Borschtsch or Eastern European Beat Soup

This recipe is from an Ukranian woman. It is one of her favourites.

But she warned me, it takes a lot of time to prepare and is the opposit of FastFood. And the dishwasher will be full after the dish is finished.

Don't do it in small batches, think big. Freeze some of the soup or eat it a couple of days.

I bought a huge piece of beef shank and the same in weight ox breast bone in. Together they were above 1,5 kg. But I only used the meat from the beef shank later. The other part was just for flavour and richness.

Recipe for a 6 liter pot:

850 g beef shank

700 g ox breast bone in

3,5 liter water + 1 carrot + 1 onion + 1 spring onion + 2 bay leaves, 10 juiniper berries, 1 tbsp dried Majoram, 1 1/2 tbsp salt, 1 tbsp pepper

3 onions

3 large carrots

4 medium potatoes

3 medium red beets

250 g cabbage

2 tbsp oil

sour cream for garnish

Fill a big pot with the beef and with enough water to go 3 cm above the beef. Bring to a boil and wait until the grey foam appears. Use a slotted spoon or strainer to get it out. When no more stuff returns, add the carrot, onion, spring onion with bay leaves, berries and majoram. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook covered on medium for 90 minutes.

Peel the beets and cut them in bite size chunks. Do that wearing gloves.

Peel the potatoes and cut them too.

Peel the onions and cut in half circles and the carrots in small chunks. Use a pan with oil and sautee onions and carrots together. Season with salt and pepper. Cook them for 20 min stirring occationally.

Pull leaves off the cabbage and roll them up. Cut them in smaller strips and set aside.

After the 90 min are over, add the beets to the soup. Cook 30 min.

Take the beef shank out, but leave the ox breast in. Add the potatoes and cook for 10 min, add the cabbage and cook 10 more min at last.

Cut up the beef and put it back in the soup. Take out the ox breast. Check for edible meat. Check the seasoning of the soup and serve with some sour cream.

Fregola Sarda with Pumpkin and Cheese Bake

A Mediterranean oven dish with a special pasta from Sardignia, cheese from Turkey that does not melt like the Halloumi from Cypress and German veggies.

The packaging says : Fregula tostata

I used frozen Hokkaido pumpkin to prevent foodwaste, because I can't eat a whole one until I am going on a trip. I only took half of it and the remaining bits stay in the freezer for an other dish.

The Fregola Sarda are special to me. I first encountered them in a Sardignia restaurant in Frankfurt decates ago. Then on a trip to the island I found and ate them again. There was a small Italian supermarket that sold them. A pity it closed its doors at the end of last year.

The preptime is short. Preheat your oven to 180 C fan.

Oil the baking dish and dump in all ingredients, except the cheese. Pour the stock mixed with the pesto over it and stick it in the oven

After 15 min add the cubed cheese and after 10 more min add 100 ml more stock.

The amount of liquid needed depends on the kind of short pasta you use. Check the dish.

Fregola Sarda in water takes about 17 to 20 min to cook. It will take longer in a mixed dish. Check the pasta. I've needed 50 min cooking time in total.

Take it out of the oven and let it rest 10 min before serving it.

Ingredients:

180 g Fregola Sarda (use Orzo or Kritharki)

300 g pumpkin ( defrosted)

225 g cherry tomatoes

1 celery stalk

1 big red onion

5 cloves of garlic

200 g grill cheese or Halloumi

2 tbsp red pesto

500 ml veg stock from paste

Salt, pepper, smoked paprika, Italian herbs

Some spritz oil for the baking dish

Curd Dumplings or Quarkkeulchen

Quarkkeulchen are a simple dish from the former GDR. A mix of mashed potatoes and curd, pressed in pattie form and baked.

Often eaten with applesauce.

My pudding starter package from KOMET contained a bag of Quarkkeulchen mix. 

Just add water and stir. It gets to a cold mashed potato consistency. It is shaped in a log and wrapped to rest for 10 minutes.

Cut in 8 equal pieces and flattened out in patties, the are baked in clarified butter until golden brown.

Sprinkled with sugar. I used some of my strawberry yogurt sugar on some of them.

I did not had any apples at home or a jar of applesauce. But a bag of frozen fig compote from my October havest. I added some curd to it to go with the patties.

The Quarkkeulchen were pleasant to eat, but not something to cook again. But the fig curd was awesome.

Boursin Cheese Sauce with filled Pasta

Once again having a break from driving the Green Hell and cooking something in the AirBB's small kitchenette.

It has only a two plate electric stove top wedged on the edge of the counter. Not very fast and boxed in with the coffee maker.

But I made it work. Some fresh tortelloni pasta filled with cheese and pesto and more cheese to give the sauce some nice shine.

I bought the famous French Le Boursin cream cheese with garlic and herbs.

Together with a spring onion and a red long pepper sauteed in butter it made a very rich sauce.

I had a tiny package of spaghetti seasoning in my kitchen travel bag. Full of Italian herbs. Now was the time to get rid of it.

I ladled the tortelloni directly from the pot to the pan. The pasta water was great to thin out the sauce.

After cleaning the kitchen and starting the dish washer, I went back on track to do more laps. A very successful weekend.

Eating out at LUCIA Nuerburgring again

This years Tourist Drive Season starts on March 7th 2026. I came up to the Ring the day before.

I haven't been at LUCIA in 2025, that's why I made a table reservation.

The restaurant is known for their chicken specials, but they amped up the menu a little. But I came for the grilled Italian seasoned spatchcocked spring chicken.

As a side I choose the very best fries in the area. They are sooo good.

A complimentary starter was fresh warm breadsticks with garlic cream cheese.

Food was great and the service very good.

Apple Cinnamon Mousse

Topped with chocolate tonka cream balls.

My Komet package with lots of sweets is not getting any thinner. There is still a lot to try.

This is a package of a cream I ordered in addition to the puddings. I just wanted to see if they can hold their own with all the Paradise creams sold here in the supermarkets.

The verdict is: yes, they can.

Only 250 ml whole fridge cold milk and an electric whisk are needed. And patience to let it whirl 3 full minutes.

Then I devided the mousse in two bowls and looked for something to make it look less plain. I have an unopened box of cocolate balls filled with tonka bean cream sitting on the counter since November last year. 

Expiration date is next April, so they were good to go. I tasted one "for poison". Cut through the middle and on top of the mousse. Good choice.

Air Fryer Sausage Skewers

My new favourite way to cook Bratwurst.

 

No fat splatters on the stove. No burned bits sticking in the pan afterwards. No strong frying smell.

I've cut up the sausages in 5 pieces. My wooden skewers were way too long for my airfryer. I took a garden sheare and cut them to the right size.

A bit of red long pepper and spring onion went in between the sausage chunks. 3 skewers fit in my airfryer. I put the remaining veggies in with the skewers.

A good spraying of oil and 12 min at 180 C were enough to cook them properly. But turn the skewers after 8 min.

Just a piece of Baguette and some Dijon mustard to have a nice lunch.