Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts

Monday, December 29, 2014

Christmas in Germany is what I imagine most families everywhere do. Family you haven't seen in a year drive over and you gather at one place to eat until you don't ever want to hear the word 'food' again. I never experienced such a Christmas because my family outside of its immediate members reside in Japan and living in NY never made it easy to come together. Now it's almost routine to ask Oli which house we're going to on which day and what we should bring and wear.

The morning of Christmas Eve was a peaceful one.



The tree was ready and I had finally finished wrapping the gifts to put under the tree!!


I also made some pancakes! Pancakes are kinda my specialty. If I'm not feeling creative but want a nice breakfast, pancakes are my go to. Pancakes + holiday music = the best way to spend the morning.

After breakfast we went to Oli's mother's house. Her house was literally covered in cute Christmas decorations.





After many hours of tea, coffee, cake, card games, and dinner, we went back home to sleep. It's normal in Germany to open gifts on Christmas Eve but to stay true to my American tradition of opening gifts on Christmas morning, we decided to sleep and wait til the next day to open presents.


The smoking figure Oli put out for Christmas.




Sorry for the photos from blursville and my red puffy face (was a bit under the weather) but we were excited to open gifts!

The gift I was most excited about was the one I gave Oli.

Oli has a pair of Adidas sneakers that he literally wore TO DEATH in the past 3 years. I had several ideas for gifts over the past 2 months or so but then it hit me to replace his sneakers because I knew that unless they fell apart on his feet, he probably wouldn't replace them. I got him the same exact model and great gaggling goose, look at the difference!!! Mind blown.

After present opening and cat feeding, we got to work in the kitchen preparing food for ourselves.


Honestly doesn't get much more German than this, does it?

It was a really nice few days just talking, eating, and playing games. I think it's kind of crazy how this year just flew by and it's already nearing the end of 2014 and the start of 2k15! I am super excited for what's to come. Hopefully this blog will see some positive changes as well. Look forward to my next post, which will be a continuation of some Christmas fun!

Christmas in Brandenburg

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

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'

Wednesday, November 19, 2014



Thanksgiving is only 9 days away and all I can think about is pumpkin pie. Even though the holiday is non-existent here in Germany (there is Erntedankfest, which is a day meant to give thanks to nature's bounty), it's not hard to convince people to gather around a table full of delicious food and enjoy each other's company. My parents would always wake up early the morning of and start preparing food while the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade aired in the background.

One of my favorite dishes on the table was always brussels sprouts. Growing up, I never understood why some people didn't like them because I always thought they were scrumdiliumcious! I love mine roasted with garlic and a bit of salt. The moment they come out of the oven I go to town on those bad boys. So of course I'm including a recipe on my blog! And to take it a step further, I thought I'd make a soup of it because who doesn't love to warm up with a nice bowl of soup?

Roasted Brussel Sprout Soup
Serves 6

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb (750 gr.) brussels sprouts
2 tbsp olive oil + 1 tbsp for sautéing
------------------------
3 cups chopped leek
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 1/2 cups of water
1 1/2 cups of vegan heavy cream (I used oat cream)
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
2 tbsp maple syrup
salt & pepper
chopped hazelnuts for garnish

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F or 200 C. Cut off the brown ends of the brussels sprouts and remove any yellow outer leaves before halving them. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the brussels sprouts onto the sheet. Drizzle the 2 tbsp of olive oil on top and massage them until they're evenly coated (fastest way is to get your hands dirty!) Pop them into the oven for 35-40 minutes.
In the last 10 minutes of roasting, prepare your leek and garlic. Put a soup pot over medium high heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the leek and garlic and sauté for 3-4 minutes (until the leek is tender). Add the roasted brussels sprouts and water, then bring the heat down to low. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Mix in the vegan cream, then cover and let it sit for an additional 10 minutes before adding the thyme, parsley, salt, pepper, and maple syrup. Puree with an immersion blender. Serve with chopped hazelnuts and enjoy!

Roasted Brussels Sprout Soup

Thursday, April 24, 2014

I have a bad habit of sleeping late, waking up early, and then just powering through the day and sleeping late again. Please excuse me if I start writing gibberish because my brain is rusting. Now onto content (what a horrible introduction)!


I recently went to see the Russian Ravens play in Mitte. I'm not just saying this because I know the band members (okay, Oli is totally the drummer) but seriously, they are great! I definitely had moments of Explosions in the Sky feels the first time around. The only set back is I have no idea what they're saying because the lyrics are all in Russian.

Also, I've been experimenting in the kitchen a lot more.


