Many of you have written, wondering if we had fallen off the face of the earth, because there have been no posts for about a month! We most assuredly have not, but it has been a busy spring here in Graz, and to points beyond. Honestly, I am still trying to decide how best to organize the month of activities so as to convey the most interesting information with the best pictures. For now, here is a little taste of late April/early May for us, right after the visit of our friends from France at Easter.
First of all, they brought all this cheese: five or six different types, mostly unpasteurized. We ate as much as we could but two people can only consume so much! Plus we were leaving for a week in Vienna. So, in a desire to honor their gift and enjoy the flavors au mélange, we created a pizza!
the French cheese - starting with noon position: St. Felicien du Dauphine, Chevre avec cumin, Reblochon de Savoie, Le Brebion pur Brebis (sheep); Beaufort fromage (like Guyere)
Then it was just a matter of creating the pizza with everything else we had in the refrigerator. Absolutely the best ever!
Fresh mozzarella, olives and tomatoes (this was before the e-coli scare!)
- crisped prosciutto
and fresh basil, feta chunks and bits of pimento
grated cheese: combination of Holland Gouda and French Beaufort fromage
In general, Austrian produce, dairy and meat is very fresh and of high quality. If you don’t buy your food directly from the farmer or butcher, you most certainly know from which farm it came, because everything is labeled that way, even in the grocery store!
Meanwhile, the dough was slightly rising with the yeast I bought a month ago. Finally another use for yeast since the Easter hot cross buns!
whole wheat crust glazed with olive oil, sprinkled with pressed garlic, Italian herbs, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Add sliced salami and slighly cooked onion slices
partially baked pizza with salami and onion gets some grated cheese on top
and tomato, fresh mozzarella, other cheese, feta, olives, pimentos and basil
Back into the oven for the final cooking….
- cooking!
meanwhile, the local beer while we wait
done!
Eh, Voila…..the pizza au mélange!
While eating, we enjoyed a beautiful view out our window. At this point, it is warm enough to be out on the terrace, and we don’t have to worry any longer about rutschgefahr (slipping) on the surface.
a hot air balloon appears just beyond our forest. we want to go up in it!
wisteria in bloom everywhere!
this is the old stop at Hilmteich
and here is the one we use!
In my opinion, there is no contest as to which one is lovelier.
the local Billa...ubiquitous grocery stores throughout Austria
So I will be working tomorrow on getting out some more photos of our many excursions in and out of Graz. Stay tuned and thank you for reading!