Linzer Cookies - one of the Christmas Classics

Linz is the third-largest city in Austria. Its population is about 191 000 people. Its cookies are known and prepared worldwide and million of people enjoy them all year long, but especially during Christmas time. They are tasty, with dough including lots of ground nuts - hazelnuts or almonds. But they are also beautiful - they are assembled from two pieces, one of which has a cutout center and you  can see the raspberry jam through the hole. This recipe is from here  and it makes about 20-25 double cookies.

Yellow cherry jam with fragrant geranium

Granny prepared jams every summer. 

Cherry, yellow cherry, sour cherry, apricot... a lot of jams. I loved to be around her in the kitchen and to observe her skillfull movements which turned the fresh ripe fruits into jars full of summer. Especially the cherry jams, they really required patiency. We had no cherry pitter and she removed the pitted all the cherries with the ears of small hairpin, used only for these purposes. One after another. Gently touches, careful pressing of the little fruits in order not to destroy their tender structure. I was always around ready to eat any torn fruit which did not meet granny's criteria. But she was always very good and I had to rely on my fast reactions to take one while she turned her back to me. The best fruits of summer intended to send the summer message to all the other seasons. I really love to recall these moments. And inspite the fact that the shelves of the supermarkets are full of jams I prepare some home-made jams every summer and present them to the people I love. Like hitchhiking a time-machine which moves me back to the time I was a kid, Granny was alive and we were both in the kitchen surrounded by cherries. 

And I know from her - yellow cherry jam has to be flavored with fragrant geranium leaves. The scent of geranium provides the jam with rose-vanilla aromas and makes it taste homy. 

Goat cheese and candied kumquat sandwich

Morning rituals. 
Weekdays mornings are usually challenging - fifteen tasks for thirty minutes. Bathroom - kitchen - nursery - bedroom - kitchen - bedroom. Every step has its right time - if I omit or add one, I will break somebody else's ritual. So, sequence is important. Key word is discipline. I don't complain. Routine gives me the feeling of being safe, no surprises mean everything is OK. Habits give me the opportunity to enter stress less into the day. Coffee is the only luxury of my weekdays mornings. But fast, no time the smell its taste or aroma. Coffee as a wake up tool, nothing to do with joy. 
But I have my weekends. My weekend mornings are quiet and sunny. I love the silence of the house while my beloved ones are sleeping. This is my time. My kitchen has an eastern exposure and I enjoy the sun spots moving onto the walls and filling my eyes with light. Good morning, day. The steam of my coffee. A book from the shelf and so much time to get through its pages. The roofs of the neighbouring buildings, the blackbirds singing their lovesongs, the plants on my terrace. Time to read, to observe, to savor the day, to pamper myself. Long breakfast is part of the weekend morning rituals.

Candied kumquats

A friend of mine was on a vacation in Corfu, Greece and brought me some candied kumquats as a souvenir. Small whole fruits, soaked in syrup. I took a bite with a cup of coffee and I was intrigued by their taste - slightly sweet, slightly bitter and slightly sour. According to the Internet, kumquats are native to China, but they are widely cultivated in Japan and also grown in Florida and California the United States and on Corfu island in Europe. 

Kumquats resemble oranges, but they are smaller and oblong, about 3-4 cm in length. Their skin is thin and sweet and their center is rather tart, so unlike oranges you eat either the whole raw kumquat or only its peel. If you want to enjoy completely their taste, you should release the essential oils included in their skin, so you should "massage" them by rolling between your fingers before eating. But the best way to taste this bittersweet fruit is to try  it candied or made into jelly or marmelade. Candied kumquats could be served with cheese, chocolate or ice cream, but they are also a marvellous spread on a hot buttered toast or a perfect topping for duck, ham or veal fillet. Of course, you can enjoy their citrusy freshness straight from the jar. Vanilla bean with its sweet and wooden aroma is a perfect match of the kumquat, so it is a key ingredient of the jam. Kumquats have seeds, which should not be eaten (like those of the oranges), so most of the recipes call for slicing the fruits and discarding the seeds. But I like the bite-size of the kumquats, So I let them whole.