BonVivant

Chilled buttermilk soup with "pesto" (chard leaves, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds etc). Butter from the sea (new-catch Matjes) Bread brought back from Middle Mosel A few things to put on bread Mashed broad beans and mozz "Potato cheese" (Austrian and south German mashed potato spread with soured cream) Iberico charcuterie and runny St Marcellin Strawberry spread (mashed with a fork, chia seeds added) and fruits. And lastly

@KennethT, Sorry, not much help for your trip re restaurant recs. It seems so long ago... I was in the capital for 5 days and only ate in restaurants a couple of times, I think. Had an apartment and wanted to buy local lamb and "exotic" (to us) meats, also seafood to cook and eat in the apartment. For sure you must try the lamb. I ate it in Japan the first time and went to Reykjavik the following year. Langoustines and prawns, too, of course. Don't have to try fermented shark and hot dog, really. (I did anyway). Whatever you eat it'll be nice. Enjoy your trip. One of the most incredible countries.

Brought back from recent holiday in Middle Mosel New season Matjes arrived last week. I have already ate them several times (plain and whole fish), but back to my favourite way, with dairy and some sour fruit (Pink Lady in this). A bit Swedish-style "Midsommar" (mid-summer) meal but without the singing and dancing. Claws of brown crab (Cancer pagurus) Do this once a year 551gr/1,2lbs from 2kg/4,4lbs. Steamed asparagus. Crispy fried Speck on top. Smoked Mettwurst (a type of sausage) cooked in the broth. Also boiled red potatoes. A meal back in Middle Mosel. Sparkling Riesling and Frikadellen (pork-beef mince patties).

A piece of a big skate wing. Steamed green asparagus Pork filets were pounded flat and thin. They curled up and looked thick here. Made in the style of Portuguese "bifana". Bolo de caco brought back from Madeira Real Mexican flour tortillas and prawns to make tacos. Oysters for slurping on the side. @Smithy, I love that bread (called tandoor bread in Turkish). My favourite Turkish supermarket makes it on premisses. They have a little room with 1 tandoors. The baker is a young man and he can't make it fast enough. It flies out the door on Saturdays.

Back in (food) hell now. Meals are from a couple of weeks and couple of days ago. Slow-cooked lamb shoulder in the oven. Round balls are actually dumplings from bread crumbs. Harvested all the lemon balm in the garden and made a thick sauce with them. Underneath the surface it's bright green like the leaves on the plates. Salmon poached in Riesling. A simple pasta with green asparagus "sauce". (In Traben-Trarbach the other day) Menu says "farmer- style" liver pate. It's supposed to be darker and coarse, and more importantly, must taste of liver. What I got was white and hardly had liver taste. Too much cream. It's for people who hate liver, surely. I love liver so this is not what it's supposed to be. I asked if it was "farmer-style" and they said yes. Classic Flammkuchen. Most winery tasting rooms are open in the second half of the week and only serve simple meals. To keep the glasses chilled just pour Riesling into them.

A giant, glazed Franzbrötchen (a type of pastry) filled with poppy seeds. Marzipan "snail" Red current "snail" Later at a simple restaurant in a village on my bike route. It was hard to make a photo of this boletus cream soup as there was no texture to focus on (I focused on the little black fleck). But it was good and the flavour of boletus was intense. Pork (usually stuffed with something) grilled over coals, traditionally. Or in the oven. - Germany, is one the the most forest-covered countries in Europe. - The village where I ate my meal above. - Official sign of Mosel Wine Route - The photo cannot convey the steep terrain these terraced vineyards are built on. Goats would love the height. - One can "sponsor" a grapevine plant. Get 3 bottles of wine each year for the sponsorship. Here you can see name, place of residence, and year on each slate sign. - What a lovely part of Germany. (Green) beauty in every direction. Tourists tend to only visit the big cities and miss out on some of the best experiences, like this valley. So thanks again, for going to France and Italy. Thanks, @blue_dolphinand @heidih! (Rare to see someone using a real camera these days, let alone a female. Photo was taken from up here yesterday.)

Don't enjoy to go to the supermarket in my food hell, but on holiday I look at every aisle, fridge and freezer! The wonderful German supermarkets are always fun to wander round. How fast the time passes when you are busy checking out what the inhabitants like to eat and have access to. In my food hell we are not clever enough, or interested in having frozen, ready to eat boletus and salsify. The horseradish cream blew my nostrils off. I overestimated myself. The 1 big (sliced in half) boletus takes up much of the package. Meat is Kasseler. A pork product that's been cured and smoked. Another day, another sparkling Riesling. Some "snacks" Bakery in the neighbourhood. Notice it's also open on Sundays and holidays, for 3 hours. Germans need their fantastic bread daily. Most things are closed on those days. On the way back from a 15km walk when I was passing by vineyards on the way down I stopped to watch a farmer work. There’s a built-in ramp on the side of the tractor that he drove his lawn mower like machine on it. I think the little machine is for clearing weeds between the vine rows. He drove all the way down to the end of each row, back to the top, then onto the ramp. And how did he move the tractor to the next row? By using a control panel within his reach. The process was repeated until every row was done. The vineyards here are so steep, most of the time you can't just stand on the ground. You must hold on to something. Here he came back up again from the bottom of the slope. When he drove onto the ramp he was lying half way flat. After watching the farmer I started walking again and saw this. Thanks for your hard work, farmers! Finally reaching the street level and admiring my twin village through the rows of vine. Next year or 2 they will be in bottles so that we could enjoy. Without the farmers, the bees and critters there would be no wine! Respect for (vineyard) farmers.

