1512 - in the commercial vortex

sony nex 7 with walimex pro 8mm f2.8 | f8.0 | ISO200 | 1/6

shortly before christmas we are completely caught up in the commercial vortex. in these days the corridors of the shopping malls are usually overcrowded, since everybody seems to guess that the human kind will starve during the holidays and so the people start to build up reserves again.

fortunately there is a brand new shopping mall in our village since a few weeks now. it's a pleasure to go shopping there, the corridors are wide and empty and you can easily breeze through the shelves. at least today.

0508 - country portrait

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f3.2 | ISO100 | 1/800 | lightroom 4.1

customs and traditions are different from country to country, even from state to state. where in bavaria the munich beer festival is feasted, in eastern germany the father's day is well-known and in hamburg the people celebrate each birthday of their huge harbour. however the area at lake constance is far-famed for their wine festivals: in september we are going to celebrate the wine festival of our home village - the venue is located directly next to our courtyard. this festival is quasi coming home to us.

not far from our place - half an hour by car - the area around tettnang constitutes an exception: their cultivations aren't about grapes but hops. today the official hops hiking day was executed. four different beer villages were built to entertain and feed the people with food and beer from more than 20 different breweries. this festival was a welcome change to the otherwise executed (booze-)events. between the villages that were distributed on the hills of tettnang you had to walk and in this way you got around to arouse new thirst.

moreover we met nice and interesting people on the ways between the beer villages. above all i spotted a farmer who enjoyed his beer next to his tractor and shot a - in my opinion - really appropriate image for this rural and rustic area.

cu, trshptr

2406 - chimichurri

setup: sony nex 7 with sigma 30 f2.8 ex dn | 30mm | f5.6 | ISO125 | 1/60 | lightroom 4.1

today we had dinner outside in the yard. nothing of note, but all parts of our meal could be prepared on the charcoal grill. for that reason with today's posting i'd like to bring the recipe of our dinner home to you.

asado beefsteak with chimichurri for 2 persons

meat
- 2 entrecóte steaks (250g)
- pepper from the mill
- sea salt

chimichurri
- 1 scallion
- 1/2 bundle parsley
- 2 fresh branches thyme
- 1 handful oregano
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 to 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tea spoon of sea salt
- 1/2 tea spoon of black pepper
- 1/4 red paprika or tomato
- 1/2 tea spoon of paprika powder, sweet
- 100ml olive oil
- 50ml red wine vinegar
- 50ml water

if you like the taste of beer pickle your meat in beer for 24 hours. at the start of the preparation take the meat out of the fridge minimum half an hour before the preparation, wash it with cold water and dab it dry. cut into the layer of fat at an interval of 2cm. necessarily use a charcoal grill, otherwise the meat wouldn't been flavoured as intended. grill the steaks medium, 3 minutes per side. afterwards wrap it in aluminium foil and let it rest at the edge of the grill for 8 minutes.

for the garnish use mortar and pestle to shred to dry ingredients. afterwards mix it with the liquids and let it rest in the fridge. brush the grilled and flavoured meat with the chimichurri.

enjoy your asado beefsteak for example with a grilled corncob with soy sauce.

cu, trshptr

1105 - community

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 35mm | f4.5 | ISO400 | 1/40 | lightroom 4

contrary to f.e. the uk in germany it is common practise to rent the dwelling. of course we don't buck the trend. as i said before we live in a very beautiful rented accommodation with a huge courtyard in its middle. next to us a handful other parties reside. today we - (almost) all together - had a very nice time at a wine tasting directly next to our house at the vineyard "markgraf von baden".

we have learned a lot about wine, its production, the vineyard (140 hectare) itself and the earl. after five hours of talks and fun i summed the evening up in a small piece of poetry for the host's guestbook. in german:

freitag abend,

6 sorten wein,

erquickend und erlabend,

da sagt der eichenhof nicht nein,

dazu ein opulentes vesper,

nette gedichte,

definitv keine rester,

nur mehr lachen im gesichte.

analogous in english, of course without rhyme:

friday evening,

6 sorts of wine,

invigorating and refreshing,

the "eichenhof" doesn't say no,

additionally an opulent evening meal,

nice pieces of poetry,

definitely no remains,

just more laughter in our faces.

the community is strong.

in the pic above you can see some bottles of homemade pear schnapps of the vineyard.

cu, trshptr

0605 - cool down

setup: canon eos 400d with efs 18-55mm | 27mm | f4.0 | ISO200 | 1/125 | lightroom 4

after our weekend rituals like having a lie-in, a great breakfast and the soccer match at the afternoon tina and i went to a village fair in markdorf, called dixiefest. it is a yearly trade festival, all shops have opened till 6pm although the day of the event is always sunday.

we had a get-together with nice people, above all the coffee specialist who explained us everything about coffee roasting won our hearts. after the roasting process in the cylinder the beans have to cool down in the catch tank. at that the beans are stirred vigorously. it's too bad that pics don't smell.

cu, trshptr