June 7, 2005

German cuisine in the age of Schroeder . . .

by

“A cookery book which includes recipes using stale bread and roadside weeds has become a huge best-seller in Germany,” according to a BBC News report. The book, Hartz IV — A Cookbook For Hard Times, “is designed for impoverished Germans hit by the country’s tough labour market reforms,” says the report, and makes suggestions such as replacing meat with vegetables and using “roadside weeds as a cost-effective way of ensuring the recommended daily intake of greens.” Among the recipes included are dandelion salad and “Celery Wiener Schnitzel.” Authors Sigrid Ormeloh and Nicole Schlier say the book, which sold out its first printing, was named in honor of Peter Hartz, a businessman and advisor to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder thought to be behind the reforms.

Dennis Johnson is the founder of MobyLives, and the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.

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