Happy Easter

March 24, 2016 by Christina

Apparently I can’t bring myself to put together a decent story anymore. What’s going on? Am I still moving and settling in? Or am I just busy enjoying life and forget to take photographs... I made extremely delicious Maultaschen today as it is traditional in this part of Germany. A recipe with lots of spinach which I will share as soon as I have figured out what Bratwurstbrät is in English... Help!!!

Easter traditions. My cousin’s spouse Jana grew up in the Carslbad region of the Czech Republic. She told us a funny story the other day, that Czech boys will weave switch-like whips out of young branches and then chase the girls through town - demanding died eggs. Seriously crazy and so violent and unemancipated. But she just loves this childhood memory of running the streets screaming and laughing. And apparently this is a tradition that is very much alive in the Czech Republic, so be careful if you are visiting around Easter.

My girls have been dying many eggs this year which we will bring with us on our trip to Lake Como tomorrow. Far away from any Czech boys.

Fasnachtsküchle

February 11, 2016 by Christina

Admit it – you think Germans are uptight go-getters, overly accurate and therefore kind of boring. Wrong! We actually like to party – for days! Many regions of Germany celebrate Karneval rather seriously.

A guats neus Jahr

January 20, 2016 by Christina

2016 is already 20 days old but I think it’s not too late to wish everyone the very best. I have been busy enjoying our new home, taking weekend trips into the mountains, cooking a lot on my new amazing stove and writing.... nothing.

Linsen und Spätzle

October 26, 2015 by Christina

Schwaben are a different kind of people. They work hard, are labeled rude, grumpy and cheap. They obsess over rituals like the “Kehrwoche” (lit. translation: “sweeping week”).

Roots and Kohlrabi

October 04, 2015 by Christina

Roots are vital for life. For plants, but also for humans. Some may thrive with tender little roots and easily in every kind of soil. Others have roots so thick and strong they never even want to leave their home town.

Strawberry Crumble

June 30, 2015 by Christina

I guess I have turned into a minimalist which is an interesting experience as I am actually a collector. All of our stuff is on a boat to Germany and I am surprised about how freeing and simple it feels to have almost nothing. We have a set of 5 plates, 5 bowls and 5 cups. We have some random silverware. We have a pot and a frying pan. And a spatula and a knife and a cutting board. And one sheet pan. That's it!

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Last Eggs

June 23, 2015 by Christina

We have sold our Seattle house about a week ago and with it our 6 chickens – Berta, Heidi, Emma, Frida, Wilma and Mimi. I miss them! I really loved owning these chickens and enjoying their incredible eggs. They were easy to care for and so fluffy and funny and they made me feel happy because I could give them our vegetable scraps and I knew our eggs came from happy chickens. And the eggs were beautiful and delicious.

House Rescue Complete!

June 16, 2015 by Christina

I have been so quiet! Almost as if I was done writing this blog... as if I gave it up, moved on, shut the door, quit. Hmm, no...

Krautwickel

February 03, 2015 by Christina

Cabbage wrapped beef. Amazing! Living in Seattle it’s hard to remember that it is winter! And especially since the weather has been incredibly mild, even for Seattle. But, if you are cold and need to warm your soul, have some Krautwickel. We love eating cabbage in Germany! And this traditional recipe sports a hearty meat filling, a healthy cabbage wrap and a luscious tomato based sauce.

I used to wish we had a dog but only had a cat. As a child I could not appreciate the cabbage wrapped around the beef and needed a helper under the table. Alas, cats never have your back when it’s time to destroy the evidence.

My kids love Krautwickel. The dog is going hungry.

Sellerie Suppe

January 27, 2015 by Christina

January. The year is trying to start and it will be a while before anything too exciting happens. No special celebrations. Vacations are a long ways ahead. It’s dark. But at least there is this creamy soup to look forward to, made of winter root vegetables with a potato crunch and a touch of green.

Blutorangen Torte

January 20, 2015 by Christina

Here comes the sun - blood oranges are in season! Bright and beautiful, we cannot get enough of these. The season is short, because the fruit needs cold nights to develop the red color. I have always regarded them as a very special treat.

I absolutely love Käsesahne which is a light and airy version of German cheesecake that is not too sweet, with a hint of lemon. And I love this classic blood red version. Full of fresh citrus flavor, what could be better than this creamy pie for Valentines Day. It is easy to make and beautiful.

