Our garden, yesterday
Yep, that’s right, winter came early to Bavaria this year. It’s been snowing for the past week. A lot of it melts during the day, but we’ve definitely got a whole Christmas vibe going here in south Germany (helped along by all the Lebkuchen and Stollen which have been on the supermarket shelves for a month already!).
If you’re ever in Parsberg, a very cute town, by the way, stop in for a bite at Hotel zum Hirschen. They seem to specialize in venison dishes and have their own Metzgerei (butcher shop) where you can get really good quality meat. Both times I’ve been there, the food has been excellent, and Rainer deems it the “Best Germany food in the area.” Guten Appetit!
Christina and Oliver at Hotel Hirschen last night
8 days to Thanksgiving - I got the turkey last night, a 24 pounder! I was planning not to make cranberry sauce this year, until I mentioned it to Rainer last night. He strenuously objected, apparently it’s not Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce, so I searched the internet high and low and came up with a new, easy to make recipe. Normally I brine the turkey, and I’m debating with myself over whether that’s really necessary. I’m trying to keep the amount of prep time to a minimum, but we’ll see.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Christina, congratulations on your new, very good-looking blog / website. I read through some of your posts and the one about culture differences and behaviour was very interesting. I remember how moving to the UK made me experience differences I didn’t realise existed. I’ll check out your new site when I have more time. BTW I have tagged you for a meme.
Oliver looks SO much like Rainer in that photo!
It is a lot less snowy in town. There is a little layer on everything, but it looks like you got more.
christina, how *could* you?!? thanksgiving without cranberry sauce is like christmas without santa!
i strongly agree with rainer.
Hmm, a magical, snow-covered scene in your garden in Bavaria, or 91 degree heat in Southern California, I’ll take Bavaria, thank you very much! Now that is what Christmas should look and feel like! Christina, I have a very easy recipe for fresh cranberries and it is delicious. Place 2 cups of fresh cranberries and 1 cup orange juice in a saucepan, add 1 cup sugar, fresh orange zest and some fresh ginger diced, 1/2 to 1 cup walnuts. Bring to a boil and down to a simmer for 5-10 minutes, til cranberries pop and it seems done, and voila! Delicious with your turkey and trimmings. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Pam
Oliver looks absolutely adorable, and I am super jealous of the snow. I miss snow!
Thanks for the wonderful photo, Christina. My little one is so excited about spending Xmas in Germany this year and has been wishing for snow every night before she goes to bed. She hasn’t been to Germany for 2.5 years now, but has vivd memories of the snow (we went skiing with her each time) – and loves looking at the pictures. We plan to spend a week in Karlsruhe with my sister in law – so I figure we will fill up on Weihnachtsmarkt as well.
@swenglishexpat: It’s done!
@tammy: Yeah, I think we get more snow out here than you guys do in the city.
@rita: Okay, okay. Cranberries are bought. (Luckily you can find them everywhere now, when I first moved to Berlin, you could only find them at KaDeWe).
@pam: Thanks for the recipe, but I found an even easier one. You just dump the cranberries, some sugar, and some bourbon in a pot and stick it in the oven for an hour. Doesn’t even need stirring!
@maria: But surely you guys get snow in Tulsa? (In a few months, maybe?)
@lynda: There should be plenty of white stuff for skiing when you get here, the ski reports seem pretty optimistic this year.