Back in Berlin

Home sweet home... I've missed it!
And I noticed that I missed it a lot more than I thought I did now that I'm back. The dirty air, the bitchy people, the angry faces, the fact that you feel like you actually live in Turkey, the wide streets and sidewalk, the ridiculously small fietspaad, the dog shit everywhere, the smell of Döner on every corner, the late night supermarkets, the ability to drink as much beer on the street as your heart desires, everything!

Oh and of course the fact that there are more than 2 supermarket chains. And the fact that I have two organic ones in a 2 minute walking distance away from home. Stocked up on vegan cookies, crackers, mango strips and all kinds of fruit and yogurts haha!

And since school started I figured I'd need some energy to concentrate (plan didn't fan out though, I was tired as hell and not listening at all...). Spelt müsli with dried pears and raisins, topped with plain soy yogurt, apple-mango puree, fresh apple & banana slices and dried cranberries.



I can't even recall when the last time was that I had breakfast so early in the morning. Realized I don't like eating so early. Give me coffee and I'm in heaven! Oh yeah fuck, I have to start buying coffee again. Means I'll drink much less now that I have to pay 1€ per cup. So I'll probably go from around 10+ cups of coffee a day to around 3 or 4. I know that this is supposed to be a good thing, but I feel like someone who gets their baby taken away from her, haha!

Anyway, I'm glad to have my kitchen back which means finally getting my hands on an oven again. Ah, the simple things =)

Chocolate Chip Ginger Waffles & Lemon Corn Waffles

The 40 € I spent on my new waffle maker/sandwich maker/grill were well invested!

Today as a pre-dinner snack (odd I admit, but I craved some yummy waffle-berry action) I had Ginger Chocolate Chip Waffles with selfmade apple-mango puree, red grapes, blueberries and raspberries.
The combination of ginger and chocolate really has become a new favorite of mine ;)



I used Jennas recipe for Chocolate Chip Whole Wheat Waffles, using spelt flour, a Tbsp. of apple-mango puree instead of oil, an additional Tbsp. corn meal and 1/2 tsp. ground ginger (definitely could've used more).



They were devine!



I wish I had my own Niles at home who'd bring me a plate like this to bed every morning!



Yesterday I invited my Dad over for some Lemon Corn Waffles (from VwaV).



Lots of fruit on the side (honeydew, watermelon, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, apple, grapes and banana) and a soy macchiato of course...



... aswell as strawberry jam... (can't you just feel the crispyness from looking at this picture?)



... and apple-mango puree (1/4 cup mango chunks blended with 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce)



Nothing beats those crispy crunchy fantastic Lemon Corn Waffles!!! Especially with blueberry sauce as she recommends.

I'm off to cook soon. My mom's coming back and I'll make Pesto Spaghetti (they also taste incredible on their own) with Pesto and my standard salad: lamb's lettucce with mango and roasted sunflower seeds!

Hope you had a nice weekend! =)

Pink Summer Oatmeal

As Joey Tribbiani would've said "That's like summer in a bowl!"



I cooked the oats in soymilk with a squirt of agave syrup and cinnamon and added the frozen raspberries and mango afterwards. Tried to eat a little more raw here =p

It was delicious! The flavor of the mango paired with raspberries... mhhhhhh!!!

Later I'll make the Banana Coffee Cake Ruby just made, because I have a few more-than-ripe bananas and I totally drooled when I saw it in her post. Just look at the picture... yumm!

Bean Quesadillas and the fruitiest Berry Birthday Crisp

For my mom's birthday I made VwaV's Quinoa Mango Black Bean Salad as requested!
Don't the colors of the flowers & salad match perfectly? Ha ha!



I wrapped it up in a Tortilla later: a tasty idea! I really enjoyed it this way.

I usually hate peeling and cutting mango, but the skin was easily removable this time and left the mango flesh looking funny.



Doesn't it totally look like mango sorbet inside of a mango? =p



The Berry Crisp goodness! Frozen blueberries & raspberries and fresh blackberries & blueberries.





Before it went into the oven.



We had so much fun eating this dessert and couldn't stop laughing over each others blue teeth and lips =p

And about dinner two days ago. I must apologize. When I made quesadillas with my leftover salsa I made my boyfriend's first. Took a picture, then made mine. Forgot to take a picture of it, erm... anyway, mine looked basically the same minus the mushrooms and the cheese on top.

As he ate he went "I'm eating so healthy because of you!" "Well, sorry.." "No no, you can be proud!" Ha ha =p
I'll never understand why so many people fear healthy and nutritionous food (such as whole wheat for example)!?



Sorry, you can't even see the filling =( I spread it with salsa that I had mixed with kidney beans before, put bell pepper slices and corn on top and that was it. Very tasty!



This will be my last post for a week as I am going to visit my sister! I'm so excited, my best friend is coming along and I'm sure this will be such a fun week!! With LOTS of pictures!
So have a great week everyone and take care! =)

Vcon's Quinoa, Black Bean, Mango Salad

First off I want to thank Ashasarala a thousand times for giving me the recipe for this salad as I am not yet an owner of this apparently amazing cookbook.

It probably tastes even more amazing than it did last night because I had neither red wine vinegar, grape seed oil, nor fresh cilantro. So I used a tsp. olive oil, bianco and balsamic vinegar and about 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley (didn't have any more).
It still tasted awesome!



My parents were still at work so I placed the bowl on the dinner table and when they came home later my mom called "I see there's something on the table. Can we have that?" I was like "Sure, it's all yours. I already had a big bowl!"
Five minutes later I got a text message from my mom saying nothing but "M m m m h"! Ha ha, she's so awesome! When I saw her again she apologized that there weren't any leftovers. She and my dad really enjoyed this. To quote my mother "Not only did it taste fantastic, it looked so pretty and colorful! A joy for the eyes and the tastebuds!"

Yup, I will definitely start making more "real" dishes(less baking as my jeans are getting tight and I can not afford new pants at the moment).
Not only do I get to try various dishes I have always wanted to try, my parents are also open people who will definitely try new things and be honest about how they like it and a big plus - my parents will get to eat healthier!
So I guess I know who I'm going to ask for Vcon ;)