Looking at food makes me nearly as happy as writing about food. It's probably just a more serious case of food love. Could that be it? Like, I not only like to eat food. I also love to prepare it, look at it, write about it...the list goes on and on.
So here we are with this recipe.
Peanut butter takes a special place in my heart. All the way back when I was a kid and living at home (that's a weird sentence by the way) we never had peanut butter! Never. We had nutella as probably every household in Germany has, but no peanut butter. My first encounter with it was when I stayed at my, at that time, best friends place, and her family introduced me to Belmandel with peanut butter (along with that also went the introduction of belmandel and cottage cheese but that just on the side). It tasted a lot like a Twix bar but in bread form. So: Really good!!!
Several years forward and I found myself in Canada Vancouver, having breakfast at a single guys household. What is there for breakfast? Toast! And peanut butter! And Jam. That was my first time of pb&j and I have to admit, ever since I'm hooked! Either pb&j or put a banana on top of it! Or with chocolate. As in normal eating chocolate, dipped in pb...we tried it all. Also, it really is tightly bound to cookie butter. But that is a different story ;)
So unnecessary to say, not only does it remind me of really special and really fun times, but also do I love everything that has peanut butter in it! ;) Like this peanut butter banana bread I had to make. I didn't want to let those bananas go to waste, did I?! This is the original recipe. Below is my tweaked version.
Peanut Butter Banana Bread
You'll need:
2 overly ripe bananas
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Teasp. baking powder
1/3 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 egg
1 large tablespoon yogurt
pinch of salt
~80-100 gr nuts (I used hazelnuts)
Mix together the sugar and the butter and beat until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and beat again.
Add the peanut butter, the yogurt and a pinch of salt. Again: Use your mixer ;)
Mush up the bananas (I like to leave tiny chunks), add your mashed bananas, the flour and your roughly chopped nuts. Mix.
Put in the oven for about 50-55 min on 150°C (Heißluft!!) or 350°F (normal)
And just so you have something to laugh about...this is how my handwritten "recipes" looks like (they are only for my personal use....so messy is totally ok!!):
Enjoy! (btw it's needless to say, that I topped the whole thing with more peanut butter, right?! ....saying that, I should have whipped up some peanut butter frosting and put it in top of that cake. Next time!!)
Oh, and this is also great for freezing!
I think it's about time to tackle that post (and yes, if you don't want to get the whole boring story you can totally skip to the links ;)) So, people in the past generally seem to have put me into that "sporty" category. I am honoured! Seriously! But I just never felt I was actually that sporty.
So to finally solve the mystery and so that everyone can make up their own mind about it, I thought I might share my "sport routine".
I have to admit that there never really has been a time in my life where I was "inactive" (we could say I'm an active person! How is that?). I started ballet classes when I was four (and my first performance was a snowflake! How cute is that!? So everything I really had to do was "dance" around a snowman, which was played by one of the girls in our group, who actually just had to stand in the middle of the stage...) and I kept doing that until I left to Australia with the amazing age of 15 (or was it 16? Anyways). Ballet was that constant thing going on and I have to admit, I still kind of miss it. It grows on you and I'm more than thankful as for what it did to my posture!
Along the line of that I also did two or three years of karate (which I really just did because my little brother started doing it and there was no way they were going to beat me in a fight!) and one year of voltage (which I stopped because I got really frightened of falling down from that horse!!).
After that I started with my own little things, running, cycling...some really rare and poor "muscle" work...but oh well. And up to now, nothing really has changed about that.
Right now I'm officially taking Japanese martial arts classes though with the upcoming exams, that is more theoretically than practically happening and/but I started Yoga!!
It is one if the many many point on my bucket list and honestly, I think I mainly started it because I like to wear lots and lots of bracelets and I also like to wear wide and long skirts and everything "hippie" (if I'm in a surrounding that kind of doesn't push you to the outer skirts of society if you do so, that is...).
So I started quiet random (I took one class with a really good friend of mine in 2012 and visited one huge yoga session with the same friend in 2013, but that was about all the experience I had) with videos I had found on youtube. And before this just gets really boring: I am hooked! I love it and right now I'm down to an at least tiny "practise" each day.
So there we are at the core of this post. My "sportive" activities consists of:
cycling to and from uni and everywhere else as long as the weather allows it
running (if the weather is ok. Yes, I know I'm being picky)
I kind of went along with that one for some time, simply to get used to the routine, the different positions and the flow.
After that I expanded with this one: (which I really love)
*(The video won't show up but you can click the link)*
And later on with this one:
(The video is not the one from the link, again I couldn't find it...but it's her)
There are tons of great tutorials and flows on youtube. Just have a look and see what works for you!
Also, since this seems to be something I really enjoy, a friend and I are going to take real classes in our next semester together (Uni makes it cheaper. And we're students! Cheap really is everything we can afford....).
