Weekend Package Time!

Weekend package time!

Yummm! This is an apple-filled danish pastry with sliced almonds.  I usually try to stay away from these wonderful weekend packages and give them away... but I had to sneak a taste at this one.  Let me tell you it's delicious, as always...

The end of the week is finally here.  Although I only get one free day for the weekend, I am so glad that it is here.  This week was long and busy.  I am completely wiped out.  

I had a perfect little end to my week at work:  My very last task for the day was to sort out the hundreds of rolls that are delivered to each store.  These rolls are placed on yellow plastic bins that stack on top of each other.  They are very wobbly and are VERY unsturdy!  After sorting a few hundred pieces of rolls (yes, hundreds)  I was rolling the stacked bins out of the way... well what do you know? They ALL came toppling down!  Yes, on top of me... and yes, all over the place.  All the work I just did had just doubled, if not tripled and I thought I just ruined a few hundred rolls.  Nooooooooo!  As it turns out, not too much harm was done, and the person I was working with said that everything was fine.   But, I couldn't help but be completely embarrassed and frustrated with this being the end of day and the week... and I was exhausted. Crap...

On the up side! I booked my flight to Dublin in June, and will also be traveling to Munich for Oktoberfest in September!  I am looking forward to both these trips and all the people I will be meeting in these great places I am so excited to explore!

All I have to say is that both Dublin and Bavaria should really watch out... because I already know it will be a whirlwind of an adventure!

Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes

Aunt C: Hey Katie can you make Mexican chocolate cake or cupcakes? I'm making a luncheon for the teachers at school and it's Mexican themed.

Me: Of course! What is Mexican chocolate?

Aunt C:  Well I think it has some spices in it like cinnamon or something...

Me: Oh, that seems easy enough, I was thinking maybe it had to be made with special chocolate.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but after some research on Mexican chocolate cake or cupcakes I found out that it is not necessarily special chocolate, but just a few select spices basically added to a chocolate cake recipe.  Yes, I do know there is a special Mexican chocolate, but you don't need to go to the trouble in order to get a good result.  My result? Delicious spiced (not hot) chocolate cupcakes!  I found some people using chili powder as well as cinnamon in their recipes, but I thought that may be going a little too far out on the limb (not that I'm afraid...I mean, let's face it... I'm all about going out on limbs) so I stuck to cinnamon for my spice.

I pondered for about 10 minutes on what kind of icing would be different and sassy as the same time.  Hello????? The answer was starring at me in the face! Dulce de Leche... it doesn't get much better than that!

Enjoy my Mexican chocolate cupcakes with a fake me out fondant chili!

Forgive me, but after searching long and hard for the recipe I seem to have lost it... However, don't banish me yet!  Use your best chocolate cake or cupcake recipe and then add your Mexican twist!  I have heard of people using the following:

Cinnamon

Chili powder

Nutmeg

Cayenne powder

Get creative!

Frohe Ostern!

Happy Easter! Frohe Ostern!

Today is my first Easter in Germany.  What am I doing?  Well, I guess I am not really "celebrating," but just relaxing with friends...

I have found that Easter in Germany is celebrated pretty widely, as well as in America.  There are a lot similarities with the holiday including bunnies and eggs.  Although, I have not heard of any "egg hunts" which are typical for the children in America.  I was just reminiscing with my mother about the egg hunts that we had in mine and my grandparents backyard when I was a little kid.  She described how diligently I searched for those eggs, and promised me my first Easter back in the U.S. would be well equipped with an egg hunt... I can't wait...
Back to the German Easter.  Ever heard of the "Easter fire"???  Me either.  Apparently a lot of bonfires are made across the country in each city or with large groups of people to get together, drink, eat, and have family time.  I thought this was a little strange.  An Easter fire?  I did a little reading online about this fact and found out that the fire is supposed to be burned with the Christmas trees! What?! Who saves their trees from December?  I certainly don't have space for that in my apartment.  However practical this may be, I'm not sure too many people practice this Christmas tree burning for their Easter fire.  I could be wrong...

However you may be celebrating with family and friends, enjoy!

Thank you!

Did I mention I love my life and I love what I'm doing???? No?

Well I do...




Thank you for all the comments and thank you for following me!

A complete whirlwind

In a complete whirlwind, I flew back from the States to Germany, went straight back to work, and moved... all in a matter of 3 days.  I am exhausted!

How was the return to Germany?
Well, the actual return/ flight itself was not fun to say the least.  I think by far, flying to Europe as opposed to flying from Europe is a lot harder.  Losing that 6 hours completely killed me... not to mention the overnight flight that is pretty miserable.
As for the language, I'm afraid to say I didn't do too much studying in the U.S. as I would have hoped.  When I got to Germany and heard people speaking German, I immediately had a small panic attack because I was terrified I had lost it all.  I guess I hoped that the 2 week break would shed some light on the language, and when I came back it would all click???? No, I'm really not that naive... The first few days I was completely stumbling over my words (more so than usual), but after a while I've been getting the hang of it and things have been coming back to me.

