Cheese fondue, really?

Cheese fondue seems kind of old-fashioned these days, something that was all the rage in the seventies. As a child, I didn't like cheese but I always fancied watching my parents and their friends sitting around a pot of molten cheese, dipping crusty white bread with long, slender, colorful forks.

The other reason I was intrigued by cheese fondue was a very popular comic book: Asterix in Switzerland. I hoped that my parents would enforce the character's obnoxious practices when someone dropped a bread cube in the pot. According to the story, at first offense, there would be five strokes with a cane, 2nd time around, twenty whippings, and at the 3rd wrongdoing, the offender would be drowned in Lake Geneva with weights attached to their feet. That sounded like great entertainment. But this never happened, and we didn't even live close to Lake Geneva.

Nowadays, disliking cheese is no longer an issue, so when we ran into our friends Ellen and John, and, inexplicably, the conversation turned to cheese fondue, we made plans to get together and give it a try. I had a recipe, they had the fondue pot, so one warm evening (so wrong for cheese fondue) we got together.

My recipe is different from the typical cheese fondue, leaving out the Kirsch and using champagne, chives and Dijon mustard. It seems lighter, but that's only an illusion. We are talking a lot of cheese here. I liked standing by the stove stirring the cheese with a wooden spoon in a figure eight until it became soft, then creamy and finally perfectly smooth. Throughout the house we smelled the sweet, nutty and earthy aroma of melted cheese with the perfume of alcohol. 

The Swiss recommend drinking warm tea, but we chose a crisp white wine. We dipped chunks of crusty baguette into the fondue which had specks of chives floating on top, and enjoyed a simple salad on the side. It was just like my childhood memory, except that no one dropped a piece of bread.

Cheese Fondue

Adapted from a cookbook found a long time ago in a beach house in Del Mar
serves 4

1 pound finely grated Swiss Cheese and Gruyere Cheese (any combination works), mixed with 4 teaspoons of flour

1 large clove garlic

2 tablespoons butter

1–1 ½ cups dry champagne

¼ cup finely chopped chives

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Pinch of salt and pepper, pinch of nutmeg

Cut garlic in half and rub the inside of the fondue pot, discard. Melt butter and add the cheese together with the champagne. Stir constantly until mixture is smooth, adding more champagne if needed. Fold in Dijon mustard and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

Mahjong with Rhubarb on the side

My friend Denise is known for her chocolate chip cookies, lemon cake and fruit crumbles. Last week she invited me to join her and some friends for dessert and a game of Mahjong.

When I walked into her home for my very first game of Mahjong, she had moved the old-fashioned table closer to the fireplace to get away from the spring chill. I admired her beautiful Mahjong vintage tiles, which are made from bone and have intricate symbols of dragons, flowers and winds. The tiles felt smooth and cool between my fingers. We spread them upside down and shuffled them running our hands over the tiles, and they made a soft clicking noise as they touched each other.

The rules of Mahjong were easy enough, similar to Rummy, and I sipped crisp champagne while I happily giggled my way through the game.

All along, we could smell the rhubarb crumble, the heavenly combination of fruit, butter, sugar and cinnamon. When Denise served it to us, still warm, on little white plates, we inhaled the whole thing. It was such a perfect combination of sweet and tart, that we quickly forgot all about Mahjong and enjoyed every last sugary morsel. Her three dogs lingered nearby, hoping we would drop some crumbs or let them lick the plates.

At home, I found another equally gratifying recipe for rhubarb in an old cookbook that once belonged to my German nanny. It made a very simple compote, transforming the rhubarb into a silky jumble, smelling faintly like raspberries, and I was happily surprised how easily it came together and how pretty it was in its pinkness.

Rhubarb Compote

The compote has the distinct tartness of the rhubarb which is so unique, but it also tastes sweet and refreshing with hints of vanilla and orange. It’s especially good served with angel food cake, ice cream or ricotta cheese. I strain the left-over liquid through a fine sieve and mix it with sparkling water for a luscious rhubarb soda.

