Ottensen said:

Genesia said:

Today, I have my favorite summer lunch - smoked trout spread with fresh veggies. Cool, crisp and delish.

I might need to make a watermelon salad this week.

Trout is forelle(n) here. Very popular in northern German fish-friendly cuisine. The trout you can get everywhere, but I've never noticed people being overly familiar with the spread . I think it's even been a few years that I've made or served anyone trout spread here. It isn't that common, but I love it since it reminds me of home.

Do they do cream cheese there? That might be the difference.

My smoked trout spread is very easy: flaked trout, cream cheese, lemon juice, freshly snipped chives, lemon basil and thyme, and a little cracked pepper.

I loooooove smoked salmon. (Actually, I like pretty much any kind of smoked or pickled fish.) But you can hold the dill. As Nigella Lawson says, there's really no middle ground on dill - you either love it or hate it. I come down on the "hate" side.

CarrieMpls said:

Watermelon.

It’s the best time of year for it (only time of year if you ask me) and my favorite snack lately.

I had hummus and pita chips & carrot sticks the other day and it worked perfectly as a “no cook” lunch.

I also like veggie wraps. I throw all kinds of things together. Yesterday I made a veggie burger and cut it into pieces. I tossed that with baby lettuce, red pepper, onions and pickles, dressed it with Dijon mustard, added some swiss cheese and wrapped it all in a spinach tortilla.

A pasta salad sounds pretty darn good, I have to say. I’ll have to make one tonight for tomorrow.

See, your food always has pizazz to it. We just don't have stuff like that over here in everyday shops. When I lived at home in the States I enjoyed eating vegetarian fairly often since my big sister was a vegetarian. In Hamburg it's getting a little better, but the range for yummy stuff & soy or veggie meat products is daunting Morning Star Farm products used to be my shizznit at home, and I used to live in shops like Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and Trader Joes. Heck I even remember visiting Minneapolis once and my friend there serving me Mock Duck---- it was CRAZY good . Since we have such a large Turkish/Middle Eastern population here it's definitely good for things like hummus and whole grains, falafel...but man what I would've give to have ready access to soy cheese that doesn't run me $USD 7

Ottensen said:

CarrieMpls said:

Watermelon.

It’s the best time of year for it (only time of year if you ask me) and my favorite snack lately.

I had hummus and pita chips & carrot sticks the other day and it worked perfectly as a “no cook” lunch.

I also like veggie wraps. I throw all kinds of things together. Yesterday I made a veggie burger and cut it into pieces. I tossed that with baby lettuce, red pepper, onions and pickles, dressed it with Dijon mustard, added some swiss cheese and wrapped it all in a spinach tortilla.

A pasta salad sounds pretty darn good, I have to say. I’ll have to make one tonight for tomorrow.

See, your food always has pizazz to it. We just don't have stuff like that over here in everyday shops. When I lived at home in the States I enjoyed eating vegetarian fairly often since my big sister was a vegetarian. In Hamburg it's getting a little better, but the range for yummy stuff & soy or veggie meat products is daunting Morning Star Farm products used to be my shizznit at home, and I used to live in shops like Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and Trader Joes. Heck I even remember visiting Minneapolis once and my friend there serving me Mock Duck---- it was CRAZY good . Since we have such a large Turkish/Middle Eastern population here it's definitely good for things like hummus and whole grains, falafel...but man what I would've give to have ready access to soy cheese that doesn't run me $USD 7

Aw, thanks!

Yeah, we do have a LOT of options compared to some places. I have mock duck in my fridge right now, waiting to become a BBQ sandwich.

I actually don't do the morningstar farms as much and am trying to cook from scratch more often these days, but I keep it around for when I don't have time or don't feel like being creative. (Or hot days like yesterday.)

I could just as easily have done it w/chickpeas or edamame or whatever.

This does remind me, though, of my favorite sandwich and maybe I'll make it tonight.

Ya'll can make it w/regular bacon but I use the faux stuff. Take a hearty baguette, spread brie on the bottom, apricot jam on the top and fillit w/bacon and green apple slices. A simple salad on the side and you've got a yummy meal!

Genesia said:

Ottensen said:

Trout is forelle(n) here. Very popular in northern German fish-friendly cuisine. The trout you can get everywhere, but I've never noticed people being overly familiar with the spread . I think it's even been a few years that I've made or served anyone trout spread here. It isn't that common, but I love it since it reminds me of home.

Do they do cream cheese there? That might be the difference.

My smoked trout spread is very easy: flaked trout, cream cheese, lemon juice, freshly snipped chives, lemon basil and thyme, and a little cracked pepper.

I loooooove smoked salmon. (Actually, I like pretty much any kind of smoked or pickled fish.) But you can hold the dill. As Nigella Lawson says, there's really no middle ground on dill - you either love it or hate it. I come down on the "hate" side.

Cream cheese? Oh yesss! It's called "frischkäse" in German and it's a staple of German eating. They love it spread on breakfast or lunch breads, and they do all sorts of variations with herbs and so on.

The dill I eventually got used to. It's that nordic influence in their food around these parts. Pickled fish is also very popular for Hamburgers and other German northerners (the influence of life on the North sea), but I just can't. It's weird because I love raw fish in sushi or sashimi, but hand me a piece of pickld pickled fish and I start acting a fool. The smoked trout spread....that's going on the menu for the next time we get a warm day...if that ever happens .

Ottensen said:

Genesia said:

Do they do cream cheese there? That might be the difference.

