happy new year

Dear Readers,
Best wishes for an auspicious and healthy new year. Thanks for visiting and party on.

cenotaph

Europe will begin commemorations of the centennial of the Great War next summer, marking the outbreak of fighting that began in late July a hundred years ago and the short-live*d armistice that followed over four long and horrific years later on 11 November 1918. The chosen means of remembrance, however, are not without controversy, both within and without—with many groups opposed to scheduled events for various reasons from dishonour through tourism exploitations, a celebration of nationalism and worse yet a kind of forgetting that makes war more palatable. Wounds that can never heal are being re-opened among combatants become allies as well.

The UK plans more than two thousand venues over the next four years, and while surely a noble and enlightening thing, also risks glorifying war and re-enforcing a lesson that humans have yet to learn. In contrast, aggressor states plan parallel but more subdued events, though the perception now is that Germany then does not own World War I like they do World War II with all the connotations. Perhaps the reason behind this notion and other modes of commemorations is due to the fact that there are no more soldiers and by-standers alive today that experienced the trenches and the dread new machines of war first hand. What do you think? Do some means of keeping make for something demeaning and ignoring that the default-setting for Europe (and abroad) for all of history was that of battles and skirmishes? Be sure to follow developments and pivotal events on MentalFloss' ongoing series on World War I.

landschaft

Last week on the radio I listened to a report that was really more of a sad fable, entitled “The Last Cow” about a village in the Swabian region and the decision of the last rancher there to ironically buy the farm and retire with no heirs to take over the family business, purportedly run since Roman times. The German title for the report (Der Letztes Küh) sounded like “the last coup” but the German word for coup d'etat or blow is the funner word Putsch.

It was a tragic narrative, since such a choice looks like it cannot be undone and abandoning agriculture is not something that one can recapture later on, and recounting personal memories of the slow disassembly and compartmentalisation of the community over the lifetimes of the people being interviewed. Though the end result is obvious—houses becoming things unto themselves and independent of any neighbourly infrastructure or else given up for convenience and opportunity, it is unclear what the anchorage is for these small villages. Beyond one farmer's nostalgia, which nonetheless establishes very true facts about the condition of such withering communities, there was formerly a brewery that incentivized young people to remain as well as all the supporting infrastructure, schools and churches. While it is a patent fact for the moment that Germany's agricultural bounty can still provide a lot—weekly markets and even supermarkets able to satisfy most needs produced locally, and a surplus, Bavaria, for instance, has still seen its agricultural experts halved within the past decade. It's hard to say what lesson that this sort of fable, repeated too often, is giving.

fish rissoles

Though we could have accomplished this delicious kitchen experiment without the aid of our new many-headed hydra of a food processor (ein Kuchenmaschine), I don't know that we would have attempted it otherwise—plus it was a good initial test workout for a lot of the machine's capabilities.

To make four good sized fish patties, one will need:

• 200 g of Salmon fillet (fresh or frozen)
• 200 g of Sea Bass (fresh or frozen)
• 4 – 6 small Spring Onions
• 1 egg
• 1 pinch, to taste, of Chili Powder
• 6 tablespoons of of fine breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 bunch of fresh parsley
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 1 bunch of fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons of margarine to fry the patties
• Some flour to coat the patties

In preparation, depending whether one uses fresh or frozen fish—as they tend to chop-up better in the food processor when slightly frosty, either freeze fresh fish for about an hour or allow frozen fish to thaw out for a couple hours. Dice the fish into smallish cubes, slice roughly the parsley and combine with the seasonings, breadcrumbs and the egg into the food processor and mix thoroughly. 

Get a frying pan ready with the margarine in the meantime and warm to medium heat. Form the mixture into four patties and roll in flour. Fry the patties in the pan for about two to three minutes on each side. The outside will be a little crisp and the patties will have the look and consistency of crab-cakes.

The sauce is optional but makes a good compliment. Immediately after the fish patties are finished, pour the cup of milk and cup of sour cream into the hot pan and add finely chopped dill. Stir with a spatula for about a minute and serve with the serve with the fish.

Enjoy with a side dish of potato dumplings or potato salad and a fine adult beverage.