Friends Trump Blogging

I have had a wonderful weekend with my friend Kelsey.

She arrived on my doorstep around 12 o’clock Thursday night after hitch-hiking from Frankfurt airport.

This girl is adventurous.

Kelsey and I went to the same college but have actually been in more contact since I’ve lived abroad than we were when living on the same campus.

Together in Berlin July 2010

Life is funny like that sometimes.

Walking and talking with this dear friend has been just what I’ve needed lately. She is always full of grace, love, kindness and meaningful advice.

She’s a great listener!

Friends trump food photography, so I’ll leave you with a food collage of sorts.

Pear, soft blue cheese and walnuts for lunch.

Pancakes with autumn almond butter and stewed apples.

Pasta bake with tofu, spinach, tomatoes and mozzarella.

Oatmeal with stewed apples, autumn almond butter, flax and cinnamon.

Before ending this weekend, do me a favor and take the time to tell a friend how much he/she means to you. If you’re close enough, go to his/ her house and give that person a hug too!

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Autumn Almond Butter

It really is official now.

The leaves are falling from the trees.

Today I smelled the first fire of the leaf-burning season.

I even made a fresh batch of pumpkin pie spice.

 

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice

2 Tbsp. cinnamon, ground

2 tsp. ginger, ground

1 tsp.cloves, ground

1 tsp. allspice, ground

1 tsp. nutmeg, ground

2 pinches cardamom, ground

Sift all ingredients together and store in an air-tight container.

Autumn has always been my favorite season.

I love the cool weather and warm sun.

Vibrant autumn leaves against a blue sky.

Cuddling up in a blanket with a cup of hot tea.

In the Midwest at any rate, autumn is the most beautiful time of year.

When I first moved to Germany and said how much I was looking forward to autumn, the Germans laughed at me.

I now know why.

For as bright and cheerful the Midwest autumns are, they are dark and gloomy here.

There are beautiful days, like today, but the majority of autumn is wet, cold, grey and depressing.

Luckily, I now have a fresh batch of homemade Autumn Almond Butter to cheer me up on the dreary days.

 Sweetened with maple syrup and flavored by pumpkin pie spice, this almond butter has got to be the best I’ve ever made.

God help me not to eat the entire jar tonight.

But in case I do, I made another jar of Vanilla Bean Almond Butter.

Just in case.

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Remagen Art Market

The sky may have been cloudy and threatening rain, but the Live Art Market in Remagen carried on!

More than 200 artists from all over Europe transformed the streets of the historic town of Remagen into a living art gallery.

Breakfast powered me through the day, allowing me to manage the crowds and take in all the sights, smells, and sounds of the LebensKunstMarkt.

Wheat toast with almond butter and a fruit salad topped with poppy seed marzipan yogurt.

Fresh blueberries, strawberries, cherries and the most delicious yogurt.

Part of the market was organized by geographical regions.

For example, the French region included soaps, breads, cheese, salami, and hand-painted pottery

Not the best photo of their products, but I loved the patchwork flags so much that I bought a hunk of fresh goat’s cheese from this stand.

How cute is this apron?

Could have spent a month’s salary on ribbon at this stall.

I bought a pot of cilantro and rosemary for the balcony garden.

I spotted one of my colleagues and her husband along the Rhine. They are such a cute couple.

This waffle was as good as it looks.

This church reminded me of Hogwarts from Harry Potter.

I had a great time at the market, ate tons of free samples, oohed and ahhed over a bajillion pieces of jewelry and artwork, and generally enjoyed the day out.

Although I’m sad to be away from my family on Father’s Day, I’m so glad to be living in this beautiful part of the world!

Here’s one last Father’s Day photo. I love you, Dad!

Proud parents at my graduation.

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Tired Teacher

Uninspired.

That’s how I’ve been feeling lately.

Uninspired and stressed out.

My food is boring.

My sleep is deprived.

My body is un-exercised.

My emotions are all over the place.

Breakfast today~ Oatmeal with almond butter, almonds, and peaches.

2 more weeks.

That’s all. Just 2 more weeks until school’s out for the summer!

Breakfast yesterday: Smoothie made with 1 frozen banana, 2 cups spinach, 1 cup coffee soy milk, oatmeal and flax.

This time of year is so emotional.

On one hand, I can’t wait to be finished and have a few weeks of vacation.

On the other hand, it breaks my heart to think that in only 2 weeks, I have to say goodbye to my class.

