasn't able to make it so we done a quick shop at the market, I bought a couple of nice Bass and some spargel brück (asparagus stems that have broken during the harvesting) ideal for Asparagus cream soup. I also bought some fresh green asparagus as Linda said she fancied some grilled asparagus.

I then took Linda through the Rietberg Nature Reserve, loads of breeding geese both grey lagged and Canada. We then went (I say we as Linda had nodded off  and woke up to where are we now!!!)

We had arrived at the other part of Rheda-Wiedenbrück, we went to a very nice pub (La Menge) and sat in the sunshine and watched the world go by.

Linda said she fancied an ice cream  so I said we shall go to Toledo's  this is a very nice ice cafe at the side of the Ems-see. As she  stood on the bridge eating her ice I looked across and saw a Great Crested Grebe sitting on the nest. I had left my camera back in the car, so I legged it back and got it. I then got some very nice photo's of the female sitting the male bringing her a present of water plants and of three eggs in the nest.

We then drove back home as I had some lamb chops that needed marinating, as we had decided on a BBQ that evening, so it was more gin and bitter Lemon while doing the prep. 

After the BBQ we settled down to watch the Bobby Charlton story, that was really moving as I was 10 year old  when the Munich  crash happened, I was also born in a mining village much like Ashington it was only 30km North of Shiremoor. I was a great fan of his uncle, Jackie Milburn, for me the greatest footballer of all time.  I watched enthralled and when ever the flash backs came on about playing football on the village green on a Sunday, that how it was, we started after Church, went in when dinner was called (Wor Richaaaaard ya dinners ready) out again until it was time for tea, alas for me that was it as I was a server in St Marks church and Evensong started at 18:00. But that was how life was in the 50's nobody had a lot but we had a great time enjoying the lot that we had!

Sunday was a lazy day, I done my Balcony, scrubbed the floor tiles and planted my herb boxes and pots (I don't plant anything that you can't eat so I leave flowers to my down stairs neighbour who keep the front garden immaculate, rhododendrons, roses and tulips.

I then started making my Asparagus soup and preparing the bass for the grill (I was doing them on the electric one as they where being done in aluminium foil.

Asparagus and green pea soup.

1kg of broken asparagus (brückspargel)

Peelings and cuttings from 1 Kg of Asparagus

2 heaped teas spoons of marigold  veg stock powder

1 glass of chicken stock with pieces of chicken

2 pieces on Mace

4 cloves

4 cardamom pods

2 cm piece of cinnamon bark

5 dried curry leaves

6-7 sprigs of dried thyme

2 red onions (diced)

A knob of butter

100g of frozen peas

200ml of cream


Peel the asparagus and cut into small pieces (save any tips for decoration). put in a pot with the vegetable and chicken stock, add the mace, cloves, cinnamon, curry leaves dried thyme.

Cover all with water and bring to the boil, skim,  reduce heat and let it simmer for about 1/2 hour. then remove the peelings and the rest of the stuff (I have a nice Ikea pot that has a holed insert, makes this very easy).

Now add the pieces of peeled asparagus into the stock and cook until tender, put 50g of the peas in for the last couple of minutes.

Soften the onions in butter and add to the asparagus, now blend in a blender or with a magic stick until smooth , return to the pot and heat through with the asparagus tips and the remainder of the peas, add the cream and adjust the seasoning. Serve piping hot.

The Bass

2 x 500g  fresh bass, gutted, trimmed and cleaned.

2 slices of lemon

A handful of mixed herbs (sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme and parsley)

Olive oil

A sprinkling of ready made fish spices

Wash and dry the fish, slash it in a few places,season inside and out add the herbs to the belly with the slice of lemon. Sprinkle with olive oil and seal in the aluminium foil.

Place on the grill for about 20mins.

Serve with green asparagus sautéed in olive oil in a frying pan (or better still if you are doing this on a charcoal BBQ rub all over with olive oil and char grill) served with grilled Turkish sweet green peppers, new potatoes and a Greek salad.