bee-sting

There's a new lady at the market and she is selling home-baked goods. When I asked her if I could take a photo of her cute, little stand (I thought she had done a great job setting up) she said 'no'. She was all embarrassed that I might get the plastic sheet she had pinned up on the side of the stall that you can't see, to protect her from the wind and the rain. Not one to take 'no' for an answer, I took the photo and showed it to her. She approved. I managed to omit the offending plastic, flying in the wind.
As we were chatting, I asked her how business was going, I looked down to see what she had to offer. I realised, in a rush of excitement, that she was selling bee-sting and of course I bought a slice. Bee-stings are one of my favourite German sweets ever. Two usually thin, dryish pieces of sponge, sandwich whipped honey cream, topped with honeyed almond flakes. Heaven! After finishing our Saturday morning shopping I found the bee-sting somewhat squashed almost at the bottom of the bread bag, unwrapped it and sat down for my weekend treat with a strong cup of tea.
The first thing I noticed is that the sponge layers were thicker than what I was used to. But it wasn't until I had a mouthful that I realised why the sponge layer appeared to be so thick. The layer of honeyed almonds, usually reserved for the top had been replicated on her bottom layer of sponge as well. I have included the close up photo so you can see what I mean. If you look closely you can see the almond layer below the cream.
Well, was I ever surprised! I have tried many versions of this but this is the only I have come across with two almond layers. However, even though this was an interesting twist, for me, two almond layers did not make it twice as good. It was a little too sickly sweet for me and all that almond required more chewing than I was willing. So I had to bring in Husband to help me finish it. He is not the biggest fan of bee-stings but he tried it nevertheless and to my surprise was totally taken with it. The man who usually wrinkles his nose at me when I buy this creamy slice, exclaimed that this was the best bee-sting he had ever eaten. Well! So the new lady's bee-sting gets the title of 'cake of the week' for this week. Not really because I liked it but because it knocked Husband's socks off, and that is not easy to do.

Who brought the fish paste?

'Who brought the fish paste?' I'll take that as a compliment. I'm certain it was intended as one because the asker proceeded to clean out all remnants of the 'fish paste' from the dish with a piece of bread. Glad you liked it. If Dagmar's dad liked it, (Dagmar of Eiden that is, who I will post about soon), then I am sure you will too. Thing is, I can't really call it my fish paste because the recipe comes from Nigella Express, and Nigella calls it Trout Pate. la-di-da. Well, I add a dash of Tabasco at the end and she doesn't. Is that enough of a modification to make it mine? This has been, to date, the most made recipe from my copy of Nigella Express. Due to it's moreish tastiness but also in part, to how unbelievably 'schnell' it is to make. Smoked trout is readily available here, in the exact quantity the recipe requires. It is usually in the fridge section and is sold in flat, plastic packets, boned, skinned and ready to use.
Nigella's Smoked Trout Pate or Fish Paste

2 smoked trout fillets, approx. 125g total weight
50g cream cheese
1 tablespoon horseradish sauce
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Spoon pate into a small bowl, making sure to get it all out of the blender. You won't want to waste any. Cover and chill in the fridge until ready to serve. I usually serve this with cornichons, tabasco and thinly sliced fresh bread.

Ulmer Wochenmarkt or the weekly Ulmer market

It is a strange time to go to the market at the moment. Winter persists but spring is fighting back, there is no clear winner and so we are in limbo. Quite a few of the usual stall holders weren't there, I guess for this very reason. We have the tail end of winter veggies and not much else, although oyster mushrooms seem to be everywhere. Husband and I made our usual Saturday morning trip. We stopped to by eggs at our chicken lady, but this can be a complicated business, because she is right across from our meat man. We didn't really want to stop at the butcher, but he spotted us before we could get away and when he greets us with a robust 'Guten Morgen' we can't really walk past can we? We ended up with 2 types of smoked sausage and 3 types of ham.

Our butcher

It is also time for pussy willow (see new header photo), and ignoring husband's impatience I stopped to buy. Now there is a bunch sitting pretty on my dining table.

Nobody takes pictures at the market. This guys thinks I am weird. Notice the cathedral in the background?

The market is on every Wednesday and Saturday morning. It takes place in the town square, known as the Münsterplatz where the Münster, the cathedral with the highest church tower in the world, provides a dramatic background.

The potato man is out of Annabelle potatoes, our favourite. He says that they are an early potato. What does that mean? Does anyone know when is early for potatoes?

Blaukraut or red cabbage

Husband makes a mean Blaukraut. He cooks it the traditional way, with vinegar, sugar, onions, an apple, bay leaves and preiselbeere or lingonberries. When my mum used to make spaghetti bolognaise, bless her determined wooden spoon, somehow it always ended up tasting like curry. A dish without a pinch of her mixed spice was unfathomable. Husband cooked fish (perch), with the Blaukraut and somehow it turned out like a schnitzel. It was crumbed and fried but never before has fish had such a schnitzely quality. Needless to say, I had seconds. I love schnitzel.

Ever seen apples displayed like this before? All in the name of being easy to unhook and take with you.

These are the last apples for the season but the apple man will continue to sell what he has stored, as well as schnapps and juice over summer. He also does a roaring trade with berries. I am his number one raspberry customer, I'd like to think so anyway. When I first bought apples from him, I always used to get a free one for the road. This practice stopped after he noticed that Husband benefited from this freebie more than I did. I have a floury apple phobia, so someone has to test bite first. Husband's bite means there is little but core left by the time it's my turn. As the weather gets warmer, the market becomes unbearably beautiful. I'll have to try to remember my camera so I can show you what I mean.