I spend more time with these kids than their parents do.

It’s amazing how attached a teacher can become in one school year.

Teaching is such a strange profession.

There are very few jobs which create love and attachment to the “work” in work.

Lunch yesterday: spinach and arugula salad with cucumber, strawberries, blueberries, pecans and balsamic glaze.

Today, we said farewell and happy retirement to a teacher who has worked at the school for 36 years. He is the music teacher so we held a music assembly. Each class sang a song, did a dance, and made a presentation thanking him for the music.

He is such a wonderful teacher. The kids adore him. He is funny, gentle, entertaining, and really gives his time and attention to his students. For the last week, every time my class practiced the song we sang to him, I cried. Today, it was certainly no different.

At the end of the assembly, he grabbed my hand, pulled me up and danced me around the assembly hall. Kids were scurrying out of the way. I was spinning, dipping, skipping around with him. I hope I’m as fit at 65! The school will be so different without him there next year.

Again, it’s a strange job. Love to the point of tears.

Questions:

What are some of your most memorable “teacher experiences?”

Did you ever feel attached to your teacher? How about love?

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Vegan Lentil Pasta

Don’t worry Dad, I’ve not converted to ‘veganism.’ Lately, I have enjoyed the extra challenges and rewards of cooking more vegan food. I love some of my new-found foods and won’t be trading them in for their vegetarian counterparts.

Breakfast was not vegan. It was rich, creamy, and delicious though!

Greek yogurt topped with carrot cake granola, half a banana and almond butter. The remaining banana half spread with more almond butter and a coffee with milk.

Morning snack consisted of an Earl Gray tea and a homemade Banana Apricot Oatmeal Cookie.

Lunch was leftover vegan mac and cheese with peas.

I wouldn’t recommend this one for leftovers. It just wasn’t as creamy the second time around.

Class fruit snack was delicious strawberries picked just down the road from us.

After school I tutored, bought groceries, made homemade Greek yogurt, then started on dinner- spaghetti with vegan vegetable lentil sauce.

Spaghetti with Vegan Vegetable Lentil Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups green lentils (I used up the remains of my green and red lentils)
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. vegetable bouillon
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 1/3 red pepper, chopped
• 4 mushrooms, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 jar cheap prepared tomato sauce
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• whole wheat noodles

Method

1. Rinse the lentils and pick out any stones or debris.
2. Add the lentils and water to a large pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low.
3. Add in the vegetables and spices.
4. Cook, uncovered for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables and lentils are tender.
5. Pour in the spaghetti sauce and tomato paste, stir well.
6. Heat the sauce through and serve over prepared noodles.
7. Top with vegan parmesan cheese.

Makes 6 servings.

With this batch, I made 1 serving for dinner, 2 for lunches, and 3 servings frozen for future use… maybe lasagna?

Vegan Parmesan Cheese

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

Method

1. Toast the sesame seeds in a frying pan over medium heat until they begin to golden. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
2. Add the toasted sesame seeds and nutritional yeast to a blender.
3. Blend for 30 seconds.
4. Sprinkle over anything and everything!

Dishes are done, cat’s have been played with and all things here are peaceful and quiet. It’s time for bed. Have a nice day!

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Twice Baked Potatoes

It has been a good day!

Being able to take dinner photos at 8:30 in natural sunlight may have been the highlight. The days are getting longer! I love spring!

Want to know what else I love? Oatmeal

There is nothing like the prospect of a delicious bowl of oats to get me out of bed in the morning.

1/4 cup or oats, milk, and water

1/2 ripe banana, mashed

Dash of salt, heavy sprinkling of cinnamon

Topped with:

chia seeds, flax, hemp seeds, cinnamon, and almond butter

The school day went really fast. Apparently we all thought it was Thursday today as my classroom assistant wrote Thursday April 14, 2010 on the board this morning and no one noticed- not her, me, or the kids until about 2:30. I hope thinking it was Thursday on a Wednesday doesn’t make the week feel longer!

I forgot my camera at home so no snack or lunch photos. For snack, I ate a butter cookie from the staff room. During my morning break, I had a really nice talk with on of the assistants. She just came back from maternity leave and is the most peaceful, serene woman I know.  She asked about Sebastian and said that things must be going well since I always look happy. We then started talking about why some relationships last and others done. Emma said the most important thing to remember is to speak gently and simply take care of each other.  Good advice, Emma.

