Food Discoveries in Germany

Sunday Brunch with New Friends

Not many people become excited when you mention German cuisine. So I set my travel food fantasies aside when we decided to visit our lovely friend, Elke, in Berlin. I looked forward, with curiosity, to experiencing food in ANY European region but with lower expectations than if we were visiting France or Italy. This turned out to be a huge underestimation of the food wisdom and pleasure I would gain in Germany and bring back to my own kitchen, and I am excited to share my experience with other American eaters.

Routine Table Setting

In Berlin I noticed that people don’t “eat out” so much as they eat OUTDOORS. You may have heard of Germans drinking their delicious pilsner beers in outdoor beer gardens, but that’s only a bit of the picture. They routinely gather on simple lawn tables dressed with well-used tablecloths, or even on the ground with a blanket, which was common around the many lakes in the city where people would drop their bicycles for a quick swim followed by a simple meal. They relaxed and ate socially with neighbors and friends, with no concern for the buzzing bug life, the sun or sprinkle, nor the chill or sweat that fluctuated unpredictably in the open air. After a week of taking all of my meals outdoors, I came to believe that the fresh air entering my body simultaneously with the food actually made the food taste better. Also, in natural light, it was like each meal was in Technicolor…so vibrant and beautiful! It was such a pleasure to treat each meal like a celebration with nature. Often the table was set up right in the middle of a vegetable and herb garden so that people could literally pluck live foods from the vines to add to their plates. And speaking of plates, they never used paper or plastic. Eating outdoors for Berliners, unlike so many Americans, does not seem to constitute waste or a cheapening of the experience in hopes for the illusion of convenience. A simple wooden tray was used to transport dishes, food and condiments from kitchen to the outdoor table setting. While cycling or strolling along the sidewalk, especially in the mid-afternoon between lunch and dinner, I would hear tinkling laughter and clinking dishware. Looking for the source of the sound, I saw garden after garden, in front of small cottages, of small groups of people sharing cake (or anything sweet like a piecrust topped with these interesting plums that were in season) and strong coffee. Oh yes. They call this daily ritual something that sounds like “coffee clutch” and it makes me tingle just remembering how charming and pleasurable it was to be included. Back home in Tallahassee, Florida, I find it challenging to hold on to the practice and the charm of taking all of my meals outdoors. Nevertheless, I’ve employed an old wooden tray and I take MORE of my meals outdoors than I did before.

Cut the Fluff:
A No Waste Kitchen

Another thing I noticed in Berlin was that the kitchens, including tools and equipment, were very modest. In sharp contrast to our typically underused showroom kitchens, Berlin kitchens seemed to be almost worn out (or beautifully worn-in) with a few basic necessities (iron skillet, water heating kettle, knife, cutting board, something for keeping things cold and something for heating things up) that didn’t match or shine, but gave brilliant daily service to their owners. I liked the feeling of substance and function over superficiality and appearances. It just felt more real and straight-forward. It became a metaphor for me there…noticing ways to cut out the pretty bullshit and get down to the business of real living by seeing and celebrating the beauty in well-functioning things. I’d like to adopt this more and more for the important message it also sends to our daughters, specifically. I want them to feel appreciated for what they DO not what they look like. Is this a stretch of an analogy for you? It wasn’t for me; it was as clear and meaningful as it needed to be.

