How to make pasta {a bucket list addition}

Did you know, that making your own pasta is actually super easy?! (Ok, if you have the right and proper machine. But given that it is super duper easy!!).
I spent a lot of time at my friends grandparents place recently and the whole family is obsessed with good food! Not in a crazy way, more in a really sophisticated, we-really-appreciate-good-food-way. I ate so good,  luckily I lost about two kilos while studying the month before, or I would have been a cute little stuffed piece of pasta myself.
Anyway, they don't juts eat good, they also cook and bake amazingly well, so one evening we made pasta.
People who know me better (or have read this little blog for a while) know how excited I get about everything food related. So reading and talking about all the different stuffing's we were considering putting into our ravioli...I probably would have already been satisfied doing just that.

But before we get too elaborated and into my crazy food-talk-obsession here, let's get back to the basic. The dough.
I was a little bit nervous when I ended up being the one tending to the dough and the machine (you know when you want to impress someone and you're more like "Whups,...never did this before. I guess we can cross out the impressing and just hope I don't end this in some embarrassing disastrous way!!??". That's where we were). And the dough after all, is the one crucial thing to good pasta (yeah I know. Quite obvious. So, can you feel the pressure already!?)

At the end it was just fun! (And a really good workout). So let's get started!!
For the dough you'll need:

• 500gr flour (Typo 00 which is super important!!!)
• 3 large eggs 
• and 2 yolks
• a pinch of salt
• water for your finger tips

(Ok I hope I remembered it all right). I also did a little bit of research and just as usual, there are tons of different ways to make it. Use 6 eggs, 4 and 2 yolks, five...and so on. This is the one we used however.

Now, let's talk kneading:

1. Built a little flour mountain. (This is probably the most fun part of the whole thing for me. It's like you get to be a kid again, building sand castles. And than everything gets awesome and messy. But maybe that's just me....yeah probably)
2. Add the "mess". Aka eggs, yolks and salt.
3. Now gently fold in the surrounding flour with your fingertips and start kneading.
4. Occasionally dip your finger tips into the water and keep kneading! It will be a hard piece of work and probably seem impossible but you'll get there eventually. 

The book said to only dip your fingertips into the water (which meant: Don't add unnecessary liquid), though at the end we ended up adding quite a bit more liquid (which meant we kept dipping or fingertips into water quite often ;)) as usual in the kitchen: Just go with your guts.

Also, talking to my friends grandma while getting started, I totally forgot to add the yolks until a bit later....(cough. Talk about wanting to impress. She pretended just fine that she didn't see how I added them sheepishly later on. Thanks grandma!!).

Let the dough rest for an hour (at least) under a bowl (turned up side down).

And know you'll need the machine.

Start with the largest gap of the pasta machine and work towards the finest.
Start with a small piece, which you flatten with your fingers. Pull it through, fold it, pull it through again. When you go one way towards "finer", don't fold the pasta the first time you pull it through. Repeat ;)
I'm the officially (well, officially self-announced) pasta master now ;)

And that's about it! Now you can cut them into stripes, make lasagna with it or like, in our case, fill them with something delicious and make Ravioli! Nomnomnomnom!

(And this post got labelled "Bucket list" on a thought, because it seemed appropriate to put "Make your own pasta" on my bucket list!! ;) )

Also, I didn't take a single picture!! Bummer. I guess it was just too good to wait a single second longer until we could finally dig in. But, a friend of mine sent me his self-made pasta dinner the other day which used about the same technique and our second dinner looked pretty close to that. So you'll have to do with that ;)

To my friend: Sorry and thanks for letting me steal your picture, I hope that was ok  ;P

Have fun getting your kitchen all covered in flour!!!

Eat a chocolate cake with a spoon {or my fingers. A bucket list post}

Ok before I start saying anything I have to say: This. Is. The. BEST. Cake. I. Ever. Had/Made. EVER.! Do I have your attention? Thank you!

So, with everything that was coming up recently, it just felt right to tackle that point on my bucket list. I don't know when I had started to dream about eating a whole cake with my fingers (or just a fork) but I guess it's some time by now (haha is that weird?). In my mind, it always was a romantic night with my boyfriend, it was smelling heavenly of  freshly baked chocolate cake and in the spur of the moment we would dig in the cake with just our forks, not bothering to cut pieces and ending up having our faces covered in chocolate icing, cake crumbs and huge smiles. That combines quite a bucket of cheesy, doesn't it? Well, sometimes, I have to admit, I do like it cheesy.
So since the whole thing didn't seem to happen that way, I decided I would take a step and help fate a bit. And who else, but some of my closest friends could be just as good to savour this whole cake-point. And with this Thursday also being our 'last' girls evening (we're talking of years and years of Thursday-traditions!!!!) it was more than appropriate.
Therefore, when I stumbled across this recipe, I just knew it was perfect. I love (no wait, is there something stronger than love? In case you come up with something, insert it here!) chocolate. And I also love coffee. So the combination of a chocolaty-coffee-ish cake base, the chocolate mouse centre/layer and the lighter milk chocolate frosting, could it get any better?!

