BonVivant

Whole smoked herring is the best. I am glad most people scoff at it, that means it'll remain cheap and more for me. So much umami, like butter from the sea. So far every whole one I got in the spring came with roe. The first thing I eat when I cut it open. It's a different @Shelby🤠 DIY wheat noodles Lamb's liver in square bowl for me. First test batch crumpets No more nice spring weather since this. We sat on our tiny patch of lawn in the back garden eating these. Forgot this one last week. Rollmöpse/Rollmops. No, it's a compact oven with microwave function (and many more). The model with steam function has a water reservoir separately, on either side of the oven. Mine looks pretty nice without it. I do all the steaming* in a cabin after swimming, at home it's on the gas hob (with ginger and soy sauce etc). (*A different kind of steaming...) No "course". Just straight up with a spoon. Thanks!

Just-back-from-the-woods Flammkuchen (store-bought fresh dough) Just-back-from-the-woods beer. Drank it whilst making Flammkuchen. No time for photography when it was done. Tofu, pork balls and mushrooms cooked in this clay pot.

Ricotta Booze is for yours truly The Mortlach First time baking with the new oven.

Fried calf's liver and onions. Bucatini. Been to Brindisi in my youthful reckless days. To Corfu and back via Brindisi, Euro rail pass, 4 week backpacking by train starting in north Europe (to Greece and back). Summer of 1997.

Last of the clams Calf's liver fried with onions. I like it with raw Sauerkraut and with or without bread. Iconic North German beach chair on label Kim, thank you! It's a classic design by a German porcelain manufacturer in Meissen, Germany. This translated article has all the background story. This particular series is called ("Saxon Blue"/"Sächsische Blau").

4 kilos of clams. The fishmonger only knows them as "beach clams". They were gone in no time (3 meals). Another clam meal Californian IPA

I looked at their menu, "Frittatensuppe". Frittaten are thicker than Flädle and often sliced in straight strips. Austrians and Swabians make a clear distinction between the two. Non alcoholic beers have been around all this time but the selection has got much bigger in recent years. Many years ago I had a bad dreams about non alcoholic beers so I decided to buy a bunch to check them out. Half of them were rubbish. Much has improved now in the taste department. Nowadays almost all mass produced brands have at least one alcohol-free beer and lots of craft breweries do the same.

Soft boiled eggs and parsley. Young potatoes, "essence" from the peel (in covered bowl). My spring elixir. And Riesling of course. The farm. The price drops half way into the (short) season. The price now (first week) is "expensive!". Bornholm is known for its high quality smoked herrings, but travel is impossible at the moment so I bring Bornholm to me. High quality North Sea smoked herring: How "Sun over Bornholm" smoked herring is served on the island: Oysters and craft beer from Berlin Bornholm official site: https://bornholm.info/en/

Monkfish (tail) in cream with crisp-fried Speck. Bread dumplings and steamed kale. Duck leggs with boozy orange sauce (I used Aberlour 12). So good I forgot it's supposed to be alcohol-free Spring has been cancelled. We had crazy weather from hell this week, night and day for 3 full days. My poor chives (3 pots). They are my hero herb. Only bloody black aphids can kill them. Happy to say my chives are thriving again now that the snow is gone. Hope my old bay laurel plant (in photo above) can make it through this spring.

Highly aromatic aged Comté (2yrs). Raw Sauerkraut Several types of brawn (with names in photo) Rye bread and non alcoholic beer More beer Pumpernickel and smoked herring Past Easter in Chilean Patagonia. Did a jump at 5:30pm, got up at 6 the next morning for another adventure. The tip of Villarrica can be seen in photo above, the snow-capped peak behind the canopy. Finally, made it to the crater of Villarrica. People for scale.

SV pork belly Duck pancakes in top left corner. To eat I sliced the slices thinly and ate them like tacos. This half kilo piece lasted 3 different meals. The beer Some people like to eat till they drop, I like to go walking till I drop. Past Easter in Austrian Alps. It's still safe to be alone in the Austrian woods. Forgot this: croissant dough filled with chopped mixed nuts and poppy seeds. Unfortunately, the fine spring weather didn't last but I made the most of it. This is the first food photo made in the garden this year.

FFS* ...👽 (*)J/K

Everything is loaded with ginger and dried shimp in this meal. Pointed cabbage. Tomato-scramble egg soup Fried taukwa tofu, flavoured with home-made chilli oil. Nice Gose Yes, exactly. Thank you. And some more preps that I know of: Krautkrapfen (roll in dough and then bake or steam. Can be layered like lasagne) Soup, gulyash/gulasch, casseroles, stews, to fill potato dumplings, strudel, pancakes, Bratlingen/puffer (fritters), Kuchen (bake like a cake or tart) and so on. I love Sauerkraut cuisines!

Black pudding, calf's liver and Speck. With Sauerkraut and bread dumplings. The lowly smoked herring. Spinach with cream underneath. Weather forecast promises spring on Tuesday. So far nothing but rain and cold, and hail showers in March. Yesterday hail: But I'm so glad this is over!

My imaginary Austrian granny would be proud of me! Button dumplings and scrambled eggs. Tyrolean-style cheese-bread fried dumplings in a broth of beef shin. Sauerkraut is a typical side dish. I like mine raw with crispy-fried Speck (a type of smoked bacon). 2/3 of Austria looks like this:

Purple carrots were cooked together with the octopus (on purpose). Like beetroots, purple carrots stain everything. Steamed halibut with Sichuan broad bean paste and fermented black beans

Semolina pancakes Pumpernickel, scrambled eggs and shrimps. Red cabbage tossed in gherkin brine. And German beer alongside. I got Anchor again yesterday. One bottle shop near me still sells these particular 2. I also like the nice labels.

Yellow puree is squash SV ginger chicken German beer The inside of a plane*. Still remember it? *My plane could not land in Lüderitz due to a big sand storm and had to return to the capital. The next morning they sent an empty plane to take the total of 5 passengers to Lüderitz again.

North German-style fishy sandwiches/rolls. I like horseradish with this kind of snacks Always save North Sea shrimp shells for an intense stock A mini hot pot using the shrimp stock

Octopus Uruguayan Tannat Only like 2 shapes of pasta, mostly comes down to mouthfeel: bucatini and linguine Waiting in anticipation... Asparagus should be ready in 3 or 4 weeks time.

Sourdough rye Half kilo of shrimps Beer with the seafood Warm lunch of leftover spelt and beetroot Spicy cuttlefish Chilli sauce I used:

Came home from all afternoon biking and cooked this meal in one pan. Squash dumplings were made in advance and vacuum sealed so they only needed to warm up in the same pan. Steamed the brill yesterday: A little bird told me spring can't be far away

Lunches this week only needed opening packages and tins. A year ago in Mexico: curious whale approached me whilst holding intense eye contact. Who's watching whom now? This is what a whale sees underwater.

Not this one... it's protected. Also not this one. It's protected. Most likely. Wild season is coming to an end so I thought I'd eat some now. Don't care for rabbit (and besides, they are all imported from China). Half a bottle of wine went in here Baker thinks I give the crumbs to the garden birds* every time he empties the tray under the slicer into a bag for me. Free sourdough crumbs become bread dumplings. Very chewy and "substantial". (*I buy actual bird food for the garden birds) Didn't use any bay leaves (from my plant). I would have to go outside to get them... calf-deep in snow. Outside... (Thankfully it's all gone now)

A north German classic. Potato-beetroot mash, matjes and a fried egg. The black mass is Korean seaweed Tofu puffs