As promised, we wanted to share our love and fun of #TravelingSanta!
The children will miss #TravelingSanta until next year! Thank you #TravelingSanta for the fun we had this past Christmas holiday season! Farewell, until we meet again!
We hope you enjoy our little video of the adventures we all had together!
Happy New Year! Happy 2018! Let’s start off the New Year with a new name! As you can see, All Things Gourmet, sounds like a nice little fit! What you’ll find here won’t change at all! There still will be recipes shared, gourmet food items to be showcased and shared, along with the sharing of information and traditions and so forth! But don’t worry, there will be little Gourmet Nibbles to be had and I will make sure you can follow my crumb trail!
The month of January is busy and filled with lots of new things, recipes and adventures ahead! There are some sauces and soups to be made, special national days to celebrate – all of course – featured around FOOD! Then we have to face it and admit it – Valentine’s is right around the corner! Yes! I know! We just finished up the Christmas and New Year’s holidays and YES! We must move on to Valentine’s and do I dare bring up the Easter Bunny?! Well, I sort of have to, because we can’t avoid them! And here they are…!
Just a few to get you started!
Over the course of the next year I also plan to keep up on the latest health and food trends, and so far there are a few similar themes I keep seeing popping up! Tumeric and other spices seems to be one trend. “Gut-friendly” fermented foods such as sauerkraut has hit the list and then don’t forget about your foods filled with probiotic! And as for gut-friendly foods, we have that and we’ve got you covered!
There are a few things about coffee I may look into – I keep reading that coffee is good for your liver and there may also be other coffee trends that I am going to try to keep my eye on. Is coffee the key to prevent premature death?I don’t know, but there are reports to claim there may be an association to drinking coffee and longevity by reducing the risk of cancer, stroke, heart and liver disease!
And coffee… that’s in stock as well!
So there’s a lot to look forward to in 2018! And it’s time to get started!
2017 is winding down and I’d like to thank our friends and followers that have been with us on our gourmet journey! We shall continue on into 2018 with more information, ideas, recipes, fun and more! Since the end part of September, we have brought you some fun gift ideas for your holiday season, some fun videos and shared some German traditions.
2018 will be filled with lots more gourmet adventures ahead! There are many more recipes to be made and shared and many more new products to enlighten you all about as well!
Stay tuned, we are winding down and slowing down a bit as this year ends, but we will be in full force come 2018!
We are almost to the New Year, we are about to ring in 2018! With that, I thought I would look into some German New Year’s traditions to share with you all. There are actually several things that popped up in my search, so here are just a few of them that I thought I would pass your way! Interesting stuff! For instance, Germans called New Year, “Silvester“.
Cast Some Lead.
Say what now? Yes. Go melt some lead. Many people will melt a small piece of lead or tin over candlelight in a spoon or small pot. After being melted, the lead is then immediately cooled in cold water. As the shape sets quickly, people will interpret the shapes and symbols to predict how the New Year will be predicted for that person.
“Dinner for One”.
Known for its line, “The same procedure as every year, James!”, this is a British Cabernet sketch that has become a cult classic in Germany. It’s a short skit about a tipsy butler and Miss Sophie, a woman celebrating her 90th birthday. The guest list includes imaginary friends, all of those who have died off. If you are interested in watching it, here you go, all in German:
Fireworks.
Grab some fireworks and go make some noise! A LOT OF NOISE! Send the old year out and bring the new one in with lots of noise in the form of fireworks! In traditional days before fireworks, bringing the noise would mean bring your drums and maracas out!
New Year’s Cards.
In Germany, and many European countries, sending a New Year’s card is done to wish your friends and family a Happy New Year. This is called Neujahrskarte. A lot of times these cards are used to tell friends and family about the past events in the last year. Germans prefer to send a Neujahrskarte over a Christmas card.
Fondue.
Get your cheese melt on and dip meats, veggies, breads and what not in some oozy gooey hot melted cheese! Germans will enjoy a nice traditional pot of fondue to celebrate the New Year.
