Light Meals and Weekend Treats from an English Woman in Berlin
The year of the rooster is here – Chinese New Year starts today! Offically the festivities run for two weeks with lantern parades, parties and firework displays and millions across the world will be gathering together with family and friends to celebrate this big occassion. London, Liverpool, Manchester and of course Berlin are among the many places where celebrations will be in full swing this weekend….
Yesterday was Blue Monday, known as the most depressing day of the year. It is typically on the third Monday of January when motivational levels have dropped since the new year, new me promise, the weather is miserable, it feels like a lifetime until the next payday and many are missing family and friends and the merry feeling we get from Christmas….
Last week I kicked off the year with my Spaghetti Carbonara blog post and how I want to make 2017 the year of eating real food. Food that feeds a family, is affordable, enjoyable and contributes to a balanced diet. As I discussed there is so much pressure to eat clean or raw and to avoid certain food types such as gluten or dairy because they are considered bad for you. Many people are simply left with hefty shopping bills since self-appointed nutritionists are providing people with confusing information …
Happy New Year! I had every intention of kick starting the new year with some kind of clean eating, raw blog post. Then I realised that this is exactly what this blog is not meant to be about. Over the Christmas period I had a bit more time on my hands and caught up on a lot of blog reading and also came across many new and interesting food bloggers. But what struck me is this unhealthy obsession with eating everything clean and raw. To be honest, I now don’t want to hear the words clean or raw again….
Opening the fridge on boxing day and wondering what on earth to do with all that leftover turkey is as much of a Christmas tradition as the big dinner itself! It is one of the best parts of Christmas where you spend the next few days simply enjoying leftovers and fridge raids. It makes the effort of cooking the big meal on Christmas day last for a few extra days with mininal stress. For me, Christmas is all about the leftovers and there isn’t a more perfect time for us to have a fridge full of food ready to go….
I am loving Spring! May is my favourite time of the year in Berlin. The sun is out (well, for some of the time at least!), there are plenty of public holidays and the parks are busy with people hanging out and enjoying the sunshine.
We had friends over last weekend and spent sunday afternoon in the Tiergarten. Of course most of that time was spent at Cafe am Neuen See, a beer garden right by the lake. I am already looking forward to the warm weather this weekend and spending the weekend relaxing in the park with a picnic. One of the things I always make for a picnic is my Asparagus and Goats Cheese Tart which is like a quiche but I use puff pastry instead of shortcrust. …
I have become a big fan of Deliciously Ella! I have always followed her blog and tried out a few of her recipes but recently I have become a little obsessed with her style of cooking. Her gluten free, dairy free and vegan recipes have resulted in two bestselling cookbooks and she is featured in various magazines and sites with an array of recipes suited to all tastes. I personally could not live by a complete vegan, dairy and gluten free diet. Put a good quality steak cooked black and blue in front of me…
I have overindulged recently. Both my husband and I have been incredibly busy with work, it was my birthday which resulted in lots of eating out and this weekend it was a friend’s wedding in the UK with plenty of food and a free bar… It is fair to say that I plan to enjoy my apartment a bit more this week after work! Saying that I know only too well how easy it to order a take out or to be tempted to go for some dinner and drinks with…
