My first entry… this is pretty exciting!

Another food blog, I know. With so many food blogs going up every day, how can I compete with some of the best out there? Like most food bloggers, I read blogs for the wonderful recipes and delicious photos. I’ve always been fond of cooking and grew up watching my Mom and Grandmothers, the heart and soul of our family, in the kitchen. As I watched from the kitchen table, they would cook, carrying on conversations while darting back and forth from the fridge to the sink to the stove as laughter filled the room. I watched them make family favorites like hand-made dumplings for chicken soup, delicious southern sausage gravy, or the crispiest fried chicken I’ve ever tasted. I would sit and observe these women whom I’ve always looked up to and knew in my heart that food was love.

Four years ago, my husband’s career took us from the wonderful big city life of Chicago to a scenic wine village in southwestern Germany. After years of working in the design industry, I decided that this was my chance to venture off and learn everything I could about European cooking. Where we live also borders on France and Switzerland which of course means access to a variety of local ingredients. I like to go to the newsstand, and browse the array of european gastronomy magazines until I find something that catches my eye. I swing by the market to pick up ingredients, then hop on my dutch bicycle, it’s basket full of food, and head home to start cooking.

Here is a journal of what we’re craving and I’m happy to share my recipes, photos and stories with you. Some of my recipes are simple, some are advanced, many of them are vegetarian but there are also plenty of meat dishes. There is a little something here for everyone. I hope you enjoy.