I recall so vividly that Sunday morning. It was such a quiet day, with no traffic populating the streets.  There was no hustle and bustle of people going to work or school. My ears were attuned to the flutter and song of birds outside of my window and I decided to take a walk along the Rhein. My flat was infused with the smell of chocolate chip cookies that I had just made and so, I packed a few to take along with me on my walk.  

I had no real intention in mind but to take in all the sounds and sights. I have a habit of smiling or nodding my head when someone walks by. On occasion I would get a nod back or a faint smile or sometimes even both. I noticed two men sitting on a bench holding hands and laughing away. I smiled and said hello as I munched on one of my cookies. “Are those chocolate chip cookies?” I heard one of the men ask me from behind. I turned around, smiled and offered them each a cookie.

“OMG, these ARE chocolate chip cookies” One of them proclaimed proudly as he took his first bite. “I’ve not had one since I was back home!”  His German friend gobbled them up with a smile and a look of anticipation for some more.

They offered me a seat on the bench, as I offered more. We exchanged a few words about where we each came from and what we did. One man was an artist from Munich and the other was a musician from Detroit, USA. They were planning to travel to Namibia within the next coupe of weeks. Namibia just happened to be where my parents were living at the time. 

The men shared that they were looking for a place to live there and I immediately gave them my parents’ number. Within a month, they were living in Namibia and over the course of the year, they had grown to become very good friends with my parents. My Mom arranged art exhibits and concerts for them and two decades later, they are still in touch.

My Mom recently spoke about them and asked me to remind her how we had met.

“It was all because of a chocolate cookie cookie,” I replied. 

In my 20s, I had refined my initial recipe, which included much less sugar than the original. I was also becoming more and more “organically wholesome” in my kitchen and had started to experiment with various types of grains to substitute the wheat flour.  Here is the recipe I had created then, and which the men had the pleasure of enjoying with me.