Awakening

Yes, spring.  At last.  Weather-wise, it was not a very bad winter.  A bit of snow, some cold and frost, but really, it was not one for the books. But spring unfolds here - slowly, deliberately.  I like that.

The snow drops come first.  We saw these when we met for the annual Kale-and-Sausage Fest with the usual crew a few weeks ago.

Now the crocuses are showing off.  In our little garden space in the back, the winter shade gives way to spring and summer sun gradually, so these beauties are a bit later than some. 

And last weekend, we went foraging for Bärlauch.  Just in time!  The wild garlic is up and we were not alone clipping the leaves.  But we certainly got our share.

It's supposed to be one of those cleansing things - helps get rid of the winter sluggishness and fat.  First it was Bärlauch soup  - shallots, wine, cream, Bärlauch and some left over potatoes made ever so smooth with the magic stick and a dollop of clotted cream.  Yum.

 
On to pesto!  It's made just like the traditional one with basil, but of course with Bärlauch instead. It's wonderful, too, and freezes like a charm.   The Bärlauch is only available for a few weeks, so though we love it best fresh and early, it's so nice to have some later, too.

And Bärlauch butter!  That'll jazz up a piece of bread!  This keeps well in the freezer, too, but we won't keep it long - just too good not to use a lot.

Later in the week, we're up for Bärlauch and ricotta stuffed ravioli with Parmesan and lemon sauce.  I think you should all come for dinner!

Harbingers of Spring

· Days are obviously lighter longer every day. You notice it and it lifts the spirit.
· There are daffodils, crocuses, and teeny green buds on the trees. You notice it and it lifts the spirit.
· It’s Bärlauch time. It’s green and tasty and lifts the spirits.

Bärlauch? Yeah, well, Bärlauch.

It’s a German word and literally translated is Bear Onion. In English it’s ramp or wild leeks. In the northern climes (Germany, or West Virginia or Maryland), green things are so welcome after winter and therefore, celebrated even though the taste may be garlicky and sharp – then again, it really wakes you up after the long winter slumber. It's one of the earliest green things to come up.

It was new to me when the ladies at the vegetable stand at the green market introduced it to me as a specialty some years ago. Now it is a favorite of ours and this time of year I ask for it every week till it appears. Of course, it’s become one of those “in” things in the meantime and you can find it on all kinds of menus and used by all the fancy chefs. OK by me, so long as I get my share.

If you go to gather it yourself in the wild, be careful. It looks a lot like lily of the valley. Bärlauch you can eat. Lily of the Valley is poisonous. Oops.

The flavor is a cross between onion and garlic (more garlic than onion) and the leaf is on the tough side; it never gets the texture of spinach when cooked. But after so many months of gray and wet and cold, the green and fresh is so welcome. They say bears looked for it after their winter hibernation, hence the name.

That said, lily of the valley was for me the more welcome sign of spring as a child - white and pure, overpoweringly sweet when you are close to it but at the same time modestly clothed. Then again, I grew up in Baltimore where the Lily of the Valley grew in our yard. Bärlauch was foreign.

Tonight we had roasted chicken with Bärlauch sauce. Here’s the recipe, if you can get some ramps:

1 shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 bunch ramps
1/4 cup
vermouth
1 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons cold butter in pieces

Sauté the chopped shallots in butter. Add the vermouth and stock and reduce by half. Add the butter bits at a time till the sauce binds. Season with salt and pepper and add the ramps. Mix with an immersion blender. Serve. Yum.

Green is good.

A Visit from Berliners, and Bärlauch

 We got back from almost four weeks in the USofA on the Friday before Easter. You folks know already about German holidays - everything is closed on  (big letter) Holidays! Good Friday is a Holiday, Easter Sunday is a Holiday, Easter Monday is a Holiday. And we had guests arriving for the weekend on Saturday. YOW. We had come home to an empty fridge and we needed everything for a weekend with four hungry people to feed and one morning to shop for everything we needed or wanted!

We'd prepared a bit. I had given my best folks at the market my food list so I could just pick it up and not worry that they'd be out of anything. So I did the market thing and Werner did the grocery store thing and we were PREPARED when Nicole and Jeremy arrived at 2PM. 

