Things that give Pleasure. October.

It is Sunday and I’m listening to the new album of Leonard Cohen, who ups the ante with 82 years. I find it impressive, at this age to be still so at the pulse of the creation, and inspiring anyway, and somehow gently reassuring to know that it is possible. For more about his moving life and also about the struggle for a good song and what connects him with Bob Dylan, read on here. Also worth listening to is this conversation with Adam Cohen, who is not only his son, but has also produced the new album.

Another Grand Seigneur is being featured in an Austrian magazine for food and drink culture (try google translate), which is one of my recent discoveries. One who has shaped the German bar culture like no other and shares his thoughts on the development of gastronomy, cooking and good taste. Favorite quote (of a quotation): “Less is more with us, that’s right. But too little is just too little.” He stands for style-consciousness and a clear attitude. As part of the Berlin Bar Convent, I met him for the first time and can say that everything is right, and he’s very kind on top of it.

For weeks now has been bubbling on my stove a souvenir from our holiday in the Swiss mountains. Originally bought mainly because of the beautiful packaging, the Bramata Grischuna turned out to be much more aromatic than the polenta known to me. This is mainly due to the coarse and irregular grinding of the corn kernels. For inspiration here a recipe, which leads to my second magazine tip, that comes from the pen of a young and knowledgeable team from Zurich.

Especially charming in the Graubünden region (not to mention the view), I found the charming little farm shops, which can be found in all the villages, where around the clock there is all the farm goodness self-served from refrigerators and freezers. In our village there were four different ones!
To me souevnirs from foreign places (for the most part consumable) is like salt in the soup, and so next to Bramata, cheese and Engadin Nut Torte from the farm shops also this warming ointment and this immersive tea went in our suitcases.

And if you like to travel by train, this is the one to take between Chur and St.Moritz. Time trip deluxe. And fine wine is being served, too.

Another Austrian-German reading or even picture book recommendation, because really there can not so much be cooked of the dishes because the products are so regional. The design is pretty spectacular though. And there is an extraordinary love of taste, nature and eating that comes from the recipes of the still very young chef, Harald Irka.

I would like to end this truly mountain loving october list with another Schumann quotation, which is so wonderful to the point, why there are such and such gastronomy places, and what distinguishes the one from the other: “Sometimes we are super fine, but we are never very bad. And that is the point.”

Have a super fine sunday!