What I cooked this week

 

I tried this recipe this week from a German cooking magazine. You know the saying...when in Rome! Or, in my case, Austria. We cook with different ingredients in North America and sometimes it can be an exercise in frustration to find ingredients. So, I am buying German cooking magazines and trying new things. The owl in the picture says the whole family will like it. Hmm.  My son has never had leek before, but we all love chicken so I gave it a try. I bought the leek at the Farmers' Market. You pre-fry the chicken and cook the sliced leek for 8 minutes. The sauce is basically cream, broth and mustard. I used a 50% reduced fat cooking cream. I also made 2x more sauce because sauce makes a nice left over for rice for another meal. So, here is my photo...

Maybe not as colorful, but so very good. I will make this again. Served with salad. I think next time I will add some peas to the rice or something for a bit more color. But no matter, we all really liked it!

One day my husband and I wanted an afternoon snack and I quickly made these. Sliced tomatoes drizzled with olive oil, some spices, moz. cheese and fresh basil...baked in the oven for about 12 minutes and served on bread...Small dish of balsamic vinegar on the side for dipping...so good!

My husband made this wonderful stew early yesterday morning before I was even out of bed. It simmered on the stove all day. We had it over rice with tazekki sauce late yesterday afternoon and over egg noodles late this afternoon. I love egg noodles with stew! Delicious!  And those soft potatoes, a favorite of mine. Mmmm.

We were in Vienna last weekend until Monday so it was a short cooking week. We were away 2 nights and that was plenty for me. I was starting to miss my own kitchen! We got home on Monday around noon. Usually we have Sunday left-overs to start out the week, so this week was a bit out of order. Monday night I cooked a fabulous poached salmon dinner with stir fry veggies. Poached salmon is so quick and easy when you are at a loss about what to make. ..I like to put some soy sauce with freshly chopped ginger into the pan for poaching.

Frozen bio salmon. 

I like spaghetti so much I have it at least one time a week. My son likes little sausages wrapped in bacon so we had that this week too with lots of frozen veggies and pan fried potatoes (you boil them 1st). And that is pretty much the week!

Above is a goofy photo...my husband is testing me on my German vocabulary words. We are sharing a piece of delicious apple strudel cake that I got early in the day at a bakery. Herbal tea in my favorite mugs. I always get the red kitty mug. I am studying very hard. My first test I failed, the 2nd test I got an A once I understood the test format. Next test is Tuesday. More tea with honey, please! Oh! And I was painting my nails! You can just see the corner of my nail polish box in the photo. Just a normal night at home.

It was a lovely day today in Graz. My son and I went out for a long walk...we packed sandwiches and drinks. Good thing because it was warmer than I expected. We have fall leaves, but some roses are still hanging on! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend.