Now We're Cookin!

We're finally starting to feel at home.  Our stuff is here and mostly put away, I have a few things hanging on the wall, and most importantly, I can cook again!  As much fun as it sounds, eating out at restaurants every night for two months can get kind of old.  It's not very healthy either, especially in Germany!  We were in our house for about three weeks before our shipment arrived.  That left me cooking with only one pot, one pan, no microwave, and a set of very bad and unsafe $8 knives.

The first room that I got put together after the arrival of our stuff was the kitchen.  My favorite part is the spice cabinet!  Thank you Penzey's and Mom for sending it to me! (Once you start using Penzey's Spices, you can never go back!)

Of course I was stubborn, and insisted on bringing my Kitchen Aid.  Luckily, we ended up with more than enough space for it.  I have to plug it into a transformer to to use it, but it's so worth it!  I can't imagine making Christmas cookies without it!

The first honest to goodness meal I made after our stuff arrived and the kitchen was fully put together was one of our favorite weeknight dinners and a creation of mine; curried falafel patties (not fried!) with homemade tzatziki sauce and roasted vegetable cous cous.  Delicious and nutritious!

Here is a round of cherries from our tree!  So far I've made brandied cherries (which won't be ready for a month) and cherries steeped in red wine on top of sweetened marscapone cheese.  I guess in my head cherries go hand in hand with alcohol for some reason.  As it turns out, we are also growing red currants in our backyard.  I don't think we have enough to make anything with, but I'm not sure what I would make with them anyways besides jam. Any suggestions?

Kyle on the roof trying to get more cherries!

For the 4th of July it was just the two of us for dinner.  No parties or anything big since Kyle had to be at work at 5:45 the next morning.  I still made a good American style dinner though, with pulled pork, skillet corn, potato casserole, and pina colada fruit salad.  To top it off, we had some good old Sam Adams.

Happy 4th of July!