Culinary heritage – Vegetarian Soljanka

September 23, 2017 by nadel&gabel

Soljanka – a hearty dish that was omnipresent on our trip through Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia. It probably is the best known Russian soup besides Borschtsch. It’s popular all around Eastern Europe and exists in uncountable variations. In Germany the popularity basically is limited to the eastern part of the country. 40 years of separation into two different states left its traces – by far not only, but as well in terms of culinary traditions. Due to ‘socialist brotherhood’ a […]

Categories: around the world, autumn, diets, German/Swabian, gluten-free, In the kitchen, seasons, soup & stew, vegetable, vegetarian, winter • Tags: cooking, cuisine, DDR, Eastern Europe, easy, Germany, gherkin, hearty, paprika, recipe, russian, smoked, soljanka, sour, stew, tart, tofu, weeknight

Eastward II – Spreewald and Weimar

September 16, 2017 by nadel&gabel

There it is: an isolated wooden house painted red, in the garden chard, tomatoes and thyme are growing besides flowers, happy sheep are jumping around in their enclosure while the chicken doesn’t let disturb herself in her picking routine. The evening sun brings the adjoining field to glow  .. and bsssh … a mosquito’s bite again. And in the sun room of the little, cozy furnished cabin lightened by a chain of lights  we sit in this Bullerbü-like scene, sip […]

Categories: Behind the camera, Germany, nature, objects & places, On the road, travel • Tags: architecture, Bauhaus, boat, Brandenburg, cafe, canoe, classic, culture, design, dragonfly, Germany, gherkins, Goethe, hideaway, history, literature, nature, park, remote, reserve, river, rural, sorbs, Spreewald, travel, weimar

Eastward I – Leipzig and Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland

September 3, 2017 by nadel&gabel

After our last holiday trip took us to a foreign far away island, we decided that we would like to discover in our summer holiday … other foreign far away places – but this time in Germany! Truth is that even in this small country for us there are still so many ‘blind spots’ that we only have vage ideas of or not even that. „Willst du immer weiter schweifen? Sieh, das Gute liegt so nah.” (J.W. Goethe, Erinnerung) Time […]

Categories: Behind the camera, Germany, nature, objects & places, On the road, travel • Tags: Bastei, Bohemia, bridge, city, Czech Republic, ecotourism, Elbe, Elbsandsteingebirge, forest, gauge, Germany, hideaway, hiking, industrial, Leipzig, monument, mountains, national park, organic, photography, retreat, river, sandstone, Saxon Swizerland, Saxony, Sächsische Schweiz, Schmilka, Spinnerei, travel, Tyssa

Me, myself and I in the Allgäu

May 27, 2016 by nadel&gabel

“For how many people would you like to book a table?” – “One. It’s just me.” An unfamiliar situation, like some more during those four days I stayed in the Allgäu. But then there were a lot of moments that didn’t feel strange at all. It were different things that led to this one-woman-short-trip. One of them was the fact that I indeed perceived this as a challenge, an exceeding of my couple comfort zone. At the same time there are so […]

Categories: Austria, Behind the camera, black & white, Germany, nature, objects & places, On the road, travel, Uncategorized • Tags: allgäu, alpine, Alps, Austria, cows, dining, explore, forest, Germany, gorge, hiking, hotel, lake, meadow, mountains, relax, retreat, river, spring, valley, view, walk

Right on the doorstep – A culinary day trip to the Swabian Alb

February 12, 2016 by nadel&gabel

Retrospectively I think that it is really embarrassing that I did this only now. It took me 15 years that I am living here to explore what lies right under my nose, to go on a small foodie day trip around the corner. I am far away from being spontaneous, but this time it was a quick decision in the morning, some internet research where I wanted to go … and I was on my way to the Schwäbische Alb (Swabian Alb) planning to visit […]

Categories: Behind the camera, Germany, grains & legumes, In the kitchen, nature, objects & places, On the road, salad, travel, vegan, vegetarian • Tags: Albleisa, artisan, bio, Bioland, Biosphärengebiet, buckwheat, buffalo, cafe, cheese, chocolate, cliff, food, Germany, heath, journey, landscape, lentil, local, making, mozzarella, natural, oil, organic, plateau, product, regional, reserve, Schwäbische Alb, smoked, soap, South, sparse, Swabian Alb, trout

Journey through time – A family gathering in the Black Forest

March 8, 2015 by nadel&gabel

On this first really springlike sunday this year I refuse to spend a lot of time at the desk. So excuse me that I will mostly let pictures speak for the moment. We spend a part of the weekend in the Black Forest where a family celebration took place. We celebrated an 80th birthday – a moment to review, a journey through time. The celebrations took place in one of the most traditional German holiday regions – the Black Forest. […]

Categories: Behind the camera, In the kitchen, nature, objects & places • Tags: Black Forest, cake, cookie & dessert, celebration, decoration, dining, fir, food, gathering, german, Germany, hotel, old-fashioned, retro, South, table setting, travel, trout, vacation

Pause and move

January 1, 2015 by nadel&gabel

Now here it is – the new year – with all its unwritten stories, plans, expectations and hopes… We started the new year the way we ended the now gone 2014 – in a slowed down and relaxed rhythm that you can truly follow only during this peculiar period “between the years”. This time the sudden – although not unexpected – onset of winter intensified this feeling of a temporary standstill. Like if nature wanted to tell us to decelerate, […]

Categories: Behind the camera, Black and white, Blogging, nature • Tags: blogging, Germany, landscape, life, nature, New Year, photography, snow, thought, winter

It’s becoming a tradition – Soul food weekend

July 8, 2014 by nadel&gabel

In the woods … yes it is again this (and this) remote place in the palatine forest the middle of nowhere where we spend again two days of cooking, baking, eating, relaxing, celebrating with a bunch of friends … surely by now it’s becoming a tradition. The idea of our cooking and baking was to use the ingredients as starting point: No concrete plans, but inspiration. Zucchini, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, peaches, berries … what can make out of these […]

Categories: autumn, Behind the camera, bread, breakfast, cake, cookie & dessert, In the kitchen, meat, nature, salad, spread, sauce & spice, vegetable, vegetarian • Tags: antipasti, baking, barbecue, berries, blackberries, blueberries, bread, cooking, crust, dip, forest, Germany, grill, lemon, meat, nature, Palatine, photography, remote, rural, salad, summer, tarte, vegetable

Eating tarte in the woods

June 14, 2013 by nadel&gabel

We’ve been in the woods again (and already a week has passed by since). With a group of about 40 friends we enjoyed the beautiful landscape, fresh forest air and great food. Of course, I couldn’t resist to get involved in all the cooking and baking. It’s always fun to work in the kitchen with our friend Marcus, who turns into a real pro when it comes to baking. For the afternoon coffee time we made some brioche and simple […]

Categories: Behind the camera, bread, cake, cookie & dessert, Germany, In the kitchen, meat, nature, On the road, summer, travel, vegetarian • Tags: almond, baking, barbecue, berries, blueberries, brioche, bun, burger, cake, chocolate, cookie & dessert, crust, food, french, Germany, nuts, recipe, summer, tarte, travel