Feels like sunday today because we had a warm lunch on a thursday, which is quite rare.
Austrian dumplings with scrambled eggs, but this time I gave it a Japanese slant by adding sesame seeds to the batter. Tamari and sesame oil for dipping. I used rye flour that’s why the dumplings look dark They were also fried in hot butter after being shocked in cold water and drained. There’s crisp-fried Speck but it all got buried under there.
.
Wonderful dumplings! I have rye flour, I will try that next time.
Here is my lazy after-school lunch for my son, frozen gyoza from the local Japanese market:
Bookwich, I had planned to use buckwheat flour but grabbed the rye by mistake. Couldn’t do anything after dumping it in the bowl with beaten eggs. But since rye flour is heavy I didn’t have to add any potato starch (it holds the shape better when using standard white flour).
The weekend is wet and dark again. Lunches are simple and typically (northern) European.
Smoked herring, in the upper corner is scrambled eggs. Smoked fish go exceptionally well with eggs.
Burrata
I’m going through charcuterie brought back from Austria. Brettljause has a significance in Austrian culture. It means more than just a snack between meals. Actually, it could be described as Austrian “high tea”. It’s also about spending quality time (with someone).
To northern Germany now.
I’m often too lazy to mash the potatoes. Crisp-frying with onions is more my style.
Pentecost long weekend ends today. Fortunately the weather was more agreeable than the entire week before that.
The half Bresse chicken lasted 3 meals. The bones and bits got turned into a broth and I made quinoa soup with asparagus, topped with fried spicy Hungarian sausage.
.
SV rhubarb compote.
Austrian torn pancakes. I used buckwheat flour and quark in the batter.
The partner ate the top layer with powdered sugar.
Burrata and grated salt-cure yolk.
Broad beans and fried Tyrolean Speck. Bread is my own.
Always an amazing spread Presunto
Thanks, Scuba! I love weekends!
Seafood with dairy is quite common in many parts of Europe. They don’t care if it’s taboo in Italy and the US.
Herring with quark. My last pickled herring and 2 maatjes.
Buckwheat pancakes with quark and all kinds of things to top them with.
From left to right: quark, kumquat compote with Riesling, rhubarb compote, maple syrup, grapefruit juice (to drink), blueberries, kumquat compote with scotch, extremely runny cheese and Speck.
I would probably eat something I hate if there’s enough pistachio or poppy seeds in it.
.
They got drenched in a ridicoulous amount of maple syrup when I sat down to eat. Hate most things sweet but I have a soft spot for maple syrup!
Just got back from Sardinia (will post more about it later). In Cagliari we were served broiled sole covered with Parmesan cheese. But the Sardinians, as we were told, consider themselves distinct from the rest of Italy.
Sardinia is the reason I still want to return to Italy (I’m very anti the rest of Italy otherwise). The sole meal sounds tantalising. Looking forward to reading about your trip.
My lunch today was sandwiches I made before leaving for the airport this morning, which I ate in Bucharest whilst waiting for an onward flight.
My lodging is 2 blocks from the sprawling central market and today I checked it out for the first time. Had lunch at a cheap restaurant there. Food prices are by weight.
Moldovan food has a lot of influences from all of its neighbours and former invaders/owners. Meatballs, thanks to the Turks. The mush tastes like chickpeas mixed with mung beans but it’s probably something else.
Sausage and grain.
Cabbage salad.
This meal costs 5 euros. The place and its customers look extremely homely. Moldovans do stare but nothing like how the Chinese do it. Women drink beer and booze just like the men. It is apparent that high alcohol consumption and 24/7 availability in eastern Europe is dead normal like drinking soft drinks in other countries.
.
This was my 5 euro meal in Korea. Who does it better?
How were the tomatoes?
Just can’t get into Korean food, I mean, real Korean food.
I have some in my freezer too! We should make a thread, “food we really eat”
Happy to say the tomatoes here taste like tomatoes. The market is full of them right now. We don’t have any of these varieties at home. We call ours “water bombs”. “Looks good, tastes like waterbombs!”
Why is it then? I never had much exposure to (real) Korean food that’s why I went to the source.
I’m Korean, so I can talk trash. 
They love raw seafood so much. And if you don’t love that pickled taste, you’re severely limited, so many foods are pickled (kim-cheed) or spicy or both.
I was craving ghim-bap the other day, so I bought all this korean food, but after a week, I’m so over it.
I like Korean-American food exponentially more than traditional korean food and I crave it once in a while.
Haha… understandable. The I guess I like real Korean food. I also love raw seafood and pickles. I had a good time in Korea. But if I had to choose Korean or Japanese food I would have to say Japanese. However, I don’t want to eat the same food/cuisine every day. I love food too much, all kinds of food, to limit my enjoyment to just 1 cuisine!
Am always so tired by the time I get back to my lodging. So much struggle with the heat which also results in loss of appetite, fatigue and water retention.
A duel package of roe (I guess trout) from the supermarket. Found out the next day it’s “low-calorie” kind of roe according to the translation app. Didn’t know “low-calorie” roe even existed. Also, it’s from Belarus.
.
Bought the mulberries and cherries from street vendors. Seems anyone can set up any rig on the pavement . Or they just stand around holding up what they want to sell. It’s like in SE Asia.
After 2 days I realised we paid 3 times more than the locals for most things. This vendor didn’t overcharge us. An employee at a winery confirmed it, too.
Yesterday we took a local bus to Asconi winery to Puhoi village, 37km from the capital, to have lunch. Nice lunch and even nicer wines. Almost an hour in a cramped van. No wonder most tourists book winery tours. They get picked up and brought back, and pay for the comfort and convenience. We paid 75 cents each for the ride and 15 euros for the short winery tour ending with 4 wines to taste. The guide is most pleasant, too. I have seen quotes for wine tours on some websites and don’t think I want to pay that kind of price. Though, some wineries are big and commercialised you must book in advance via tour sites.
They have 2 sparkling wines, I chose this one because their rosé is sweetish.
Grilled vegs are always good. Ptsss, I don’t like worthless courgettes.
Moldovan cabbage rolls are tiny. I much prefer these over the big rolls, which when you cut open all the rice falls out. Moldovan version is very nice.
Rabbit stew. Moldovans eat a lot of maize meal mush, with grated or crumbled brined cheese and scramble eggs alongside. Also, it becomes clear very fast that almost everything is served with sour cream. Moldovan sour cream is a lot softer and mild.
Our table under a big mulberry tree. The berries kept falling onto the table (I did eat a few). Btw, mulberry trees are everywhere! Thing is, the berries fall down and stain everything.
More photos around the winery later but here is the entrance to the winery. The bus stop is across the street.
These stands are on every street corner around the market. I thought it was a beer tap at first.
.
Bought a small sample to try, turned out it’s kvass. It’s 1% alcohol. Even children drink this, everyone does.
I love your posts, to be able to see a bit of such a different country. Mulberries are delicious! I love them dried as well, those are more common than fresh here in nyc.
The Kvass stands are so funny! I think it’s similar to kombucha, just more fruity but the same fermented flavor to it (which would explain the tiny amount of alcohol). My good friend who grew up in russia refuses to drink kombucha or kvass because they always had a big jug on the table with a kombucha, everyone drank a bit after every meal.
Those roasted vegetables look delicious, and such a lovely setting for a meal- even with falling berries 
