Spoonfuls of Germany


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What’s underneath a lid

Yogurt

At breakfast with a friend and her daughter in Germany a few years ago, I quietly held my breath wondering how the little girl would eat her yogurt. And she did it! Without interrupting her happy chatter, she peeled back the foil, then scraped off the tiny bit of yogurt before eating the whole thing.

I leaned back, relieved and touched. My friend had passed on to her daughter what we were taught as kids. Continue reading


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High time for poppy seeds

Poppy Seed Bread Pudding I

“Can poppy seeds get you high?”, is a question that pops up a lot when you search for poppy seeds on the Internet. In fact, consuming only three poppy seed bagels can lead to false positives in over-the-counter drug tests, as demonstrated in a 2003 episode of Discovery Channel’s MythBusters.

Walk into any well-assorted pastry shop in Germany and you will likely find sheet cake, streusel cake, or poppy seed roll with a generous poppy seed filling. Continue reading


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Warming up to cabbage

Duck, potato dumplings and red cabbage

For Thanksgiving this year, I made an all-German menu from my cookbook: Roasted Duck Stuffed with Rum-soaked Raisins and Apples, Potato Dumplings, and Spiced Red Cabbage.

I usually do not like cabbage yet a while ago I decided it was time to take my cabbage dislike head-on. Continue reading