While all five of us have plenty to say about our cooking,
Papa is the one who gets to write it down. Raised in northern Germany as Tobias
Witte in his mother’s internationally infused kitchen, he was picked up by Mama,
Liz Witte, in the United States, where they settled in Charlotte, North Carolina.
They are now joined by Lucy, Lily, and Lena, their three daughters. (Don’t ask
about the name giving. The “L’s” just happened.)
A few of the cooking ideas originated directly from that
kitchen near Hamburg, like the breakfast rolls, the pancakes, and the meatballs
and carrots with mashed potatoes. The girls’ grandmother’s finer fair has
unfortunately only survived in our memories. But we still harbor a hunch that
some recipes might be found with the family back home in Germany. We haven’t
given up. In the meantime we draw our inspiration from all kinds of sources
including cook books, magazines, blogs, and other cooks.
The bi-lingual cooking makes, of course for funny scenes. A
“Schlenker” of olive oil is quite a precise means of measurement, which we have
only found surpassed by Jamie Oliver’s “a glug”. When you have schlenkered it
in there once, you know how it needs to feel. But when the food does turn out
scrumptious and feeds not only our tummies but also our whole being, the
language doesn't matter. We all exclaim with a resounding “Oooooooh”.
