Berlin Reified

Sounds & Apples & Potatoes

First, my beloved Max and his husband Michael have put together Sound Shuttle, an installation that "inserts itself at the intersection of sound art and urban studies". Of course I'm biased, but aren't the snippets on their MySpace page great? Sound Shuttle opens at 8pm tonight at 91 mq. (Photos above and below were taken years ago at the Onkel Toms Hütte station in southwest Berlin, easily my favorite U-Bahn stop. Have you been? It's a subway station inside an 1930s shopping center. It's so bleak. Just the signage is worth the trip.)

Second, the artist community LandKunstLeben is holding their annual apple festival this Sunday at the Steinhöfel Garden.  They promise a garden buffet and the chance to pick and cook your own flowers and produce. Those who can't make it this weekend might like to check out the Kochende Gärten cooking courses held in the garden throughout the year.

And finally, the series of Domäne Dahlem markets is kicking into high gear. Last week featured specialities from Brandenburg; this week is the potato festival. Children (and adults) can dig their own potatoes and roast them over an open fire. Coming up are the harvest festival on October 9th & 10th (find a few pictures here) and the textile fair plus Saint Martin's Day parade on November 6th & 7th.

91 mg, Landsberger Allee 54, Berlin-Friedrichshain (map)

Steinhöfel Garden, Steinhöfeler Str. 22, 15518 Buchholz bei Fürstenwalde, Spree, Brandenburg (map) (directions)

Domäne Dahlem, Königin-Luise-Straße 49, Berlin-Dahlem (map)

French figs on a rainy morning

These figs are keeping me going through the recent downpours. It's taken a few tries but now I've learned the ones that feel too soft encase that last savor of summer.

Market report

I went to the market and brought home some treasures. These will be the last raspberries of the season.

These small organic eggs the chicken man sells for 20 cents a piece are the best deal in town. (They're not so small!)

I was all set to buy flowers to brighten my dim kitchen when I spotted this Teestrauß. Literally a "tea bouquet", you pinch off a handful of herbs and pour on hot water. The stall owner said this bouquet would yield five or six pots.

I love the grainy nuttiness of fresh ricotta. Combined with those tiny eggs it makes the perfect frittata.

Mysteriously all the stalls in Berlin call mizuna "Asia-Salat". I think it will make a perfect bed for the fritatta.

Lunch is very simple: a loaf of französisches Landbrot from the ufa bakery.

I eat it with Knippenbergs' lavender cream, a deeply flavored mix of fresh goat's cheese, cream, orange oil and lavender blossoms.

I bought everything at the organic market on Kollwitzplatz that's held every Thursday from noon to 6pm, but the stallholders make the rounds. Knippenbergs sells here, and the ufa bakery here (the ufa Fabrik in Tempelhof is well worth a visit too).

Linen towels & Urban farm tea parties

I've fallen a little in love with linen handtowels since I discovered Grubentücher a few months ago. This one came from a grandmother in Hildesheim (via her granddaughter).

Speaking of falling in love (and baskets) isn't Tommy's new project nice?

Also, the much-beloved Prinzessingarten is hosting an Alice in Wonderland dinner this Saturday at 6pm. I'll probably be too busy packing, but you might like to go: send a text to 01797313995 to book a spot for 16 EUR (four courses and a glass of wine!).

Prinzessingarten am Moritzplatz, Prinzenstrasse 35 – 38, Berlin-Kreuzberg (map)
The garden cafe is open daily from 1pm.

For now...

For now, the leaves are still a brilliant green.

Apricot dumplings of an afternoon

I can't imagine a nicer way to inaugurate my new kitchen, but it's a little dangerous to discover how easy Marillenknödel are to make. Ours were so pretty fresh out of the pan, powdered in a neat ring, but we were too hungry for photography then. The recipe is from the ever-reliable Nicky.

I meant to mention the new farmers' market in Seelower Straße and forgot, so I was glad to see Kristina capture it so well. It's a bit cruel to have it open just as we're leaving Arnimplatz but at least I can enjoy it when I'm back to pack boxes.

Bauernmarkt an der Seelower Straße, Saturdays 10am-4pm (map)

Romas of an evening

Now is indisputably the season for tomatoes with little done to them. Dinner tonight is five sorts (yellow Romas above) with slices of fried manouri alongside. Kiepert & Kutzner had fourteen local varieties when I went in on Wednesday; I can't wait to see what I'll find at the markets tomorrow.