Sharing Spaces

Sharing Food

“Sharing is caring” took on a new meaning for me in Berlin. There was a feeling of abundance around food, which was exaggerated by the constant act of sharing it. This core behavior was observable on both the systemic level (local government) and individual level (neighbor to neighbor; stranger to stranger). For example, the city intentionally plants fruit trees in public and abandoned spaces (though no space was actually abandoned) for anyone to pick, eat, sell, share, or whatever one chooses. We would be biking along and see a tree laden with ripe fruit, drop our bikes, and pick as much as we wanted. We saw some people hauling away small trailers of fruit behind their bikes, presumably to sell, and all of this was facilitate and encouraged by the local government because everyone benefits, including mother nature. No one goes hungry; everyone shares. There is a city requirement in some neighborhoods for a certain percentage of each “lawn” to grow food. It is amazing to see how gorgeous a functional landscape can be stretched as far down a lane as the eye can see. When people grow more food than they can consume or give directly to friends, they bag it and leave it near their front gates so that people passing by can take what they need. And they loved sharing their favorite food creations. Elke made an incredible dish passed down through the women in her family that involved replacing a plum pit with a sugar cube then surrounding the fruit with a stiff mashed potato concoction. She then quick-boiled these balls then drenched them in melted butter. This brought delighted friends and acquaintances from near and far connecting people and spreading pleasure. Berliners talk about food, look forward to food, use food to connect with each other, then actually feel satisfied by food without over-consuming.

Food Nostalgia

Exotic Flavors

Pomegranate Peddler

Daily fresh bread, EVERYWHERE!

Fresh is the word. People stopped in (usually by bicycle) to bread and produce shops or booths along their routes daily. Even right before a meal, like breakfast before work, someone from the group would hop on a bicycle and return in minutes with a basket of fresh buns and a juicy ripe fruit while someone else was carrying the plates and spreads (butters, jams) to the outdoor table. This creates, I suppose, the demand that enabled bakers and produce sellers to have thriving businesses EVERYWHERE. I mean, even in a “mall” there was a store that only sold fresh fruit and vegetables, as if folks couldn’t go more than a few dozen yards without access to something wholesome to eat. It was a beautiful site. Down underground at the subway stations, fresh bread. Under a tent awning at a big intersection, fresh greens. Next to the tire store, fresh melons. In the parking area for their version of our Home Depot, fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice. I am not making this up. I don’t know if this is a European-wide genius I witnessed, or unique to Berlin, but this observation alone was enough to overwhelm the senses and ask what exactly is involved in applying for a visa.

Clever Quality Convenience

Busy Berliners still prioritize cooking.

Let it be known that Germans are both practical AND playful. Their practical efficiency was illustrated by the way many of their trendy food stores are organized by meal groupings rather than food type.  So a shopper would browse each table display, which included a full description of a complete meal, each ingredient, how to put it together, and even the tools needed to do so just in case you were lacking a wooden spoon for the job. What was surprising about this was how cleverly whole, healthy, fresh ingredients were organized and delivered to the shopper in a way that made the process of planning, preparing and serving dinner very convenient without sacrificing quality. Alternately, food in Berlin, especially sweet foods, were incredibly playful. This is a culture that appreciates the (I was told) bone-strengthening property of gummy bears (made with much higher standards than ours) and serves their ice-cream in configurations that shock the senses. I need not say more because the picture of an ice cream creation (for adults!) that looks like sunny-side-up eggs and bacon says it all. Playful.

Ice Cream, right!

Thank you, Berlin. Thank you, Elke. Thank you for adding a continuing spiral of new and refreshing perspective on food culture and how it impacts our daily lives.

Happy Health Explorations!

AND…may your kitchen culture never bore you.

Visit www.heatherdiamondhealth.com to learn how Heather can help you bring more ease and pleasure to your kitchen and to your health.

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Sourdough Chicken & Dumplings

She has risen!

My great grandmother could often be found at the bar, positioned to see her “stories” (aka soap operas) on T.V. and rolling dough and sprinkling flour with those big, soft hands of hers. My favorite dish was chicken and dumplings. 

Makes me feel connected to something bigger.

Now, I’m sure she would have been perplexed by the version of her dish that I made up during the holidays this year. But dang, it was delicious (and nutritious). 

So I present to you, another hipster-healthy spin on a traditional favorite: Sourdough Chicken and Dumplings.

