MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING

Just a few weeks ago I got an email from my dear friend Ulla in Germany with the quite unexpected announcement, that she and her long time partner Thomi would get married and if I please could come....now, needless to say, Germany is not exactly around the corner, but how could I refuse? After a few phone calls back and forth it was decided, I booked a flight and would come back to Germany for her big day. This last weekend then the time had come!
In honor of the lucky girl, this blog will be in English and German.

Vor nur wenigen Wochen bekam ich eine Email von meiner lieben Freundin Ulla aus Deutschland mit der voellig unerwarteten Nachricht, dass sie und ihr langjaehriger Partner nun endlich heiraten wuerden und ich sei herzlich eingeladen...nun, es ist ueberfluessig zu erwaehnen, dass Deutschland fuer mich nicht gerade um die Ecke liegt, aber wie koennte ich so einer Einladung widerstehen? Nach ein paar Telefonaten hin und her war es dann entschieden, ich buchte einen Flug und wuerde fuer ihren grossen Tag nach Deutschland zurueckkehren.
Letztes Wochenende war es dann soweit!

The wedding ceremony took place on the observation deck of the Feldberg tower. The Feldberg is the highest mountain in the Black Forest, with a splendid view over the scenic landscape. A perfect place to tie the knot.
To get there you can either walk...or you can take the Gondola:

Die Trauung fand auf der Aussichtsplattform des Feldbergturmes statt. Der Feldberg ist der hoechste Berg im Schwarzwald und bietet eine fantastische Aussicht auf die umliegende Landschaft. Der perfekte Ort um den Bund fuers Leben einzugehen.
Um dorthin zu gelangen kann man entweder wandern...oder aber man nimmt die Gondel:

Can you tell it was a bit windy?

Here comes the wedding party. Although the distance from the gondola station to the tower was not too far, walking, especially in high heels was tricky ;-)

Hier kommt die Hochzeitsgesellschaft. Obwohl es nur ein kurzes Stueck zum Laufen war von der Gondelstation bis zum Turm, war es doch, besonders fuer hohe Absaetze, nicht ganz einfach ;-)

The ceremony

Die Trauung

After the yes was said and the rings exchanged, we went to an adjacent stone monument to take pictures. To get bride and groom into the right position, I made them climb a bit...no effort too big for the perfect picture!

Nachdem das Jawort gesprochen und die Ringe getauscht waren, ging es zum Bismarckturm um die Hochzeitsgesellschaft zu photographieren. Damit Braut und Braeutigam auch im besten Licht erscheinen, habe ich sie ein bischen klettern lassen...fuer das perfekte Photo wurden keine Muehen gescheut!

From there it went downhill...

...in the special wedding gondola...;-)

Von da an ging's bergab...

...in der eigens dafuer zu Verfuegung gestellten Hochzeitsgondel...;-)

Of course, back down we took many more pictures and had lots of fun doing it.

Unten angekommen haben wir natuerlich noch mehr Bilder gemacht und hatten viel Spass dabei.

The day concluded with a yummy dinner served on lovingly decorated tables, wedding games and dance until the early morning hours.

Am Abend gab es dann ein leckeres Abendessen, serviert auf liebevoll dekorierten Tischen, lustige Partner-Spiele und Tanz bis in die fruehen Morgenstunden.

It was a wonderful and well done wedding! Congratulations again to newly-weds!

Es war ein wunderschoener und gelungener Tag! Nochmals die herzlichsten Glueckwuensche an das frisch vermaehlte Paar!

After this excitement Oli and I decided to take advantage of the sunny weather and take the convertible for a "tour de Black Forest".

Nach diesem aufregenden Tag haben Oli und ich beschlossen, das schoene Wetter auszunutzen und mit dem Cabrio auf eine "Tour de Schwarzwald" zu gehen.

Passing scenic landscapes...

Vorbei an malerischer Landschaft...

...typical Black Forest properties...

...typischen Schwarzwaldhaeusern...

...and charming villages.

...und idyllischen Doerfern.

Cows could be seen...

Kuehe gab es in allen Variationen...

...on pasture...

...auf der Weide...

...and on the street.

...und auf der Strasse.

And last but not least, the world largest cuckoo clock:

Und nicht zu vergessen, die groesste Kuckucksuhr der Welt:

The last stop was Zeller Keramik, one of my favorite ceramics manufacturer,

Zum Abschluss dann ein Besuch bei Zeller Keramik, einer meiner Lieblingsmanufakturen,

where the design is still painted on with hand!

wo die Motive noch handgemalt sind!

My last day in Germany we spent in the town of Tuebingen, a picturesque college town situated on the river Neckar.

Meinen letzten Tag haben wir dann in Tuebingen verbracht, einer malerischen Universitaetsstadt am Neckar.

Town hall with farmers market

Rathaus mit Wochenmarkt

Cozy side street

Heimelige Gasse

Medieval houses mirroring in the river

Mittelalterliche Haeuser, die sich im Neckar spiegeln

Main method of transport ;-)

Hauptverkehrsmittel ;-)

Have you ever wondered, where this delicious square chocolate, called Ritter Sport, comes from? Me,too. And as I found out that the factory is close by and sells its chocolate right there, I had to check it out.