I bought these soy pellets to test out. You just soak them in water or broth and they become a sort of meat substitute. I'm really used to eating fake meat so it's not out of the norm for me but for any meat eaters out there, don't expect this to taste like what you're used to.

I also have been doing a lot of baking.


Gluten Free, vegan, and sugar free is really tricky if you don't have the right ingredients. In fact, I still don't have the right ingredients (much harder to find arrowroot powder or xantham gum here casually).

I did manage to create an edible sad brick!


Tada! It even has glue on top. Okay, it wasn't half bad (I just need to work on texture). But seriously, doesn't it look tragic?

Finally on Easter (or rather the night before), I went to a huge fire near Oli's house.




It's actually a practice here in Germany to have Easter fires. There are many in the more suburban parts of Berlin and Brandenburg, and they have little shows and play schlager music (it's the music you imagine drunk German people dance to). Definitely a cozy way to spend a brisk evening.


I stick out like a sore thumb.

What did you guys do for Easter?

The Last Few Days

Wednesday, December 25, 2013


Merry Christmas!

Hello everybody and Merry Christmas Eve to you all! I know I've been showcasing my photos from Paris lately but I thought it was only appropriate to [finally] make my Christmas Market post I promised a little while back. So here are the photos from the Christmas Market in Gendarmenmarkt!
Also read to the end for some exciting news and to figure out where Part I is!


The entrance was very pretty as was the large Christmas tree!


Christmas Market at Gendarmenmarkt Part II

Sunday, December 8, 2013

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

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Hello lovely people and welcome to December! It's been quite a busy week for me the past week. Mainly looking around for gifts but also applying for health insurance here in Berlin. I swear the receptionist knows me by face now because I'm constantly there and this ridiculousness that every time I go, the person I spoke to the last time is not there because they are on holiday. Well, it's all settled now and now it's time to focus on other more fun things.

First things first, Nikolaustag. What is Nikolaustag? Well in Europe on the 5th of December, there is Nikolausabend (Nicholas Evening), where children put out their boots (Oli told me after they've been cleaned) so St. Nicholas will drop by and fill it with treats and gifts. Then on December 6th, the official day, the children wake up to the goodies in their shoes. St. Nicholas is also accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, who is said to be a sort of demon that plays tricks on the children if they are not good. I just wanted to mention all of this because it is tonight and even if you're not in Germany or Europe, if someone you know has been a sweetheart, maybe you can surprise them with a bag of sweeties in their shoes.

Now on to my review of Cha no Ka! Cha no Ka is a green tea sandwich cookie made in Kyoto, Japan. Here is an official photo:


My mother just recently got a hold of some of these cookies through work and she sent me a box along with a few other things in a recent package. So here is my first impression and review!



First off, adore the box. The Japanese really put a lot of effort into presentation. It would also be nice to re-use the box maybe for small things or cover it in wrapping paper for gifting.


It's recommended to eat them as soon as possible and be kept under 28 degrees C. The cookie itself is a crispy butter cookie with white chocolate in between. If you love the taste of green tea, this is a definite winner! It's just the right amount of sweet from the white chocolate to balance out the bitterness of the matcha flavor. Having just one is really hard so I suggest if you ever get some of these to put the lid back on as soon as possible so you don't eat them all.
 
It's a short review but I thought it would be nice to share my experience with something a bit more exotic than Teddy Grahams or Pepperidge Farm. Happy Thursday everyone!

Leading up to Nikolaustag and Cha no Ka Review

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Happy November everyone! I took a bike ride this morning and can I just say what lovely riding weather it was? Not much wind, not too cold or hot, just amazing. I hope the rest of the month is like this.

So yesterday was Halloween and as you may or may not know, Halloween is not a big thing in Berlin. In fact, it's not even a thing. Some kids go trick or treating for the candy, but their costumes are not even costumes! Maybe due to that fact, I thought it only natural to have a Halloween party and invite the coolest cats in town.

I was too poor for decorations but see what a pack of colored paper can do.


Yes, those are cats (not rats as someone mistook them for)

I also went a little nutzo in the kitchen and prepared what ended up being more food than we needed (thanks everyone for bringing the nosh!) I initially thought about making chocolate skeleton cookies but decided it would be much more fun to doodle Halloweenie things on round chocolate cookies instead (ha, weenie)<---yes I am 4 years old.




The mess is scary I know.

Here is the finished snack table, complete with garlic knobs (not exactly knots), eyeball meatballs, and the Schoko-Kekse!


Halloween Party Party

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