A November's Serenade

My inspirations for the dishes have never come from sitting at the desk, staring at the cornucopia of dish photos that have filled the internet browser, or browsing through the recipe books. Rather, when I find myself trekking through the grassland on the sides of the riverbanks or simply jogging through the park do I find myself most rejuvenated with ideas. This past winter, during my stay in Munich, I was invited to cook a few dishes for some special guests on one Wednesday evening. Before the arrival of the week, I had not yet the slightest idea on what to prepare and cook. It was not long after traversing through the Olympic Park situated close to Oberwiesendfeld and the riverbanks by Eichenau in Munich that I had decided on the dishes. The local scenery was steaming with ideas as the fresh produce of sweet corns, cauliflower and a wild range of mushrooms were busy being displayed in the farmer's market stalls. I had the chance to pick the fresh nasturtium leaves, rapeseed flowers, Kale, and wood sorrel in the wild and in the gardens. There were a total of eight dishes on the menu, employing the most local ingredients and fresh flowers picked from the countryside. They were:

• Yogurt, mint, pine juice with Lumpfisch roes
• Trio of snacks of carrot and orange jerky on a twig
• Mussel with picked currant in its own juice
• Kale leaf with trout roe and sweet yam balls
• Corn and ricotta cake with snappy corn and beetroot chips
• Salad medley of pickled vegetables with pickling juice vinaigrette
• Beef schnitzel dipped in plum puree, with raw and cooked shiitake mushrooms and rapeseed puree
• No-flour chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream, seasonal fruits and cream anglaise