Ingredients (entirely flexible):

• Bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces
• Water (and/or broth of any kind)
• Milk or cream (any kind, but the thicker the better)
• Ghee or butter
• Broth enhancing herbs and spices (garlic, onion, celery, ginger, salt, white or black pepper, lemon, carrot…whatever you have on hand that calls to you from the depths of your cabinets and fridge)
• An unbaked, but risen sourdough loaf (see up to step 4 at http://heatherdiamondhealth.blogspot.com/2016/05/baking-old-world-style-bread.html)
• Extra flour (any kind) for dusting your dumplings (which is SO fun to say)

Method (only minimally methodical):

• Fill your large stock pot with water/broth/milk/cream/herbs/spices/veggies/butter/ghee and chicken pieces (Don’t worry about amounts of broth ingredients because you can adjust according to your tastes once the chicken is cooked.)
• Cover and bring to a boil, then uncover and simmer on medium/high for 30-40 minutes, until chicken is cooked
• While chicken is boiling, use a rolling pin or glass bottle to roll out your unbaked sourdough loaf on a flour-dusted surface…as thin as you can get it
• Dust the flattened dough with loose flour
• Use a pizza cutter or knife to slice the dough into shapes about the size of the palm of a small hand
• Once chicken is cooked, turn broth down to low, remove chicken pieces and let chicken cool in sink while you taste the broth and adjust the flavor to your liking with more of whatever flavors you want
• Separate chicken meat from skin and bones, adding bite sized pieces back to the simmering broth and discarding the skin and bones (or saving for a bone broth as described at http://heatherdiamondhealth.blogspot.com/2016/06/meat-bones-crockpot-marathon.html)
• Bring broth to a boil and use a wooden spoon to gently stir as you place each dumpling individually onto the top of the broth…pausing after every 3 or so (each dumpling will at first sink, then rise back up to the surface as it cooks)
• Do not shake the extra flour off, because it helps thicken your broth into a sauce
• After the final dumpling is in, let them boil and the broth thicken for about 15 more minutes.

Serve and savor!

Freezes well in mason jars.

Expect sourdough dumplings to be a bit more pasta-like than doughy.

Expect to feel energized and healed by the super-power, digestive nutrients in this dish!

Heather Diamond Health

…gently inviting ease and pleasure into your kitchen.

Airplane Food that Blew my Mind

Yes, I saved the box. Check out that message!

I was astonished when I took my first ever flight on a Dutch airline from Amsterdam to Berlin…because of the food. Fly with me for a moment here.

I was handed a neatly constructed cardboard box containing a minimally packaged chicken salad sandwich. This would certainly not have inspired my excitement in any other familiar context, but let me tell you, I was like a five-year-old on Christmas morning!

You see, the package invited me, “Know what you are eating!” And proceeded to inform me with such care and respect for food, the environment, the animals involved and my body that I was completely enamored with this sandwich before I even took a bite.

I looked Carl up. He's for real.

I was provided with the name of the local baker that supplied the bread, the name and webcam site to see the chickens where the eggs and the poultry come from, and the name and contact information for the “friendly food company” that put my sandwich together by hand. Holy Mother Nature! Let me stop here to remind us that THIS WAS AIRPLANE FOOD!

Whoever is in charge of coordinating the food service for this airline respected my health and intelligence enough to assume that I would crave real food and knowledge of its sources. In return, I respected that chicken sandwich like no tomorrow and savored every single crumb. And let me be clear…it was delicious, but even better…it was an experience.

I love these chickens!

Bonus: I am able to visit the poultry site and spy on Dutch chickens in the middle of the night (Their night. I’m not so much of a food nerd that I would lose sleep just to watch chickens halfway around the world. No way.)

Conclusion: I think they do it better.

Thank you, KLM, for the beautiful model.

Something About Bread

Nice Buns

There is something so pure, primal and nourishing about baking bread. Yet, most of us don’t know how. I was thoroughly intimidated by the notion of baking anything until about a year ago when a documentary put a bun in my oven. I’ve since figured some things out…not in pursuit of baking skills, but in pursuit of an ancient experience and simple sustenance that I feel I am entitled to.