Except for a few subs of things and tiny changes, I didn't have on hand, and the fact that I divided the recipe in half (I wanted a smaller and more compact cake) I pretty much stayed with the original recipe. Head over here (the recipes are a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!!) for the original version or read on for my to-gram-translated-cut-in-half-and-substituted recipe here.

For the cake base (1/2 of it)

• 42gr butter
• 85gr sugar
• 1/2 flask (those tiny German ones) vanilla essence
• pinch of salt
• 85gr flour
• ~1 'heaped' teaspoon baking powder
• 25gr cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup coffee
• 1/4 cup buttermilk (substituted by milk mixed with lemon juice)
• 1/4 cup sour cream (substituted with cream cheese)

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F/ 180°C
2. Beat together butter, sugar, salt and vanilla essence until light and fluffy.
3. Add flour, baking powder and cocoa powder.
4. Soften again with the coffee, the buttermilk and the sour cream.
5. Put in for 35-40 (I needed 40) minutes and test with a wooden tooth pick.
6. (Can you tell I go easy with the whole cake-batter-mixing-rules haha).

The cake was easily thrown together and I made it the day before so that I would just have to assemble the rest with the creams. Yeah, right. "Just".

My cake base the evening before 'the day' ;P (and yeah, you can totally see all my test-poking-holes haha).

For the chocolate mousse 
I completely followed the recipe here, so I'll provide you with only the link again. 
A few side notes: This included a lot of beating/mixing. Also, somehow I think my mousse didn't had the right consistency at the end, though it still worked and for sure tasted amazing. I think it might be that my honey as well as my chocolate weren't as hot as they might have needed to be. (?)

The kitchen in between. Quite a mess....

For the frosting adapted from Martha Stewart's Milk Chocolate Frosting
This is slightly adapted because a) I somehow switched of my brain while I divided the recipe into thirds (my experience with Martha Stewart recipes is, that they always make more than plenty. My 1/3-version still left me with left overs!)  and used my 3/4 cup instead of my 1/3 cup (my frosting ended up with a slight amount of more sugar *cough*) and b) I didn't have any sour cream nor cream cheese! I went with no-fat curd...which worked surprisingly well (probably because it balanced out all the sugar).

• 140gr milk chocolate
• 3/4 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 160gr butter
• 2 1/2 tablespoons curd (Quark)

1. Beat together butter, salt and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add the melted chocolate and the curd. 
3. Beat again until light and fluffy.

So. This was not just the best cake I ever had/made but also the most time consuming. It actually wasn't as complicated as I had feared but the three different batters, plus all the different melted and separated ingredients just made up for quite a lot of dirty dishes. Definitely a special-occasion-cake but don't be shy! This is totally manageable!!!
Oh, I also didn't go with the 'diamond' shaped centre form because it just didn't appeal to me. I simply cut of the top, hollowed the rest of the cake, filled in the mousse and put the top back on. After that, cover everything with icing ;)

And let me tell you, eating a cake without cutting, just with your forks and fingers is amazing!!!!
(Btw: This was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, so I might actually have eaten chocolate cake until I got sick that evening. Whupsa...but so worth it!)

And this is what was left afterwards for future-mixed-deserts. If you have questions, don't be afraid to ask :)

Back {and that in two ways!}

Despite the lacking posts, I didn’t forget my blog (how could I!?) and it feels so good to finally sit in front of this key board again and just happily tip away, sort of ordering the past events in my head. (Yeah, I do abuse my blog for personal organisation things. Figure) It also quite improves the situation to look out on grouse mountain, the sea and Stanley park and feel a humid cool breeze blow around you while typing. Jep. I love this place.

Anyways. The two weeks of work after my CELTA flew by and as much as I enjoyed being back with the kids, I’m happy to have lunch's now, where I can actually eat and not just constantly repeat all my requests of “please don’t do this. Hitting each other with the fork really isn’t such a great idea”. Phew. (But all the cuddles, kisses and smiles make up for it. And really, could there be anything better than to know that you’re providing a space of comfort and help and reassurance to the kids? No!)

