Wurstsalat and a Deli Memory

Every Wednesday. My son Eran told me something the other day about my grandson. He’s my little Schatz, my little treasure. For nearly two years, every Wednesday, my little Schatz would go out onto the front step to wave at the garbage men when they came by. They would beep the horn for him and give him a thumbs up, and he would stand there beaming. Then one Wednesday, he didn’t go out. And he hasn’t since. Eran didn’t say it sadly, just as something he had noticed. But it stayed with me, because that’s often how childhood changes. Those little rituals end before we notice. The child is simply ready for the next thing. It reminded me of when Eran was six or seven and I used to take him grocery shopping with me. Our first stop was often a little German deli called Denninger’s. The shelves were full of little pieces of Germany, with chocolate, mustards, sauces, and all the familiar things I knew from my Mutti’s kitchen. For Eran, the important stops were the chocolate and then the deli counter. We would order salami and leberwurst, the usual, and he would stand there anxiously waiting for me to ask for the lyonerwurst, sort of like bologna, only much better. I cannot remember how it started, but the man behind the counter would always hand him a slice to “test.” Every single time. Eran always came to stand right beside me at the counter, waiting, almost holding his breath for that slice. Then one day he didn’t. And somehow that was the end of that little ritual. A few years ago, when Eran and I toured Germany together, we stopped in Oberammergau and he ordered wurstsalat. It was made with lyonerwurst, and when the plate came out, for a moment I was back at that deli counter, with a little boy holding up his hand for his slice. That one plate brought back a whole little piece of our family story. Stories like this are part of the reason I've been dropping hints these past few weeks about something my boys and I have been working on. So much of what we want to pass on can disappear if we don't make a place for it. We're building something to help keep more of that German heritage alive in everyday life. I’ll tell you more very soon. Tschüss!Oma Gerhild P.S. Today's recipe: Wurstsalat P.S. If you’ve never made wurstsalat at home, it’s one of those dishes that tastes better after it sits for a bit. And if I know someone at the table doesn’t really love raw onions, I slice them paper thin and let them sit in hot water for about ten minutes first. That takes the sharp raw bite out before I mix everything together.

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Wurstsalat and a Deli Memory

Every Wednesday.

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