Sommerfest

Summer is finally here. Gone are the wind chill and rainy days. What better way to celebrate it than to sit in a park, sipping delicious German beer and listening to live music of your choice? That about sums the Stuttgart’s Sommerfest.

The fountains are the fav for an obvious reason.

Everyone wants their share of the cool water.

Angel at the Schlossgarten (Palace’s garden).

walk, stroll, cycle … just be part of the festival.

from classical music…

to mainstream music, almost all types of music are offered.

In front of Königsbau.

Sea of people… view from the top of the aptly named Treppe (steps).

View of Starbucks from the Treppe.

Lighting effects on the palace.

Another view from the top of the Treppe.

Beef Stew

Ingredients:

• 4 stalks of celery (cubed)
• 2 carrots (cubed)
• 2 onions (cubed)
• 5 to 6 brown mushrooms (sliced)
• 400g beef
• mixed herbs
• 1 bottle of beef stock
• salt and pepper to taste
• flour

Cut Mirepoix.

Below are the brown mushrooms used but they can be substituted with the white variety as well.

1) Prepare and cut the vegetables and beef.

2) Marinate the sliced beef with salt and pepper. Use fresh ground pepper for best result.

3) In a pan, brown the beef on both sides. Remove from pan.

4) Lightly brown the onions before adding in the celery, carrots and mushrooms. Add in about 1 tablespoon of flour and stir fry for about 5 minutes before adding in the beef.

5) Pour in the beef stock and reduce the fire to low. Let simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes to 1 hour.

6) Adjust the taste of the beef stew with salt and pepper before serving.

Sweet and Sour Pork

The sweet and sour pork is a simple yet delicious Chinese recipe.

Ingredients:

• 500g of pork belly (fat and skin removed)
• half a cucumber (cubed)
• 1 paprika/capsicum/bell pepper (cubed)
• 1 chili (sliced thinly)
• 1 big onion (cubed)
• 3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 6 to 8 cherry tomatoes or 2 tomatoes (cubed or halved)
• 1 can of pineapple (cubed)
• tomato ketchup
• flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1) Slice the pork belly thinly and marinate generously with salt and pepper. Coat with flour and deep fry till crisp. Set aside.

2) Pour away the excess oil and sautee the onion and chili followed by the garlic. Add in the cucumber and paprika and stir fry for a further 3 minutes.

3) Return the pork in the frying pan and pour in enough tomato ketchup to lightly coat the pork and vegetables.

4) Add in the tomatoes as well as the can of pineapple, sugar water and oyster sauce. Allow to simmer until the sauce becomes thick.

5) Add in salt and pepper to taste and serve.

The pork can be substituted with fish fillet.

Pumpkin Rice

An easy to prepare pumpkin rice recipe. As a rule of thumb, the ratio of pumpkin to rice is 2 to 1.

Ingredients: (for 5 persons)

• 1/2 small pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups of rice
• 1/2 big onion or 2 to 3 shallots
• Salt to taste (about 2/3 teaspoon)

1) Finely chop the onion and pumpkin. Sautee them in a non-stick pan for about 5 minutes. Add in the salt.

2) Wash the rice and add in 1 and 1/2 cups of water into the rice cooker. Rice:Water is 1:1. Add in the sauteed pumpkin and steam the rice.

3) When the rice is cooked, mix the pumpkin and rice thoroughly before serving.

The pumpkin lends a sweet savoury taste and creamy texture to the rice. Goes well with spicy food such as curry.

Christopher Street Day

50+ formations

2000+ gays, lesbians, cross dressers and bisexuals

200 000 people

Those are the numbers of the 10th Christopher Street Day held in Stuttgart last weekend.

Right at the very front of the parade are a pair of guys painted in the colours of the rainbow, signifying the “rainbow” family, a term coined to describe a family in which both parents are of the same sex. And free ad for Diesel too.

Even Cleopatra took part in the masquerade.

Close-up of Cleopatra’s escort.

Jumbo queen.

Her Majesty, the Queen of Noplace.

Tap dance performance.

She loves her shoes so much, she wears them all over.

Golden statues which came alive … and got married.

The placards read “my lesbian teacher gave me courage”, “coming out needs courage” and “have courage to be different”.

Nurse cosplay.

Of Hello Kitty and giant lollipops.

