Curry Udon

The last week was tough. I do not remember ever having to go through a heatwave like that in June. Our apartment heated up more and more every day as the mostly uninsulated concrete seems to store all that heat energy very well. Friday daytime we had nearly 40°C outside. The nights from Friday to Sunday were really hot too and we had what seemed like an average room temperature of 29°C even then. We have a few fans to help but that’s it.

Air conditioning is not very popular here in Germany but I think more people might reconsider this when the climate crisis is going to continue and worsen in the future. Ironically using all these devices just makes everything worse unless you are able to use renewable energy. Our minister for economy and energy still thinks using gas is a renewable option and anything really renewable is not exactly supported by the current government. How backwards.

On Sunday someone in our building was collected by an ambulance (the paramedic said something about the climate when he saw me looking) and most likely taken to an equally hot if not even hotter hospital.

Thankfully today we are back to the mid 20s and it felt positively cool this morning at 23°C in my bedroom.

A bowl of curry udon seemed to be just the right food today, it’s quick, has salt and liquid, both very necessary in hot weather.

https://www.justonecookbook.com/curry-udon/

#Mastonom #HomeCooking #Cooking #MainMeal #MyDinner #JapaneseFood #FusionKitchen #Food #Flexitarian #30PlantsAWeek #SylkewebFood #SylkewebFood202606 #Sylkeweb202606

On Sunday I spent the whole (very hot) day at my friend’s house making good food and talking. We were three, Yoko, Emil and me. Three people with very different backgrounds and bringing widely varying experiences yet working on the same project: making dumplings from around the globe.

Yoko and Emil had already met up once to make German Maultaschen which also sounded very interesting as they had decided to not only make a classic version but also one that was more out there for which they had gone foraging for stinging nettles and decided to use spelt flour.

This time it was Pelmeni time, a Russian dumpling type. I’ve had them before (the frozen kind) and knew they were very down to earth, mostly stuffed with minced meat and a little seasoning. Again, Yoko wanted to make a classic version, Emil opted for a vegetarian potato and cabbage mix in a spelt dough, and I picked up a suggestion from the web to use lamb mince with a little mint.

Emil turned out to be quite the pro in dealing with the dough, the absolute opposite of me. There is a reason why I stay away from it as it never turns out the way it should… This time it was extremely sticky again and because of the high temperatures that didn’t change much even with extra flour. On top of that we started making the dough cut-outs too big and had to change that after about a third of the way.

When the dough cut-outs were all stuffed and shaped they were boiled in hot water.

We had the dumplings with a nice refreshing cucumber salad, crème fraîche and a vegan soft cheese cream dip.

The result was a bit surprising as all of us loved the potato and cabbage stuffed dumplings most. There were a few of those made with leftover classic dough and I thought they were the absolute best. The meaty ones were fine too but I’ll have to try them again on a cooler day (I took some home to freeze).

#Mastonom #HomeCooking #Cooking #DumplingProject #FusionKitchen #Food #SylkewebFood #SylkewebFood202606 #Sylkeweb202606

Inarizushi

Cooking at a room temperature of 29°C is no fun. Thankfully I have a tower fan that I can take with me from room to room.

I had wanted to eat Inarizushi again for a while. Essentially it is sushi rice (=seasoned Japanese rice) with chopped shiitake in a tofu pouch, quite basic really when it comes to sushi. However do not underestimate how fiddly it is to open the pouches and if you are using a pointy knife you have already lost. But I’ve done this before, I got out a knife with a round tip and managed surprisingly well. Since we had some leftover smoked salmon in the fridge I topped some of the pouches with that (and regretted not having more as this was a very tasty combination).

Our child made a cabbage salad as a side.

We also had a clear soup with flying fish and shiitake (Shiitake & Ago Dashi Osuimono) and Red shiso Hakuhou Rakkyo (Japanese spring onion), both delicious and all the way from Japan via from Kokorocare Food (kokorocares.com).

#Mastonom #HomeCooking #Cooking #MainMeal #MyDinner #JapaneseFood #FusionKitchen #Food #Flexitarian #30PlantsAWeek #Kokorocare_food #SylkewebFood #SylkewebFood202606 #Sylkeweb202606

Nacht der Museen 2026 in Hannover (Night of the Museums in Hanover)

After missing out on 2025 I was more than keen to take part in this annual event (earlier this month) and once again it did not disappoint. I found a friend who also fancied going by bicycle, important if you want to see as many venues as possible and share your thoughts with someone.

The venue I like most every single time is the August Kestner Museum (next to the New Town Hall). They always have interesting exhibitions, this time it was about Fun Design, amongst other things showing many Alessi items that we all know. The musical event they had was even better, a band named Ensemble Atonor who made music using plastic bottles, big letters, old fashioned phones and ping-pong balls.

We visited many places:
* Galerie Drees 

Photo exhibition - Franziska Stünkel „Coexist Part 7 - dialogue“
* Kestner Gesellschaft (Goseriede)

Choral music by Norddeutschen Figuralchor

Exhibition - Richard Hawkins „Potentialities“
* Basilika St. Clemens

Choral music by Hannoverscher Knabenchor
* Architektenkammer Niedersachsen Lavesstiftung

Photo exhibition - Franziska Klose „Großstadtpflanzen“
* Museum August Kestner (Friedrichswall)

Special exhibition - Fun Design

Special exhibition - Circular Design

Music by Ensemble Atonor (Klangobjekte von Erwin Stache)
* Kunstverein Hannover

Exhibition - „Under the milky way“ (Graffiti themed)
* Kino im Künstlerhaus

Short movies about Graffiti artists

#NachtDerMuseen #Hannover #SylkewebOutside #SylkewebOutside202606 #Sylkeweb202606