Into the Krauts – Golden and red Sauerkraut

November 19, 2017 by nadel&gabel

5 1/2 years of food blogging and quite some more of cooking … it took such a long time for me to attempt one of the most iconic German dishes, Sauerkraut. The ‘Krauts‘ – the view from outside doesn’t leave any doubts. Although Germans weren’t the first that developed the idea of lacto-fermented cabbage. I, for my share, have made already a few experiences with wild fermentation – homemade yoghurt, Kimchi ,water kefir -, learned about the health benefits, especially for digestion and […]

Categories: around the world, autumn, dairy-free, diets, German/Swabian, gluten-free, In the kitchen, pantry, salad, seasons, spread, sauce & spice, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian, winter • Tags: bacteria, beetroot, cabbage, carrot, cumin, fermentation, fermented, flavour, german, ginger, healthy, Kraut, lactic acid, pantry, probiotic, recipe, Sauerkraut, turmeric, vitamin, winter

Bittersweet symphony – Orange marmalade

January 22, 2017 by nadel&gabel

Bitterness these days seems to be a (global) social diagnosis. Hostility and anxiety are spreading and seem to poison peaceful living together. Sometimes you just want to resign, withdraw from all the … This point has to be overcome. And it will be. Not at once, not by a single person,… … but bitterness can be transformed into courage, it can awaken good forces, strengthen people and bring them together in opposition, articulating loudly their vision of a tolerant, understanding, […]

Categories: dairy-free, diets, gluten-free, In the kitchen, pantry, seasons, spread, sauce & spice, vegan, vegetarian, winter • Tags: bitter, breakfast, change, citrus, jam, juice, marmalade, marmelade, orange, preserving, recipe, spread, sweet, transformation, winter, womens march, zest

The flavour of Christmas – Yeasted waffles Panettone style

December 22, 2016 by nadel&gabel

Before this blog goes into a little Christmas break and I fully immerse into real life with family, presents, a lot of game dishes, cookies, sweet liqueur,… I have a last recipe for this year left for you – obviously Christmas inspired. It’s warm crisp waffles and (kind of) Panettone or Christstollen, all in one! Hooray for Christmas! I boroughed the waffle base from Molly‘s challah waffles recipe, itself an adaption on the classic Belgian Gaufre de Liège. They’re pillowy soft, buttery […]

Categories: around the world, bread, cake, cookie & dessert, dairy-free, diets, German/Swabian, In the kitchen, seasons, snacks & small dishes, vegetarian, winter • Tags: bake, candied, challah, christmas, Christstollen, festive, lemon, liege, orange, Orangeat, panettone, pearl sugar, peel, recipe, sweet, waffle, winter, yeast

Alien – Spiced cake bars

November 27, 2016 by nadel&gabel

   There are times, when I’m surrounded by a bubble that follows me wherever I go. It’s a shield that protects me at least to a certain extent from this crazy, disturbing place our world has become. It’s desperately needed to distance from all the hate an alienation that we’re faced with these days. It’s a wall, too: Invisible, but preventing full immersion, full connection with others. Always one step aside, an alien amongst groups of insiders. Do we have to resign, accept all […]

Categories: cake, cookie & dessert, diets, In the kitchen, seasons, vegetarian, winter • Tags: anis, bar, cake, cardamom, christmas, cinnamon, easy, gingerbread, glaze, hygge, recipe, spice, warming, winter

Underneath the surface – Celeriac apple slaw

February 7, 2016 by nadel&gabel

It wasn’t love at first sight. How could you fall in a love with a grey/brown bumpy ball? Aesthetics is not quite the strength of the celeriac (aka celery root). I would go as far as to say it’s the most unattractive root I’ve seen. And probably there are a lot of people that are put off by this strange looking something that easily gets overlooked beneath beauties like the sophisticated cauliflower or the colourful paprika… There is a lot […]

Categories: gluten-free, In the kitchen, salad, seasons, Uncategorized, vegetable, vegetarian, winter • Tags: apple, celeriac, celery, fresh, root, roots, salad, slaw, umami, Waldorf, winter

Skin nourishment – Whipped body butter

February 3, 2016 by nadel&gabel

Yes, I am giving a recipe to you here, but this time it is not to feed your belly but your skin, altough you’ll find most of the ingredients in your kitchen cabinet. Let me go farther back for a bit: As probably a lot of people, especially in winter I suffer from dry skin. Throughout the years I’ve experimented with a lot of body lotions and butters, and I had some quite satisfying results. But nothing could compete with […]

Categories: cosmetics, craft & DIY • Tags: almond, aloe vera, body, butter, care, cocoa, coconut oil, cosmetics, easy, essential, mild, mineral oil free, moisturizing, natural, nourishing, oil, organic, shea, vegan, whipped, winter

Comforting and nourishing – German potato soup

January 10, 2016 by nadel&gabel

  Hello again! I hope everyone had a good start into 2016! Actually I’ve ment to report back here sooner, but the new year started with some left over work from the old one … 😦 Anyway, I don’t want to start the new complaining. I had great days with my family and friends, yummy food and I enjoyed to be mostly cooked for. We had time to think about the new year, plans, wishes, hopes, while the weather outside … […]

Categories: autumn, German/Swabian, In the kitchen, soup & stew, vegetable, vegetarian, winter • Tags: celeriac, comfort, easy, food, german, healthy, potato, recipe, roots, sausage, simple, soup, stew, vegetable, warming, winter

Ornamental christmas tradition – Springerle

December 6, 2015 by nadel&gabel

With christmas time – besides other things – I associate the following situation: I’m coming back to my parent’s home from the cold snowy outside, putting on my knitted socks, leaning my back to the tiled stove and warming my stiff cold fingers with a cup of hot tea. In between taking sips of the hot tea, I am dipping my Springerle cookie into it, let it soak and take a bite. Finally the fingers have warmed, the stomach as well, […]

Categories: cake, cookie & dessert, dairy-free, German/Swabian, In the kitchen, Uncategorized, vegetarian, winter • Tags: anise, aniseed, christmas, cookie, cutter, easy, engraved, floral, geometric, model, modern, mould, ornamental, pattern, picture, recipe, rolling pin, springerle, stamp, sugar, tea, winter

Handy – Reversible knitters project bag

November 22, 2015 by nadel&gabel

Already yesterday there was this smell in the air. Yes, I insist on this: You can smell upcoming snow! And when I got up this morning, over night the surrounding had magically transformed. As a daily commuter by car, I am aware of all the discomforts snow and cold temperatures bring with them. But every year, when I see for the first time again rooftops and trees covered in white, when I recognize the silence that snow creates, I forget about […]

Categories: accessories, At the sewing machine, wallets & pouches • Tags: accesory, bag, carry, Craft, crafter, gift, knitter, knitting, lotta jansdotter, pattern, pouch, project, reversible, sewing, travel, tutorial, winter, wristlet, yarn