un repas avec notre voisine

Sundays are becoming an excuse for me to get into Italian Mamma mode and cook as many things as possible. What does a chef do on her day off? Faire la cuisine, bien sur. My neighbor recently returned from her summer holiday in Germany, and it was a perfect excuse to have her over for some food and wine. She came bearing the gift of cheese which makes her perfect in my book. This was no ordinary fromage. It was Gouda from Gouda and it arrived studded with whole cumin seeds.

This was actually the second gift. A week before we received some traditional German Fare--Lindt Pralines Hochfein, Kartoffel Knodel Botato and Jager Sauce. All that remains of the chocolate is one marzipan piece. The last 2 are packaged and labeled in every language but English and French. The only German word I recognize is mit. I suppose that doesn't help me out too much. Did I mention that my neighbor and her husband are both linguist professors?
I was instructed to soak the packets in cold water for 15 minutes, cook them for 2 minutes and allow them to cool. It certainly seemed simple enough. The result tasted similar to the ramen you made in your college dormroom. Depending on who you are this could be a good or bad thing. I am tempted to send a box to Karen and see if she can sass it up.