Nikolas

Tags

Austria, Bianca, faserkünste, Fiber Arts, Greece, nephew, Nikolas, Quilt, steppdecke, steppen

My #1 nephew, Nikolas graduated from high school this year. Not a remarkable fact by itself, until you find out the “rest of the story”.  He was born, and went to school in Greece for all of his schooling.  He passed (with flying colors) end-of-year  & graduation exams in two different languages (valid in two different countries).

Der älteste meiner Neffen, Nikolas hat das Abitur heuer bestanden.  Für sich nicht eine bemerkenswerte Tatsache, aber…. Er wurde in Griechenland geboren, hat sein ganzes Leben lang in Griechenland die Schule besucht und hat dann das Abitur und Universitätsaufnahme Exam in zwei verschiedenen Sprachen gemacht und mit sehr gutem Erfolg bestanden.

Then (because I guess all this was too easy), he moved to Austria to attend University.  Now, stop and think for a moment what all that entails: As an 18-year old, you get on a plane and a few hours later arrive in a different city, enroll in University, open a bank account,  settle your military duty, etc.etc.  He all of a sudden has to run his own household, pay his own bills, in short, run his own life in every sense of the word!

Can you tell I like the kid?

But, I digress…..

Und dann (weil das alles offenbar zu leicht war) ist er alleine nach Österreich übersiedelt um dort auf die Uni zu gehen.  Als 18-jähriger, stieg er in ein Flugzeug und ist ein paar Stunden später in einer fremden Stadt angekommen, hat sich auf der Universität eingeschrieben, ein Bankkonto eröffnet, sich um seinen Militärdienst erkundigt, etc., etc. Und jetzt muss er auch seinen eigenen Haushalt führen: nicht nur putzen und kochen, aber auch Rechnungen bezahlen, sich um Telefon/WiFi erkundigen und anmelden…..

Ich nehme an man merkt ich hab’ den jungen Mann ganz gern?

Aber ich weiche from Thema ab….

A couple of years ago, I apparently started a tradition by making my niece Bianca a graduation quilt.  This year, it was Nikolas’ turn.  He has always liked music and plays the piano..so the pattern I saw (online, free at Art Gallery Fabrics) called “Press Play” seemed almost perfect.  I adjusted the pattern and voila!

Vor ein paar Jahren, habe ich offensichtlich eine Tradition begonnen:  ich habe meiner #1 Nichte (meiner einzigen Nichte) zur Matura (Abitur) eine “Schulabschluss-Quilt” gemacht.  Heuer war Nikolas dran!  Ihm gefällt klassische Musik und er spielt Klavier – und wie ich dann dieses Muster entdeckte fand ich das sehr sehr passend.  Das Muster heisst “Press Play”; ich habe es für ihn adaptiert, und voila!

The “payment” that each of them have to come up with is a photo that includes them and the quilt.  Bianca sent me a couple of lovely photos that I look at VERY often and that were published in this blog post. And the other day, here came one from Nikolas:

Ich bitte für diese Quilts dann um die folgende Bezahlung:ein Photo in dem der Empfänger und die Quilt zu sehen sind.  Bianca hat mir ein paar geschickt (die auch in diesem Blog Post erschienen) und die ich mir oft ansehe.  Und unlängst, kam dieses Photo von Nikolas:

Cafe Frappe

Tags

blender, Cafe Frappe, calories, Coffee, cost, Frappucino, Greece, Griechenland, iced coffee, Kaffee, Kalorien, Kosten, McDonalds, Milchschäumer, milk brother, Mixbecher, Nichte, niece, Starbucks

Fancy coffee drinks have become “the thing” in the last few years.  I see people buying/drinking/walking around with all sorts of so-called “fancy”, so-called “coffee” drinks, full of artificial ingredients of all sorts, laden down with sugar and lacking the one thing in their name: coffee. (can you tell I am not a fan?)

Eine neue Art von Kaffee Getränken sind in letzter Zeit sehr beliebt.  Ich sehe viele Leute mit diesen so gemeinten “neuen”, so gemeinten “Kaffee” Getränken herumlaufen.  Sie sind voll von Chemie, voll mit Zucker/Süssstoff, und haben sehr wenig mit einem zu tun: Kaffee.

