my secret top 6 spices / ingredients

Today I want to tell you about my top 6 secret spices / ingredients which add the certain je ne sais quoi to your dishes and desserts!

1. tahini / sesame paste. I absolutely don't like the taste of it on its own, but adding a good teaspoon of it to your salad as a dressing or mixing it into your homemade humus gives it a full taste.
2. cinnamon. You can add it to pretty much everything that contains apples and also add a pinch of it to your pancakes and everybody will love them!
3. grated orange peels. You can use fresh organic oranges for that or buy it in the grocery store (find it in the baking aisle). You can add it to every chocolate-y and/or nutty cake, cupcake, muffin and what not. Use it thrifty and it'll add a little freshness to your oh-so-yummy-desserts :)
4. nutmeg. Get the whole nutmegs and a grater. Yes, they are a little more expensive than the dried and grated stuff, but they taste WAY better! You can add it to pretty much anything with potatos, mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, cream-sauces (for pasta). Again, use it thrifty!
5. fresh basil leaves. I love them in salads, tomato soups and sauces (anything tomato, to be honest), on bread with almost any vegan spread or cheese. You can even put a few into a green smoothie, if you like them. If you cannot grow basil in your garden/ on your balcony, buy the pot plant and not the 'fresh' leaves you can get in most grocery stores. The plants are not only cheaper but taste better as well. (btw basil goes great with.. oh the story of how to make awesome bruschetta is a different one.. ;) )
6. garlic. (this one is for you mum - and Rita, who was the cooking lady at my nursery school and put garlic into everything except for rice pudding :D ) Pretty much every savoury dish tastes better with garlic! Use fresh one in small amounts. Goes with anything with tomatos, potatos, pasta, chick-peas, rice and a whole lot more!

 These are my 6 little secret ingredients you will always - under all circumstances - find in my kitchen and very often in my recipes. I hope, you'll find a few ways to use these and enjoy them as much as I do!

Julia
xoxo

a vegan trade fair - die VeganFach in Hamburg

a few first impressions

On November 2nd, 2013 the third vegan trade fair VeganFach took place at the intl. Airport in Hamburg/Germany.

Many restaurants, a few vegan food shops and companies, a raw vegan hotel, book stores and many more offered their goods.

The trade fair was quite busy and when I arrived there around lunch-time, many people waited in line to get in. But the trade fair seemed to be pretty well organised, so no-one had to wait too long. 

Additional to the offered goods and the delicious food (I had a Döner for lunch and a lahmacun (Turkish pizza) for dinner - I had both for the first time ever and they were really great! *yum*!), seminars and show cookings were held. 

For further info check the website! 

a few first impressions

show cooking

By the way: the veganfach is a yearly trade fair, on the first Saturday in November to celebrate the world vegan day (1st of November) and is held in a different city every year. The last two VeganFach trade fairs were held in Berlin and Essen.

I hope to see you there next year on world vegan day 2014!

Julia 
xoxo 

Döner

 

raspberrie cream cake

vegan travelogue: Hannover ~ the Loving Hut

Last weekend we travelled to Hannover, where we visited the Loving Hut Restaurant.
It's a small vegan restaurant close to the inner city. They offer mostly chinese dishes but have a few other fast-food-like dishes on the menu as well. We wanted to try as many of them as possible so we shared the dishes we ordered.
For starters we had the spring rolls and they were pretty good.
The next course was fried noodles with vegetables. These were really good. We both enjoyed them quite a lot!
Next was the burger with french fries, ketchup and mayonaise. The burger was ok, not our personal favourite. The french fries were pretty good, the ketchup as well, but we didn't like the mayonaise at all.
For dessert we had a piece of chocolatecake and a piece of carrot-walnut-cake. These were amazing! The highlight of our dinner! Both came with a delicious cream frosting.
I had a mango-lassi with dinner, which was pretty good as well!
The staff was nice.
So all in all we'd recommend the Loving Hut, but it's not my favourite restaurant. I'm sure, we'll go there again though!

Sorry, this post is so short and without photos.. Maybe I'll update it someday :)
Btw, Loving Hut is a restaurant-chain, which you'll find in Hamburg and other cities as well!

When travelling anywhere, always check Happy Cow for vegetarian and vegan restaurants and shops in the area!

Have a great Sunday,
Julia
xoxo