Midsummer Issue 2023

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COOKING WITH SCRATCH © Tasting Home by BARBARA SIMMONS Photo by KAREN FUCITO We just flew back from Amsterdam and, boy, are our arms tired. I know, corny. It’s good to be home, though, and great to come home to the Lake Hopatcong News issue that my daughter, Erika, and daughter-in-law, Brittney, wrote while we were away. Hope you enjoyed it. I’ll have to ask them to help out again! In June, my husband, Aaron, and I went on a river cruise from Budapest, Hungary, to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. We had an opportunity to visit with my family when we were in the Rheingau (the Rhine District) near where my mother was born. It had been almost eight years since we had been in Germany and the relatives hadn’t been to see us in New Jersey since just before COVID, so we were overdue for a visit. We were so anxious to meet the new babies, see as many cousins as possible, eat the local foods and drink the wonderful wines. It had been too long. Our two days in Hessen did not disappoint. We spent a day and a night with my cousin, Sigrid Pfeffer, in Frankfurt and another day and night with cousin Andreas Vahl, and his wife, Jutta, in Wiesbaden. Now, when I say cousins, I am referring to Left: König-Adolf- Platz in Idstein. The author with her cousin, Sigrid Pfeffer. (Photos courtesy of Barbara Simmons.) descendants of the 26 cousins my grandmother had. I’m not that wellversed in genealogy to give specific gradations of relationships, but my mother kept close ties to all of her mother’s relative’s families and I do my best to do so, too. It’s just easier for me to call them all cousins. We spent a beautiful summer day with Sigrid in her hometown of Idstein, which is an absolute hidden gem. The half-timber houses painted in gay colors were so charming and lovingly restored. A rose garden was the highlight at a castle that is now used as the local high school. So gorgeous! We were smitten. We returned to Frankfurt to spend the night at Sigrid’s apartment, but not before stopping in a real local joint, zur Stahlburg, for some authentic fare. Aaron ordered a grilled wurst, Sigrid had Königsberger Klopse (featured in Vol. 14 No. 3) and I had pork schnitzel with the famous Frankfurter Grüne Sosse or green sauce. After tasting it, I knew it was going to be the recipe I would bring home for my next column, as requested by my editor, Karen Fucito. I also enjoyed a couple of glasses of the local Ebbelwoi (apple wine), like the one my father used to make in our basement at our house on Lake Hopatcong. The sauce, which is so tasty, features seven different herbs, yogurt and sour cream. Sigrid told me that you can buy these fresh herbs pre-packaged in supermarkets or—for those among us with a green thumb—grow them in your own garden. She made a point of bringing us to the Frankfurt Kleinmarkthalle (little market hall) the next morning to buy packets of seeds for me to grow the herbs at home. We tearfully left Sigrid the next morning and boarded a train to Wiesbaden, my mother’s hometown, where Jutta picked us up at the station. At her house, which has been our home base for the last several visits, was Jutta’s daughter, Ann Christin, who had come down from Hamburg with her 4-month-old, Carlotta. We were delighted to meet the newest “cousin.” We had dinner at another great local place, Zum Hirsch, where we enjoyed delicious super crispy roast chicken, an assortment of wursts and steak tartare. And more apple wine. Cousin Ronald Neugebauer met us there on his bike. Afterwards we went up Neroberg, a hill overlooking Wiesbaden, and enjoyed a couple of bottles of delicious Kloster Eberbach riesling at the Chateau Nero as the sun set over the city. Breakfast the next morning with Andreas, Jutta, Ann Christin and Carlotta featured their usual epic assortment of things to have with spectacular fresh rolls from the corner bakery. The table was loaded with dishes of cheeses, cold cuts of every type, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, quark, steak tartare, tuna salad, three or four different jellies, jams and fruit salad. Breakfast at the Vahls’ is worth the trip alone. Sadly, we had to leave that morning, and we packed our bags to go and meet our ship. It was too short, as it always seems to be. We left with promises to see each other again soon. 36 LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS <strong>Midsummer</strong> <strong>2023</strong>
