We were shopping this morning and I noticed that the shops are full of baking ingredients and Xmas products such as Dresdner Stollen,Nürnberger Lebkuchen and other delacies. The Navity Markets will no doubt be opening soon . Christmas is coming!!!! Today is St Martin´s Day and it is here a custom for small children to walk along the streets when it is dusk holding laterns and singing about St Martin. My grandkids are unfortunatly too old now for this , also for helping herself with the Xmas baking. We will have a St Martin´s duck on Sunday, accompanied by red cabbage and potato dumplings.
donald

Lovely. Will you have lots of candles too over Christmas, and wine?

Liz
Candles, yes not only at Xmas, as you no doubt know from your visiting the Vaterland candles are lit often here in Resturants, biergartens and at home all year around.Unfortunatly wine makes my stomach sour, also champange so I stick to good old beer and when Lidl or Aldi have an offer I stock up with Cider as it tastes good both winter and summer. Nothing like a few beers to lift your mind. Lidl have a beer on sale called Perlenbacher which costs €0,29 for 0,5 litre. There is a TV programme here weekly which compares different types of food, drink and other household articles. A few weeks back they tested different beers and Perlenbacher got better results, for taste , quality and purity than most other well known brands which strengthened my opinion that price was never a guarantee for quality.
donald

Morning Donald, God bless your appetite, must say Sundays menu looks very appetising ,regarding the beers ,last week while in Lidl'sI picked up a four pack of a blonde Belgum beer I think the name is Golouses ?nearly like the name of those French fags @ £4-90 they also had it in a dark one as well but it was most enjoyable and very smooth ,I must check later this morning if they have Perlinbasher! Last Thursday week Lidls opened a massive store in Andersontown they knocked the original one down and built this from scratch I think it's the biggest in Ireland and all there stores are filled with Christmas fayre and decorations and of course very competitive ,Donald enjoy your weekend and hope your duck turns out succulent, Bon-Appete Regards Ted.

Ted
unfortunatly those days are gone when I could eat half a duck with trimmings. But one whole duck is cheaper than two duck legs so we use what is left over to make another meal called Tiroler Gröstl, that is a combination of boiled potatoes, onions and cut up duck ( or other meat) fried and scattered with a small spoonful of Caraway seeds. Allow to cook for 5 minutes then before serving two eggs beaten up in a cup are poured over it while still in the pan and allowed to solidify. Accompanied by sliced beetroot salad which we make ourselves with malt vinegar which I order in an online shop that sells English products based in Lübeck. Served with a cool beer it is a treat.
Guten Appetit
donald

Ted, you're on the go early this morning. Must have a trip down to Lidls new store.I love their Rathdaragh vintage Irish cheddar. Gorgeous if you like a good strong tasting cheese with a "bite". Donald I will tell my brother Leonard aout the beer as he enjoys one. He says his treat on a Saturday night late is a beer and cheese sandwich. What are you baking for Christmas?

Donald, that sounds a lovely tradition. Which St Martin is connected to Germany and why the procession with the children holding lanterns. The logical answer is of course is because it's dark, but why at night.

https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/germany/st-martin

Found this on Saint Martin, maybe it will interest you.

Herself bakes still for Xmas although our kids and grandkids do not help her any longer. She bakes various small pastries and what we knew in our childhood as Stomach Cakes. I still remember our mum when she could afford it buying us one between us in the Bakery in Market Square almost 70 years ago. Checking up the Lidl UK page I see that they sell Perlenbacher Pilsner in 6 packs of 0.33l bottles with 4,9 %

donald

Ann Regarding cheese, I find M&S Cornish Cruncher Vintage Cheddar 3 years mature hard to beat I also picked up a jar of there Christmas pickled onions dilightfull a great combiation, hope this finds you and Dominic well. Ted

We are spending this Christmas with our youngest daughter and husband in England. We are both looking forward to the festive holiday across the water. It means I won't have to put up so many decorations in the house. This year a Christmas tree will suffice and perhaps a few tiny lights just to keep the Christmas spirit alive. However, as you know, my Christmas cake is maturing and I will ice and decorate it next month. Today I intend baking a Madeira cake, also a fruit lunch cake, which is easy. I said last year that I would not be making any more chutneys and I won't. They're not worth the bother, time and mess because none of my family eat them anyway. I end up giving them to friends who probably don't appreciate the effort involved. I love chutney but can only eat so much myself. Next time I'm in St George's Market I will buy some ready-made. They looked delicious when we were down last week. Better get dressed and start cooking.

Donald, I would appreciate the recipe for stomach cakes. I've never baked these but I remember my granny buying them from the baker and they were a favourite; not too sweet either but with a subtle spice flavour. I wonder would a home baked one taste the same? I look forward to having a go anyhow once I get the recipe. Thanks, Donald.

Ann
here you are
donald
Ingredients German Lebkuchen ( stomach cakes )
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup dark molasses
• 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup candied mixed fruit peel, finely chopped
• 1 egg white, beaten
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
•
Directions
1. In a large bowl, beat the egg, brown sugar and honey until smooth. Stir in the molasses. Combine the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and allspice; stir into the molasses mixture. Stir in the almonds and candied fruit peel. Cover or wrap dough, and chill overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut into 2x3 inch rectangles. Place cookies 1 1/2 inches apart onto cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm. While still warm, brush the cookies with the lemon glaze.
4. To make the glaze: In a small bowl, stir together the egg white, lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix in the confectioners' sugar until smooth. Brush over cookies.

Donald. thanks for the recipe. Reading the ingredients, I can see that the stomach cakes are different from the ones I was talking about. I know there was no peel in the original cakes. I probably won't make these because I don't like mixed peel but thanks anyway

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebkuchen
Ann
I´m almost sure that Stomach Cakes origanated in the Vaterland, alone the name = Stomach" is translated from the German word Leib, meaning "Body " or "Stomach" I may be wrong but always thought that as they contain ingredients which are helpful for stomach complaints such as Ginger, Honey, Pepper, Cloves and Aniseed but to name a few
donald

Donald, another name for stomach cakes was spice cakes. Mmmmmmm lovely
.

See Lidl Norniron have stocked up with Xmas fare such as Stolen, Tiramisu and Belgian Choclate Cheesecake but to name a few.
So girls, on your bikes and down to Lidl.
donald

still all down there shopping
donald

Donald,

Lidl & Aldi shops are now full of Christmas fare, I bought their Luxury Christmas cake & Mince pies along with Cadbury's chocolate boxes yesterday, also lovely Christmas Cards, Lights & bags. Why pay more when the same value is there.


Must try your recommended beer as Joe has cut down on the Jameson, age is a great leveller.[:)

Pat)

As you know, Dominic and I are spending Christmas with our youngest daughter and her husband this year. They live near Manchester and we fly out on 23rd. Looking forward to having Christmas dinner cooked for us. On Boxing Day Trea's mother-in-law, Glynes, has invited us all for dinner. Glynes is a great cook and can turn out a meal with no bother. It will be nice for a change. Normally, I wouldn't have left Tess but this year wee Tess We've started back to the dancing once more so there's a positive side too in the midst of sorrow.