Almost pink

These beautiful roses were given to me by adriana and liz---so pretty

World Cup-Germany

World Cup Soccer is upon us! There is no way to avoid it-everyone is into it. So, since I am an american married to a german living in berlin this weeks tablescape is in honor of the german national team who won their first match 4-0! Tomorrow is a big day for both the americans and germans-both have big games. Germany plays in the early afternoon our time, so I am off to IKEA with Kim--the place will be a ghost town! Then in the late evening I will try to watch the usa game without getting too nervous!

Have a happy weekend everyone.

Our Grace

Last Saturday was a very sad day in our house. As most of you know, we are lucky to share our home with two cats-a brother and sister pair we call Will and Grace(after the TV Show) Well, last Saturday our daring Grace passed away. Burying her was the hardest thing I have had to do in a very long time. She was my girl and we all miss her sooooo much. Will is doing fine-I worry that he is loney, but I think he has friends in the neighborhood that are helping him.

Happy to be Pink!

Happy Pink Saturday everyone. This week I tried my hand at making a collage. The girl in the picture is a new friend of mine-she was here in Berlin looking for a house to rent. When she came into the living room wearing that pink shirt, I just knew she had to use that pink purse I had bought a few weeks ago. She looks great, don´t you think? 

Pretty Flowers

Summer has finally come to Germany-we are all enjoying the weather-it is awesome!

Hope everyone is having a good Saturday!

I´m in love with these tortillas!

Recently, I became a fan of the pioneer woman! Love her cookbook and the blog site is great. My family and I are enjoying trying out the recipes from the cookbook and her blog. So, this week I made the Flour Tortillas from the pionner woman blog!

Homemade Flour Tortillas 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/page/2/

Prep Time: 1 Hour30 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes Difficulty: Intermediate Servings: 16

Ingredients
2-½ cups All-purpose Flour
2-½ teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
½ cups Lard Or Vegetable Shortening
2 Tablespoons (additional) Lard Or Vegetable Shortening
1 cup Hot Water
Preparation Instructions

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large wooden bowl. Stir together.

Add spoonfuls of lard or shortening (use 1/2 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons), then use a pastry cutter to combine the ingredients. Cut mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Slowly pour in hot water, stirring to bring mixture together. Lightly knead dough 30 to 40 times, or until it becomes a cohesive ball of dough and is less sticky. Cover with a tea towel and allow dough to rest for at least an hour.

Roll into ping pong size balls, place on a tray, cover with a tea towel, and allow to rest for another 20 to 30 minutes.

When you’re ready to make the tortillas, head a dark or cast iron griddle to medium/medium-high heat. One by one, roll out balls of dough until very, very thin. Throw tortillas (one by one) onto the griddle. Cook on each side for 20 to 30 seconds, removing while tortillas are still soft but slightly brown in spots. Remove and stack tortillas, and cover with a towel to keep warm. Serve immediately or allow to cool before storing tortillas in a container. To warm, nuke tortillas in the microwave, or wrap in foil and warm in the oven.

(Printed from the PW Blog siteon 04 June 2010)  Please see her site for lots more great recipes!

After making these great flour tortillas, I continued on my foodie adventure.  Dinner on this evening was to be Mushroom Quesadillas... YUMMY. I found the recipe on the food network.com site awhile back. 

Mushroom Quesadillas

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter, plus more as needed
10 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 to 1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
4 (10-inch) flour tortillas
8 ounces grated Monterey jack cheese, about 2 1/2 cups
2 ounces crumbled feta cheese, about 1/2 cup
Optional garnishes: Sour cream, cilantro sprigs, salsa
Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, shake the pan to distribute them evenly in the pan, and then cook without moving until the mushrooms begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Do not salt. Add the remaining tablespoon butter along the sides of the pan if the pan seems very dry. Toss the mushrooms, and continue to cook until nicely browned, about 2 to 3 minutes more. Season mushrooms with the chili powder and salt and cook 1 minute more. Stir in the cilantro and set aside.

Toast the tortillas directly on a medium gas burner, turning occasionally until slightly blistered on each side. (If you have an electric burner, do this in a dry cast iron skillet.) Place the tortillas on the prepared baking sheet. Spread the jack cheese on one half of each tortilla, top with some of the mushrooms, and then sprinkle with the feta. Fold the other half of the tortilla over the filling, to make a half moon shape. Lay another sheet of foil over the quesadillas. Bake until the cheese melts, about 12 minutes. Serve whole or sliced into wedges, with optional garnishes.



Printed from FoodNetwork.com on Fri, 04 Jun 2010

A tablescape that my son would love!

This one is for my 14 year old son!  The "figures"  are from my son´s Warhammer collection. He builds/paints the models and then gets together with his friends to play the game! The downside to this: the models are expensive, the upside: my son spends time painting and playing this game and forgets that there is a computer in the office!

The black candles come from Ikea! They are standing on candlestick holders turned upside down! These candlestick holders were a gift to my parents on the silver wedding anniversary!

Thanks again to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch-a perfect host as always!!

 

Plates:  Ikea 

Blue Napkins: Ikea// Red Napkins: Butlers

Tablecloth: a black flat bed sheet

Glassware: Crate & Barrel