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I loved the intricate pattern of shadows over the cobblestones.
We had lunch at Schädel & Sattler. The soup was rather expensive (six euros!) but the proprietors are so welcoming and the scaramozza dumplings were very good. If you're a Tim Dinter groupie like me you'll be pleased to see he illustrated their cards.
Schädel & Sattler (no website yet, how refreshing!), Oderberger Straße 56, Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg (map)
Open M-F 8am-4pm
Tel. (030) 40 30 13 28
In a back garden in Moabit, these women sang pirate songs.
Afterwards, there was cake.
This Sunday, Anne Häupl and Elisabeth Zündel will present an afternoon of wine, women and song.
The garden concerts are organized by drama teacher Brigitte Stockmann and sculptor Anderl Kammermeier. Find the complete program here.
After the weekend's excess, baked potatoes seemed just right for dinner. The new crop of petite gold-fleshed tubers are best briskly scrubbed then rubbed with oil and salt before being baked for an hour or so. We cut crosses to let the heat penetrate. To serve, I never tire of Uwe Leue's fresh-pressed linseed oil and Siebengiebelhof's extraordinary Quark.
Uwe Leue sells his oils at the Kollwitzplatz market on Saturdays from 9am to 4pm.
Siebengiebelhof's products are available at Kiepert & Kutzner and other organic shops in Berlin. Find a list here.
I suppose this lopsided shot will have to serve as summary of yesterday's spread, because after this one test snap to check the batteries had recharged, I didn't pick up the camera again once. How do you manage to capture the party while being in the party? My favorite was the rhubarb trifle, barely visible in the bottom left, but there were also brownies, a Boston cream pie, a berry pavlova, tiny fiery cheese scones larded with onions and black olives, homemade oatcakes with a Bärlauch, scallion, cress and black pepper spread, and, of course, friends brought even more delectable goodies.
Rhubarb trifle
This trifle was a happy accident. I was making sponge layers for my Boston cream pie and didn't think to line or flour the pans; the cakes, though beautiful, broke into shards when I went to unmould them. So I transferred those pieces to the bottom of a cut-glass bowl and decided to make trifle. You can use any sponge cake recipe for the bottom layer; mine was the Gold Cake out of the Joy of Cooking.
For the fruit layer, I trimmed a kilogram of rhubarb and chopped it into chunks, then placed it in a gratin dish, sprinkled it with half a cup (100 grams) of sugar, covered the dish tightly with foil and baked it for just under an hour. Lift the rhubarb out with a slotted spoon to keep the cake from getting too soggy.
Custard felt redudant with the Boston cream pie simply groaning with crème patisserie, so I skipped it and just spooned on 200 ml of softly whipped cream. Next time I would boil down the rhubarb juices left in the pan and mix a tablespoon or so into the cream, for what I imagine as a gentle (not lurid!) pink.
A burst of sun from a few days ago to help you limp through the gray and wet.
I love the view out of Sissel Tolaas' laboratory window. If you're quick you can catch her at the HBC tonight!
I took the train to the Grunewald station and followed Auerbachstraße until it turned into a cobblestone path leading to Lake Hundekehl.
I crossed the woods and emerged onto Lake Grunewald. I was tempted to stop at the Forsthaus Paulsborn but followed the Lange Luch instead.
When I got to Krumme Lanke the clouds broke and the leaves went gold.
By the time I reached Schlachtensee, S was ready to play so we stopped at the Fischerhütte. She spun around the playground carousel while I tucked into tea and cake. We strolled along the southern bank of the lake, and then it was time to catch the train home.
Forsthaus Paulsborn, Hüttenweg 90 am Grunewaldsee, Berlin-Grunewald (map)
Tel. 030 / 81 81 91 0
Open daily from 11am
Die Fischerhütte am Schlachtensee, Fischerhüttenstraße 136, Berlin- (map)
Tel. 030 / 80 49 83 10
Open daily from 9am