We took the train to Cologne to meet-up with one of our students who is from Germany- Sascha.

We had ButterKuchen and a beer on the way. The cake was surprisingly delicious- light, buttery, a touch of almond, and crispy turbinado sugar on top!

My Phone is WORKING!!!!! It’s a Christmas miracle!!!! 🙂 Also, I had a croissant sandwich with prosciutto, herb cream cheese, lettuce, onion, cucumber, and sprouts along with a peach and some tomatoes.

Dave and Dana are here!!! We’re so happy their joining us 🙂 We had fresh berries and peaches with vanilla yogurt and croissants. I made cold-brew coffee and served it iced with basil simple syrup and cream- mmm!

Beans with brats, salad, and toasty ciabatta with garlic and olive oil. A delicious Rhine river wine- slightly effervescent, fruity, and a bit tart. Yes!!!

We have many cans of beans that we bought but didn’t use while Aimee was here, so beans for lunch and dinner 🙂

I seared some fresh bratwurst then added onions and cooked until Carmelized. I added garlic, red chili flakes, bay, beans, and finally a generous glug of wheat beer. I simmered it all for an hour or so. It became creamy and full flavored- mmmm! I typically don’t like American style bratwurst on a bun, but I really liked it in this dish. I served it with a salad of mixed baby lettuces, Belgian endive, and tomatoes.

Finally! A proper breakfast in a beautiful setting! I had vanilla yogurt, fresh strawberries and blueberries with coffee on our lovely, sun-filled terrace. Life is good!

Plus a pic of our cute dining room 🙂

I fell asleep watching a movie (typical), so Adam was on his own. Hello ramen! I woke up to the familiar, salty smell of noodles and freeze-dried beef. It’s a dish, like Kraft Mac ‘n’ cheese, I’m ashamed to say I really love. How can you argue with salty, fatty carbohydrates? I can’t 🙂

It’s not pretty, but it’s tasty.

It’s too hot to run around Düsseldorf this afternoon. So we ran all our errands early this morning (groceries are 1.5 miles away), and decided to stay in for a cool, relaxing day inside. We watched a couple documentaries and some TV.

Of course, there were snacks! Thin, crispy pretzels with creamy herbed cheese, beer, and some sour gummies 🙂

Glad to have a comfortable kitchen again! I made a lemon garlic butter caper sauce over ricotta and arugula fresh pasta with a green salad. Yum!

I took a picture of our embarrassing breakfast. By some miracle, Adam’s phone crashed and it disappeared. It was suggested that we forget it ever happened, but this is an honest blog. So, I will reveal that we bought a coffee, a coke, and two sausages wrapped in pastry out of a glass box with a heat lamp in it, at a gas station. That is all.