And now I find myself back in one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever lived in. (Ever visited I might as well just add here). The first days were kind of a daze because things just kept jumping at me and I felt a bit like a smiling zombie, not really able to process everything. But it slowly made its way into my brain: I. Am. Really. Back. Jeez.

This definitely is a first for me. Coming back to a place I felt so at home at.

So here we go with a more or less random first day photo impression. Remember the smiling zombie? Hence, there really isn’t any sense or logic to the pictures ;)

I love airports. The vibe and the feeling of the excitement of so many people...oh and the light is always awesome :D

And that's where I found myself after 9 hours of flying around the world. Pretty awesome isn't it.

I also got treated to this really cute cupcake. Thank you Colleen!! ♥ And it was huge! (I should have taken a picture of the cupcake and me. Haha seriously, it was enough for two people to be full of cupcake)

Right after my arrival on Friday there was the Lululemon Half marathon which one of my friends ran. I do have the highest respect for people doing something like that. I could. never. ever. do this! The run was in the morning and there was one Yoga class and a concert after that in the evening. I really start loving Yoga. Maybe I should do that?

We had someone...uhm...to...uhm...entertain us? ;P

But I guess you can tell that we were definitely having fun!

Sunday's lunch was on Granville Island which I somehow missed to visit last year. Bummer. It's such a nice place! And the food at the market....I think I could just spent a whole weekend there admiring and eating the food (and this might actually really be true. Haha oh well)

Quiche and Pie for lunch. Yum.

And I got introduced to hockey. Which was really interesting to watch though I'm still stunned on how they manage to be that fast and secure on those Rollerblades! I don't even know how to stop when I'm just...well, rolling. Haha I might could learn something here.

The weather got a bit more cloudy by Monday but we're in Vancouver after all. So it' not really that much of a surprise.

Movie outdoor night on Tuesday. Dirty Dancing!

And a really nice and lazy day for me on Wednesday.

Hot Chai Lattes for my (a bit) sore throat

And I might just proudly add that I walked past all this and didn't buy a single thing!!! I'm a sucker for cute and colourful stationery.

And random pictures of curves and lines on my way home.

Otherwise, finally having time to calm down (haha I feel like I’m the most boring person alive right now. People constantly keep asking what I’m doing and the only answer they really can get is: Lying on a couch, sleeping, reading, eating. Sounds just perfect to me though!) I’m back to more self evaluations. I feel less secure with myself recently and more doubting my plans, being picky with my body and insecure of what people might think of me. So I might actually also use my three weeks here to just get some time to figure out a bit about myself. The last six month in my life just changed a lot and it might be that I’m not really keeping up with it? But just admitting this already makes me feel better. We don’t have to be perfect right?!

With that I’ll leave you for now but there are going to be more regular posts from now on. I really did miss my writing. Such a calming effect. Yeah. I’m weird.

So thanks for being so patient with me over the last 2 month!

My CELTA experience

Hey there!
I'm finally back after my nearly complete four weeks on silence on this blog. That was a first! And I might just admit that I rewrote this post about a hundred of times. So, either I'm really out of the whole writing thing (naaah, 4 written assignments in the last week?! Gracefully mastered. No way I'm out of the whole writing thing...yeah ok I am) or maybe its just that I'm out of words to describe my last four weeks.

We'll start easy of with the most important point of all:
I want to send a Huge (as in with a capital 'h' and a bigger font) excuse and 'thank you' to everyone that stayed in contact with me (or well, rather did not) during the last four weeks. The experience of doing this course was definitely unique but, here comes the but, I probably wouldn't have wanted to be around myself all the time during that time as well (I really didn't want to haha).
After not getting good sleep for weeks, staying under constant stress (yeah I'm still whining. I really should shut up. They are just lame excuses)...ok so no more excuses.
I simply was one self-centred, hysteric, sleep-deprived....too make it short: Horrid person to be around.

Sorry, sorry, sorry! You'll all get a cake...or cookies...or a hug. Or all of it ;)

                                 ~************************************************************************************~

 Having said that, we might actually take a closer look on what was actually happening.
For those of you that didn't get the information yet, I participated in a CELTA 4 week intensive course. The CELTA is a certificate by Cambridge to train future ESL teachers.
If you consider taking it/wanting to, inform yourself about it: This is the official site.
Though...here are also two rather less official sites, but definitely worth taking a look at. Especially if you consider taking i!. (The use of heavy sarcasm and irony should be a common trait of yours, if you do so!)

For me, ...

