The people from Gastro Furniture Bölme not only feel they have a right to park their car whichever way they see fit, inour courtyard outside the assigned parking spaces, in the street blocking the bike path, whereever, but they also, despite several complaints, let their dog shit in our courtyard and would not dream of removing the Schweinerei. Are they from some banana republic? Do they think this is one?
My neighbours drew my attention to this website that lists foods good and bad for breast cancer “after care”, since I am trying to live as healthily as possible in order to avoid recurrence (also trying not to be paranoid or hypocondriac …..): https://www.ndr.de/ratgeber/gesundheit/Ernaehrung-in-der-Brustkrebs-Nachsorge,brustkrebsnachsorge102.html.
There are also a lot of recipes which look really good.
It is no wonder that former patients are confused with all the conflicting information we get. In most cases, most of the scientific community agree on most things, but the jury is still out when it comes to for example soy products, dairy and spices, especially in cases where, like me, someone had hormone-positive breast cancer.
In this NDR list, chicken and dairy products are OK, whereas in other sites, they are not. In the case of dairy products, it is said that milk from cows, and products based on milk from cows, should definitely be avoided because often, the cows from which the milk is taken are pregnant, and therefore the milk will be full of estrogen. Hmmm. In any case, I have always believed that cows milk was for children up to the age of about four and the no longer, but I do love cheese ….. What’s a girl to do when science gives out such conflicting messages?
This Saturday, I can FINALLY have another “film evening” (two friends, Netflix or amazon, a film suggested by me or one of them, this time Contra), meet mid-afternoon, coffee, sometimes cake, watch the film, at some point switch to red wine and nibbles, in this case hummus, and a meal after the film.
On previous such occasions – the last one now almost a year ago – I have previously served things like lamb shanks in pumpking and dates, and venison stew, but this time I am keeping it simple and vegetarian – but most definitely not vegan 🙂 – those who do not yet know my attitude towards vegan cheese have not been paying attention hahaha.
For a dish measuring about 7 x 21 x 28 cm, here is what I did:
Slice two large or three medium aubergines lengthways, sprinkle the slices with salt and let sit in a colander for at least an hour for some of the liquid to drain out of them.
In the meantime, gently soften three biggish red onions and five garlic cloves in olive oil. Add a hefty sprig of thyme, some salt and pepper, and three tins tomato. Simmer covered for a good long while, then simmer uncovered till the sauce thickens a bit. If possible, let the total cooking time last a couple of hours – the sauce will taste better and better, and can be prepared the day before, or even earlier, and even frozen.
NOTES: Incidentally, I am not entirely certain that garlic is normally used in this dish, but I just can’t imagine cooking something like this – or most dishes – without it. Also, the herb does not have to be thyme – it can also be basil and/or oregano.
On the day of serving, spread a third of the sauce over the bottom of the baking dish, and then a layer of aubergine slices, packed tightly, or even slightly overlapping if you have enough aubergine.
Then distribute lumps or slices of one 1 mozzarella ball, and a good handful of grated parmesan. I used the larger side of the grater so not too finely grated. (PS do NOT use parmesan already grated – it tastes of absolutely nothing, or of cardboard at best).
Then spread of thid of the sauce over all of that, and repeat with a second layer of aubergine, mozzarella, and parmesan. Finally, finish with the rest of the sauce and the tird mozzarella ball and a good handful of parmesan. This can all be done well in advance.
For serving, bake at 180 C as follows, covered for half an hour, and uncovered for half an hour or until the top layer of cheeses turns golden and gooey and yummy. I served it with tagliatelle and also some pasta made of red lentils, and a side salad. And some more redwine – which I love but now only drink quite rarely, and therefore enjoy it even more :-).
Very enjoyable afternoon/evening – must try to fit another one in after my stay in Köpenick (more about that later) and before the afternoons become too light for intensive TV watching.
Today’s walk, organised by Lisa K., took us through, a.o., Freizeitpark Marienfelde, a kind of nature reserve which I definitely want to visit again with my camera and longest lense.
Another pleasant walk which ended in Restaurant Masseria da Rocco, a very nice, classic Italian restaurant with good food, reasonable prices and extremely friendly staff. A few minutes walk from S Marienfelde. Big enough to easily accommodate 16 people with not much prior notice.
I managed to delude myself that walking 9.97 km, and the fact that it was Sunday, and that I had had only a salad of raw veg and tahini dressing for breakfast justified a (delicious) dish of pasta and shrimp.
A most enjoyable Sunday.
Photos to come.
I wanted to catch two exhibitions closing this week: “Under Construction” at Hamburger Bahnhof, and the current exhibits in Haus Kunst Mitte. While I was in the area, I took a look at “Europacity”, a whole new part of Berlin which has sprung up over the last five or so years, with an unbelievably large number of apartment blocks and some shops and nice cafés and other eateries. The area is clearly still under development.