Mildly smoked Matjes I'm a bread eater in best (sourdough) bread paradise. Pentecost long weekend, most places were closed. On top of that it rained all day. Riesling Sekt (Champagne-style) comes in Brut and Trocken (dry) and I usually get both. This winery has a tasting garden and cellar just across the street from my lodging. I hadn't planned on doing any cooking. Forgot to get some herbs for this sauce so it's just soft eggs mixed in yogurt. - There's a container specifically for shoes. In some other places you can only drop stuff in containers at certain time of the day. The times are printed on the containers like in the photo. - The 2 carriage train to get around this area is called Mosel Wine Train, but locals call it "Guzzle Little Train". You can visit different villages and drink lots of Riesling there. Some people buy bottles and drink in parks, on benches, on pavement, anywhere really. - Sheltering under a big tree waiting for a big downpour to stop.

Winery tasting room serving simple food is an easy 5 minute walk from my lodging. Local/regional game (I think most probably wild boar) plate. Coarse Leberwurst, salami, terrine, Game terrine. Need more gherkins (I eat them a lot at home). Coarse game Leberwurst Game Bratwurst with cripsy fried Speck and potatoes Slate is everywhere here. This is one of the reasons Mosel Riesling tastes so good and dry. In Riesling paradise Views from my table On the way back to the lodging 7 in a perfectly straight row I'm based in this twin village on the banks of the Mosel. The 2 villages are connected by a bridge. Local wildlife We sat here. Want to have a picnic at this very spot one of these days. Saw (female) locals watch sunset with beer in hands here which gave me the picnic idea.. The Mosel river. Thanks for going to France, Italy, Australia, NZ etc! One of the most beautiful vineyard valleys in the world and I'm here, again (last time I stayed in the impossibly pretty village called Bremm). See how the Mosel twists and turns much of the way. There are many twin villages and towns on both sides, connected by bridges. The most popular biking and hiking route is from either Trier or Koblenz. The Middle Mosel valley is extremely popular with domestic holidaymakers and tourists from neighbouring countries, and Brits. They all arrive from mid June and it's heaving until October. If you don't book accommodation way in advance then there's absolutely no chance in high season. It's the Santorini of Germany.

Bought from 3 different bakeries, eaten on a Luxembourgish train. I actually took 2 bites from each but ate much of one pretzel. Travelling companion hit the pastry jackpot. Views from the train window. Riesling vineyards all along the route. Been a long day, but at this very moment... Classical bottle conditioned fermentation, bottles are turned manually. AKA méthode champenoise. Riesling (Sekt) every day for a week. (Sorry but I don't know how to get rid of the quoted mess. Meant to reply below it.) Yes. I can get candlenuts but I only like macadamia. Re Oaxacan chocolate: dissolve in hot water and rub a molinillo/stirring stick vigorously between hands until froth forms. That's Oaxacan way. I just dissolve the chocolate in hot water, that's why you don't see any froth.

Chilled soups: macadamia nuts are usually added for body/texture. Dairy can be kefir or full-fat milk. Radish leaves & chard Radishes Beetroot & pear Taking a break from Riesling Another long weekend meal. Just one filled with walnuts When I go to Turkey I'll eat my weight in baklava. The triangles are buttery. Greek and Syrian baklava is not so loaded with pistachios like Turkish. Oaxacan hot chocolate Prawns and oysters Yet another meal. Oaxacan Tuxta chillies with tamari. Tuxta is extremely rare seasonal chillies and endemic to Oaxaca. Tuxta is very hot. Steamed roe with ginger. 2,5 pairs of fresh roe sacs. I love to eat what you hate. SV lamb's liver then marinated in tamari-chilli sauce.

It's asparagus fest (again) at Restaurante Mi Casita this weekend. So far 1 kilo of green asparagus and 6,5 kilos of the "normal" kind. Buffalo mozzarella, olive oil and basil. It’s called “sausage salad” in German but it contains no “sausage” (bangers/Bratwurst). Quark with snipped chives and basil for new potatoes and asparagus. Siced smoked Matjes Sometime this week: lamb with rice shaped pasta. Don't this pasta so finally used it all up. Good riddance.

Do you have some bacon on hand? I use Speck, even with skin on. Easier to turn and the Speck holds the flesh in place. It shouldn't be cooked too long anyhow. Cod tends to flake easily.

Asparagus Strammer Max Riesling from a supermarket I have been drinking for years. It's fine and readily available. From a Polish supermarket. Cooked half in water after boiling beetroots All 3 sausages sliced and fried with onions.

Lovely spring weekend. NZ Riesling. Too alcoholic and harsh on the palate. Lacks the elegance and finesse a Mosel/German Riesling possesses. For afternoon tea later. Hard to find Riesling around here. I had to order online but this is all I could find. Have acquired 2 more bottles since this photo was taken. Flatbread with quark, fresh garlic and asparagus. Some asparagus ribbons (briefly soaked in beetroot water) on top. (Red sauce one contains no asparagus.) "Caviar lentils" in cream. Fried Speck and lamb's liver alongside. And more asparagus. 4,5 kilos thus far. More Riesling. I've had this Greek Riesling a bunch of times. Very acceptable (but then I'm desperate). Much better than the NZ above.