24 & 25 July 2012 - Settling in

Dear Gentle Reader

It is wonderful to see so many of you persisting with my little scratchings.  I will endeavour to keep them interesting and try to turn any frowns upside down.  Although it may appear a little lazy, and some may suggest that I have been bone idle catching up with daytime television (Das Tag de Lebt, Das Oprah, etc) that is far from the truth.  Although I must confess to catching up on MasterChef.  Some addictions you just can't give up.

Anyway, back to me and the "Days of my Life" where the part of me will be played by Ewan McGregor (a boy can dream) or was pointed out by one dear friend, I currently look like Ricky Gervais with the beard.  Not sure what he is up to at the moment so he might be able to play the part.  Hope he can get the accent and all my delightful turns of phrase correct.

Again I digress and have not even put in any photos yet - have I lost anyone?

There you go...nothing to do with Switzerland but keeps the punters happy.  It is actually in Oman, quite beautiful.

So what has the last couple of days entailed?  Very much getting used to my surroundings and having my bottom get used to a bike seat.  You would have thought with the current padding that would not have been an issue! 

Tuesday was cleaning lady day - her name is Hildi but I prefer to call her Heidi as it sounds Swiss and it is the only Swiss name I know.  She seemed lovely and is a beast with the Laurastar ironing system.  She did not speak English and my German is still pretty lean so we communicated through the medium of DANCE....."first when there's nothing, but a slow glowing dream.....".  All I know is that when the window was open, something went "whoosh"....not sure what came in or flew out but it was dramatic. 

Whilst she was doin'her thang, I headed out to the bustling metropolis in search of running shoes and groceries for dinner.

Now I have to take a moment aside to discuss the magic that is the Swiss supermarket.  It is like any new country where such establishments are fascinating and really are an insight into the psyche of the locals -is it just me that thinks that?  There are two in town (Coop and Migros).  The Coop is a bit smaller but definitely has a nice meat section.  My observations are as follows:

• There are many types of bread...excellent, gotta love carbs!
• Cakes are also a big focus...once past the lips, forever on the hips.
• Cheeses, cheeses, cheeses....Jesus!
• Very nice fruit and veg....which you have to weigh and price tag yourself!?!
• Lots of chocolate too...mmmm....happy place.....
• Meat and lots of it.....insert appropriate double entendre now.

Focusing on meat, as I do....they have a lot of salami style and also some unusual cuts from beasts of burden....not sure what they would do with that on MasterChef, I am guessing a big "Neigh!!".

I am having a lot of fun exploring and trying to work out what some things are.  Makes it challenging shopping for specific ingredients but means you get to go up and down all the aisles.  Stay tuned for anything else wacky I may come across.

So what have we been eating?  Since I have found my inner Nigella I have been getting back to basics.  Actually it is probably advanced as basic for me for some time meant popping something in the microwave....and we don't have one here!  It is a slow culinary journey and Stephan is content to be the guinea pig...so far so good I think.  So what have these nimble fingers been dabbling in?  I know you want a blow by blow account and yes, there are even some pictures:

• you will recall the baked salmon with smashed garlic potatoes and honey carrots
• I then went all red light district and made a pasta puttanesca (from scratch, well the sauce anyway....baby steps)
• last night was a rump steak with a mushroom, shallot and thyme sauce with mashed potato - in all my efforts to get the timing right I forgot the broccoli.  Mushroom is a vegetable isn't it? I am annoyed I did not capture its image, it was a good sauce!
• Macerated strawberries in balsamic vinegar and topped with basil and some ice cream

These have been washed down with some delightful drops from the cellar.  We are continuing on our champagne odyssey and mixed it up last night with some red wine.  this was followed by some schnapps which I think did not do much for my little head - ouch.

I will leave you for now to savour all of this...next will be my little bike tour of the area and some picture postcard shots.  I realise that none of them have any people in them.  I will have to fix that!

Until next time, bon apetit (said in Julia Childs' voice).