Ble Bakery: Thessaloniki

Writing this post is torture.  I am currently taking a two-week intensive, Czech language class and today, one of my classmates, who went home to Thessaloniki this past weekend, brough back with him a box of traditional, Greek Christmas cookie for us to sample.  I sampled one of these soft, mouth-watering cookies and I have to tell you, it had the most unusual combination of flavours:  honey, nuts, cinnamon dipped in white chocolate and topped with pink peppercorns.

It was amazing.  I asked my classmate if the bakery, BLE, had a website or whether there was something I could look at to replicate the cookie but sadly there is nothing (the torturous part).  I snapped a couple of pictures and I am putting it out to the web.  When I got home I tried Googling different things to find out what the cookie is or whether BLE is mentioned anywhere, and nothing comes up except for one reference to the bakery in a post on Chowhound as well as Colibri, the company who was responsible for Ble’s rebranding and interiors.

Does anyone know anything about this cookie or the bakery?  These cookies are too fabulous to be kept a secret!!!!  There must be a recipe somewhere.  If you have any thoughts, please leave a comment below.

My update- Apparently Ble does have a website, which I’ve included.  The reason I could not find it was because it is written in Greek.  The cookie also has a name-  It is called a Melomakarona, and it is a cookie that is soaked in a honey syrup and popular in Greece during the Christmas holidays- (aka a honey & spice cookie) a recipe can be found here and here.  Phew!, case closed.

Cookie Exchange

I hosted a cookie exchange at my apartment on the weekend with a couple other Prague based bloggers.  It was a fun way to spend an early evening, sampling each others cookies, indulging on sugar(too much sugar), swapping ingredient “war stories,”about how difficult it was to find a particular ingredient in the city and of course drinking tea to cut the sugar!

I tried out two cookie recipes from Country Living magazine: A chocolate crinkle cookie (they call them double chocolate snowquake cookies) where I added chocolate chips and chocolate covered sunflower seeds.  I also baked a sugar cookie, that was meant to be a jam thumbprint cookie, but for some reason, the cookie dough was a bit dry and would not form a thumbprint for jam without falling apart.  After a bit of improvisation, it became a one-bite sugar cookie that dunked well in tea. I loved the chocolate crinkle cookie recipe and would use it again.  The cookies from this recipe had a rich and intense flavour.    On the non-cookie side, I made babaganoush, cut up veggies and made an apple and plum crisp (just in case people were still hungry after the cookies).

From my guests, we got to sample an oatmeal, white chocolate, cranberry pecan cookie, a pecan butter cookie, a ginger molasses cookie and a chocolate mouthfuls cookie. I think everyone had a nice time, especially since we each got to expand our network and meet a new person living in Prague.  Thank you again to all three bloggers: CzechingIn, Agog in Prague, and PeggyHarowitz.

Xmas Market: Stollen Fest Dresden

This past weekend, my fiance and I drove to Dresden, Germany to attend the 18th annual Stollen Festival and walk around the city’s Christmas market.  Apparently thousands of people attend Dresden’s Stollen Festival every year in search of a slice of Dresden’s famed Stollen, a Christmas cakey-bread like loaf that dates back to the Middle Ages.  The crowds were certainly out this year as we shuffled along, shoulder to shoulder with our fellow stollen seekers.  During our afternoon of sweet yeast bread, topped with icing, we sampled several types of stollen including one with raisins, one with candied orange and lemon peel, marzipan and poppy seeds and one that tasted rather alcoholic.  We attempted to purchase a slice to bring back with us to Prague but to our dismay, the bakery booths only sold stollen by the pound (1, 2, 5 +) which was 15 slices too much for us; so we just stuck to the free samples.

One of the main attractions of Stollen Fest is their yearly competition that involves baking a large Stollen for the parade.  In 2007, apparently the bakers baked a stollen that was 4.2 kg which beat the original Guinness Book of World Records entry.  Outside of sampling stollen, it is fun to walk around the packed laneways filled with food, regional delicacies, holiday smells, and gifts. We sampled a waffle with apfelmousse (aka apple sauce), doughnut bits dusted with white sugar, my fiance had a Bratwurst and we shared some candied nuts and an Alpine Sprizz (Aperol + mulled wine, which was not my favourite taste).  While we would not rush back for a yearly pilgrimage, we were happy we had the chance to experience the hype behind Stollen fest.  If you are looking for a couple good stollen recipes to try out, there is one here, and here.

European Vegetarian Hotspots

As the count down to the holiday season begins, I find myself craving vegetables more and more.  I think my body knows it needs greens, like part of some sort of pre-holiday-season detox before the impending sugar high of December.  It is certainly not impossible to find vegetarian, organic or vegan food while dining out in Europe, but after travelling with a vegetarian, not to mention my own preference toward a low-meat regime, I will say this: certain countries and cities do it better than others.  Two restaurants that I think should receive attention for their cool vegetarian/vegan concepts that should expand their brand and concept around the continent are:  Juicebar from Milan and Mangolds from Graz.

Originating from two countries that tend to be more meat and carb heavy than vegetable focused in its cuisine, both Juicebar and Mangolds offer veggie-craving customers, fresh, healthy vegetarian and/or vegan options but in two very different ways.

