Give me colours! Because autumn is coming – with all it’s glory and luminous intensity! Yes, maybe it still is a little bit too early for the first pumpkins. But who could honestly resist? They smile at you in the fields, scream at you, and really want to be taken away by you. Like every year in September. Continue reading The Pumpkin and the Squirrel
Do you remember? Back in the old days our world was so simple. Our real problems seemed so small to us and our little worries were so meaningful. We used to lie in the grass, giggling, arms and legs outstretched, and holding hands. And we stared into the sky, carefree. We counted the fluffy clouds that passed by and lovingly bickered about if that one looked more like a rabbit or like a unicorn. On that day our biggest concern was if there still was some ice cream in the freezer and that we had to leave for home eventually. We made plans for our future that should never happen this way, built castles in the air out of dreams and wishes whilst understanding each other without words. Continue reading Daydreams in the Grass…
We continue with stocking up our pantry with basic ingredients for Japanese cooking. In the last part we talked about the (at least in my opinion) five most important ingredients and how to make perfectly steamed rice. Today I will list ten more basic ingredients that you will need if you want to cook Japanese. In the next part I will show you different kinds of noodles before going over to fresh groceries, other ingredients, and giving you a few tips about Japanese cooking itself. Continue reading Stocking up the pantry: Japanese basic ingredients, part 2
If you have seen Shawn of the Dead (you have – haven’t you?) you know how a common zombie looks like: The skin is pale, the mouth wide open in a constant yawn. The arms reach out but the hands hang down in a powerless attempt to catch their prey. The eyes are open but weak, the empty gaze is focused to nowhere. The legs move slowly and drag along the unwilling feet… and opposed to a ghoul this specimen doesn’t even seem to have a consciousness. Continue reading Fighting the summer blues
Don’t let go of your happiness! Don’t let it go! Smile at it, whenever you can. Be glad about the little and still so precious things! Take your happiness by the hand and never let it go! Because together you are less alone. Look upon the vespertine starry sky, that twinkles down on us every day and delight in life. Don’t let go of your happiness, cling to it…
… and treat yourself to a sorbet from time to time! You deserve it.
Ingredients for about 6 balls of sorbet
Put the red currants with the sugar, the syrup, the salt and the water in a pot. Bring it to a boil and let it gently cook under medium heat until all the berries broke open and the liquid is bright red.
Pour it through a sieve and use a spoon to press all of the liquid out. Let it cool down to room temperature and if you are patient enough put it into the fridge for an additional hour or more.
Give the mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to the producer’s advice or put it into a freezer for a few hours. Divide the sorbet into 1-6 bowls, pour a little bit of bitter lemon over it and enjoy it in the cooling evening heat under a pale blue sky.
*Warning: This post may content traces of Japanese anime!*
On days like these I wish I had a butler. Work ist overwhelming and the household screams for attention: laundry, cooking, cleaning. Here a small thing to do, there a phone call and then a cat starts to suffocate on it’s daily fur ball. Yes, a butler really would be perfect! The laundry would be so much softer and it would smell much more nicely than I could ever manage to achieve. The food would be splendid and extraordinary, every single day. Our home would be polished to perfection and tidied up – no grain of dust, not a single cat hair in every corner or under the couch. I wouldn’t need to worry about anything, except for doing my work and live as I like. Whenever I want to, I could have a nice cup of tea and for that I would just have to ring a bell. What would I give for such a helper…! Continue reading Sebastian’s Gyū Tataki Don
Why do we always want to be strong? Never be impressed, always “cool“ with everything, even when times are so hard? Maybe we think that it is necessary. Maybe we just want to prove it to ourselves. But maybe it is because some things just numb us at first. Eventually the truth of the last few hours, or days, sinks in and you realize what happened. Sometimes it is at night right before you fall asleep, sometimes in the middle of the day after a kind word… But at the latest at a nice dinner that finally achieves to crack your mental wall open. Suddenly there is nothing more soothing than an embrace from your most favourite person and this bowl with delicious shrimps and calming coconut curry. A little bit of rice to that… Heaven! Even at one of those dark days. Continue reading Heart-warming dinner: Shrimps with mild coconut curry
The early summer has come and it spoils us with wonderful heat. Time to spend more time outside, especially after a long day at work. We kick off our shoes, wiggle our toes, set up our parasol and enjoy the cooling afternoon air with a nice glass of wine… or heroically perfect our bombing technique in the open air bath. Continue reading Strawberries with cream
Summer incompatibility is an earnest topic. Outside the sun is shining and burns the world already in May… too hot to even lift a single finger. So you start your day holing up in the shadows and hide from the world. And the heat. Stay inside where it is cool and nice. Or at least cooler than outside. You barricade yourself in your living room and peek through the closed curtains to catch a glimpse of the beautiful, sunny, colorful world outside. How lovely it would be to play with the other big children outside! To meet with them at the beer garden or the open air pool, bathing in the sun and enjoying life under a perfect blue sky. Frightened you could miss something you take a few cautious steps outside in the late afternoon. Right under the parasol of course and not without a thick layer of sun screen. Continue reading Pineapple mango passion fruit smoothie
