I have done this in the past already, but I think I can still come up with some things you may not know now. So let us get started!

(1) I am a very theoretical and analytical person. Understanding myself and the world around me is a basic need for me. My main access to the world is through observation and analysis, and I constantly ponder and brood on something.

(2) I am, however, also a very emotional person, much more than you might think at first sight when you meet me.

(3) I feel very old and very young at the same time, but not so much like the age I actually am at.

(4) I like to always challenge myself and to have at least one long-term project I work on. The idea of establishing myself at some point and staying there is very unappealing to me.

(5) I do not like several of the foods many other food blogger frequently rave about. These include peanut butter (the taste ), bananas (the texture ), and quinoa (the hairs ).

(6) I like cute little things, like these nod-head turtles: You touch them, they start nodding, and they are fun to watch. I had one when I was a child (I wonder where it is now … ?), and I saw them again at a German Christmas market stall last year. There is no other purpose about them besides delighting you with their nodding, but this is so lovely that I think I should buy a nod-head turtle for myself again on the next occasion.

(7) The part of my body I like the best are my hands. They are large and good for piano playing, and I also find that their shape is rather pretty.

* * * * *

So, this was a little bit about me. Now I would love to hear a little bit about you! I give the versatile blogger award to the following blogging friends (the short description is in case you are not familiar with their blogs yet).

Tammy @ AgriGirl - big-hearted and sincere person who cares for the well-being of the planet and the creatures living on it, and a constant source of inspiration for sustainable and communal living

Kristina @ Spabettie - genuinely kind person and a true friend to me, with a love for dachshunds and an infinite amount of ideas for creating delicious gluten-free, vegan recipes

Jeno @ Weeknite Meals - incredibly creative mind who lives her creativity not only in her job, but also in the kitchen where she creates wonderful, Asian dishes at week nights

Hannah @ Wayfaring Chocolate - funny, whimsical, good-hearted, deep person who dances through her life and happily tastes all the chocolates she encounters along the way

K @ Special K Treatment - philosopher and traveler on the inside and outside, constantly on her way to spiritual growth and living life to the fullest

Chopinand @ Chopinand Mysaucepan - gourmet foodie, music lover, and an awesome cook who enjoys life with all his senses

Kelsey @ Snacking Squirrel - tender and feeling spirit who enchants the world with her creativity and playfulness

Please share seven facts about yourself, and then pass this award on to (up to) seven other people.

I am very excited and cannot wait to hear more about you! And also, I would love to hear from all of my lovely readers whether you can relate to my seven facts I shared above.

When I am sick and at home, I usually make a big stew or soup in my cast-iron pot. This is not only because soups are good when you are sick, but also because it means I do not have to cook so often.

A good get-well-soup should contain everything your body needs, especially since you have to recover now. Additionally, it should be easy to digest, so it does not put unnecessary stress on the digestive system. Gently-cooked foods are nicer on the stomach than raw or deep-fried foods. I always aim for a wide range of preferably colorful vegetables to get vitamins and minerals, a source of protein, a source of complex carbohydrates, and some healthy fats. Below, I have listed some easily and not-so-easily digestible foods for you (the outcome of a little web search). Pick your favorites from the first list to make your personal get-well-soon soup. 

Easily Digestible Foods

• vegetables: carrots, pumpkin, tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, napa cabbage, beetroot, turnip, fennel, asparagus, spinach, green beans
• protein: lean meat (the lighter in color the better), eggs, fish, red lentils, peas, cottage cheese
• carbohydrates: rice, quinoa, oats, barley, potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash

Not-So-Easily Digestible Foods

• vegetables: kale, white cabbage, red cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, eggplant, mushrooms, bell pepper, radish, onion
• protein: fatty meat (especially the darker varieties), cheese, curd, beans, tofu, seitan
• carbohydrates: wheat, rye, buckwheat

For my own get-well-soup, I picked carrots for the orange, squash for the yellow, and spinach for the green. Protein came from lean pork meat (I would actually have preferred chicken, but this needed to be used up), and carbohydrates from the squash. I cooked everything with coconut oil and added a nice array of herbs and spices. The result was this.

ROSEMARY, GINGER, AND LAVENDER FLAVORED PORK AND VEGETABLE SOUP

 4 servings

Ingredients

• butter or oil
• 500 g (1 lb) lean pork meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 1/2 l (6 cups) water
• 500 g (1 lb) kabocha squash, seeds removed, peeled, and cut into pieces
• 500 g (1 lb) mixed soup vegetables, cut into pieces (I used a ready-to-go frozen soup vegetable mix consisting of carrots, celeriac, leek, green beans, green peas, and parsley)
• 250 g (1/5 lb) spinach (I used frozen)
• 1 1/2-thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger root, peeled
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 tbsp whole peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried lavender blossoms
• 1 twig of rosemary
• salt to taste

Directions

In a large pot, heat some fat and carefully roast the meat from all sides. Add the water and the vegetables, cover, and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, put all spices into a loose-leaf tea bag or a cloth bag and close it with a clip or a clothes pin, so the spices cannot fall out.

~ captured  ~

Add the spice bag to the soup. When the soup is boiling, reduce the heat and cook covered for 1 or 2 hours. Add salt to taste, then enjoy hot and …

What would be in your get-well-soup?

