Recipe : Sweet Potato, Carrot & Red Lentil Soup

Well, hello there! I believe it has been more than 4 months since my last post and I will not go into much detail on why I haven't been active on here, let's just say that school has been a lot more demanding than I'd expected this year. In between juggling assignments and trying to stay active while also spending some time with friends and family, I'm afraid this blog has come a bit short.

I am not going to make promises I probably won't keep, however I will definitely try to post more regularly on here in the future.

This soup is everything I crave after a cold, busy winter day. It is warm, flavorful, nourishing and incredibly simple to whip up! Red Lentils and Sweet Potatoes are one of my favourite food combinations during the colder months, they are filling and have oh so many nutritional benefits! As a vegetarian, legumes are one of my favourite sources of protein and red lentils are much easier to digest and cook more quickly than their green and black counterparts. 

Whenever I am feeling tired and burned out after a long day of school, the warming combination of these two wonderful orange plants is sure to make me feel cozy and nourished. I whipped up this particular dish on a whim one night last week and was surprised at how wonderful it turned out to be. This is definitely a very hearty kind of soup, so if you want a lighter meal you might want to leave out the chickpeas.

The lighting was extremely bad in these photos and doesn't make the vibrant colour of the soup justice at all. However, I hope you still try out this soup as it really is comfort in a bowl!

Sweet Potato, Carrot & Red Lentil Soup (Vegan)

(serves 2-4 as a main)

Ingredients:

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, pressed

small piece of ginger, diced

1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil or ghee

2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into ~ 2 cm cubes

2 carrots, sliced

1/2 cup of dried red lentils

4-6 cups of vegetable broth

1/2 cup of coconut milk

cumin

turmeric

salt & pepper

Optional:

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed

For garnishing:

sliced green onion

pumpkin seeds

spinach

Instructions:

Heat the coconut oil in a large pot. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and sauté for 5 minutes.

Add cumin and turmeric (as much as you like) and continue to cook for about a minute.

Then add the sweet potatoes, carrots, lentils and vegetable broth and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Blend the soup using an immersion or regular blender, then add it back to the pot.

 Stir in the coconut milk and can of chickpea if using, add more water if it is too thick for your taste.

Cook until it has the desired temperature, then add to your bowl, garnish with green onions, pumpkin seeds and spinach and devour!

Life Lessons & Banana Bread

After closing the front door behind me, I headed straight for the kitchen. Almost completely black and therefore perfectly ripe they were just waiting to be mashed and transformed into something delicious: 5 mini bananas I'd bought for this exact purpose a few days earlier.
So i turned on my oven and got started. Liquids and bananas into the blender, dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix it together, let it rest, pour it into a loaf tin. Some flaked coconut on top - done.
All there was left to do was wait while the unmistakeable smell of banana bread slowly filled my kitchen. It's the kind of smell you want to have in a bottle to sniff on when you're feeling down, the smell that hugs you the way a fluffy blanket and hot chocolate does. It's also the kind of smell that makes cleaning up your kitchen a whole lot easier.

The 60 minutes felt much longer than that and I practically jumped up from my couch when the timer finally went off. A toothpick came out clean and I couldn't hold my excitement over how gorgeous the bread looked. Warm, gooey, slightly caramelized banana slices and toasted coconut flakes on top really do make all the difference when it comes to the aesthetics of banana bread.

A quarter of an hour later I decided it was time to take the loaf out of its baking tin and cut myself a slice. I noticed the bottom part of the bread was unusually moist and suddenly, I didn't feel as confident about the outcome of my little baking adventure anymore. The first cut confirmed my doubts: the inside of the bread was still extremely wet and gooey and the texture reminded me of scrambled eggs. I turned the oven back on, put the failed loaf back into the tin and the oven, hoping that 20 more minutes would maybe make it right. Experience said otherwise, the texture was nothing like a banana bread should be and I knew nothing would be able to solve that but I couldn't simply give up on this loaf.
I ended up leaving it in the oven for another 40 minutes and then went to bed with the tiny bit of hope that the bread would be less moist once it had dried. It wasn't.

When I first took that bread out of the oven, I was so thrilled. I couldn't wait for it to be cool enough for me to enjoy a slice, something I'd been dreaming of for over 4 days. I'd bought the bananas, endured the torture of not being able to eat them, reread the recipe I was going to use about 25 times. On my last day of work, I wasn't planning to go out and celebrate, no, I was looking forward to going home to bake. And I love the act of baking by itself more than I'd like to admit but in the end, it still is more about the result than the process. It is the (literal) piece of cake at the end of the road that makes me spend hours in the kitchen measuring out flour, melting chocolate and kneading dough.

So yes, i was disappointed about the way this bread tuned out (or rather, didn't turn out). My first reaction was self-blame ("you must have misread the recipe"), then blaming others ("this recipe simply doesn't work") followed by regret ("why didn't I use the recipe I always do"). However, none of these reactions change the fact that things didn't work out the way I'd wanted them to.

