Like a beacon, Konditerei Al-Iman drew us indoors to warm our bodies and sweeten our palates with tantalising desserts from Syria, Lebanon and Palestine.
Each year in early December, Yoggi's kitchen would be filled for days with the smell of baking. His Yuletide gift to family and friends outside Berlin were invariably boxes of Weihnachtsplätzchen (Christmas cookies).
To great hilarity, my husband put together bits of two sentences he had half heard and that is how the cake came to be known as Eva Ohne Sahne (Eva Without Cream). We were at Yoggi's birthday party ..
Like a lot of 'German' food, the hearty filled rolled meat dish which is Rinderroulade or beef roulade is not confined to Germany. Variations thereof are part of the cuisines of Austria (of course) and indeed, much of Central Europe.
Pumpkin and potato soups topped my list of most-ordered German soups whilst in Berlin. But Yoggi opted for Rucola (rocket) for his vegetable soup lesson.
I never quite learned to enjoy the taste of Sauerkraut. I guess I would have had I been a fan of pickled food, for the dish is originally actually Chinese!
Having experienced the gamut of Schnitzel preparations in Germany, we have found that it can range from veal that is textbook thin and tender to rubbery pork.
“As German as apple strudel” should in the name of accuracy really be: “As Habsburgian as apple strudel”. Habsburg was of course the 18th century Vienna-headquartered empire spanning parts or…
Game meat, eating in a group and using your bed as part of the cooking process: now, who would have thought these could help save the planet?
On my first night in Berlin, I dreamt of an aluminium wall overflowing with Curry Laksa gravy. Taupok, green beans and all.
