You say 'tomato', I say 't---- pffft bleck... what is that thing?'

 am a food snob.  I cannot deny it.  If the produce is not organic, keep it.  If  the meat is not free-range, hemical free and happily smiling before slaughter, I do not want it.  Also, I like to cook.  "What's for dinner mom?"  "Pistachio-encrusted tilapia with sauteed chard and roasted root vegetables, honey."

I have really grown accustomed to the wide variety of beautiful (yes, truly, truly beautiful) vegetables and fruits that are available from local sources in my home in NC.  I miss them.

I have found some markets here in Kiel that have some lovely offerings.   But certain things simply do not grow anywhere nearby.  One of those: tomatoes.  I love tomatoes - but only when they are fresh, ripe and sweet.  The peel should be delicate, indeed, barely noticeable.

Tomatoes do not grow in Kiel.  I know this will be a shocker - but it rains too much.  Plus, it is too cold.  If I were a tomato plant, I would not grow fruit here.  Why bring offspring into such a hostile climate?  It would be irresponsible at best.  At worst, cruel.

The only tomatoes to be had are the grocery store variety - and those are even worse than grocery store tomatoes in the states!  I know, you are thinking, "How is that possible?".  I think that the reason is transport.  In order to travel to Germany, from say, Spain, it needs to be bruise-proof.  This results in a 'peel' that is very much like a melon rind.  When was the last time you bit into a melon with the rind on?  That is what it is like to eat  a grocery store tomato in Germany.  Also, I have kept tomatoes on the counter-top for several weeks without spoilage.  That simply should not happen.

I know I should just give up and stop buying tomatoes - but the available vegetable list is pretty short here, especially if you look for organic: We have peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, cucumber, eggplant, zucchini and (a German staple) asparagus.  Occasionally, I will find some lettuce or salad mix.  I found some fresh cilantro recently, and M remarked that I looked like someone just handed me a dozen roses...

Silly man.  You cannot eat roses!

Busy Weekend

It was a busy weekend here in Suchsdorf.  On Saturday, there was a neighborhood 'Kinderfest' - kinda like a carnival, with games, food and beer. (I think it is illegal in Germany to have a social event and not serve beer.  It is probably in the same section with the 'purity laws'.)

I found myself feeling very much at home: I volunteered to help out, and ended up selling sweets at the bake sale.  I think the other helpers may have thought I was a bit daft to voluntarily sell cakes and thus struggle through with (very, very) broken German.  Worse yet - I was having fun.  I know most people might find that silly, but I really enjoyed it.  Especially when the 5- to 6-year-olds passed by the table.  The cakes were exactly at eye-level for kids that size, and the looks on the faces displayed sheer wonder. Z helped me by collecting money (something he enjoys very much) and acting as interpreter when I was hopelessly lost (something he enjoys a bit less).  M had just returned from a trip to NY, and when he saw me at the cake table, he ran home to get the camera - so I have photographic evidence that this actually took place...

On Sunday, there was a 'flohmarkt' (flea market).  It really was more like a neighborhood-wide yard sale. I took the opportunity to offer some of my pots for sale.  Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot of purchasing going on, even for the 10 cent toy cars and cheap used clothing, so I only sold a few items.  But - it was lovely to hang out there, meeting people, and having some admire pots, even if they didn't buy.  I did sell a large bowl and a tumbler.  Well, actually 3 tumblers - but the other two probably don't count.

There was a little boy, about 5-years-old, who came up to the table several times.  First, he asked the price of a tumbler (just 5 euro, which is actually pretty cheap) - I said I would take 2.50...  He asked to have it for free...I declined.  Another time, he asked to take a piece home to show his mother.  I said, ok, but he was doing the pee-pee dance, so we sent him to go to the bathroom first.  He returned, and asked to bring a pitcher home to show his mom.  The pitchers were a bit big for a kid his size to reasonably carry without breaking, so M and I offered some smaller pieces.  He said nevermind...   The next time he came back, he handed me 20 euro cents and asked what he could buy with that.  He had picked up one of my agateware tumblers several times, so I said, "You can have this one."  He grinned a huge grin, and said it was a gift for his mom...  I gave him two, wrapped carefully in a ton of newspaper.  I hope they made it home in one piece.

There was also a little girl, about 8 or 9.  She visited us even more frequently than the little boy.  M asked which one she liked best, and she said, "All of them!".   Yeah, kid, you got my number.  At one point, she passed by with her mother, saying "Mama, look!  Alles selbst gemacht!"  (All are hand made!)  The mom didn't even turn her head, so I guess she was not interested in pots.  The daughter though, she stopped by a few more times to look.  (I really wish I could line up a job teaching kids to work with clay.  Unfortunately, such positions are in high demand and don't pay a living wage... )  I found her again when we were packing up.  I told her to pick whatever she wanted and she could have it as a gift.  It took her a few minutes to settle on a small bowl, slip decorated in red, yellow and orange.  I was paid with a brilliant smile.

The other tumbler was purchased by two teen-aged girls.  I am left to wonder: what is it about my pots that attract such young people?  Many of the adults came by to look and admire - but none nearly as wide-eyed as the kids.  I would not have expected children to have such a reaction to pottery.

All in all, it was a very nice weekend.  I miss our neighborhood at home so much - it was nice to feel a bit a part of this one.