I love coffee; I drink coffee all day long, every day. During a visit to a Greek Food Truck in Durham a few weeks ago, I was reminded of a coffee drink that I love: Cafe Frappe.  It is VERY similar to those fancy, expensive drinks, but tastes much better (my opinion), is easy to make and requires only three ingredients (four if you add whipped cream).

Ich liebe Kaffee – Ich drink Kaffee jeden Tag, den ganzen Tag lang.  Vor ein paar Wochen war ich beim Griechen Mittag essen, und dort gab’s ein Getränk aus meiner griechischen Heimat: Cafe Frappe.  Es ist diesen teuren Getränken sehr ähnlich, schmeckt aber sehr viel besser (mein Meinung), ist sehr leicht zu machen, und hat nur drei Zutaten (vier mit Schlag Sahne).

And here it is:

Und hier ist das “Rezept”:

Ingredients
1 tsp Instant Coffee
3/4 tsp Sugar
Ice Cubes & Water
Coffe Creamer or Milk or Cream
Whipped Cream (optional)

Special Equipment: a manual shaker or a milk frother or an immersion blender

Zutaten
1 Teelöffel löslicher Kaffee
3/4 Teelöffel Zucker
Eiswürfel & Wasser
Kaffeesahne oder Milch
Schlagsahne

Milchschäumer oder ein Mixbecher oder ein Schüttelbecher – optional

Preparation – Zubereitung

1.  Place Instant Coffee and Sugar into a tall glass (or into your shaker if that is what you are using).  Add just enough water to cover the coffee/sugar.

1.  Kaffee und Zucker in ein grosses Glass geben (oder in den Schüttelbecher).  Ein ganz wenig Wasser darüber schütten (ca. 1 oder 2 cm).

2.  Using the milk frother (immersion blender) whip the mixture until it changes to a light brown color, triple in size and becomes a creamy foam – it will resemble Cool Whip in consistency.

2.  Mit dem Milchschäummer verrühren bis die Mischung hellbraun ist, das Glass halbvoll ist und sie wie Schlagsahne aussieht.

3. Add Ice Cubes, then water to fill the glass.  If you stop here, you will have a VERY strong, intensely coffee flavored drink.  I like to add coffee creamer to mine, approximately two teaspoons, which makes it taste more like an Iced Coffee Drink.

3.  Jetzt Eiswürfel und Wasser hinzufügen bis das Glass voll ist.  Dieses Getränk ist sehr stark und schmeckt sehr intensiv nach Kaffee.  Ich gebe Kaffeesahne in mein Getränk, ca. zwei Teelöffel.

And here is the best part:  Buying the coffee drinks at Mcdonald’s, Starbucks or anywhere else, relieves your wallet of anywhere from $3.00 – $7.00 and adds 450-1200 Calories to your diet!

Und hier ist das Beste: Kaffee Getränke bei McDonald’s oder Starbucks oder wo-auch-immer kosten $3.00 – $7.00 und haben 450-1200 Kalorien.

This drink costs almost nothing (25 cents for a teaspoon of instant coffee and approximately 16 cents for the coffee creamer).  I paid $8.00 for the battery operated milk frother.  It has less than 100 calories – no matter what size I make it.

“Mein” Getränk kostet fast gar nichts (ca. 25 cents für den Kaffee und ca. 16 cents für die Kaffeesahne),  Ich habe $8.00 für den Milchschäumen bezahlt. Es hat weniger als 100 Kalorien, egal ob man ein grosses oder kleines Glass trinkt.

My niece B., makes a FABULOUS hot version of this drink – I have no idea how she does it! Maybe one day she’ll send me the recipe!

Meine Nichte B., macht eine ganz, ganz tolle heisse version von diesem Getränk – ich habe keine Ahnung wie; ich hoffe sie wird mir irgendwann das Rezept verraten!

Greece, Santorini: a new Paper Pieced Pattern

Tags

Aegean Sea, Fiber Arts, Greece, Greek Islands, Greek regions, Paper Piecing, Quilt, Quilt Blocks, quilting, Santorini

I have several pictures in my head that have been swirling around and urging me to let them come out….this one is another one of those.

It is how many imagine Greece but, like any other country, Greece has several different regions with distinct looks to themselves.  This is the look of the islands, and this block was inspired by the island of Santorini and its picturesque white buildings and churches.  The backdrop is the deeply blue Aegean sea and the bright sunshiny skies of summer.

