Mezzogiorno!

Valentine's Day is a while ago already, but I still want to write about the lovely Italian restaurant we discovered on this occasion.

Mezzogiorno is situated in the University park in Stuttgart, on the opposite side of the street of the "Katharinenhospital". It was our first try of this restaurant and we were convinced by a laid-back, modern interior decoration with large windows to the park. I loved the big "SALVE" on the wall (see pic above - Italian word for "hello"). The atmosphere is warm and the staff is very nice and contributed to a festive night out.
The food convinced us even more, first of all with the delicious taste (I had bruschetta, dorade and panna cotta) and also with the beautiful arrangement on our plates.
This is a restaurant where you can have a romantic night out, but also have a relaxed time together with your kids. We will definitely come back!

Fasnetsküchle

It's carnival time and surely, Stuttgart isn't Cologne or Rio ... but children certainly love to dress up here as well.
Additionally, we have a very tasty carnival specialty: "Fasnetsküchle".

This taste reminds me of many carnival (here: "Fasnet") celebrations in my childhood. My mom used to bake them every year and we also watched the carnival processions in Mainz, Düsseldorf and Cologne (Germany's carnival stongholds) on TV.
This year, I made them for the very first time. Surely I saw my mom making them often and also helped her sometimes. But this time I was the responsible one :-)
They are made of a sweet yeast dough, then the dough is rolled and cut into rhombs.
After that the challenging part comes: they are put into heated oil where they bake happily until golden brown.
Here's a recipe in German.
I took my recipe from this Swabian cuisine book which I got from my mother some years ago:

It can still be ordered on amazon.
And now have a look:
Start with patience and let the yeast dough grow...

Then cut the rhombs....

Put them into hot oil...

and then put them out, let the oil drip off and dust them with icing sugar:

ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY!!

BTW, we also watched the carnival processions yesterday and as we lived in Cologne some years, this was certainly the highlight:

Orchid buds!

Our orchid suffered during our move last summer. Accidentally it had been covered totally with paper and was put into a box. So several days it was in almost total darkness.
The green leaves showed white  spots and it really didn't look great.

Last week the same orchid gave me a very big, very pleasant surprise:
suddenly I saw new violet buds coming forth - not the white colour like before - but this beautiful violet:

What a beautiful picture of strength and beauty in the midst of adversities!
What a beautiful picture of new life and beauty coming forth!
Looking forward to see it blooming!

A heavenly night!

Since December, the Sister Act Musical is in Stuttgart! It is performed in the SI Centrum, Apollo Theatre.
I went there yesterday with two friends - and we all loved it!
The costumes were so creative - especially the glittering nuns choir costumes! Such fun!
And then the scenery was made to such perfection - the church, bar police station, but especially the different church backgrounds were stunning.
The actors are very good - great voices and a very entertaining and fun play. The songs are entirely in German with good texts and melodies. The only dissapointment was the complete lack of the original movie songs like "If my sister's in trouble" or "I will follow him".
The audience was in a great mood and gave standing ovations at the end of the play.
Sister Act is definitely worth the money (and also the cheapest seats have really good view!).
More information and tickets here: Stage Entertainment
Watch the trailer (in German) to learn more about this fabulous play:

Have a delicious new year (and try Campioni)!

It's the time between Christmas and New Year, and it is often a time of relaxation, peacefulness and lots of good food. Delicious meals at home and also time to try new restaurants.
Several times I read about Campioni which is located in the tiny village of Kemnat, close to Stuttgart airport.
It is located in Kemnat's commercial area, inside a tennis club. Campioni is not an upscale restaurant, more a family friendly one with a cosy atmosphere. PRINZ' Stuttgart children's guide promised great pizza and pasta and a laid-back atmosphere.
So we went there and had to face a little disappointment as the wood stove was out of order and no pizza available. BUT then we tried salad, Penne arrabiata and also Panna Cotta (see pic below) - and were absolutely delighted! The bread, the oil, the food in general had such good quality and was cooked and arranged with skills and love, the service was nice and child friendly ... this is definitely a place to go! And in summer even more so, as there is a beer garden outside. Before or afterwards you can always take a walk in the fields right beside the restaurant.
Happy, joyful and delicious new year everybody!

In a church window...

I saw this in a church window today...

There's nothing left to say, I think. This is the truest sense of Christmas: Jesus' birthday party!

Have a very merry Christmas!
Fröhliche Weihnachten!

Joyeux Noël!

October brought quinces and snow

Yes, it's end of November now, but I still want to write about two major events for us in October:
It was quinces harvest and we had lots of them hanging on our tree! I cooked apple-quinces-sauce and put it in the freezer. Additionally, I was thankful for friends and family who took another good part so that almost each quince went to someone who used it gladly.

 

End of October came with a big surprise: SNOW! We had very early snow this year and our son happily built a snowman with a girl from the neighborhood. Surely the white covered trees and houses brought the very first Christmas feelings.