Cooking inspirations

I started this post quite a while ago hoping that it would inspire me to get back in gear and really WANT to cook every night. I'm not sure why I'm feeling completely uninspired when it comes time to decide what to have for dinner, but lately I have been making the decision in the afternoon when I ask BK what he wants for dinner. He has a go-to of about five things that he is willing to have over and over on any given night, so that makes it somewhat easy.

Also, since we've returned from the US I seem to be out of the habit of baking. I don't know if it's because of all of the overindulgence during the holidays or trying to cooking for Baby K or what, but I just haven't been baking at all. Nor have I had the urge to bake either. Weird. I think some of it has to do with the fact that I made the rookie mistake of forgetting some crucial baking ingredients while in the US: brown sugar and vanilla extract. My mom comes to visit soon, so this will be remedied.

All that said, I went through a couple of weeks when I was pretty impressed by myself and happy with all of the stuff I had been cooking. I went about two weeks and didn't have one repeat meal. This even included trying some new stuff too.

Here's what I've been making lately, in case you're interested or need some ideas!

• Parmesan-crusted sole (I pan-fry instead of bake) with sautéed spinach and spaetzle;
• Seared scallops with sautéed spinach; 
  
• Chicken, pepper and onion quesadillas and salad with greens, pears, pomegranate seeds, walnuts and feta;
• Grilled pesto chicken with mozzarella and roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli;
• Chili;
• Pecan-crusted chicken with sautéed spinach and mashed potatoes;
  
• Garlic asian noodles with spicy shrimp and veggies;

I've been doing a little bit better this week. So far I've made tomato basil soup with homemade croutons and salad; seared scallops; and then tonight made chicken tostadas. They don't really do tostadas in Switzerland, so I found some corn tortillas and made some crispy baked tostadas and tortilla chips. It was pretty good and got good reviews from BK too!

Hopefully this will help me get back in the swing of things and work on trying new stuff. Friday we're doing steaks with some friends, so now the only question is...what's for dinner tomorrow?

Ski Switzerland

On our way to the slopes

Last weekend we hit the slopes in the Bernese Oberland, specifically we headed to the Lauterbrunnen/Wengen/Murren area. It's only about two hours from Montreux, so Baby K and I picked BK up from work, and in about an hour we were in the Alps for the weekend!

Lauterbrunnen

Our friends, the G's, met us in Lauterbrunnen; we actually chose this area because it's half way between Basel and Montreux- a great meeting place for the six of us. We checked in to our hotel, then went out to do a little bit of exploring. Skis were rented and then we found a little place to feed the girls dinner and have a snack before our dinner.

BK should have told me about the antlers...but Baby K is the cutest thing ever!

We had dinner in the hotel so the girls could sleep upstairs. Pretty much every restaurant in the area is typical Swiss food, so that's what it was for us...rosti and schnitzel. They also had beer in boots that BK and JG had, and a Swiss family playing traditional music in the restaurant.

Beer in boots

Swiss music in the restaurant

The next day BK and JG went skiing, and MG, myself, and the babies enjoyed breakfast at a cafe then started our journey up to the top of the mountain to meet the husbands for lunch. Half way up we stopped at Wengen to walk around a bit and see the town. Baby K and I went to Wengen this summer as well, but it's a little different in the winter.

From the Wengen train station

After a brief time in Wengen, we headed up to Kleine Scheidigg for lunch. The weather had turned not so great, so we didn't spend much time outside- just enough for a few pics after lunch.

BK and JG mid-ski

Skis outside of the station

Me and BK

MG and I hoped to make it back to our hotel in time to put the girls down for a nap, but it didn't quite work out like that. They both fell asleep in their strollers, so MG and I went back down to Wengen to continue walking and hope they stayed asleep long enough for a decent nap. Mission: pretty much accomplished.

View from Wengen 

Two sleepers in the strollers

After the girls were back awake, we went back down to Lauterbrunnen so the little ones could move around a little after being confined in their strollers all day. MG and I enjoyed happy hour in the room while Baby K and Baby M had the run of the room. It had also started snowing quite heavily in the afternoon as well, and I caught them both looking out our hotel window.

Watching for the Dads?

