Lunch

Today's lunch; we ate Saltzstangerl (type of small baguet with course salt and caraway seeds sprinkled on top), mozzarella, salami and thick-sliced tomato, fresh basil from our window garden and a little balsamic.

This is the favourite type of lunch for my children and for me. Fresh bread, cheese, cured meat and a little salad. Must be my Italian background! As long as there is some salad dressing that can be soaked up with bread at the end, I am really happy.

I'm not putting up a recipe for this as it is fairly self-explanatory, but just wanted to share what I ate today.

Goulash

After some very hot days here - 36 degrees is rather hot for Vienna - the last few days have been cooler. Yesterday started out rainy and cold. I immediately thought, "goulash weather." By the time we got to eat the goulash, it was quite a bit warmer and sunny, but is was yummy regardless. I thought some of you southern hemisphere people, who are struggling with the cold winter weather might like to cook up something warming.

Traditionally, goulash is from Hungary, but most of the neighboring countries have adopted the dish and made it their own with local variations. I think of it as a cold weather dish, and it needs to be slow-cooked for a number of hours. I like to start cooking in the morning and let the goulash simmer on the stove for the whole day, which is helpful in keeping the house warm in winter.

In Austria, goulash is usually made with beef, pork or sausage, a paprika-based sauce and thickened with potato, rather than flour. It is mostly served with potatoes or dumplings called "Semmelknödel". Semmelknodel are so good, it is ridiculous, especially when soaked in the rich gravy of the goulash. But enough about that.

We had a visitor last night who needed to be 'fed up' after not eating much for the last week after a tooth operation, so in addition to the goulash, there were lots of side dishes to fill everyone up.

Here's what we ate: Beef goulash, boiled potatoes with butter and parsley, fresh green beans, sauerkraut, and a little bit of left-over polenta.

Honey-roasted pumpkin and carrot salad

I really like pumpkin. Unfortunately, the pumpkin farmers in the country where I now live either feed their pumpkins to the pigs or use the seeds to make pumpkin seed oil. So I don't get to eat it much.

Luckily for me though, there must be other people in Vienna who also like pumpkin, as I am seeing it at the markets more and more. Usually pumpkin only appears here in the Autumn (Sept - Nov), but I found one in my local grocer yesterday. Here is how we ate it.

Meatballs and Tunaballs

Oh meatballs...how I love thee.

I think that meatballs (rissoles in OZ) are the ultimate easy lunch or dinner, so great for kids (and grown-ups) and travel well for lunch boxes or picnics. Yesterday, after spending all morning watching my boy and husband at a soccer tournament, and subsequently inviting friends over for an early dinner, I was wondering what to cook. The day was hot, there was a combination of children, vegetarians, wheat intolerant and regular hungry people to feed.

Here's what we ate:

Meatballs - combination of pork and beef mince (with basil tomato sauce)
Tunaballs - with potato and herbs (with olive tomato sauce)
Polenta - great filler for non-wheat eaters (recipe to follow later)
Spaghetti - for the kids
Salad with honey roasted pumpkin and carrots (recipe to follow later).

Saturday night early dinner

The cup of tea....

Living in Austria has opened my eyes to the wonderful benefits of the humble cup of tea.

Tea is a life philosophy, not just in Austria, but in most of Europe it seems. Herb tea, fruit tea, ice tea, medicinal tea.... I have not forgotten black tea, but I've found that very few people drink it here, unlike in Australia, where most people have Bushells or Liptons on the pantry.

My children are given fruit tea to drink at school and kindy. This is tea made from fruit and is rather sweet, but everyone seems to think it is a good idea for kids. I'm not sure myself.

Doctors and chemists prescribe tea for flu, sore throats, coughs and most other ailments. There is a huge selection of teas in many chemists here, containing all sorts of interesting ingredients. And strangely enough, they seem to work.

Herbal teas are also big business; the varieties are endless, such as sleep teas, energy teas, pregnancy teas, teas for the skin, the stomach and the digestion.

I like a simple cup of black tea, preferably English Breakfast with a little milk. It is my 'wake up' beverage in the morning. I find it soothing and relaxing. My cup of tea travels with me around the house as I am doing all those household things that need to be done. Occasionally I forget where I put it. This is followed by the shout of, "where's Mummy's tea" or "I've lost my tea again." Generally I find it, sometimes later on, cold and congealed. Sometimes hubby finds it first and just shakes his head at me for my forgetfulness.

Peppermint tea is also a favourite of mine. A hot cup of peppermint, after dinner, while reading a book is a bedtime ritual we have. Guarantees a good night's sleep! Also great if you have had a little too much dinner and are feeling a tad full.

My Mum said to me a few years ago that as a special treat, I should have a 'tea break' in the afternoon and drink a hot cup of tea from a proper tea cup (i.e not a mug). At the time, I laughed, but wouldn't you know it, I find this is something I now do, and it is special. Thanks for the advice Mum.

Here's is my cup of tea from earlier today, sipped while watching Broncos V Souths footy on the internet. I really enjoyed it - the tea and the footy.

My food story

I've realised I have an obsession with food - cooking it, eating it, sharing it with others. Here's why.......

I grew up surrounded by the best food. Home-cooked, tasty and plenty of it.

Huge vegetable gardens, fruit trees, bee hives and a chook pen were the order of the day. Homemade pasta, free range chicken and eggs (they came from your Granny's backyard), hand-caught seafood, herbs and tropical fruits were on our table long before they were fashionable.

My food obsession may be inherited; the boys and girls on both sides of my family going back a few generations are all great cooks. Cafes and restaurants owned and run by the family also helped me along my food journey.

Obviously my family has had a big food influence on me, but there have been others too. Great and not so great restaurants and cafes, famous and not so famous chefs and cooks, cook books and magazines, fabulous ingredients, travel, friends who cook (or don't cook), and lately a husband and two kids and a new country.

I'm sharing my food story; I need an outlet for my ideas and recipes and I am lucky enough to have the time to devote to this obsession of mine right now.

Nat ate is about just that - what I ate. Here you'll find my original recipes, my adaptations of recipes from others, my favourite ingredients, what's seasonal and what I'm craving (this happens a lot and usually involves salt).

Guten Appetit!