Vegetable Box Week 4

Even though I can see online what vegetables will be delivered each week with my box, I am still so excited to pull back the plastic and see what lovely veggies are waiting inside.

Here are the vegetables that are currently in season in Germany.

 Arugula- my favorite salad green

Fennel bulbs

a huge head of pak choi

  Cherry tomatoes

 Broccoli

Beets- I love beets, juiced, cooked, warm or cold

Carrots

Sebastian and I had plans to make tofu tacos for dinner tonight so the only veg box addition came from the tomatoes.

What sweet, juicy tomatoes they were too!

Last night we went to dinner at my friend Prachi’s house. Her mother and father are visiting from India and her mom wanted to cook for us.

Yes please!

We were stuffed to the brim, unable to refuse her flavorful snacks, curries, rice and desserts. 

Every time we would clear our plates, another serving was dished up. I felt like royalty. Very pleasantly stuffed royalty.

We stayed late into the night telling stories, hearing about life in India, laughing and enjoying the company of a wonderful family.

It was a great night indeed.

As a gift, I made a flower pot for Prachi and her husband, Jigar. I drew the outline of Germany on a white flower pot with a black permanent marker. Where Bonn is, I drew a heart then wrote, “Jigar and Prachi Grow love, grow.”

They are the kind of couple that you see and instantly know their love for one another is insurmountable. They are perfect for each other.

It was lovely to be in the company of their love and her parents’ love with my love. Really, a lovely night.

 

Read Full Post »

Heart Grow Fonder

Absence is said to do that… make the heart grow fonder. So, did you miss me?

I’ve noticed that each week, I go a few days in a row without blogging. I’m ok with that. I love sharing my daily life with all of you, but I never want blogging to get in the way of living.  Sorry Mom and Dad if you get worried after a few days of silence on the blog-front.

The last few days I’ve been doing a lot of living… and eating. Let me show you a little bit.

Food!

Banana oats with flaxseed, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds peanut butter and blueberry jam.

Tuna salad wrap with lettuce, tomato, carrot and radishes and a pear

One of the living things I got up to this week was having Kate over for dinner. Sebastian and I made our favorite- Pretend Paneer Masala as well as an eggplant curry. All was served up with rice, naan and a salad.

After dinner, Kate and I went to see Prince of Persia at the movie theatre. I was looking more forward to the outing than the actual movie but was pleasantly surprised. I wouldn’t typically choose to see a movie like this, but actually liked it. Give it a try for your self.

Rye English muffin with peanut butter and blueberry jam and fresh raspberries.

Last night for dinner, we whipped up Tofu Tacos.

Tofu Tacos

Ingredients

• 1 tsp. oil
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 block extra firm tofu, drained and crumbled
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 1/2 can red kidney beans
• 1 tsp. tomato paste
• 1-2 tsp taco seasoning mix (recipe below)
• water

Method

1. Heat oil in a large, non-stick skillet. Add the onions and tofu, cook until onions are transparent and tofu is lightly browned.
2. Stir in tomato, kidney beans, tomato paste, taco seasoning (start with a little, taste test, and add more as desired), and enough water to create a saucy mixture. Continue to cook, stirring frequently until you’ve reached the desired consistency, adding more water as needed.
3. Serve on a whole grain shell with your favorite taco toppings. Such as lettuce, fresh tomato, avocado, cheese, salsa, sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.

Taco Seasoning Mix

Ingredients

• 8 tsp Chili powder
• 1 tsp. Paprika
• 1 tsp. Cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. Ground cumin
• 1 tsp. Salt

Method

1. Mix all ingredients in a resealable glass jar. Store, tightly sealed in a cool, dry place.

I think I’m all caught up now! Have a great weekend!

Read Full Post »

Home is where your pets are

I was going to title this post “Home is where you plant your seeds,” but decided that it could be taken the wrong way.

I struggle with where to call home. Is my home where I was brought up, where my family is, or is home where I live now? I’ve decided to call both home because frankly, both feel like home to me. Now that I’m back in my German home, it’s back to normalcy.

Within my German home, normal things happen, but this life feels so extraordinary to me!

Here is a recap of a few simple things that have brought me great pleasure over the last 2 days.

Birds eating human food.

Glass of fresh juice- carrots, apples, orange, celery, and lemon

Fresh and delicious tofu tacos

Sisterly love (it’s hard to tell, but one cat has her arm around the other)

Happiness is kitty photo shoots

Planting seeds- encouraging life!

After a less than overwhelming yield last year, we decided to start the seeds indoor this gardening season. Here are our mini egg-carton green houses, planted with the hope of future life!

Alex approves. It’s like she already knows that the blue pot contains cat grass seeds!

Whole wheat pasta with broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, garlic, pine kernels, and parmesan.

It’s the simple things in life!

In addition to the above mentioned simple yet wonderful things which I’ve experienced in the last two days of being home, I’ve also enjoyed busting it out at the gym, and cuddling on the couch watching tv. It’s great to be home!

Pay it forward: When I grabbed my gym bag today, I forgot to stick my wallet inside. Just as luck would have it, on the way back home, there was a ticket controller on the bus. Once I saw the man, I knew I was in trouble. If you are caught on a bus without a ticket, it’s a €40 fine. All I had was one Euro. Luckily, a nice man heard me talking to the bus driver about getting home on a euro, and he paid for my ticket. Talk about a life saver! I can’t wait to pay it forward! Hopefully I’ll also run into the same man again and be able to pay him back. As one of my favorite professors used to say, “Always remember that nice matters.”