Lunch consisted of a tuna salad sandwich, an orange, and pumpkin seeds.

After work, I had an apple on my way to the gym. The trip was quick today as I had another dental appointment. I powered through 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer as hard as I could to try to get the most out of the limited amount of time. I then spent about 15 minutes on abdominal exercises. Sauna. Shower. Go.

After almost 2 months of jaw pain and 5 dental appointments, I have finally received what I hope will end all jaw pain.

Behold my TMJ night guard!

This transparent contraption fits over my lower teeth.

The doctor made a cast of my teeth then recreated my entire mouth/ jaw using measurements and other important dentist stuff. The Me Mouth was really cool. He showed that when I bite, my back molars do not have the same amount of space between the top and lower teeth on both sides. One side has a slightly larger gap between the top and bottom teeth. Apparently, while I’m sleeping, I subconsciously grind or clench my teeth in an attempt to “even out” the difference. This excessive muscular activity is what causes my pain. This guard was designed to a) protect my teeth from grinding b) make up for the difference in space. I hope it works!

After my jaw-inspiring appointment, I went to Aldi to do a bit of grocery shopping. Hunger led the way and I ended up leaving with way more than I needed, including these whole grain animal crackers.

Once home, I whipped up some dinner. Roasted broccoli and asparagus and a twice-baked potato. All drizzled with fresh squeezed lemon.

Broccoli and asparagus were misted with olive oil then sprinkled with sea salt and pepper before being roasted. Lemon juice enhances the flavor like you wouldn’t believe. Try it.

Last night we baked extra potatoes. Today, I scooped out the insides and mashed them up with 1 T. cream cheese, splash of milk, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and sea salt. Put back in the skins and baked.

Delicious!

The potato was so good that I immediately made another for lunch tomorrow. Technically, tomorrow it will be a once baked, once microwaved potato.

I also whipped up two for Sebastian’s midnight snack when he comes home from work tonight.

Final project of the day: more homemade almond butter!

This is probably my best batch yet! Perfectly roasted. My add-ins include a drizzle of agave nectar, cinnamon, flax, hemp, and coconut oil. Yummy!

Alright, I hope you have a great day! I’m off to try out my new night guard. Night!

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White Chocolate Macadamia Granola Bars

In early celebration of World Math Day (which is this coming Wed. for those of you desperate to know,) Sebastian and I went to Arithmeum, the museum dedicated to Mathematics.

Source

It was really fun playing with the hand-cranked machines to solve calculations. Fascinating to see what people used before calculators! Maybe I’m a dork, but I would go back.

Last night I regressed to middle school hurt feelings. As I mentioned earlier, I was really looking forward to go to a colleague/ friend’s house for dinner and drinks last night. When I called to see if there was anything I could bring, I was told, “Oh yeah, I was just about to call you Kendel.  So we all went out last night and are feeling a bit rough today so I might not have people over after all. I’ll call you back later to let you know.” Well, needless to say, I was not called back. My feeling were really hurt since I had been looking forward to hanging out with my work friends all week. I wasn’t even invited to go out on Friday night. The thing that really sucks is that it wasn’t only the guy who organized things who could have called me and didn’t, it was at least 4 other colleagues and friends who either didn’t think about inviting me or decided not to. One think that is difficult about living as a teacher abroad is that your colleagues also play the role of friends and family. They are all I have here beside Sebastian. It really hurts to feel like my friends and family chose not to include me.

Poor-me aside, I had a really nice evening with Sebastian. We decided to go out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Tacos. Apparently we’ve been in the Mexican mindset for a week. Mexican restaurants are certainly not common in Germany, but in one week we’ve been to two such restaurants and created our own at home.

I had veggie fajitas and a margarita.

Drinks were half-price so I also treated myself to a mojito and pina colada. Enough alcohol for a month.

Before heading home, we stopped at the only bagel place in Bonn, just before they closed. It must have been our lucky day because we were able to but 12 bagels for the price of 6. The extras are chilling out in the freezer.

Breakfast was a blueberry bagel and cream cheese. Taste of home!

After breakfast, it was gym time! A year and a half ago, I attempted the step aerobic class at my gym. My German language skills were far too low to keep up with the fast pace of the instructor, putting myself at risk for injury with every 2-step-behind-try-to-catch-up-cheat. Luckily, I left the class with my pride being the only hurt thing. Today, I decided to brave it again and had a really great time! The instructor was so cute and energetic. He explained what was coming early enough for me to translate and make the correct step. By the end of the class, my body had produced more sweat than it did while running a half-marathon.