If I had used my usual go-to recipe, I would have wondered whether a different one might have tasted better cause that's the way I am. I adore trying out new recipes and I have to embrace the fact that sometimes, this leads to failure. However, failure simultaneously means progress, learning how not to do something. It also means having to learn to accept that sometimes, no matter how hard you try, how excited you are or how much you want things to work out, they don't. And that's not the end of the world.

p.s. I used this recipe by the way and even though it didn't work for me, maybe it will for some of you. Let me know if it does.

Meat Nostalgia

One morning last week, while waiting for customers to turn up, I found myself in a conversation circling around delicious meat dishes. It was not long before my lunch break and I was literally counting the minutes when one of my coworkers started talking about the Currywurst she'd had the day before. I immediately started reminiscing the times when we'd eaten these sausages in Cologne which then led me to danish Hot Dogs and Austrian "Winer Schnitzel". We were all happily chatting away on the delicious world of meat when one of the girl's I'm working with stated the obvious : "You do realize that you're raving about meat right?"

I don't remember exactly what i responded but i do know that it only became clear to me in that moment that I had practically vowed to never eat those dishes I love again. This got me wondering, would I really be able to go through with completely cutting meat from my diet?

The more I thought about it, I noticed that all of the foods i found so difficult to let go of were linked to very distinct places and events and simultaneously evoked positive memories. 

I will always remember the skiing holidays when my dad refused to cut my Schnitzel for me so I would learn to do it myself and I still had one every single day, no matter how much I struggled with eating it (not my father's brightest educational moment by the way).

Our family holidays in Denmark would definitely not have been the same without the Hot Dog lunches at the beach and every single visit to Cologne ends at that same "Currywurst" stand, where my stepfather finally gets his sausage. I don't even want to imagine what Christmas is going to be like for me next year, when I won't be eating one of the only meat dishes I enjoy purely for the taste and texture of the meat: stuffed turkey. 

However, I believe that the greatness of these foods is most probably at least partially a product of my brain and influenced by Nostalgia. If someone would be offering me a Wiener Schnitzel at this precise moment, I wouldn't even contemplate eating it for a second. During the skiing holidays in Austria though? Entirely different question.
Some meals will always remind me of certain places and bring up memories, as well as connect me to the people I shared these moments with. While the food wasn't the most important thing in that moment, thinking about what you had for dinner that night often sparks a firework of positive memories surrounding that meal.

Even though I am almost 100 percent sure I will never crave meat in a way that would make me throw away the principles I believe in now, I cannot say the same for the dishes which have a certain sentimental value to me. Whether I am going to manage to refuse having a serving of turkey at christmas this year, I don't know, simply because I am not sure if I really want to forbid myself the pleasure.

Not having faced any such challenges so far, following a vegetarian diet has come quite easy to me and I still believe that it is the right thing to do, for me at least. I am only at the very beginning at this journey though and I haven't decided yet on how I am going to handle certain situations.

What is your opinion on this matter, do you think it's ok to have meat at certain special occasions simply because it is a tradition?

Vegetarian Update #1

Well, hello there.

So much for "blogging more often" or even the simple "weekly update" I'd promised (it's been a little over a week since my last post).

I could give you a long list of excuses now as of why I have not had the time to blog, but honestly, i've just really been enjoying my summer. Working at the bakery is much more fun than I'd expected it to be, turns out simply being around cake (and eating it, too) is a pretty good happiness booster for me, just as spending time surrounded by friends and good food in the evenings certainly has had its positive effects. Which brings us to the subject of this post: my experiences as a vegetarian so far. There are a few things I've noticed and I thought I'd share them with you!

1. People's reactions

I was extremely surprised by the way people reacted to me telling them I wasn't going to be eating meat anymore. While almost all of them were quite shocked at first, when I explained my reasoning to them most just shrugged and accepted my decision. While I did notice some of my friends don't really think much of vegetarianism in general, not a single person so far has tried to convince me to change my opinion. Some were even quite interested in the facts that influenced my lifestyle choice.

One phrase I heard a lot was " But how can you live without (insert favourite meat dish)?" to which I simply responded that I'd never liked meat that much or ever craved a burger in the way that other people might. 

In a nutshell, I'd expected to have to justify myself much more than I did and the reactions I got were overwhelmingly positive.

2. Food options

While I've never been much of a pure meat eater, completely cutting it from my diet made it obvious how much meat I really was consuming without even noticing it was there, out of sheer convenience. Whether it be the bacon in a quiche lorraine or the odd ham and cheese sandwich, even though I'd almost never choose a dish because of the meat, I really wasn't following a vegetarian diet in any way. Many dishes I was eating before taste just as good without the meat (in my opinion) but people still put it in there. However, most of the time, it is fairly easy to simply ommit it or choose a different option. Finding something to eat has not been difficult at all and deliberately choosing not to consume any meat has made me try dishes I otherwise wouldn't have picked. Which brings me to...

