Not quite Spring, but almost...

Hello friends! I know the question on everyone's mind: is it Spring yet in Berlin? The answer is: kind of. Its like, sunny and stuff, and everyone's out in the park, there are one or two flowers popping out, but.... its still winter coat weather, and any lying around in the park is primarily based on wishful thinking rather than inviting weather.

Oh well. A few more days I think. At any rate, this sort of nervous, not-really-spring-not-really-winter holding pattern seems to be pushing people a bit to the brink... everyone seems to be in a bad mood, some arsonist is setting prams on fire in apartment buildings all over the city, and on top of it all, there was the recent death of poor Knut, the Berlin zoo's famously abandoned polar bear and somewhat of a Berlin mascot. And I'm sure you guys are aware of what's been going on in Japan and Libya. Not to mention the death of the fabulous Liz Taylor. Alright, there's a lot of reasons to feel un-springlike. But despite the last vestiges of winter gloom, I have to admit, its getting better, its getting better all the time...

And I've been making (if not photographing) a ton of food! Have you guys all seen the PPK's food blog, run by Isa Chandra Moskowitz? Its amazing, because its authored by our favorite trusted cookbook author, but features some simpler or quicker things to try out for dinner (and other meals). I've recently made the chipotle sweet potato chili and the red curry soup with rice, and both were simple and sublime. Great resource for those of you who don't own a PPK cookbook yet... hahaha, like there's anyone out there like that.

In addition, I recently made my own chipotle plantain enchiladas, because my friends needed some cheering up after the whole depressing "Knut incident", as well as some weekend pancakes, since I needed some cheering up after the whole depressing "winter incident". These are B's oatmeal pancakes, covered in bananas, soy yogurt, and agave nectar. Needless to say, they were cheering.

And in a few weeks, when my paycheck is here, the weather makes up its mind to stay nice, and I have a fellow American visitor in town(albeit, no vegetarian) I'm expecting that I will be even more cheered! After all, its almost Passover, almost summer, and almost time to pick up again and head to another B-named European city... Budapest!

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And almost forgot to mention: if you are indeed unhappy about some of the events going on recently there's no reason to just sit around feeling helpless and stuffing your face with enchiladas. There are a ton of vegan bake sales going on all over the world to benefit Japan (this list has some for Japan as well as other causes.) And over at Chocolate Covered Vegan, Katie is holding a virtual bakesale to benefit Japan, which you can read all about here.

And if you are sad about Elizabeth Taylor, do yourself a favor and rent A Place in the Sun or one of her other classics. Curl up, and soak in the divine.