How many generations back would we have to go to have our foremothers engage us in the experience of grinding wheat, nurturing an inherited sourdough culture, kneading with our palms and knuckles, smelling the comfort of bread baking, and consuming the earth and air through a chunk of warm bread smeared with fresh butter? There’s a reason its been called our daily bread.

When bread is prepared old-style, our bodies are easily able to digest and extract its valuable nutrients. I’m no expert, but I suffered years of gluten intolerance before discovering that our modern-day commercial yeast, which shortcuts the original (slower) sourdough fermentation process, is to blame. This was an experiential discovery; I felt the difference.  Furthermore, I continue to feel healthy and vibrant eating the bread I bake as a matter of routine each day. And about the elephant-in-the-room question…

One of the most common questions that I get asked about the wonderful foods I encourage people to enjoy, is whether it will make them gain weight. No, I did not gain weight by reintroducing bread as a daily food staple in it is not likely to have that effect on you either. Like with all real, whole, natural foods – unprocessed or minimally processed honoring the most natural methods (sourdough), fresh baked sourdough bread is fulfilling! I’m not left hungry because my body is able to absorb the nutrients effectively from this real food. I believe the sage teachers of our day who propose that it’s very difficult to overeat real, whole foods because they actually fulfill us. The wise ones also remind us that when we prepare our own food from whole ingredients we can relax our overly strict and fear-of-fat based “food rules” knowing that our meal production will naturally align our quantity of food intake. In other words, if you want to eat cookies and French fries every day for 9 days straight, go right on ahead my friend, but bake those cookies from scratch using whole grain organic flour and unprocessed evaporated cane sugar and rich dark chocolate and whole milk butter churned on a local farm, etc. Oh, and hand cut your potatoes (bonus if you grew them) and fry them in organic peanut oil and salt them with fresh ground sea salt full of its source minerals.

The point is that when we prepare our foods the old-style, simple ways, we benefit in every way and our modern “health problems” self-correct! The World Health Organization has for years been clear with us that over 80% of our widespread chronic health problems can be prevented by doing three simple things: eating better, moving more, and not using tobacco. Google it. What’s to figure out!? Are the solutions too simple to catch our eye?

There is a difference between simplicity and convenience. Simplicity is elegant and effective. Convenience is lazy and greedy. Simplicity is slow and savory. Convenience is fast and cheap. Simplicity was celebrated by the late, great Albert Einstein. I’m with him. Well, actually I’m with her. But if Albert was alive…

I want my life simple; I want my bread simple. I want others to physically feel the ease and pleasure of feeding our bodies simply.

This morning before work and while getting my kid off to school, I mixed extra sourdough starter, grated zucchini, evaporated cane sugar (unprocessed), an egg, dark chocolate chips, baking soda, vanilla extract, cashew milk, and buckwheat flour in a big bowl – no measurements, just by sight until it looked like a pourable batter and tasted good – and baked in a muffin tin on 350 until golden brown. Bam. Yum. Score. Simple. Healthy.

Why was it simple? Because those ingredients are my staple foods; everything was handy when I had a whim. Because I was detached from whether the outcome would be “just right” according to some recipe. Because I have learned that I am entitled to eat things that taste and feel good and that my choices are driven by a primal force to nurture myself, having nothing to do with “will-power.” Because most I have accepted that dis-ease in the body is preventable so I’ve taken responsibility for my health back from the massively profit-driven processed food and pharmaceutical industries.

• If you are interested in baking bread, read Baking Old-world Style.
• If you are baffled by how to start and care for a sourdough culture read My PetSourdough Starter, Claudia.
• If you want to learn how to cook and eat simply, with ease and pleasure – check out my group classes under services at www.heatherdiamondhealth.com.
• If you want positive and useful resources, updates, insights and information, find me on social media (Instagram @heatherdiamondhealth and FB @hdhtallahassee and Heather Diamond).

HDH…specializing in the change process, helping busy women make healthy changes, and bringing ease and pleasure to the kitchen.