Juicebar is more like a fast food concept and reminds me of a place I used to frequent in Hong Kong (whose name escapes me right now) that was part cafe part fast food, and focused on healthy, vegetarian take away items, and snacks.  At Juicebar in Milan, I had a super juice, a salad with tuna and barley and grabbed a pack of dried fruit and nuts for the road.

via Juicebar

Mangolds on the other hand is like Ikea, meets Whole Foods, mixed with some great typography and branding in a smaller scale format.  I found Mangolds while staying over in Graz because the carpark for Hotel Wiesler was conveniently located across the street from the cafe.  Mangolds is a self-serve salad bar with plates and take away containers where food is charged by weight, with a couple of food stations as well as a coffee bar and desserts.  It is a full sit down restaurant, with a play area for kids, a mini retail section and changing tables for babies in the men’s and women’s washroom (I know this because my male friend confirmed it for me).  The interior is Scandinavian minimalist, with soft lighting, whites and neutrals and light wood.

via Mangolds

vegan pistachio cherry cake

While travelling, I am perpetually on the hunt for interesting retail and restaurant concepts to blog about.  When these concepts happen to be vegetarian or highlight healthy, local, organic or vegetarian food, that is a double bonus for me!

Christmas Market: Linz, Austria

I just returned from a five-day road trip with my fiance and two good friends from Toronto.  We drove from Prague down to Rovinj, Croatia with stops in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Trieste, Italy and Graz and Linz in Austria.  This past weekend marked the start of Advent, the four weeks leading up to Christmas.  Advent in Europe means that Christmas markets are in full swing.  For a European, globe-trotting, pastry loving, person like me, the Advent season, is a blogger’s heaven.  Originating in Germany and Austria, Christmas markets have been adopted by countries all over the continent and are great places for tasting and drinking local specialties and catching a glimpse of local crafts.

This week, en route back to Prague, my entourage and I made a stop in Linz, Austria and spent the morning wandering around the city’s Christmas market in the main square.    On the food side, it was easy to find great Gluhwein, Kartoffel (potato pancakes), Lebkuchen (a German Christmas cookie similar to gingerbread), spiced nuts, Bratwurst and Bauernkrapfen (Austrian/Hungarian yeast doughnuts).   I sampled a spicy, classic, Gluhwein (hot mulled wine) made with red wine, spices and rum, a hot, fried bauernkrapfen with apricot jam and icing sugar, a cookie that was part macaroon and part chocolate mouse with a ginger bottom as well as a marzipan “cigar” dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut.

Of course the most important part of our visit to Linz, was the sampling of Linzer Tort, the oldest cake in the world! We decided to sample this delicacy at Konditorei Jindrak , a bakery that has been in operation since 1929 and is known for its Linzer Torte.   Konditorei Jindrak makes 80,000 of these cakes a year, 79,999 more Linzer Torte than anyone needs to consume in their lifetime, but all jokes aside, their Linzer Tort was delicious.  One of my friends who was travelling with me thought the cake was called the Windsor Tort and was campaigning for a re-name, which I thought was cute.  If you are interested in trying to make your own Linzer Torte and sample the oldest cake in the world, here is an Epicurious version and a recipe from a German recipe site.

The assortment at Konditorei Jindrak

Places to Eat: Florence

Have you ever had a meal that immediately stands out from the rest that will go down in your books as your top five, all time meals?  I had that experience in Florence a couple of weeks ago when I went to ZEB.  ZEB is a small restaurant, kitchen and deli/shop located outside the historic centre of Florence.  We showed up twice and finally got seated the second time for a late lunch. It’s a hot culinary spot in the city with counter-seating only.  For lunch we ordered two glasses of wine, a big bottle of mineral water, two heaping plates of the most delicious pasta I have ever tasted, an espresso and a mille-feuille for dessert, all for 30 Euro.   We left stuffed, satisfied and dreaming of the next time we would return to this gem.  I am convinced I would drive back to Florence simply to taste another plate of tagliatelle drenched in olive oil, topped with thyme, parmesan and shaved white truffles.

via tripadvisor

via tripadvisor

via tripadvisor

Another interesting spot that I discovered in Florence that is blog-worthy material is the Stickhouse.  The Stickhouse makes handcrafted gelato on a stick, aka popsicles, in a variety of different flavours using 100% natural ingredients.  While walking down the touristy road that leads to the Ponte Vecchio, I noticed a tiny, flourescent green retail shop with a display full of beautifully merchandised, gleaming popsicles, neatly displayed and ready to eat.  Over the four days I spent in Florence, I sampled Stickhouse’s frutti di bosco, coconut and strawberry popsicles and they were fabulous.  They were even great to eat in freezing cold, rainy weather.  I can only imagine how refreshing they would taste if it was sunny and warm.  For chocolate lovers, they also make chocolate dipped popsicles that looked awesome (next time & see below).  This is a smart concept that has been expanding around Europe and the Middle East with locations in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, Indonesia and the Philipines.  I recall reading  in the New York times

via dipuggo

via red suitcase

via dolcesalatoweb