Recipe: Whole grain chocolate cookies

Back in Germany, baking cookies is almost completely reserved for Christmas or Advent. At least in my family, maybe that is my farmers’ genes. Here in the US, baking cookies is, well, not daily, but (bi-) weekly business for me. And those cookies are well loved by my husband and (tested on Easter) friends. They won’t last long!

Whole grain chocolate cookies

Okay, here we go for another cookie recipe, so simple your kids might help! For about four dozen cookies (not American size, but small teaspoon size heaps) made of whole grain, you need the following ingredients:

• 150g or about 5 oz (I can’t believe it’s not) butter, softened at room temperature
• a pinch of salt
• 130g or 4oz raw cane sugar
• 1 package of vanilla sugar
• 2 organic eggs, large
• 310g or 11 oz whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100g or 3.5 oz oats, old fashioned style/rolled (Haferflocken in German)
• 75g or 3 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

Beat ingredients from butter to eggs until slightly creamy – I do use a handheld electric mixer, but a fancy kitchen aid might serve as well. ;) Then add flour and baking powder – the dough will be very firm, but that’s okay. Finally, fold in oats and chocolate chips.

The dough should look like this.

dough = firm mixture

 

Let the dough rest in the fridge for about half an hour. Then use a teaspoon to form small heaps on parchment paper (on cookie sheets – I usually fill two of them).

Put in the pre-heated oven at 350°F (180°C) for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

* For an even healthier approach, you might substitute the chocolate chips with raisins, dried cranberries or even nuts.

* If you want the cookies to be more even, you might form two rolls out of the dough and then cut slices on the baking sheet.

* If you aren't into the whole grain thing at all, "ordinary" sugar and flour works as well. :) 

However: Enjoy!

Cook or bake - whatever ...

I saw this bumper sticker yesterday and do totally agree!

Easter – and we went to church

The Easter weekend is a long one in Germany. Both Good Friday and Easter Monday are national holidays. In Minnesota, both days are regular workdays – except for the fact, that there was no school on Good Friday, but the first day of spring break.  

My friend Steph was really surprised by the fact that Christian traditions cause most holidays in Germany, for example the long weekend off, while Christianity is not that important in German daily life. That is the complete opposite of what we experience here in the quite conservative Midwest. It is a little unthinkable for most people that Alex and I still have not joined a church community – we haven’t found one yet, but haven’t searched actively.

Though Germany celebrates its Christian roots a lot, most people do not attend church service though they might belong to a church (and therefore pay taxes). About 58% of the more than eighty million inhabitants of Germany are listed as Christians, the numbers for Protestants and Catholics are nearly equal in total. But traditionally, the southwest has always been more catholic and the northeast more protestant. A rising percentage of 38% is “unaffiliated with any religion”. The biggest minority are muslims (less than 3% of the population in total). And yes, there are also Jewish communities in Germany – as far as I know, mainly in Frankfurt and Berlin, but there are smaller communities in and around every larger city (even my former university city Halle has a synagogue).

Alex and I are both evangelical Lutherans which is kind of synonym to Protestant – at least in Germany. The variety of churches offered in the U.S. was (and still is) something completely new to us! However, Easter Sunday seemed to be a good starting point for going to church. In my case, it was the first time of attending service in the U.S.

The easter cross waiting in the lobby.

 

We joined our friends at the traditional service at Autumn Ridge Church: Classic church choir and a small orchestra instead of gospel choir and band (in the contemporary service). The church building itself was highly functional as so many in the U.S. are: One room for child care during service, a café and many more. The hall itself reminded me more of the auditorium of my high school than of a church back in Germany. A stage instead of a presbytery. Huge screens instead of hymnals. A speaker's desk instead of a pulpil. The pastor wearing a suit instead of a cassock. At the end of service no “Our father”, but “only” intercessions.

Yes, I know that I do compare apples to oranges (by the way: in German we would compare apples to pears) and of course – in the end the style does not matter. Besides, I also found similarities: The amout of singing, for example – and I recognized the melodies from two of three songs (though they are all kind of logical), but one of them was the melody of a Christmas song (“Tochter Zion”). The sermon itself was more evangelical (about the good news that Jesus has risen from the dead) and less appealing to our conscience. But again: That is only something our Lutheran souls would have expected. I enjoyed the service, after all.