That night the husbands were quite tired from skiing all day, but we still dragged them out to dinner, despite their offers to stay at home and "watch" the girls.

Walking to dinner in the snow

It snowed quite a bit overnight, making for a really picturesque morning. We checked out of the hotel, then grabbed a quick bite for breakfast and decided to go up the other side of the mountain to Murren.

Lauterbrunnen after the snow

We weren't sure how much walking/hiking/trudging through the snow we would have to do, so the babies got to ride along for the day. And for the record, as we were getting ready and loading up, BK and JG totally acknowledged that they would have been making fun of those guys getting their kids loaded on to them a few years ago...how life changes.

Along for the ride with the Dads

Murren is similar to Wengen, it's just on the other side of the mountain. MG and I decided we liked Murren better because it felt a little more quaint and didn't have so many electric vans speeding down the streets, nearly running us over. We walked through Murren, did a little shopping, and stopped for lunch before heading back down.

Lots of snow!

Walking through Murren

Curling at the Alpine Sports Center

We took a cable car back down, and arrived just in time to put the girls in the car so they could nap on the way home. I'm happy to say that Baby K napped for two hours straight, waking up just as we arrived back in Montreux. BK and I took the scenic route home and drove through numerous other mountain towns and ski areas. It was really pretty and added a little fuel to the fire to decide where to go again in a couple of weeks.

Lauterbrunnen, coming down from Murren

We're trying to take advantage of being closer to skiing now, and plan to find somewhere else to go in the next couple of weeks. I know Fort Worth is having a snow day, but they sure are a lot more fun over here!!

Switzerland got me today

On our way to a ski weekend

As I'm sure every expat can agree, some days you just want to say, "Okay [insert host country here] I surrender...you win today. You officially kicked my ass." Pardon the language, but that's how it feels. Friday was a day like this for me, and it kind of caught me off guard. Nearly two years have passed and most of the time I think I have this living abroad thing down. Not so fast. And as the trailing spouse always dealing with this stuff, you feel like your head might actually explode.

It started when I actually changed my mind about how I wanted the day to go. I initially thought I would let Baby K nap for about an hour in the morning, head to playgroup, then do some errands afterwards. Then I remembered that the vet closes from 12 to 2 (for lunch?) so I wouldn't get done with other stuff to get back there. My solution? Get Baby K to sleep in the car seat for her morning nap and get stuff done before playgroup.

Not so much, Switzerland decided. We hurried up, got everything together and headed out. Oh wait, thanks to the tons of construction going on on our street just up from our house, the electricity to the building our garage was turned off. I'm guessing they thought to tell the people who live in the building, and didn't remember to give us notice. At first I just thought the garage door opener wasn't working again, but nope, not the case this time.

Great, so now I can't get the car out of the garage. And not only can I not get the car out, but I can't get the stroller out either. That put a serious kink in things. In French, the workers tell me the electricity will be back on around 11, and by the way, why can't I just open the garage with my hands. I tell them that the remote is the only way it opens. Too bad for us, I guess.

So Baby K and I go back down to the house, get the umbrella stroller and head down to the train station. Only, before we can go down to the train station, I carry her back down to the house a few more times for things we forgot. I then head down the hill, only to realize that it's about 40 degrees and I have forgotten a blanket. I was so irritated at this point I decided I would just buy one when we got to the store. I was just hoping I could skip the lecture from an older Swiss lady about how Baby K was cold, and why didn't I have a blanket for her?

Ultimately Baby K did not get a morning nap. Not too much harm done- no breakdown at playgroup or anything. And I did get a couple of things done before going to playgroup.

Afterwards, we ran to catch the bus, which would get to the vet just before closing for lunch. Nope, not going to happen. The bus was late, getting us there around 12:02. Luckily I was able to get to the pharmacy before they closed for lunch at 12:15 to get some substitute dog medicine.

Back up to the house we went to get lunch and hopefully be on the road to go pick BK up by around 1. And again, even though it's been nearly a year with Baby K, I seem to always underestimate how long things will take not to mention that I was constantly chasing her around trying to pick up the millions of things she wanted to pull out. Baby K and I finally got on the road around 2, in time for her nap and in time for BK to get on a conference call in the car by 3.