3. Eating out.

I really thought going to a restaurant would be quite a challenge but the exact opposite was the case. Usually, I'd study the menu for ages, overwhelmed by the amount of choices. Crossing out any dishes which include meat makes the decision-taking process much faster and smoother - to the delight of those used to my struggles when it comes to choosing what to eat. I also feel as though I am unconsciously making healthier choices, with vegetable-centered dishes replacing creamy pasta. During the past week, I've fallen in love with food I otherwise would have never tried and a whole world of delicious, fresh and colorful food I never knew was there has opened up.

4. Cooking

Due to the fact that I am working at the moment, I haven't experimented very much with my cooking since going vegetarian but there are literally hundreds of foods I want to try, recipes I want to cook and alternatives to usually meat-centered dishes which I am determined to find. Before last week, I'd never given tofu a second glance whereas now, I find myself more and more intrigued by the possibilities it creates. One thing I was quite worried about was how this was going to affect people enjoying the food I cook for them. After yesterday's lunch though, which consisted of a creamy, avocado based pasta sauce with soba noodles, I don't think this is going to be a real problem. Everyone thorougly enjoyed it, even my dad who is one of the biggest meat-eaters I know. Also, I've realized that my food choices don't have to influence the way the people around me eat. We are having people over for dinner tonight for chicken gyros and falafels - so I simply won't be eating any chicken.

There are many more things which I could talk about right now, but I don't want this post to be too long so I'll simply leave it at that. So far, I don't see myself going back to the way I was eating before( just over a week ago, such a long time right?). Not only do I feel better from a physical point of view but I am more calm knowing that my food choices don't counterdict my ethical beliefs anymore.

I hope you found this post at least the slightest bit interesting and I'll try to be more consistent with my blogging.

Going Vegetarian

The question of whether or not I should be consuming meat has been present at the back of my mind since I could understand the meaning of the word vegetarianism.
Every time i found myself in a conversation either with a vegetarian or simply about the topic, the same cycle of thoughts would be going through my head : 

"Well, I don't actually like meat that much, why don't I just stop eating it?
 But there's meat in so many things, and it would be so exhausting to always have to ask for something different to what everybody else is having. 
I do like animals, but in all honesty, I don't really care what that steak looked like before it got to my plate. 
If I don't feel passionately about these animals, why should I make my life so much harder through cutting meat out of my diet?
Maybe it would be more ethically correct to be a vegetarian but if I don't think about it any further, i can go on with my life as before.
I don't even eat that much meat anyways so where's the problem?"

The I'd push the issue aside and go on with my day, reassuring myself with the though that, if everybody was living this way, how wrong could it be?

“Not responding is a response - we are equally responsible for what we don't do.” - Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals

Extremely "wrong", as it turns out (although "harmful" would probably be a more appropriate word here). As Jonathan Safran Foer states in his book Eating Animals, by mindlessly consuming what everyone else around you is, presumably "doing nothing", you are already doing something. You are making a choice on a day to day basis to support an industry that is not only responsible for the suffering of millions of animals but also for the destruction and pollution of our world. This book really opened my eyes on exactly how badly a large percentage of farm animals are treated before and while they're killed and this knowledge made me wonder whether I could still support my own decision of consuming meat, even if it was only on a twice-weekly basis.

The thing is, I don't feel about the deaths of these animals the same way as most vegetarians (or at least those I know) do. I don't feel pity for them for having to die, and I can still eat the piece of pork on my plate, knowing that it once belonged to an animal just as (or more) playful and intelligent as your typical family dog. If I didn't feel this way, I probably would have been a vegetarian for a very long time. 

However, I am extremely passionate about every living being deserving a free and happy life. This might seem contradictory to what I just said, because how good of a life can an animal have if its mere purpose is to be consumed by humans? To me, if a pig was allowed to run around in the mud, was fed an appropriate diet and given shelter and medical assistance as necessary before being killed at a "reasonable" age, then I can eat the meat it offers without even a hint of a bad conscience. How I was ever able to believe that the scenario I have just described would even come close to reality,  I don't understand.

After finishing Eating Animals (bursting into tears on more than one occasion because of the sheer cruelty inflicted on the animals), I knew I would at least have to try to change my eating habits in a way that aligns with what I believe to be right. So I started by writing down the dishes including meat I thought I wouldn't want to live without. Turns out, I don't actually eat the majority of these foods because of the taste or texture of the meat(or seafood for that matter). Would I miss the chicken in my curry or the beef in Chili con Carne? Sure not. 

Yes, I do love smoked salmon, having mussels in the south of France and the stuffed turkey at christmas (which is probably the one to be avoided at all cost). However, except for the mussels, there is no way for me to ensure these animals were killed in a humane way, especially when eating out. And this, for now, means that I won't be eating them.