Ritter Sport = Waldenbuch, und als ich herausfand, dass das gerade um die Ecke ist und einen verguenstigten Werksverkauf hat, musste ich da natuerlich auch noch hin.

Chocolate museum and chocolate "outlet".

Museum und Fabrikverkaufsgebaeude.

Not only can you buy chocolate here, you can also taste it...

Man kann nicht nur die Schokolade hier kaufen, man kann sie auch probieren...

And with that my time in Germany was already over. I had a great time, it was wonderful to attend the wedding, meet old friends and enjoy the familiar surroundings. Time was just to short, as always. With a last cup of coffee from the "San Francisco Coffee Company" at the Stuttgart airport, I said Good Bye to my home country and flew back home to California.

Und damit war die Zeit in Deutschland auch schon vorbei. Ich hatte viel Spass, es war toll, dass ich bei der Hochzeit dabei sein konnte und ich habe es sehr genossen, alte Freunde wiederzutreffen. Die Zeit war einfach zu kurz, wie immer. Nach einer letzten Tasse Kaffee, ironischerweise von der "San Francisco Coffee Company" auf dem Stuttgarter Flughafen, habe ich dann meiner alten Heimat Tschuess gesagt und bin zurueck nach Hause, nach Kalifornien, geflogen.

June Conservation Tip

CAR  WASH

Our kids have chores, and one of these chores is washing the car(s) whenever they are dirty. Recently our older son came up to me, after cleaning the Prius, and complained that washing the car at home really would harm the environment. How could I, trying to be so environmentally savvy, let him do it, he wondered?

Always highly suspicious when it comes to discussing chores, I asked him what he meant.  

The points he made, that the waste water from the wash, containing the soap, oil and more would run off unfiltered and could possibly harm the environment and that the common garden hose would waste a lot of water, sounded plausible, but I wasn't completely convinced yet.

So I did some research, and that is what I found:

"Few people realize that washing our cars in our driveways is one of the most environmentally un-friendly chores we can do around the house. Unlike household waste water that enters sewers or septic systems and undergoes treatment before it is discharged into the environment, what runs off from your car goes right into storm drains -- and eventually into rivers, streams, creeks and wetlands where it poisons aquatic life and wreaks other ecosystem havoc. After all, that water is loaded with a witch’s brew of gasoline, oil and residues from exhaust fumes -- as well as the harsh detergents being used for the washing itself."  [1]
[1] Eco-friendly car washing 

"The average homeowner uses 116 gallons of
water to wash a car! Most commercial car
washes use 60 percent less water for the entire
process than a homeowner uses just to rinse
the car." [2]

"Among the many impacts of motor
vehicles on our environment, car
washing has been noted by water
quality experts as a serious contributor
to water pollution." [2]

"The phosphates from soap can cause excess
algae to grow. Excessive algae smell bad, look
bad, and harm water quality. As algae decay,
the process uses up oxygen in the water that
fish need." [2] 
[2] KSMO

"The Clean Water Act requires professional car washes to pipe their dirty water to water treatment facilities or into state-approved drainage facilities designed to protect the environment. Automatic and self-serve car washes also use water efficient equipment such as computer controlled systems and high-pressure nozzles and pumps, allowing them to clean cars thoroughly while conserving water." [3]

"soap is for dishes not for fishes" [3]
[3] Images Auto Spa

OK, I'm convinced now.

However, if you HAVE to wash your car at home, here some tips to minimize your impact on the environment:

• only use biodegradable, phosphate free and water based cleaners. 
• use as less water as possible, turn the water off in between rinses or use a spray gun. Use a bucket whenever possible. Then drain the bucket into a sink or toilet.
• wash on an area that absorbs water, such as grass or gravel. This can help filtering the water before it goes into the groundwater. Do not wash the car on the street where it drains into a storm drain and leads directly and unfiltered to the next waterway.

Having said this....Happy Fathers Day...;-) 

Nature Photography Day 2011

Let's celebrate the Nature Photography Day 2011!

Reportedly inspired by McGraw-Hill's reference work "Chases's Calendar of Events" in 2006, photographers throughout the US, and worldwide, celebrate Nature Photography Day on June 15.
And since it is exactly in the middle of the year, I would like to share some of my favorite nature images with you, each representing a season.

Enjoy!

Spring: Death Valley in Bloom

Summer: Moraine Lake

Fall: Ripe Grapes in Napa Valley

Winter: Leaf frozen in Merced River

In Pursuit of the Perfect Bread

I love to bake!
I always liked to bake my own bread, first occasionally, lately more often. Pursuing my quest for better food, I had read the mile long ingredient list on a regular toast packing and decided: No more of this for us.
After practicing a while, I think I got it down pretty good, at least my family would eat it without complaining, which means a lot...;-)

Now ready to up it to the next step, I wanted to bake in a wood fired oven. Asking around, people would give me different advice, reading books was helpful, but only so far and I was not quite ready to make the investment without better knowledge of what I was about to undertake.