So begins the eating and talking marathon! 

Since Jeremy is an unrepentant American when it comes to food, we kinda cater to him, which is OK for all of us. Saturday, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans. We were sated and happy. 

Sunday, Easter, we planned a big breakfast and a big dinner, so no lunch. Breakfast: BISCUITS, eggs, bacon, grits, fruit. The fruit was optional, the rest of it, not. I do love a good biscuit but I don't make them more than 4-5 times a year, so I am less than proficient. But this time, I hit bingo and they were fluffy and tasty. What a treat. 

But, boy, do we need to move!  Off to Knoop's Park and a long walk. I do suppose everyone who's visited us has been there, or some part of there. It's huge and goes along the Lesum River for quite a ways, has so many walking and biking paths and lovely views from above. Really, there are almost hills here! And the weather, though cool, was sunny!

Later, we found a sunny table near the harbor for a glass of something to please each of us. By the way, I think Nicole has the sunniest smile.

The dinner was preceded by a gifted appetizer from our guests: genuine Spanish Ibèrico Ham. Melt-in-your-mouth wonderful it was. Wow. I'm afraid our dinner didn't meet that standard, but we enjoyed it anyway. 

Next morning, we had French toast with the Easter bread that Nicole baked and brought with them. So very good, yes it was. Then they toodled off the station and we took a nap!!! How wonderful having friends visit.

Bärlauch

During our park walk with Nicole and Jeremy, we gathered some Bärlauch (wild garlic) for them to take home, but we needed to go back for our own stash, So we did. But we had to wait a day or so since Werner had a wretched cold and had to sleep for 15 hours. Bless him. I wish I could do the same. Just once. Even 8 hours would be a gift.  

Here's Werner, gathering Bärlauch, observed by ducks that really wanted us to have some goodies for them, but sadly, we didn't. But we talked, the ducks and I.

 Leaving the area, we saw two girls were at a picnic table. At first I thought they were just picnicking, but then...they have stuff! So, I asked, Do you have something to sell? Yes!! WE have lemonade, water, popcorn. But maybe the popcorn isn't so good. We made it ourselves (!).  How cute. Of course, I was thirsty, so we got some lemonade, but passed on the popcorn.

We'll make pesto from the Bärlauch to freeze for later, use some for soup, for sauces, for a topping on a slice of black bread and cream cheese. It's spring.

Foraging

Of course, we don't have to forage - there's all kinds of upscale ways of getting food here - markets, supermarkets, restaurants, and et c.  But every once in a while, it's more fun to find your own!

Last weekend we were biking through Knoops Park, the lovely park along the River Lesum and one of our favorite places to be when we are out and about, when I spied some folks "picking" and made an immediate stop --- oooooh, what are they doing that I want to do, too?

Well, they were plucking and snipping and clipping fresh young Bärlauch (ramps, bear garlic, bear leeks) along a park path.  You've read about this special spring herb before in this blog, and it's become a spring ritual for us to include Bärlauch in spring dishes.  It's good for you!  It tastes good!  I made an immediate mental note of the location; yesterday that came in handy.

We'd planned dinner with friends, but because the "he" of the "they" got sick, our dinner date was cancelled.  Rework and replan.  I wouldn't usually plan risotto for guests since you have to stand at the stove for 20 minutes, but since there were no guests, I decided for Bärlauch risotto.  Good idea!

So off I went to forage some Bärlauch, and I wasn't alone, though people do tend to be a bit quiet about it since I'm not at all sure we're supposed to be harvesting this herb from the public parks!  But, we did.  And what a nice fresh bunch!

The other set of "greens" is nettles, as in stinging nettles.  That will be soup.

We're trying to be awfully healthy around here!

Tonight we had Bärlauch pesto with pasta (and the leftover chicken, since there was extra!).  Our house smells like a roasted garlic clove. 

Mother's Day

What a nice day. I talked to Lee and Michelle, and then to all the women in my family - Julia, Ginny, Mother. Besides that, the weather here was picure-perfect: lazy clouds in a deep blue sky, gentle warm breezes.

