Nach wochenlanger Ernährung von Kiosk- und Kneipenfutter, hat mich heute doch mal wieder der Kochehrgeiz gepackt. In der morgigen Bentobox sind daher nur furchtbar gesunde Sachen. Im unteren Teil steckt eine große, leider verdeckte Portion Sobanudeln mit Fertigdip (gibt’s in jedem Asienladen, heiß Soba Tsuyu), den ich mit etwas Wasabipulver gepimpt hab. Darauf liegen gebratene Pilze und Paprika mit Sesam und etwas Rohkost (Tomate, Gurke, Frühlingszwiebel).

Im oberen Teil steckt Obst, Nüsse, Instant-Misosuppe und schneller Milchreis (aus Reisflocken) mit braunem Zucker. Etwas Deko konnte ich mir nicht verkneifen ;-)

via http://weloveyouso.com

Mein absolutes Lieblingsessen ist japanisches Frühstück. Dazu gehört natürlich Reis, den ich mit geröstetem Sesam und Noristreifen garniere, Lachsfilet mit Sojasauce und irgendein Gemüse. In diesem Fall war es Brokkoli, sonst auch gerne scharfer Rettich-Möhren-Salat. Dazu noch Grüntee und ich starte satt und fit in den Tag (was sonst eher selten vorkommt).

Having Japanese food for breakfast makes me so happy. In my case, it has to consist of rice decorated with sesame seeds and nori, some kind of vegetables or salad and salmon sprinkled with soy sauce. Add a cup of green tea and you have the perfect start into the day.

Da wir den Gebrauch von Eiern vermeiden, aber sehr gerne Eierkuchen (für Wessis: Pfannkuchen) essen, habe ich ein wenig experimentiert. Was herausgekommen ist, kann man oben sehen. Ich verwende eine Mischung aus Weizenmehl und Soja- bzw. Reismilch. Eine genaue Mengenangabe habe ich nicht, ich mische einfach so lange bis die Konsistenz für mich stimmt. Für herzhafte Wraps salze ich zusätzlich. Außerdem kann man natürlich passende Gewürze ergänzen. Reismilch passt eher zu den klassischen süßen Eierkuchen.

Konsistenz und Geschmack kommen ziemlich nah ans Original heran. Machen wir wieder.

Since we avoid eggs, I experimented with different recipes to make eggless German pancakes, which have actually not much in common with the American version. I found that a mixture of wheat flour and either soy or rice milk works just fine.

Hier noch ein Bento von letzter Woche. Nicht schön, aber lecker. Another Bento, not beautiful, but yummy.

Enthalten waren: What I put in:

-Pfirsich (peach)

-Zetti Kokosflocken (coconut sweets)

-Misosuppe (instant miso soup)

-kalte Sobanudeln mit Dip (Rest vom Vorabend) (cold soba noodles with a dip)

-Bohnensalat (string bean salad)

Der Testlauf sah folgendermaßen aus:

Neben dem Obst habe ich nicht ganz klassische Gurkensandwiches eingepackt sowie Reste der veganen Semmelknödel mit Pilzsauce vom Vorabend. Kam alles unfallfrei an und zu schwer war’s im Rucksack auch nicht.

Das Rezept für die veganen Semmelknödel stammt übrigens aus dem brandneuen Kochbuch von Sandra Forster. Nachdem ich es erst einige Tage habe und nur dieses Rezept probiert habe, kann ich natürlich noch kein abschließendes Urteil fällen. Daher nur meine Meinung zu diesem Rezept: Um es gleich zu sagen, es hat sehr gut geschmeckt und im Endeffekt auch alles funktioniert. Trotzdem passt für mich, vor allem gemessen an der Preisklasse, einiges einfach gar nicht. Es taucht zB in der Zutatenliste Petersilie auf, dann ward sie nimmer gesehen. Wäre doch mal nett gewesen zu erwähnen, was man damit machen soll. Weiterhin ist die Menge für vier Personen kalkuliert. Bei mir kamen 13 anständige Knödel heraus, was in meinen Augen deutlich mehr als vier Portionen sind. Zudem ist die Rezeptbeschreibung eher dürftig. Kein Problem für einen geübten Koch, ansonsten führt sowas zu unnötiger Verwirrung. So macht das Buch trotz Blumenbar-typischer Aufmachung einen recht amateurhaften Eindruck.

Angekündigt war es zudem als ideologiefrei. Mag sein, dass es das Anliegen des Buches ist, einen entspannten Veganismus zu repräsentieren. Dann sollte man allerdings die Ethikstunde in Form von Essays und Erfahrungsberichten lieber weglassen.

So, das wäre mein erster Eindruck.

Hier ein paar Bilder vom Abendessen. Die Makis sind mit Dosenthunfisch, Gurke und Lachs gefüllt. Die Onigiri sind mit Thunfisch gefüllt und mit Furikake bestreut.

A few pictures of our dinner. I made a few makis with canned tuna, cucumber and salmon. The onigiris are also filled with tuna and seasoned with furikake.