Visiting a friend in Oregon, I stumbled about a small ad in a Hobby Farm magazine, originating from the San Francisco Baking Institute, offering a weekend class in the art of wood fire oven baking. That was just the right thing for me and I tried to apply, but unfortunately the course was already booked out. So the waiting list it was. To my utter delight a few weeks later I got an email from the SFBI telling me that a spot was available. My hopes came true, I would be able to attend the workshop!

Last weekend, now, was THE weekend. While driving in pouring rain to South San Francisco, I was wondering, if the class wouldn't be over my head, if everybody else was already an experienced or even professional baker and so forth.
But the moment I opened the door and was greeted not only by a friendly receptionist but also with a delicious waft of freshly baked goods, I did not really care anymore. Just following the mouth watering aroma, I knew I was at the right spot.

I was led to a big table adjacent to a beautiful huge wood fire oven

out of which to my great surprise, a baker, which later turned out to be one of our instructors, just pulled a sheet full of croissants. Croissants in a wood fired oven, and they are not burned, but perfectly baked, how was that possible??? And it became even better, these croissants were to be our breakfast! Although I already had breakfast at home, stupid me, I could not resist and devoured one of these delicious croissants.

Baking in a wood fired oven requires quite a bit of planning and so, to accommodate all our needs during the day, we started right away with how to fire the oven.

Here one of our very knowledgeable instructors, Michael Faircloth, explaining the important points of proper firing:

resulting in a perfectly burning fire!

After this first excitement we went into the classroom for a more formal introduction, and to my relief, I found out that I was not the only "home baker". After learning about the history and the different types of wood fire ovens we were ushered to the "lab", the actual bakery. This well planned mix between theoretical and practical instruction would continue throughout the weekend and was perfect: Just before one was about to loose attention in the classroom, the practical part would start, and after standing and processing for a while in the lab, everybody was thankful to be able to sit down again.

In the lab now, we were taught by Frank Sally, an exceptionally good teacher and accomplished baker, how to prepare, handle and shape different doughs that we later would bake in the wood fire oven. Due to the limited space, even in this huge wood fire oven, we chose the samples to be baked in it, whereas the rest was baked in the bakery's deck ovens.

Since loading the breads is quite a time sensitive and hot undertaking, Frank would demonstrate the "how to" on the first day:

Aren't they beautiful, our perfectly shaped first sour dough breads???? Baking happily away.

A pity, that the image can't convey the heat and smell......

As I came home that evening with my "harvest", proud as can be,

my family at first did not believe that I baked these wonderful breads, well, I had a little help....And guess what was for dinner? Yep, bread and cheese, lots of it!

The next morning, this time I was smarter and did not have breakfast at home, we were greeted with the most delicious sticky buns I ever ate, in addition to scones and muffins, all baked in the retained heat from yesterdays firing.
Yesterday we had prepared pie dough, which we now finished to galettes to be baked also in the retained heat of the oven before it would be fired again.

Before

and after

Then we mixed and later formed dough for the pizzas, which were to be our lunch, and

for ciabattas...

...and pita bread, which popped up like balloons in the oven:

As the pita bread came fresh out of the oven we were presented with yummy hummus and baba ganoush, a tasty eggplant dip. I had planned not to eat anything in order to enjoy the pizza, but the smell and taste was just too good to be ignored!

We already had practiced with the more forgiving pita bread to load and unload the wood oven but now with the more delicate pizza the hour of truth had arrived.

Before we could load the pizza, Mike had to bring up the heat in the oven again and explained to us how the flames basically have to lick the side and ceiling of the oven in order to provide enough heat for the pizza:

In goes the pizza with the help of a wooden peel, then it has to be turned continuously with a "palino" and after not even 2 minutes it's ready!

Here is comes:

Not that I was hungry in any way, but I didn't leave a crumb....it was that good. Full to the brim it was back to the classroom, where Frank gave us an eye-opening (at least for me) introduction into the more scientific approach of baking with yeast and sourdough. I always was so proud of my self made sourdough starter, but here I learned that I almost starved that poor thing to death.

Baking in a wood fire oven, as I learned, is all about the right amount of heat, retaining the heat and the right timing in baking different items. First comes the right fire and lots of patience to maintain it. Then one can bake pizza with flames licking the oven walls as seen above. After then removing the heat source, the oven is ready for bread, after cooling down even more it is ready for baking pastries. Remember the croissants from the first morning, these were baked basically on the remaining heat from the baking the day before!
Sounds easy, but I certainly gained a lot of respect for wood fire oven bakers. The question is now, will I be able accomplish all that?
Yes, I will. It won't be easy but well worth it.

I came to learn about wood fire ovens and I did learn more than I thought possible. That I also got a lot of inspiration and information for my home baking was the icing on the cake!


Thank you Frank and Michael, and all the staff that worked in the background, it was a great experience and I will be back, promise!

To learn more about the courses and workshops offered by the SFBI, please click here:
San Francisco Baking Institute course calendar