La Gruyère

Last weekend, I got my first taste of the Swiss countryside. And it tasted good. The peaceful village we visited was not too hot or too cold; neither too large nor too small. La Gruyère was just right. 

As our train chugged into the countryside from Lausanne, cities evolved into towns into villages and cows began to outnumber human beings. Ninety minutes and eight hundred (vertical) metres later, we arrived at our first destination: Le Château de Gruyère.

Having spent most of my life in Australia and America, both “baby nations”, flying to Europe was like travelling through a time machine. While locals nonchalantly point to this five-hundred-year-old building and that thousand-year-old cathedral, I marvel, wide-eyed, at history. Firsthand. Not through a television screen, nor on the page of a text book. Walking around Gruyère Castle, I almost expected to see Macbeth standing on the balcony, mid-soliloquy, and to hear J.S. Bach’s music floating through the Baroque-style garden.

La Gruyère is also renowned for its Fantastic Art – a genre that I am a very big fan of. The exhibition at the castle was imagination and creation at its best. The vivid colours and otherworldly creatures wove through the castle like a magic spell, adding to its charm. Simply enchanting.

After lunch, we decided to make the most of the beautiful weather and take a walk through the countryside. Needless to say, it was beautiful. I love being blown away by the little things. Mountains (Australians, you know what I mean). Cows, with big brown spots. The way a railroad curves around a village like in a toy train set... We also made a few new friends. Of the equine variety. They neighed pleasantly in response to our greetings; evidently as multilingual as their Swiss human counterparts.

Next stop: La Maison du Gruyère, fromagerie. A little too commercial for my liking, but still very cheesy. In a good way. I was very impressed by the cheese ‘cave’. Ok, so ‘cave’ translates to ‘cellar’ in English, but it is actually the more appropriate term here. See?

Enough for one day? Not without my chocolate! Ten minutes from La Gruyère, in the little village of Broc is Cailler Chocolate Factory – also known as Nestlé, I’m just a little ashamed of supporting a company infamous for not supporting fair-trade. But I was in Switzerland, standing in front of chocolate heaven... So, I vowed to buy lots of Cadbury once I was back in Australia (huge sacrifice), and in we went.

There was a great tour of the facility – learning the history, seeing the machinery at work, trying cacao beans from around the world, all that jazz – but let’s face it, our minds were only on one thing: chocolate tasting. And it was worth the wait. Cheese isn’t really my thing (don’t look at me like that), but I more than make up for it with chocolate. 

Ok, now I’m eating dark chocolate as I type. But hey, got to get in the blogging mood, right? And I’m sure that’s a technique for good writing!

I am proud to admit that I tried every type of dark chocolate on offer at Cailler, plus quite a few of the milk variety. Truffles, pralines, caramels...nutty, crispy, creamy...
A chocoholic’s dream.  

So, that’s La Gruyère! So sweet. So Swiss.

A Taste of Beauty

I have finally finished my homework, put my washing in the dryer, and made myself a steaming cup of chai tea with honey. Now, where do I begin?

It has been ten days since I landed on Swiss soil. Jet lag? A little. Snow? Not yet. New friends? Many. Chocolate? A lot!

For the first three weeks, I am taking the Cours de Vacances – an intensive winter language course – at the University of Lausanne (more affectionately known as l’Unil). Along with hundreds of other students, young and old, from Brazil to Korea and Russia to South Africa, I am diving beanie-first into the nuances and intricacies of the French language.

Living in a French-speaking environment has its advantages...and also its difficulties. Sure, it’s exhilarating and confidence-boosting to be able to ask for (and comprehend) directions from a policeman in French. And I love leisurely surfing the French channels on TV. But at the same time, asking the cashier to repeat the sum slowly while rummaging through foreign coins doesn’t make me very popular with local customers!

A few things I have already grown to love about Switzerland?

The precision (unsurprisingly). It is not a stereotype; it is a fact. A bus is “late” if it arrives two minutes behind schedule. No need to fear frostbite here! 

The chocolate. It’s true, even the Swiss “Black & Gold” equivalent is better than Cadbury’s...and much cheaper. Great news for my taste buds, but not so good for my weight!

And the signs. On bus stops, in front of shops, by the road, on top of buildings... In fact, my new favourite pastime on the bus and metro is trying to read every sign we pass. No, not simply reading – savouring. Devouring. Rolling the words around on my tongue, tasting the sounds, hearing the colours they create. A delicious melange of senses that swirl together to create this beautiful language. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if I have read these signs aloud once or twice...but that doesn’t bother me much. It would be as if I accidentally began singing out loud, or started dancing in the street. It is simply an expression of joy and an appreciation for beauty. And that could never be a bad thing.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling in the Kitchen

Time for a light-hearted blog, I say... How about another recipe? 

I baked these biscuits for my last birthday. They are fun and easy to make and taste as good as they look. So, whether they are a guilty pleasure or a delicious gift (think cellophane and ribbon), you know you won't be able to resist...    

Honey’s Bumblebee Biscuits

...aka Lemon-Chocolate Pinwheels

(Makes 40)

COLLECTING:

Butter (175g, softened)

Plain Flour (350g)

Caster Sugar (250g)

Egg (1, beaten)

Plain Chocolate (25g, broken into pieces)

Lemon (1, use grated rind)

MAKING:   

1)        In large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy

2)        Gradually add beaten egg to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition

3)        Sift flour into mixture, mix thoroughly until soft dough forms

4)        Transfer half of dough into another bowl. Melt chocolate in heatproof bowl over gently simmering water, beat into one half of dough

5)        Mix grated lemon rind into other half of dough

6)        On lightly floured baking paper, roll out dough to form two equal rectangles

7)        Lay lemon dough on chocolate dough, roll up tightly (lengthwise) using baking paper to guide you. Chill for 1 hour

8)        Preheat oven to 190 ̊ C. Cut roll into 40 slices, bake on foil-covered tray for 10-12 min (or lightly golden). Cool completely before serving (if you can wait that long!)