As I type this, I realize it's not all that bad, but at the time, things like these sometimes leave me feeling like Switzerland is killing me in the moment. Ultimately just a small blip on the radar. From here, we had a great weekend with friends in Lauterbrunnen. I guess you could say Switzerland makes it up to me too (see pic above).

A seriously Swiss weekend

It really annoys me that I haven't been blogging lately, and I'm not even sure why. I blame it on my computer not working sometimes, and various other things; regardless, I'm hoping to get back to it. That said...

View from Gruyere castle

Last weekend we delved into all things Swiss- chocolate, cheese, wine and fondue. And yes, all in one day. Our good friends AH and CH came down to Montreux from Basel to visit the three of us. AH was Baby K's first visitor after she was born, and it had been quite a while since we'd seen one another.

The H's came down on Friday and we stayed in at our house for dinner that night. We had a really great time, although we stayed up a little later than expected, chatting the night away. Baby K went to bed at her usual time though, and she also woke up at her usual time, which felt a little earlier than normal the next day. But, life doesn't wait, so it was off to enjoy all things Swiss!

Callier chocolate factory

We hit the Callier chocolate factory first. It's about 45 minutes from Montreux, just an easy drive north on the highway from here. The tour wasn't what I was expecting, but I thought it was pretty good. It is an automated tour, advancing you as you finish in each room. It essentially goes through the history of chocolate, both around the world and in Switzerland. And, specifically with Callier too, of course.

Playing in the cocoa beans

The second half of the tour is rooms with cocoa beans, machinery, samples, and a tasting room. The tasting room has about nine different kinds of chocolate. I think they put the best stuff at the end tasting stations so that you have already eaten quite a few pieces and don't want as much at that point.  Of course, after the tasting room you go into the store so you can purchase what you liked the most. BK and I did our part and stocked up.

Snowy Gruyere

After Callier we headed to Gruyere to see the town and have a quick snack. Between all the chocolate and saving room for fondue that night, we didn't need anything significant. BK, Baby K, and I went to Gruyere this fall, but it looks a bit different covered in snow. The views of the Alps covered in snow are amazing from the castle at the top of Gruyere. As usual, Baby K was along for the ride. This is how she comes along these days when we're expecting snow.

She's always along for the ride

After Gruyere we stopped by our favorite wine place in Lavaux, that has all Swiss wines from this region. Baby K slept through most of it, which I loved and appreciated! All the adults needed a nap, so we headed back to Montreux after that. Baby K needed to crawl around and get some wiggles out after being cooped up all day, so BK and I took 45 minute shifts and both grabbed a quick nap.

Caux fondue restaurant

That night we went up to Caux for fondue. BK and I re-found a place some other friends had taken us a number of years ago. We had some goat cheese fondue and a more traditional one with a white wine base. The experience was a great one, and BK says that he's now back on for fondue. Before this he was a little iffy, so this is good for visitors who want to come and have a traditional Swiss experience!

Fondue together!

The weekend wrapped up and we're on to this week now...work, French classes, dog-walking, etc. Next weekend we're skiing with some other friends. Time to kick the traveling into high gear!

Life lately

I've had a few blogs rolling around in my head, but just haven't taken the time lately to write. So, I thought I would share some pictures from what we've been up to lately...of course they're heavy on Baby K, but what else would you expect?

It's been snowing quite a bit here. There was about eight inches on the terrace on Monday.

Baby K is starting to get a little more used to the snow, although it's still not her favorite.

She is pulling up on pretty much anything and everything. The second I open the fridge, she does her fast-crawl over to it to see what she can get into.

Also in the pantry...

She  and Toby are both overjoyed that they finally figured this one out:

And this has been our life the rest of this week, as we bundle up and typically don't brave taking the stroller down our hill. Baby K LOVES it when I try and wrestle her back into the carrier after we've been grocery shopping; this typically happens in the grocery cart, while curious onlookers try to figure out what in the world I'm doing to my kid.

I think that's about it for now. We're headed to Basel this weekend to visit friends. BK is chomping at the bit to have some Mexican food and margaritas at the place we used to go when we lived there; we even have a babysitter for the girls!

Bon weekend!