Saaga

It’s been pretty uneventful and yet busy here, so we haven’t had too much to write about nor much time in which to write. Nevertheless, I’m feeling a bit guilty about that, so here’s a short-ish update on what we’ve been up to (I’m sorry it’s probably not going to be heaps amusing, bit that’s Steve’s job and he’s a lazy bastard):

About 2 weeks ago I went and saw The Kaiser Chiefs (despite the Germanic name, they are from Leeds not anywhere in Germany), one of our new favourite bands, play in Cologne (Köln to us locals). Steve wasn’t able to come because he had parent teacher night so I gave our extra ticket to our new Canadian friend, Kirk, so I didn’t have to go and watch the band by myself like some kind of social misfit. Anyway, the band were really good. The audience was at least 50% British, so the atmosphere was very good, everyone singing along and jumping up and down. I had a really good time, if only Steve could have been there too. The band did promise that they would be coming back, so hopefully that is sooner rather than later.

We have also started German classes on Monday and Wednesday evenings. On the whole the classes are OK, but not really challenging enough for me and now that I am an expert (hahaha) teacher, I don’t really like my teacher’s methodology (which is to basically talk at us for an hour and a half). Oh well, you can’t have everything and it was quite cheap! Next semester I might fork out a bit more and look for something a little more intensive.

Kurt and Michelle have arrived in Europe and will be in Düsseldorf this Friday afternoon. We are very excited about having our first visitors from Australia and we’re looking forward to showing Düsseldorf off a little bit. This will mostly involve showing-off Düsseldorf’s numerous beers, pubs and locally distilled spirits - should keep us all busy for a bit Then we’re going to Berlin, where, among other things, we will see another of our favourite bands, The Dandy Warhols, play. After Berlin, we are planning on catching the Nachtzug (night train) to Munich. I’m quite excited about catching the Nachtzug, as I’ve only been in a sleeper-train once before when I was about 8, so I think this will be quite fun. We should hopefully be able to have compartment to ourselves and can have a bit of a slumber party (god, I’m sounding like a 12 year old).

In other news…
- We have started watching the DVD of a really funny British sketch comedy show called Little Britain. It has some very funny and weird characters, definitely worth checking out.
- I’m settling in to my job and actually starting to feel like I might occasionally know what I’m doing. In addition to this, it is generally a fun and rewarding job, which is more than I can say for some of my past occupations.
- Steve is also settling in, but misses his class back in Newtown - oh well, what can you do? They would have all grown up and gone away to high school one day anyway…
- The flat is pretty much finally set-up… although as I’m saying that, I already know that I want to buy a microwave and a food processor…

Better go now and end this rather dull recitation.

Due to popular demand (i.e. Irena), here is the recipe for my kinda famous cheese balls:

175g butter
250g self raising flour
125g finely grated parmesan cheese
125g finely grated tasty (cheddar) cheese
pinch of salt
pinch of cayenne pepper (or more if you like em hotter)
sesame seeds (optional)

Melt the butter and then mix well with all the ingredients. Shape into small balls about the size of a walnut (they grow a lot in the oven). You may then roll the balls in sesame seeds, if you so desire (they do look more sophisticated). Place balls on a greased oven tray and bake in a moderate (180 to 200 degrees celcius) for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy! (now I’m really hungry…)

2 bunches of basil (this might be around 2 ounces of fresh leaves, i.e. no stalks)
2 cloves of garlic (or more if your nearest and dearest don’t mind!)
1/4 teaspooon salt
2 ounces of pinenuts (I don’t know why the recipe isn’t in metric, you’ll have to work this out. It’s about half a little bag of pinenuts from the supermarket)
about 1/2 a cup of grated parmesan cheese
3-4 tablespoons olive oil

Whack it all into the food processor and process. Start with the basil and add everything else gradually, until it looks and smells ‘right’. If you want to freeze it for later, don’t add the cheese (you can add the cheese later after it’s defrosted). It freezes really well in icecube trays and can keep for up to 6 months.

I’m sorry the amounts of ingredients are so vague, but I just kind of do it by instinct!

Hi - a few people have requested various recipes from me, so I thought I would put them up on the blog for all to enjoy! Let me know if there are any specific recipes that you would like, or even add your own recipe as a comment.
Cheers,
Alex