There’s a good reason all Germans carry an Allwetterjacke (all-weather jacket): German weather can fool you. One moment, you bask under a warm sun in the local Biergarten, and the next, you need to pull on your sweater. Especially in May, when after a long Winter of cold, dreary weather, everyone seeks the sun. But, just because the sun is…

On May the first, or Maitag, and throughout the month, you will see Maiglöckchen or Lily of the Valley everywhere you look. Flower shops sell bouquets and small posies. You will see images on cards, and people love to give them as a special sweet-smelling token of happiness, joy, and love. What made these little bell shaped flowers such an…

I love cakes that contain all sorts of flavors and textures. This Rhubarb Streusel Cake Recipe with Vanilla Cream (Rhabarbarkuchen mit Vanillecreme) does just that. The base is simple, and the Vanilla Cream filling is sweet (but not too sweet) and smooth. Over a pound and a half of tart rhubarb, topped by sweet, crunchy streusel, completes the picture. Altogether,…

Rhubarb cake topped with tasty sweet meringue has always been a Springtime favorite. This recipe brought back a lot of happy memories. Tucked away in an old journal, I found a few browned pages that I hand-copied from my Oma’s recipe drawer. She always took a short nap after lunch, so naturally, I took the opportunity to grab a few…

The first cake I baked in my Oma’s Kitchen was a Rhubarb Cake, Rhabarbarkuchen. It was Oma’s Doppelkopp day, and the ladies would all be coming over for cards, cake, and gossip, so she let my cousin and I bake the cake (all these years later, and I’m still STUNNED that she turned over such an important job to us!).…

While walking through the Farmer’s Market in Springtime, I was happily surprised to find a vendor selling Rhubarb, and I couldn’t resist buying every stalk she had on display. What to do with 12 stalks of Rhubarb? I could bake a cake, but I was in the mood for something quicker. When I was growing up, my mom and my…

In Germany, they eat seasonally: Strawberries and Asparagus in late Spring, Pfifferlinge in Summer, and Grünkohl (Kale) in Winter. Over the past 20 years, another seasonal dish has appeared on German menus in the Fall: Kürbissuppe or Pumpkin Soup. It’s everywhere. This flavorful, orange soup makes a rich starter or even a filling main meal. But how did Pumpkin Soup…

There’s a sort of funny joke circulating about a recipe blogger who confesses to a murder in the wordy part of the post before the actual recipe, but, since no one reads this part, she gets away with it. Don’t panic. There’s nothing in this Apricot Blueberry Streusel Cake Recipe post, except a recipe. But the idea is intriguing. (Filing…

Summer is here, so it’s time for “lighter” cakes that show off summer fruits. In Germany, I’ve enjoyed the Erdbeer Biskuitrolle mostly with süße Sahne (sweetened whipped cream), some homemade Erdbeermarmelade (strawberry jam), and fresh berries rolled up inside. The vanilla cake gets its lift from eggs so that you can feel less guilty about all that cream! Fresh strawberries…

My mother cooked German soups and Eintopfe (One-pot meals) all winter. Soups transform simple ingredients into flavorful and filling meals. German Potato Soup with Smoked Sausage is the perfect example of this.  The humble potato, the Erd-Apfel, was a side dish at almost every meal. (Boiled, fried, mashed, Klöße…) We were the only ones in our neighborhood with a special…

When you think of Massachusetts, the first thing that might come to mind is the rich tapestry of American history that’s woven into its cities and towns. But did you know that there’s also a strong German influence that’s left an indelible mark on its historical sites? From architecture to cuisine, German immigrants have greatly influenced the Bay State. They’ve left…

Most people don’t think about German-American history when they think about Southern California. Pennsylvania, of course, Wisconsin, naturally, but California? YES! Anaheim’s German History is a great story. The city of Anaheim began as a colony of Germans! (Yes, Anaheim, home to the House of Mouse). In 1857, 50 Germans formed an association called the Los Angeles Vineyard Company and…

A few years ago, I visited the Bremerhaven Auswandererhaus (Emigration Museum), and more recently, I visited Ellis Island, where many immigrants landed on the other side of the Atlantic. The museum houses the other half of the immigration story. I went, unsure of how much German history I would see; after all, Ellis Island acted as an immigration station for…

  1021 people, primarily women and children, perished in the General Slocum Disaster of 1904. And yet, the tragedy is mostly forgotten. Kleindeutschland (Little Deutschland) in New York City thrived through the 1800s into the turn of the century. German-Americans lived, worked, shopped, and worshipped in this thriving neighborhood. Then, on June 15, 1904, 1358 people climbed aboard the General…