highly recommended.

It’s Restaurant Week in Vienna and that means we had the luxury of choosing from over 90 participating restaraunts all offering a 3 course dinner for only 25 EUR.  The family chose Kristian’s Monastiri in the 7th district. The restaurant is unique as it’s  housed in what used to be a monastery.  We were seated in the lovely courtyard near the entrance.  The atmosphere was lovely- cozy, romantic and comfortable.  The service was OUTSTANDING.  The kitchen went above and beyond to accomodate the special needs of our group (lactose free for me, a long list of “cant’s” from the bf’s pregnant sister, etc).  Not only were they gracious in accepting our requests but they actually seemed to enjoy the chance to get creative with substiutions.  The food itself was a modern take on Vienesse/fusion cuisine and it was sepctacular!  We drank many a bottle of  “Roter Muskateller” which is actually a very light, white wine.  It was the perfect compliment to all courses of the meal.  I can very highly recommend this restaurant and look forward to dining here again.

apple cinnamon crumb muffins.

One of my favorite ways to brighten an otherwise gloomy and rainy day is to fill the apartment with the smell of something yummy baking.  I tried out a new recipe today and made a few alterations in order to create Apple Cinnamon Crumb Muffins.  They smelled so delicious while baking…even the bf tore himself away from the race to see what I was up to 😉  The good news is they taste just as good as they smell!

Recipe

Muffin batter:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar (1/2 white and 1/2 brown)
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 apples (1 chopped and 1 shredded)

Crumb Topping:

• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda,salt and cinnamon.
3. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla extract. Stir in apples, and gradually blend in the flour mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.
4. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs (I actually just use my hands to make the crumbles, it goes faster than with a knife). Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.
5. Bake about 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to sit 3-5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.
6. Enjoy!

*Note:  All of the ingredients I use are lactose free and I have found that the baking time varies between lactose free and regular ingredients, so please adjust accordingly.  Also, the batter will be soft and resemble a cookie dough batter but dont worry- it should be like that and the muffins will turn out just fine.

froyo in wien!

As an American living in Vienna, I can tell you that while ice cream and gelato options are in no short supply, what I was really missing was frozen yogurt.  The bf’s family and I even toyed around with the idea of opening our own froyo shop but ultimatley decided against it as we werent sure the idea would really catch on here enough to be profitable.  So, imagine my surprise when not one but THREE new frozen yogurt shops have popped up in the last month or so!

Kurt Pure Frozen Yogurt is located in the 1st district right by the Artis International Cinema-  The location is fabulous (probably the best of the 3) and the store itself is super cute.  One of the owners is a woman from San Diego, California and you can definitely see the Cali influence in the interior design.  The bf, my mom (who was in town visiting) and I stopped by last week to check it out.  Unfortunately for me, they do not carry any soy or lactose free options, so I was unable to try anything.  However, both the bf and my mother were very impressed. and said theirs were delish.  The store also offers a nice customer loyalty program.  If you collect enough of the little discs (pictured below on the side of the yogurt cup) you will get a free froyo.

For those that understand German, you can read a more in depth review on a fellow blogger’s site, here.

The other two stores I have heard of are Foxy Frozen Yogurt and YOKUH.  I have yet to visit them but their homepages look promising.  I am hoping for at least one place to have a soy/lactose free option so that I am able to eat some too 🙂

It will be interesting to see how these shops cope with the cold winter months!

Turkey- June 2011

I spent an amazing week in Turkey with the bf and his family.  We stayed at the Robinson Club Pamfilya, an all inclusive resort that was absolutely wonderful.  I’d highly recommend it for anyone traveling as a family with kids.