My Franco-American brother-in-law is here in Germany on another visit. This time we surprised him with homemade Maryland corn fritters – he had not had them in 30 years.

Grating kernels for corn fritters

Here is the recipe from great-grandmother Laura Shipley:

1 dozen ears corn, grated (see above)

1 egg, slightly beaten

¼ c. flour

Grate corn into 2-3 qt. container.  Add beaten egg and flour. The consistency is important – too much flour and fritters are “tough” – too little flour and the fritters are runny (option: do a test batch the first time with least amount of flour).  The batter should be “gloppy” – which means not runny but not too thick!  If the first batch sticks and doesn’t turn well, add about 2-3 Tbsp. more flour (usually that takes care of it).  Fry in hot Crisco oil or margarine. Drain. Serve with salt and butter, or try salsa. Excellent summer time lunch or accompaniment for supper.

Note: preferably old or thick kernels of  yellow corn for best results. Young corn or small kernels are not good for fritters. Important for batter to be of creamy consistency, which is why grating works best when shredding kernels.

Since I could not go to Sardinia this summer, I asked our sixteen-year-old to write a short post about this trip. This is what Thomas had to say:

This summer was the first time that our annual family vacation took place in Sardinia. We had been to Italy before, specifically Sicily, but I had heard that Sardinia was quite a bit different from the other regions of Italy.

This family vacation itself was also a bit different than what I had been accustomed to, as only half of the family (my father and I) would go. This was due to some complications regarding my sister’s physical condition… she injured her knee three days before our departure and ended up in the hospital in Frankfurt.

The city where we stayed for two weeks, called Bosa, is a very picturesque town full of history. The apartment where we lived, was submerged directly into this culturally intense atmosphere. It was aptly called The Lemon Tree House, as one of the main attractions to this place was the lemon tree situated on the front terrace.

The tree was a very pleasant and shady place to relax under the warm sun, and provided us with lemons as well. These we would use to make lemonade, or just pure lemon juice. As I arrived on Sardinia with a bit of a cold, my father had me drink  freshly squeezed lemon juice almost every day.

Fresh lemons in Bosa

Visit Lemon Tree House Apartments (rentals) in Bosa, Sardinia for more information.

On this rather hot Friday afternoon (currently 32°C/90F), my husband and I went downtown Oberursel to eat at this tiny eatery La Vita Italiana. Four cloth-covered tables grace the inside and two others on the side of the street. They also sell Italian bread and groceries.

La Vita Italiana, a.k.a. the first paninoteca (snackbar) In Oberursel, serves panini, pizza, pasta, oven dishes, salads, antipasti, desserts, and much more. Everything is made from fresh ingredients only, and therefore only available when ordered beforehand.

The prices are very reasonable and our antipasti was excellent. The little white pitcher held olive oil marinated with basil leaves, garlic, rosemary, and possibly other herbs. My husband and I both took whiffs from this wonderful olive oil to figure out its contents.

We had ordered zucchini, eggplant (the best vegetable to keep cool in hot weather), artichokes, and pepper/onion mix.

Generous portions of antipasti

I want to take my children there next time for some highly cherished pana cotta (cream pudding).

La Vita Italiana

Untere Hainstrasse 1b

61440 Oberursel

Tel: 06171 – 86 60 920

Hours of operation: Mon-Fri 10:00 – 19:00       Sat: 9:00 – 16:00

I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.

- Rosalia de Castro, Spanish poet and novelist (1837–1885) -

A traveller without observation is a bird without wings.

- Moslih Eddin Saadi -

Our family had to take separate vacations this year. While my husband and son went to Sardinia, our daughter and I opted for a completely different type of vacation.

Theirs, on Sardinia, is in a self-catering vacation apartment. To get around the island, my husband booked a rental car.

Margo and I enjoy All-inclusive this year, with a paid driver on the side.

On Sardinia, the temperature is a decent 27° (80 F). Where we are, the temp is hovering at 35° (95 F) for today, with 38° C – 40°C (100 F – 104 F) in the forecast for tomorrow. We have a nice view onto a beautiful park stacked with flowers and lounge chairs. There is an in-door pool and we are getting spoiled by room service versus the regular line-up at the buffet.

The staff is very kind and it makes me wonder if they had to go through a U.S. American customer-service training. We are being greeted every time we step in and out of the elevator. Doors are being held open for us. Special requests are delivered promptly.

And – I have never met so many men in my life. This place is just swarming with guys, suntanned from their extended stays. Margo has her own room boy, who takes her out for leisurely strolls.

In the hallway, there is a special room with only an ice-machine in it. We can help ourselves to ice at any time!

The other guests are extremely nice and kind, too. We open each others doors  as the staff is setting a supreme example. Meeting new guests is made very easy and we freely talk about how we ended up in this location.

We arrived by car. Special guests arrive by helicopter.

80% of the guests are male, ranging from young men to senior citizens. Everybody is so kind and helpful – I doubt it could be any better in a 5-star hotel.

Curious now  where we are spending our vacation?

We are having a lovely time at the Berufsgenossenschaftliche Unfallklinik (BGU) a.k.a. Workmen’s Emergency Clinic in Frankfurt.

Due to our daughter’s injury at school three days before the planned family holiday, we ended up here.

By the way, her knee surgery (avulsion fracture, torn ligaments) went well and we just learned we are booked for another five days with the ever remaining option for another extension.

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.

- Lin Yutang -

Come summer time weather, Germans are out and about, if the weather allows it. The country is full of Biergartens with people eating and drinking.

As my Heimat is Bavaria, this might explain my aversion to Apfelwein (a.k. as Eppelwoi and Äppelwoi). I try this wine every few years, but I still don’t care for it.

Äppelwoi (apple wine) in Hesse

The drink itself looks delicious on a hot summer evening. This is a 0.5 l glass (one pint), but many Germans will turn this into a Gespritzter (apple wine diluted with mineral water).

Bread dumplings with chanterelle

I had ordered this dish called Semmelknödel mit Pfifferlingen. It looked very fancy with this herbal decoration, but the food quality itself was average. The Gasthaus seems to get good reviews, though. Service was very good and quick.

If you are in the Frankfurt area, you might enjoy visiting this guesthouse Land Gasthaus Zur Sonne located in Oberursel/Stierstadt.

View onto Frankfurt

On a clear day, you can also make out the skyline while sitting outside drinking German style.

All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.

- Martin Buber -

(German Jewish biblical translator, philosopher and interpreter)

Among the photos, taken by our daughter, in Sicily (April 2010), I found this to be the most striking and representative of the Sicilian dress style.

(with friendly permission from the photographer, Margo Shipley)