Meme: 7 Random Things about Me

Nora from Life's Smorgasbord has tagged me for my first meme ever: I am to tell 7 random things about me - that she doesn't know already. That's a hard one... I thought and thought and thought - and could only come up with food-related things. I wonder why...

1. I have already mentioned how much I love semolina pudding. And I always had a particular notion about how a proper semolina pudding should be like. One time on a holiday, (I was so small back then that I don't remember the following story but my parents take great delight in telling it over and over again..;-) my parents ordered my beloved pudding. The friendly staff of the nice restaurant not only cooked something that was for sure not part of the menu - but they also put a smiling face on it (using chocolate, nuts or something like that). However, this wasn't the semolina pudding I was used to. Therefore, I refused to eat it until they removed the face. You wouldn't call that stubborn, would you?

2. I still remember my first words in English: "One piece of Canadian Bacon, please!" I was 12 years old and spent the summer vacation with my family in the US - it was the first time for me to be outside of Europe. Pretty exciting. However, my English lessons were to start right after the vacation (having started with Latin first) so communication was only possible in a non-verbal way. After having had pizza for lunch in some city along the east coast I still felt hungry and I felt courageous. So back I went to the pizza stall and repeated what I had learned by heart: "One piece of Canadian Bacon, please!" I didn't understand what each word meant but it worked nonetheless. I was sooo proud of my achievement...

3. I've always been quite hopeless with mental arithmetic. So my mum thought that's got to change and tried to train me while simultanously showing me how to bake. It would go like that: "For this recipe you need 375g of flour. If you want to make one and a half times this recipe, how much flour will you need?" Well, what shall I say, I'm still pretty bad with mental arithmetic...

4. My most exhausting cooking adventure happened during a camping trip with my former scouts club (yes, I was a proud member of our local scouts club!). Together with a friend, I was cooking for up to 25 11-14 year-olds. Imagine a makeshift hearth with four wooden beams rammed into the earth supporting two sturdy metal grids: one as a stove top and one for the wood to burn. Each day, with some help from little pyromaniacs, we started a real hell fire. To stand the heat you had to wear sturdy gloves like the ones construction workers have. And when wearing shorts you were in danger to get all the little hair burnt off your legs... One day, we got a bit over-confident and made Kaiserschmarrn from scratch. It took forever - but the kids loved it!

5. One of the most terrible things to try is yak butter tea. Last year, on a hiking trip through Tibet, we ordered a flask in a guesthouse. While secretly being watched by the locals, the men of our party managed to down the stuff. After the first sip, I politely declined. However, I tried it once more: After having reached a pass in 5225 metres altitude, I was pretty stuffed and gladly excepted the bread and the tea cup our local guide handed around. His version was less strong and less buttery - and I was exhausted enough to give it another try. However, I've had my share and will never do it again.

6. Once upon a time, a Black Forest Cake taught me a lesson in humility. It was during my studies and I had promised to make such a cake for my friends. Okay, I did boast just a little bit that my Black Forest Cake was the best ever, for sure. Little did I know that this was to be the first one I would ruin. To make the cream filling extra-tasty, I had added a bit too much kirsch. Therefore, the cream didn't seem to get stiff at all. I kept on beating and beating - until the cream had almost turned into butter. My friends teased me mercilessly - not that I didn't deserve it...

7. The last one is a little bit embarassing but I have to admit that I secretly love a certain type of instant baby cereal/mush/porridge - there's no real word for that in English. To my defence I have to say that I only like the ones of a certain German brand (and I hate all the other brands). When my sister was little and we had the stuff at home, I always ate it after school as a quick snack. And if it's good for babies, it won't be bad for you either, right? Alas, I can't get it here in Australia and I haven't had it in years but I would eat it without hesitating a second...

PS: I won't tag anyone because it looks like everyone has been asked about it already. However, if you read that and you haven't disclosed 7 random things about yourself yet, go ahead!

PPS: The picture above shows a low-fat banana cake - yes, I was trying to be good. The recipe will be coming soon.