My route on MapMyWalk here. (I did not have my phone with me on the walk inside Hamburger Bahnhof. Since the cases of vandalism of museum pieces, most museums no longer allow even the smallest of handbags inside.
This work by Anselm Kiefer at Hamburger Bahnhof is not part of the exhibition I went to see, but I have always loved it and it bears seeing again and again:
This one is from the exhibition “Under Construction”:
Walking through “Europacity”:
The walk also took me through the cemetery in Invalidenstraße with a gruesome history in more ways than one, and past the watch tower in Kieler Straße 2, now a memorial. The Berlin Wall went straight through the length of the cemetery.
The “Haus Kunst Mitte” has appeared under my radar so it was definitely time to check it out. It seems like an interesting place worth keeping an eye on.
And finally, yet another ghost bike in Berlin. The most tragic of sights in recent history:
Grün Berlin and NABU are collaborating on the development of an area on the edge of Tempelhofer Feld which used to be the “Alte Gärtnerei“.
The area has always been closed to the public, but while the area is being developed into, I think, a kind of environmental and/or nature education centre, NABU occasionally offers mornin tours there, since many winter birds can – in theory be seen there. Not many birds were active this morning, but we did keep seeing three goldfinches :-).
Nonetheless, it was an interesting hour led by a knowledgeable guide, and I will definitely go again if the opportunity arises.
This is the area on MapMyWalk.
In Anita-Berber-Park, in the way back to U-Bhf Leinestraße:
And almost home, in Oranienstraße, I think I saw a shorttoed tree creeper. It moved like one, but I would need to see its beak (should be quite long) to be certain.
Event posted on internations.org. Three people had signed up, one actually turned up.
Built in the 1970s, in GDR times, Das Minsk was a.o. a restaurant. The recently renovated, important example of GDR architecture, now houses a museum of modern art.
After the visit, though I don’t particularly like Museum Barberini, since it is so close, I decided to take a look at the current surrealism exhibition, which turned out to be tiny – just the one room, so that was a bit of a waste of money (an exorbitant entrance fee).
Apart from the fact that I wanted to see the building housing the new museum, and the person who did turn up for the internations event turned out to be a very pleasant ecquaintance to make, I left Potsdam after a couple of hours with the usual feeling: why did I go?
The morning started off like this but quickly turned to a solid gray sky.
When I left my home to go to a NABU birdwatching event in Tiergarten with Derk Ehlert (probably the most knowledgeable person in the world when it comes to wildlife in Berlin), it still seemed rather dark, and it had started to rain slightly, so I wondered whether I would be the only person turning up. Wrong again. I always forget how Berliners completely ignore the weather. I counted over 60 (sixty – six-zero) people.
In his inimitable style of a combination of boundless knowledge, sunny disposition, enthusiasm and humour, Derk Ehlert kept us entertained for 1,5 hours. I saw several birds I had never seen before. One of them a “Mittelspecht” – the most rare and endangered of the three types of woodpeckers in Berlin. Due to the rain and the lack of light, I did not take any photos.
Just two with my phone of the water which was red. I could not hear the explanation properly but it was a natural phenomenon and not some sort of an environmental catastrophe.
I then went on to Tempelhofer Feld in the hope of hooking up with Lisa K. and her gang of Sunday walkers (every Sunday starting at noon or 13.00, usually about eight to ten km, e-mail her here in English or German if you want to get on her mailing list) – and that worked out well. I also managed to take these photos, despite the poor lighting conditions:
And on this one, the bird is blurred, but I would not have noticed the little flowers if I had not taken this picture:
After the walk, we (about 12 people) had a meal in Restaurant Seerose at Südstern, with a buffet of vegetarian and vegan dishes, a hearty, healthy and tasty meal at very reasonable prices, and a chance to chat with the others. Altogether an excellent day despite the weather.
I usually prefer a savoury breakfast but since I am a coffee addict, and this did not look overly sweet, I thought I would give it a try.
The recipe is for two servings, so I put half of it aside and on day 2, instead of just reheating, I decided to make that portion into a kind of thick pancake. As you can see, not very successfully.
Also, I don’t know which is more pathetic – my food styling skills or my food photography skills, especially when I want to take the photo as quickly as possible and eat the food while it is warm.
Both versions were very nice though, although still a little bit on the sweet side for me. With the garnish, they both tick three boxes in the Dr erer’s Daily Dozen
App :-). Also, the cashew yogurt I had made was not rancid enough to balance it out. Making my own plant-based yohurt is obviously another thing I have to work on.
Put the sugar and cocoa powder in a small pan, and gradually add the espresso and vanilla, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over a medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until slightly thickened and syrupy.
Meanwhile (or the night before), place the oats into a medium pan and stir in the milk, dates, cinnamon and a pinch of salt.
Just before serving, cook over a low-medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring until thick and creamy. Set aside half for the next day.
Garnish with yogurt and berries/nuts, …..
