stuff you should bring home from your trip to Germany

by on May 9, 2013

One of my favorite things about my new home is that it is in walking distance of a place to sit and sip a good coffee. A couple days ago I took my notebook for a stroll and sat down at one of their tables outside in the sun, the weather was just too good to pass by without enjoying it and I had some work to do. Well I had a hard time to get my thoughts together, three ladies nearby were so engaged in their conversation, that they didn’t realized, they were entertaining the whole place. Although my mum taught me not to spy on others (actually no she never did that, so I am excused) I was curious and working was no option anymore so I listened for a while. I was amazed to hear they were talking about Germany. One of the ladies was planning her next vacation in Germany and she was raving about all the nice things she is going to do and buy there. And that was the point I started rolling my eyes, she was talking about Schwarzwald Kuckucksuhr, Lederhosen and wood carvings for Christmas from the Fichtelgebirge. I was hoping for some new shopping inspirations for my next trip home to Germany, which is coming up very soon. I already started to make a list. I am the kind of person who wouldn’t survive without lists, I make lists to remind me to make lists, the only way for me to manage literary everything. If you are around here for a while you already know about my chaotic me.

Vacation time is coming up and I thought you might also visit Germany and need some inspiration for stuff to bring home or try out while there. I am sure nothing of it will be mentioned in your ordinary traveling guide. Coming up are mainly food related insiders and no dust catcher that will look good as fireplace decoration. Please check in advance for customs restrictions of the country you are living in, I don’t want you to face some jail time just because you are “accidentally” smuggling a bag full of Bratwursts on your way home.

stuff from Germany 2

1. Pul Biber (paprika flakes) This is not really German but very good available. Germany has a huge population of people from Turkey. They came with a lot of culture and food is a big part of that. When I had been living in my old hometown grocery shopping sometimes involved a stop at one of the small Turkey shops for flavorful tomatoes and the biggest and sweetest watermelons. Their spices are worth a glaze to, especially the pul biber: spicy but not really hot, a little tangy and full of paprika flavor. I use it on nearly everything and it is especially great for stews and soups, on eggs… And it is my go to live saver if I screwed up the seasoning of something, which never may happen.

2. Ostfriesentee I didn’t like black tea for the most time of my life, turned out I just had tried the wrong kind. The Ostfriesentee (East Frisian tea) is a dark and strong Assam blend. This tea is great to enjoy with some cream, rum (nice on a cold night) and is usually sweetened with rock sugar (Kandis or Kluntje).

stuff from Germany_

3. Curry Gewürz Ketchup My family calls it schleimi ketchup. It is different from your usual tomato ketchup, more like a BBQ sauce (?). Their spice mixture is based on the famous sauce for the Currywurst in Berlin. Pouring it over spaghetti had kept me from starving a couple of times in my early grown up days, this is definitive not a gourmet tip. I still love it but don’t go by a bottle a week anymore. If you are flying consider buying a small bottle, the big bottle could be too heavy for your bag.

4. German chocolate Chocolate is my daily bread and I prefer the dark one, a few pieces melting in my mouth is another way of experiencing heaven. From time to time I need good milk chocolate. Growing up my uncle used to bring me milk chocolate with hazelnut and raisins, still love this combination but it is hard to get here in the states. Ritter Sport makes a milk chocolate with whole almonds and a dark chocolate with marzipan that I love. Although German chocolate is available in stores in the US, it can be hard to find and is always pricey. Also I am missing out the seasonal variations like spekulatius at Christmas time, summertime specials with fruits. And what kind of genius put salty cracker into milk chocolate?

5. Gummies and licorice This is Mr. F’s must have, he is totally into all the gummy goodness and licorice. I like to chew on one or two from time to time, it gives me tooth pain somehow. One big exception is the grapefruits from Haribo, they are like crack for me (I think I mentioned it already). Now this company sells some without gelatin, which is suitable for vegetarians. Again they are available in the states but just a few variations, there is so much more out there!

