Healthy breakfast carrot-cake muffins

Breakfast-carrot muffins 5It´s official. I moved! My new apartment is all set up and now it´s time to get to know life in the new city. Although I´m still bummed that I had to move at all, my new apartment kind of tries to make up for it. For starters I know finally have my own oven!! I know, it´s amazing. In my old apartment, I had to use the common kitchen for baking, which involved me running up and down all the time, panicking about whether I will get the timing right or everything might burn. I also have those huge windows that face west which means that I have a lot of light. I´m really excited to get behind my camera and experiment with all that light but until then I have a recipe for you that has been in put on hold for quite a while. I think it fit´s this October just right: carrot cake muffins! Continue reading “Healthy breakfast carrot-cake muffins”

Crema Catalana

IMG_7800Hi folks, I got another recipe in remembrance of my time in Barcelona for you. This is the last one though; the next weeks will fully be dedicated to fall again.
After learning how to make Spanish tortilla and arroz negro, it is now time for crema catalana. What better way to honor Catalonia?

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Crema Catalana is similar to Créme Brulée, the only difference is that the Catalans are a bit lazier and use corn starch instead of putting it in the oven for hours. All you need for this dessert is milk, eggs, sugar and lemon zest. It is easily prepared, which is great if you are hosting a dinner party. All you need to do is prepare the dessert in the morning, let it rest in the fridge and then you can surprise your guests with a perfect dessert at the end of the evening. Continue reading “Crema Catalana”

Arroz negro – black paella

Arroz negroWhat´s your first thought that comes to mind when talking about Spain? Paella right? The fact that there exists a – lesser known – little brother of the traditional paella is often forgotten. Hands up, who has ever heard of arroz negro?

Arroz negro translates to black rice and that is exactly what you are getting. Don’t let the appearance scare you, it is actually really delicious. In fact, I think I might like arroz negro even more than paella. You don´t really taste the ink of the calamari, instead the rice is very aromatic with a hint of lemon and tastes like summer, vacation and the sea. So the next time you are in Spain, you should definitely go ahead and try an arroz negro. It´s worth it. Continue reading “Arroz negro – black paella”

How to make the perfect Tortilla de patatas

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Everyone who´s been to Spain or has ever eaten Tapas should know Tortilla de patatas. The Spanish specialty, made from eggs and potatoes is one of the most typical dishes you can make. The Spanish eat it all the time, lunch, dinner, tapas…you can serve it to anything. I am not saying that I make the perfect Tortilla but I know who does and I was able to get some secrets.

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My Barcelona

IMG_2417Today’s post is kind of personal and (at least for me) rather emotional. It´s about the love of my life, the city of my dreams and the most beautiful place on earth: Barcelona. People that know me know that I spend my first four years living in Spain, in a city close to Barcelona. Ever since, I´ve been in love with the city and the region. Even when we went back to Germany, we tried to keep and integrate the culture into our lives. I grew up with Spanish Tortilla, Els Pets, Castells, Cacaolat and Shin Chan. We had a Spanish Au pair for two years and we made sure to go back and visit the region and our friends at least once a year. I grew up speaking three languages; unfortunately I lost all my Spanish and Catalan when we went back. But ever since I was little, I was determined to live in Barcelona again and learn how to speak Spanish.

Foto 3Well, sometimes dreams do come true. When I went to University, it was part of my study program to spend one year abroad and I knew that I wanted to spend it in Barcelona. After the most stressful organization of all times, I finally made it to Barcelona last August. And all I can say is that it was the best thing ever! I fell in love even more with the city and I enjoyed every day that I got to live there. (Well, the whole studying-thing could have been a little less stressful but hey, at least I was in Barcelona) Continue reading “My Barcelona”

Fall is here…

ÄpfelFall is here! The days are getting shorter, the evenings colder, the first leaves are changing their color and there are apples everywhere. Summer is slowly saying goodbye and I am not quite sure yet if I am happy about it or not. I didn’t get to enjoy this summer as much, since I spend most time locked up behind my laptop writing my bachelor thesis. I do like what fall brings though. Apples and plums and pumpkins…I guess you just got to make the best of each season and I very much intend to do so this fall.

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