Today is Pentecost, too, which means that tomorrow is a holiday. I could explain that, but no one wants to read it. Suffice to say, we decided to "work" today. I sewed, Werner worked on our picnic for tomorrow, and I prepared dinner.

Dinner. I've already written about Bärlauch (ramps), and the season is coming to an end. We wanted to do another dish with Bärlauch and I had this recipe from last year: Bärlauch Gnocchi. It looked easy. And it was. Here's the finished uncooked gnocchi.








You could make it with other herbs as the main flavor, I think - parsley, cilantro, mint, lemon thyme, even rosemary - could be subsituted for the Bärlauch (ramp). Or, in keeping with the original recipe, fresh garlic or lots of chives.

Here's the recipe:

Make a batter of 3 egg yolks, 15 ounces ricotta, 2 ounces grated parmesan, 1 cup flour, a goodly amount of salt and pepper. It will be a gooey batter. On a floured surface, make four "sausage" rolls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. I found it good to chill it for a while. Cut pieces from the roll about 2 inches in length and then boil in salted water for about 5 minutes. Drain. Then melt some butter in a frying pan and brown the gnocchi in the butter. Serve with slices of parmesan and a sprinkle of some additional herbs.








It was GOOD. We pan grilled chicken breasts with Italian herbs and olive oil. Bread. Fresh green salad. YUM.

Hope your Mother's Day was yummy, too.

Spring Traditions

We had those couple of days of mild weather about four weeks ago, but since then "spring" can be translated to "cold, damp, cloudy and gray with the rare sight of the sun." 

But last weekend, at least the sun came out just a little bit to remind us that spring is here - calendar-wise.

And the wild violets are out as well.  They are so sweet and so fragrant and flourish in the teeniest places, like here between the stones in the front of the house and the brick steps to our original but non-functional front door.  There's another little bunch of violets between the roots of one of the linden trees out front that has started to bloom as well. And frankly, these cuties can be considered a weed since it often pops up in places I don't really want any growing stuff to be. But I just can't get too irritated about them. Next step, after picking the lovelies and putting them in a teeny vase with some other teeny blossoms, is making tea of the leaves.  It's supposed to be a traditional spring cure - I'll let you know what it cures.

We took a long walk over the weekend.  What a treat to be outside and moving and not wet and not rushed.

The big sisters of our violets were in their glory along this wall.

Along the way we ran into some hens happily wandering, too.  Werner used his famous chicken talk to try and communicate and wouldn't you know - five other chickens showed up!  We got out of there in a hurry!

And then , just a bit further along the path, we found my favorite herald of springtime - Bärlauch (ramps)!!  I was so surprised at how full they were- really, if I had known, I'd have been out there much sooner.
 

I suppose you're tired of hearing about Bärlauch, but sorry - it has become an essential part of the season and I can't seem to do without it.  I picked a bunch - though Werner objected that carrying them another hour would be a pain in the whatever - but it wasn't - and later we had pasta and pesto from the fresh, garlicky, green, spring-infused, wonderful Bärlauch.

(Later, I'll do some dumplings and sauce!)

Spring, Sort of

Today is the first full day of spring. SPRING!!  Sunshine! Daffodils!  In the USofA, they have sprung forward with the clock.  Here in Germany, the "spring forward" will be on the last Sunday in March. 

So the calendar says spring, but it is still pretty cool.  Like freezing! My "spring" outfit today included a fleece pullover, a fleece shirt and a down-filled jacket, scarf, gloves, and rosy cheeks.

A few weeks ago it climbed to 60° for a couple of days and folks went wild.  But that was very short-lived and now we're back to "normal."

Patience.

We do have crocuses and the little early daffodils and snowdrops.  And of course, ramps (Bärlauch).

I am my mother's child. Offer me something for free and I'll likely take it. Foraging is a lot of fun and gets us out of the house.  Even when it's sooo cold!  So, off to the park and free food.

There are a few places nearby that are actually a bit hilly, and so it is by the river.  The trees are quite bare still, though some shrubs are starting to leaf out.  And all the green on the ground?  That's mostly Bärlauch.

It was poking up during the brief warm spell, so I thought it would be really big now, but I guess the cold kept it from growing very fast.  But it didn't take long to pick enough for several pots of pesto and soup and sauce for pasta.

