I love Saisonküche Magazine

Hey you - yeah you foodie you. I am talking to the one that likes all those food blogs and is trying out the new recipes and likes to eat... yeah, that is right - YOU. (wink) Hi there. :)

I thought you might like to know about a magazine that I read in Switzerland - well, the only magazine I have a subscription to actually so that should be telling enough (subscriptions are not $10 like in the States, but more - what's new - this is Switzerland you know...). But I loved this food magazine so much that I had to subscribe to it and I am glad I did.

Saisonküche is a monthly magazine about food, cooking, and food culture in Switzerland. The recipes are great and I specifically love the article each month that deconstructs a typical Swiss recipe to try (see Schweizer Klassiker online). This month for summer they had a Wurst-Käse-Salat (Sausage and cheese salad - and it uses all the stuff from the garden right now - score!).

Now, I know that the magazine is in German - but I think that is actually a good thing, as what better incentive than a big tasty something do you need to learn a bit more of the language? The other potential downside is that the magazine is sponsored heavily (if not owned?) by Migros - so a lot of the ads and food used are Migros products, but that is not too bad. They have really great offers for members to save on cookbooks and cooking equipment, too. And their website gets better each time I look at it.

So if you are a foodie like me and you want to learn a bit more German and enjoy great food - go ahead and get a subscription to Saisonküche and let me know what you think! I guarantee you will enjoy finding it in your mailbox each month.

Bonus! I just realized you can get a free copy of Saisonküche to try. Just fill out this form online.
Enjoy!

More tomorrow on how I celebrated Switzerland's National Day in Ulm, Germany - I am crazy - I know! But you still love me right? And a few more cookbooks I recommend as this might just have to be a cooking week on Swisstory! Enjoy!
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Happy 718th Birthday Switzerland!

Saturday, August 1st, is the 718th Swiss National Day! Time to grab your grill and a few cervelats, head down to the river and light up those fireworks to celebrate.

Word on the street and on wiki is that the action is at the Rhein Falls near Schaffhausen, where they light up the falls and set off an impressive fireworks display. I heard that driving there is a nightmare - but then again, what would a fireworks display be without the annoying midnight traffic back-up? So hop on the train or check out what your local area is putting on for the big day (the chances are good something is happening locally - in Urdorf it's on baby) and enjoy the show.

(For all those hard workers - bummer the holiday didn't fall on a week-day, isn't it?) ;)
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Harvest time at the Swiss allotment!

So the garden is in full swing and that means harvest time! All the Swiss plots are full of great fruit and veg and the plots are a flurry of excitement as everyone rushes to harvest their crop at the best times - having garden parties to celebrate the bounty... and me too! Here's the run down on what I am harvesting at the plot this week:

• The beans are in full swing - yellow and green - and lot of them! They are a bit small at the moment, but I figure if I pick them over time I will get some small and some big ones and it will even out. Yum - fresh beans!
  
• The onions are ready - I have spring onions, pickling onions (which I will try to pickle for Jace - fingers crossed that I don't end up with a moldy grey jar of vinegar - it can happen!), and regular big ol' yellow onions. They are coming up over time and eventually I will lift, dry and store them all.
• We have carrots! For some reason, I figured I would totally fail with the carrots as the soil has to be just right, well draining, forked through and perhaps a bit sandy. I have great soil so I thought I would have forked carrots. Not so! They are awesome - both red carrots and orange.
• Um, see those huge green things on the right - those are zucchini and yeah, I left them for a bit too long. Can you say zucchini bread, zucchini brownie (so yummy!) and ratatouille? Oh yes, and then some. After making all that, I still have these big daddies. Bread em' and bake them, Mom says. I think I might have to tomorrow.
• Chilies (hot peppers I mean) are coming. So are the tomatoes. I had to move the chilis this last weekend actually because the tomatoes and pumpkins were drowning them out. They are happy living where the peas used to be, I hope. I hope moving them so late was not a mistake!
  