It might be funny but this app is really great! I'm doing it as often as I feel like it in addition to my yoga practise
...and that's already about it!
I think sportive would be the wrong term, but maybe we can agree on fit and active ;)
Please excuse this mess of a drawing (it happened late and I was more asleep than awake)....but this is me practising handstands....and I really really feel sorry for all the people living directly under my apartment...the soft and light landing, does not happen at all. Ups.
Oh and that's my favourite tune for my Yoga practise right now:
That sounds dramatic, doesn't it? Well, it probably is less interesting than one would expect. Fact is, I was having a headache for the last couple of weeks and while, ate the beginning, I thought I was sick, I slowly went through expecting to live my life with migraine (which would really have been horrible) to realising: I needed glasses. Easy as it is. What do you think? (I'm trying to hide behind my new schedule and an amazing retro filter, can you see that...yep it's that obvious and I'm totally not ashamed of it ;) )
Otherwise it's uni, uni, uni and...uni. Though, because I had an appointment at the dentist and I needed something to cheer me up afterwards, we had a little walk through Augsburg...
That's Augsburg. Except for all those churches, nothing is higher than four floors!
But it undoubtedly has its own old charm, with those walls, the green and all the little rivers.
I don't know if I mentioned it above, but my city is not a city for heals!!
This is where you'll find the best. Falafel Wraps. Of. All time!!! Come visit me and we'll go there together ;)
The "Dom"
We didn't really find out what that "Gargen" is ;P
And the Dom from behind...with beautifully lit windows...though my iPod couldn't really capture that.
And after all that walking and the dentist we had earned an amazing desert!!! (That's why we go to the dentist after all, isn't it?! (Don't take me too serious!)) And the pictures above are simply fun because my shutter stopped....and we kept on smiling and smiling and smiling...until it looked like the right picture ;)
I wish you all a relaxed weekend and I'm going to wander around a bit more in the world, marvelling at how sharp everything is all of a sudden.
Wouldn't you agree?!
I simply love bracelets! Huge ones, big ones, sparkly, plain, colourful, just thread, neon....there is no end to them. And because They are so easy to make, I thought I might give you a wrist-ful of DIY ideas ;)
Starting from the bottom left to the top right:
I made that one, one or two years ago and it's still one of my favourites. You can do it with loop pearls, normal ones, big tiny...the possibilities are endless. I had another one, black leather threads and silver pearls but it sadly broke. I really need to fix it!!
The next one is a good old friendship bracelets. I think it was the first one I ever made. They are quite time consuming but so worth the effort (and SO many possibilities!!!!!) ;)
That one is a present from my mum. She bought it from me so I could copy the technique. Remember those funny scoobidoos? It's exactly that except a stone woven in between and way smaller threads!
The next one if bought, though a similar look would be this one (I really need to buy leather bands!)
The big beads ones are all self made (except one, which comes from here. Gorgeous stuff!). But those are so easy, they don't really need an instruction. The only thing which I started to change is, to look out more for what kind of material I'm using (which is actually really exciting to think about!). So those were: lotus seeds, volcanic stones, jade and wooden pearls from Tibet.
And the black one with the angle wing on it is this technique used with a Thomas Sabo carrier (because I never really were it on my necklace) and the charm is a gift from my mum.
Another tip, I also started using my Pandora charms to add something to otherwise really simple bracelets. I love that hint of silver in my end products and it really makes them something special!!
That necklace came as just the upper design (so wooden pearls and turquoise). I bought additional jade beads and added some of my Pandora charms. I also made a matching bracelets with the beads I had left over at the end. It is one of my favourite and most used necklaces and bracelets! (Which explains why it also shows up in my header ;) )
Living alone or even just as a couple means that, most of the time, there are going to be leftovers. But honestly, I love leftovers. They mean less work and an awesome dinner or lunch I wouldn't have gotten otherwise.
So this Ebly salad is exactly that. Ebly, by the way, is a "softer" durum wheat semolina (jep, I had to goggle that) which is perfect when you're living on a vegetarian diet since it has a lot more fibre and protein(!) than noodles or rice (12,1gr protein and 6,1gr fibre per one 50gr portion!). And just as its "unhealthier" partners, it can be pretty much thrown into anything (I made Vietnamese paper rice rolls with my mum this weekend!!).
So for this leftover salad I simply threw together:
mushrooms (which I had cooked before and seasoned with salt, pepper and soy cream-substitution)
1 carrot
1 handful cherry tomatoes
feta cheese
cucumber
hummus
As a dressing I simply added some soy yogurt and herb salt, but seriously?! I wish I had some of that awesome Miso-dressing they serve at my favourite vegetarian restaurant in Vancouver (The Naam. If you can: GO THERE!!!).
