Berlin Reified | Food, design and life in Berlin

The floorboards (summer light)

 
Rushing to go, I was dumbstruck by the pattern of sunlight through leaves on the floorboards. Would you like to see those wild flickering shapes? There is a video here, though my point-and-shoot does not do the light justice.

Proper scones and forgotten jams (and architecture)

Now let me tell you, the only thing better than going to a stimulating architecture-themed Stammtisch is going to said Stammtisch and being presented with four perfect scones, two plain, two studded with raisins. By eight o'clock this morning, not a crumb was left. (If we'd managed to hold out a little longer, the photo above might not have such a blueish cast.)

Alongside his work as an architectural writer, Jim also bakes British treats with his partner, supplying a few very lucky Kreuzberg cafes and individuals with cakes, scones and cordials. Find more on Hudson's here and here. Aren't you dying to sample that sour cherry and beetroot cake?

Speaking of sour cherries, last night I had sterling intentions of bringing along some sour cherry jam. Inspired by this low-sugar recipe I had attacked my cherry supply yesterday afternoon. I used far less than the 1:1 ratio of sugar to fruit that most cherry jam recipes stipulate, sprinkling 280 grams of (pitted) sour cherries with just 40 grams of sugar -- but when I had a taste I was convinced it was just the sweet pucker I was after. Simmer the sugared fruit for about a half-hour or until the juices have thickened. In my haste I forgot the jar on my kitchen windowsill. Jim & Katie: next time!

The sky in the summer (crossing the bridge)

If one day I should leave Berlin this photo would pierce me with an unbearable longing. For now it's a commonplace view, just another summer sky on the way home at night.

In the water

It keeps raining, then it's sunny again.

Edible flowers at the Vietnamese shop

I popped into my local Asian shop yesterday afternoon to buy some chilis for a green onion bhaji and couldn't resist picking up a packet of these edible flowers as well. The shopowner told me they're often eaten in Vietnam and Thailand. I followed her simple recipe when I got home, thinly slicing some garlic and sauteeing it in a bit of oil before rinsing the blossoms and tossing them in. They turned a radiant green in a minute, and on the plate they were crisp and delicious, with the slightest hint of perfume.

Brambles for a baby

I bought these tiny blackberries at the Kollwitzplatz market yesterday, and S has been devouring them: just the size for petite baby fingers.

London treats

London will fade if I'm not quick so let me just note for myself and and perhaps for you a few gems that I was led to or stumbled upon in our brief stay in London.

Such a delight to meet Tamami at Broadway Market and try one of her brownies and a slice of chocolate cake after following her adventures on her blog for some months! And I couldn't take my eyes off the fudge display at a stall further down: pictured above is one of the more lurid examples. Now I'm daydreaming of doing something similar in Berlin // One could do worse than pop into Ping Pong Dim Sum to grab a quick bite and go to the bathroom and marvel at the sterile, friendly charm of it all (nothing like it in [my] Berlin) before buying sandwiches at A. Gold then finishing the extravagence with espressos at Market Coffee House. // I bought S two cunning jars of yogurt and a basket of blueberries at La Fromagerie and she was in heaven. // There must be few nicer ways to enjoy a crisp, radiant London evening than protected by the glass roof in the Wallace Collection's courtyard, watching a beloved friend dance in her white dress. // And Tommy was quite right to include Fortnum & Mason on her list. Watching the women clad in green linen lunch in the first-floor ice cream parlor was heaven, and we've been enjoying our smoky Earl Grey every day since we returned.

Was there more? There was: I will add it if I remember.

A. Gold's British Delicatessen (London Notes)

You'll be unsurprised to hear Tommy's Lo-Fi London guide was spot on. On the Stansted Express bound for Liverpool Street Station I pulled out my print-outs and after a moment squinting at the map it was clear we had to go to A. Gold's immediately. When we stepped into the shop I breathed a sigh of relief: Lovely to enter a place so utterly of its destination. A. Gold's is a dream of England, all neatly hand-printed signs and cake stands and boiled sweets in old packaging. Yet while the food in such places can taste faintly dusty -- the product of owners more attuned to a concept than the kitchen's work -- A. Gold's selection was pitch-perfect. The crunchy sweet whipped egg whites in the lemon meringue cake gently collapsed beneath a dense layer of sponge, and the sourdough baguettes had just the right chewiness. We enjoyed our sandwiches so much we returned for more before leaving for the airport. They were all out of bread but let us persuade them to make sandwiches from the heels because we were so disconsolate at the prospect of making do with Marks & Spencer Simply Food. You cannot go wrong with their egg mayonnaise mixture, which I liked so much I bought cress yesterday to make my own.

Stay tuned for a few more London highlights!

Back

Erp, I really didn't intend to vanish without a syllable of explanation yet once more; blame strep throat and the fact that the wireless was down at our hostel in London. Here an outtake as a way of saying I'm back; more very very soon.