Born and raised in Germany, I have been living in the United States for 43 years. Naturally, most of my cooking is from the Old Country, while some of my American recipes have acquired a little touch of German taste.

Due to my husband’s past career in the military, I have traveled extensively in the United States, from the tip of the north to the deep south. I have lived through record snow storms, sand storms, heat waves, and Hurricane Camille. I have met many wonderful people and sampled delicious food throughout the years; and learned how much German food is liked and appreciated by every American. Yet, one cannot find much information (if any) regarding "German cooking" in book stores.

For years I have been thinking of doing something about this, perhaps by putting only a small amount of my favorite recipes into print. However, I have discovered that to write a German cookbook, whether large or small, is quite an endeavor.

To translate a German recipe into English was not an easy task, not to mention the slight differential in measurement's, and/or weight. Most of my mother’s recipes, as well as my own, were formulated without actually measuring. The recipes consisted of "a little here and a dash there", and somehow they always came out very tasty. There was no scale or a measuring cup used for most recipes, only the utilization of our sixth sense in how to accomplish it. I am also not a professional Chef; just a plain German housewife, and hope my readers realize that my English my not be perfect, since I received my education mostly in Germany.

I realized, that my choice of cookbook would have to depend upon my own personal taste. In retrospect, all of my own recipes, which are the majority of recipes found within this book, and the inclusive recipes from friends in the United States, and relatives who live back home in Germany, had to be tested before consideration of placing them in this cookbook.

Most of my recipes are southern cooking and baking; some are so old, that only a few people, and/or bakeries still make them, if at all. However, I also included a few American recipes that I have learned to love, and cook quite often for my family. While these are not bona fide German recipes, they have been, and still are prepared by a German person.

Most German foods are high in fat and calories, but one can substitute ingredients with a lesser fat content. Use fat free cream cheese for all cheese cakes, except cheese torte. Cool Whip can be used instead of whipping cream, except for cheese torte, ice coffee, etc. Use low fat sour cream, and a little less oil with vinegar and oil salad dressings. Light mayonnaise may be substituted for some of the potato and macaroni salads. Use a vegetable oil and flour spray, such as Bakers Joy, instead of the grease and flour method. For many dishes, one can use Pam for fat free cooking. Gravy mixes are also available fat free, and are found in grocery stores. However, when making butter cream, do not substitute with an off brand butter; use only the best sweet butter, such as Land O Lakes, for this butter cream is very tricky to make, but "oh", so good.

To make this a special and different "foreign" cookbook, I have included a few memoirs following some of the recipes. You will also find a few notes, and/or information regarding the Munich Octoberfest, Fasching (Mardi Gras), some little known facts about Germany, as well as, growing up in Germany during and right after World War II.

I am hoping, that these few German recipes will bring a lot of enjoyable eating into many homes. However I would like to remind my readers, that no recipe formulation is finite, and that almost every dish comes in a variety of many versions. German recipes are no exception. Not everyone has the same tastes for different foods. However, if my readers take pleasure in only one percent of these recipes, then my book was worth writing for their enjoyment.

For your convenience, I have written the Index in both German and English, so each recipe may be found easily. However, true stories and memoirs following some recipes are not listed under the Index.

Guten Appetit,

Maria M. Swaringen

Born and raised in southern Bavaria, Germany, Mrs. Swaringen grew up in Germany during and after World War II. She received most of her education in Germany and graduated in eleven years. Married in 1959 and moving to the United States the same year, she became a citizen of the United States in 1963. Through the years, Mrs. Swaringen raised her two children and took care of her family during her husband’s military career. She traveled extensively in the United States and abroad. Her main hobbies are crafts, traveling, cooking and writing. She is also the author of a Poetry book, called "A Collection of Poetry, For every Season and Reason." It is mostly Christian Poetry, a delightful book for every one to enjoy.

Both books may be ordered from authorHouse, 1663 Liberty Drive, Suite 200, Bloomington, IN 47403, or call the toll free telephone number 1-888-280-7715. Both books are also available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com.