martinigansl*

tomorrow is st. martin's day. this is a big big thing here in austria - if you are 5 years old or if you have a child in your family. kids tinker paper lanterns in kindergarten, walk around in the streets and sing songs about st. martin. the food traditionally eaten on this day is goose. according to the legend, martin did not want to become bishop so he hid in a stable filled with geese. the noise made by the geese finally gave his hideout away and he was discovered.

i am actually not very religious, i am not five years old anymore and there has not been a tradition of eating goose on this day in my family.

i want to make a tradition of my own and make my very first goose tomorrow. i have been looking for a recipe on the internet, but i guess i will buy myself this bavarian cookbook tomorrow which i have been keen on for a while! or maybe i'll buy a traditional austrian cookbook instead. this time there will be no freestyle cooking, if you buy a 5 kg bird you don't want to be in for a culinary surprise!

*martinigansl is the well known austrian dialect word for "st. martin's goose"