the things we do for love or, eeew... herring salad

I haven't posted for a few days-Christmas got in the way and today my son took the camera to school for his photography class so tomorrow will be a post about the house and decorating. This weekend, my husband, the best husband ever(Hi Honey!) made an annual tradition at our house. I was born in Germany and without going into too much detail-my Grandmother or Oma, was a major influence in my life. Many of her influences were hard to live with while some have become a gift that it took me a while to unwrap. One of the influences is cooking. I grew up with really good German food and much to my dismay, there are many things that I can never duplicate because I never took the time to learn these recipes when it counted. From time to time I see on talented Kristens delightful blog from Germany the occasional recipe or item that she blogs about that makes me have a sharp intake of breath and a real longing for those moments so very long ago. It's a shame that due to circumstances beyond my control, much of what I learned from Oma has been lost to my memory or should I say lack of memory. Stuff like farina dumplings that were (I think )called griesklosse(sp)and a number of spectacular baked things. Anyway, of all things to remember, I remember the foods at Christmas and the wonderful stollen and liebkucken that we always had. I also remember a traditional food that will most certainly die with me. Herring Salad. It's festive....very festive.....and pink from the beets and mayo(I know, I know an aquired taste) Anyway..it requires a lot of chopping. Chopped herring, green apples, pickled beets, onions. Every year my husband makes it for me..mememe all me(cause no one else wants it). It's one of those things that people do for each other out of love and probably a lot like the lutefisk thing in Scandinavian households to which I would add my gag. Except this really is good...and pink. Oh, alright I'm shuttin' up now. Until tomorrow.