~ there are days when I have this on my player all day  ~

A few days ago, it happened that I was given a blog award by The Coastal Living Mom. Thank you so much for this!

This made me happy for several reasons: It does not happen every day that you receive a blog award, and I feel honored every time when I am chosen. This time I feel especially honored since the blog award I got is meant for rather small blogs (with less than 200 followers) that are somehow special and worth reading. The Costal Living Mom just stumbled across my blog very recently, and apparently, she liked it. 

But, most importantly: Have you ever seen such a cute blog award?

I think I have not. And on top of that, this blog award also seems to be of German origin – and so am I, as you may know. “Liebster” means “dearest” or “most favorite” in German. The “Liebster Blog” award is also special in that it does not want you to make an elaborite post around it. Here is all you have to do when you get it.

• Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.
• Link back to the blogger who awarded you.
• Pick (up to) 5 other blogs who fit within the award parameters (less than 200 followers).
• Inform them that you have chosen them by leaving a comment on their blog.
• Post the award on your blog (you can take it from this post).

I want to give this blog award to the following people.

Stephanie @ Extreme Balance. You are one of my oldest and best blogging friends, and I am happy that you have taken up your blog again. Thank you for letting me take part in your life journey! And I also think you will like this award.

Rufus @ What She Eats. I am very happy that you came across my blog, and you seem like a kindred soul to me. I hope we will become good friends!

Becky @ Becky’s Kaleidoskope. I love your keen spirit, the profound way in which you dig into a wide range of topics, and your motivation to change things for the better. I discover so many interesting things through your blog!

Mother @ A Letter to My Children. Your blog is special because it is so heartwarming and touching. You have a wonderful style of writing, and your words speak of wisdom that comes from life experience and a good heart.

Sharon @ Chinese Soup Pot. Your blog is wonderful because it opens up the world of traditional Chinese soups to your readers. In this, you not only honor your family tradition, but also provide insights about the healing potentials of different foods, according to traditional Chinese medicine. There is still a lot to discover for me on your blog!

To finish this post in the spirit of this lovely blog award, let me show you some of my favorite things of lately.

~ my new mp3 player ~

I bought this one from my Christmas money, when my old one was starting to establish a habit of showing nervous tics. An mp3 player is a vital accessory for me, because it helps me to leave the house by keeping the noise overload at bay when I go by tram or walk down the pedestrial area in the inner city. I love this one because it is pink and has this cute flowery design.

~ Percy ~

Percy is a little plush turtle I got from a very good friend for my last birthday. He is not actually pretty, but he has the most lovely and trusting eyes imaginable. From the moment I saw him for the first time, he had a place in my heart, and he has been constantly accompanying me in my pocket since then.

~ my Ma’s Mii ~

When I got a Wii, the first thing I did was making Miis for my family and closest friends. These Miis show up frequently when I play, and I am happy every time I see them. I have a very special relationship with my Ma, so it makes me particularly happy when I see my Ma’s Mii. And it really looks like her. 

~ my gecko felt bag ~

I got this felt bag for Christmas last year. It is handmade by a northern German craftslady who makes these bags which have covers you can exchange. So basically, you can buy a bag and then get different covers and change them according to your liking and daily mood. My mom picked this green gecko cover for me, and scored a 100 % hit.

~ my flower carry bag ~

Another new bag! This one just arrived on Monday, and I love it a lot. I always wanted to have a nice carry bag I, and finally found this one. I like the flowers, and it has a lot of space for storage, which is perfect for somebody who tends to carry around a lot of things, just in case.

~ PlayStation Portable with games ~

I am a little nostalgic when it comes to video games. I love these old-school role playing and strategic role playing games, and my favorite ones I have played through 10 or more times. Now I can replay them on my PSP, while being curled up in my rocking chair or laying in my bed. The graphics and dialogues have been overworked in a very nice way, without destroying the feel of the original game. And since 2012 is my year of playing, I really enjoy this.

~ banana fresh box ~

This one is not for me, actually. I sent it to my Ma for her birthday last year (along with tea, spices, and homemade almond butter stuffed into the meanwhile emptied Happy Bee Manuka honey jar Stephanie had sent me a while ago). This fancy banana fresh box will hopefully prevent my Ma’s beloved bananas from getting squeezed in her golf bag. Note that it has breathing holes for the banana, so this is really fancy.

~ Chopin’s piano concerto #2 ~

This is one of my favorite piano concertos. When I listened to it for the first time, I immediately knew that I wanted to be able to play it. Last year or so, I could play half of the first movement, but then I focused on another piece I prepared for the annual recital at my teacher’s home, and recently refreshed a couple of yet other pieces, abandoning this wonderful piano concerto. Now I dug it out again, and although I have to work on some passages again, I am happy that large parts are still in my fingers.

~ my piano ~

Forever, unchanged.

Which are some of your favorite things, of lately or in general?

(By the way: This is your chance to visit the bathroom or get yourself some tea / coffee / water / wine now, because as always with my just thoughts posts, this is going to be a long one.)

A good starting point is to take the whole phrase apart. Like this: “eat” – “everything” – “in moderation”.

