Hidden fall season places

What a great weekend! It was the perfect ending of my one week holiday. The sun was shining and the temperature was mild. On saturday I was invited to my parents place for lunch. We had stuffed zucchini, roast goose and self-made apple pie for dessert. I cannot remember how long it has been that I stuffed myself with food like that! The best was definitely my moms apple pie. It was made with fresh apples from my parents garden. And guess what they brought me from their garden: quinces! I already have some ideas what to do with them.

Of course this weekend was also perfect for nature photography. During the fall season you never know what to expect from the weather, so you always try to use sunny days to full capacity. Nature offers a pot full of colors at the moment and I have selected some of my snapshots and put them together for you on my blog. I was searching for places enchanted by the fall season here in Berlin. It’s amazing what places you can find when you search for them!

The Brave Cook

Where’s the spaghetti?

It’s squash season and everybody is preparing different dishes made with squash. Of course I had to buy my different sorts of squash too! I love to choose the most beautiful ones and to keep them at my window as long as I haven’t prepared them yet. Depending on the size and the shape of the squash I decide what I want to do with it. Maybe I should grow my own squash to see how it will look like. Not everyone likes the taste of pumpkin and I can understand that, but there are different sorts of squash and I wanted to start with a spaghetti squash. I don’t know if there is another english name for this squash but that’s how we call it here in Germany. The reason why it is called like that is because it has fibers inside that resemble spaghetti noodles. Is it not beautiful?

The best way to prepare a spaghetti squash is to make a salad or a stew. Since my spaghetti squash is so big I decided to make a salad and a soup with it. I took a huge sharp knife and cut it in half. It’s really not as easy as you may think. It takes some strength to split it in half. One half will be boiled in a pot and the other half put into the oven. I have done this only to compare both ways of preparation and to find out if there is a difference in taste. To forestall the question about the difference in taste: Yes, it is! Squash that is heated in the oven is softer than squash boiled in water. At least that is my experience.

You can decide if you want to remove the inner part with the seeds before heating it or afterwards, but when you put it into the oven it is better to remove the inner part at first. Heat the oven to 180 C and bake it for 40 minutes. The other half can be boiled in a pot also for 40 minutes.

In the meantime you can chop the other vegetables for the salad. Of course, you can choose whatever vegetables you like to mix with squash. I always go for what is in my fridge. I took a zucchini and some tomatoes, because my plan was to use the second half of the squash for a soup. When the vegetables are chopped you can start preparing a simple chicken broth for your “noodle” soup. At the same time the chopped vegetables can be fried gently in some olive oil or sesame oil.

I have seasoned the zucchini and the tomatoes with some special rose salt, giving it a strong aroma. To use simply salt may seem boring, but sometimes too many spices take away the original flavor of the vegetables.

The spaghetti squash should be ready by now and it is time to take one half out of the pot and the other out of the oven. Be careful, because the squash is still very hot! Now take a fork and scrap the fibers out of the squash, they should come out like short spaghetti.Of course the squash fibers do not taste like spaghetti at all, but it is a great alternative to pasta. If you invite guests you can surely surprise them with spaghetti squash, because a lot people did not have the chance to take it yet!

The last steps are simple! Put the fried vegetables on the squash and drizzle some lemon juice or some oil on the salad. You can eat the squash salad warm as well as cold.

Do not forget to use the other half of the spaghetti squash for your chicken soup. Basically you can use the same vegetables for your soup or prepare others. Put them on the spaghetti fibers and pour the soup other it. I was surprised how good it tastes, the perfect replacement for noodles!

There are a hundred ways of preparing squash, so other squash recipes are on the way! Enjoy your warm salad and soup during this beautiful fall season.

The Brave Cook

The fall season, a new beginning!

The fall season has started and for me as well as for many other people it always marked a new beginning. Maybe because it is the time when a new school year starts or because it is the time when the carefree summertime ends. For me it is the time when I look back on the past year and ask myself if it was successful or not. I’m wondering what the next year will bring for me. I’m wishing for changes, a new job, a new challenge.

Here in Berlin the fall season brings a lot of rain and changing temperature along with colorful leaves and a melancholic atmosphere. This season is just perfect for romantic walks or cosy afternoons at home while the rain is dripping and the wind is whistling outside. I love the location of my flat in Berlin-Wedding because it is surrounded by so many parks and green areas. I made some photographs of my green neighborhood and I want to share them with you to show you what is inspiring me here during the fall season. So take a walk with me through my neighborhood and while you are doing this you can ask yourself what your new year is supposed to bring for you and what your wishes are!

The Brave Cook