We are currently thinking about attending a Lutheran church service (maybe for Pentecost?). And there are plenty of Lutheran churches in town: Lutheran Missouri Synod, Lutheran Wisconsin Synod, Lutheran ELCA … The latter is considered to be more progressive, they do for example allow female pastors and do not exclude anybody because of his or her sexual orientation. They even support same-sex marriage which is currently discussed at the Supreme Court. I could not join a church community who does not support this.

At the moment, the campaign on facebook and other social media is still running, many have chosen the pink and red = as their profile picture as a sign of support. I put it here in my blog. 

= Yes, I do support same sex marriage.

More facts and numbers about same-sex marriage here: http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/11/politics/btn-same-sex-marriage/index.html

Nobody chooses his or her sexuality. No one should be excluded because he or she loves a person of the same sex. No one should be forced into a heterosexual, maybe unhappy life. We are all God’s Children, no matter what. Just my two cents.

And yes, I know that Germany is also lacking the support of same-sex marriage since the law there only allows “civil unions”. Let's see what happens after the election this fall. But there will always be people argueing with the bible about this issue - on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Wounded by winter

It's March. And the next weekend, Daylight Saving Time starts. Nevertheless, we got a bunch of snow at the beginning of the week. I took this shot from our balcony on Monday morning.

8 inch or 20 cm of snow - fresh from heaven - in March ...

For some people, who haven't seen a significant amount of snow in their lives, this might be new:

Lesson #1: You shall not eat yellow snow.
Lesson #2: You shall not step through high piled snow when it is uncertain what's underneath.

I always follow #1. My ankle paid for ignoring #2 on Tuesday.

Yes, it may be uncommon to walk to the bakery at such weather. However, I did it. I had the choice between certainly wet feet (melting snow makes great ponds at crosswalks) or walking through knee-high piled snow which I could easily clap off my legs. I chose the latter.

What I didn't know was I would step on the curbside. I twisted my left ankle. Ouch! Having played soccer in high school, I knew nothing was broken. My friend (who is a nurse) confirmed that - most likely the ligament have been over-stretched. "Keep the foot cooled and rested" she said and I did.

In Germany, I would most certainly have seen a doctor immediately. Here: No need to - as it is already getting better.

But no Zumba in the near future. Back to biking and maybe rowing with ankle support (already ordered at amazon).

Time for spring!

Life in comparison – our personal FAQ

After three weeks in Germany to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve with family and meeting friends, we are back in Minnesota now for a month. My nose has already adjusted to the slight smell of chloride the tap water over here has (luckily not as bad as in Houston, but of course worse than the natural water from my parents’ own fountain). And so did my scalp which awfully reacted to the combination of dry and cold weather at first, making my hair look awfully greasy. Hum, working on that.

Further, I am now a patient of the very huge Mayo Clinic: Got a general check-up and all kind of blood tests taken (mostly because of my thyroid malfunction). And I have started taking a Spanish class (provided by Rochester Community Education) and want to continue that since I love (learning) foreign languages. And though I mostly let Alex drive when the two of us are on the road especially with the snow and unsure road conditions, I really enjoy the more relaxed way of driving here. And meanwhile, we also got our Minnesota plates: Good Bye, Texas plates!

Standard plate: Minnesota (land of) 10,000 lakes

Upon our visit in Germany, we were asked a lot of questions about living in the USA. Some prejudices could already be eliminated by showing some of our photos: “Look, there are wind power plants!” (Somewhere in Iowa.) Though I must admit that most of my born and raised in the countryside friends were highly impressed by pictures of downtown Houston.

So here they are, our very personal FAQ from Germany, asked somewhere between caring and winking.

FAQ1: “What do you eat?”