I will begin with the “eat” part. Principally, there is nothing bad about a recommendation that tells you to eat, particularly not when we are talking about healthy eating, but also in general. Not to eat (at all) would be a very bad idea, no? I also do not have a problem that this “eat” comes as an imperative, since we are discussing a recommendation here. So, the “eat” seems to be okay. Moving on.

“Everything” is a little trickier. What exactly is ”everything”??? Well, basically, “everything” can actually be anything - including light bulbs, a chair, your pillow, a brickstone, your left arm … Go figure. But since we are still moving within the context of eating (and context is important to make sense of a statement), I will be nice and limit this “everything” to anything commonly refered to as “food”. This again gets us to the question what “food” is.

~ they look funny, but … umm … seriously?? ~

You may remember that, a while ago, I made a post on what food actually is. In that post, I came to the conclusion that food is nothing per se, but that the meaning of “food” has to be actively constructed. (And there are several, sometimes contradictory notions of the concept of “food” existing in parallel at different levels of perspective, such as the levels of society and individuals.) Depending on how you interpret the term “food”, the recommendation to “eat everything in moderation” has diverging meanings. However, it remains problematic nevertheless.

On the one hand, you may define “food” as everything commonly considered as food. This means, “food” is everything (more or less) edible that does not kill you immediately after swallowing it, and contains a certain amount of calories. In this regard, it makes sense to recommend moderation, in so far as “food” also contains a couple of rather unhealthy things that should indeed be limited (or probably not be consumed at all – but that is another story, since we are talking about moderation here, which allows a little bit of everything). What is problematic here is the “eat everything” part of the recommendation, because literally, this means you should also eat the unhealthy things to some extent (but not too much of them, mind you).

On the other hand, you may define “food” as everything your body can thrive on. This means you narrow the term down to “real food” that serves to nourish your body and fuel you with energy. In this regard, “in moderation” is the problematic part of the recommendation, because why should you be moderate about what your body wants and asks for? This would mean you would deprive it of what it needs, no?

So you see, I have my concerns already. But we are not finished yet. You can assume the most problematic part is still to come … Also note that we have a nice increase of “problematicness” (just made up this word) with the “eat everything in moderation” statement. (Just a sidenote.)

You will have supposed already that the particularly tricky part is the “in moderation” part. Let me say I am not opposed to moderation in general. Moderation is related to balance, and balance is a very nice thing and, as far as I believe, also very important with regard to happiness and well-being: Nothing is good when driven to the excess. But I am also a psychologist, and this is why I am sensible to and aware of the fact that it matters how things are framed. For instance, the same statement can be perceived completely differently, depending on whether it is expressed in a way that encourages you and opens up a range of possibilities to you, or in a way that limits you and the options available.

To my mind, the word “balance” has a positive connotation, because it means something I consider valuable and beneficial to achieve in my life. However, the word “moderation” has a negative connotation, because it reminds me that I have to be careful not to overdo things. In other words, “moderation” (for me) is an euphemism for restriction. It actually is restriction in disguise. This is triggering for me because I am a very easy victim of reactance: I always want what I am not to have. (Do you remember reactance? I have covered that in a post as well, because I find the concept so valuable in understanding human motivation and behavior.)

However, to do justice to the term “moderation”, we have to differentiate it further. Moderation is not bad per se. But there is “active” and “passive” moderation, and this makes a huge difference.

Let me start with the nicer one, which is passive moderation. This means that you do not have to consciously control yourself to be moderate, since your body tells you to be so, somewhat automatically. Believe me (as somebody who did not believe this anymore herself, but miraculously relearned it during the recent 1 1/2 years): The body is capable of regulating its nutritional needs by authentic hunger and satiety. The word “authentic” is very important here, because there probably are certain foods that leave you hungry half an hour after eating them, or make you want more and more, the more you eat of them. But this is not actual hunger, just a blood sugar roller coaster reaction. All foods that actually nourish you will keep you satisfied for a couple of hours after eating them, because they give your body what it needs and do not mess with your blood sugar levels. These foods are, most likely, vegetables, healthy fats, protein sources, and probably whole grains and fruit (if you are not overly carb-sensitive). From these foods, you can eat until you are satisfied, and do not have to waste one thought about moderation. Imagine you just finished off a steak or a big slice of roasted tofu with a generous serving of mixed salad, sprinkled with olive oil and some nuts or seeds. Do you feel like having a second serving of this? Probably not, because the body cannot handle protein to an infinite extend, and the fats coming with a dish of this kind also contribute a lot to satiety, not to mention you are filled up by the veggies.

On the other hand, there are foods that taste good but make you want to eat more of them, so you have to stop yourself before feeling satisfied, applying active moderation. These foods are likely to be of the sugar-overloaded and simple (“white”) carb-heavy kind. Next to the sugar-fat combo that seduces you to eat more, foods of this kind usually do not have a lot of volume, so your belly will not notice it is filled up sufficiently until you have finished off the whole package. If you include things like that into your diet on a regular basis, moderation might in fact be an adequate recommendation, because otherwise you might end up eating nothing else. However, it also means constant vigilance.

~ why not just relax about food? ~

To be honest: I do not believe that it is a good idea to regularly eat things like that in the long run. The reason basically is that I am a lazy girl (I cannot mention that often enough ), and I want to invest my cognitive capacities into something else than pondering whether or not to eat a cookie, given I aready had some chocolate with my breakfast and am probably going to have a little dessert after dinner. I also dislike to feel uncomfortable, so I do not like to stop eating before I feel satisfied, and then struggle through those infamous 20 minutes the body allegedly needs to perceive satiety signals coming from the tummy, while tigering around (another German saying) in the kitchen and piling up food stress. I have done that for many years, and it was enough for this life and all the ones to come.