I set myself a period of 3 weeks (21 days is supposed to be the amount of time it takes to create a new habit) during which I will not be consumming meat at all and I'll see where to go from there. As of now, I am thinking about going 90% vegetarian or more afterwards (leaving room for my beloved mussels and the occasional organic burger), but it all depends on how I feel during and after the next 20 days. One thing i know for sure though is that I won't be having a cheap curry or Spaghetti Carbonara anytime soon.

I would love to write more on my "journey" on here if any of you are interested in hearing about it. Maybe a weekly update would be something you would like to read?I would sure love to have some feedback, whether you're a devoted meat-eater or a vegetarian yourself.

As always, I hope you enioyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it!

A Summer Breakfast: Carrot Cake Overnight Oats & Maple Ice Coffee

I thought I'd do something a little different today and show you how to make one of my favourite breakfasts for summer (or any time really), as well as a super easy "recipe" for some delicious homemade iced coffee. This breakfast takes close to no time in the morning as you prepare most of it the night before, so its perfect for those rushed weekday mornings. Even the preparation is pretty quick so there really is no reason to stick with your boring old buttered toast when you can have something so delicious and nutritious with the same amount of effort. So here are my new obsession, carrot cake overnight oats and some maple iced coffee!

While i love my porridge all year round, when temperatures start to drop i mostly crave something fresh in the mornings. This is where overnight oats come in perfectly, they have about the same texture as your usual porridge without the heat! All you have to do is mix your oats with some milk or water (although i really prefer milk for overnight oats) and whatever other ingredients you want to add the night before, let it sit in the fridge overnight(hence the name), and in the morning, you've got your oats ready to be devoured. I even think preparing oats this way can give them

more flavour than when you cook them on the stove, as the milk soaks up a bit of everything you put in there.

It might sound a bit crazy to put carrots into your oats at first (after all, they are a vegetable) but believe me on this one, it's incredibly good! So good in fact that i've had it for three breakfasts in a row this week. It kind of tastes like a healthy carrot cake dough and i find myself savouring every single spoonful of it, so I really hope you enjoy it too!

Carrot Cake Overnight Oats (vegan and gluten free)

Ingredients:

some kind of jar to store it in

1/3 cup gluten free oats (or regular if you're not gluten intolerant)

1/2 cup milk (i used unsweetened almond milk)

1/4 cup pineapple

1/2 medium carrot, grated

1/2 tablespoon flax seed (or chia seed if you like the texture)

1-2 dates, chopped

1 dried fig, chopped

1 teaspoon cinnamon

optional:

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

a few drops rum extract

Method:

First of all, blend up the pineapple and milk in your jar by using a hand mixer (you can of course do this in your blender as well).

Then simply add your oats, flax seed, grated carrot, dates, dried fruit, cinnamon and any additional flavours to the jar and mix it all up with a spoon or by simply shaking the jar. Let it sit in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours or overnight.

When you're ready to eat, leave it as it is or top it with whatever you like. Fresh fruit  such as strawberries and banana, nut butter, granola and coconut flakes are my personal favourites!

The next "recipe" probably doesn't even deserve to be called that. It really is super  quick and easy and if you leave the coconut whipped cream aside, it takes close to no time at all to make while still being really tasty. I find that most of the time, the easiest recipes are the best ones!

 

Maple Iced Coffee (with coconut whipped cream)

Ingredients:

for the coffee:

~1/2 cup of freshly brewed or refrigirated coffee

enough ice to fill your glass at least halfway

as much milk as you like (i used oat milk)

1-2 teaspoons of maple syrup (depending on how sweet you want it to be)

(optional) for the coconut whipped cream:

a can if full-fat coconut milk

1-2 teaspoons maple syrup

Method:

for the coffee:

First of all, brew your coffee whichever way you like, i used my nespresso machine for this. Fill a tall glass of water with ice cubes, then simply pour the coffee over the top. Add milk and maple syrup to your liking and for a bit of a treat, top it with some coconut whipped cream. Enjoy!

coconut whipped cream:

 

Take your can of coconut milk out of the refrigirator after you left it there overnight. This step really is crucial so don't try to rush it.

Open up your can at the bottom so the coconut water just flows out and you're left with a more solid residue, the coconut cream (you can use the water for smoothies and such). Then simply beat it with a hand mixer until you get the  texture of whipped cream and add a bit of sweetener if you like. I find this much easier with non-organic coconut milk as the residue isn't quite as solid but you'll just have to beat the other onr a bit longer. Top your iced coffee with a tablespoon or two of your whipped cream and store leftovers in the fridge. This tastes delicious on basically everything: berries, crumbles(berry crumbles?), yogurt,...you name it!

I really hope you like this type of posts as i had so much fun creating it! I'd love to hear if any of you try out yhese recipes:)

Vienna

My mum and i had been planning to go to Vienna together for over two years now but somehow, something always got in the way. As we're not going on summer holidays together this year because it was too difficult to find a week where we'd all be free, we decided to take a 5 day trip to Vienna instead. 