Adapted from “Das neue grosse Kochbuch”, Berteslmann Publishing ca. 1963

Makes about 5 cups

1 scant lb rhubarb

2 cups water (500 ml)

7/8 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (200 ml)

5.25 oz sugar (150 g)

2 packages vanilla sugar (available in German grocery stores), can be substituted with 1 vanilla bean or 2 tsp high quality vanilla extract or more to taste

Use skinny rosy stalks of rhubarb and remove any stringy bits from the ends. Cut the stalks in 2.5 inch long pieces and cut these lengthwise into thin slices. Bring the water with the orange juice and vanilla sugar, bean or extract to a simmer and add the rhubarb pieces. Cook for a couple of minutes or until the rhubarb softens and take it off the stove. Let cool completely and refrigerate. Serve chilled.

A 5 Minute Egg

It is something so very simple yet so delicious, a soft cooked egg. A very German breakfast food, it is traditionally served in an egg cup.


I gently simmer an egg for 5 minutes until the yolk is soft and golden and the white is firm, lovely with a sprinkle of sea salt and served with buttered toast.

I know the chickens who lay these eggs which come out in soft hues of green, blue and brown with the occasional dark brown in between.

Meyer Lemon Baby Cake

We only just planted one tiny Meyer lemon tree, and it already bears so much fruit: Lemon tree, very pretty! Now I am constantly looking for recipes that have lemon in it and ran across this one in my messy recipe box. I think I must have been holding on to it for a very long time, the newspaper clipping is yellowed and brittle. And then I baked these little yummy cakes and dusted them with powdered sugar. I bet a little whipped cream wouldn't hurt and neither would a cappuccino!


1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar (divided use)
2 eggs, separated
juice of one Meyer lemon (or any other lemon)
grated peel of lemon (if not organic, please wash very well in hot water)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
In large bowl, cream the butter; gradually adding 1/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and light in color, stir into creamed butter. Add dry ingredients alternately with lemon juice.
In another bowl (I know, lots of bowls) using clean beaters, whip egg whites until foamy, gradually adding the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, until soft peaks form. Gently fold egg whites and lemon peel into batter. Spoon into 8 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Soup with Yams, Apples and Cream

The following soup was meant to be served at my nephew's daycare. But he and all the other 2 year olds had one spoon full and spit out the rest. I chalk it up to undeveloped taste buds.

The soup was, however, enjoyed by me!

1 small onion

3 medium yams

1/2 apple

olive oil

curry powder

salt

vegetable broth

1 tbs cream or crème fraîche

Sauté onion very gently in olive oil until translucent. Add the cubed yams and apple and cook for a few more minutes. Sprinkle with a little curry powder and stir. Add enough broth to barely cover the vegetables and simmer until soft. Let cool for a few minutes and blend in blender or puree with a hand blender. Season with salt and add cream just before serving. Drizzle with olive or walnut oil.

Sweet Pickles!!

Here is something fun and easy to make. I found this recipe in an United In-Flight magazine, imagine that! I have made this with little tiny green and yellow cucumbers that I bought at the Farmer's Market and then quartered them lengthwise. I have also used the little Persian cucumbers from Trader Joe's. Next, I will try it with radishes, why not? Pickles are in....

Raw vegetables

1 cup water, piping hot out of the faucet

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

6 tb sugar

2 1/4 ts kosher salt

Combine water, vinegar, sugar and salt and stir until sugar has dissolved. Pack the vegetables tightly in a quart container or any glass container you have laying around. Pour brine over vegetables, cover, and refrigerate. Let sit for 3 or 4 days at minimum, or a week for optimum flavor. Should be consumed quickly!

Simply Quinoa

Quinoa is such a great accompaniment to pretty much anything. I love that the Incas grew it so long ago. They knew even then that quinoa is high in protein, calcium and iron, a perfect food! They even fed their army with it.

The most important thing is to rinse the Quinoa in water before cooking to remove its bitter coating. I really urge you to do it, it makes all the difference.

My sister-in-law Renee has given me this wonderfully simple recipe which serves 4:

1 tb Virgin Coconut Oil (the one with the coconut flavor) or to taste

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup Quinoa, rinsed

2 cups vegetarian broth (cubes are fine)

Melt the coconut oil in a pot, add the garlic clove and toast until fragrant. Add rinsed Quinoa and stir adding the broth. Bring to a boil and simmer covered for 20 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Serve warm and enjoy!