Instead, I want to really enjoy eating. I want to eat without counting bites or calories internally, or asking myself how much of the food I should leave on the plate not to appear overly self-indulgent. I want to eat my favorite things seven days in a row, if I feel like, without feeling bad and worrying about not having covered the whole range of “everything”. I want to think about food and eating in terms of enjoyment, satisfaction, and nourishment, and I never want to feel I have to restrict myself again. In a nutshell: I do not believe in moderation.

Maybe it is just me, tending more to the extremes than to the middle. So, this might not apply to everybody. I can very well imagine there are people who go well with the moderation recommendation, but what concerns me is that the recommendation is framed in a way that it seems to be for everybody indifferently. At the same time, it seems to express that those who do not go for moderation do something wrong. However, I do not think this has to be the case. Rather, everybody should follow the way that is right for her or him, may this way be about moderation or driving things more to the edges.

A regard in which eating everything is often especially worshipped is eating disorder recovery, and I want to devote some thoughts on that particularly. I have read on many blogs and in many comment on blogs that people who are recovering from an eating disorder often desperately adhere to the principle of eating everything again. This is okay, because in eating disorder recovery, you have to overcome a lot of food fears, and often also have to gain weight back. Eating everything again helps with that. And it is also true that the only way to overcome your fears is to confront them. In this context, that means: Eat the cake, chocolate, cream dessert, cookies, pizza, or whatever. I have done the same, and it helped me to overcome my food fears and gain the weight back.

However, at some point, I had to realize that this strategy probably does not work in the long run, because eventually, you have to establish a way of eating that is reasonable on a day-to-day basis. Just for me, I can say that the principle of eating everything in moderation is counterproductive in the long run, because it binds me to observing my intakes and measuring my servings of certain foods, and keeps me obsessive. I think I would not have been able to make progress with recovering, if I had not decided to go with real food at a certain point of my life. Again, this is me, and it certainly does not apply to everybody. Especially in the beginning of eating disorder recovery, it is essential that you overcome your food-related fears and expose yourself to them. Therefore – and this is very important! – choosing to follow a special diet is probably not helpful in the early stages, until you have cleared up all the psychological mess surrounding food. At a later point, it may be helpful, though. Remember, only when you are fully committed to recovery, and health is the driving motive behind your actions, you are ready to make responsible choices about turning away from certain foods again.

As counterintuitive as it may sound, but focusing on a selected range of foods that I know (from researching and trying it out) nourish my body and make me feel good, now gives me a greater freedom with eating. It allows me to throw moderation – or restriction – overboard, because I do not feel a need to control myself anymore. It does not make me feel like limiting my food options, because for me, the things I do not eat are not what I consider as being food for me, from a nourishment perspective. It also made me more excited and curious about discovering different foods. I now eat to fuel myself, and what I eat are things I really enjoy. I get the feeling of satiety during eating already, and most of the times, I do not even want for a second serving. But if I do, I can have one without worrying about it, since I know my body will want it for a reason.

Do you know the story of the very hungry caterpillar? This one used to be one of my favorite books when I was a child.

In the story, the caterpillar suddenly develops an enormous appetite – therefore, it is the “very hungry caterpillar” – and starts eating its way through all the leaves it can find out there (and also through almost all pages of the book). It does not waste a single thought on moderation, it just eats because it feels the need to eat. And it eats nourishing, caterpillar-appropriate food, to finally pupate and then become a beautiful butterfly. Maybe we should all become like the very hungry caterpillar a little more.

So, what comes out of this in the end? Well, I think we probably do not have to abandon the “eat everything in moderation” statement completely. But I would adjust to this one: ”Eat real foods until you feel satisfied, and eat the rest in moderation to your own responsibility, or not at all.” And my friend Rufus just made the great suggestion to make it a little more geared to individual needs, like this: ”Eat your real foods until you feel satisfied, and eat the rest in moderation to your own responsibility, or not at all.”

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

My dad is always a little “socially” concerned with eating garlic, and for many years, I was not used to eating it at all. I remember the vacation I spent in Florida with my parents when I was 6 or so years old – we bought garlic flavored crispbread (not knowing that garlic is “Knoblauch” in English), as a food supply for a road trip. When we opened the package during a picnic by the side of an abandoned country road, it turned out what it was, and it was decided better not to eat it. So we fed it to a racoon who had accompanied us since we had food, and he ate up the whole stuff to the last crumb.

“What a shame!”, I would say now, in my garlic-loving days. Garlic does not only have wonderful health benefits, but also adds so much flavor to a lot of dishes! And still, my dad’s concerns got somewhat stuck with me – I am a little reluctant to eat it on an occasion that is probably followed by meeting people, so I mostly use it when I cook dinner on a stay-home evening. Evenings like that are the best for indulging in lots of garlic.