Before heading back home, we took a bit more exercise and walked around the park.  Someone decorated LOL!

Gray with low clouds. It'll be a few more weeks before the sun will reliably shine.

We walked along the river and then through the woods and then back to the car while visions of hot chocolate danced in my head.

We unloaded our booty

and then drank our reward. 

Round and round we go ...

It's Spargelzeit - asparagus time.  Again. Frankly, I can't believe it.  Has it been a year already? Obviously it has been a year, but still it is hard to believe.

This is not in fact our first Spargelessen (asparagus meal).  Our first was earlier in the week when our veggie ladies had the first small stalks and I bought some to make a salad.  It was yum (cooked the asparagus, cooled, tossed with a walnut oil vinaigrette).

But this was dinner, so it was white asparagus, smoked ham, boiled potatoes- the traditional Spargel Essen.  But, not butter sauce this time, rather a hollandaise with Bärlauch (ramps).  

What a disaster.

But that 's later.  First, the ribbons.  We're cooking ribbons!?  Yes, we are.  The white asparagus is not nearly as tender as the green and you do really have to peel them.  Fresh, they tend to be crispy enough to break as you are peeling them, so it's good to lay them on a surface - and you get all these lovely ribbons!  Wow.  What do do? You can't throw them away, of course, so you cook them into a lovely base for soup (with potato peels - adds to the flavor and moderates the bitterness of the asparagus.)  Tomorrow, we'll have soup with the couple of stalks saved from dinner.

 Isn't that pretty?  Wrapped bunches of peeled asparagus, ramps finely sliced.  The ramps, garlic-y flavored fresh green early-in-the-springtime so welcome, are the last ingredient in the sauce that is, we learned, not to be tackled by newbies like us.  It was lumpy and not smooth and, well, ugly.  Thank goodness, it tasted fantastic!

Smoked ham, boiled potatoes, asparagus with ramp/hollandaise sauce. 

Once again, I have to say, we eat like royalty here.

Wild and Crazy - A Quickie to Florida and Chicago

 Some months ago, Michelle sent us the "Save the Date" card to Joey's retirement party, planned for June 6. "I know you can't come," she said, "but the invitation is so cute!" Absolutely, it was.

Fast forward a couple of months, and the invite arrived. Werner looked at it and showed it to me and said, in all seriousness, "I think we should go."  What did I say? YES!!!  How very uncharacteristic of me to be so spontaneous with a dash of fun. 

We have been able to share so many special moments with our family in the USofA, but we miss a lot, too, since we are here and not there. And somehow, this one touched a nerve. So, crazy as it sounds, we decided to go.

Michelle was a great co-conspirator and told NO ONE in Panama City that we were coming. Of course, Lee and family in Orlando knew since we were landing there, but they were good team players, too, so no word leaked. 

Travel day was also Werner's birthday! We shared a birthday croissant at the airport (Happy Birthday, Werner!) and then spent a short but fun night in Orlando with Dylan, Hayden, Crissy and Lee, with cake.

Friday we were ferried up to Panama City with Lee and Hayden! Fast! Fast!

I find riding with Lee or Crissy much easier when I don't look at the road or the speedometer.

 And the surprise worked! Joey laughed, we laughed, lots of surprised faces greeted us (most especially Hannah) and the party went on. 

So many folks were there to help celebrate. Michelle decorated the tables with different themes appropriate to retirement - travel, golf, etc....  

Michelle MC'd a little slide show of Joey's goodness over the years. Hannah, Jeremy (who Joey hired and mentored), Mike and Donna (brother and sister) gave tributes. The first three couldn't quite get through their speeches without a catch in their throats, but Donna saved us all from too much sentimentality with a spot-on speech that began with something like  Really? Haven't any of you had a little brother? They are the worst!!  It was hilarious and loving. 

Such fun visiting with Donna and Mike! I think the last time we saw them was at Hannah and Harrison's wedding in 2023. 

And a great location. The Clubhouse is right there on the bay. And just down the street!

Sunday morning breakfast was so yummy, and fun. Here are the Siblings - Joey, Mike and Donna, Lee and Michelle. 