Have a Beverage.
Several types of beverages served during this time of year can be the Feuerzangenbowle (aka “flaming fire tongs punch”), as seen below that we did earlier this fall, and then Glühwein, or hot mulled wine. Grab a glass of Sekt (German sparkling wine/champagne), beer or wine.
So no matter where you are, we hope you are going to have a safe and happy New Year’s celebration! What are some of your favorite traditions? Share with us!
Thank you to the following sources for the information:
We hope that all of our friends and families that celebrate the Christmas holiday had a wonderful weekend! We “wrapped up” our past week on Friday with a holiday party that was full of holiday cheer and also had some wonderfully awesome ugly Christmas sweaters! The staff of Gourmet International all enjoyed a holiday meal together and shared in some time just enjoying each other’s company! Staff all had to pick numbers to find out where they would be sitting, it was a great time to meet new people who you didn’t know before!
We’d like to thank Monica and Mike, pictured here with their mother Erika (in the middle), for putting on the holiday lunch!
And no matter how you say it, the meaning and spirit of Christmas comes across in all languages! I loved this sign of the different languages shared by the many people who work within Gourmet International!
The Ugly Sweater contest was really fun to judge – there certainly were quite a few choices to choose from, making a decision difficult!
We hope that everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday weekend, it’s another short week as we prepare for the next adventure… New Year’s weekend! We have a lot to look forward to this upcoming year and we hope you all continue the adventures with us!
I thought it would be fun to search around for some sources to share some German Christmas traditions. My family background is mainly Latvian, pretty much everyone in my family (except my brothers and I), were all born in Latvia. My father and his family were from Latvia and then there is my mother who actually was born in Germany to Latvian parents. So while I, myself, am not German per say, there are some European traditions that are similar in nature from country to country.
For fun, here’s an Advent and Christmas Quiz from the website, “The German Way & More“. My score? I received 7 out of 10 correct! Look at the brain on me!
From Advent, to the German glass pickle ornament myth, to yuletide, here’s an A-to-Z Guide to Christmas traditions. This “guide” offers some insight into the many different Christmas customs from Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
If you were wondering what the differences are between Christmas in the United States and Germany is, try here to find a comparison chart with links to more information. One custom I can relate to is that my family always open presents on Christmas Eve. In the United States, the customary thing to do is to wait for Christmas Day to open gifts. I always thought I was really cool and special to be able to open gifts before all my friends. Growing up we never really left any cookies and milk out for Santa, maybe we had some stocking stuffers to open the next day on Christmas Day, but everything else was done on the Eve. Church, dinner and then gifts! While at the link provided above, you’ll find some good seasonal etiquette if you are traveling to Germany during the Christmas season.
I hope you find some interesting information while browsing through those links I provided. What are some of your holiday traditions? Share them with us in the comments!
As I wrap up this quick post for today, the elves are working up some holiday fun at Gourmet International for our holiday party! Stay tuned, we hope to share some photos and cheer from festivities that are to take place on Friday afternoon!
Well, Christmas is almost here and I have to say some fun has been had leading up to the big day! Between sharing stocking stuffer and gift ideas with you all here, our Riegelein #TravelingSanta, all the way from Germany, has been having some fun of his own on Twitter. He’s been seen all around our lovely Mitten State and he’s taken residence in my home, car and lodging wherever my family goes! He refers to my family as his host family, which really is kind of cute. While he’s fun to travel with, he can be a little difficult at times as he doesn’t care much to be in the sun too long, nor does he like to be near heat.
So as we all prepare to get our final holiday to-do lists complete and shopping done, I thought it would be fun to recap a little bit of what #TravelingSanta has been up to and then maybe share what’s up next for #TravelingSanta.
#TravelingSanta had some reflecting moments in Cadillac, Michigan.
