The [literal] Sausage Fest
and establishing new traditions
I love traditions. I find them grounding—a tether to living life in a more intentional way. My family is quite unconventional, which probably stems from two very different cultures coming together in union. Because of this, we didn’t grow up with many rooted traditions, which made way for creating a lot of new ones—like our weekly pilgrimage to Miami for my dad to buy his hand-rolled cigars followed by Cuban lunch and flan, and going to the beach with a big canteen of lemonade, and always stopping at KFC for popcorn chicken on the way home. Because of this, it has been a continued joy in my early adulthood to establish more rituals.
My partner and I met a few years ago, and bonded over a common joy for travel. We both spent some time living across the Atlantic—him in Berlin, Madrid and London, and myself in Tel Aviv and Barcelona. We discovered that we share an affinity for the food, culture, and generally slower-paced lifestyle that this side of the world offers, and we are on a constant hunt for ways to incorporate elements of European living into our daily lives. Most weekends, we hop in the car and search for international markets around the outskirts of DC, and pile shopping baskets high with all kinds of imported foods. We’ll usually cook a meal with our finds, and relish in the flavors that transport us back to nostalgic memories. We exchange stories between bites of bratwurst, Israeli pickles, and smoked fish. One of our favorite spots is a German market that has a whole room dedicated to beer and wine, shelves of marzipan and Milka chocolates, gummy bears, and a deli counter with a great variety of sausages. Our desire for this shop comes around about once a year at Christmas time, as the itch for European holiday markets and mulled wine arises. We went a little crazier than normal this year and bought a lot of sausage. Way more than two people should eat. So, we decided to do what any logical person would do—share the wealth and throw a sausage fest.
Our wonderful German friend made gluhwein, we fired up the Kudu grill, and ate so. many. sausages. And apologized to our vegetarian friends. I also was inspired, and made an incredibly over-the-top table scape because why the heck not.
And if you really want to get into it, here’s the link to the Spotify playlist I pulled together for the gathering, so you can immerse yourself while scrolling through the rest of this letter.
