Winter is definitely the oddball season in Berlin. I can never tell when it begins, how long it's going to last, and when it's finally over. I learned to deal with it over time, but once in a while when I am walking around in leggings and summer socks, I realize that a. I am insane, and b. I am freezing. So you understand why I still need a bit of work adjusting to this strange time that is Berlin Winter.

Well I've been a bit busy this Winter, mainly with school, partly because I'm actually a witch at Hogwarts and I have a lot of potions to catch up on, so of course I whipped this one up in a flash in my magic cauldron. Oh wait, you muggles call it a blender. Okay, well, whatever you call it, it's MAGIC. Seriously, this persimmon pudding has the consistency of a pudding without the gelatin (not even vegan gelatin-substitute agar agar). Just wholesome, good for you ingredients. Did I not say I was magical?

Persimmon Pudding
Serves 1

1 persimmon/kaki, ripe to the point of bursting (I used a medium sized Hachiya variety)
1 apple (medium size)
3 dates (I used deglet nour)
2 teaspoons flax seeds
5 walnut halves
1/3 cup water

Put everything into a blender and blend until smooth. If not thick enough, add more walnuts. If too thick (or your blender has difficulty blending), slowly add a tablespoon of water at a time until desired consistency is reached.

It's perfect for breakfast and super filling! Guten Appetit!

Persimmon Pudding (raw, vegan, refined sugar-free)

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• by Aya S
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Hello readers, sorry for the long absence! I've basically been busy being a really lame routine person, dedicating most of my time to working out, studying, and my cat. She's actually sleeping next to me right now and I keep pausing every few seconds to stare and pet her (can you understand how typing out one sentence can take forever here?)

So recently I had a craving for some sweet rolled buns. Of course, I love my classic cinnamon bun, but I was just too excited to use the walnuts we cracked for this year and well, chocolate. So say hello to these delicious babies! I also swapped out sugar with maple syrup, which not only gives a nice robust flavor but you get the added benefit of zinc and manganese. Enjoy!

Chocolate Date Walnut Rolls
Makes 16-18 rolls

Dough:
2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
1 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup non-dairy milk
42 g cube fresh yeast or 2 teaspoons of dry yeast
3 tablespoons olive oil (or coconut, sunflower, rapeseed)
2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling:
100 g chopped dairy-free bittersweet chocolate (or chocolate chips)
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
6 finely chopped dried deglet nour dates
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons maple syrup

Heat the non-dairy milk until warm to the touch. Add the yeast, warm water, and a touch of maple syrup. Stir until well combined and set aside.

Mix the flours and salt together. Add the oil and maple syrup and stir. Slowly mix in the yeast mixture, stirring in the meanwhile until everything is well combined and it forms a ball. Cover the bowl with a towel and either let sit in the fridge over night or in a warm place for 1.5 hours

Flour your surface and roll out the dough into a 1/2 cm thick 3:4 rectangle, the longer side facing you. Mix the maple syrup and oil and spread evenly on the dough, using the back of a spoon. Distribute the chocolate, walnuts, and dates over the surface, leaving about a 2 cm edge all around. Roll the dough upwards and pinch and tuck the ends in to complete your roll.

Divide the roll into 16-18 pieces, wetting the knife inbetween to get clean cuts. Distribute the rolls between two baking trays covered in baking paper. Cover with a towel and let rise for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 360ºF/180ºC for about 6 minutes. Bake the rolls for 25 minutes (if it gets darker faster, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil until the baking time is up). Take out and let it cool before taking off the tray. Guten Appetit!

Chocolate Date Walnut Rolls

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• by Aya S
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It's December and that means the holidays are upon us. I don't know about you guys but I have already been pre-gaming for weeks (seriously guys, my body is made of cookies and mulled wine right now). With just a week left to go, I am frantically running around trying to collect some last minute gifts that are both thoughtful and useful because let's face it, when everyone on your list is older than you, you realize that cute pair of tongs that look like a monkey with cymbals is just not going to be appreciated in the same way you think it would.

Luckily, I have many distractions to keep my mind otherwise occupied.




The Advent Collection! To be fair, the penguin one is from last year and it's a somewhatkindofnotvery useful tool to learn German. Oh, and the Mini Mani Manor Advent Calendar from Ciaté is just . . . okay, no excuses, I just really wanted to spoil myself (I've only had an Advent Calendar once in my childhood!)

Then there was also Nikolaustag on the 6th, which as I've mentioned last year, is the day St. Nick comes by and drops off sweets to all the good chickadees of the world. So to all you non-believers out there, here is the proof:


Oh, you thought I meant the proof that St. Nick is real? Psych! I meant the proof that I've been good.

I also went to a few Christmas Markets. Here are a few shots from the one in Spandau (my first one this year!)





