Dentists and dumplings
Yet another journal entry swallowed by the black hole that is my computer. I was at the dentist yesterday, finally got up the courage to make an appointment. Ever since I had my first cavity and the Austrian dentist filling it without anesthetic (costs extra and you have to know to ask for it pretty damn quick before that drill is already in your tooth), I've been petrified of going. Say what you will about health care in America, but our standards of dental care are incredibly high. At my American dentist in O'fallon, I would come in twice a year. They'd do x-rays, carefully clean, scrape, floss, polish and fluoridize my teeth, check for cavities and send me home with a new toothbrush. Here, you get x-rays and a quick visual check by the dentist. No cleaning (costs around €80 extra, isn't paid for by insurance). No toothbrush. No fluoridization (have never even seen this offered anywhere). No nothing. It's very disappointing, to be honest.
Our dentist here in Linz is refreshingly aware though of how far Austrian dentistry lags behind the world standard. The first time I went, he was falling all over himself to tell me not to worry, that he knows Austrian dentists are mostly stuck in the dark ages, but that they do things more progressively at his office (like offer you the anesthetic before they start drilling). I must have particularly sexy teeth, too. Every time I'm there he piles on the compliments about how refreshing it is to see someone who has such nice teeth and who takes such good care of them. I mean, when you consider the alternative, I think there's a pretty good incentive to brush and floss, but apparently I'm in the minority.
Remember how I talked about dumplings being a staple here? Here's a recipe for sweet dumplings. You can make them with plums or even cherries or strawberries, but the most popular fruit to use is apricots.
For two people, you'll need:
- 6-7 apricots, washed and dried
- 1 package of cream cheese
- 1 egg
- pinch of salt
- 1 - 2 cups of flour
- bread or graham cracker crumbs
- 2-3 tablespoons of sugar
- cinnamon
- 2-3 tablespoons of butter
Blend cream cheese, egg and salt in a mixer until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, blend in a little flour at a time until managable enough to turn out onto the counter and work by hand. Keep adding flour a little bit at a time until the dough is still very soft, but not unmanagably sticky (hint: it will always be somewhat sticky). Roll into a cylinder and cut into equal pieces according to however many apricots you have. One at a time, use your fingers to squash each piece flat on the counter (use plenty of flour to keep it from sticking). Then lay the dough on one hand, place an apricot in the center, and wrap the dough around until it's completely covered (use flour and work fast, the warmth of your hands will make the dough stickier). Make sure the dough doesn't have any cracks anywhere and that the edges are completely sealed.
When you've finished all the dumplings, carefully drop them one by one into boiling salted water. Stir very gently at first and carefully pry up any that stick to the bottom of the pot, which they will until the dough forms a skin. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the dumplings are floating. You can leave them in the hot water to keep warm when they are done, just remove them from the heat.
In the meantime, heat the butter in a pan and add the crumbs and sugar, browning until, well, brown! If you have a quality pan, the crumbs will continue to brown for a bit after you remove them from the heat, so keep an eye on them until the pan cools a little. Add cinnamon if you like cinnamon.
When the dumplings are ready, lift them out of the water one by one and roll in the crumbs. Serve immediately.