Okay, I know there is this roast-chicken-with-40-cloves-of-garlic thing going around on the internet, and my humble little recipe is far from keeping up with that one, but it still contains quite a lot of garlic, for my standards. The reason why I do not eat more garlic basically is that I tend to be a lazy girl. If I had more time, I would happily spend one hour a day with peeling and chopping garlic cloves, but at the moment, I do not see myself like that. (If I lived in the counry where foodie dreams come true, and where you can buy already-peeled cloves of garlic at the supermarket, this story may have taken a different ending. But I live in Germany, and this means I have to peel the garlic myself.) I may try that 40-cloves-of-garlic recipe one day, though, when I feel ready for it. Until then, I will stay with magnitudes like this.

~ served in one of my lovely bowls ~

GARLIC ROASTED SQUID WITH HERBED TOMATOES

 1 serving

Ingredients

• butter or oil
• 4 cloves o garlic (or as much as you can stomach), peeled and finely chopped
• 150 g (5 oz) squid (I used frozen squid rings)
• 4 tomatoes, chopped
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp ground garam marsala
• 1/4 tps dried basil
• 1/4 tsp dried lovage
• 1/4 tsp dried tarragon
• 1/4 tsp dried chives
• 1 handful of fresh parsley

Directions

Heat some at in a pan and roast the garlic until fragrant. Add the squid and roast until done, then add the tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, garam marsala, basil, lovage, tarragon, and chives. Cook covered for about 10 minutes. Throw in the fresh parsley, serve, and enjoy.

Any garlic lovers out there?

I openly and happily admit I am a real homebody. There is almost nothing better than spending a day at home for me: I sleep in, then get up and make tea and fresh almond milk, check my emails, and engage in some piano playing, without having the need to dress for the day immediately. On a home day, I do all these things in my PJ’s. I then usually start doing some work, still in my PJ’s, which is so much nicer – it almost feels voluntary then, and I am so comfortable when working at home.

~ also, home-cooked food is the best ~

At home, I have my piano in the next room, so I can have a playing refreshment whenever I want to – not to forget the kitchen which provides me with tea and a nice meal as soon as I get thirsty or hungry. Okay, I have to admit I may be more distracted by all these pleasant thing as I am in the office, but I am not less productive overall, at least not since I created a little working space in my apartment where I go to do stuff. And knowing that I have everything at hand I need to be comfortable eases my mind a lot. I also love the solitude and the possibility to freely determine how to ration my time. This fuels me up before I throw myself into the world out there again. My home really is my little treasure island.

Now that I know I can stay in my apartment, I felt motivated to make this place more cozy. Today, I finished unpacking and then re-organized both my linen cupboard and my food-spices-and-tea shelf.

I made name tags for my herb and spice jars to have a better overview on what I have, and to find things more easily.

During the course of this endeavor, it happened that I stumbled across a jar containing some herbs of which I did (and do) not have the slightest idea of what they are. They smell aromatic with a somewhat dark, earthy flavor, but not similar to anything else I have. This is a little annoying and shameful, since I thought I was rather experienced with herbs and spices meanwhile, but for now, they have to be filed under “unidentified herbs”.

~ hm … ~

Apart from that, I am currently working on re-editing the first parts of my thesis. Two very good friends of mine have proofread the theory part, and now I am working in their corrections and suggestions. This is quite satisfying work.

Dinner today was a mix of roasted chicken, winter squash, and green beans, nicely flavored, and it tasted so good that I want to share the recipe with you.

HAPPY FLAVORS CHICKEN, PUMPKIN, AND GREEN BEANS

 1 serving

Ingredients

• butter or oil
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 tsp fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
• 150 g (5 oz) winter squash, seeds removed and cut into pieces
• 2 handfuls of green beans, blanched or frozen
• 150 g (5 oz) chicken breast fillet, cut into pieces
• 1/4 tsp dried chili flakes
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch of ground allspice
• 1 pinch of ground cardamom
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp soy sauce

Directions

Heat some fat in a pan. Roast onion and ginger until fragrant. Add the squash and the beans together with a little water and cook covered for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken and cook for another 5 minutes, then season with chili, cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, and basil. Cook openly while stirring constantly, until the liquid has vanished. Serve drizzled with soy sauce and enjoy.

Are you a homebody, or does being at home give you the cabin fever feeling?

I am back in Heidelberg – back to the cosiness of my own place, the otherwordly clarity, tenderness, and complexity of sound my grand piano delights me with, and a nice surprise.

Actually, I am not the biggest fan of surprises – the idea of being in a situation and not having the slightest idea of what to expect, plus being under the pressure to react immediately and adequately to it and not being able to get away … No, thank you. Also, what pleases the one frightens the other, and many things other people may find or consider pleasing – “Hey, look, I baked a cake for you, and I want you to try it immediately!”  ”Whee, we have a surprise party at your place!”  ”I thought I would just come over, isn’t that a great idea?” – elicit a strong need of playing dead with me.

Moving on … 

This surprise was a really nice one. If you have read my blog long enough, you may remember that I have quite the serious humidity problem in my apartment. In other words: My apartment is wet. Rainforest, washkitchen wet. This is not only uncomfortable and unhealthy for myself (I was starting to develop breathing issues), but it also gradually wrecks my grand piano – accoustic pianos do not like a high humidity of 70 % or above, and that was what I constantly had in my apartment.