It was such a nice market! Way better than some of the central ones. If you are in Berlin and can visit the one in Spandau, I do recommend it!

Now I did mention cookies earlier, didn't I? I invited my friend Jaqueline over to make some sugar cookies with me a week ago. I've been experimenting with cookies for the past few months now so I decided to just kinda whip them up without a recipe and it turned out really well! They are very simple so it's important to use good ingredients, especially good vanilla extract. I've been making my own vanilla extract from some pods I ordered when I was back in NY and they have just taken my cookies to another level. You obviously don't have to make your own extract, but if you can splurge a bit, please use quality ingredients!


Simple Sugar Cookies
Makes 4 trays of cookies

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar (I used raw brown sugar)
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup vegan margarine
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or 1 packet (about 2 tsp) vanilla sugar
3 tbsp non-dairy milk (I used rice)
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F.

In a mixing bowl, cream your margarine together with the sugar. Add the vanilla. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the butter mixture, a third at a time, mixing along the way. Once it's well incorporated, the texture should be a bit sandy. Now add non-dairy milk, a tablespoon at a time (note: if you need more milk, add a tablespoon at a time until the dough forms a ball but is not sticky). Flour your surface and your rolling pin. Roll out the dough in segments, cutting out shapes with a cutter or knife and adding extra dough to the remains.

Place on a tray with baking paper and bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden. Take them out and cool before adding any type of frosting. Guten Appetit!

Simple Sugar Cookies and Christmas is Comin'

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Hello everyone and TGIF! Sorry I've been missing from the blog-o-sphere; I've been a tad occupied with school, babysitting, and working out. Also I've just seen the Aliens trilogy for the first time recently and didn't realize how amazing they are! Not to mention I watched Lord of the Rings for the first time this Summer too. Have I been living under a rock or what?

Speaking of rocks, this pie rocks.

. . . okay, that was an incredibly uncreative way to dive into the recipe but my brain is really only half functional at midnight anyway (do you feel me?) I'll make up for it by giving you this insanely delicious recipe. It's very similar to my raw apple tart from last year but with a few additional steps and ingredients.




Raw Vegan Apple Pie
Serves 6-8

Ingredients
Crust:
1 1/2 cups walnuts (you can also use almonds or a mixture)
8 pitted deglet noor dates (or 6 medjool dates), diced
1 tsp cinnamon

Filling:
1 1/2 cups walnuts, soaked in water
6 pitted deglet noor dates (4 medjool), diced
1 knob of ginger (about 1/2 tsp), minced
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 inch piece of vanilla, or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup water

Layer & Topping:
3 medium apples, thinly sliced

----------------------------------------

Soak the filling walnuts in water for at least 2 hours (the longer you soak, the softer and creamier they will be--if you have the time, soak overnight).

Prepare the crust: pulse in a food processor the nuts until they become coarse granules. Add the dates and the cinnamon and pulse until the "dough" comes together. Press into a 9 in/23 cm round cake pan (it's important to use one that unclips on the side for easy removal) and chill in the fridge until the filling is done.

Prepare the filling: drain the nuts and pour into the same food processor along with the 1/4 cup of fresh water. Depending on how long you soaked them and the power of your machine, it may take longer than a few minutes. Add the rest of the filling ingredients and pulse until a thick paste is formed and everything is well combined (make sure to scrape the sides every few seconds during this process for best results).

Prepare the pie: Take the crust out of the fridge and spread about 3-4 tablespoons of the filling mixture on top (essentially just enough to form a thin layer of the walnut cream). Now create a layer of sliced apples. Repeat these steps until the filling is used up and you have just enough apples to garnish the pie. Chill in the fridge for an hour before serving, then sprinkle cinnamon on top. Guten Appetit!

Raw Apple Pie

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• by Aya S
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It seems Fall brings out the desire in me to make raw treats. It makes absolutely no sense since the colder it gets, the more people are likely to want to turn on the oven. Well for me, I get mega lazy this time of year. We're talking let-me-drink-this-chai-tea-for-several-hours-while-watching-youtube-wrapped-in-my-ikea-blanket lazy. So if I can just whip up a dessert without turning on the oven and cutting baking paper to fit the bottom of my cake pan, I will.

Now I'm going to try and refrain from saying this is one of the best things I've made lately on a whim BUT GUYS, this is really freaking good. I want to take this gooey mess and put my face all up in it the way Bruce Bogtrotter did with that chocolate cake in Matilda. Except it's not a punishment. Oh, and it's dare I say it, good for you.

