I woke up this morning to find this- a dreary Sunday.
Snow has found us once again. I shouldn’t have been too surprised as the weather forecast did predict another round of snow… but after a few warmish days in a row, I was really looking forward to a bit of sunshine. Not letting the weather pull down my spirits, I decided to make the best of the home-bound day with a bit of magic in the kitchen.
First up- pancakes. I tried a different recipe than usual and found the pancakes to be flat, tough, and rubbery. Luckily, the toasted pecans and maple syrup saved the day. My little bottle of maple syrup is a prized commodity. Germans don’t do the whole warm and filling breakfast thing. Accompanied by a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee, this made a great breakfast.
Next up, refilling the jar of joy, aka homemade almond butter. When a 1/3 cup jar of prepared almond butter costs €7, you’re forced to find other means to supply your addiction. What’s not to love about making something so delicious for so little money?
Homemade Almond Butter How To
Or to be more specific- flaxy cinnamon coconut infused almond butter.
Step 1- collect your ingredients
Translation: coconut oil, cinnamon, almonds, and agave. Sea salt and flax seed were feeling camera shy.
1 cup almonds
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon coconut oil (you can also use canola or sesame but I like the added coconut flavour)
1 teaspoon agave
1 teaspoon ground flax seed
Shake of cinnamon
Step 2- roast the almonds
Nice and toasty
Sprinkle the almonds with salt and roast in a 200° F oven for 10-15 min. stirring every now and then.
Step 3- making friends
Place the coconut oil and agave in the food processor then pour the hot almonds over top. I think it’s only fair to let the three get to know each other a little before they’re forced to be friends. Once the oil is melted, sprinkle with flax and cinnamon then move on to step 4.
Step 4- Chop and churn
Give your food processor a work out- flip the switch to chop and churn. Stop and scrape the sides once the nut butter starts to creep up and away from the blades. It might take a while, but the almonds will eventually turn into a creamy paste. As every fibre of my green self starts to feel guilty for using so much energy, I remind myself how much money I’m saving and how wonderful it is to know exactly what goes into my food. The smell is so good you’ll have to stand back.
Step 5- pour and seal
Once your almond butter has reached the desired consistency, pour it into a clean glass jar, seal tightly, and store in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
Enter: Left-over Make-over
On Friday, the Aussies, Sebastian and I had planned on eating at this fun middle-eastern restaurant called Karawane. We showed up only to find out that no reservation meant no possibility. So, we traipsed a bit further down the Rhine to another goodie called Kartoffels. Kartoffel in German means potato- and that’s what this restaurant does- potatoes. Every dish on their menu is based around potatoes. Even their artwork and decorations follow the root-veggie theme.
I ordered a spinach and (obviously) potato gratin loaded with cream and cheese. So unhealthy yet so delicious. The portions at this place are huge so I ended up taking half of mine home in a doggy bag.
For lunch, I decided to take this tin-foil wrapped creation from drab to fab.
Take the not-so appealing left-overs.
Toss in some fresh veggies and beans.
Heat it all up.
Add a little skim milk cream.
And then you have a more veggie-filled yet still unhealthy appealing lunch.
By 3:00 I needed some fresh air so Sebastian and I took a nice long walk down the hill and into town. It was the perfect temperature for a cold-weather walk. Along the way, I took a few photographs.
Amongst the beauty, I even bumped into a little humor.
After walking into town, I hit up the gym for 30 min of bicycling and total-body weight lifting. Once I was done, I was hungry! Snacked on 3 dried apricots then made my way home to put together a crazy delicious lunch box dinner.
Toasted whole-wheat bread with cream cheese, mustard, alfalfa sprouts, shredded carrot and lettuce along with a clementine, celery and almond butter.
This. Hit. The. Spot.
Now I’m off to read blogs, do some laundry, skype my parents and get a good night’s sleep. Thanks for reading my first “real” blog! Good night!
For all you experienced bloggers out there- what is your best technical advice for blogging? Any tips of tricks I should know about?