There is some more stuff which is not necessary on my list, but worth mentioning:

Lebkuchen (it’s just too early for that)

Knoedelmix (I like homemade better but wanted to remind you about that)

Birkenstocks, the selection is much larger in Germany, might be (but not always) cheaper

Stabilo, my favorite fine-line pens

Dr. Oetker pudding, I love it as a warm pudding on cold nights (comfort food) and a few recipes in my notebook call for the vanilla flavored. Try the caramel, so good.

Müesli, bigger selection and better taste

Blätterkrokant, another heavenly sweet thing: brittle, covered with chocolate (hard to explain?!)

WMF cookware, simply one of the best. I also look for Kaiser baking pans, my springform pan never leakes, easy to clean and is non-stick.

Quark, unfortunately I can’t bring that home with me. It is the main ingredient for a good German cheesecake. I love it on a fresh crispy roll with homemade jam.

German wines: Riesling, Muller-Thurgau, Silvaner, Dornfelder. I don’t know why, but most available German wines in the states are sweet. I think they keep the good stuff for themselves.

Sahnesteif, a white powder comes in little envelopes. You add this while you are whipping cream, it makes it firmer and keeps it this way for longer, great for cakes. I am not a big fan of whipped cream but I didn’t want you to miss out.

Erdnuss Flips, it is a totally mystery for me why it is not available in the states. Peanuts are loved by so many people here, give this flips a chance.

Eyeglass frames, every time I am in my hometown I visit my trusted Optiker (optician). Mr F and I both tried to get new glasses in the states and there is nothing wrong about the quality etc. but I get a better selection and a great service in Germany (someone told me the selection in Italy is even better). A few years ago a guy asked me if I am German because I have this fancy glasses. We talked for a while and he told me about his visit in Germany and that he loved to drive on the Autobahn. He especially liked the exit sign… Ausfahrt… fart you get it?

This is a long list of stuff you should bring home from your trip to Germany. You can say I am writing this list for a while… But I am sure there is something I didn’t thought about, so please leave a comment to continue this list.

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Notes on NOLA

by on July 27, 2012

The Big Easy had been beckoning for a long time.  As I can’t bear heat very well,  I had never thought about traveling to New Orleans during the summer months and postponed it to fall. But as friends ask us to join them for a trip on the upcoming weekend and promised bad weather, we were game. Isn’t it weird to hope for a cold front during vacation? As I found out later, it’s not only the temperature, it’s also the humidity what’s killing me.

I am a list lover and if I travel I usually have done some home works and made a long ‘to do’ and ‘where to eat’ list. Not this time, due to the short notice and the panic to find a pet friendly hotel, I was unprepared but had the greatest fun strolling up and down the streets of French Quarter.

Here are some notes and pictures I love to share with you, not all will make sense, don’t worry:

I dug my teeth into delightful beignets… daily. My waistband would be in serious trouble if we would live there. I had my first shrimp po’ boy and gumbo! I am in love with the café au lait, what kind of genius added chicory to coffee? I missed out jambalaya and red beans and rice. But that’s ok, you have to keep some things for the next trip to New Orleans.

We stayed at Lowes Hotel, their service was outstanding. Very pet friendly. I mean they not just allow dogs, they treat them like guests.

I learned that getting rain-drenched twice a day and high humidity makes even my straight hair, curly and indomitable. But that’s why pony tails are invented. The rain was a good excuse to use shelter in nice cafés, shops or galleries, they are all over the French Quarter.

I also learned that New Orleans interred their deaths above ground due to the high water table.

And I am in love with shotgun houses. New Orleans was the first place in the US where they started building them.

We had a great time in New Orleans and hope to come back soon! There is so much more to explore!

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I ate myself through Charleston, SC

by on May 13, 2012

Hello sunshine! It had been a super-duper week in Charleston, SC, and I can’t belief all this is already in the past. We had an exciting time with some necessary relaxing moments. But most of the days, I had been eating, photographing food or tasting everything I could reach. As I am not the lying on the beach type, if it comes to choose a vacation destination, I need a little more to do and see than water and sand. Some sightseeing, long walks, of course shopping, some cultural stuff and good restaurants. I found all this and a lot more in Charleston and I am sure this was not my last visit. Actually you would see me bouncing, if I could go again right away.

