“Where are we going”? I asked my mother after she picked me up from the airport in Frankfurt on a day in early May a few years ago. I had been dozing in my seat and first thought I imagined that she took unfamiliar country back roads instead of heading straight home. “Didn’t you want do pick Bärlauch (ramsons)? I will take you to a great spot.” Of course I wanted to. Continue reading
I don’t remember the last time I connected with a piece of writing the way I do with Irina Dumitrescu’s “My Father and the Wine,” which has been selected for The Best American Essays 2016 and nominated for the MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award from the James Beard Foundation. Continue reading
It seems that our son has finally succumbed to German chocolate. In the past he had rarely asked me to bring anything back from my trips to Germany but last time he requested a few bars of the iconic square-shaped German chocolate. In an ingenious move, Clara Ritter, the wife of the manufacturer, had suggested the square shape in 1932 so that it would fit in any men’s sports coat pocket without breaking. It became one of Germany’s favorite chocolates. Continue reading
Spoonfuls of Germany 