Raw Chocolate Walnut Brownie
with Cinnamon "Cream Cheese" Frosting
Makes 4 Brownies

For the Brownie
3/4 cup of dates, pitted (mejool or deglet noor dates preferrably)
1/4 cup of almonds, ground
1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
pinch of sea salt
walnuts for studding

For the Frosting
1/2 cup of walnuts, soaked + 1 tbsp of soaking water
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp maple syrup or 2 dates

Start by soaking your frosting walnuts in water for 30 minutes, making sure the water covers them completely.

Chop up dates into pieces and place in a blender or food processor. Pulse until it comes together to form a sticky paste (if your dates are not soft enough, have them soak in water for 15 minutes before pulsing). Add your ground almonds and pulse again. Pour out into a bowl and add the cocoa and sea salt. Mix with a spoon until the mixture is the same dark brown throughout (it might seem crumbly at first but it will eventually come together). Using plastic wrap, shape the "dough" into a 6" x 6" square. Push in walnut pieces throughout the square, then wrap and store in the fridge.

In the meanwhile, drain your walnuts, leaving a tablespoon of the soaking water. In the same machine you used to pulse the dates, do the same for the walnuts until it has a chunky cream cheese like consistency. Add cinnamon and maple syrup (or dates if you want to keep it purely raw).

Cut the brownie into 4 squares. Top with the frosting and top with walnuts and extra cinnamon if you'd like. Enjoy!

Raw Chocolate Walnut Brownie with Cinnamon "Cream Cheese" Frosting

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No matter the day or the mood, I want chocolate. I want chocolate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I want chocolate on a boat, I want chocolate with a goat, in a house with a mouse, I want chocolate here and there, I want it everywhere!

All that being said, I do like to spread the wealth. What is chocolate without a friend to share it with? These chocolate cake truffles are the perfect bite, enough to go around. And what's more, your friends can help you decorate them too!

Vegan GF Chocolate Cake Truffles
Inspired by Oh-She-Glows Chocolate Cake Balls
Makes ~28 cake balls

Cake Ingredients:

Dry:

1/2 cup Soy Flour (non-gmo, organic)

1/2 cup Corn or Oat Flour

1/2 cup Tapioca or Glutinous Rice Flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted

1/2 cup unrefined raw cane sugar or 45 drops of Stevia Extract

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

Wet:

1 cup non-dairy milk

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup neutral oil

Coating:

175 grams of semi-sweet chocolate or dark (I mixed semi-sweet with 85% dark chocolate)

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Measure out all the dry ingredients into one bowl, making sure to mix with a wooden spoon to combine and de-clump everything. Then add the vinegar, oil, and milk, mixing after each. When everything is combined, pour the batter into a 11" x 7" (28 x 18 cm) baking pan/dish and bake for approximately 35 minutes (the top should spring back but the center should be a tad moist, the key to the cake sticking).

Take out of the oven and let cool in the pan until the pan is warm enough to handle with bare hands. Release the cake into a bowl and crumble apart with your hands. Form about 28 uniform balls.
Place them on a plate and let chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

10 minutes before taking the plate out, melt the chocolate. You can use the bain-marie method, breaking chocolate into a bowl or pot placed over another pot filled with water (being careful not to let the water and top bowl touch). Place on the stove and let the water boil while the steam melts the chocolate. You can also microwave the chocolate in 30 second intervals, making sure to stir each time so nothing burns.
Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper, then prepare your toppings. Nuts, cocoa powder, shredded coconut, dried/candied fruit are all good options.

Take the balls out and immerse each one in chocolate, only doing a few at a time. Once the ball is evenly coated, fish it out with a fork and let the excess drip off. Place onto the parchment paper. Now you can choose to decorate as you go along or do it after you've dipped everything in chocolate. The key is to do it before the chocolate cools and hardens.

After everything is decorated and to your liking, place the tray in the fridge and let cool until the outer shell hardens. Guten Appetit!

Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Truffles

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• by Aya S
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I have been a very bad girl.



It all started with an innocent stroll around town. I already had my first gelato in Verona. It was okay, the guy behind the counter was nice, and it made for a pleasant end to the day. Suddenly I see a corner packed with people and a line coming outside a store. People emerging with cups and cones of gelato and whipped cream, chatting away in Italian.



I knew then that it was fate and that I had to return to try what clearly looked like a potential party in my mouth. Naturally after the first time, I came back two more times (and I'm not even going to tell you how many times Oli and I debated on whether it would be okay to get back on line for a second cone).





The store is adorable and kitschy (as all trendy places are now a days). They also had a fridge of what looked like incredible cakes that we never got to try because every time we went into their shop, we became gelato junkies.
Yes guys, we struggled to return to reality each time.



The product in question is absolutely lovely! First they drip your choice of melted dark or white chocolate into the tip of the cone, then you get to choose 2 flavors from their selection. I loved every flavor I chose so I'm guessing you can't really go wrong. They don't do very unique and far out there flavors like I've seen in other gelaterias in Rome and Florence, but what they do do (which are Italian classics such as Fior di Latte, Stracciatella, and Zabaione), they do very well.