A lot. Containing a lot of fat. And we do always eat. So far the cliché. In fact, nothing has changed that much about our diet. Since we have moved to Rochester and it is everything but too hot to use the stove, I enjoy cooking as much as I did back in Germany. Mostly soups or stews because they perfectly match the cold weather. Casseroles or a hearty “hot dish” would also be typical for Minnesota, but I haven’t tried one yet (and am just wondering why).

noodle soup with meat balls

I have even started baking my own bread because I do miss bread which cannot be squeezed (and then pops up again): a healthy 3-grain whole wheat flour bread with buttermilk – a recipe my mom gave me. And I want to try another German recipe with carrots and walnuts. But the local grocery stores like HyVee or Trader’s Joe (organic) also offer some good quality “like German” bread. We even have an ALDI food market here! Great for stocking up the pantry, but also offering some German products including Spätzle (Swabian noodles) or Pumpernickel (really dark rye bread). And the selection of reasonable priced cheeses is great.

But we adopted several things from over here: oatmeal (but made from scratch and milk, please!) or waffles for special occasion breakfasts (we usually have some toast). Alex has discovered peanut butter, while I prefer to stay with (Canadian) Nutella. In Germany, we mostly had warm lunch and a cold dinner – that has changed now, too.

German Bread can't be squeezed!

FAQ2: “In the supermarket, you can only buy everything in huuuge containers.”

Well, that is true – but I am getting used to it. Half a gallon of milk is what we mostly buy, the usual German size would be one liter – a little more than a quart. But milk – and orange juice as well – is also available in close-to-four-liter containers. I have not bought frozen pizza yet (and don’t think I will), but the standard size seems to be larger than the German one – and I am not talking about a family pizza. I don’t think I would be able to finish a standard pizza over here on my own. Eggs usually  go by the dozen (10 in Germany). Cheese and cold cuts are in size comparable to Germany, at least in the quality we usually buy. And that is mostly organic, especially when it comes to eggs, milk, potatos and salad. If the farmer’s market is going to be more frequent, I would shop there, too.

And comparing prices for eggs from cage system housing (which is, by the way, forbidden in the European Union) to those from organic growth – well, though I like to eat chicken:  I simply fell pity for the hens whose eggs are worth less than a dime…

Huge for German standard: flour and sugar are usually sold in 2 pound packages (1kg)

FAQ3: “You have a huge car, that’s for sure. Everyone does.”

Pictures often tell more than words, don’t they?

It still drives ...

But no, that is not our car! But that is what they could look like, especially for www.peopleofwalmart.com. Duct tape helds either the trunk or the whole backside of the car in place, the car is obviously rusty and – not to be seen in this picture – the tire on the back left was a lot smaller.

But well, compared to the Renault Twingo we had in Germany, everything is bigger. We now are proud owners of a sedan which would be a perfect car for senior citizens on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in color and size: a golden Kia Optima, nine years old. It came with an automatic theft control – commonly known as manual transmission. We have no plans of purchasing a SUV since we invested a lot in that car. For example, we needed a new crank shaft sensor after our road trip.

Kia, back in Houston

FAQ4: “Have you already purchased a gun?”

No. And that won’t happen that fast. If I am informed correctly, we would at least need a green card for purchasing one in a store. And though hunting is a common hobby up here in the north, we have no plans of buying. (By the way: After the shooting in Connecticut – what a tragedy – in December, the sale rates for guns have risen, mostly because people are afraid of stricter laws.)

FAQ5: “How about folks?”

Well folks, folks is different. As different as in Germany! Not all Germans drink beer, eat sausage and love eating kraut all the time while listening to German folk music. And not all Americans shoot from while driving their Ford V8 pick-up. It is more likely they would be texting or talking on their cell phone. But however, on both sides of the Atlantic, there are such folks.

When it comes to the Upper Midwest, the people here are best described as being “Minnesota nice”. That implies being kind of friendly in general, based on the principle “Don’t believe you are better than others.” So far, we have not have the chance to get to know people better – except for the Auton family. On first sight, most contacts are made by either having children or church. Both things do not apply in our case. We still feel not comfortable with how important church and faith over here is, therefore we don’t involve in church. You would say “keep your fingers crossed” or “wish me luck” in Germany, over here it is called “I pray for you”. That still feels strange, even to my German Lutheran heart and soul.

I am sorry it took me so long to post …