Werner and I with Michelle and Lee. 

And Joey reading the thank yous and the gifts that were not asked for but appreciated. I think they'll need to have a whiskey party sometime!!

And thanks to Harrison, a pic of (most of us) us together. It's OK - we'll be back at Thanksgiving!

Ant then it was over so fast and we were off again! But getting to Chicago wasn't sooo easy. Thunderstorms and threatened tornados kept the planes from flying. I don't like delays, but I have to say that flying into tornados are also not on my To Do list.

So, we finally arrived in Chicago about 10 pm, 3+ hours later than planned. Dark it was, but there were lights in lots of buildings that were really high. Really high.

The morning showed us just how high and how many high buildings there are in this part of Chicago! Yow!! We found the right architecture tour totally by accident - and it was great. (And, parenthetically, Chicago is named for wild garlic - Ramps - Bärlauch - one of our favorite springtime treats here in Bremen.) 

Off to meet up with Ted and Elizabeth, a little adventure of its own, meeting up. They were there by car, we were there by train (btw, GREAT public transport in Chicago, at least from our experience in the center of town and a whole lot cheaper than in Bremen!). We were walking down Fullerton (a lovely, lovely neighborhood) in the direction of the nature museum and the Japanese reflecting pool when we finally connected. After hugs and hellos, we climbed into their little car, a cute electric-powered Mini. I got in the back because Werner would NEVER have been able to climb back there. Frankly, I was challenged and feeling my years!!

Ted's such a cool guy, my first German teacher (1985?), young enough to be my kid, old enough to be my friend. He's a documentary film maker (as is Elizabeth, who has a wonderful smile). We walked the nature preserve and on the way to the reflecting pond, I got attacked by some birds! Another Yow! Apparently, I was way too close to their babes, and I was sorry, but unscarred.

We enjoyed a nice interlude at the Japanese Lily Pond and later went to another interesting neighborhood to have coffee and a pastry at a very French café. And there was still time to visit the Contemporary Art Museum. Ted and Elizabeth got in free since it was Thursday and Thursday is Freeday for locals. (There's also a Freeday for residents at The Art Institute - so great! I think Bremen should do that.) 

Time to eat! A local hotel with a lovely restaurant was our choice, and, as always, two appetizers were enough for our dinner - one pizza, one roasted beet salad. Don't laugh. It was yummy.

What a lovely day it was.

Day 2, Wednesday, was Art Institute day. I had forgotten that though the museum opens at 10, that's only for members, so we had an hour to kill before we could get in, walked a bit more and had a coffee. Again. THEN, finally!! What a show. Normally, 2 hours in a museum is more than enough - my head gets full and my knees get tired and my back gets stiff. But we couldn't stop. Almost 5 hours later, we said, OK. Done. Some highlights.

Have I already said how FRIENDLY folks are here?? I was taking a pic of Werner mimicking the Walking Man and a woman comes up and says You go there, too! I'll take your picture! So, off I go and she's just so nice and smiley and I forget that Germans are so serious most of the time. Really, Germans are. Serious. Even the airport employees were full of smiles. What do they eat there???

We stopped for a coffee and snack before heading back to the hotel, but rain intervened. And how!! Tornado warnings, wind, wind, more wind, wetness. We got tired of waiting and found a slightly less awful time and high-tailed it back. Rest, then to eat close by.

Food was not a highlight of the trip. It was fine and we had a few nice things, but mostly we had regular food. Recommendations of hot dogs and pizza were ultimately ignored. Sorry. Maybe next time Chicago dogs and deep dish Chicago pizza.

Thursday was kinda full. First to a little breakfast where a 60ish woman came up to us while we were waiting for our order and said You two are so cute!  I just had to tell you!! Your clothes are perfect and your beard is wonderful and you just look great!    I wish I had a picture of her!

Well, speechless I was, almost. Of course, not the first very friendly encounter we had in Chicagoland. Without exception, folks there were helpful and smiling and I swear the South has real competition from Chicagoans when it comes to warm and welcoming.  We had a nice little chat and I tried to return the compliment (even though she was wearing really colorful and snug jogging shorts and a weirdly patterned t-shirt, but OK). Five minutes later, walking toward the Chagall mosaic, Werner wanted to take a picture of me walking the streets with a cardboard coffee cup since that's so NOT a German thing.