Heading straight to work the day after arriving home was pretty intense.  I had not been at work in a month because of my two weeks of school and my 2 weeks of vacation.  I was a little out of sorts in the beginning, but after a few hours I got it together and now it seems back to normal.  However, Easter is this weekend and we are busy!!!! I am also glad to say that strawberries are the fruit of choice now!  I love strawberries, and we are making lots and lots of products with strawberries in them.  We are making strawberry Torte (layered cake), strawberries layered with pudding, strawberry rhubarb danishes, and more... all delicious.  I know what some of you may think... Doesn't someone need to cut the strawberries like the plums back in the summer/fall season???  The answer? Well, yes but it is a lot easier, it takes less time, and strawberries are not gross like plums are.  **If you don't know what I'm talking about here, check back to some of my posts last August/ September about plums cutting.

The big move!
I am moved in!  I am loving the new place, and am extremely glad that I am finally settled and relax now.  It all happened so fast!  I was lucky enough to be able to borrow one of the company's trucks, and along with 2 co-workers it only took about 2 hours to get everything packed up, driven over, and unpacked.  I was amazed at how simple it really was.  I am now in a two-room apartment, all furnished, with a really nice German roommate.  Things are looking up!

Stay Tuned

Back in Germany, back to work, and moved into a new apartment (gasp!)!

Stay tuned....

The Blue Crab!

In my last post about my visit back to the States, I want to talk about my favorite thing about being from the mid-Atlantic region...

If I saw this set up on the table of our porch... I would seriously jump for joy... and I did...

Why?

Well these are the tools necessary for the best, most fantastic mid-Atlantic, seasonal dish. THE BLUE CRAB! 

There is an art to opening and eating crabs.  Though there are some variations, I choose to eat the legs first, then go for the body of the crab.  There are a lot of arguments as to whether eating crabs is too much work for the meat that is in the actual crab.  My answer to those who believe this?  It's not just about the crab!  Picking through crabs is about the whole experience... it's completely social.  I can't think of a better way to spend my time than hanging around my porch with my family, in great weather, beer in hand, and picking at 2 dozen crabs for a few hours.  It doesn't get much better than that!

Aaaaand the damage done... it's messy, but it's 100% worth it...

The BEST place with the BEST people

This pretty much sums up my weekend in my favorite place in whole wide world, with my favorite people in the whole wide world.  This is the edited/ "family friendly" version of the weekend, as you can guess it got a little crazy since it was just one night out of the year.  The people in these pictures are my best of friends and I can't tell you all how happy I was that everyone was able to come together this one weekend I was in town.

Dewey Beach, Delaware is my favorite place to be.  It is a charming 1-mile long beach and what I call Delaware's best kept secret.  It is truly the one place in the world where I have no worries and can completely relax... c.o.m.p.l.e.t.e.l.y.

I think it would be safe to say that we lived it up pretty intensely on Saturday night...

Do you have a place equivalent to my Dewey Beach???

Vanilla cupcakes with mango buttercream

You may wonder why I would want to bake while on vacation.  People ask all the time, do you bake at home?  And if so, don't you feel like you are at work?  My response... No way.  I love to bake.  I find myself incredibly relaxed while baking... especially at home dancing around the kitchen (don't lie, I know you all do that).  

I thought it only fair to show up to my mother's hospital to provide all the doctors and nurses with some cupcakes.  These are plain Jane vanilla cupcakes, but with a little twist in the frosting.  MANGO frosting.  I completely winged the recipe by making a regular frosting with confectioners sugar, butter and milk, but with pureed mango.  The result?  Wonderful.  

America's Pastime

Since being in Germany for about 9 months now, I really wanted to do up my current vacation in the U.S. the right way.

So I wonder... what's the most American thing I could do on my 2 weeks vacation?

Yes... Baseball.  The Phillies to be exact.  I don't wonder why baseball is considered "America's pastime."  It was such a relaxing night, hanging out, drinking beer, and screaming random comments at the field.  

Question number 2:

What the most American, Phili-like thing I could do on my 2 week vacation in the Philadelphia area?

Tony Lukes.  Those of you who don't know what I'm eating, it's a cheesesteak.  No need to say "Phili Cheesesteak" because people here will look at you like you are a ridiculous tourist if you order that way.  Cheesesteak... plain and simple... and unbelievably delicious.  Only the best before the game: Tony Lukes.

Goodbye Germany, Hello America!

This morning, I am making my way back to America for 2 weeks!!

I could not be more excited!  It's been almost 9 months since I've been out of the country and away from home and it's time to hang out with my family and friends, speak English, and cuddle with my adorable dog Stormy.

With that said, this blog might be on a little hiatus for the next 2 weeks.  Or, maybe not... we'll see!  But just so you are aware of the possible lack of posting, you know why.

But to leave you all, I would like to tell a little story:

It goes like this...

On Friday, April 1st 2011 I was riding my bike home from the train after a long day of tests at school.  The weather was warm and the sun was shining.  Spring is finally here!  I turned my head to the left and BAM! I almost fell off my bike at the site staring back at me!

What was it!?

Holy crap, I was not expecting that...