Something about this city has just always drawn me to it, i love how long of a history it has (plenty old buildings to admire!), Austrians are some of the friendliest people i've met (in general) and i swoon just thinking about austrian food; Kaiserschmarren, Wiener Schnitzel, Apfelstrudel,...

People definitely aren't exaggerating when they say that Vienna is like an open-air museum, the buildings are just too gorgeous to be true and i honestly couldn't find a single "ugly" street.

We went to all of the touristy sights such as Schönbrunn palace, the Spanish Riding School and the Hundertwasser house but also went to a few museums which aren't quite as popular. 

I particularly loved the Hundertwasser house it is just so different to any other house i've seen before. It looks as if it was straight out of a fairy tale, trees are growing on the roof, not a single line is completely straight and there are mosaics incorporated everywhere. The people in the small cafe where you can watch a movie about the house were so incredibly friendly and seemed to be living in a whole different world. I love how dreamy and carefree the whole house looks and that the apartments aren't expensive at all and are only rented to people who don't earn too much money.

They have this thing where you can rent a bike for only 1€/hour and there are drop-off spots almost everywhere across the city, so when the weather was nice on tuesday we drove along the Ringstraße with our bikes. There are bicycle paths all across the city so it is very easy to get around that way, i would definitely recommend renting a bike if you visit. You see so much more of the city that way and it is perfect to go to the Danube Island, which we did on the last day we were there. That was probably my favourite day, we had breakfast at noon, drove around for a bit and got a Würstl (sausage) for lunch. Then we still had a few hours left before we had to leave so we just strolled around the Mariahilferstraße, which is probably the longest shopping street i've ever seen, it is huge! We also had some of the best ice cream i've ever tasted at Eis Greissler, and i am not an ice cream lover at all.

In general, the food was a definite standout for me, i honestly didn't have a single bad meal while we were in Vienna. The breakfast at the hotel was ok but other than that, everything was crazy delicious.

Even the sushi my mum and i had on sunday night when no other place was open and we were starving was pretty good and by the look of the restaurant, i was seriously scared i'd get food poisoning.

Food

Neni am Naschmarkt

You can see my meal at Neni on the 4th picture, it was sooo delicious, the hummus was super creamy and the falafels tasted amazing. Their pita bread was really tasty too and don't miss the homemade ice tea. We went back there for breakfast on friday which was pretty good as well, but nothing compared to their lunch and dinner menu.

Heindl's Palatschinkenpfandl

If you're looking for a good Kaiserschmarren, go to Heindl's Palatschinkenpfandl. We went there twice, just because it is so good, the best Kaiserschmarrn i've eaten in my life, and i've probably tried it at every restaurant on skiing holidays. They are technically known for their Palatschinken, the austrian term for crêpes, which they offer with what seems like a hundred different fillings, both savory and sweet. We tried some of those on our first visit nut while they were really good, the Kaiserschmarrn was the highlight for us and i can't have two crêpes and a Kaiserschmarren, that's just too much.

Zweitbester

We only went to this restaurant because there weren't any tables available at Neni but i'm so glad we did. The athmosphere is really relaxed as it is both a bar and a restaurant at the same time, the waitress was incredibly friendly and answered to all of our questions and the food was out of this world delicious. You can watch the chef prepare your plate which he did with such devotion, it was admirable. I had a rubarb and rocket salad with pear and grilled goat cheese, the flavours were really different and interesting and played perfectly together. For desert i had their sticky date pudding with caramelized bananas.so.delicious. The cake melted in your mouth and the bananas were the perfect addition to make the dish a little different. My brother had their creme brulée which was huuge, honestly, and it seemed to be quite delicious too. Overall a definite winner in my books.

Cupcakes Wien

We discovered this shop by accident as i had to go to the bathroom so we went into the MUMOK (museum of modern art) and had to walk past this little cafe where they serve -as if the name didn't tell- cupcakes. They looked just too pretty to pass by so my brother and i both got one. I had the blueberry-chocolate one which was really yummy. The frosting was very fruity and not too heavy as it was made out of cream cheese instead of buttercream and the cake was moist and rich, with bursting blueberries all through it. They have two other shops in Vienna too but this is probably the one where you're most likely to walk past as it's right in the Museumsquartier.

Bitzinger Würstelstand

It really is a must to have a sausage at one of the numerous sausage stands while in Vienna, so finally, on the last day we did just that. The Bitzinger is one of the oldest and most popular ones and as it is right next to the Albertina museum, it is right in the centre of town. I wasn't all too excited about our lunch plans that day (there are many many things i prefer to eat than sausages) but i was positively surprised. I ordered the Bosna which is just a regular sausage in one of their huge bread rolls, topped with mustard, cilantro, onions and curry powder. The cilantro was just perfect on there and i'd very much recommend you try this slightly more unusual sausage if you get the chance too.

