Perfect German Potato Salad

Hello, October! Time for some beer and brats for the German Immigrant doll maker. Oh well, the brats in this nation are not my thing. To my German tastebuds they are either too salty, or too dry, or too fatty.  Please, if you do find a good bratwurst point me the right way. I have tried and tried. I sampled about every kind of sausage from the regular grocery store to the high end whole food stores in a 100 mile radius. In my opinion there are no good sausages in Colorado. How come?

So I'll stick with the beer and some homemade good old German Potato salad. I think it's about high time I share my mom's secret recipe. Who the heck had the idea to put Mayonaise in a potato salad? Not only is it bad for you health it is wrong - just wrong!

We harvested 15 pounds of potatoes from our community garden patch. What better thing to do than make a salad from them? Right from the ground they went into our tummy.

What you need for this recipe are the following ingredients:

1-2 pounds boiled potatoes, with the skin left on if they are new
1/3 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, crushed in garlic press or cut up finely
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
chives

3-4 sliced radishes
2 tomatoes sliced into wedges
1 sliced hard boiled egg (optional)

Scrub the potatoes and boil them whole or cut into evenly sized chunks. Cover with water and put in a pinch of salt. Boil for 15-20 minutes until tender when stabbed with a fork.
While the potatoes are boiling prepare the dressing. Mix broth, vinegar, salt, pepper, crushed garlic, and vegetable oil.


After the potatoes have drained, add them still warm to your dressing and toss it.


Is this a transformer, fertility god, or a really a potato?

All the other ingredients are optional. My husband swears the radishes are not. They add a little zing. Our daughter loves the chopped eggs. Our son is a great fan of chives. So everybody is happy.

It had been a while since I made this dish. When I do I miss my mom intensely...Thank you Mama for teaching me to make the perfect German Potato Salad!

Stocking up for the Holidays

I am sorry to say that I have not spent much time on my Blog lately. My time has been consumed with planning and meetings for my new website. It was supposed to be launched September 1. But the date keeps getting pushed back. I am getting a bit weary and frustrated. But all good things take a while. It's true for dolls and hopefully true for websites.

Whenever I have had a bit of downtime I have been working on small things such as doll clothes and little dolls for the shop. It's common knowledge that children like to find doll clothes hidden in their Christmas stockings or hanging from a Christmas tree maybe. Small dolls are a big hit every Christmas too. So no worries, Santa! Ther German elf is busting her chops to get things ready for you.

Pink Waldorf Angel

waldorf angel pink 1 copy, originally uploaded by germandolls.

This is such a cutie. I think everybody needs angel like that to watch over them...

5 Pastel Pocket Dolls

I finished this cute set of 5 pocket dolls in the wee morning hours before going to church today. I know it's Sunday and one should really rest. But my hands can never be still and must create every day. Just like breathing.

I love getting up early. I usually rise around 4 am. How about you? Are you an early riser.

 

The only problem is I get really tired around 2PM and need a nap. Not these little guys. They are all ready to play. What a happy blue-eyed bunch they are.

Hair like a Dream

candy outdoors 2, originally uploaded by germandolls.

I think her hair is lovely. It's the most beautiful yarn I have ever had the privilege to put on a doll.

Candycorn Yarn

Oh my! I received this most amazing beautiful handspun yarn in the mail the other day. I love the colors so much. It looks like the mountains in Colorado when they start changing colors. Have you ever experienced the intense golden yellows of aspen trees? Every leaf looks like a shiny golden coin. The bright oranges and browns are gorgeous, too.

 I swear my friend Anna who created the yarn does magic with colors. I hope you visit her shop and snatch up some of that beautiful yarn of hers.

Thanks so much, Anna! I adore everything you do.

Of course, I had to make a doll with it. My hands were itching all week to make a fall girl sporting this fancy yarn. Oh, she turned out so sweet. I want to keep her to myself...I will share some photos later today.

Field of Dreams

Last night we watched the movie Field of Dreams with the family. It's a rather old movie from 1989. I have been wanting to see it for many years, hearing people use references from it in different places on many occasions. Now I know why...

Field of Dreams is the story of a 36-year-old Iowa farmer named Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) who keeps hearing voices telling him "to build it." Build what? It takes him a while to figure it out. The voice is asking him to build a baseball field. Everybody thinks he is totally nuts. Especially the other farmers. But once he builds the baseball field, dead baseball players from the past start appearing and playing baseball in his field. It is a magical field. Only certain people can see it. Only the people who are believers can see it.

Ha, I love it. I won't get into the rest of the story. If you have not seen this movie you should definitely rent it. It was so perfect for me to see at this time and place in my life.  I think this movie is about lost chances and giving up on dreams. Often people have to give up on their dreams because of circumstances - lack of money, skill, opportunity. Ray's father had to give up on his dream of being a baseball player because he had to support his family. Ray's whole life is overshadowed by the fact that he never made peace with his dad after a fight.

What do we make of our dreams in life? How do we find our true calling? I often feel like Ray when it comes to my art and my little doll business. My "field of dreams" is to make a living doing what I love best. The problem is that many people around me don't see it or understand it. Some flatout think it's nuts. How do you keep your dreams alive against all odds?

I keep hearing this little voice in my head. If you keep making art,  they will come and buy it from you. I will be able to make a decent living as an artist some day, right?

Just got to keep believing in your dreams.

What are your dreams? Have you found your true calling? If not, I hope you are surrounded by a family who loves and supports you no matter how crazy and farout your dreams seem...