Updated: November 19, 2025 The recipe below was inspired by this one I came across on my friend’s Pinterest: Lasagne mit Wirsing, Hackfleisch und Kartoffeln (Lasagna with Savoy Cabbage, Ground Beef, and Potatoes). Since I had made Hearty Cold-Weather Cabbage Rolls just the week before, I wanted to make something different with the leftover cabbage. I liked the ingredient…
Hearty Cold-Weather Cabbage Rolls
We woke up one morning to an instant winter wonderland, although technically it’s still fall. With a chill in the air, it was the perfect weather to heat up the kitchen with a hearty meal. Years ago when we still lived in Aachen I bought a meal of cabbage rolls from a local deli and…
Duck Two Ways (Confit and Breasts)
There’s nothing better than the smell of duck roasting in the oven—especially when it’s all day long. Our dog Mogly agrees and has been caught in front of the oven door with his nose madly sniffing the savoury air. We enjoy duck in the fall and winter seasons, often making duck breasts with risotto and…
Meeting the Mother City
[Note: This entry is not a recipe blog but a part of our new ‘Food and Wine experiences’ category.] Ralph and I recently returned from a two-week stay in Cape Town and the surrounding breathtaking region of Cape WineLands. It was my first and hopefully not my last time there. The weariness from a 14…
Savoury Roast Chicken on a Charcoal Grill
Roast chicken is another one of those go-to comfort meals you can count on for ease, great taste, and best of all—leftovers. We like to make ours more savoury, using fresh herbs from our garden with olive oil. There’s nothing like the scent of roast chicken from your kitchen oven during colder months. But in…
Bobotie (sweet and curried ground beef casserole)
A few years ago we had a summer holiday in southern Germany, including a stay in Heidelberg. We spent an afternoon visiting wineries on the German Wine Route (Deutsche Weinstraße) and made a stop at Hammel & Cie. Their wines are delicious and very reasonably priced—we had a box of 12 wines shipped home to…
How to grill a steak—with confidence
(Written by Ralph) This is the method I have finally arrived at that is mostly fool-proof for me. I don‘t have a „sizzle zone“ on my 20 year old Weber Genesis but the heat gets high enough to get a nice sear anyway. You can do it like this over charcoal too by using a…
Oma Marion’s Chicken Sloppy Joes on Croissants
Sloppy Joes is a popular American dish, traditionally made with ground beef. This version of Sloopy Joes is made with chicken or turkey, and was handed down by Ralph’s mother Marion. It’s simple yet bursting with comfort food flavour—a perfect weeknight dinner and great way to use up leftover roast chicken or turkey and gravy….
Trout ceviche with grapefruit
This recipe is an inspiration from our recent visit to the beautiful town of Marone on Lago d’Iseo in Italy—a small valley village on the edge of a shimmering lake. It’s one of those places where you arrive and are mesmerized. At first, you can’t believe you’re so fortunate to be staying there, and then…
White asparagus (Spargel) soup in pressure cooker
Spargel season will be finished here in a few weeks, and we realized we haven’t yet made white asparagus soup. It is so yummy with very few ingredients needed as you want the asparagus flavour to shine. Here in Germany if you’re buying asparagus from the market, they offer you stems already peeled which saves…
We are cookin' with gas! 