Mini Franzis

Hamburg is my home base. A very lovely city that is not as hyped as other European cities (Berlin, London, Paris) and my hidden gem with loads of outside activities to do, secret spots to discover off the path, a varied culinary scene and the best about it: Some traditional Hamburgeois foods. Nothing too fancy. Simple…

Getting to know: Original Unverpackt in Berlin (DE)

+++ English version see below+++Special post in German+++ Mein erster Besuch im Original Unverpackt (OU) Laden hat sich angefühlt wie Weihnachten. Gelesen habe ich von Original Unverpackt schon vor ein paar Monaten und konnte es gar nicht abwarten einmal in Person vor den Regalen zu stehen und live einzukaufen! Meine einzige Hürde war ein Besuch…

Getting to know: Caramelized, the cookbook app

Caramelized…mmmhh, that must be a desert or cake you must think, maybe crème brûlée. Not quite. Sorry to disappoint you, it’s much better: Caramelized is a smart phone and tablet app that lets you to find great cookbooks, manage your favourite recipes and even download the shopping list to your smart phone. Gone are the days of…

The seasonal salad…

…and how to use healthy home delivery services. Folks, it’s been a while and I apologize but lately my food creations were very limited. So nothing I could share with you. Too boring. Too busy. Bread and cheese. Quick Chinese wok dishes. Hmmmm. BUT I signed up for a great service a month ago: Every…

Typically German: Zwiebelkuchen & Federweißer

My dear blog readers, Today I am very proud to post a typically German dish which originates in the wine-growing valleys of the Rhine. Oppenheim is one of those picturesque little sleepy towns and my home town. Not much happens there but when falls comes in and it gets time to harvest the grapes, it…

Yumwe invitation: Southern Food in Hamburg

Note to my English speaking followers: I am exceptionally posting in German today. This post refers to an event I visited in Hamburg last week and my German friends like to remind me that I should post in German once in a while. Heute mache ich eine Ausnahme und schreibe auf Deutsch :) Erstaunlicherweise werde ich…

Getting to know: Chinese LaMian Noodles @ Studio Bühler, Hamburg

LaMian, hen hao che! :) This weekend was fun time, dear friends and followers, Chris and I had signed up for an exclusive LaMian prepare-them-yourself cooking action session. And let me tell you, for that night I really felt sent back in time, to the good old China times, when we used to get the…

Bali chicken

Dear gourmet friends, Today I have a little announcement to make: My Vegan challenge is over and successfully accomplished. The first two weeks went very well, apart from some stomach aches I got as a result of me eating too many wholegrain products. The last two weeks were tougher, especially the weekends. That´s when we…

Vegan Birthday Cake

Ingredients: 300 g sugar or raw sugar 450 g white flour 6 tablespoons cocoa powder vanilla flavor (1 pack Vanillinzucker) 1 tablespoon backing soda (1 pack Backpulver) 150 ml cooking oil (canola or colza oil, neutral taste) 200 ml soy or rice milk 300g (3 bars) dark chocolate Preparation: 1) Chop 100 g of the…

Gib-mir-die-Kugel Torte (Hazelnut Cream Cake)

If one day you would like to seduce a friend or family member with a one of a kind birthday cake, then I´ve got the right recipe for you! This cake is a dream of hazelnut cream, made with two packs of Ferrero Rocher chocolate balls. And the best thing about it: It´s gluten free….

Getting to know: Meßmer Momentum (Hamburg, DE)

What I like to include in my Hamburg discovery tours are culinary expeditions. We have a friend visiting us this weekend and so we had a perfect occasion yesterday to explore Hamburg´s Meßmer Momentum. Meßmer is an old German tea trading company and in most German supermarkets you will find Meßmer tea products. What is…

Halloween’s pumpkin deliciousness

Pumpkin time isn’t over yet and so I have decided to post another pumpkin recipe. This time I’m sending you a very nice side dish! Basically, you only need one pumpkin and a few spices for it. So why not try it out? One thing to remember when you cook pumpkin: Don’t overcook it or…

Getting to know: Yumwe

Yumwe is a brand new German startup and social community, which combines cooking with making & meeting friends. Kochen macht Freunde translates into ‘Cooking makes friends’, and reminds of the saying Kochen macht Freude = ‘Cooking is fun’! I got to know Yumwe in a very unconventional way: Two weeks ago, I went out and…

Getting to know: Kochhaus (Germany)

Innovation and cooking are two things that go well together. I moved to Hamburg last week and was very happy to discover Kochhaus. Kochhaus is a local start up revolutionizing fast food. For any meal they offer, the customer purchases the individual ingredients (multiples of 1 person, depending on how many hungry souls you would…

A propos: How to make curd cheese (German Quark)

Being in the US sometimes confronts me with certain ‘food shortages’. These days you find a huge variety of international food in the grocery stores but some of my favorites and essentials do not exist. The most recent shortage I came across is curd cheese (similar to cream cheese but not as rich and in…

Anise biscuits

Lately, I was looking for herbs that help digestion and I came across anise. Much tastier than a herbal tea with anise and fennel I thought, would be to make anise cookies. I store them in a tin box and grab one or two after lunch, if I feel like it. Ingredients (makes 40 cookies):…

Spaghetti Ferrari

Looking for a quick, yet delicious recipe? Lately, I tried to find a spaghetti alternative to the all-time favorite spaghetti bolognese and I came across a recipe from Chefkoch. Spaghetti Ferrari are incredibly easy to make, not too heavy and very tasty. The name comes from the spicy taste, as the sauce is made with…

Christmas cookies: Dominos (Dominosteine)

I can’t help it but these days I get into an extreme Christmas cookie baking mood, can’t wait for Christmas! I am not sure if this originally is a German recipe but since I only know the German name for it, I assume so :) Enjoy this recipe, it’s easy to make.     Ingredients:…

Cantuccini

Cantuccini are an Italian specialty with almonds and are served with coffee or wine. Ingredients 250 g flour 100 g sugar 1 pinch of each of the following: salt, ground cloves, cardamom ½ tea spoon cinnamon 1 tea spoon lemon skin 1 pack vanilla sugar (8 g) 1 tea spoon baking soda 1 – 2 table…

A propos: Salad dressing and croutons

A plain green salad can be a little boring. To make it a more tasty affair, a nice dressing and croutons are your essentials (home-made, of course!). Basic salad dressing Ingredients 5 table spoons of olive oil (the better the oil quality, the tastier your dressing, brand example: Bertolli) 3 table spoons of vinegar (my…