food

Fugu me!

Our dinner tonight was so fresh, it was literally still moving. Fresh fugu on Vimeo PS – everyone survived the fugu.

Autumn eats in Zurich

How do I know fall is here? The Wild [German for ‘game’ – the kind you eat, not the kind you play] menus posted outside almost every single restaurant in Zurich told me so. Despite the title, even vegetarians like me can rejoice in these seasonal culinary offerings. Good restaurants offer at least one fall … Read more

baskets of foraged mushrooms

Eating and drinking our way through southern France

Wednesday evening we hopped on an overnight train to go visit our friends who live on the southern coast of France. Being on a French train and all, we had a couple of unscheduled delays, but in the end we were content to arrive at our destination a mere two hours late (yay, no strikes). We spent these extra two hours talking about how much we love Swiss trains, and vowing to never leave our country again.

Things only improved from there. Our friends picked us up at the train station and whisked us back to their home by the sea in St. Pierre la Mer, a tiny village of 500 inhabitants which swells to 100,000 during the tourist invasion of the summer vacation months. We spent the morning wandering the outdoor market by the beach, marveling at treats such as fresh almonds (which had furry green coats) and baby artichokes.

The afternoon was spent hopping from winery to winery, sampling everything the region had to offer.

Read moreEating and drinking our way through southern France

Boy Shooting: not as fun as it sounds

Today is a half day of vacation for many of the workers of Zurich. They all have the afternoon off so they can go watch children shoot at things. The holiday is called Knabenschiessen, which literally means ‘boy shooting’ (despite the name, girls are allowed to shoot at things too, at least since 1991). This … Read more

Just another market day in Zurich

Friday morning I took a stroll down to the vegetable and flower market at Bürkliplatz, in the middle of downtown Zurich. It was gorgeous weather (for once), and with the summer holidays drawing to an end and the city filling back up, the market was bustling with shoppers. The crowd was about evenly split between … Read more

German word of the day: Reformhaus

I know what you’re thinking… it’s where naughty, naughty little girls are sent. At least that’s what I thought the first time I walked past a Reformhaus sign when I lived in Germany. It was only after I had been living there for a year that I finally figured out what they really are: shops … Read more

Are you ready for some Fuβball?

I am, now that I’ve purchased these soccer-ball-themed napkins. Oh, and these soccer pistachios and soccer pretzel balls. For those who live under a rock (or in the US), the World Cup starts tonight in Germany. Switzerland is taking part for the first time since 1994, and the merchandisers are finally cashing in. Also, giant … Read more

Mmmmmm… dark-chocolate-covered marshmallow goo

My new addiction is Negro Kisses Big Dark Kissses, otherwise know as Moors’ heads Choco Heads. I blame Kesha. Her recent post about French delicacies with questionable names had gotten me thinking about Negerkussen, chocolate-covered marshmallow-crème-filled thingies that I remember from the cafeteria at the university in Germany. At the time they were undergoing a … Read more