where others come for vacation ...
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There's a thunderstorm raging outside. We decide, its a perfect evening for a movie. Halfway through the movie, i see an interestingly lit sky out of the window. We pause the movie and step out on the Balcony..
To our Left - atop Bürgenstock, the Sky is on Fire. To our right - A Double Rainbow arising out of the Lake and disappearing into the Mountains in the back...
With the Sky full of Gold, why hike up the mountain to find the Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow?? Even if there's the promise of two pots...
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Today I'm going to hang out with the ladies of Beckenried in Waldshut. It's a medieval German town bordering Switzerland along the Rhine. It's also where the Southern Black Forest meets the Rhine and where the River Aare flows into the Rhine.
It's 7AM and raining pretty heavily as i walk to Hotel Seerausch, our bus boarding point. There's ~15 women already waiting. I recognise some of them.. and Darn it, don't remember all of the names. What with so many short silver-haired Anna-Maries, Theresias and Beatrices that all look alike..
The bus arrives almost fully packed.. We're ~55 women in the Bus. It's been a while since I've been with these many women. I pick a window seat towards the rear of the Bus. Margrit Käslin, a grandmother of 4, sits next to me. We talk quite a bit in Hoch-Deutsch (High German), about me, my story from India to San Diego to NJ to Beckenried and she shares hers -- she was born in a village 10km from here & grew up on a farm. I was all excited "Did you have animals" "Cows"? And she said matter-of-factly -- "Its not fun, if you have to wake up early every morning to Milk them" -- Reality Check!!!! The romantic vision that i had harbored all along to live on a farm amidst animals, quickly disappears out of the window. She explains that she has never traveled out of Switzerland, and is very happy to hear my travel stories.
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A valuable lesson, early in the Morning from Nellie and Skylar - "Slow Down. Take the time to Smell the Roses, the Floor and while you're at it, might as well eat some Grass.. after all it's Green, right?"
The Swans and the Ducks are stepping out of water to the lakeside meadows, to enjoy the new blooms and fragrances. While you're busy snapping pictures, if you pay attention, you might just catch the mama Duck taking her seven li'l babies out for an early morning swim...
Inhale.. Exhale.. Joie de vivre
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Five Hungry Girls, a Garden full of fresh Herbs, Potatoes: Both Sweet & Regular, Tapioca Flour, Spinach, Cheese, Wine .. a rainy Friday evening... Just the right ingredients to start craving for comfort food..
With Two Brazilians, Two Swiss & One Indian, we have a variety to choose from. Samosas, Pakoras & Chai would be perfect -- but we're missing some basic ingredients here. Finally we settle on Gnocchi, Pan de Queso and Indian Dessert..
Gnocchi: These little potato dumplings are an essential part of the gift from the heavens that is Italian food. I've only had Gnocchi in Restaurants, so when Silvana offers to teach us how to roll our Gnocchi from scratch, i'm all in.. armed with all four limbs!
I soon realise, the reality of making gnocchi requires a kind of intuition to be developed. This is the kind of cooking that relies more on senses than on scales and measures. One needs to pay attention to the way things smell, look and feel.
Just the way I like to Cook. No wonder I've never quite warmed up to Baking.. too much precision & measurement.
Read more: Gnocchi and Pan de Queso, Comfort foods from Italy to Brazil: June 3rd