German ‘Black Bread’ – Schwarzbrot

As I have been baking bread for a few years now, the theme for this  Bread Baking Day,’ancient’, really appealed to me: as a kid at my friend’s house, we helped her granny to prepare the breads for the weekly ‘baking day’, when the communal oven was heated up and the families of the village were…

Midweek Wonders: Chickpea and Chorizo Stew

This recipe is incredibly quick and easy to make: it takes an hour, but 45 minutes of that are spent winding up your kids, checking their homework and your mail or watching the news while the stew is simmering contentedly in the kitchen. I use dried chickpeas, which I soak overnight and then cook in my pressure cooker.…

May Punch – Maibowle

May means sunny days and warm evenings, and an al fresco lifestyle demands a suitable beverage. This May punch is a highly seasonal concoction, relying on fresh strawberries as well as sweet woodruff, a sweet-scented plant often found in shady or neglected areas of gardens or in forests. Sweet woodruff is very popular in Germany, which makes this…

Midweek Wonders: Sausage Soup

Technically this is a vichyssoise with Frankfurters, but that’s not a title that will impress the kids. Sausage soup is what we call it, and it’s the combination of a catchy title and, well, sausages that make it a fail-safe option when friends stay over or spirits are low.  It’s quickly made – including cutting…

Countdown to the Worldcup in Brazil

Are you excited as I am about the upcoming world cup finals? I hope you are – it’s just too much fun supporting your team, and then your B-team, and then Spain, just to be on the safe side… To be prepared for it I thought I might suggest a challenge to all football (or soccer)…

Empanadas – Chilenische Teigtaschen

London ist berühmt für seine kulturelle Vielfalt, und wenn es die zahllosen Einwanderer nicht gäbe so würden die Einwohner sich auch heute noch direkt aus der Fritteuse ernähren. Inzwischen ist es recht einfach, sich hier gut und sogar gesund zu ernähren, sei es nun in indischen, pakistanischen, chinesischen, libanesischen, spanischen oder italienischen Restaurants. Diese kulinarische Revolution hat…

Empanadas – Chilean Pasties

Empanadas are to South American culture what beers are to Europe: every country has their their own version which is considered the best and only version, and most definitely the original one. Chileans traditionally serve them on Independence Day, September 18, but in my mind any day has the potential to be an empanadas day. They are…