~ at least it did not rain from the ceiling ~

The reason for this is that I live in an old house which is not optimally insulated. One of my neighbors just moved out because her apartment was full of mold, and she had to throw away half of her furniture because it was mildewed. Another one has mold in her kitchen and another room – this is the one I spoke about changing apartments with, but it turned out her apartment was no better than my own. At least I do not have mold, for some reason, probably because I air properly.

By recommendation of my piano tuner, I had bought a dehydrator a year ago, to go against the humidity. With having it run 24/7, and fetching 10 to 15 liters of water from my living room air every day (!), I got the humidity down to a nice mid 50 %. Over the months, I realized that the amount of water was gradually decreasing, and while I had to empty the water container twice a day in the beginning, I was down to twice a week in the end. I think that I somewhat dried out the complete apartment because there was not so much water coming after anymore. My landlady, however, did not believe me and said it was just due to the weather, and while that plays a role as well, it is not a sufficient explanation, since summer, autumn, and winter were very rainy this year.

Anyway, the ultimate test of whether or not I would have to consider a move was my two weeks of absence (and not dehydrating) during the Christmas holidays. I actually expected to come back to a washkitchen again. But when I opened the door, my apartment awaited me warm and dry, and the hygrometer showed incredible 49 % humidity.

~ this is almost too low  ~

So it seems that I can stay in my apartment. This is nice because I really like my apartment, and for Heidelberg standards, the rent is very cheap – I could easily pay a much higher rent for an apartment half the size. However, the utilities make it rather expensive again: My energy company just sent me the most horrible electricity back pay bill I have ever seen in my entire life, and also increased my monthly energy expense. But anyway, if I moved, I would most likely end up with housing costs comparable to my current ones (lower utilities but higher rent) and a smaller or very peripheral apartment, and it is not easy to find an apartment suitable for a grand piano anyway, not to mention all the additional costs and stress coming from moving itself. So I will just stay here.

I also love that this apartment has a big kitchen. 

My last New Year’s resolutions were centered around getting eating and nutrition right, finishing my studies, improving my piano skills, caring better for myself, educating myself in areas of interest, and keeping up blogging. Looking back at 2011, it is time to strike a balance.

EATING

I can happily say that I did pretty well on this one: During the course of the past year, I more and more developed a sense of which foods to eat (in which proportions) and which foods to avoid to feel healthy and energized, and so I start this year with a feeling of knowing how to feed my body.

Moreover, my stomach and gut have recovered after cutting out dairy, gluten, soy protein, sugar, and “white” carbs, although it took many months, and I could carefully widen my food spectrum and reintroduce foods that used to give me cramps before – legumes, brown rice, and kale. I am looking forward to continuing this adventure into the world of real food. This is the kind of experimenting I like.

STUDIES

Ahhhhh … Not finished yet. In the end, everything took much longer than expected, and due to having (several) side jobs – research assistance work in two departments, statistics tutorials, and piano lessons – I often did not have sufficient time and energy to work on my thesis as much as I would have liked to. However, 100 pages are written and re-edited already, and additionally, there already exist an extended references list and several appendices and graphics to insert in the end.

I think there are about 30 to 50 more pages to write, due to the large amount of statistical analyses I conducted with the data, and then the whole thing will finally be finished. With the final exams still to come afterwards, I will need some more months to graduate, but that is okay.

PIANO

This one was fine as well – surprise surprise!  Admittedly, I did not start to play Bach as I wanted, but I learned a couple of new pieces and refreshed some old ones, and also my technique and touch have improved a lot. Things I found very challenging in my first years of playing come rather easily to me now, and I also learn a lot and take great pleasure in teaching piano lessons myself. Based on principles of learning and memory psychology I know from my psychology studies, research into piano practicing and playing techniques, and the knowledge and experience of my wonderful piano teacher, I have developed a quite unique style of teaching which focuses on how to practice with efficiency, and also contains elements of tai-chi (inspired by my own piano teacher) and mindfulness practice. This teaching style I then adjust regarding to my students’ individual needs and current state of playing, and I am happy to say that they enjoy the lessons a lot and learn very well.

CARING FOR MYSELF

I got better with this, but there is still room for improvement. Overall though, I have learned to relax and to handle stress better. My bathtub may or may not have played a major role in this …

Anyway, I still have to listen more to my body when to stop. Especially by the end of the last year, there was a lot of work and social events going on, and I ended up with a migraine shortly before going home for Christmas. This is the ultimate sign that it is too much. I also think that I may have developed something like a body memory for exhaustion over the years, so I have to be careful not to slip back into that state of burn-out I have been in until less than two years ago – I tend to be more susceptible to exhaustion now than earlier in my life, but I know that, by learning myself well and applying good self-management strategies, I can be productive at a high-quality level. Saying “no” more often, and learning to let go of my ideal of perfection and not to feel responsible for everything, seem to be the next steps into the right direction.

EDUCATING MYSELF

I have not done this to the extend I would have liked, but to some extend. Thankfully, due to my profession, I somewhat have a warranty for constant learning, but I would like to widen the scope and read more about things which are not on the current to-do list.

