2011 Review

For a total of 14, here's the recap of countries we visited in 2011 (an * indicates a country we visited for the first time this year; for Gavin, all of them were first-times):

• France (twice)
• Germany (twice)
• Belgium (twice)
• Portugal
• Spain
• Estonia*
• Finland*
• Russia*
• The United States of America
• Slovakia*
• Austria
• Poland*
• Netherlands
• Switzerland* 

Of the above, some of the highlights include our March trip to Paris for Jacob to run the half-marathon. It was a great trip, and Gavin's first trip anywhere. We also really loved our trip to Estonia, Finland and Russia. Tallinn, Estonia remains one of our all-time favorite destinations.

We also had a wonderful visit to the USA visiting family in August. Gavin got to meet all of his cousins and aunts and uncles.

Another huge highlight was visits from family. Both sets of parents visited in January/February, which was wonderful.

Our brother-in-law Adam visited in October. And, of course, we just finished a great visit with Jacob's brother Jared and his wife Ashley earlier this month. We had such an amazing road trip with them, and we overall just loved spending time with them. (Also, they should be on magazine covers. Just sayin'.)

We both agree that the #1 highlight of 2011, no contest, has been getting to know this guy...

13 months

Gavin is 13 months old today! I'm not sure how much longer I'll do these posts every 30th of the month...I thought I'd stop when he was 1, but here I am posting one again...He's just so photogenic. :)

Decking the halls

We got the Christmas decorations out a couple of weeks ago, and Gavin is really getting into them above. We've tried to keep the focus on Jesus (and snowpeople), and Gavin LOVES the baby Jesus in each nativity. The next 2 photos show his favorite; he won't go past it without insisting on holding the baby Jesus. (I took the photo hoping the snow in the background would show up, but it just looks like rain.)

We also decided against having a tree this year. (Have you met Gavin?) So we decided to do this less-conventional "tree" made of wrapping paper, gift bags and Christmas cards (and the origami star I made for the top) and put presents underneath it anyway. We actually quite enjoy it. 

Merry Christmas!

This week in the kitchen, part II (the sweet stuff)

We did lots of holiday baking this week, and it was fun and festive. Above, I hand-dipped peppermints (not peppermint patties because I didn't have the patience to roll them out, but the filling is the same). The chocolate is high-quality German chocolate. We also made a cookie from Jacob's family Christmas tradition, Karoma spice or bell cookies. It's a recipe from his great-grandmother. You can see flecks in the dough of ground raisins and walnuts, and the cookies also contain lots of really festive spices.

I was disappointed to discover my bell cookie cutter in the below condition. Why do cookie cutters need to be painted in the first place?! We also made peppermint bark using Swiss chocolate.And, of course, the traditional cut-out sugar cookies.

This week in the kitchen, part I (re-creations)

It's no secret we travel for the food, and sometimes we're brave enough to come home and try our hands at making some of the amazing things we've eaten abroad. This week we've had two such attempts.
You might remember a recent post that included this delicious dish, Spargelschnitzel:

It was incredible. Monday night Jacob slaved away in the kitchen to re-create it, and it did NOT disappoint. It was super-delicious, and we didn't even have to cross several countries to get it (not that I'm minimizing the hard work Jacob put in to make it).

And on our November trip to Poland we raved about the yummy pierogis we had, so I tried making them last night. I wasn't able to roll the dough out as thinly as it should have been (it kept tearing--anyone have a secret from your Polish grandma's kitchen?), but I thought it was pretty delicious anyway.

If it were Master Chef, Jacob would definitely have won the prize. I liked my pierogis, but the boys weren't fans, and they didn't compare to what we had in Poland. Jacob's Spargelschnitzel, on the other hand, was right on the money. Mmmmmmm.

Ashley and Jared

A few days ago we wrapped up a great visit with Jacob's brother Jared and his wife Ashley. We LOVED our time with them, even the 6 days we spent in the car together. We really miss them, and I'm pretty sure they miss at least one of us...

Unforgettable food

A series of blog posts from one of our trips just wouldn't be complete without the requisite post about all the great food we ate. This trip was full of incredible food, including the above raspberry macaron and pastry. We discovered that the only sure way to keep Gavin happy at all times was to give him bread (his father's son). I'll always look back on this trip with a mental picture of Gavin with some bread in his hand or mouth.


In addition to bread and pastries, we ate A LOT of sausages. With great mustard.

There was a Ladurée shop in Lausanne where we got some macarons (we also ate some in Lucerne).

Our host in Switzerland made the most amazing meal of papet vaudois, a meal original to that region of Switzerland. It was outstanding, and I would try making it myself except I don't think I can find sausages quite like these.

We enjoyed a meal of cheese fondue while we were in Switzerland. It's a cheese-lover's dream. ;)

Schweinehaxe (of course)

Schupfnudeln (potato noodles) from the Heidelberg market

Cordon bleu and croquettes

A real show-stopper: Spargelschnitzel (asparagus Schnitzel in hollandaise sauce, covered in cheese)

Gavin is enjoying a freshly-made Stroopwaffel

raspberry tart

Apple tart

Something yummy with potatoes and lardons

And the item from the trip that Jacob found life-changing (and the rest of us enjoyed too)--a nougat log covered in delicious dark chocolate and pistachios