 Then comes a guy and says, Take my picture, too!  

Hilarious! And his partner offers to take my phone and take our picture with this random guy and he's talking the whole time and they are both smiling and laughing and it is so funny! Where are you from? Germany?! That's great! Enjoy!  Yes, sorry to say I checked that my wallet was still in my purse, and it was. They were just having fun. It happened a couple more times. There are some crazy folks in Chicagoland. 

The Chagall mosaic was being restored, so we only got a glimpse through the chain-link fence. 

Millennium Park was next. What a great place! We saw the HUGE fountain where the little ones were splashing and then heard the music, obviously live. 

And a rehearsal for an upcoming concert at the Pritzker Pavilion (designed b  Ghery. Of course. Who else does such spirals?)  was in progress and we had to sit and listen for a bit. 

Then to The Bean.  Frankly, not quite sure why this is such a draw, but clearly it is. 

This last pic is from the center, called the omphalus (belly-button to you uninitiated). The name fits.

Chicago from above was next on the list - the former Hancock Building and up to the 94th floor to see Chicago from above. The elevator trip took seconds, and I was happy the elevator walls were not glass. Looking at it all from the floor was just fine - we were not interested in the lean-over-at-45-degrees view.

Back we went on the bus on our $5 day ticket (what a deal!!) to the former Public Library, now the Chicago Cultural Center, free and open to the public every day. What an amazing edifice! Mosaics everywhere, sayings in all languages carved into marble, staircases, huge spaces that I could only imagine filled with books but now filled with exhibits of various sorts. 

We could have lingered, but we had a date with Joe Schramm, one of the UF crew from Werner's time there. But first, a quick stop for an umbrella!! After our soaking the night before, I wasn't interested in a museum visit in wet clothes.  We now are the proud owners of a ridiculously expensive Harry Potter collapsible umbrella. I think we'll take it to Dylan....

The Dreihaus Museum is a home built by one of the Chicago business moguls of the Gilded Age, now restored to its former glory. Like so many Victorian mansions, it was dark and decorated within an inch of its life!! Interesting, but, man, not my style.

Afterwards, Joe led us to the coffee shop at the front of the Ralph Lauren shop (very cool) and we wrapped up a fun visit with each other. And we'll see him again, soon!! He and his partner are coming to Germany in the summer and staying a few days in Bremen. Fun!

One more stop at Union Station, the main train station. Wow. I remember if from a scene in The Untouchables, particularly the scene where there were shots and blood and a mess and a baby in a carriage that bumped down the stairs while all that mayhem was going on. And there they were, the stairs. There is so much wonderful architecture in Chicago. 

I haven't mentioned the revolving doors! There were lots and on Day 3 I saw a note that said Use the revolving doors - they save energy. Makes sense.

More tornado warnings kept us close to the hotel for dinner, which was just fine. There are so many restaurants around.

We thought Friday would be another mostly touristy day because I foolishly did not question the reminders from my calendar, the calendar that was reading our flight time in German time, not Chicago time. So, we were not OF COURSE leaving Chicago at 11PM but rather at 4PM. Yes, you can call me names that rhyme with "rum." So, no trip to see the Obama Library. So sad! We took our time, packed up, had some breakfast, headed to O'Hare on the Blue Line, $2.50 each, 45 minutes. It looked like we would need at least an hour or more to get through the security check, but they were fast and we were done in 30 minutes, including a little talk with the guy checking Werner's passport who wanted to practice his German!  But you can't know how long it will take, all these checks, so we waited a long time before time to board. Then a nice passenger told us that as "seniors" we can board early. No standing in line because "old." We took her advice and went right to the front and they let us in!!! I will not forget that little piece of knowledge.

So, back home, right on time, 65°, cloudy and wanting to rain. We bucked up and changed clothes and went to the market (me) and the grocery (Werner) and then took a nap. 

What a whirlwind of a trip! What fun!  Eight days felt like at least two weeks of joy!! Hoping we might see Chicago again....