Corn Chowder...because my bones are cold

It's summer. It's July and it is 15 degrees Celsius and f***ing freezing frigid. There is rain, and grey skies and, well to be honest just plain gloomieness lurking through the Bourgois Streets of Berlin City. On this particular dreary and non-stop rainy Saturday, after a productive morning of IKEA and such, I decided to tackle somthing that would warm my body and soul after being outside in the wet wet rain. Corn Chowder. Granted, I have never done this before so this was a first for me, but I tried my best and I have to say it came out pretty damn well (My roommate had two huge portions. And she is a picky eater!) I did do some research just to see how other chowder affectionados prepare their chowder and they almost all call for celery. I think celery in soup or warm celery in general should be made illegal, because let's be honest, who likes the taste of old grandpa anyway?

Here is my celery free version of Corn Chowder.
1tbsp Butter
1 yellow onion
2/3tbsp of cubed bacon
2 Ears of fresh corn
3 Medium sized carrots
2 medium sized potatoes
2-2 1/2 cups of low fat milk
Instant chicken broth
curry powder
Paprika
Salt
Pepper

Peel and chop the carrots, onion and potatoes into small cubed. In a bowl, cut the corn kernels off of the corn cobs (You could theoretically use corn from a can, but the fresh stuff is so much better. And cheaper!) Melt the butter in a pot and sautee the onion and bacon until the bacon is crisp and the onion translucent. Add all of the vegetables and stir until all the fat has covered the vegetables. Add the milk and just a bit of the chicken broth and bring it all to a boil over low heat. Once the potatoes and carrots are fully cooked, use a pureé stick to homogenise the soup to your liking. You can leave it as chunky or smooth as you wish. Add the curry powder, paprika, salt and pepper to taste and bring again to a boil. Serve with croutons or some fresh cut herbs on top. If you have, sprinkle some chipotle into the soup. The smokey flavour of the spice goes wonderfully with the corn and brings out the comforting flavor.

Salad with Strawberries and Feta Cheese

Spring has sprung all over the northern hemisphere and in Germany the strawberry season has begun. I like to believe that I am a strawberry connaisseur, which basically means that I only buy strawberries that come from Germany. The flavor is much more intense and it's local, so really it's the best of both worlds.
As much as I love eating strawberries with cream or shortcake, I really like pairing these sweet sweet berries with something savory such as shallots, cheese and pepper. I had this idea from my roommate who has been making this salad with Tunafish. But because Fokushima has basically killed the ocean and there are only about twenty Tunafish left in the sea, I opted for fruit.

Here it goes:

2 Cups of Lettuce (I use either Arugula or mixed greens)
1 small shallot
7 really big strawberries (I really encourage you to buy local ones)
1 tomato
1/2 cup of Feta Cheese (use the good crumbly kind here. The firm feta cheese makes it whole salad kind of funky...in a weird way)

Dressing
1 1/2 tbsp White Basamic Vinegar
3 tbsp Olive Oil
1tsp Mustard
Salt
Pepper


Wash the lettuce and dice the shallots very finely. Cut the Strawberries into big chunks and add to the lettuce and shallots. Dice the tomato finely and add to the lettuce.
Make a vinaigrette with the vinegar, olive oil, mustard, salt and pepper and sprinkle over the salad. Add the feta cheese and toss quickly. Serve immediately.

P.S. This is a great starter if you are planning a nice spring dinner with asparagus, potatoes and ham.

Salmon Ceviche on a bed of lettuce with orange miso dressing

About one month ago, I had a birthday. As per usual, I invited a couple of friends for dinner. For a starter I made a Salmon Ceviche, which, if I may say so myself was to die for and so easy tomake. I always like mixing food cultures, so this time I paired this latin American dish with a Japanese sea weed salad, lettuce and a fat free orange miso Dressing.

You will need for the ceviche:
About 1/2 lbs or 250g of raw salmon.
3 tblsp of lime juice
1/2 shallot
Cilantro
Salt
Pepper
Tabasco

Have the fishmonger give you a nice bone free piece of salmon and cut off the silver skin. thedice the salmon into nice small chunks. Not too small, but smaller than bite size and put into a bowl. Pour the lime juice over the salmon and cover with plastic. Put into the fridge for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. During this time the lime juice will start to "cook" the salmon, i.e. the protein will react with the acid and cook it slightly.

About 1/2 hour before serving, take the bowl out of the fridge and add the diced shallot andcilantro. Add Salt, Pepper and Tabasco for taste and let sit for 1/2 hours. Then serve!


For the Orange Miso dressing:
about 1/2 cups or 250 ml of fresh orange juice. Squeeze it or buy it.
2 tblsp of Miso Paste (keep the left over paste for soups etc)
couple of drops of sesame oil (optional)
1tblsp of Sushi ginger

In a bowl mix the orange juice and miso paste into a homogenous dressing. Add more orange juice if it is too thick or miso paste it is too thin. Add a couple of drops of the sesame oil, but nottoo much, as this can be very strong in flavor. Chop up the Sushi ginger and add to the dressing. Serve over some fresh lettuce such as Arugula or field greens and add some store bought Sea weed salad for some extra green.