quarkini to the rescue

I wanted to eat 10, but at 1.10sfr a piece, I settled for two

I've complained before about the terrible donuts available in Zurich. But last week I stumbled across Quarkinis at the farmer's market and I'm in love. It's a fluffy raised donut ball, with a slight tang from the quark, rolled in sugar. One reason it's taken me so long to find them is that they are hidden behind the counter, so you have to lean over mounds of other yummy bread to see the little basket of delicious morsels. I saw them at both Helvetiaplatz and Burkliplatz markets and apparently, they are also sold in the stores. Maybe everyone in Zurich already knows about these, but if I help one donut-deprived soul find their way to Quarkinis, I will be happy.

vanilla extract: make your own

I was excited to find a good use for this cool bottle I've had sitting in my cupboard for 10 years

I finally got around to making my own vanilla extract. I had a huge bottle of vodka left over from making ice cream and pie crust, which only require a couple tablespoons each per batch. Since I'm a teetotaler, I have to do something with the stuff besides drown my sorrows. So let the experiment begin. Day 1 was easy: mix 1 cup vodka with two sliced open vanilla beans, seal, shake, store. Apparently, I have to wait about 2 months before it's ready, shaking it occasionally to assist the infusion. I'll report back with the results.

Meanwhile... I've been told that vanilla sugar (readily available here) actually adds more flavor than vanilla extract, because with extract, the alcohol evaporates, taking some of the flavor with it. I don't know if I believe this - my baked goods taste plenty vanilla-y for me. But in the interest of food science, I've also started a jar of vanilla sugar (stick a sliced open vanilla bean in a jar with sugar and let it sit for awhile, refresh with a new bean as necessary). If I have the energy, I'll do some taste tests.

As previously mentioned, vanilla beans are dirt cheap here: 2.40sfr for 3 beans.

pastrami and rye

hot pastrami on rye with mustard: a match made in heaven

A few weeks ago, my husband discovered pastrami at the SihlCity Coop (has it always been there?) and my first bite of hot pastrami on rye with mustard made my eyes roll back in delight. Katz's Deli, it is not. But while in exile, I'll take what I can get. The first rye bread (the traditional caraway seed version, not simply Roggenbrot), we got was stale and tasteless. So of course, I had to make some from scratch (from The Bread Bible) to celebrate having pastrami back in our lives. Now I just need to borrow a smoker so I can make my own pastrami.


here's what it looks like so you can find it at Coop, near the prosciutto


yes, it's ridiculously expensive - it's about $26/lb vs. about $8/lb in the US
this little pack has less than 100 grams, enough for one hearty sandwich


my rye bread, with a crackling crisp crust


and inside: chewy, moist goodness

laughing lemon cooking class

My friend Jenna and I with Sylvia and Jack of LaughingLemon -
Jack said we're the first ones to ever request to take a photo with instructors

Ever since I met Jack of LaughingLemon a couple years ago, I've been planning to attend one of their cooking classes. Two weeks ago, I finally made it to their What's In Season class and it was everything I wanted and more. You should all sign up for a class right now! He spent about the first hour discussing various in-season fruits and vegetables and introduced us to some interesting varieties available at the local produce markets. I learned about white sweet potatoes from Italy (for baking, not purees - so yum!), sweet pomegranates from Spain (instead of tart ones from Egypt), cavelo nero (my new favorite cooked greens), why my potatoes go bad so quickly, when various veggies are at their peak flavor, etc.

Then he cooked, dispensing all sorts of useful tidbits about how to prepare the various ingredients. Then we (the 8 students) sat down and ate a five course meal consisting of the food he just prepared, plus a few additional items. It was so delicious! And an incredible value at only 65sfr (the other classes change a little more at 90sfr, but still excellent value). I had a great time and can't wait to go to another class.


my favorite dish: pumpkin puree on ginger crust with drops of pomengranate syrup (sorry for the bad pic)


dessert: pumpkin cake with rose hip sauce, which I'd never heard of before but was so yummy - I want to serve it with everything (he sent us each home with jar of the sauce)


eight satisfied customers