Are you looking for simple, no-fuss, wholesome desserts that will delight your family and woo your guests? Then I suggest you try these two quick and easy baked puddings: Nana’s Impossible Pie and Blueberry Bread and Butter Pudding. You’ll find my recipes at the end of this post. Nana’s Impossible Pie and Bread and […] Read more…
The Easter lamb cake (in German “Osterlammkuchen”) is one of Germany’s enduring Easter symbols. Baking or purchasing a lamb cake and serving it on Easter Sunday is a tradition many German families have passed down from generation to generation. * * * Up until several years ago, I had never heard of an Easter lamb […] Read more…
This delicious Salad with Noodles and Chicken is a main meal salad I guarantee you and your whole family will enjoy. It’s an “ideal salad”. You’ll find my recipe for Salad with Noodles and Chicken at the end of this post, which is all about salads. Salads. Love them? Abhor them? I know folk […] Read more…
Advent traditions, Christmas markets, traditional German Christmas food, Christmas trees, stars and nativity scenes, Christmas Eve celebrations … and the cold! These are the things I remember most about Weihnachten, Christmas in Germany. At Christmastime in 2015 my husband Tony and I visited our family in Germany. We arrived in late November 2015, just before […] Read more…
Last year, while visiting my family in Germany, I learnt how to make Zimtsterne, that is, Cinnamon Stars. Zimtsterne are traditional German Christmas biscuits sold at Christmas markets and in grocery stores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland during Advent, the 3-4 weeks leading up to Christmas. During Advent, many folk in these German-speaking countries bake their […] Read more…
This post, which features Fail-Me-Never Steamed Pudding, is all about puddings. It includes puddings my grandmother and mother made as well as my favourite puddings. Fail-Me-Never Steamed Pudding is one of my favourites (as you will discover). I remember my mother making it often during the winter months as a comforting warm dessert to end […] Read more…
This story is about grandparenting. It’s a compilation of strategies and examples of activities my husband Tony and I have found helpful in building strong loving relationships with our grandchildren. The examples cover what I call face-to-face and long-distant grandparenting. If you are a parent or grandparent, our ideas and practical examples may be of […] Read more…
Last year, around this time, my husband Tony and our grandchildren made caramel slice. Given that our grandchildren were coming to stay with us for a couple of weeks in the school holidays, Tony planned a cooking activity for them. He chose to make caramel slice. He found a recipe for caramel slice in a […] Read more…
Several years ago, my husband Tony and I had the privilege of celebrating Easter twice: first in Germany, then one week later, in Jordan. This story is about our experience of Easter with our extended family in the southern German state of Bavaria in April 2012. We stayed with them for 11 days. During that […] Read more…
Are you feeling tired – struggling to juggle work, household tasks and family commitments? Then this story “Pasta Bake” and accompanying recipe is especially for you. It is a follow-up to The Ubiquitous Carrot Cake (November 1, 2015), in which I shared some of our family traditions and explained why I think these traditions are […] Read more…
A Christmas cake has always been an essential part of my family’s Christmas fare. The cake is usually prepared and baked 4-5 weeks before Christmas and stored in an air-tight container in a cool dry place until its grand appearance at the centre of the dinner table on Christmas Day. Following the English and […] Read more…
Family traditions are important. They help build family identity, unity and connectedness – in the immediate family, extended family and across generations. For my family, one such tradition concerns birthday celebrations – and the ubiquitous carrot cake. Families may be the building blocks of society, but they are neither static nor predictable. They are […] Read more…
My husband, Tony, was born in Croatia. He and his family moved to Australia in the 1950s. When I met Tony, at University, I was immediately attracted to him, but when he told me that he and his family came from Croatia – that he was born there – I didn’t believe him. It was […] Read more…