We were lucky to find a small vacation home which the owner has left as it was since her mother died (I hope this didn’t happen in this house, although it would explain the nasty smell in one room). This house was as cute as you can imagine, the furniture and everything else inside this dreamy cottage was antique: cabinets full of lovely painted dishes, heavy cast iron pans which bottoms had been scratched for decades until they become so smooth, kitchen gadgets I had never seen before and these days most of them had been replaced with something with a plug. A back in times cottage with a swing on the porch, colorful quilts were piled in one dresser and the other contained hand stitched tablecloth. A food photographer’s dream, how often do you come along with a house full of styling props? I wish I had more time. Don’t make me started with the antique cookbook collection, my fingerprints are all over these recipes.

Back to business, even before I hit the road I knew Charleston has some darn good restaurants, but actually it is a dream foodie town and I had a few of the best meals in a while there. My restaurants choices are not from the what’s hip right now list (I think “hip” is not even hip anymore?). It’s more what my appetite wanted at this point of time and where I lingered around when my stomach growled.

Hope and Union Coffee Co.

A coffee lovers heaven. In need for your caffeine fix? Go there! Slurp an espresso and chat with the friendly barista while your hand brewed cup is dripping. My thought at the first sip: exceptional strong! But it’s not, actually it was the flavor that hit me in the face. Not for ‘brown water’ coffee drinker. (199 St Philip St, Charleston, SC)

Wild Flour Pastry

Go there on sticky buns Sunday, they are legendary, cinnamon rolls are also available. Every Sunday from 8 am to 1 pm. Just a few minutes walk from Hope and Union Coffee, so makes sense to combine both. At the end you got two hands, one for the coffee mug and one to hold a cookie or cupcake.  73 Spring St, Charleston, SC

SeeWee Restaurant

They don’t have a homepage? Do they? This is where the natives enjoy their low country cuisine. I think “rustic” is the first impression everyone gets, it’s not fine dining at all. The service is very friendly and helpful. I tried the she crab soup, it’s a South Carolina specialty similar to New England clam chowder, a heavy  and rich white soup. Don’t drink the sherry, it’s for the soup. Daily specials with fresh fish, most menu items are deep-fried. It takes some time to get there but worth the drive: 4808 N Highway 17, Awendaw, SC

  Husk Restaurant

I am in love with this one! Everything is terrific, friendly and obliging service, fresh and creative food and this seams to sound more than strange, but even the restrooms are beautiful and comfortable. It’s in the detail and they nailed it… We enjoyed our lunch, the menu is changing daily and you can look it up at their internet page.

 

Bin 152

I wish this cozy place could be my neighborhood bar. It’s a wine bar (don’t panic they also serve beer) with a pleasant selection of domestic and international wines. And they don’t stop there, they also pamper you with a choice of cheese or cured meats. I bet you also have a hart time to choose from their variety of salami, prosciutto or/and imported cheese.   152 King St, Charleston, SC

bakehouse

The first impression is not wrong: welcoming, sunny and bright, a place to stay a while and relax from all the sightseeing.  We enjoyed locally roasted coffee and tempting baked goods: cookie, whoopie pie and don’t end with a big piece of cake with buttercream frosting (in this order please!).   160 East Bay St, Charleston, SC

I did not even mention every place we put our feet under the table in Charleston, SC. This ones left a mark on my mind and on my taste buds. Hope to see you soon!

 

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Memphis, teh-nuh-SEE

by on August 30, 2011

First of all I have to admit, I am not comfortable in giving advices about where to go or where to eat. Everyone is different has a different taste, even I like to change my mind about a dish or a restaurant. There are many factors and moods which can influence a critic. But I will tell you where I ate in Memphis and what I liked and you feel free to go and have a taste or not. Just don’t be mad if you didn’t liked it.
There are people out there, this comes from my own experience, who walk into a Mexican restaurant in the middle of nowhere in Greece and wondering about the unsatisfied meal they had there. I use to say: don’t order a Schnitzel in an Italian restaurant. Memphis is all about southern style comfort food and that is what I have been after. During my stay I haven’t seen one lettuce leave and didn’t missed it either.  And I really like how they serve fruits: baked in a delicious pie, that’s right up my alley. We fell in love with pineapple-coconut pie and you might too.
And here is another free wisdom: eat where the locals eat. And we are lucky having so nice friends in Memphis to take us to the good places. I lived in Kansas City for 2.5 years and I know good BBQ and Memphis has to offer some good stuff.