So hop on over to my pattern store, get the block and go on a (virtual) quilting vacation to my homeland!

Greece, Santorini

Olive Tree – more

Tags

digging a hole, Greece, olive tree, planting, watering, winterizing

Our little Greek Olive tree has a new home. We planted it in our back yard, close to the fence. Charlie dug the area up, then dug a hole far enough from the fence so when the tree grows it will have enough space. He carefully placed the tree in the hole, added soil and watered.

Over the summer, I will do some research to see what we need to do (if anything) to help the tree survive the winter.

One niece, three nephews

Tags

Austria, confidences, distance, generosity, gifts, Greece, nephews, niece, occasions, presents, Relationships, relatives, sisters, U.S.A.

Among all of our relatives – our relatives on Charlie’s side ALL live in the U.S., our relatives on my side ALL live in Europe, are three nephews and one niece (my sisters’ children). All are now teens or pre-teens.

The four of them are growing up with mothers that would jump off of cliffs for them, fathers that care deeply for them, grandparents who love them dearly, and aunts who are present, caring, concerned and know them well – all except for one: me!

When my niece (who is the oldest of the four) was born, I was already living in the U.S. The distance makes it impossible for me to have conversations with them about things that frighten them, intrigue them, interest them, or just things they don’t want to discuss with their mothers. All that is accomplished by their other aunts ….

I had decided to enter the race for “favorite aunt” status by sending a Wii for Christmas or Nike sweats at other occasions – not the smartest strategy, I know, but the only one available to me (I think).

Now, we (Charlie and I) are poised for a visit home, and I have asked everyone to send me a “wish list”. My oldest nephew sent an lengthy, very detailed list, while also noting that he did not want or expect every wish on the list to be fulifilled and very generously suggesting that I should also get something for myself. My niece’s list is extremely short and easy to fulfill. And my sister in Greece sent a list for the other two boys.

I love all four of the dearly and I of course would do everything in my power to fill each and every item on their lists – but here is my dilemma: I do not want to be the aunt that flies into town every couple of years bearing gifts that can ordinarily not be bought, and bringing with her the appearance of wealth and excess!

Charlie and I both work hard, and save hard for these trips and these presents. BHE, at 72 should only work at getting from bed to his recliner every day, but he still gets up each morning and works at maintaining our rentals, helps at the house and takes care of our little “zoo” (our three Shih-Tzus). Other than eating out some, we don’t go out, travel much or have expensive hobbies. We put money aside each month, so we can afford these trips and associated presents every couple of years. These facts are REALLY hard to communicate to four young adults when all they see is aunt Irene and uncle Charlie showing up with a magical suitcase, that when opened spits out these things that at home are way too expensive to be purchased!

We will try to explain to them that we are catching up for missed birthdays, Christmases and graduations, good grades and good behavior. How much of it will stick, I have no idea! And by the way, I still think my other sisters (Marina, Daphne, Rena and Christina) are getting the better end of the deal!

A taste from my Childhood Home

Tags

Athens, Austria, Cooking, cuisine, dessert, gastronomy, Greece, Greek cuisine, restaurants, traditional recipes

I was born in Greece and grew up in both Greece and Austria. I miss some things from home, and usually, just as I start feeling sorry for myself this envelope arrives in the mail. I know what it is without eve looking at the handwriting on the front or the stamps, because the envelopes from Europe are different.

In the envelope are usually two or three “Gastronomos” magazines. They are an insert, once a month, on A Sunday, in an Athens newspaper. My dad collects them for me and sends them.

Each magazine has a theme: one month it may be a herb, another it may be a holiday or yet another may be a region in Greece. it contains information on the Month’s theme, traditional recipes as well as variations on those traditional foods, and at the very end there is a comprehensive dessert section. There are profiles of accomplished chefs and descriptions of new tools and/or gadgets.

In addition to being a great cooking magazine, for me it is a great connection to home. The dishes of my childhood jump from the colorful pages inside, and the photos of restaurants and places remind me of walking through our neighborhood in Athens, past little restaurants, our local bakery, and smoke filled coffee shops (where only men could go), down to the corner store for an ice cream.

I don’t think I have ever told my dad how important those magazines have become, and how often I use them. I have never thrown a single issue away; they are placed in chronological order, in wooden magazine boxes on a shelf. The ones I refer to most frequently, are on my cookbook shelf in the kitchen.