I was never really that ‘into’ bread before I went to Germany. I liked bread of course, but I hadn’t really ever thought much about it beyond making toast in the morning or spread with butter at the dinner table. More often I would choose other carbs such as pasta, potatoes, or crackers and snack […]
On Valentine’s day I met my husband at his office and we went to one of our favorite restaurants in town for hot tomato soup and herbed bread. Afterwards, we went to the grocery store for a few things and after he saw me pick up a package of chocolate covered butter cookies, then a […]
A few months ago I was having trouble sleeping and for some reason I kept waking up at 4:35am. I didn’t even need to look at the clock to know, I already knew before looking that it was 4:35. What does that mean? It went away for a while but recently it has started up […]
A little over a year ago I made a new friend. Kara came from Chicago to stay in our village for 2 months while her boyfriend worked on a project with my husband. As it always is in the beginning you talk, ask questions, find out what you have in common. On a whim we decided […]
Today dear readers, you will thank me for this post. With the following home-made vanilla recipe, you will not only save money, but you will come to appreciate how valuable it is to know just what it is you are eating. Now, I’m sure many of you are thinking “I don’t have time for this”or […]
As I raised the blinds this morning I was blinded by the glare of freshly fallen snow. It looks pretty at first but after days of constant flurries it is enough to send me back under the blankets to continue my hibernation. I want to shut myself off from the dreary grey skies and colorless, […]
A little over a week ago we returned to Germany after spending three weeks in the States enjoying the holidays with our families, and as the plane touched down with a jolt I was shaken out of my holiday mood and the familiar homesick feelings crept back into my heart. At this time every year […]
I know, I know… apple galette’s, coq au vin, a decadent chocolate cake, casseroled artichokes and then I write a post about White Castle hamburgers. What is going on here? They’re called cravings people. We get cravings living overseas for food from home. Sometimes, lying in bed, we take turns naming things we miss most. If I […]
It all began on a cold February morning in 2000. I had a severe cold and a term paper due in twenty minutes that I had been up all night writing… As I was sitting in the computer lab adding the finishing touches and printing it out, I noticed a guy looking at me from […]
When I was in elementary school, I was a Girl Scout. You know, a green skirt, white collar shirt, and a green vest showing off every badge I had received. I tried to earn every badge I could and I was a very determined scout. In the fall of the sixth grade, I participated in […]
I don’t like Sundays. Who does? It’s the last day before a new week starts, before the hustle and bustle of a monday morning, a flood of emails, pointless meetings and never-ending projects. When I start to get the case of the “Sundays”, I think back to when it was the day when, like most […]
Outside the window, the trees are turning shades of gold and crimson and the leaves are starting to fall. It seems like it happens overnight; one day it’s cool, the next its chilly and overcast, then for days on end its cold and raining, and finally there are days when the sun tries to shine […]
A Cook's Canvas 