Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

Turns out Kale in the US is NOT the same as Grüne Kohl here in Germany.  I was pretty disappointed to discover this fact.  We went to the farmer’s market here in Germany and bought some kale plants.  We went to OBI and bought some pots and soil to plant them in.  We spent time picking bugs off the plants.  We waited until they looked nice and ready to eat.  Then we tasted them and threw the whole thing away (we kept the pots of course) :). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now I can understand why Germans eat Grüne Kohl chopped into small pieces with potatoes and LOTS of butter.  Grüne Kohl is bitter and chewy.  They say that after the first frost it can develop a more sweet taste, but in my opinion nothing can help it taste like the Kale we were eating back in the US.

In the US we enjoyed raw organic Kale in salads, smoothies, and even made Kale chips (yummy).  But here you probably wouldn’t come out with the same results if you made these things with Grüne Kohl.  You would think I would have learned my lesson with the red onions. 

According to Wikipedia:

Kale (US)= Brassica Oleracea ACEPHALA

Grüne Kohl (Germany) = Brassica Oleracea SABELLICA

They are not the EXACT same plant. 

Some suggestions people gave me were to eat spinach (which is a great alternative although it is not always available in our local Edeka or farmer’s market) or Mangold.   One more suggestion was to soak Grüne Kohl in water for a while and that should help with the bitterness.  But I haven’t tried it yet.

(PS – I love the group Henhaus on Facebook because I can put a question out there and other mom’s living in Germany answer / help me figure things out!  I don’t live in this part of Germany, but I have found this to be a really helpful group.  I have asked questions about taxes, food, and fire detectors.  Here is the link to that facebook group or click on the picture below.)

Here are some more articles that I found about Grüne Kohl in Germany and the health benefits of eating kale (just click on the pictures).  Hopefully this summer we can grow the US Kale variety and enjoy our green smoothies and salads again. :)  Lots of Love – Judi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kale

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gr%C3%BCnkohl

Before we left for Germany, Isaac was sleeping 8 to 10 hours straight at 6 months old.  It was heaven.  However, when we moved from the US to Germany his sleep became a nightmare.  Turns out the reason why Isaac was restless and screaming in the middle of the night - was due to ALLERGIES.  I wish it didn't take us 3 months to figure that out.  But once we did, he has started to sleep again.

Around 4 pm each day... an internal clock goes off that causes many Germans to spontaneously crave coffee and cake (or tea if you don't drink coffee).  The fun part about coffee and cake is that it is a great way to break the ice with new neighbours or people that you want to get to know.

However, this isn't a totally natural event for me.  Back in the US I didn't have anything like coffee and cake at 4 pm - especially since I don't really eat sugar or drink coffee or tea.

In addition, I can hear my mom saying... "you will ruin your appetite for dinner!"

The reason why I think coffee and cake at 4 pm works in Germany - is that they normally eat a hot lunch and then a cold dinner (sandwiches for dinner?? that is a subject for another blog post).

Since Germans eat a light dinner at a later hour than Chris and I would normally eat in the US  - I guess they aren't really spoiling their appetites with coffee and cake at 4 pm.  I am trying to change my mindset so instead of thinking "what???? We are eating dessert right before dinner?"  - I am trying to view this as "Yummm - dessert after lunch"

Unfortunately, for me personally, I am really sensitive to sugar and caffeine - it can really affect me sometimes and keep me up all night long if I eat coffee and cake late in the afternoon.  But I am enjoying some cake in moderation and non-caffeine herbal tea :)

Although this tradition is a tough adjustment for me, (....how can anyone can have a tough time adjusting to eating cake - especially when it is really good???) I have really appreciated and enjoyed all of our coffee and cake invitations and hope that Chris and I can enjoy many more with our new neighbours and friends in Germany.

I totally forgot!  But red onions taste REALLY different over here.

Back in the US we are used to making salads during the summer with lots of fresh vegies like - Kale, Spinach, Romaine, Cucumber, Tomatoes, Carrots, and Red Onions.  The first salad I made here in Germany after we arrived - tasted TERRIBLE!  I couldn't even finish it - it tasted soooo bad!  I thought it might have been the cracked pepper, maybe it was the salt?  maybe it was our olive oil salad dressing, then I thought it was the lettuce..... but the culprit was the RED ONION.  I am not sure why the red onions taste so different here in Germany, but they are a lot stronger and a little bitter.  I forgot that we had learned this lesson last time we were here in 2008 - too bad I didn't plan ahead and put some US red onion seeds in our shipping container.  :)