by David Stanley

[We're delighted to welcome David as our latest guest blogger. David is a travel writer based in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Besides his work for print publications including the Lonely Planet series, he also runs several excellent travel websites, including GoNanaimo.com.]

The sinfully rich Nanaimo bar takes its name from the city of Nanaimo on the east coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. This calorie-laden dessert was first mentioned in local cookbooks in the 1950s. Today the three-layer bars are kept next to the cookies and muffins in most British Columbia cafés.

To prepare the base layer, combine half a cup of unsalted butter or margarine, a quarter cup of granulated sugar, and five tablespoons of cocoa powder in a double boiler over the heat. Add a beaten egg, mix well, and pour into a mixing bowl. Stir in half a cup of chopped almonds or walnuts, one cup of grated coconut, and two cups of graham wafer crumbs. Press the soft mixture firmly into an ungreased eight-inch square pan and put the pan in the refrigerator to chill.

To make the filling, combine two tablespoons of vanilla custard powder, two tablespoons and two teaspoons of cream, half a cup of softened unsalted butter or margarine, and two cups of icing sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Spread this mixture evenly over the base layer and
place the pan back into the fridge to stand for half an hour.

For the topping, melt two tablespoons of unsalted butter or margarine and four ounces of semi-sweet chocolate over low heat and stir until smooth. Allow the liquid to cool slightly and pour it over the filling. Place the pan back in the fridge to chill. Once the product has set, use a hot knife
to cut the slab into around 40 bars, which should be stored in the fridge.

This is only one Nanaimo bar recipe – there are many variations.

David Stanley

by Victoria

When people think of German food and drink, beer tents full of raucous revellers swigging from over-sized beer steins and chomping down on amusingly-named sausage is what often comes to mind. However, this is only a very small part of a larger and more refined culinary picture.

Here in the southern region of Germany known as Swabia (Schwaben) there are many local delicacies. Just as in various Mediterranean lands, pasta is traditionally eaten here, often more so than potatoes, which are consumed more readily in the less temperate climes of Northern Germany. There is even a German pasta, known as Spätzle, often served on a Sunday, which is as beloved (and varied) as the British roast potato. Due to the expansive landscape and good soil, fruit and vegetables are often grown, bought and sold locally, resulting in very seasonal meals.

Meat is an important part of most German’s diet and pork (including the ubiquitous sausage!), chicken, turkey and beef are eaten in relatively large quantities. This meat-lust is perhaps best demonstrated with the story of Maultaschen (”gob bags”) – a pork and vegetable mix, wrapped in pasta (think giant ravioli meets Cornish pasty). During Lent, eating meat was forbidden. This was quite a hard task for a group of Swabian monks, who decided that if the meat was minced up with spinach and onion and then concealed in pasta pockets, the Lord’s eyes would not see it any more and so it would count as vegetarian!

The art of baking is not something taken lightly here in Germany. In any small village bakery you care to visit, you will be met by maybe 50 different types of bread. Bread baked with seeds and grains are particularly popular, and half-white breads are a staple. Pretzels are also beloved in this region and are often eaten at Vesper, which is a cold evening meal consisting of various breads, cold meats, cheeses and pickles. Cakes, flans and tarts tend to be creamy, fruity and not too sweet. Coffee and cakes is a traditional meal to be taken at around 3 o’clock, but usually only on special occasions such as birthdays.

Germany is of course known for its beer. Each small region often has its own brewery or two and there are hundreds upon hundreds of varieties. However, lots of visitors to southern Germany are surprised by the amount of regional wine there is on offer too. Forget the awful sweet whites that are exported to supermarkets across Europe, the red and white wines produced on the Weinberge around Stuttgart and in Baden are dry, delicate and light.

Being situated in the centre of Europe, Germany naturally has had many influences on its cuisine from other lands. Italian, French, Hungarian, Turkish and Swiss food in particular have been adopted and adapted into the culinary architecture and most Germans seem keen to try something different.

Germany is a country that really enjoys eating and which really has a different food for all occasions. There is something to suit most palettes, and always something to wash it down with! Just don’t forget to wish your fellow diners…

Einen guten Appetit!

Here’s the first from our guest bloggers. Mike runs a few wonderfully eclectic websites including New Freebooters. He’s pretty nifty in the kitchen too and, despite sometimes referring to himself as “Man in a greasy shirt”, comes up with some great ideas. I had a go at his pumpkin soup recipe, and he’s kindly agreed to let me reproduce it here. When I tried it, it came out more like a casserole than a soup, but perhaps my pumpkin was too small. It was very tasty and definitely something I’d recommend.

Anyway, I always think that recipes are only for ideas. Just bung it in! Who needs to follow a load of instructions? That’s just too boring. So here’s Mike’s recipe – enjoy!

Pumpkin Soup – in a pumpkin

Mike says, “I’m not fond of pumpkin, but this recipe is tempting and fun.”

Ingredients

Serves 6 to 8 people

• 1 small firm, round pumpkin
• 1 large pot crème fraîche
• 1 litre milk
• 1 large bunch parsley
• soft cheese
• salt, pepper

Preparation

Thoroughly clean the skin of the pumpkin. With a sharp knife used perpendicular to the skin, cut a circle round the stalk to make a lid. Trim off any excess stalk, leaving a neat handle.

Use a sharp-edged spoon to remove all seeds and fibre from inside the pumpkin. Scrape off a little of the flesh and let it fall into the bottom of the pumpkin “soup tureen”.

Salt and pepper the scraped-off flesh, and cover it wth the crème fraîche.

Add the milk, and whip the mixture thoroughly.

Using scissors, finely cut a generous portion of parsley leaves onto the top of the mix (about one tablespoon of parsley per person). Discard the stalks.

Replace the “lid” and cook for 1hr 30 min in a preheated oven at 165°C (thermostat 5 or 6).

Remove from the oven, lift off the lid, and grate the cheese onto the top of the mix. Return to the oven, without the lid, and cook for a further 30 min, but do not burn the cheese.

Place the pumpkin on a serving dish, and decorate each soup plate with a little flesh from the lid.

Enjoy!

If you want to find out more about Mike please visit his website: New Freebooters