#TravelingSanta got to learn the game of hockey during his stay with us. Although we are NOT a travel team, we still do travel quite a bit. This time he was in Holland, Michigan with us at Griff’s Ice House West.
#TravelingSanta is having a good time in the car with us, his host family, on the way to St. Ignace, Michigan where yes, again, hockey! This was the Battle at the Bridge hockey tournament.
During Thanksgiving break, #TravelingSanta went for a hike, did some chores around the house and gave some advice to those who needed turkey help.
#TravelingSanta celebrated National Gingerbread Cookie Day.
#TravelingSanta helped us pick out our Christmas tree this year.
#TravelingSanta enjoyed our first big snow storm of the season!
And #TravelingSanta asked me to share some photos of him and our Elf on the Shelf, Buddy. They’ve been talking with each other quite a bit lately. They are good friends and they are keeping very close tabs on my boys, making sure they are behaving!
And last but not least, only seen here, #TravelingSanta wanted me to share these photos of him with some of our many ornaments from our White House Christmas Ornament collection from the White House Historical Association.
So what’s next for #TravelingSanta? I’m not sure yet, I guess we shall just have to wait and see what Christmas holds for all of us! Stay tuned to Twitter and see what happens! So far he’s been a really great guest and he’s kept my kids occupied, however, one child in particular keeps giving him some kind of crazed look… so not sure what that is all about!
I had the opportunity to help pass out chocolate samples and make some custom chocolate bags for customers this weekend at a local grocery store just down the road from my home. There was a variety of chocolates to be sampled, along with cinnamon stars and some non-alcoholic glüh-punsch. But it was the chocolate that people were eyeing the most as they walked into the entrance of the store.
One particular chocolate brand caught the eyes of several people walking past our samples. Just about every person who recognized the packaging and the image on the front all said the same thing, “I know that chocolate! It’s the Mozart chocolate!” If you are a chocolate connoisseur, you may recognize the red packaging or the famous face of the composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then you know Reber Chocolate Specialties. And if you know Reber, then you know the Genuine Reber Mozart-Kugeln!
It’s a delicious and exquisite piece of chocolate! The Reber Mozart Kugeln has a creamy hazelnut chocolate nougat filling with freshly ground almonds and pistachio marzipan, enrobed twice with milk and dark chocolate. If you have never had one, you need to go find one! It’s amazing! You don’t have to take my word for it, if you were with me on Saturday, you would have heard people raving to their family members about the Reber chocolates they enjoyed while visiting and traveling throughout Europe.
Above I added a stock photo of the Mozart Kugeln, and to show you that YES, it really does look like that on the inside, I shall provide you proof of my dissected confection! You can truly, actually SEE the milk chocolate under that top layer of dark chocolate!
Reber has been around for 150 years making their confections of sophisticated taste. With a long history in Munich, Reber’s products are all made without artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. Reber uses the best ingredients for all their products, from fresh pistachios to the finest praline. It was so fun listening to people talk about where they were when they were enjoying their Reber chocolate! Some people found Reber in Germany or Austria and others found the delicious confections in airports and shops along the way. There was a woman from out-of-town visiting her parents and when she saw the Reber packaging, she immediately started sharing memories of her past adventures overseas and how she tried this chocolate and she absolutely enjoyed it. I have to say, I really enjoyed being a part of conversations of the people who came in and out of the store this past weekend! It’s really neat how something like chocolate or other food or beverage item can bring memories back to people.
Reber has a variety of different chocolates to choose from besides the Mozart Kugeln, they do offer chocolate bars and other specialty chocolate pieces with varying fillings. There are many things to choose from when it comes to Reber! There is something to please everyone! Earlier this year I did talk about the Reber Fascination Box, that is a great gift to give anyone: boss, family or friend! So you have options to choose from when it comes to Reber! Perhaps you have never tried it – if you haven’t, it may become a new favorite! Perhaps you may pass this along to a friend, loved one or co-worker and maybe you’ll remind them of some special moments in their life!
