German stoicism + a recipe

There's been an ad around the city for the past little while that I find to be a wonderful example of German stoicism :) (okay, not necessarily the philosophical kind of stoicism, just the not-being-extremely-showy-with-emotions kind of stoicism). The ad is from the German train system "Deutsche Bahn" and advertises buying a year's worth of train passes and getting two months worth free in the deal.

Here's a good resolution photo of the photo used:

And here is a not-so-good resolution photo of the billboard with the caption "Juhuuuuuuuuu!" -- or rather "Yahoooooooo!". As in "I'm really excited!" Couldn't you tell that already from the picture? (Harhar...gotta love Germans :) )

For Germans, if you ask them how they're doing and they say 'good' that's about the equivalent of an American 'awesome!' or 'great!!!' :) Hooray for German understatement.

(Another comparison here is that my husband, F, almost never uses emoticons...I on the other hand do -- depending on my mood, plenty :) :) :D )


And now for something tasty that again my wonderful husband made:
Raw Zucchini Apricot Salad 
zucchini, cut julienne (sliced + then cut into thin strips)
dried apricots, diced
nuts, chopped (we had a mix of almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, etc.)

vinaigrette dressing (oil, vinegar, salt, herbs (we had a mix, but I'm sure there was basil, oregano, etc. in there)

Mix + ideally let it sit for a half an hour or so. The zucchini doesn't collapse as much as cucumbers do, but they get lightly softer. Wow, just delicious! Enjoy!

I tried to take a picture before I ate it all up :) Yum!

(And we had it with tasty whole chicken (seasoned with pepper, salt + paprika) baked in a tajine with carrots + potatoes. So easy + so delicously tender! We love our tajine!)