Schrebergaertli

I wouldn't know how to translate this correctly into english, but a 'Schrebergaertli' basically is a community of little cottages, each with its own garden for cultivating vegetables, salads, fruits and such.

Today we've visited Signora Nicoletta, who's been growing her own vegetables and fruits with great success for years already in her own little cottage in the 'Schrebergaertli'. She seems to have a perfect green thumb as everything she plants seems to grow beautifully!

By the way, having your own little cottage in a community like this is quite cheap. The rent per year is around US $ 150/year. Cheap rent, yes, but you're not allowed to sleep there overnight!

It was a joy, watching Signora Nicoletta, originally from Italy by the way, being active in her garden, filling bags and bags with fresh salads, onions, herbs and fruits.


Signora Nicoletta picking a few cucumbers.











Watering the tomato plants.












Cutting different kinds of salads.












A handful of green lettuce.












Preparing the soil for new baby salads.











In Signora Nicoletta's garden you'll also find eggplants...











... grapes ...












... all kinds of berries, and much more.











We left there with bags and bags full of fresh herbs, salads, vegetables and berries.










The dwarf is sitting there on the soil watching that everything grows well, isn't he?












A few recipes with all that green stuff


Green leaf salad

Ingredients:

any salad you like (preferrably organic)
balsamic vinegar
red wine vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
fresh herbs (for example parsley)


Instructions:

There's not much to describe about making a simple green leaf salad. For certain types of leaves that are a bit more bitter than others, I like to make a stronger dressing by using more balsamic vinegar while I rather use a white wine or even apple cider vinegar for more subtle leaves like butter lattice.

I'm personally more into simple italian style dressings with just those few ingredients, but you certainly could add some mustard, cream or even soy sauce. Just try to not confuse the tastes by adding too many ingredients into the same dressing. Be creative!



Cucumber salad

Ingredients:

cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
sour cream
vegetable oil
white wine or apple cider vinegar
fresh or dried dill
sald and pepper to taste


Instructions:

A cucumber salad is a nice and refreshing salad that is best served a little bit chilled. Dill goes very well with it. If you don't have fresh dill, the dried one works as well. There's a seasoning by Knorr called 'Aromat' that I also like to add into the dressing. Again, taste your dressing and add to taste.






Pasta with fresh herbs

Ingredients:

pasta of your choice
lots of herbs (I used basil and celery leaves)
extra virgin olive oil
fresh garlic clove, crushed
fresh yellow onion, chopped
red chili (if you like it spicy)
lots of freshly ground parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste


Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and chili and sauté over low heat for 10-15 minutes without burning the garlic!

In the meantime, cook your pasta in boiling, salted water al dente. Right before the pasta is ready, add all the herbs into the skillet and mix. I also like to put the drained pasta directly into the skillet to mix it well with the sauce. You really need to use a lot of herbs. I'm still surprised how much that mountain of herbs shrinks down when heated up!

Season with more salt and pepper to taste, serve, and sprinkle with lots of parmesan cheese. If you're pasta is a bit dry, add more olive oil.

With a simple dressing like this, it is even more crucial to use only the best and freshest ingredients. The herbs I had from Signora Nicoletta were so strong in taste and made for a great pasta sauce.



Rucola Risotto

Ingredients:

lots of rucola (arugula, rocket)
for risotto ingredients click here
lots of freshly ground parmesan cheese
a nice piece of meat goes well on top, I used a swiss horse steak


Instructions:

For the basic risotto instructions, please check here on my previous post.

Before starting the risotto, sauté your meat (horse or beef tenderloin) over high heat on both sides until nicely browned, but keep it raw inside. Season well with freshly ground salt and pepper. Wrap it into aluminum foil and put it into a low temperature oven (80 C. or about 175 F.)

Prepare your risotto. After about 10 minutes, add the ground parmesan cheese. Once the rice is almost ready, add the rucola and stir well. Arrange the rice on the plates. Remove the meat from the oven and arrange on top of the rice.



Vanilla ice cream with fresh berries

Always a favorite! Vanilla ice cream with berries of your choice! The berries could also be heated up a bit, or you could add a shot of liquor like cointreau.

Here are some other ideas:

Coffee with vanilla ice cream

Vanilla ice cream with grand marnier oranges