Mai Favoriten

There are two things that I love about Germany in May that were never really knew until I moved here. I've raved about Spargelzeit (white asparagus season) before, but find that I cannot rave enough about the national meal that is a favorite this time of year. A squeal of delight always seems to come out when I see the very first strawberry booth of the season because I know the yumminess that follows... white asparagus and strawberries! In the States, green asparagus was the vegetable of choice, with white being completely unknown. (even though I had seen it in the stores before)

A very important note to those who have never eaten white asparagus and are possibly inspired to try it... you MUST peel it first! For any German reading this, the first thought that might come to mind is... "of course you peel it!?!", but this is not necessarily for the traditional green asparagus eater. My parents had quite a bad experience the first time they ate white asparagus because they assumed that you prepare it the same way as green... needless to say, they explained that they did not like it and could not see what all the hype was about over a stringy, tasting-like-a-pineapple-with-the-peel vegetable.

In May, spargel is deliciousness for the tummy, but Raps (canola) is candy for the eyes... oh, how beautiful. So, I married into a "farming family"... that means lots of talks about tractors, combine harvesters, and all kinds of things that I am quite frankly not interested in. Despite my general disinterest in all those things, one particular crop has captured my attention. It is so beautiful to travel the countryside in Northern Germany in May... literally fields of gold everywhere.

I told my father-in-law recently that if I were a farmer, I would like to be a sunflower or other flower farmer... how could one ever be in a bad mood being surrounded with such splendor?!?