Christmas Markets have become a popular place to visit during the Christmas season. What does a Christmas Market entail? And when did it begin? Widely popular all throughout Europe, Christmas Markets have had a long tradition of being an important aspect of the season. Taking a look back at some history, Vienna, Austria, was first to have “December Market” in 1298. As for the Christmas Markets opening in Germany, there have been different answers: Munich 1310, Bauzen 1384 and Frankfurt 1393. From there the Christmas Markets spread across Europe and beyond. Below is a photo from the Christmas Market in Nuremberg.
Christmas Markets are also known as Christkindlmarkts, otherwise known as Christ Child Markets. This dates back to the days of Martin Luther where he wanted to take focus away from the Saints Nicholas and Martin. Before the 1530s, gifts were exchanged on December 6th (St. Nicholas Day) or November 11 (St. Martins Day). Martin Luther’s children received gifts on the 24th of December, from Christkindl or Christ Child, and as that continued some of the Christmas Markets called themselves Christkindlmarkts.
I’d like to make sure we give credit to German Girl In America for a lot of the data and information that I shared here with you all.
Christmas Markets have spread all across the United States and have gained popularity among larger cities. Just take a moment on Google and you can search the many markets across the States. I’ll list a few here:
Note that all the Christmas Markets have different operating dates, times and such. Do check out their websites prior to visiting and research what is available and open during certain times of the holiday season.
These Christmas Markets offer a variety of seasonal treats, foods, candies and an assortment of gifts, festivities and fun for families and friends to enjoy. Have you been to a Christmas Market? If you have, what are your favorite things to do, to see, or to buy?
If you are searching for a Christmas Market near you, try looking at ChristmasMarkets.com to help you with your search!
The photos that are seen throughout this post are all under Creative Commons CC0 and were obtained by Pixabay.
It’s a common holiday item that can be seen on store shelves or fresh out of the oven in kitchens. Have you ever wondered what is the cinnamon star, also known as zimtsterne in German, all about? And did you know at one point cinnamon stars were considered illegal in Germany? And speaking of “points”, the traditional cinnamon star has 6 points! Let’s dig into the history of the cinnamon star!
The cinnamon star arrives during the Christmas holiday season and is offered during the Advent season. Made with almonds and cinnamon, these little stars are full of flavor. Back in the 1600s, cinnamon in Europe was expensive and a rare spice and almonds had to be imported. Food items such as these were usually considered reserved for royalty. Since cinnamon and almonds were expensive and scarce, this helps offer a reason as to why these two staples were only enjoyed one time a year at special occasions like Christmas. Traditionally these zimtsternes are baked before Advent, stored and shared during the holiday season. (Source: The Spruce)
And so what is this about cinnamon stars being illegal in Germany? I stumbled upon this NPR archive when searching for the history of cinnamon stars. Well, back in 2006, a scientist in a government food safety lab smelled something strange. The scent was bitter and strong and it turned out to be coumarin.
Coumarin found in cinnamon can have a toxic effect on the human liver. The scientist at the government food safety lab found coumarin levels up to 40 times higher than what is traditionally allowed. By the time it was discovered how much coumarin was in the Christmas cookie, many of them were already packaged and placed upon store shelves waiting to be purchased. Officials hemmed and hawed on what to do about the situation and in the end decided to alert consumers not to eat too many or too much of any food with cinnamon in it. You can bet that political lobbyists have had their way and sway within the German government. Coumarin levels in German food was supposed to drop to legal levels after that particular holiday season. Rest assured, cinnamon stars are no longer illegal in Germany, but what an interesting turn of events that happened just over 10 years ago! (Source: National Public Radio)
Take it from me, and my little elves, we all agree that the cinnamon stars are delicious and we promise not to eat too many at one time! As most traditional treats I’ve been posting about this holiday season, these cinnamon stars are delish with coffee or tea! These specific cinnamon stars are made by Wicklein.
All Things Gourmet 