Sweet shore leave on La Palma

The market hall of Santa Cruz de La Palma is cozy and clear. Many small shops line up around a square courtyard. It’s the usual offer of Mediterranean markets: fruits and vegetables, fish, meat, poultry, spices, flowers and a number of small bars for coffee or a quick glass of wine. But there is a special feature here in St. Cruz: freshly squeezed sugarcane juice – on request also with “shot” – that tastes like more.

Vanilla Quince

Quinces are childhood memory for me. Grew up on the North Sea every summer we visited our grandparents in the Odenwald, a German low mountain range. In their (kitchen) garden they grew a quince tree in addition to many other fruit trees. Plums, apples, pears, we also had in our garden at home, but I had never seen quinces in North Germany. I thought they were unique in my grandparents‘ garden. Grandma Anna’s quince jelly was my favourite!

Kale with air-dried ham and warm potato waffles

When I was a child I did not like kale. I qualified this statement when I travelled to Shanghai and tasted sea cucumbers. Today I eat kale, but I still don’t like our traditional German way to prepare kale. Too fat, too ugly, too heavy. And then this sausage called „Pinkel“?!? Last autumn I gave kale a second chance. I must admit it’s a very tasty vegetable. It’s only a matter of how to prepare it. Try this.