Soevind in the fall.

The last two weeks have flown by. I have been sick the last ten days with a bad cold. Crappy feeling, stuffed up and coughing. But I am better now.

The weather here has been relatively cold: between 48 and 58 degrees. When the sun is out it is warm, but when the sun disappears it is very cold. I just looked at a map and Horsens is farther north than Ottawa.  Without the gulf stream the country would be one iceberg.  

I have learned Danish during my stay. Too bad I didn't feel better: I would have been able to learn a lot more. But I have made at least good use of my time when I was chipper.  

Kjeld will join me in the decade of the 70s in November and Jette soon next summer. No one wants to become 70 years old. It smells of mortality, death around the corner. However these Vikings seem to live forever. Riding bikes in the dead of winter. Climbing trees and running marathons way into their 80s and 90s. Pretty hearty bunch.

Today I helped Kjeld pick up branches. He climbs the ladder and cuts the branches on top of the tree. I just gathered them and put them in the trailer.  Then I planted a few bulbs with Jette. So finally I have done something to earn my keep.

Chicago for Mother's day

Driving down to Chicago was a nightmare.  Dick misplaced his wallet and couldn't drive, so I had to take the wheel for the whole miserable four hours it took to get here. Needless to say my neck and shoulders were so tight I could have chipped them away with an ice pick.

We had reservations at the River Hotel. I picked it because it said there was a nice patio where we could sit in the sun and have a cocktail. But Mother Nature did it to us again and it is cold and miserable. So no cocktail on the patio.  However I like the room, not real big but cozy and well decorated.  If we come again I will suggest we stay here. It is centrally located and on the river.  Who knew that Chicago has a river? On St Pat's day the government colors the river green. Let's hope it is environmentally safe.

We had dinner at Bella Bacinos, a restaurant connected to the River Hotel, which turned out to be a bust. Dick's penna alla bolognese was soggy. My linguine was okay, but the seafood was not fresh. Seafood has to be fresh. 

This morning we had breakfast at the South Water Kitchen. I ordered crabcake egg benedict. I thought that would be tasty. But it was bland, the crab cakes were tasteless and the hollandaise sauce was tasteless. Luckily we had a fruit plate. The kitchen can't destroy that.

Well it's time to go out and do the River Walk.

Milwaukee May 6 2013

You know you're getting old when you go to a conference on India and China and realize you have heard it all before.  There was nothing new at the Milwaukee International Trade Center, so we, that is Dick and I, got bored and left to have lunch somewhere else. 

The night previous we were looking forward to a great meal at the Brazilian restaurant, that was once called the Sabor and is now called the Radizio.  I was looking forward to the wonderful salad bar that had been at the Sabor, but unfortunately it was no longer the extensive vegetables that had been offered previously. It was actually more Brazilian in that there were dishes like pea salad, radish salad, mostly cooked and then cooled. Of course the meat was good, but I loved the old salad. 

We stayed at the Athletic club. The rooms are big and the desk is very large. We have picked that as our Stammhotel. 

Berlin

It has been a long time since I have blogged and I have no excuses. I always think if I'm not traveling then I shouldn't bore you with my day-to-day activities. However, I am told that my normal schedule is really no worse than other people's and sometimes better. 

We are in Berlin, the divided city during the time of the wall across Europe, the now capitol of Germany. It is a city which is being transformed as we speak.

The Berliners are a bit different than the average German in the West. They are just as sour sour looking, and bringing a smile to their lips has become my challenge. However, unlike the West Germans, the Berliners are helpful, even when not smiling. So who can complain. 

There are some interesting observations. It snowed about an inch of snow and the trams stopped, were late and just didn't function. I ask myself, why does a small bit of snow cripple a city that has never gone a winter without snow? Smoking is everywhere. Not in the stores, restaurants and coffee shops but certainly on every street corner, in front of every restaurant door, coffee shop door, at the tram stops etc. An airport, that Berlin needs desperately, was to open three years ago. It is still not finished and has pushed the final date to 2015. That is worse than India. Of course, East Germany is an underdeveloped area, but it is German. 

Traditional British Dishes

One of the more interesting dishes is the Spotted Dick.   A cardiologist's nightmare or dream, depending on 

First you have to make the pastry. Here is the recipe from Epicurious.com.

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cold finely chopped rendered beef suet (4 oz)
• 8 tablespoons whole milk

preparation

Pulse together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor. Add suet and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to a bowl. Drizzle evenly with milk and stir with a fork until incorporated. Knead until a slightly sticky dough is formed.

Then you take  this pastry and make the Spotted Dick. Another recipe from Epicurious.com

• 
  1/2 cup mixed currants and golden raisins or other assorted dried fruit
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
• Suet pastry dough
• Custard sauce

• 
  

preparation

Fill a large heavy pot (at least 8 inches across by 6 inches deep, with a tight-fitting lid) with 1 1/2 inches water. Make a platform for pudding by setting metal cookie cutters or egg-poaching rings in bottom of pot. Knead fruit and zest into dough and form dough into a ball. Put into well-buttered pudding mold and flatten top. Top dough with a round of buttered wax paper, buttered side down, and cover top of mold with heavy-duty foil, crimping tightly around edge.

Bring water in pot to a boil and set mold on platform. Steam pudding, covered, over simmering water 1 1/2 to 2 hours (add more boiling water to pot if necessary), or until golden and puffed. Transfer pudding in mold to a rack and let stand 5 minutes. Discard foil and wax paper and run a thin knife around edge of pudding. Invert a plate over mold, then invert pudding onto plate. Serve immediately with custard sauce.

Cooks' note:Coarsely chop any large pieces of dried fruit.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spotted-Dick-103210#ixzz27Q6ToLbM