• And how can forget those potatoes? They are all up now - and although they are not huge there are enough of them to last until winter if they store well (paper sack, in a dark, cool place)...

Honestly, I still cannot believe I have grown all this! It has been a lot of work - but it has been worth it for sure. More is still to come - fresh sweet corn, pumpkins (to eat and to decorate), lots more carrots, onions, radishes, chilis, tomatoes, beans, spinach, chinese cabbage, and more!

Enjoy some photos of the harvest - and check in again soon!

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Thanks for your help with the Photo Walk Submission!

Busy weekend... busy week ahead! Just a quick post for today - but I have a garden update coming up tomorrow.

Here are the two shots I submitted for the World Wide Photo Walk - wish me luck! Thank you to everyone for your great feedback and encouragement!

You can see all the photos that were submitted by the Zürich walkers (or at least those that submitted a photo!) here: Zürich World Wide Photo Walk submissions

There is also a great Flickr page with a lot more shots from the day. Enjoy!

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Almost Famous - Swissnews Article by Chantal

So a few months ago, a fellow blogger and mega-talented writer, Chantal Panozzo, interviewed me for an article in Swissnews about blogging and it just came out today! There are some great bits in there about what I do, how I blog for fun and for fortune (albeit a small, tiny, could carry it in my pocket fortune), and how Jace is my editor and chief (Ooh I love that quote the most!).

I am not the only one featured - Julie from Zurika and Toma from the Antiques Diva also were featured - rightly so, I love their blogs. Please check them out. The article turned out smashingly - if I do say so myself - and I hope you take a second to check it out and let me know what you think.

Read the article:

• Blogging for business & pleasure by Chantal Panozzo - Swissnews (August 2009)

OH - and welcome Swissnews readers! Thanks for stopping by! (Now click on those ads...! - just kidding... :)
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Walk on the Wild Side...

Another great shot from the Worldwide Photo Walk...

Switzerland is full of rules. Sometimes too many. Here are a few things to do if you want to be a bit different and walk on the wild side in Switzerland. Have fun.

1. 'Rechts stehen, links gehen.' Have you heard this before? It means 'Stand to the right, walk on the left.' It pertains to when you are standing on an escalator - you should stand on the right and walk on the left. Want to be different and piss some people off in the meantime, how about standing in the middle? Or perhaps you want to lay down on the escalator. Be my guest. (Jace hates this too! hehe)
   
   
2. Instead of kissing on the cheek - go for the hug. It throws the Swiss off... way off... perhaps it is too much contact. Then again, I would rather hug a lot of people than come that close to them with my mouth. Up to you!
   
   
3. Don't dry your hair. I do not even own a hair drier. I cannot tell you how many weird looks I get when I wear my hair wet or come to work with wet hair - despite it being 80 degrees out. I think it goes against all Swiss principles...
   
   
4. Eat peanut butter in public. Man - this is almost a universal annoyance to anyone that is not American. No one, especially the Swiss, can fathom why you would spread peanuts on bread - and couple that with jam or jelly and they just go INSANE.
   
   
5. Dip pineapple in your fondue... I love to tell the Swiss what I like to dip in their fondue. If it is not bread, it just drives them mad... 'Oh yea, I love to dip pineapple, broccoli, cauliflower... all that straight into my Appenzeller. Just dip it right in, yum, yum, yum.' And watch the jaws drop.
   
   
6. Answer the phone with just hello. Oh does it stop them in their tracks. RING RING... 'Hello.'....... PAUSE FOR 16 hours... 'Um...Gruetzi, Frau Schweiz am Apparat..'... and then just say 'Ja.' Oh is it great. Then again, I don't like answering the phone so sometimes I just don't.
   

Got any others? What do you do to have a bit of fun with the Swiss... (before they take their alphorn and beat you over the head with it for making them resent letting you into their great country...) :)
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