The Samba team in purple.

Red ribbons, the symbol of awareness of AIDS and HIV.

He resembles Byakuya Kuchiki …

Chained …

Gothic princesses.

When the last of the floats passes the end point, it signals the start of the all night party. Keep the beers flowing.

Snapshot of people taking snapshots, while having a great time. Look at the smiles.

Suave.

She was also there to enjoy the parade but she attracts quite a bit of attention to herself.

Dance show after the parade.

And just the way to end the dance show … by proposing to his partner on his knees.

Long Exposure

Photo opportunities doesn’t end when the sun sets. Here are some long exposures i took:

Art Museum Stuttgart (Kunstmuseum), Königsstrasse.

Heidelberg main train station (Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof).

Light trails in front of the Heilbronn main train station (Heilbronn Hauptbahnhof).

Light trails along a highway in Bratislava.

Das Fest

Das Fest – the festival, is the name given to the annual open air concert in Karlsruhe. Like all good things in life, it comes without a price tag. An estimated 400 000 people attended the most recent “das Fest” in Guenter-Klotz-Anlage. Among the highlights are performance by Farin Urlaub Racing Team and Peter Fox.

On the hill, everyone are friends.

No event in Germany is complete without beer – there is even a specially designed beer label – das Bier.

The Guenter-Klotz-Anlage is more fondly known as Mount Grape Klotz due to its small hills.

Hills + Beers + 400 000 people + free concert + limited toilets = chaotic madness. But a great one at that. So, hau weg den Dreck!

Red cooked pork

Here is a recipe for red cooked pork.

Ingredients:

• 500g pork belly, sliced thinly
• 2 potatoes, cut into wedges
• 2 carrots, cubed (optional)
• 1 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cardamon pods
• 4 cloves
• 10 dried chillies (or to taste – can also be omitted)
• brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons light soy sauce, adjust to taste
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 inch ginger, sliced

1) Sprinkle a thin layer of brown sugar onto a non-stick pan. Set the fire to high.

2) Once the sugar begins to caramelize, place the thinly sliced pork belly onto the pan. Let it brown on one side before turning it. Set it aside once it is done.

3) Meanwhile, pan-fry the potato wedges until it is lightly browned. Do not worry about it not being fully cooked.

4) Lightly fry the cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves, cardamon, ginger and dried chillies with extra virgin olive oil in a pot. Add in the pork, potatoes and carrots and fill the pot with just enough water to cover the ingredients.

5) Add in both the light and dark soy sauce and set the stove to low fire. Let it simmer for about one hour.

Make more than enough and keep the rest overnight in the fridge. It will taste better the next day.

Spicy Brinjals

This is a made up recipe, turned out to be quite delicious. =)

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sized brinjals, sliced to 2 inches chunks
• half a carrot, sliced
• 1 stalk of spring onion, sliced to inch size
• 3 – 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 – 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon szechuan pepper
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• light soy sauce to taste
• 1 tablespoon chili sauce

1. Steam the brinjals for 15 minutes in a steamer.
2. Sauté the garlic, spring onion, carrot and szechuan pepper in e.v.o.o and sesame oil for 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add in the steamed brinjals, some water and reduce the heat to medium.
4. Add in the remaining ingredients (soy sauce, chili sauce) and simmer until the water is evaporated.

Glazed pork ribs

Here is a simple recipe for glazed pork ribs.

Serves: 2 starving men

Duration – prep: 40 minutes

- cook: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 600g of pork ribs, chopped
• oil for frying
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 onion, cubed
• 1 stalk of spring onion, sliced
• 1 carrot, cut

Marinate

• 2 tablespoons of Chinese rice wine
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar

Seasoning

• 1 tablespoon chili sauce / 1 to 2 chillies
• 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

1) Cut the ribs about 1 inch in length and marinate them for 30 minutes. Mix together with 2 or 3 tablespoons of flour before frying.

2) Deep fry the ribs until golden brown. When it is done, set the ribs aside and pour away the oil. Leave about one tablespoon of oil.

3) Stir fry the onions, garlic, spring onion and carrot for 1 to 2 minutes. Return the ribs to the non stick pan and pour in the seasoning.

4) Pour in 2 tablespoons of water and stir fry the until the sauce is reduced and appears shiny.

Done.