Britta's Letters from her life divided between city-life in German's capital Berlin and life in a Bavarian village

Sunday 8 September 2013

Autumnal joys


To show you that I am a very practical person too! (The wasps already know it).
And I have a big (travel) surprise in store (well: for me it was). Will tell you soon.

I COULD have given this little post also the enticing title: "How to stay young" (together with the so-called plum-cake-diet it would assure me approximately 10.000 clicks on this blog :-)
See: I found a very simple way to stay young: forgetfulness. Without any doubt in my heart I honestly wrote in the post about 'Kitchen gardens and Dig for Victory gardens' that son was five years old when I wrote that post. That's true. Then I added: "I wrote this essay 14 years ago".
And I believed it when writing that, thinking: "14 years ago? Time flies!"
Next morning I had a strange feeling... 14 years ago? But - oh -- then son would be 19 years old now. But he isn't.
He is 29 by now.
Well: what is a decade for a woman like me? I will remember most of it - but forget to add it mechanically to my age... Give me the wonder-cake, please!




20 comments:

  1. Dear Britta - I make a plum cake similar to that which we enjoyed when holidaying in Austria a few years ago and copied when we arrived back home. If it does for me what it has done for you then that would be a bonus - you look far, far too young to have a son who is 29 years old - whats a decade between friends?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Rosemary,
      from Austria you got the right recipe! I have it from Bavaria (but it also exists in Schwaben) - I think all three call it (a bit 'plum-p', forgive the pun) "Zwetschgen-Datschi".
      Manfred Krug, a German jazz-singer, once sang: "Wotcha! You don't have any other worries?" - that seems to be a good motto for growing older :-)

      Delete
  2. If you can send me some of that plum cake, I'll love you forever (?) No, but for as long as it lasts in my biscuit tin :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" (good that Tom is in Spain, he might add a few varieties).
      My grandmother sent in War time my father a cake - he was in Madagascar - it arrived as a sort of stone - while the plumcake might be very mushy, I fear, till it reaches Ireland.

      Delete
  3. My mother makes that cake but in a round pan. When I was little, the first time I heard her ask me if I wanted some, I thought she was asking did I want some switchin'? (spanking) I must have done something wrong and had a guilty conscience:) Are those lovely asters I see in your last pic? Autumn is my kind of season. It's the last hurrah before putting the garden to bed.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dear Walk2write,
    then it was a good surprise when your mother gave you plumcake!
    The asters I took in the garden of the Charlottenburger Schloss - a lot of bees and butterflies came by. I do love autumn too very much!

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is very funny! Easy mistake!! x

    ReplyDelete
  6. I really like this post. You look so happy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! When I have "done" something (maybe a cake or a book or getting a found wilting rose to flower again) I am happy.

      Delete
  7. I, too, will have a slice of that wonder cake if it leads me in your gracious steps, my dear. Let us pshaw a measly ten years together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are heartily invited, Suze, though you don't need that wonder-cake for that reason. Let's just enjoy it - and yes: we'll laugh together, giggle a lot, that I am sure of.

      Delete
  8. Dear Briotta,
    you are absolutely PERFECT!
    I think you are young, ok maybe the age is not 20, but you look really young. I don't talk about feel the soul young and seems to be a lady of 100 years old! I really think you are young. You are fresh, you are sophisticated, you are a positive person... then I want the recipe of what you have in your hands, seems delicious!
    Bisou, Babi

    ReplyDelete
  9. Dear Babi,
    thank you, this is like a bath in a beautiful lake of kind words. The recipe is quite simple - I make the dough in a breadmaker (125g safflower oil, 125g water, 125g milk, 500g flour, 3 Tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 package dry yeast (7g) - the breadmaker does it then) - but, of course, you can make a quite normal sweet yeast dough and then put the halved prunes on it (about 1 1/2 kg), baking it then about 30 minutes on 180°C in the oven. IThey get very juicy - and I sprinkle them with sugar, mixed with a little bit of cinnamon.
    Yummy.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Whatever you're eating, I'll have a very large slice please! It has obviously done wonders for you!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you, you are heartily invited! Normally I follow (laxly) Gayelord Hauser - he grew quite old, and looked very well, also when old - but plum-cake was not on his list, I fear :-) Though: all those vitamins...

    ReplyDelete
  12. HI Britta
    I am new here. Looks like a plum cake my mother(from Darmstadt) use to make. Must be why she too looks so young too at 89 :) you look great.


    ERIKA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Erika,
      thank you! It is good to hear that time gives us a chance (and cakes, once in a while). I know Darmstadt a bit - lovely Mathildenhöhe.

      Delete
  13. A lovely post, Britta! As I've often mentioned, you really look young!! Plus you are so beautiful though you are not in the twenties. It seems to me keeping one's heart young as you do and taking care of one's body(going to gym regularly, choosing the right cosmetics, and so on) are the most important in staying young for women!! The asters' light purple is fantastic, Britta! Oh I wish I could eat a slice of that cake!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Sapphire, thank you! I would enjoy if you where here - you know that I admire the Japanese culture, and learn so much through your lovely posts by you! Arigatō.

      Delete