These were definitely my highlights in terms of food places but as i've already said, everything i ate in Vienna was really good. I didn't even get to all of the restaurants and bakeries i wanted to try so i guess i'll have to go back some day.

Vienna is such a relaxed, beautiful city and i can imagine it to be even better during the summer when you can just lay around in one of the numerous parks, enjoying the sun and perhaps some of that delicious ice cream. While it can't compete with the love i have for Berlin and Melbourne, Vienna definitely holds a place in my heart.

Josey builds a bakery

There really is no particular reason for writing this post, other than that I wanted to share this short-film i watched today.

As someone, whose whole life has basically been centered around a bakery, seeing someone so young  and ambitious build their own inspires me. When you see the building before they start working on it, it looks extremely bleak. Somehow, they manage to turn it into an open, welcoming space - definitely a place i'd love to get my morning coffee at. 

It's amazing to see that there are still people out there who are passionate about baking bread and put so much love and effort into making it. This gives me hope, that the kind of bakery i grew up in is not going to die out any time soon. The place where you know every single thing is homemade and you feel warm and cozy inside by just entering the shop.
Also, how great is that idea of selling slices of toasted bread?

Josey Builds a Bakery! from Najeeb Tarazi on Vimeo.

the good and the bad

most of the time, i am extremely motivated about eating healthy. I love putting things into my body, knowing they're actually gonna nourish me and are not just a whole bunch of empty calories. 

However, I have an insane sweet tooth. This might have something to do with the fact that I basically grew up in a bakery, but when you put a piece of cake in front of me, i will devour it. There's no way around it, I just can't resist baked goods once they're on my plate.

so i don't think I need to say that I love baking. there's just something so incredibly comforting about exactly measuring out the ingredients, kneading dough and smelling things baking in the oven. While i tend to shy away from lunch or dinner recipes that take a lot of time, i don't mind spending 4 hours in the kitchen to make cinnamon rolls.

this quinoa salad was divine, and so easy too! the roasted tomatoes and feta give this dish so much flavour, and it's definitely cured me from my fear of cooking quinoa. I have no idea why, but somehow, everything I'd cooked before this recipe that included quinoa just didn't turn out right. 

this salad is made of only a few, simple ingredients, but they work extremely well together - another proof that it's not about a lot of "special" ingredients to taste great. Of course, extravagant dishes have their appeal too, but sometimes some vegetables, quinoa, garlic and cheese is all you need for a very flavoursome meal.

Oh my, these cookies were heavenly. Dark chocolate with that hint of salt to counteract the sweetness- so freaking delicious. To me, these taste like brownies in a cookie form - and who doesn't love brownies? They still tasted amazing the second day, and were gone by the third (oops).

It is no coincidence that both of these recipes are from Annie's Eats; her recipes are just extremely good. Every single thing I've made from her site so far turned out be one of my favourite things i'd eaten so far. Her recipes don't often call for fancy ingredients and are mostly pretty easy to put together. Compliments to the people who developed the way the website functions- the "cook view" is extremely practical, which makes her recipes even easier to make.

Whenever I am looking for a simple, great tasting recipe, her blog is the first place I go to. Definitely go check her out!

breakfast obsession

banana pancakes

You know when you had a great night out, but then when you wake up the next morning, you just feel like shit? that's what happened to me on thursday morning(and on firday - oops).

The seniors from my school organized a halloween party in my hometown, and we just had an awesome night. there were so many people i knew and i might have had a bit too much to drink. just a little though, as i could still really enjoy the night.

When i woke up the next morning, i had a huge headache and all i wanted were pancakes. 

These really satisfied the craving, were every bit as delicious as traditional pancakes without all the fat and sugar! I actually ate all of them, so I guess it wasn't that healthy of a breakfast anymore, but still.

seriously these are the best pancakes I've had so far!

I didn't really cook anything else last week, but I just had to share this blog with you!

I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm crazy about breakfast. This girl has the most delicious looking breakfast recipes,and they're pretty healthy too. I probably want to make like 80% of the things she posts!

banana pudding and a cereal milkshake? hell yes!

this orecchiette mac n' cheese and white chocolate almond butter blondies might not be breakfast, but how amazing do they sound hey?

 She has tons of recipes and they all sound so freaking delicious. you should go check her out right now.

bittersweet things & over-indulgence

Cocoa Hazelnut Granola

Remember when I made that banana bread granola and didn't really like it at first? Well I ended up actually falling in love with it and putting it on everything.

This however is a whole new level of obsession. All i want to do is just eat this with a huge spoon. No milk. No yoghurt. Only bittersweet cocoa-hazelnut-coconut goodness with a hint of salt. so so so good.

I wasn't to impressed the first time I mixed it in with yoghurt as the flavours didn't really come through. Then i took one spoonful just like that and I was smitten. I believe the banana bread granola was a bit too sweet for my taste, but this - perfection.