Luckily La Romana is a chain and you can find one in various cities around Italy. Buon Appetito!

La Romana Gelateria
Piazza Santo Spirito, 9 37122 Verona, Italy

La Romana Gelateria in Verona

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Hey guys, as you may or may not know, I am currently in my hometown New York City! My flight consisted of an overnight layover in Helsinki, so I hit up my friend Marinka and we did a quick tour of the central area. It quickly became something of a food tour since, well, it's me, and there were just so many foreign foods to try!


My first night in, my friend Marinka picked me up from the airport and we went to a 24-hour grocery store. I have YET to find a 24 hour store in Berlin, especially on a Sunday, so I am in awe at how much more advanced Helsinki is already. But more so, I was intrigued by this Licorice flavored ice cream??! Finns love their licorice, eh?


The loot from the grocery store. Oh and I had that Susu bar yesterday and it reminds me of Twix candy bars.

The next morning we walked by a farmer's market near the ports.



THIS. It's OMG-good. It's like having your fish and chips in one go. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the fish or what this snack is called so if anyone knows, please inform me!

After maybe 20 minutes or so, we spontaneously decided to look for reindeer. It sparked from Marinka's idea to go get some reindeer waffles but because the place was closed, we went to a gourmet food store in the basement of a department store instead.




The man at the counter was so friendly and also recommended a lingonberry tart. It was very good--it's not a sweet berry so it went well with the savory tart. The reindeer, I concluded, tastes like a smoked ham. It could be the way it was prepared in the dish (also Marinka said the texture is quite different in real life) but none the less, it was salty and delicious.


Browsing the supermarket portion of the department store, I was somehow amused by a cereal called "Rude Health."

And then we found this jelly!


I have never heard of cloudberries before! I did a bit of research and they seem to be indigenous to Northern Europe and Canada. I wanted to take a jar with me so badly but we couldn't find a jar 100g or smaller (I only had a carry on so it was vital that it fit those requirements). I hope one day I can try this fantasticle sounding fruit . . .

Finally we ended up at Frazer cafe. It was quite big and pretty full of people enjoying lunch. I was completely distracted by all the cute Moomin goodies they had before heading to the pastry aisle and picking something out.




A butter eye? Well, it makes sense since it's buttery on top and looks like an eye. The taste was pretty similar to a Swedish cinnamon roll so in other words, I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I really want to come back to Helsinki and visit the other islands (and try to swing for a day other than Monday, when all museums are closed). I hope you guys liked what you saw and if you know of anything I should try in Finland but missed, let me know! Ciao!

Eating in Helsinki!

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Hello lovely people! I'm here in Berlin just trying to squeeze in a little post before I go off to Body Attack class. Can I just say how exhausting that class is? There's barely any time to rest and it's full on cardio mayhem! The first time I took it, we were doing all the things I hate but is really effective (lunges, squats, push ups, etc.) and I thought to myself Gee, at least we're not doing Burpees. Then during the next song, we totally did Burpees! It's like the instructor knows how to torture me. Fortunately, it's really helping balancing out the ridiculous amount of sweets I'm eating this time of year.

For example, who can say no to Stollen or Dominosteine (Domino Stones) when you're in Germany?



The stollen was super yummy and something I often think I should bake on my own. Then I realize it wouldn't be good because I would just eat the whole loaf by myself. Again, I am a monster with sweets.
Also this is how the winter here is starting to look like:


Went for a wee bike run and basically all I saw were grey clouds. Oh how welcoming you are Brandenburg (note the slight bit of sarcasm there).

Also we got our first bottles of Glühwein to drink! It literally means "Glow Wine" and it is hot wine mixed with holiday spices (things like orange peels, cinnamon, and nutmeg). It's very popular at Christmas Markets (which you will see in a future post), and it's also sold in grocery stores this time of year.
I love the festive labeling!

Last but not least, I went a little crazy with the holiday goodies to send to my family back in NY. This is the bulk of it and I'm also including a few other things I think my mom would enjoy. It's basically just a nice thank you package for the holidays because I think they would quite enjoy trying some treats that are a bit more rare in NY (for example, there is Haribo and Ritter Sports and Bahlsen back home but not the flavors I'm sending them). I hope that they don't see this but on the off chance they do, just know that not everything is revealed here.



So that is it for today! I don't know if you like seeing these "What I ate" type posts but I think it's fun to see some of the more German things I've been putting into ma belly. I think I should also do a recipe post soon but for now, have a happy happy Sunday and I talk to you soon!

German Sweets and Glowing Wine

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• by Aya S
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