There was this one point where my fb profile picture seemed to sarcastically smile down at me while I refreshed the page for the 100th time in hope to find enlightenment there. That, did not happen whatsoever. 12 pm. (And we're talking of facebook(!)  anyway. I should have known enlightenment wasn't going to show up there...)

Resubmission.s Jep. Argh. We'll let it pass.

My new mantra for the weeks was: You'll be fine. You're smart, you'll learn it all soon I'm sure. (Desperately trusting other people)

I was so proud to say that my coffee intake was down to one coffee per day....that, however, was before the celta. Secret statistics are not going to be published.

I don't care if it's a B or not. I want to PASS. Simply pass.

Hysterical laughing attacks were a common thing. To all. times. of. the. day. (Adequate or not).

Birthday cake celebrations in the middle of the week made it special again.

Finger techniques. A lot of blushing. More hysterical giggling. Jeez, and you would expect us to be grown up!

The moment when you actually count a facebook messenger conversation as a social activity. Did happen. A lot. Not often enough though.

Break downs. A lot. Again. Often. With random people. In all kind of situations.


But there was also this feeling of doing this together. As a group.
And Friday evenings with....let's say 'apple saap' ;).... at the Main Ufer.
And Starbucks Frappuccino lunch breaks with favourite American girls.
And new shoes.
Ellie's awesome cakes!
And sushi talks.
Lots of other talks.
Awesome students.
Secret second life assassins.
And funny videos.
And hysterical giggle flashes.
And more hysterical giggle flashes.
Blushing.
Facebook stalking.
Bread and healthy eating habits conversations.
New shoes.
New Outfits adviced by Jo (not me though ;P).
"Jo"wesomenes!!! (YAY!)
And so much more that can't be described.
AND: I will miss them all a lot. It has been just for four weeks. But this group of people I met, were some really special and awesome personalities!

One unique time, I wouldn't want to miss!

                                 ~*********************************************************************************************~

Btw: On a more serious level. If you do consider taking the CELTA course (or simply: you found this page by googling it and are hoping for some life saving advice. Yeah. I'll know. The statistics tell me exactly how you got here ;P)

This course is (kind of) hardcore!
I might have to admit, that my point of view makes it even a bit more hardcore. I was the youngest participant (haha I just slipped in, having the minimum age that is required), no real teaching experiences (though I didn't feel like this was a real disadvantage) and English not as a native but as a foreign language.
BUT: It is manageable. And even fun!
Though keep in mind:
If Cambridge says you won't have a social life for the course duration: They. are. not. kidding. whatsoever!
If they say it is intense: It is intense.
If they say it's a lot of pressure: It's a huge amount of pressure.

And saying all of this, is way easier after having it done (and being finished and starting to realise I might actually have some free time on hand now!!). During the course I thought ahead not much more than for one day. Ok. Make it more: I thought in one morning, one afternoon, one evening and one night. Short period of sleep. Repeat.
I also should mention, that I did the four week intensive version. There is one that will take longer and therefore be less stressful.

But (2nd time) This was also one of the most special and fun times in my life so far! And for nothing in the world would I have wanted to miss it. (And all the people that came along with it and that I hope to keep in touch with!!)
Take a look at those two pages (mentioned above 1 + 2). They sum it up quiet well. They made us laugh when it was pretty necessary. Though keep in mind, that people surviving the CELTA, tend to have a tendency towards sarcasm and irony (just sayin').
And: Every time you think this is hard and complicated and exhausting. Keep in mind: You can still do a hardcore DELTA course after that. Or a Master. You'll be thankful for just having to deal with the CELTA after those stories ;)

And that was my CELTA story....after four weeks of silence on this neglected blog. I can now focus on getting my life back on the tracks. Jeez. Oh and we're officially passed the countdown of two weeks!!! At this point in two weeks...

....I'll be blogging FROM CANADA again!!!

...haha ok probably not blogging right now. But anytime soon ;)

Less than two weeks guys!!!!

And that makes up for one big photo overload

Lots of fruits and salads

I might have tried to dip dye my hair with organic hair dye at one point...yeah, I was kind of desperate at that point...

I wasn't desperate at all times ;)

Dinner with the best friend ♥

Friday Evenings

We were back to desperate....

Some people in the course were really doodle-talented!!

Awesome pre-lesson paper messes...

A "quick" trip to Augsburg in between...there wasn't really time for anything...not even sharp pictures.

Last day after-class-party with the students

African "Good-bye" dinner. IT looks weirder than it is. Actually, it was pretty good. Stuffing myself to the top good!

One last and amazing evening