Topics which I have deepened my knowledge on are psychometrics, social cognition, language and communication, self-concept and identity, motivation, and nutrition. However, some more reading in general would be nice …

BLOGGING

As you can see, this blog still exists, and I am happy to still be in contact with my beautiful blogging friends. A big thank you again to all of you, because without your help, I would have never been able to collect so many participants for my diploma thesis study! About 600 bloggers and blog readers have participated, and together with the ones my supervisor recruited at the University of Otago, New Zealand, and the ones I recruited in Germany, the total sample counts about 1400 (!) people now. This is quite the data set!

On the other hand, my post counts of the past months and my very reduced blog-reading and commenting almost fill me with shame. Now that I have more time for blogging during the holidays, I realize again how happy it makes me to be a more active part of this wonderful community.

* * * * *

So you see, the balance of 2011 is a little mixed, but rather positive overall. It is time to announce my plan for the new year! (You may have guessed it from my blog title already …) In a nutshell, it is this.

WORK-PLAY BALANCE

Why work-play balance and not work-life balance, as it is usually called? Well, playing is important for a healthy and fulfilling life! Moreover, playing contains activities you take pleasure in, while life can very well be nasty sometimes, regardless of whether that is related to work or not. And work can also be satisfying, actually, if it is work that suits you. But in this juxtaposition, on the “work” side there is everything that has to be done, while on the “play” side there is everything that is voluntary and fun. I could also have called it “should-want balance”. However, both sides are a potential source of happiness, but in different ways: Happiness coming from the work side is satisfaction due to getting things done, while happiness coming from the play side is joy due to engaging in blissful activities, just for their own sake. The balance is important to experience both kinds of happiness in life.

Most of my life, the scales always inclined towards the work side, and playing came short given everything that had to be done. From now on, I want to try my best to keep the scales more balanced, what means: More time for blissful activities!

The idea for this, I have to admit, does not originate with me but rather with my family. As it were to give me a broad hint, for my birthday this year, I got a package from my parents and grandmoms containing this.

This is a Wii, a PlayStation Portable, and games. When I opened the package, my first thought was, “Where shall I ever take the time from to play with these?” And at the same time, I had an eerie feeling something was not at all going right in my life, and the presents in front of me were telling me what it was.

A few days later, I set up the Wii. It was a weekend evening, I had worked on my thesis for a couple of hours (which I usually do on the weekends because the weekdays do not tend to leave me enough time to get something done on my own things), and was being in this unpleasant condition of being too exhausted to relax with a book or at my piano, while it was still way too early to go to bed. When feeling like that, I cannot even watch TV because having to sit quietly makes me more nervous and tensed and gives my hyperactivity and tics (weird, I know).

Anyway, I started with making Miis, these little characters you can build on the Wii, and two hours were happily spent creating myself and my family and closest friends. Here is my Mii.

~ my Mii visiting the Fuji mountain in the Wii Party world traveling game ~

Then, I started to play Wii Sports Resorts. It was great fun, and it made me happy that all my family-and-friends Miis were also around all the time.

~ catching Ma during skydiving ~

I soon discovered my love for cycling, archery, swordfighting, and – above all – tabletennis. From then on, I played for an hour or two every evening, and made some very exciting discoveries: First, I realized I actually exercised – after 10 minutes or so of playing, I was in t-shirt and boxers and still sweating, and my arm muscles were stiff (so I started to strategically switch games to grant them some rest). Second, and even more important, my exhaustion went away: While I would have just dragged myself through a dreary evening before, too tired to be able to make use of myself, I had finally discovered a way to actively restore my energy – playing. Afterwards, I was refreshed enough to practice the piano or read a book before going to sleep. So, the point of the story is that devoting more time to playing actually makes me more productive, energized, and happier overall.

I shall declare 2012 the year of working and playing to my full potential. Happy 2012 to all of you!

What are your plans and wishes for the new year? Do you play enough?

~ munch, munch ~

What I think works very well is to combine leftover foods with something fresh, and make new dishes of old things all the time. Leftovers, in a wider sense, here also contain foods which my mom bought to make me happy (she did!) – lots of chicken, cherry tomatoes, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, and the like – and which had not been prepared since everything else was so much, and thus had to be finished off as well, due to the freezer being stuffed already. Here is a little gallery showing dishes we (okay, mostly I ) enjoyed during the past days – and a recipe, in the end.

~ chicken with cherry tomatoes and leftover green beans ~

~ leftover venison and green beans with brussel sprouts and shiitake ~

~ chicken with leek and onions in tomato sauce ~

~ chicken with carrot tagliatelle ~

~ leftover venison and potatoes with brussel sprouts ~

~ roasted pork and shiitake with fresh cherry tomatoes ~

~ leftover venison with onions, shiitake, and lamb’s lettuce ~

~ chicken with turnip, shiitake, and sweetheart cabbage ~

~ leftover fish and potatoes with tomatoes and lamb’s lettuce ~

The last dish I made as a quick dinner for my parents one day, and all the fish and potatoes left from the Christmas dinner went into there. My parents enjoyed this dish very much, and I really take pleasure in cooking for them when I am here. Please feel free to use other kinds of fish and vegetables for making this, or tofu to veganize it. I just used what was there and had to be eaten. 