I did add a bit more salt than is indicated in the recipe- which makes it even more special in my opinion. 

Can I emphasize even more how delicious this is?

I have to admit, this picture looks everything but appetizing. I'm sorry! It was already 7 o'clock, the lighting was bad and i honestly couldn't be bothered to find a different setting, i was soo hungry.

Just believe me that this was absolutely delicious! What is it? Eggplant with a chestnut puree and field salad, out of a Tim Mälzer cookbook.

It took my brother, my dad and me more than 3 hours to prepare the whole menu, which was so worth it in the end. 

The eggplant was for once not swimming in olive oil and garlic-even my dad had to admit it's better this way. The chestnut puree was quite a bit of work, as you had to roast and peel them first, but again-definitely worth the effort. It worked so well with the eggplant and the salad just added a bit of freshness

The main course were these chicken gyros with the homemade pita bread from the same site.

The chicken was juice and flavoursome, the bread soft but not bland and tzatziki added another level of deliciousness to this dish. We all absolutely loved it! probably one of my favourite things I've eaten so far,ever.

Although we were already stuffed after the first to courses, I still mad this apple crumble for dessert. In hindsight, more apple and less crumble would've probably been better, but it was delicious nevertheless!

I always thought, homemade bread would never be able to compete with that from a bakery, but boy was I wrong. Except for all the time it needs to rise, it's so easy to make and will definitely get you a lot of praise if you serve it to guests. In my opinion, nothing compares too an oven-warm loaf of bread!

doughy things

Writing and food are two of my favourite things in the world - so I'm always super excited about these posts! 

I think I'm kind of getting the hang of knowing which recipes to choose for mondays - this was really fast and easy, while still being extremely flavoursome. I was a bit worried about the pastry of this Tomato Tart taking too long in the oven - on the package it said over an hour. But even after only 30 minutes, it was just the way puff pastry's supposed to be - crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
 I was a bit late on this one, as tomato season is technically over but even with tomatoes that were somewhat lacking in flavour, this was absolutely delicious! another meal my stepfather loved.
The dried tomato pesto really adds that extra bit of something here - otherwise, it would've probably been a bit bland. Overall, a great quick (well if you consider preparation time) weeknight dinner!

When my alarm went at 8 in the morning on saturday, I decided to have something a bit more "special for breakfast - kind of as a motivation to study. I made french toast and an apple-blueberry compote which I then mixed wit some yoghurt - so good! It also kept me full for quite a while, which is definitely a bonus as I tend to get hungry pretty fast after a meal.

French Toast with Apple & Blueberry Yoghurt

Ingredients:

For the Toast:
1 egg
about 1/4 cup milk (i used almond milk)
sprinkle of cinnamon
some pieces of whatever bread you like
olive oil

For the Yoghurt:
about 1/2 cup yoghurt
1 apple, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup blueberries
1 T maple syrup
a bit of water

Whisk the egg with the milk and cinnamon and tear the bread into bite-sized pieces.
Add just enough water to cover the bottom to a saucepan, add the apple, blueberries and maple syrup and start heating over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally. When the apples have softened and there's not too much moisture left from the bluebberries, add the compote to the yoghurt and serve over french toast.
When the "compote" is almost done, heat some olive oil in a wide skillet over high heat. Dunk the bread into the egg mixture and add it to the skillet. Brown on both sides. Serve with Yoghurt.

This week was the the first time that a recipe I made actually went really wrong. This had nothing to do with the recipe itself but more so with my way of rushing through reading it. Of course this had to happen when my grandparents came over for dinner.
Everything was fine with the dough, but somehow I must've skipped the part where it says to put the skillet into the oven - i just left it on the stove top! It did seem quite odd to me to bake a cake this way, as it seemed obvious that the bottom part would burn before the top was ready, but i still didn't think about reading over the recipe again.
When I realized my mistake, it was already too late; i've never seen a cake as black as this one. We still ate the top part, which was alright, but nothing special - so I probably won't retry making this.

All week, I'd been craving waffles. So when I was in town with my mother on Thursday I basically forced her to buy a waffle iron - her and my grandmother had been postponing doing so for quite a while. We had some classic belgian waffles for breakfast on sunday- family recipe. I then had waffles again for lunch that same day - this time a bit of a healthier version I'd chosen. This made 7 waffles in my waffle iron- I had two that day and froze the rest to reheat for breakfast during the week. I actually preferred these to the "original" waffles, but my mother didn't rally like them that much, so I guess it just depends on your taste. If you like wholegrain things that have a bunch of seeds in them - these are perfect for you. I substituted the butter for vegetable oil and couldn't find a lack in texture.
I had these with a similar yoghurt-compote mixture as the one I put on my french toast (this time plum and mirabelle) and it was absolutely delicious without making me feel to guilty about it.
I am so excited to be having these on school mornings!

comfort food

Last week's weather was miserable; cold and rainy. I don't know about you, but during fall, I won't go for the quinoa salad or well...any salad whatsoever. I crave warm, doughy things, preferably with lots of butter and/or cinnamon. and what's better than cuddling up on the couch with a hot drink and a book when it looks like the world is going to end outside?

