Here we are a little over two months of being confined to our homes trying to adjust to a new life. No, I can’t complain, I haven’t lost a loved one, I am retired, I can pay my bills, and I live in a beautiful area. I am trying to be positive and some days I am, but other days are difficult and depressing. It makes me sad to think of all the hardship that this pandemic has created and yes I miss my old life with all its privileges and perks. There is no running away from it, we are all affected. Enough of whining, I know there are people who are much worse off than I am.
So, how am I coping. I cook and cook and cook and when I don’t cook I watch youtube videos on cooking . My screen time is up exponentially. I read and I watch TV, although I am watching much less TV than in the beginning. My little garden gives me some pleasure. Sunshine makes me happy, but today it is raining. Every morning I make a plan but on the blah days I procrastinate and nothing gets done.
The other day I was fantasizing about sitting in a little German restaurant somewhere in the countryside enjoying a glass or two of wine and eating Flammkuchen (flame cake) with my friends. So, instead of looking at cheap flights or redeeming my miles I started to research Flammkuchen recipes. Flammmkuchen is a specialty from Alsace where it is called tart flambé. It is a crispy somewhat blackened very thin (1mm) and blistered crust that is traditionally topped with Crême Fraîche, Speck (smoked pork belly,) and thinly sliced onions, sprinkled with arugula. Today it is topped with anything imaginable . It is a favorite treat for the young crowd and often is the cheapest prized item on the menu.
Flammkuchen was used as a trial bake for bakers to test the communal wood-fired ovens to see if they were ready to bake bread and cakes. Every village (including mine) had a Backhaus (baking house) where once or twice a week the village women would bake their bread and cake. Think of this Flammmkuchen as a tart baked in flames, burned on the outside and crispy as a cracker
This Flammkuchen was made with bacon, asparagus and some cheese
Researching Flammkuchen gave me a purpose and I dived right into it. It took away the edges of uncertainty and fear. I made several and my husband liked them. Once I made it for lunch on a sunny day, we sat on our deck with a glass of chardonnay and the living was good. I see this as a perfect cooking project for young teens, making the dough and choosing their toppings.
The dough is a mixture of flour, salt, water, and oil that needs to be mixed together and kneaded for at least 5 minutes or more until it becomes a smooth and shiny and can be rolled out to a very thin crust. Some recipes call for yeast but I choose one without it from a German YouTube channel called Thomas kocht . I tried several of his recipes and they are all good. Because there is no yeast in the dough it has to be be baked in a very hot oven preferable on a pizza stone that has been heated for an hour or a sheet pan that has been heated for 30 minutes . You are in Flammkuchen heaven if you have a pizza oven.
This is Manu Koenig, running for county supervisor in District 1,Santa Cruz County. He's got my vote and he liked my Flammkuchen.
While sheltering in place I got adventurous in my cooking and geared into the realm of the unknown for me. I prepared some Asian dishes , some of them not so good but some of them ok. Once this is over I will probably go back to my favorite restaurants. I go shopping at my local farmer’s market and buy seasonal fruits and vegetables. I love asparagus and we have the freshest green asparagus available. Unfortunately we don’t have white asparagus like they have in Europe. My husband and I both love asparagus soup. It’s easy to make and so delicious . We have had it several times.
Here are some more asparagus recipes, click on the photo for the recipe
Here are some more asparagus recipes, click on the photo for the recipe
 Creamy and easy to make asparagus soup |  I make this frittata when asparagus is in season |
A delicious Chinese noodle salad rom the Greens cookbook.
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