MEDITERRANEAN FLAVORED THREE COLORS FISH AND VEGETABLES

 2 servings

Ingredients

• butter or oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 150 g (5 oz) salmon fillet, cut into pieces
• 150 g white fish fillet (I used cod), cut into pieces
• 3 cooked potatoes, peeled and cut into slices
• 4 tomatoes, cut into pieces
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground paprika
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 pinch of ground chili
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 1 big handful of lamb’s lettuce (or spinach)

Directions

Heat some fat in a large pan and roast the garlic until fragrant. Add fish, potatoes, and tomatoes, season with paprika, thyme, oregano, basil, chili, salt, and pepper, then put the lid on and let everything simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes. By then, the fish and tomatoes should be done, and all the flavors should have nicely combined. Throw in the lamb’s lettuce and cook openly for a little longer if there is too much liquid you wish to reduce, then serve and enjoy.

Please share what you do with leftovers! You can choose several options, if you like.

Take Our Poll

Filed under: Fish and Seafood Dishes, Nice Eats Tagged: Basil, Brussel Sprouts, Carrot, Cherry Tomato, Chicken, Chili, Garlic, Green Beans, Lamb's Lettuce, Leek, Onion, Oregano, Paprika, Pork, Potato, Salmon, Shiitake, Sweetheart Cabbage, Thyme, Tomato, Turnip, Venison, White Fish ]]> http://myfunnylittlelife.com/2011/12/29/indulging-in-leftovers/feed/ 34 kathsfunnylittlelife biggrin chicken with green beans and cherry tomatoes venison roast with brussel sprouts, green beans, and shiitake mushrooms oniony chicken in tomato sauce carrot tagliatelle with chicken venison roast with brussel sprouts and herbed potatoes roasted pork, onions, and lamb's lettuce with cherry tomatoes venison with lamb's lettuce and shiitake mushrooms chicken with turnip, sweetheart cabbage, and shiitake mushrooms mediterranean flavored fish with potatoes and tomatoes smiling mediterranean flavored fish with potatoes and tomatoes hungry mediterranean flavored fish with potatoes and tomatoes http://myfunnylittlelife.com/2011/12/28/delicious-holidays/ http://myfunnylittlelife.com/2011/12/28/delicious-holidays/#comments Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:37:05 +0000 Kath (My Funny Little Life) http://myfunnylittlelife.com/?p=8869 Continue reading →]]>

The holidays have been cozy and filled with delicious foods again. The main Christmas holiday is December 24th in Germany, not the 25th as in most other countries. As usual, the day began with setting up and decorating the Christmas tree while listening to Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.

In the afternoon, my two grandmoms came to my parents’ house, and we all had tea and coffee together and talked, since they had not seen me in such a long time. For the ones who wanted, there were sweets to enjoy.

~ cream-filled Christmas cake my grand aunt had sent us ~

~ Niederegger marzipan chocolates, a delicacy from my hometown ~

With exception of the cake, everything was gluten-free this year: My parents both switched to a gluten-free diet several months earlier, due to my dad’s aggravating and increasingly harmful bowel issues. When the doctors recommended to raise his consumption of fibers by eating more whole grains and legumes, I had suggested to try a gluten-free diet first, to rule out the possibily he had developed a wheat sensitivity after getting bowel surgery a couple of years ago – thanks to my friend Panda who once mentioned that food intolerances can result from having an infection or undergoing surgery, especially in the belly and bowel area. In that case, increasing (gluten) whole grain consumption might have had very unfortunate effects.

I am very happy that the gluten-free diet seems to work for my dad: He has not had a single attack in the last half of a year, and has not been to the hospital, which he was every three or four months before, when he got the most severe cramps and obstruction of the bowels. My mom cooks a lot of potatoes, and sometimes rice or other gluten-free grains, and my dad eats gluten-free bread and the like. Now, my mom has made her traditional Christmas stollen with gluten-free flour for the first time, and an accomplished baker she is, she immediately found out that gluten-free dough is likely to need an egg more not to become dry and crumbly, since it lacks the elasticity provided by wheat gluten.

~ my mom’s gluten-free stollen ~

For Christmas dinner, we had fish this year – salmon and cod caught by my dad on his last fishing vacation in Denmark – with vegetables and potatoes, and a fruit salad for dessert. The fish was prepared differently so everybody could have it the way he liked it best, or try it all.

My dad had marinated the salmon with olive oil, lemon juice, and a Mediterranean spice mix, and roasted it in a large, heavy pan.

Part of the cod was breaded with a mixture of egg-yolk and gluten-free flour, and roasted as well.

The rest I carefully cooked with slices of fresh ginger, dried lemon leaves, and tarragon.

Sides were potatoes, green beans and carrots, and a green salad my mom just seasoned with a little light olive oil, lemon juice, and a dash of sugar (northern German style ).

For the fruit salad, I undertook the task to deseed a pomegranate, and this was a great occasion to try out the pitting technique I had seen on Strix‘ blog a while ago, and had not tried out so far (while being very curious about it). The idea is to simply cut the pomegranate into halves, and then holding one half with the cutting surface downwards, and tapping the half from above with a blunt object. I used a wooden thing actually thought for flattening meat cutlets (or so), and it worked amazingly well. The seeds fell out undamaged, and the whole endeavor could be done without giving the kitchen a pink pomegranate juice shower. 

~ melon, mandarin, banana, and pomegranate fruit salad ~

I leave you for today with a picture of my Christmas dinner plate. In the next post, I will show you what happened to the many leftovers we had.

What did you have for Christmas dinner this year?