the words

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”.




(To ensure proper word-smithing we have since recently indulged in the services of the girls' aunt Cat Runden, our editor in chief.)