Travel essays from Germany and beyond.
My favorite way to spend a day off for the last few years (as long as I’m not cooking during that free time) is a short one-day trip somewhere nearby. Exactly since the pandemic, when I was sitting alone in the forest and, so as not to lose my mind, I started walking around the … Read more
That, unless you hijacked an Italian truck, you have no eating.From Perugia, in central Italy, last week, a truck full of Kit Kats set off. Destination Poland. Along the way, supplying successive countries. And it disappeared!Interestingly, according to the official statement from Nestle, it is not known where the truck disappeared.I’m asking more than stating … Read more
One of those conveniences, one of those devices without which, after some time, you wonder how you ever lived. Unless you practice zen while kneading dough for 20 minutes. But, quoting a classic, for that you need a lot of phlegm in you — and “in me there’s nothing but fury.” If you make dough, … Read more
“In water, fish screw,” as folk wisdom says — so in vegan or plant-based cooking, there’s no place for water. Because that wouldn’t be vegan. Seriously, though: cooking soups, sauces, etc., using juice, oat milk, or broth instead of plain water lifts them to a whole new level. I developed this broth over several years, starting in … Read more
Christmas Eve in Poland means fish flavors.Even if it’s just herring and carp, there must be fish. Herring, the basic fish of Hamburg and North German street food (Fischbrötchen, the classic fish-in-a-bun), is a people’s fish — staple food for fishermen and villagers along the Baltic and North Sea coasts for centuries. In plant-based cooking, … Read more
Traditionally, Christmas Eve dinner is a fasting meal, so you really don’t have to try very hard to make 12 fully vegan Christmas dishes.But we also have no reason to limit our creativity — especially since today’s Christmas Eve customs are guests from abroad anyway: from Germany (the Christmas tree), from Ukraine (kutia), or even … Read more
Is it possible to host a vegan Christmas Eve? Absolutely — and it can be fully in line with Polish holiday tradition. Much more so than the Western-inspired habit of serving roasted poultry for Christmas Eve dinner. If we look deeper into history — and also deeper into society — we see a culinary reality that is very different from what … Read more
Born and raised in Poland, I’ve only been living in Germany for a few years now. Nothing illustrates the phenomenon of Polish Christmas Eve (Wigilia) better than the reactions of my German friends when I tell them about the traditional and widely practiced Polish Christmas Eve. The most unique and shocking tradition for other nations … Read more
Sandwiches built Germany. Actually, not just Germany. All of Europe and North America. Sandwiches that workers took with them to work. And these weren’t sandwiches with fancy cold cuts — workers couldn’t afford that. But, for example, with various spreads, because those were easy to make tasty out of scraps, leftovers, and the cheapest ingredients. Here’s another … Read more
My latest culinary fascination is… German cuisine. Yes, the very same German cuisine I regularly bash. More precisely, something I consider to be a true German specialty. And no, it’s not Bratwurst or oatmeal. It’s Brotaufstrich! Which means all kinds of spreads and pastes for bread. INGREDIENTS: 200 g canned or cooked chickpeas 50 g capers 50 g … Read more
