my latest love afair

I'm fickle. I can't help it. I've tried to be faithful yet time and time again, my heart wanders. It used to be my freezer. Then it was my Kitchenaid. I've tried so, so hard to avoid the siren call of this latest love. For two years I clung on to my sanity, reminding myself time after time that the heart-stopping surges of joy would eventually fade. Then  a couple of days ago I though,'Sod it. That food dehydrator's mine.'


Summer has been a washout for most of Europe this year. Switzerland is no exception. What could brighten   a heart more than the thought of strawberries all winter long. Strawberries in cereal. Strawberries in muffins. Strawberries straight out of the pack.

Making Mondays- yoghurt

I'm going to be crazy busy on Monday, so I am posting now.

Do you see that luscious goodness? Do you see how it stays in its spooned perfection? That is my homemade vanilla sheep yoghurt. If anyone is having trouble with yoghurt that is just too runny, try the sheep milk. Absolute perfection. Particularly with roast damsons.

First full day.

Number Guy and I decide we have a mission - find some good food. So far all we had seen was fast food outlets, in even greater number than the UK. Things were not looking good. In a somewhat reflective (and Hobbity mood) Number Guy asked, in a plaintive voice ' Do you think they've heard of second breakfast?'.

We headed south west into the
Russian River Valley ,in search of lunch, to Sebastopol . We struck gold first try, in the form of the East West Cafe. I can't remember what Number Guy had, but I devoured one of the best lamb salads ever. There's only one word to describe my state after this - replete.

Feeling all warm and fuzzy, we headed into a bookshop close to the cafe. A few
essential books were purchased before heading west to Bodaga Bay for a stroll along the beach. We then headed inland towards
Healdsburg with only a brief stop for
salt water taffy which is ridiculously moreish. Some people might say that I had more than my fair share. I'll plead the 5th ;0)

The road to Healdsburg passes many vineyards, which were looking a little bereft without their leaves. We saw many houses built within the woods - I guess this makes it cooler, but too gloomy for my taste. I need lots of light and these houses looked darker than a bad day in Glasgow.

The small part of Healdsburg that we saw was very pretty - the fact that they had a great fabric shop may have influenced my feelings somewhat..... We stopped so that I could do the obligatory wine tasting and asked for a recommendation for dinner. Can't remember the name of the place, just that it was on the main square (no, not due to wine consumption!). Dinner wasn't quite as good as lunch, but it was still delicious. We struck up conversation with a lovely couple who were delighted by the election result - in fact, during our holiday many people seemed eager to tell us how great this was.

We got back to the hotel about 9ish, still suffering from the effects of jet lag. This meant that the completely inane and pointless canned music in the hallway failed to keep us awake. Really, what is the point of that? It's bad enough in lifts!

Our plan for the next day was to drive along Highway 1, the coast road. This turned out to be a bit of a mistake, but more of that tomorrow.

A thought experiment

I thought I could use loose tea to make a great cuppa.....

(Probably) the most expensive vanilla extract in the world

60ml for CHF 20.45 = £9.50.

Granted it is organic, but - wow! I have looked in a lot of places for vanilla extract but 'all' I could find was vanilla pods/vanilla sugar. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised at the price. I bought it in
Jelmoli where a can of Heinz's finest costs about £2.00.

I didn't merely go to Jelmoli today, though. The market at Hauptbanhoff wwas also on the agenda. I bought a waffle for lunch, which was not nearly as nice as my own, to my disapointment. I also snaffled up some bread, cheese, fresh lemon ravioli, olives and....something else which I can't remember right now. My plan is to try a different bread and cheese each week. It may take some time :0)