I live between California and Bavaria — which mostly means I’m always craving something from the other place. My kitchen has both sriracha and Senfgurken, and honestly, they get along better than you’d think.
Mittenheim is a tiny hamlet tucked inside Oberschleißheim, just north of Munich. It started as a Franciscan monastery back in the 1700s, and the old buildings are still standing — repurposed, weathered, quietly beautiful. Schleißheim Palace is right around the corner, but Mittenheim itself is the opposite of grand: it’s just a handful of streets where neighbors still drop off cake for no reason and dinner is a serious matter. That spirit — good food, no fuss, a little heart on the plate — is what this blog is about.
Every recipe here is something we actually cook on a regular weeknight. No seventeen-step show-off dishes, no ingredients you need a passport to find. These are meals pulled from cookbooks, friends, family, the internet, farmers’ markets in both time zones — and then adapted, tweaked, and tested until they fit the way we really eat. A little Bavarian. A little Californian. Always a little improvised.
Some nights it’s a one-pot curry with whatever is in the fridge. Some nights it’s a proper Schnitzel because the heart wants what it wants. And some nights it’s just good bread, good cheese, and a strong opinion about which mustard is correct. (It’s süßer Senf. Don’t argue.)
I started this blog because I kept losing my own recipes in group chats and crumpled notes. Now they live here, and you’re welcome to them. Cook them exactly as written, or change everything — that’s what I’d do anyway.
Pull up a chair. Grab a Radler. Let’s cook something.