Diese handgeformten Onigiri waren ebenfalls mit Thunfisch oder Lachs gefüllt und mit geröstetem Sesam sowie einem Streifen Nori dekoriert.

These onigiris are also filled with either tuna or salmon and decorated with roasted white sesame and strips of nori.

Hier eine kleine Box von letzter Woche oder so. Der obere Teil war gefüllt mit Aprikosenhälften, einer Muffinform mit echten Him- und Brombeeren sowie einer mit selbigen aus Fruchtgummi.

This part of the box was filled with apricots cut in halves, and muffin forms filled with real raspberries and blackberries on one side and jelly berries on the other.

Der untere Teil war gefüllt mit gebratenen Zucchini und Paprika, Alaskaseelachsfilet und Reis mit Fertigfurikake aus dem Asienladen.

The other part was filled with fish, rice with furikake and grilled bell peppers and zucchini.

Als totaler Bento-Newbie bin ich immer auf der Suche nach geeigneten Behältern und Deko und dankbar für alles, was ich finden kann. Diesen Metallboxen habe ich bei Karstadt gefunden. Sie waren recht günstig und eignen sich gut für die meisten Gerichte. Allerdings klemmen sie etwas beim Schließen und Öffnen, was besonders im Büro zu unangenehmen Unfällen führen kann. Die bunten Silikonmuffinförmchen habe ich auch dort gefunden. Als gute Quelle haben sich Spielzeugläden erwiesen, wo ich hübsche Hello-Kitty-Boxen und winzige Ausstechförmchen in Form von Elefant, Auto, Pilz, Vögelchen, Schmetterling, Stern und Blume gefunden hab.

Finding cute or at least suitable bento supplies is not that easy here in Munich. I found my metal boxes and muffin forms in a large department store, but they are more practical than cute. However, I had some luck in a toy store where I bought two Hello Kitty boxes and a few tiny cookie cutters.

Monday’s boxes are usually filled with leftovers from my weekend cooking marathons.

Der untere Teil der Box ist mit Pasta alla Norma (Reste vom sonntäglichen Mittagessen) gefüllt und mit Käsetierchen dekoriert.

This part is filled with pasta alla norma, decorated with cheese animals.

Der obere Teil enthält Buttermilchgelee mit pinken Zuckerherzchen, Himbeersauce (in der kleinen Box), Instantmiso, eine Camembertecke und Knoblauchbrotchips.

The upper part contains buttermilk jelly with pink hearts, rasperry sauce (in the small box), instant miso, a small piece of camembert and crispy garlic bread.

I made a few more lunch boxes modeled after Japanese bento boxes.

The box on the left contains rice salad with tomatoes, Italian herbs and olives, which I decorated with cheese moons. In the back there is a small tuna and egg salad and some pieces of fruit, nuts and a bit of chocolate.

The box in the middle contains tortelloni with pesto rosso, cucumber with guacamole, a a few pieces of fruit.

The box on the right contains cheese, a fruit salad, pasta salad and fried vegetables.

Currently, I’m on the lookout for more boxes (preferably as cute and pink as possible) and all sorts of stuff for decoration.

Here’s my first bento box ever. Bentos are traditional Japanese lunch boxes that contain a variety of food and are often nicely decorated. I have no experience with traditional Japanese food other than the occasional take-out sushi, so I filled the box with more common stuff. The largest compartment contains fried rice and is decorated with cucumbers and hard cheese (I used cookie cutters for these).  In the back, I put a hearty salad and a fruit salad with almonds and a small piece of chocolate.

Here’s a bento instructable.

Thai Broccoli

1 bunch broccoli

1 bunch of scallions

2-3 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon thinly sliced ginger

1  fresh red chili

1/2 bunch cilantro (chopped)

2 tablespoons peanut oil

2 tablespoons rice wine or Sherry

2 tablespoons soy sauce

salt

• Cut broccoli into spears.
• Chop garlic, scallions, ginger, chili and cilantro.
• Heat wok or skillet.
• Stir-fry broccoli for approx. 5 min.
• Add garlic, scallions, ginger, chili and cilantro. Stir-fry for another 3 minutes.
• Add rice wine and soy sauce. Let it cook for another 2 minutes.
• Add salt if neccessary and serve.

This veggie dish can be combined with all sorts of meat or fish. Today I went for prawns.

Sweet-And-Sour Prawns

12 large prawns (doesn’t hurt to take a few more)

2 garlic cloves

1 eschalot or red onion

2 ribs celery

6 small tomatoes

2 tablespoons peanut oil

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine or Sherry

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 teaspoon flour

salt

• Peel garlic and onion and slice thinly.
• Wash celery and also slice thinly.
• Wash and dice tomatoes.
• Heat oil in wok or skillet.
• Add celery, garlic, onion and prawns and stir-fry for 5 minutes.
• Add rice wine/Sherry, fish sauce, soy sauce, ketchup and tomatoes. Stir-fry for another three minutes.
• Finally, add the flour and stir well until the sauce is thick. Add salt if neccessary, but try first, because the fish sauce is already quite salty. Serve with rice or Thai broccoli and a cold beer.