Go to commissary in Germantown for good old school BBQ food but don’t ever skip the dessert, great southern pies like lemon ice box pie.

I think the rip’s reputation at rendezvous downtown Memphis is better than their taste. You get tasty dry rips, sauce is provided at the table, don’t get me wrong, they are good, but I got the best (from all I tried in Memphis) at Central BBQ. In fact I risked my life for these rips. After we ordered a slab of rips half dry and half wet (means half with rub and half BBQ sauce), we sat down at a table near the window and suddenly the weather dramatically changed. First I saw some papers flying by then chairs and someone told us a tornado is coming our way. The table next to ours was packed with policemen from a special unit, all of them including the only woman, were about the size of my refrigerator. We nervously kept watching them, if they run, we would run. Shortly the rips were served and all I remember is, I dug in and after finishing, the tornado was gone. Eating seams to be a great distraction for me.

We had som e very good fried chicken at:
Gus’ World Famous Fried Chicken, Downtown, 310 S Front St, Memphis, TN 38103
Especially at lunch time this place is packed, you can see bankers, craftsman and nurses, every shape, every age patiently standing in line waiting for their crispy, spicy and juicy chicken pieces. It is not a fancy restaurant, more an authentic southern hole in the wall.

 

I don’t have much to say about Muddy’s Bake Shop, just go there, it’s for your own good. They have cakes, muffins, pies… the menu changes weekly, the shop is gorgeous and their baked goods are just yummy. Go and try something everything. They also have vegan options.

 

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St. Petersburg, Florida (not Russia)

by on May 4, 2011

A week before our vacation I checked the weather forecast for my destination, I had been astonished, then mad and considered to pack my warm jacket but then I found out: it was the forecast for St. Petersburg in Russia not in Florida and the weather there had been just right. Locals call St. Petersburg just St. Pete, so will I to avoid any confusion. :o )
You can find St. Pete between the Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, so if you go west, east or south you will find the sea eventually.

This time I didn’t try many restaurant one reason had been my dear sisters had a long list of donut shops, burrito places and ice cream stores but most of the time we had BBQ or cooked together in our vacation house (you can find more about fish filet with capers, black olives and tomatoes). But one place I want to recommend is the great fish restaurant 400 BeachSeafood & Tap House. It had been one of this perfect moments, we had a nice table on the porch with a great view and the food had been very tasty and fresh.

I am not someone who likes to get crispy in the sun but I like walking on the beach and  the sea always has a attraction to me. I loved the beach at Fort De Soto Park for several reason: greatest dog park ever with dog showers and dog friendly beach area. It had been fun watching all the dogs playing at the beach and swimming and anyway it had been Fido’s vacation too ;)
But there is enough beach left which is dog free and more quiet. The area is so much more nature, no hotels, no villas, no bars… We drove the Anderson Boulevard until its end and saw a great sundown. Here are more information about Fort De Soto Park.
One Saturday morning we went to the great farmers market in St. Pete downtown on the Al Lang Stadium parking lot (1st Ave S and 1st St) and had a great time. We strolled up and down the whole market while sipping iced coffee which we bought there from a local roaster.
We found some German bread and it had been awesome. I am still impressed about the hugh selection of organic fruits and vegetables. I almost had been pulled away from a spice booth after I sticked my nose in every sample and couldn’t decide which one I desperately need.

But next time I won’t have breakfast before I go to this market, I missed so much food I wasn’t able to try.

The farmers market will be held during October until End of May and it is not just a farmers market it is entertaining and a little art fair too. You can also find a lot multicultural vendors “la petite France” or Italian gelato, cajun style food or wood fired pizza.

 

 

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