My smoked trout spread is very easy: flaked trout, cream cheese, lemon juice, freshly snipped chives, lemon basil and thyme, and a little cracked pepper.

I loooooove smoked salmon. (Actually, I like pretty much any kind of smoked or pickled fish.) But you can hold the dill. As Nigella Lawson says, there's really no middle ground on dill - you either love it or hate it. I come down on the "hate" side.

Cream cheese? Oh yesss! It's called "frischkäse" in German and it's a staple of German eating. They love it spread on breakfast or lunch breads, and they do all sorts of variations with herbs and so on.

The dill I eventually got used to. It's that nordic influence in their food around these parts. Pickled fish is also very popular for Hamburgers and other German northerners (the influence of life on the North sea), but I just can't. It's weird because I love raw fish in sushi or sashimi, but hand me a piece of pickld pickled fish and I start acting a fool. The smoked trout spread....that's going on the menu for the next time we get a warm day...if that ever happens .

Everyone in my family loves pickled herring. I mean...from the time we were little, little kids. And my sister's kids love it, too.

At family holidays, all my sisters and I would just descend on the herring like a flock of sea birds. My grandfather (the only one in the family who didn't like it), would get the biggest kick out of watching us wolf that stuff down. He'd always say, "I don't know how they can eat it, but I sure do love to watch them."

No special occasion is complete without herring. If it gets forgotten in the shopping, we better hope a store is open - because somebody is going to be sent out to get some.

Genesia said:

Ottensen said:

Cream cheese? Oh yesss! It's called "frischkäse" in German and it's a staple of German eating. They love it spread on breakfast or lunch breads, and they do all sorts of variations with herbs and so on.

The dill I eventually got used to. It's that nordic influence in their food around these parts. Pickled fish is also very popular for Hamburgers and other German northerners (the influence of life on the North sea), but I just can't. It's weird because I love raw fish in sushi or sashimi, but hand me a piece of pickld pickled fish and I start acting a fool. The smoked trout spread....that's going on the menu for the next time we get a warm day...if that ever happens .

Everyone in my family loves pickled herring. I mean...from the time we were little, little kids. And my sister's kids love it, too.

At family holidays, all my sisters and I would just descend on the herring like a flock of sea birds. My grandfather (the only one in the family who didn't like it), would get the biggest kick out of watching us wolf that stuff down. He'd always say, "I don't know how they can eat it, but I sure do love to watch them."

No special occasion is complete without herring. If it gets forgotten in the shopping, we better hope a store is open - because somebody is going to be sent out to get some.

Same with my dad's side of the family. The Finnish side, of course. AT every holiday family gathering.

They all love the pickled herring. Depsite preferring fish to beef and chicken when I was a kid, I never could do the pickled fish.

CarrieMpls said:

Genesia said:

Everyone in my family loves pickled herring. I mean...from the time we were little, little kids. And my sister's kids love it, too.

At family holidays, all my sisters and I would just descend on the herring like a flock of sea birds. My grandfather (the only one in the family who didn't like it), would get the biggest kick out of watching us wolf that stuff down. He'd always say, "I don't know how they can eat it, but I sure do love to watch them."

No special occasion is complete without herring. If it gets forgotten in the shopping, we better hope a store is open - because somebody is going to be sent out to get some.

Same with my dad's side of the family. The Finnish side, of course. AT every holiday family gathering.

They all love the pickled herring. Depsite preferring fish to beef and chicken when I was a kid, I never could do the pickled fish.

One of my favorite things when I visited Amsterdam was that you could buy herring right on the damn street.

I was out running errands at lunchtime.

Purposely don't turn on the A/C when I'm making quick trips.

I was so hot that the only thing I wanted was a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.

PurpleJedi said:

I was out running errands at lunchtime.

Purposely don't turn on the A/C when I'm making quick trips.

I was so hot that the only thing I wanted was a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.

PBJ is good anytime.

Although, when it's cold, I like it grilled. (Like a grilled cheese sandwich - only PBJ.)

Genesia said:

PurpleJedi said:

I was out running errands at lunchtime.

Purposely don't turn on the A/C when I'm making quick trips.

I was so hot that the only thing I wanted was a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.

PBJ is good anytime.

Although, when it's cold, I like it grilled. (Like a grilled cheese sandwich - only PBJ.)

PurpleJedi said:

Genesia said:

PBJ is good anytime.

Although, when it's cold, I like it grilled. (Like a grilled cheese sandwich - only PBJ.)

It is amazing. Grilled PBJ with chicken noodle soup on the side is one of my favorite childhood lunches.

Not long after Sweetie and I started seeing each other, I turned him on to that. (He'd never had a grilled PBJ before.) I'm pretty sure it's why he fell in love with me.

I just stick with cold sandwiches and cold drinks like Passion tea from Starbucks, which I brew at home and chill and always have on hand, yummy!

A whole lotta Cottage Cheese. I find it cools me right down.

This topic is so relevant this summer I tell ya.

Woooo!

It is so hot in here all I want is water and my privacy.

CarrieMpls said:

funkafunky said:

A whole lotta Cottage Cheese. I find it cools me right down.

Cottage cheese with fruit is my standard workday breakfast year-round. The only thing that varies is what I eat with it.

My favorite summer version is a vine-ripened tomato with cottage cheese laced with fresh chives and The Spice House's Lakeshore Drive seasoning, and sprinkled with bacon. Cool, sweet, salty and smoky. Insanely delicious.