Natural fabric softener

I will surely try all of these recipes, since I have made very good experiences with the use of natural products. A while ago I replaced fabric softener with diluted acetic acid, which softens the clothes without making them feel sort of sticky after a while. Additionally, it helps to descale the washing machine, so you don’t need any additional products. We also use it to clean the cage of our rabbits, the kitchen sink, fridge and to descale other household appliances.

Fruit fly trap

If you have a fruit fly problem during summer, try to put a mixture of 1/2 cup of cider vinegar, one tablespoon of honey and one tablespoon of wine near the affected area. It smells quite intense, but since it never fails to kill most of them, I’m ok with that.

Without gravity and friction an object won´t ever change speed or direction unless you give it a nudge.

This very important law of kinetics describes very well the state my mind was in, when it came to this blog. After I dropped my Typo 3 based site ninan.info, I decided to get away from PHP at all and do it using Java.

What then followed was a quest for technology, a journey through the world of frameworks, one of the most knowledge gaining phases in my nearer past – but it didn´t lead up to my new blog.

After a year or so of starting over and over again, trying technology after technology I finally really lost purpose and got lost in evaluating stuff. I finally realized this when I recently updated the WordPress installation at nerdicism.com. I have set up that page for my girlfriend. I choose WordPress over its simplicity and she did very well in adopting it. So I asked myself, if I will ever be able to join her in the blogosphere if I try to reinvent the wheel over and over again just to have it 2π in the end. This was the nudge I really needed. I put all the litter (not really) into the garbage tin, unwrapped my nifty new WordPress installation, chose that sweet theme, tweaked some parts and was almost done.

When I started to do my own thing I surely knew that there were good alternatives, but I wanted to do it my way. I wanted it to be special. I wanted it to be different from the rest. I was affected by the “Not invented here”-syndrom (NIH).

WordPress is far from being perfect, it surely has its edges, but it really does what it is intended for most of the time in a fairly simple way. 

So what I’m saying is, if you’re thinking about starting a new project, think again. Search the internet for the best solution available (Pareto principle, nah?), adapt it and make it work for you. 

Back to weblogs – it´s the content that matters, not the software. That said, I welcome you on the all new ninan.info.

Since it is basically a simple, greasy formula such a balm can also be used for other dry body parts such as feet, elbows or cuticles. If you plan to make one especially for your feet you might want to add lavender or sage oil.

The jar I used once contained mineral make-up and I simply recycled it, but you can also find similar containers at drugstores.

Also, I found this very interesting blog post that presents a way of making your own pots from old newspapers. I will certainly get me one of these wooden pot makers. The idea is just so brilliant.

Just to get you in the proper mood, here’s one of the adorable WPA poster from the collection of the Library of Congress.

My motivation for becoming all crafty is as follows:

• Results: First and foremost, I enjoy seeing tangible, wearable and eatable results of my efforts. I’m far from being an expert in any of the crafts I’m doing, but I indulge in the creative process.
• Balance: My other interest and occupations involve almost exclusively brain activity. I’m a student and a human resources manager who spends a huge amount of her spare time reading etc. DIY is my attempt to balance that.
• Environment: DIY is a very green thing. I try to use as many recycled things as possible for my projects and am always on the lookout for things to save for future endeavors. Additionally, I value self-made stuff much more and am less likely to throw it away just like that.
• Therapy, sort of: It’s an almost meditative thing. When I come home from work after a long day of typical office fighting, the best I can do to get my mind off things is to cook a meal and knit a little. I have to be fully concentrated in order to get good results, so there is no place and time to worry about deadlines etc. Sort of like occupational therapy.
• Thrift: I want to spend less. While I have a real job, unlike many students, I still have to mind tuition fees and the generally high costs of life in Munich. Plus, saving a penny or two never hurts. The big problem with DIY is that you will have to invest first in equipment and materials. Additionally, if you compare the price for a scarf at, say, H&M to a homemade one, the latter option will certainly be much more expensive. You have to consider long-term value development, though. In many cases, the quality of homemade stuff is so much better and the pieces will last so much longer, so it will eventually pay off to have chosen the path of DIY enlightenment. If it’s gardening you’re interested in, well, harvesting your own vegetables and fruits will be the reward. No need to worry about the price for tomatoes anymore if you have them on your balcony or in your garden. As for cooking and baking, just calculate the price of cheese on an average pizza. There you go.
• Creative freedom: I now exactly what I want and I am able to create it myself. I have been wanting a snug, purple scarf with an interesting, sort of geometrical pattern for a while now. Couldn’t find what I was looking for in any of the big shops here, so I’m doing it myself now. Needles crossed, it will work out exactly as I image.

In this new category section, I want to document my projects and share them with you. Enjoy!