Diversity vacation: A week of German eating

November 3, 5:13 PMSt. Louis Food ExaminerRachel Whitener

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I recently (reluctantly) returned from a week-long vacation to visit my brother in Germany. Other than the fact that the country is remarkably clean-cut, not surprisingly environmentally sound, and fantastically well preserved, the thing I love most about the place is the consideration that is given to eating.

It's not necessary, but I'll say it anyway - Germans love their bread. That's actually an understatement. They not only love their bread, but they have such a reflexive and mechanical love for it that a good portion of their days are spent shopping for and purchasing it, planning meals around it, and ensuring that there will be enough of it to satisfy the evening's kitchen crowd. In addition to the bread, Germans are very adept at buying fresh and local foods. Where the land is salted by farmed crops and markets are open year round, it's relatively easy for them to do, and they have the motivation to do it. 

What I enjoy most about German food is its simplicity. Meats, cheeses, bread, marmalade, and when married together they make up a fresh and balanced meal. I remember the first time I traveled to Germany with my mom, two years ago. We sat at the kitchen table at my brother's house in Reinhardshofen, a tiny village in southern Bavaria, and my brother took the brötchen and sliced it like a bagel, laying meat and cheese like building blocks between the slices. My mother said, "I can't believe we're having sandwiches for breakfast."  

I share my week-long German food binge with you in part because these meals are all easy to prepare. A theory shared by my mother on this last trip is that the German food makes us feel lighter. It's not at all out of the question. The grain-laden bread, the aromatic cheeses and the fresh meats, the soup, the sausages, the from-the-ground vegetables they have delivered locally, are all hearty and filling, but they are also wholly consumed and absorbed by the body, as opposed to preservative-rich foods common here in the states.

These foods are rooted in sharing experiences at the table and eating together in festivity, so I hope that you will try them and feel that togetherness as I did. Enjoy.

• Pumpkin soup - we made this simply with 2 pumpkins, peeled and sliced, 2-3 washed and chopped potatoes, 1 chopped fennel, some vegetable seasoning or bouillon, and crème fraiche. Steam the veggies over boiling water until just soft, then create your stock with the vegetable bouillon and add the veggies. Use a hand blender to puree, simmer for a few minutes and add the crème fraiche. Serve.   
• Pumpkin curry - who knew Germans loved Indian food? A spicy vegetable curry made with onions, pumpkin, chiles, and whatever else suits your fancy. We also made an apple-and-banana chutney to go along with the curry, rice and yogurt. Stay tuned for a great chutney recipe...
• Raclette - This sublimely fun way of eating came from a method of serving raclette cheese. The grill includes 8 tiny saute pans, in which you can put cheese, veggies, meat, and seasonings and saute them on top of the grill, then finish them below. The fun of mixing your own creations and the bit-by-bit way of eating, like sampling appetizers, can't be beat. No table manners required; you'll have arms reaching over you through the entire meal.  

Where can I get it?

You can find authentic German foods, like the tubed mustard, cheeses and sausages, at Global Foods in Kirkwood.