• Bewusst Leben,  Sarines Göteborg

    AWOL | I still exist

    OK, this post really doesn’t have a purpose other than saying, „I still exist“. I have been awol due to spontaneous traveling (yes, I do feel blessed to have such opportunities). I am back now but only for a couple of days which will be filled with work, so I doubt there’ll be much blogging happening. And then I will be gone again for another week. Possibly with more time to myself, though, so hopefully with more time for writing, too. Meanwhile: enjoy the view I had yesterday on the ferry from Puttgarden, Germany to Rødby, Denmark.

    Sunshine – not just a friend of M. I. A.
  • Bewusst Leben,  Sarines Göteborg

    Recipe | Hazelnut almond muffins

    I deviate from recipes a lot. But this time I went so far (not all on purpose … unforeseen turn of events demanded improvisation!) that I think it’s fair to claim I made this one up. Kind of.

    Some are meant to be scones, others are meant to be muffins. That’s just how it is, right?

    It started out with wanting to try to make scones but substitute the flour for ground almonds and hazelnuts. Then I thought: why not add some cocoa, and make them chocolate scones? Then I thought: why not use the hemp milk that Peter made instead of regular milk? The first batch sort of melted into one cake on the baking sheet (I later cut them into cookies but it got kind of messy). So for the second batch I poured the batter into muffin forms. Hence, I call them muffins. Gluten-free but not really low-carb (the sugar, I suppose you can exchange it for a low-carb sweetener), and due to the hazelnuts obviously not for those allergic to nuts. Do almond only, I guess.

    For 12 muffins you need

    • 2 3/4 cups (6,5 dl) ground almonds and hazelnuts (I went half and half)
    • 1/2 cup (ca. 1dl) sugar
    • 2 tsp baking poweder
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 3/4 cups (2 dl) firm butter, cut into small pieces
    • 1 cup hemp milk (just search „hemp milk recipe“ – you’ll get a variation of the same: this, this, or this, … Peter used dried dates as sweetener)
    • add raisins/fruit if desired (I didn’t, maybe next time – I imagine banana would taste great, and make the muffins even more juicy)
    • I also added some psyllium (don’t know how much, though, maybe about a tablespoon), which is used in a lot of gluten-free cake recipes to make whatever you’re baking more fluffy, and keep it from getting so dry and compact

    Mix the dry ingredients, cut butter into crumbs, add, stir in milk, knead until the texture is smooth. I let the batter stand for a couple of minutes (I think that it gets a little more „doughy“, less „liquid“ – I suck at speaking bake – my apologies!). Use spoons to fill the batter into muffin shapes, bake at 400°F/200°C for about 30 minutes.

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    Oh yeah: did I mention that they tasted really great? Well, they do.

  • Bewusst Leben,  Sarines Göteborg

    The quitter wins

    I am not ready to let the kitchen cleaning mission go yet I still don’t really feel like it. Then this CRAZY idea popped into my mind: What if I just do the parts that seem easy, and see how far I get? This might sound simple to most but for someone who has been walking around for most their life thinking that doing things half-assed is not allowed, that you have to decide if you’re in or out, that you don’t start unless you’re going to finish, blablablah … for someone like that (not me, of course), the conception of this possibility is really mind-blowing.

    After all, if I allow myself to start under the premise that I can quit whenever I want, why, maybe I’ll actually go through with it! If I go about it as I usually do, locking myself into the notion that you have to finish what you started, I probably won’t even start …

    So here’s to a day full of doing things half-assed and starting things without finishing them (or at least allowing for that alternative)!

  • Bewusst Leben,  Sarines Göteborg

    Going with the flow

    It may not look like it but there is actually a lot going on that I would like to write about. Mostly Ayurveda stuff, since I’ve really been hooked, not just on reading but trying out stuff. I’ve noticed some amazing changes that I want to write about. Now that I am off work for the next eight days, hopefully I will get at least some stuff out there.

    In a way, this post is connected to the Ayurvedic train of thought – and not just because according to Ayurveda, everything is connected. Being a person who loves planning stuff ahead, making lists and such, and often being frustrated when everything doesn’t go according to plan, (= a person with a dominant Pitta dosha, if I should express it in „Ayurvedic“), I decided I wanted to take a break from locking myself into a fictitious schedule, and just go with the flow instead. Do what I felt like, when I felt like it, instead of doing what I had planned out the night before simply because I HAD A PLAN. Yes, I was going to follow my intuition. I know that I am going to state the obvious here when I say: it worked amazingly.

    First I wrote a bunch of letters and e-mails to friends and family that I had been „planning“ to do for so long but never could find the right mood to sit down to. Then the sun came out and I realized the light in our apartment was perfect to take some pictures of the jewelery I have been making. I uploaded them right away, and wanted to share them but – and this is really very unlike me! – I quit before I was done, because the weather still was nice and my boyfriend suggested we go for a walk.

    We decided for Gunnebo castle, which we don’t do very much, although it is very pretty there. I forgot to bring my camera but I let it go, even though there was a ton of stuff I would have wanted to share on my blog. We ended up not walking around much either, since the ground was still covered with ice. It was still worth the trip: It turned out that the restaurant wasn’t on winter schedule anymore, and it just happened to be lunch time. I recommend lunch at Gunnebo castle to annyone who comes to Gothenburg, anyone who is into seasonal, locally grown food. Also, the atmosphere is very nice, old school Swedish „herrgård“.

    All in all, this experiment of just going with the flow, following my intuition was a success, I want to practice it more often.

    Ok, now for the part of the day where I did take pictures – the jewelery. I am not even going to pretend to be humble – I am really pleased with the results. Things that manifest as beautifully in the real world as we envision them are a great but rare pleasure. These are definitely in that category of things:

    You’ve got the lock, pretty baby But I’ve got the key … (Johnny Lang)
    Eyelets are not just for scrapbooking!
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    And the earrings:

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    Yes, one of the strings doesn’t quite look like it’s supposed to – but I luv ya anyway!
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    Whaddaya think? I am thinking of selling them (and the pieces I have visions of but not created yet, hehe), like on etsy or something. Any of you have any experience? Cuz I don’t, so, tips and feedback are really appreciated!