When I typed in "Miso dressing", pinterest came up with quite a few options. The best looking, in my opinion, was this one. Though I have to admit, I was simply too lazy (and I don't have Miso in the house right now) to make my own dressing, so I can't really report anything on that. It's going on the list of things I want to try out.
I also added some Avocado at the end. I mean, seeing this:
...how couldn't I?! ;)
Oh and I'm going to correct myself, I just went to pinterest again and this Sesame Miso dressing looks even better!!
And it was amazing!
So the thing is, the local theatre here has a gigantic slide in its main area (and being absolutely honest, I wanted to try it out since the first time I saw it!). So...this might actually sound super silly, but when I was looking at that slide, those loops just seemed really tight. And compressed. And close together! And everything that screamed: You are going to be stuck in there!!!!
Yeah. I know, it's silly.
Amway, the other day we went to watch the Hobbit 2 (I have to admit, so far I've been liking the Hobbit movies more than the actual Lord of the Rings trilogy. Is that weird?). It had been a tough week and we had a couple of minutes to spare...
...wen went down that slide! Giggling, jumping, screaming that is ;)
And man, that was some fun! (and isn't it funny how we arrived with the exact same position!?)
...and yes, I went down there being scared I would actually get stuck in there. I was beyond caring ;)
Otherwise, we're still on the battlefield fighting the war of numbers, methods and everything else mean and complicated! I hope you had a good weekend :)
The cold I had last week, and which I thought, I had managed to overcome, decided to make it come-back this morning. So here we are with a dull headache, a runny nose and a slight sore throat. Yay...not.
So. Since it is so not the time to get sick right now, with all the upcoming exams and all the studying that needs to be done around here, I needed a power booster asap! And what is better than tons of veggies, spices to clear that nose and some comfortable heat to break that chill!?
Anti-Cold Red Curry Coconut Soup
You'll need for one medium pot soup:
Everything pictured above (except for the tomatoes, I threw those out). Which would be
Mushrooms appr. 150gr
1 large carrot
Sugar peas
1 can coconut milk (400gr)
Ginger (half of what you see in the picture)
200gr tofu
3 Tablespoons red curry paste
broccoli (that was about half a head)
Spring onions (one of them)
Olive oil
Water
Heat up some olive oil in a pot. Peel and cut your ginger into tiny cubes (go as small as you can. If you have one of those "crushers" that's awesome...I unfortunately, did not). Start frying the ginger and dried tofu (cut into squares).
Peel and cut your carrot and add to the frying tofu and ginger for a short time.
Add the Red Curry Paste and let the carrots soften for another additional minute.
To deglaze, add the coconut milk.
While you bring your mixture to a boil, wash and cut the broccoli, the mushrooms, and the spring onions wash your sugar peas.
Add all of the above to your coconut mixture with the spring onions and mushrooms coming last.
Taste test if you need any more paste and water to get more liquid (also, by than, the whole mixture had a really creamy and rich texture and strong taste, I wanted it a bit more moderate).
Let simmer until your veggies have the preferred consistency.
Enjoy ;)
This. Is. So. Incredibly. Yum!! I had to take seconds even though I was already full. And that soup bowl makes you feel good all the way through. So many different textures from crunchy to smooth surrounded by a rich and spicy coconut soup bursting with flavours. And it has all kind of important and healthy vitamins, fibre and protein. You could also serve quinoa, rice, noodles or ebly on the side (Though I really felt like something light, so I kept it to just soup).
I hope you can make this soup without the excuse of a cold :)
I started the year with some more eventual-to-be-tattoo-doodles. They are definitely not some of my best, but after all, this is simply to have fun and calm down a bit. Though, I have been thinking of an endless knot for quite a while by now. I just haven't found a really likable way to integrate it yet...
There also seems to be more salad in 2014. I love my one-bowl-dinner-salads. And who would have known that natural soy yogurt and herb salt makes up for an amazing salad dressing?! (Tomatoes, Cucumber, Cranberries, Feta, Soy yogurt and herb salt)
Last weekend I finally dyed my hair as dark as I had wanted it all along but never really had the guts to. Other things the new year brought. (Though I look like 16 in those pictures. I. am. not. Guess I'll be happy about that fact in about 15 years. Sight)
This place has become more and more of a home recently. I really do love it by now. (And a big yay for fairy lights!!)
I also managed to get a much needed hair cut. Not that short, no worries. Though, as usual, a couple of cm definitely had to say good bye. They'll be back in no time, since someone is way to lazy to go to the hair dresser more often than about once a year.
And what's taking up all the other time in between right now...and about the next two months as well: Uni. The final countdown on our exams has begun....
Studying, studying, studying, studying, studying....at least it really looks nice where I study.