Grüne Sosse (or in the Hessisch dialect, Grie Soss) “Green Sauce” Since I didn’t have enough time to grow the herbs I needed to make an authentic version of this sauce, I went to my go-to source for unique plants: the Well-Sweep Herb Farm in Port Murray, New Jersey. If you’re looking for a hard-to-find herb, perennial flowers or a destination for a Sunday drive, I highly recommend this beautiful family farm in the mountains of Warren County. It boasts beautiful perennial, medicinal and decorative gardens, picnic areas, noisy but beautiful chickens and a barn with lamb and sheep. Their shop also has a huge assortment of dried flowers, essential oils and wreaths and there are craft workshops offered nearly every weekend. I called ahead to see if the herbs I needed were available. They were, so Aaron and I immediately set out to go and pick them up at the farm. You know how I love to go on cooking expeditions! The herbs were a bit on the expensive side but several of them are perennial and I can look forward to harvesting them again next year. I had flat-leaf parsley in my garden already and was able to find watercress at a local supermarket. Below, I offer some substitutions. The sauce can be tweaked to your liking by adding more of any of the herbs listed. I would, however, avoid herbs like cilantro, rosemary and basil, as they will significantly throw off the flavor profile of the sauce. Ingredients ¼ cup (25 grams each) of the classic 7 herbs: • parsley • chives – substitute 1 or 2 scallions • borage – substitute a 2-inch piece of peeled, seeded cucumber • chervil – not much flavor; feel free to omit • sorrel – substitute the grated zest of half a lemon or ¼ cup sliced fresh rhubarb • salad burnet – substitute with arugula • watercress 2/3 cup sour cream 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 tablespoon oil 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons German or Dijon mustard 1½ teaspoons salt, or to taste Pepper to taste 2/3 cup Greek yogurt (5% milkfat) Procedure In a blender or food processor, add the herbs, sour cream, mayonnaise, oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper. Blend until the sauce turns a vivid green. Scrape the sauce into a bowl and gently whisk in the Greek yogurt. Garnish with a few sprigs of the herbs that you used. Grüne Sosse is often served with boiled potatoes and hard-cooked eggs. In Frankfurt, I had it with breaded, fried pork schnitzel. For the photo shoot for this recipe, I made a breaded chicken breast. You could serve it as a dip with raw veggies and bread sticks, too. Locally Sourced Dinner HOSTED AT AUGUST 16 FOUR COURSE DINNER EVENT ONE SEATING AT 7:00PM $70 PER PERSON WITH WINE PAIRING OPTION $85 SCAN THE QR CODE BELOW TO MAKE RESERVATIONS visit our website for more information WWW.HAWKRIDGEFARMNJ.COM HAWKRIDGEFARMNJ lakehopatcongnews.com 37
Page 1 and 2: INFORMING, SERVING AND CELEBRATING
Page 4 and 5: From the Editor While Marty Kane gi
Page 6 and 7: SUMMER CLEANING • MULTI SERVICE D
Page 8 and 9: Hundreds Take Part in a Salute to B
Page 10 and 11: THERE’S MORE FUN BELOW DECK SUMME
Page 12 and 13: Suit and Mai Tai Sets Sail with Fam
Page 14 and 15: KathySellsLakeHomes.com Top Produce
Page 16 and 17: THANK YOU! TO ALL 2023 LHYC FIREWOR
Page 18 and 19: Hopatcong Adds Revenue to Tax Book
Page 20 and 21: New Program Offers Peace of Mind fo
Page 22 and 23: Residents Help Preserve Monarch B S
Page 24 and 25: Become a part of the lake’s histo
Page 26 and 27: Georgia PD Looking For a Few Good M
Page 28 and 29: Seniors of the Year Chosen in Hopat
Page 30 and 31: Hundreds Get Front Row Seats for An
Page 32 and 33: 2023 JERSEY WAKEOFF AUGUST 12, 2023
Page 34 and 35: 34 HISTORY During the first decades
Page 38 and 39: WORDS OF A FEATHER Story and photos
Page 40 and 41: Lake Hopatcong... A fine food and f
Page 42 and 43: directory CONSTRUCTION/ EXCAVATION

Midsummer Issue 2023

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