Rosenkohl

January 13, 2015 by Christina

I have always loved Brussels sprouts, even as a kid. Originally called Choux de Bruxelles this vegetable was first gown in the Spanish Netherlands (today’s Belgium) in the 15 hundreds. It became popular as a winter vegetable in the 19th century.

An old wive’s tale claims that Brussels sprouts taste sweeter and less bitter if the plant has been hit by a frost. I suspect this is a way to sell these vegetables to picky eaters and not entirely true. The truth: low temperatures do in fact raise the sugar content in many cabbages because their growth slows down and Brussels sprouts can actually tolerate very low temperatures (not freezing temperatures) for an extended amount of time.

Growing up in Germany I learned to only buy local, seasonal fruits and vegetables, shopping primarily at the farmer’s market. Farmer’s markets in Germany are year round and quite affordable! It must be ingrained in my system because I actually crave seasonal foods and Brussels sprouts are in season now.

Käsekuchen

January 06, 2015 by Christina

I have to confess. Until recently, I have never made a German cheesecake! Kind of crazy, I know, but I have my reasons. This is my aunt Margarete’s recipe – she makes the absolute best cheesecake and is always happy to bring one to every afternoon “Kaffee und Kuchen” family get-together. So, when I am in Germany, I honestly have no reason to ever make a cheesecake. And here in America it took me all these years to figure out that I can substitute Greek Yogurt for Quark. I do enjoy testing and improving recipes but sometimes I get too busy to feel up to the challenge of baking a cake three or more times to figure out how to make it work with American ingredients. Why not bake something tried and proven instead…?

German cheesecake is quite a bit different from the American version. It appears light and airy, but believe me, that is a complete deception. Although it is certainly lighter than any American cheesecake. One of our young German family friends was absolutely shocked when he could not manage to eat more than one piece of the delicious raspberry swirled, chocolate cookie crusted, American cheesecake I made last summer, when he was visiting. And an 18 year old can probably put away two pieces of cake.

Well, I am excited to have learned how to make a German cheesecake with American ingredients that is maybe almost as good as my aunt’s. Almost. And since today is Three Kings Day, which completes Christmas in Germany, it adds a little piece of home to my day.

Neujahrsbrezel

December 31, 2014 by Christina

In Germany, and especially in the Schwäbisch region, for over 300 years, it is a tradition to give and eat a Neujahrsbrezel (New Year’s pretzel) on the first day of the year. This pretzel symbolizes the bond and connection to others and it is supposed to bring love and good fortune to the coming year.

This pretzel is wonderful, buttery and ever so lightly sweet. It is similar to a brioche. It is available in every bakery in Germany and it can be enormous in size!

One of my father’s best friends was a baker. He was never able to stay up until midnight on New Year’s Eve, he was a baker! But he often brought us a wonderful and fresh Neujahrsbrezel in the early morning on the first of the year.

Schweinegans

December 29, 2014 by Christina

My first grandfather, Eugen Stein, was born in 1913. He was head stable master, horse trainer and soldier. He died in 1944 in the Ukraine when my grandmother was only 26 years old, my father was 4 and my aunt Helga was 7. My grandmother eventually re-married. My second grandfather, Walter Krumnow, was a journalist and editor at the Stuttgart newspaper. She only met him because she felt obligated to go to a blind date that her friend did not want to attend.

My grandma “Oma Ludwigsburg” was a very creative and gifted woman. She was a talented cook, artist and wonderful seamstress. She had such a captivating laugh. She invented this Christmas roast for our family and grandpa Krumnow named it. I used to love my grandmother’s stories about her life. She was an amazing storyteller. She told me that one Christmas, when she could not get a Christmas goose, my grandfather came into the kitchen drawn by the wonderful smell wafting through the house and quizzed her about what was in the oven. She explained her creation and he announced that to him it did look like a goose - hence the name “Schweinegans” which means “pigs-goose”.

It was amazing! Since then, Oma Ludwigsburg made a Schweinegans for my family every year on the 2nd day of Christmas, until it became too much work for her. My aunt Helga took over her role and has made it ever since. And I have been missing out...

