A New Year… A New Beginning

It’s been a long while since I posted anything, I’m well aware, but I did spend most of last year either being pregnant or trying to work out what to do with a small baby.  Either way, most days, I either couldn’t face food at all or simply didn’t have the energy to go out and find it.  (Apart from ice cream.  2013 saw a lot of ice cream.)  So, last year was a quiet year in my kitchen and generally an unexciting one, food-wise.

But I now find myself at the start of 2014 in a new(ish) flat in Wiesbaden’s Westend with a 12 week old baby, 10 more months of maternity leave and the occasional 15 minutes all to myself.  And since there’s nothing like suddenly having almost no time to yourself to really give you a kick up the backside on the productivity front,  I have resolved to use these extremely brief periods not for putting on the washing for the 40 millionth time, but to cram in a bit of doing what I love.  So: hello bookshelf, hello kitchen, hello blog.  I’m back.

And what can you expect from the newly inspired Eating Wiesbaden in 2014?

First off, a series about seasonal eating.  Cooking with what’s in season has become, since I moved here in 2010, a real passion for me, and spending this Christmas in London it felt mighty peculiar to be eating asparagus and runner beans, which I’ve grown accustomed to eating only at very specific times of the year.  In December, I managed to scrabble together a few words for Young Germany – The Year in Food – in which I briefly explored the role of seasonal food in the German diet.  Following on from that, I thought I’d start a series of monthly posts highlighting what’s around to eat here as the year goes by, and offer suggestions of what to do with it.

I’m also passionate about traditional German food in general, so I’m keen to share some of the classic recipes I’ve tried out (with varying degrees of success) as well as some of my favourite dishes as served up by my German in-laws.  And, though eating out happens a little less often than it used to these days, I’ll do my best to get back into reviewing local restaurants, too.

I’m not saying the Eating Wiesbaden blog will suddenly become a wild hive of activity but active it will be once more; I hope to post something once a week.  All your input is invaluable, so if you have any suggestions of topics to write about or recipes or restaurants you think I should try, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!