Wow, what a great workout!

After the class, I walked on the treadmill for 15 min. to cool down then relaxed in the sauna, took a shower, ate and apple, drank an herbal tea, and headed home.

I came back to an almost immaculate home- Sebastian had been busy while I was away doing dishes, vacuuming, mopping floors, emptying the garbage, tidying up, and scrubbing the bathroom. Of the HUGE mess we had created over the week, all that was left for me to do was change the litter boxes. He really is amazing, but I sometimes feel really guilty that he does most of the house work!

Once the place was spick and span, I started cooking.

Late lunch was German Aldi’s take on a flatout flat bread, topped with mushrooms, red onions, red peppers, and goat’s cheese.

Cooking commenced with restocking my almond butter supply.

From nuts… to butter!

Thanks to the little food processor that could!

Since the oven was already on to roast my almonds, I decided to attempt a new granola bar. I’ve been drooling over Luna’s new White Chocolate Macadamia bars, but unfortunately, they are not sold in Germany.

The answer to my dilemma? Make it myself.

White Chocolate Macadamia Granola Bars

1 ½ c. rolled oats

½ c. spelt flakes (or equal amount rolled oats)

½ c. wheat germ

½ c. packed brown sugar

½ c. macadamia nuts- roughly chopped

100 g. white chocolate, shaved

¾ c. dried cranberries, unsweetened

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 t. cinnamon

¾ t. sea salt

1 flax egg (2 t. flax stirred into 2 T. water)

¾ c. honey

½ c. apple sauce

1 T. canola oil

1. Mix the dry ingredients well.

2. Create a well and add the wet ingredients. Mix well- hands work best!

3.  Pat evenly into a greased 9×13 cake pan. Bake at  350° F (175 C) for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

4. Cook, cut, and enjoy!

Sweet and crunchy!

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MIA Photo Recap

Sorry all for being away for so long! It has just been crazy lately. As you know, I was away at a German International Schools teaching conference this past weekend. I had a great time- visiting workshops with practical suggestions on topics such as ADD/ ADHD adaptations, using yoga in the classroom, incorporating story telling to aid language acquisition and developing cross-curricular studies. It was great to be around teachers willing to share ideas and advice. I arrived back in Bonn late on Sunday night only to get back into school on Monday. We had parent teacher conferences last night and tonight as well, so that required a lot of my time. Tomorrow is Karneval so the fun doesn’t stop yet!

So, here is a photo re-cap of the last few days in my life. Please note that a lot of food photos are missing, especially from Friday-Sunday as I was at the conference and a little shy to take out my camera every time I ate. Speaking of, the food was amazing. We also ate every 2-3 hours. Yikes! Oh, and it was buffet style… and I have no self control.

Friday morning breakfast. Pancake with almond butter, agave and cinnamon. Yogurt with blueberries, strawberries, almonds, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds.

Another birthday treat!

Leftover homemade pizza for lunch. So pretty in the daylight!

Rachel in our super-posh-school-paid-for-hotel-room.

Ready for my first full day at the conference!

Made to order omelet. Loads of veggies packed in there!

Delicious lunch combo of cold salads and sushi. I will do everything in my power to recreate that beauty of a bean salad in the front!

Simple yet attractive hotel dining room lines.

Monday after school snack of toast with almond butter, agave and cinnamon. Yum. I like that it looks like the two hemispheres of the brain.

Monday night dinner. Veggie lasagna.

Yogurt oats with shredded granny smith apple.

My narcissus have finally blossomed!

Breakfast today was an angelic mehrkorn bagel with almond butter, agave and cinnamon with 1/2 an apple and coffee.

Although I love working in an international school... I don't like that kids come and go so fast. Today we had a going away party for one of the sweetest and most thoughtful little girls in the class. It was a sad farewell but t least we had lots of delicious food.

One of the mothers brought meatballs for the going away party. She even found vegetarian meatballs for me! My students have the nicest parents! The veggie meatballs went perfectly with my lasagna from the other night.

Dinner was 1 head of steamed broccoli with a grilled cheese and cress sandwich

Well that does it for the recap. Thanks for sticking with me even when I was MIA.

Question: If you could visit 3 places in Europe, where would you go?

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Dreary Sunday

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?

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