Hey folks! I thought I was running behind on posting this since it is more of a cozy food and didn’t seem so springy…but, today we are having a rainy, cold day so I am popping it up in case any of you need something cozy.

My neighbor Erika is Hungarian and since she arrived here in Bern I have begged her to teach me some of her recipes. When we meet in the yard in the afternoons to watch the kids play I always ask what she’s cooking for dinner. So, one afternoon she popped over and we made stuffed peppers together. They weren’t super hard to do and were so delicious!

Hungarian Stuffed Peppers

(via Erika Woodard)

Ingredients:

4-6 peppers, any color will work! 

1 onion, finely diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

oil

Saute onion in oil, add garlic as onions get close to being translucent. 

1 1/2 lbs ground pork/beef blend   

1/2 cup raw rice 

1 egg

small spoon of paprika…Hungarian of course! Kidding, any kind will work!

Salt and Pepper to taste

1-2 stalks of celery to place in the pot while you simmer and then can remove before simmering

Mix raw meat, raw rice, egg and paprika and stuff into peppers. Do not stuff too tightly because the rice will expand. 

Mix one small can of tomato paste and 1 tsp sugar with enough water to cover the peppers in a pot on the stove.  Bring to a boil and then lower to simmer on low for 30-45 minutes checking to see when the peppers are tender and the meat inside is done.

If you need to thicken the sauce at the end make a thickener with by cooking 3 T. flour mixed with 3 T. oil. Boil until thick.

Next she has to teach me cabbage rolls!  A few weeks after we made the peppers I had a cabbage and some peppers in the fridge. I ended up basically making a stuffed pepper soup instead and added cabbage for some extra vitamins.  So, if you are intimidated by the stuffing of peppers make a soup! Instead of rice in the soup we served ours over rice. The soup means you don’t have to stress about if the meat in the peppers is cooked!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

via kristen kolb…made up from a combination of recipes

1 lb ground beef (you can use what you have if you have a blend that is fine too)

3 peppers, diced

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced 

2 can diced tomatoes

1/2 small cabbage sliced into thin slices

4 cups low sodium beef broth, add or subtract if you like it soupier.  

1/4 cup tomato paste 

1 T paprika

1 tsp sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Brown meat with onions and garlic. remove to a bowl. Add small amount of oil and saute the chopped peppers and cabbage. When the peppers are tender and the cabbage is beginning to wilt add back the meat, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, paprika, broth and salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to boil and reduce heat to low. Allow it to simmer on low for 25-30 mins. Serve over rice or by itself.  

Yesterday we joined friends in celebrating their daughter Anna’s first birthday!  They decided it might be fun to hike to the glassbrunnen which is just on the other side of Bern. It is a spring that runs through the woods and according to our Swiss expert there is no known source for this particular spring.  Turns out I got 90% people pictures and not one of the fresh spring.

We met late morning and walked through the woods to the spring. When we arrived we found a spot to begin collecting wood and building a fire for a bbq. We have to remember to do things like this is VA because it’s so easy to overlook what’s in your own backyard!

Owen wasn’t quite himself yesterday…turns out he woke up this morning with another stinky cold…or rather he was up throughout the night unable to breath and coughing.

stick bread!

the birthday girl!

every trip to the woods requires at least one child to have a potty emergency, right?!

we felt like we were in an episode of Pioneer Woman! I just watched her make banana boats on her show a few weeks ago!  turns out they do them here too! yum!

Happy Birthday, Anna! Congrats to Daniela and Miguel for surviving your first year as parents! Thanks for including us in your birthday adventure!

Yesterday a friend and I hosted a baby shower for our mutual friend Haley! She is a fellow American and friend and we thought it would be fun to do the good old baby shower tradition here although it isn’t a custom in Switzerland.

We decorated super simply with fresh tulips and baby booties on the table.  The baby’s great grandmother made some precious pink booties with little socks knitted on and the baby’s grandmother made a little set of pink booties…they both looked so cute on the table! We hung a little ribbon line with vintage baby girl cards on it! And that was it for decorations. Simple and sweet.

We had punch and snacks as people arrived. After we all visited for a bit we  had Haley open her gifts. When the gifts time was done we moved into a lunch/brunch time. In case you think we didn’t feed the momma to be enough here was the menu…

Menu

strawberry lemonade punch

Prosecco with pomogranite syrup and pom seeds

hot artichoke dip

vegetables and dip (Haley is addicted to ranch)

Lunch

individual quiches

curried chicken salad

fruit salad

skewers with tomatoes and fresh mozerella dipped in pesto

bread basket with muffins and breads

Dessert

(everything was mini because we couldn’t imagine anything big after all of the previous eating! )

mini lemon cupcakes with cream cheese icing

brownies

oreo truffles

almond tarts with raspberry jam filling

Needless to say we were all stuffed by the end!  Katie hand dipped pretzels for the guests to take as a favor. They were so pretty with pink chocolate and sweet little pearl candies.

It was a really fun morning! We are looking forward to meeting Haley’s little miss!

Last Sunday we got out of the house in the morning for some time in the snow! Our friends invited us to join them in Gurnigel with their 2 boys that are close to our boys ages. We had so much fun. I had received some very sad news that morning from a friend back home so in all honesty I wanted to curl up at home and cry but I was so thankful to get out and be refreshed. I ended up being the camera girl instead of sledding because I just wasn’t up for it. But it was super fun to watch everyone else and to yell “SETHHHHHHH” when he nearly tossed Owen off with every bump or curve. I won’t include those pictures. Yikes.  Are you as shocked as I am that God gave me 2 boys and a not so relaxed temperment?!  Yea, me too!

and as Seth and the boys slugged along on our old school sleds our German friends raced along on this speedy thing…it seems even their sleds are faster!

weary sledders after many daredevil stunts!

(this photo taken by Tim Ziert)

how’s that for sledding view?! I am confident this may be the best we ever see while sledding!! Stunning!

(this photo taken by Tim Ziert)

We headed back and had apple strudel and ice cream for lunch!  It may become a Sunday regular! It’s days like this that I don’t mind our church having an evening service.