Read Full Post »

Manic Monday

This may be the first day of the week, but I already feel like it should be at least Wednesday.

I didn’t feel very well last night so opted for less school preparation and more rest. Unfortunately, I had a really hard time sleeping last night. I probably fell asleep around 2 even though I’d been in bed since 10. No fun. I woke up feeling tired and unprepared. Again, no fun. At least I had breakfast ready to go.

Regular bowl of oats topped with a crumbled white chocolate macadamia granola bar, shredded coconut, flax, hemp, and almond butter. Coffee, naturally.

Luckily my students have German first thing in the morning so I was able to use those precious 40 min. to pull my act together. I may be a procrastinator at heart, but when it comes to teaching, I’m usually over and above in preparation.

Lunch was another pre-planned dream turned hurdle. The idea was that my digital photography club followers would have a lunch picnic with me and we would focus on food photography today. Unfortunately, with my club being on Mondays, only one kid remembered the whole picnic plan. Needless to say, with no other food to photograph, my tofu taco salad was a very popular item. I can only imagine what the parents will think as they look through their kid’s photos from today. Let’s just say that my camera takes much more attractive food photos… some of the pics I saw of this lunch were not too appealing.

Lettuce, tofu taco “meat,” avocado, tomato, and salsa.

Everyone forgets important things now and then- today the family on schedule to bring our class fruit snack forgot. Luckily we had dried apples which I removed from hiding to feed the hungry pack.

After school, I tutored for an hour, rushed home to get my gym bag, toast a sun-dried tomato bagel, top it with olive oil spread, and run out the door to the bus. The bus never came but the next one 15 minutes later did. I was worried that I wouldn’t make it in time to my favorite yoga class… but luck was on my side. The instructor let me slip in 5 minutes late. After feeling strong, flexible, and balanced, I hit up the sauna, showered, then shopped. I was hungry after the workout so drank a fruit smoothie to hold me over. I included apples, blueberries, raspberries, banana, black berries and black currents.

It was apparently gold and green shopping day today. Lemon throat drops, black olives, agave, tofu, milk, apple sauce, pear, arugula, parsnips, beats, cucumber, eggs, and cress sprouts.

Once home, I whipped up a Couscous Greek Salad

Whole wheat couscous, tomatoes, cucumber, black olives, chickpeas, feta cheese, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

It would be a sin to eat couscous in anything other than my Tunisian bowl. I guess I thought I should be hungrier than I really was because I was only able to eat about 1/3 cup of this beautiful mess.

Maybe I was just subconsciously saving room for dessert. Avocado chocolate pudding and strawberries.

Eating these two together was chocolate covered strawberry heaven!

Now comes the part of the day when the Manic Monday begins to slow down into a hopefully Tame Tuesday. Time for dishes, tea, blog reading, and a warm bed!

I hope you had a gentle transition into the new week!

Read Full Post »

TGIF

I have a job I love. This has been a wonderful, fulfilling, enjoyable week, but still TGIF! Teaching is exhausting. By the time Friday rolls around, I just want to crash. And crash is what I plan on doing for the remainder of the day.

Breakfast- This Friday started with a happy, healthy bowl of oats.

1/3 cup oats, milk, and water. Dash of salt. 1 mashed ripe banana. 1/3 cup chopped strawberries. Topped with more berries, flax, hemp, cinnamon, and coconut. Delicious!

I treated myself to a “special” coffee this morning. Germans don’t drink flavored coffee. When I visited the US last summer, I brought back 3 bags of hazelnut flavored coffee. My stash is almost empty- I usually do half special and half normal. Luckily my Grandma sent some more yummy flavors at Christmas to hold me over! Oh, and the beautiful quilt you see beneath my food, yeah, my talented mother made that!

Morning Snack- Total sugar load, oops!

Trail mix- pumpkin and sunflower seeds, raisins, and butterscotch chips.

I wasn’t planning on this little delight- stollen! It is actually a Christmas cake but I would eat it any time of the year! I also had a really strong Earl Grey tea alongside this sweet cake.

Lunch- Leftover Red Curry Coconut Soup

I ate about 10 times that amount of bread. No joke.

After school snack- Almonds!

I may have also eaten peanut butter dabbed in chocolate chips at some point in time this afternoon.

Dinner- Tofu Tacos

Tofu taco “meat” with kidney beans, tomato, avocado, lettuce, and plain yogurt. I also had 2 glasses of red wine this evening while cooking, eating, and relaxing post-dinner. What can I say? It’s Friday!

Dessert- From my starred google reader folder to my mouth- finally, Gina’s Coco-cado Pudding!

Hidden inside this decadent pudding is an avocado, almond and sunflower butter, coconut oil, agave nectar, coco powder, vanilla, and sea salt.

This pudding is so rich I can only eat a few spoonfuls at a time. Absolutely Amazing. Gina, you are a genius!

Earlier this week I had  a spinach talk with my colleagues during our lunch break. You see, Germans love spinach but only in the frozen form. It is very difficult to find fresh BABY spinach here. Many of my colleagues know my struggle for spinach and last week the Aussies picked up a huge bag of beautiful spinach for me. I was telling them how I was able to use every last bit of the spinach and mentioned putting it in smoothies. That was it. Since then, I have been teased endlessly about my spinach smoothie love affair.

I’m thinking about sneaking this yummy pudding onto the staff room table. I just know everyone would go crazy over it! Maybe once they taste avocado pudding, they may consider spinach smoothies!

That will do it for me today! Have a wonderful Friday everyone!

Read Full Post »