At the age of 18 I traveled to Bitburg, Germany as an exchange student for one year. For the first time I was exposed to a European lifestyle of cooking and shopping for food. I was fortunate that the mother in the household was a retired chef . She had cooked in Alsace so her food had a mix of German and French influences. I knew very little German when I arrived and Mama knew even less English, so you could say I learned to speak the language in the kitchen and food markets of Bitburg.

    Almost every day we went shopping for provisions and she was very particular about where she purchased everything. She had different butchers for sausages and fresh pork. A sturdy bread for abendbrot that arrived from outside the town was only available on certain days and was so big we only bought half a loaf. We only ate veal when we traveled 30km to Trier to purchase the best kalbfleisch. Our beer was delivered by horse drawn wagon from the famous Bitburger Pils brewery and we made regular outings to the Mosel for our house Riesling.

    In no time I was hooked and every day when we came home at noon from the gymnasium I was in the tiny kitchen helping. Mama never used a cookbook, but like most chefs cooked by taste and smell and a wealth of knowledge. I learned to do the same with help from her “ bission mehr salz” ( little more salt) and “ schmecht gut” (tastes good).

My favorite word became petersilie (parsley) because the word rolled off my tongue and I could mince it like a pro.

    When I was about to come home I wanted recipes to bring back so I started a notebook. I wrote while she cooked. These recipes are mostly loose instructions, written in English and German, or translated from German directly so you get phrases like “ when the Rotkraut done is “. The Rotkraut, or Red Cabbage recipe is typical of the food we ate and the way she cooked. After you get everything in the pot you must “ taste brew for whatever is not there”, a lesson I remember every day.