Schupfnudeln

December 23, 2014 by Christina

Schupfnudeln are hand rolled potato noodles. They are most popular in the south of Germany, especially Schwaben and Baden but can be found all over Germany. They have many different names, some of which really show that Germans are quite humorous and have a peculiar way of using phallic terms in an endearing way. The word Schupfnudeln is nice and tame, simply meaning hand rolled noodle. Another very common name in Schwaben is Bubespitzle and admittedly this is what my family used to call them - it means a boy’s willie - sorry. Other names are Baunzen or Fingernudeln (finger noodles), Bauchstechala (little stomach stabbers), and Schopperla or Schoppalla, to name a few. I guess the many names are a testament for how popular and good they are.

They are often eaten with Sauerkraut and bits of bacon - a wonderful thing when it is cold outside. My favorite at the Christmas Market in my hometown! But in the summer, they are also delicious just fried by themselves accompanying a mixed salad. Or try them sweet, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon and served with applesauce.

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte

December 16, 2014 by Christina

An old fashioned cake that is not actually named after the region of the Black Forest but after the special liqueur that gives it its distinct flavor: Schwarzwälder Kirschwasser. It was supposedly invented by the German confectioner Josef Keller (1887–1981) in 1915 in Bad Godesberg, which is now a suburb of Bonn about 500 km north of the Black Forest. Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte was first mentioned in writing in 1934. In 1949 it took 13th place in a list of best-known German cakes, and since that time Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte has become world-renowned.

It is a beautiful cake. Like Schneewittchen (Snow White) from the brothers Grimm, “as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as ebony wood”. I used to hate it as a kid! All that Kirschwasser! How could something look so nice and taste so awful! I do like it now but I still usually make it without alcohol for my family.

Vanillekipferl

December 09, 2014 by Christina

These little sugary moon shaped cookies are always at the top of our list to bake for the Advent season and they are probably one of the most popular Christmas cookies in Germany. A Kipferl is a crescent shape. They are fun to make, especially if you have a lot of helpers. My son Lukas used to call them Vanilla Moons when he was little. He was a great helper! He would try so hard to make that crescent shape! But after a couple of them he would move on to forming beautifully immaculate full moons with his little hands (blobs).

This cookie is older than the Christmas tree and it shares its Pagan origin. It became really popular after the synthetic vanilla flavor Vanillin was discovered at the end of the 19th century.

Spitzbuben

December 02, 2014 by Christina

Germany is huge on Christmas cookies - they are called Gutzle where I am from (which could be translated with “little good thing”). My aunt Margarete bakes something like 4,000 Gutzle each year! Which sounds about right because we eat hundreds of Gutzle throughout the Advent season and I have to almost guard mine to make sure we have enough to last until the 4th of Advent. I do not bake 4,000 cookies and I do have a rule: “if you don’t help you don’t eat”. Gutzle are often hand formed, small and time consuming to make. I love baking but I also love help.

Growing up, my sister and I would spend days in the kitchen, baking at least 10 varieties and several batches of our favorite ones. The goal is to be done with baking by the first of Advent which is celebrated on the 4th Sunday before Christmas by lighting the first candle on the Advent wreath, singing Christmas carols and, well, eating cookies. And eating more cookies on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of Advent and also eating many cookies in between and finally a couple of leftover cookies on Christmas eve and Christmas day and hopefully you didn’t have to start baking all over again...

Spitzbuben are one of my absolute favorite Christmas cookies and they are always one of the first ones I make. A “Spitzbub” is kind of a prankster. A bad boy. Don’t ask, I have no idea why these sweet and harmless cookies have such an unfitting name. Maybe because they disappear so quickly? Or, as my mom was told when she was young, because they hide the jam.

Schmalz

November 25, 2014 by Christina

I sometimes feel self-conscious about the content on my blog. I worry about my capabilities in English, grammar, spelling but most of all that people will not like the food I am writing about. Especially some of the very basic, traditional German recipes like “Wurstsalat” (sausage salad, that’s right!) and... Schmalz. But then I quickly remember how good and unmistakably German these recipes are. They are part of the story and therefore I have to write about them.

In Germany, Schmalz is generally made from rendered pork or goose fat. It’s a very useful product in the kitchen for frying and baking. But it is also eaten just by itself, on a piece of rustic bread, sprinkled with a little salt as part of your Brotzeit. My grandma used to render Griebenschmalz (Schmalz with cracklings) to give as Christmas gifts to family and friends each year. She would present it in a little earthenware pot, covered with a red and white checkered wax cloth and tied with a beautiful ribbon.

The word Schmalz comes form the Middle High German “Smalz” which is derived from “schmelzen” (melting). A lot of traditional German recipes use Schmalz instead of clarified butter or vegetable oil.