Vor zwei Jahren

Almost there
Originally uploaded by rolled_trousers

When I was staying with my host family in Waldkirch (gosh!) two years ago, each Sunday my host mother would make Zwetschgenkuchen. Last fall I found a recipe that came close, but it was a little too sweet and more cakey. But then! I found this recipe for Plum Kuchen in Gourmet and was absolute delighted to find out that it called for yeast and Greek yogurt. I know my host mother made hers with Quark, which is sort of like sour cream, sort of like creme fraiche, sort of like yogurt and not readily available in the States. I was super excited to try this recipe out, and I was feeling a little low this morning, so it seemed like a perfect time to give it a shot. And I couldn't be happier. The plums retained some of their texture and the flavor was great. The cake part was very tender and moist and the yogurt really gave it a whole other dimension and just a little bit of tang. The recipe did call for some zest, but I was fresh out of that. I'm not sure how noticeable the difference would have been. The cake was ready around 1pm and it's 10pm now and the cake has been completely eaten. I'm pretty sure Sam ate about half of it and I definitely had my fair share. The recipe says it can be made with any stone fruit, so I think I might try it with apricots. When I was in Trier I would get apricot pastries a lot and I sure wouldn't mind more of those.

Well, David left yesterday morning. It was a pretty great weekend, though. I went to Athens and had a good time visiting with his friends and family. Two of his friends got married. It was a very nice ceremony at the chapel at the Georgia State Botanical Gardens with a small reception afterwards. It was the first time that I got to meet a lot of his frie

nds, which was fun, and it was a fun way to spend the last night together. Before I left, his mom gave me a bunch of tomatoes and peppers from her garden. Tonight I ate the tomatoes with some fresh green beans and just a bit of salt and pepper. Simple and delicious. I think after all the cake I was ready for something on the fresh and salty side.

This evening it rained pretty heavily. After dinner I sat out on the porch to watch the rain and trees and occasional jogger. It made me super, super homesick. My mom and I loved to sit on the porch at our old house, drinking coffee and watching the rain. And since my whole family just got back from a trip to Colorado without me (I was, of course, invited, but I couldn't work it out) and David just left, I was pretty bummed. Actually, this really happens every August. I never want summer to be over and I never feel like I've been able to spend enough time with people and doing things. I am looking forward to the start of the semester, but I'm dragging my feet along the way. I never regret what I'm doing, but I do wish I didn't have to move across the country and/or world sometimes. But! I wouldn't know about things like Zwetschgenkuchen if I didn't, so that's okay, right?

p.s. This did cheer me up: