Good News/ Bad News

Why is it, lately, that every bit of good stuff has to come with equally proportionate bad stuff? (I know, that was really eloquent, let's just go with it.) For example, this weekend I went to Copenhagen to visit my friend Ted. (Good!) But now I'm sick. (Bad.) I found a free English language novel on the side of the road the other night, and it was getting pretty interesting! (Good!) But I left it on the airplane. (Bad.) I found a nearby store that sells Masa Harina so I can make tamales! (Good!) But its imported and costs 8 f*cking euros a bag. (Doh!)

And perhaps the most important piece of news straddling the good/ line is my new job. On the one hand, its a job! That's super good, because I'm beyond broke and I really want to go intern in Budapest this summer, so I need to find some income, and fast. Onnnnn the downside... its a job as a "putzfrau" for a pre-school. So I'm basically walking around with a mop, broom and vacuum cleaner and trying to clean surfaces faster than babies can expel bodily fluids onto them. It is, so far, a losing battle. So yeah, that's bad.

But at least, when I come home sore and smelling of baby powder (or worse) there's still the old, and almost free standby of Hutspot- mashed potatoes with add-ins (in this case sauerkraut and apples.) It's always so comforting, and makes me feel a little better about my terrible low-wage torture job (even if it does remind me of baby food, a little.)


So what if things aren't perfect? Good/ bad is way better than bad/ bad, and maybe I'm even on the way to good/good...

Is it really so strange?

So wouldn't you know that just when I get this awesome trio of faux-micro lenses for my camera AND cook up Viva Vegan's feijoada twice in one week, I realize I left my damn camera charger in the USA. And I know that you vegan blog folks are just like frat boys (in one respect): "Pics or it didn't happen."

So I will have to take a little break until my camera charger comes back, but in the meantime please entertain yourself with some tidbits from around the internets:

*First off: dude, Terry Hope Romero has just posted on her blog that she is starting on a new vegan World Foods cookbook. If that wasn't exciting enough, she and Isa are apparently completing their trilogy of dessert cookbooks with one on...wait for it.... PIE. Dude. Best trilogy since Lord of the Rings. I am so freaking stoked.

*Mark Bittman generally has great shit on his Times column, The Minimalist, and this last week he put up a little how-to on making pancakes from a variety of cooked grains and spices. The recipe has an egg, but as you all know by now, you can also up the baking powder slightly to alter these recipes to vegan perfection. (Cardamom scented oatmeal pancakes with apricots, yum!)

*My boyfriend and I are planning to quit smoking officially on Valentines day this year and are spending the next month amping up on inspiration and ideas on how to do so effectively. This article, describing how even one cigarette can instantly damage your DNA, is just the kind of knowledge I need.

*I really love Design Sponge in general, as it is the only real heir to the dead mag Domino, but I especially adore their before and after category, where they turn fugly furniture and rooms into specimens of beauty. Maybe you have a dresser or broom closet that can benefit from a creative makeover?

*And finally, the Post Punk Kitchen is having a little cookbook challenge in the next 12 weeks. You probably have most of these cookbooks, and if not the internet has a surprising number of recipes from all of them, why not play along?

See you when the mail comes...

Quinoa Corn Chowder

Perhaps a future chapter in my autobiography will read as follows:


"I shall always remember the first occasion on which I realized that soups could change my life. It was the winter of 2011, and I faced a dangerous trifecta of unemployment, ever-growing debt, and a kitchen practically devoid of fresh food. As I often did during those dark times, I sat on the kitchen cabinet drinking coffee, absent-mindedly flipping through cookbooks, and waiting for the phone to ring offering me a job. As the radio blasted monotonous German electro-pop, I came across a recipe in Terry Hope Romero's now classic, Viva Vegan, Quinoa Corn Chowder with Limas and Aji. I sighed... oh, those fat summer days, when both sweet summer corn and money were plentiful! I pined for the past, before law school, when the world seemed full of meals and possibilities.

Suddenly, I realized: I had some frozen sweet corn in the freezer! Racing to my pantry I discovered I also had quinoa, some red beans, and a passable number of the spices! With a gleam in my eye, I gathered my last few cents and raced to Kaisers, hoping to find a decent avocado to round out my meal. Miraculously, on the top of the pile sat the last passably ripe avocado, beckoning to me.

A few hours later, I sat with S., staring at my creation: bursting with corn, plumped quinoa, red beans, a warming spicy broth, and ripe chunks of avocado, it looked amazing. And friends, it was. I sent up a quick prayer of thanks to God for blessing the planet with that celebrated genius Romero, and dug in. Maybe things were just about to turn around, I thought to myself. If I can eat like this when the money has dried up, just imagine what I can do when that phone finally rings..."

And then hopefully the next chapter will be about when Angela Merkel calls to personally offer me a job heading up the brand new German open-borders refugee agency... or at least that Irish pub finally hits me back for a waitressing gig.

Song of the Day: Die Sterne- Universal Tellerwascher

The year that was...

January:
The Black Sea, Bagels, and Beans

February:

Poverty-inspired flour mania- Pancakes, Spaetzle and Gnocchi from scratch

March:

My little brother comes to visit and I embarrass him in front of all the great sites in Europe. For revenge, he steals my favorite coat and still hasn't given it back.

April:

Passover tapas for all my friends in Brussels, despite a tragic lack of Manischevitz wine.

May:

Springtime in Berlin gets off to an auspicious start when I invent the life-changing Chipotle Plantain Enchiladas.

June:

Love is in the air in Berlin, and to celebrate I eat lots of red things, like cherries and rhubarbs. Meanwhile, we pack up and move into a new apartment.

July:

Summer brings lots of weddings in the US, and (perhaps in response?) I develop a strange affinity for miniature pies. And a strange dis-finity for wedding registries. Take that, married people!

August: Apparently, nothing happens in August. I just sit on the roof of the new place and eat more pie. (Not too shabby, me!)

September:

Oh wait, now I remember what I was doing in August, writing my dissertation! In September that baby is all turned in, so I celebrate by making lots of pierogies, hosting a Rosh Hoshana dinner, and finding a thousand and one things to do with CSA plums.

October:

In October, having failed to immediately obtain a job upon graduation, I go into a housewife-like baking frenzy and serve S. gourmet meals, like crepes, every night in desperate response to my certain future as failed lawyer.

November:

I attempt my first Vegan Mofo, cooking up lots of delicious things to impress you at first, only to drop out towards the end because of a flu caught in England. Bloody Brits.

And finally, December, as seen immediately below, was a whirl of holiday traveling and a good time had by all. (Well, except for the actual traveling part.)

All in all, this year was one of the brokest and most nerve-wracking years of my life, but I also made a lot of new friends, fell more in love with my boyfriend, and got to know yet another city and another language. I can also honestly say that I feel more confident in my cooking skills than ever before, partially because of said stress and brokeness. Turns out, deprivation inspires creativity! But you vegans already knew that. Stay tuned for food-related new years resolutions (yes, I have so many resolutions that I have to make categories.)

Happy New Years, internet!

Christmas in the USA

The Russian Tea Room in NYC

Aaaaah, the holidays. Those precious occasions when you stare at departures screens for hours hoping your flight/ train/ camel isn't cancelled like all the rest, arrive home exhausted to see everyone you've ever known in a never-ending parade, and stuff yourself fuller and fuller of rich food. It's pretty exhausting, right?

However, also fun. I'm back in full-on USA mood, with all the attendant benefits of warm houses, a full pantry, and the Food Network. After a brief stop in New Jersey to see some relatives, my Mom and I headed up for a night in New York City; including a cocktail at my favorite over-priced NY institution, the Russian Tea Room (above.)

Back home for Christmas, we had a fabulous brunch with my Grandparents, with eggs benedict for the omnis and blueberry waffles, homefries, and veggie sausage for the vegetarians.

Needless to say, we were full until dinner. Actually beyond dinner! We had grand plans for a big feast with many components, but we basically down-scaled: tamales and a big salad. My Dad and I made and froze the tamales a week ago to avoid Christmas chaos, and the salad was an improvised delight.

Spinach with red bartlett pears, onions, pomegranate seeds and a dressing made from the following: 1 Clementine, 1 tsp. diced garlic, a splash of orange juice and couple tablespoons red wine vinegar, whirled in a food processor with enough olive oil to make it perfectly dressing-y.

The tamales were filled with a black bean and chipotle mixture and served with homemade tomatillo salsa, guac, roasted chipotle salsa, and soy sour cream.

Christmassy? I'm not sure. Delicious? Definitely. In fact, I had the same thing the next day. And now... back to my food coma. Hope everyone had and is having a great holiday, and that you were able to finish your dinner!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Hello my nice relaxed and calm blog friends. What, you're not all sitting in your warm houses baking cookies, content with the fact that you have purchased all presents and just waiting for the next lovely holiday party? Well, that's how I imagine you, in stark contrast to yours truly, who is rushing around in a steadily-building panic trying to accomplish every last thing before leaving for the US tomorrow. I'm facing such queries as, should I send all Xmas cards before leaving, so that people get the thrill of a genuine "Luftpost" from Germany, or should I save money but add to my packing by doing it in the US? And how many more presents can I buy today that say "Berlin" on them, to prove that I've thoughtfully been thinking of my American friends all year and not just buying them shit from Target?

I'm not asking for advice here, because basically all of these are unanswerable questions, the real solution to which is: go back in time and do it last week, saukerl!

But last week I was calm and relaxed, having dinner parties and making bagels and cinnamon rolls. Speaking of which, I can officially confirm that the perfect menu for non-vegan parent types is:
-Moroccan carrot dip from V'Con and bread
-A big garden salad with pears and homemade balsamic dressing
-Wild Mushroom Risotto

Cheap, filling, and not full of mysterious (to parents) ingredients like "chipotles" or "tofu".

And previously I finally got around to making Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, but this time I wasn't leaving it up to online recipes and just went ahead and gave it the old college try on my own. The result? Not too sweet, puffy and cinnamon-y rolls that were great out of the oven with a glass of soymilk, and even better in the next days reheated in the microwave. So here's my recipe, but as a warning I've only made these once so results may vary. (And here's more of a Joy of Cooking-style recipe format, to test it out.)

Hopefully, you are in a less hectic place than I am and have time for such pursuits!

***************
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

-1 packet yeast
-1 Tbs. sugar
-1/4 c. warm water

1.) In a large bowl, combine yeast and sugar then stir in warm water. Set aside for 5-10 minutes to "proof" the yeast.

-1 C. pureed pumpkin
-1/4 tsp. cinnamon
-1/4 tsp. nutmeg
-2 Tbs. maple syrup
-2 Tbs. veg oil
-1/4 C. soymilk
-pinch salt

2.) In a second bowl, combine above ingredients with a fork.

-3.5-4 C. all purpose flour

3.) Add pumpkin mixture to yeast mixture and sift in about 3 and 1/2 cups flour. Knead for 10 minutes, adding in more flour until you have a relatively smooth, not-too-sticky ball. Put ball in bowl that has a drizzle of oil, and flip to coat.
4.) Special tip from my friend Sara for better rising: Put rising bowl inside of another larger bowl containing rather hot water. Let rise for about an hour.

-3/4 C. brown sugar
-1/2 C. chopped almonds, pecans, etc.
-1/2 tsp. cinnamon

5.) When dough has risen, punch down and let sit for another 10 minutes or so. Meanwhile, mix above ingredients for the filling.
6.) On a lightly floured surface, place you dough ball and sprinkle with flour. Roll dough out to a large square of about 1/2" thickness. Sprinkle with your filling mixture, then carefully roll from the bottom, until you have a large "tube". You don't have to be much a perfectionist about this, in my opinion, you can manipulate the ends if they aren't perfect.

7.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees (175 C) and lightly oil or spray a brownie pan. With a sharp knife, cut tube into roughly 2" pieces and place them into pan, smooshing them against eachother if necessary. If outside dough is too floury, brush with a little bit of soymilk.

-1 C. powdered sugar
-2 Tbs. soymilk

8.) Bake rolls for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and meanwhile whisk together above ingredients to make a nice glaze. Drizzle glaze over finished rolls and consume with soymilk and a holiday movie.

**********

So the next time you hear from me I will be in the USA, hopefully eating large amounts of Thai and Mexican food! Good luck to anyone else embarking on holiday travel, and tchüss for now, Berlin!

Song of the Day: Cracker- Duty Free

Shivering in the Kitchen

Ah, my first real winter in Berlin. So far I've been torn between thinking, "Bah, I hate this weather, these gray skies, the fact that I can't understand Celsius enough to figure out what to wear, I hate this continent! winter!" and thinking, "SNOW! Pretty." But I suppose so long as I can reconcile myself to a lot of time spent indoors wearing German military grade long-underwear, I will eventually make it through to the other side. (I guess you can only imagine how I look sitting around all day in men's long underwear, swearing at the cold and applying to an ever broadening selection of jobs. Its pretty damn attractive, let me tell you.)

In the meantime, I'm trying to bring in sunshine via baking! What you see above is yet another batch of bagels (although that one has no hole, interesting) topped with peanut butter, bananas, and a drizzle of maple syrup, the very best thing about winter. I also attempted to make pumpkin cinnamon rolls the other day, as promised, but oddly the dough never rose! I tested the yeast so it should have, and I'll have to chalk this one up to the mysterious different flours in this country and their vastly different rising properties. Oh well.

Another delicious recent meal was the potato-mushroom enchiladas (rather than kale) from Veganomicon complimented, just for fun, with Venezuelan black beans and Orange rice from Viva Vegan. This wasn't exactly the kind of meal that you whip together in a few minutes, but I had some hungry friends coming over and suspected that Enchiladas alone would not do. (I usually make two batches and its still not enough for a small group.) I may have used every pot and pan in the kitchen, but everything turned out delicious- spicy, savory and sweet. And let's face it, as an unemployed and freezing cold American I have lots of time to spend in a nice toasty kitchen.
Song of the Day: The National- Conversation 16

From the Archives:
More Bagels!
More Enchiladas!
More Viva Vegan!

Vegan No-Fo

Well, I guess its time to admit that the end of Vegan Mofo was a big fail for me. This can be attributed to two factors:

A.) I was in England for 5 days, graduating from my Masters program. And although I thought this might make for exciting blogging material, I couldn't find anything to eat in that country! All I had ate the entire time were atrociously expensive french fries and beer. Even the one fancy vegan restaurant I singled out (Mildred's, in Pickadilly Circus) was freakishly closed the one night I made it there. But all was not totally lost, because I did indeed graduate, from Canterbury Cathedral which was lovely.

B.) Upon return home I promptly developed a horrible flu that kept me in bed for a week. During this time I missed Thanksgiving (AGAIN) and the last week of Vegan Mofo, in which I consumed nothing but oatmeal. But again, there's a silver lining, because I lost 10 lbs, just in time for the holidays, and kept all of the luscious food that was intended for Thanksgiving to dole out over the next few months.

Including the canned pumpkin that I have already put towards some delicious pumpkin pancakes from Vegan Brunch, topped with a dollop of cranberry sauce. Next stop, pumpkin cinnamon rolls, yuuuum.

In spite of the disappointing last couple weeks, I find it difficult not to be excited now: its Channukah, I have a lot of fun Christmas markets and parties to go to in the next few weeks, and soon I'll be in my parent's kitchen in the USA, cooking up a storm of my vegan favorites. And to make up for all the missed posting, I'll try to be vigilant about posting my holiday creations this year. Latkes, tamales, and tofu benedict, oh my!

So now back to my regularly scheduled blogging, and I look forward to drooling over what all you lucky Americans had for Thanksgiving dinner!

Song of the Day: AC/DC -Back in black

Soo-Youn's Kimbab (Korean vegetable hand-rolls)

My friend Soo-Youn makes these amazing Korean vegetable rolls (Kimbab) for me sometimes when we are studying. ("Studying" meaning drinking coffee, gossiping, and occasionally cracking the binding of a book.) They were her favorite food when she was a child, and I can see why: soft, sesame-flavored rice wrapped around crunchy cooked vegetables with a spicy, salty sauce, all in a seaweed wrapper perfectly designed for chubby little hands to grip. They're great for children, but cut into slices they also make an acceptably sophisticated appetizer or entree for discerning adults. Here's how its done, minus precise measurements because Soo-Youn don't play that. ("Just taste it! Can't you tell if its right?") Well, don't take my word for it, try them once and crave them forever after. And never, EVER call them sushi.

(Note: Seaweed wrappers, sticky rice and good quality sesame oil are essential for this recipe and can all be found at your local asian market (and maybe even at healthfood stores). Try looking for korean chili paste or "goju jang" to add to miso for a dipping sauce, and you're really in Korean delicacy heaven.)

Step 1 is to make the rice. The best way is to make it in a rice cooker, using short grain rice that is made for making sticky rice. Immediately after taking it out of the rice cooker, add it into a bowl and while its still steaming, add in some toasted sesame seeds, crushing them slightly with your hands. Also add in a hearty drizzle of sesame oil, a few pinches salt, and a little bit of vinegar (say, 1 tsp. per cup, or less.) Mix with your hands or a wooden spoon and set aside. (The taste changes as the sesame seeds infuse the rice.) You can always adjust it to taste later, it should be a bit smoky from the sesame, salty, and tangy from the vinegar. If you like it, its correct.

Step 2 is to cook the vegetables. Use a hot pan, a bit of oil, and cook one at a time any of the following julienned vegetables until crunchy but cooked: carrots, leeks, onions, mushrooms, eggplant, peppers, zucchini, radishes, etc. My friend uses eggs in hers as well, but you could also use thinly sliced and fried tofu. Pickles of some sort of also an option. Salt and pepper the veggies well when they are cooked. (The rationale for cooking seperately is that each vegetable takes a different amount of time to be perfectly "done".)

Step 3: Set up your work station with seaweed papers (plain, not toasted), the rice and a wooden paddle, and the vegetables. For each wrapper, pat a thick layer of rice down about filling about halfway up the sheet of seaweed. Then, place your selection of cooked veggies in the middle of that layer of rice. Carefully roll upwards, using your hands to even out the roll so it doesn't bulge too much on one side. (But messy is also ok.) If cutting, cut off to thin slices on the side (and pop into your mouth) then slice the remaining roll with a sharp knife into uniform slices. Like so:




Step 4: Serve with any sauce you like, (sriracha, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, etc) or the Soo-Youn special: a knob of asian chili paste (goju jang), and a few gulps of soy sauce and sesame seed oil. Mix well and toss in a few more sesame seeds or some thinly sliced leeks or scallions... so incredibly delicious.

A different variation on this recipe can be found here.

Song of the Day: The Smiths- Hairdresser on Fire

Brussels Sprouts Hash

I know that people are entitled to different opinions on brussels sprouts, but I love them so much I have confused them in my mind with junk food, and gobble them up like I'm going to get caught. If you haven't had them since you were a kid, now's a good time to give them a chance.

Today I made a simple "hash"- I fried some potato cubes in oil until browned, then tossed in messily sliced brussels sprouts, diced apple cubes, some chopped almonds, and salt and pepper. When everything was cooked and kind of burnt, I squeezed half a lemon on top. It was so heavenly- nutty and fresh and slightly sweet. I recommend you try it at home with whatever random ingredients you have at home. I myself might eat the same tomorrow.

It was definitely a nice lunch to prepare for an evening consisted of the sisyphean task of standing around holding up a large heavy board, and occasionally turning in time with some 30 other folks, all while remaining perfectly silent and still for 2 hours. (Part of an art project I mentioned yesterday, that I am getting paid for.) But tonight was the actual "performance" and actually, people really seemed to dig it! You see, we made like a maze with these boards, that changed in tune with the music to lock some people in and some people out. Since I was directed to stare only at the board, I didn't see people's reactions, but they seemed enthusiastic afterwards. And who can complain at getting paid to participate in real live art? I think I'm going to add to my cv... T: lawyer, performance artist, admirer of brussels sprouts.

Song of the day: The Clash- London Calling

Muffins and Performance Art

Although Berlin and DC are not entirely dissimilar, there are some major differences that can't be explained just by language or culture. For example, why do Germans like the band eels so much? Why do they largely prefer to roll their own cigarettes? Why is there such a bottomless pit of fondness for performance art? And why, oh why, do they have thousands of baked products of every type and assortment, but barely pay any attention to such classics as muffins, bagels, and cupcakes?

I've been trying to correct this by keeping lots of muffins and bagels around to tempt my friends and roommates. (Cupcakes, unfortunately, are out of reach at the moment as I have no hand-mixer for frosting.) The other day I made non-plum muffins for once, instead using apples and lots of cinnamon and topping them off with peanut butter caramel, in an act of mindless rebellion to use up the last drops of my precious Canadian maple syrup. However, I wasn't really able to spread the gospel of muffins since I ate almost all of them. But whatever.

As for the performance art affinity, I have gotten the opportunity to get an inside perspective, since I am actually participating in some today and tomorrow! Yes friends, I will stand in a dark auditorium, while ambient electronic music blasts from the speakers, and my colleagues and I will hold up large drywall pieces that we slowly spin around every 5 minutes. It is very meaningful, not mention tiring.

And although I have no idea what the hell the point is of this exercise, I am doing it anyways. First of all, because it is ART! And second, because I am getting paid 50€. I expect that this will make a large impact on the scene here, and I will hopefully become a very famous performance artist. And then I will be able to afford gallons of maple syrup and make as many muffins as I like! I'll let you know how it goes...

Song of the Day: Art Brut- Formed a Band

Cabbage Rolls and Potato Latkes

When you are low on cash, condiments are your friends. The simplest (and cheapest) things become special when there is some sauce or dip to accompany them. And if you're anything like me, than even when your fridge is completely devoid of veggies or fruits, you still have a boatload of random barbeque sauces, mustards, and curries.

So, being short on funds this week, we've been trying to eat as cheaply as possible and rely more on condiments to spice things up. Thursday night I made cabbage rolls: the leftover (non-moldy) inner pieces of a cabbage that had seen better days became a wrapper for mushrooms, onions, and almonds simply spiced. On the side was the real action: tahini-miso dressing, spicy soy+ chili sauce, and a simple mix of sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, and garlic. It was cheap and reminded me of the fancy days when I used to do things like "go to restaurants" and "order appetizers."

Friday evening was equally inexpensive and fabulous with S. whipping up a batch of latkes that we gobbled up with some apple sauce and washed down with a lot of beer. Potatoes+ onions+ a little bit of cornstarch and flour, and you are there. I've seen a lot of fancier recipes for vegan latkes, but if you are patient I think the flour and cornstarch method (outlined in more detail here) works wonders and takes less time. And who couldn't use some greasy, filling latkes once in a while?


song of the day: ELO- Mr Blue Sky