This is probably the "unhealthiest" meal I've made so far for dinner on mondays, but oh my was it good. Brown butter basically makes anything more tasty, and if you add toasted gnocchi and corn to the equation, you've totally got me. It was so easy to make too, the corn took a bit of time to grill but you don't have to stay in the kitchen waiting. brown some butter, cook the gnocchis, throw it all together - you're done. This was a real success with my family, as even my brother took seconds and thirds. That boy usually doesn't like anything I cook, but he loved this recipe.

Yes, I now, this is just normal coffee. It just didn't look as cool anymore mixed with the homemade caramel chai I poured over it. Apart from the caramel, this was very easy to make, and sooo delicious! It was creamy, sweet, spicy, and went perfect with the coffee.

I have fallen in love with cinnamon rolls. How could I not, as they have cinnamon and a soft, lightly sweetened dough. Even though I really tried to talk myself into trying something new (these donuts, cookies, carrot cake,...), all I wanted to make last week were cinnamon rolls.

Chocolate and almond butter are right up ther with cinnamon for me (ok, almost) so these cinnamon rolls were basically screaming my name.

The dough was much easier to make than the one from the last cinnamon rolls I made, and on request of my family, I made them quite a lot smaller. Which is why I ended up with 21 rolls - we now have 12 frozen cinnamon rolls in the freezer, only waiting to be pulled out and baked whenever I'm craving some again. Only about a month ago, I was making fun of my mum for freezing everything, and now I do the exact same thing!

The rolls were amazing, not to sweet but still indulgent. however, the dough from the other recipe was a bit softer and more fluffy. Although,if you consider the time and effort it took to make that one compared to this time, these turned out pretty great. I had two on sunday, together with the caramel chai - perfection.

Do you like your cinnamon rolls the classic way - or with more extravagant fillings?

food is taking over my life

The amount of time i spend thinkng about food is just plain ridiculous. I am constantly planning when I'll be able to cook or bake something next,and on days when i m going to be trying out new recipes,that's all I'm looking forward to.   

I basically plan my days around my meals.

As I'm still going to school though, my time to cook is limited to weekday evenings and the weekend. which doesn't go along with the fact that I don't like eating much for dinner. This is also why the dinner pictures are taken in pretty bad lighting-or there's simply no pictures at all.

Last week,on monday,I made this recipe for vegetables and chicken in peanut sauce. It was really fast and easy to make and so freaking delicious. Definitely a winner!

This monday,I cooked chicken enchilada stuffed peppers,which were pretty good but took way too long to make in my opinion. The fact that you can't buy cooked chicken or enchilada sauce in Luxembourg was quite annoying,it would have been much easier if you could buy these two things in store. Even though I love spicy food,I found these to be too hot.other than that,they were quite tasty,just not something I'd make again.

I love having porridge for breakfast,as it's so filling,healthy and still tastes like a treat! For this version I used:

-1/2 mango

-1/2banana

-~100gr oats

-some oat bran

- ~150 ml almond milk

-some low fat yoghurt 

-agave

-chopped almonds

I topped it with a smoothis made out if 1/2 banana and 1/2 mango,to which i added some cinnamon. This was such a delicious breakfast!

  

I've always wanted to try making homemade granola so I made this banana walnut version.

The whole house smelled like banana bread when this was in the oven-amazing!

It is quite nice,however I wish I'd simply stuck with the original recipe-I left out the brown sugar and only used about half the amount of oats,simply because I didn't have any more. I also kind of just put as much oil and bananas in as I thought would be good. 

It turned out to be a bit bland and not as crunchy as I'd liked it to be-probably the missing sugar. Definitely a lesson learned,I'll stick to the original recipe next time i try out something new. 

These are basically peanut butter cups in cupcake form.ugh.so.good.

It's been quite a while since I've baked something like this,where I didn't even try to make it a bit more healthy by substituting butter for oil and reducing the sugar. So putting so many unhealthy things into a dough was quite the challenge. I made these for one of my best friend's birthday and everybody absolutely loved them!

After having quesadillas,champagne and one of these cupcakes for dinner the night before I felt like a smoothie would be the perfect lunch. And I was right!

I put 1/2 avocado,1 banana,a handful of each raspberries and blueberries,2 tablespoons yoghurt and 3 teaspoons oats in this one and it tasted amazing!

I'm so glad my stepdad bought chopped hazelnuts by accident instead of almonds-I've become kind of obsessed with them.

Do you like these kind of posts or would you prefer more in-depth posts about only one recipe at a time?

I wish you all a great weekend!