In-the-window-sunset
Have a beautiful weekend. I'll get down to some organising and studying now.
We have the beginning of January and from what I remember of last year, it should be cold, wet and just eww. Instead we have a blue(!) sky, sun and mild temperatures that actually tempt you to put on one of your lighter jackets. Crazy as it is, I definitely won't complain.
So, mixed with that awesome weather and the fact that I'm fighting one of those really annoying colds, I thought it was time for a salad (Bring on all the fibre, vitamins and that good stuff, you know!?). This one is easily done and with that flavour mixture of slightly warm and sweet caramelised sweet potatoes, juicy bitter-ish arugula and soft feta cheese a total hit! (And don't let me start on the colours ;P).
So here's what you have to do: Honey Caramelised Sweet Potato Salad
1/2 sweet potato
1 tablespoon honey
1 serving size arugula salad
1 serving feta cheese (depending on how much you want)
cherry tomatoes
pepper
herb salt
Peel and cut the sweet potato into little cubes. Fry with a little bit of olive oil until softened. Add the honey at the very end, season with salt and pepper and give the whole thing another couple of minutes until caramelised.
Wash your salad. (Bummer, isn't it?)
Wash and cut your tomatoes. (I'm being quite obvious I know)
Arrange everything on your plate and crumble the feta over it.
Add additional pepper and herb salt (Optional).
Enjoy!
This really is super easy! And so yum. I also added additional yogurt salad sauce right before digging in. If you don't have that, plain yogurt works just as well (or simply olive oil).
Bon appetit! :)
Hey there. Happy new year!
It's been quite some time since my last post but oh well. This is, at least, a hobby...and not some stressful thing I have to do, right?! Right!
So, this post was written a long long looong time ago....but the recipe is simple that good (for once) so I had to share it. Don't let yourself get confused about some of the content.
Back than:
With this recipe we're about to document the second use of my microwave/oven!! Thumbs up for that. So far it's going quite good though the noises it makes still have me worried at some points...sight, the silence and comfort of a real oven. (The noises are still happening...though by now I'm not concerned anymore. Nothing has happened, ergo, I loooove my microwave-oven!!)
Anyway. I have been eyeing quite a lot of "new" veggies recently and thought I might give them a try. The sweet potato is slowly creeping into my daily routine and now the butternut squash is making an appearance. (Can you tell, someone here is proud of their cooking achievements. ha!).
The original recipe idea is from here (Butternut squash, Arugula and bacon quiche by gimme some oven). Though, as usual, I didn't have everything on hand and also felt like using up some of my in-fridge-things. So I went with the idea and kind of mixed it up a bit.
For one arugula and butternut squash quiche, you'll need:
1/2 butternut squash
two carrots
2 handfuls arugula
1 onion
olive oil
vegetable broth
salt&pepper
curry powder
dried oregano
3 eggs
50gr cream cheese
milk
~60gr feta cheese
cheese
For the dough:
1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
pinch of salt
3 Tablespoon water
~100gr butter
First of, prepare your dough! In a bowl, mix together flour and salt and add the butter in little cubes as well as the water.
Knead with your fingers but you won't have to combine it perfectly. I had little bits of butter left.
Wrap in foil and put it in the fridge while you prepare the other things.
Cut and peel your butternut squash. I wasn't too sure if I would have to peel it, but the main posts I found on goggle, recommended peeling it. So I did. Cutting the squash was quite difficult since it turned out to be pretty hard. I used my biggest knife (which turned out to be my bread knife) and cut my half into another three pieces. That made the peeling process (done with a knife as well) way easier!
Peel and cut your carrots and onion.
In a frying pan, starting with the onions, slightly fry all your ingredients until soft. I normally start with olive oil and add my vegetable broth later for some further simmering. While your veggies are in the pan, also add the curry powder.
Start preheating your oven to 170°C/338°F. Put your dough into a buttered cake pan and spread all the way around and up the borders as well. If you have a microwave oven as I do, just put the cake pan in on 170°C (without preheating) for 5 minutes.
While your dough is in the oven, in a large bowl, combine your softened veggies, the arugula, the feta, salt&pepper and the dried oregano. Toss.
In another smaller bowl, whisk together your eggs, the cream cheese, salt&pepper and a sip of milk.
Take out your dough and fill it with the veggies and the egg mixture.
Sprinkle the additional cheese on top.
Put back into your oven/microwave for about 30 minutes at 160°C/320°F.
Let cool a bit.
And that's it. Considering the effort, it's a medium recipe. I'm sure that it might speed up a bit once I'm accustomed to squash (and having a bigger frying pan would have helped as well) but all in all, it was ok.
What I loved was working with all the bright colours (and green and orange/yellow simply are amazing together!) and the smells of the spices. It's definitely a fun recipe. And omg-SO-tasty!!!!
