Recipe: Veggie Stew with Pearl Barley

I bought this cook book "Vegan for Lazies" when I was on vacation this fall, so I wanted to show you the first recipe I tried out:

Winter is just around the corner, so I opted for an easy veggie stew with pearl barley and smoked tofu.

 You need:

• 650 ml water (about 2 3/4 cups)
• 2 garlic cloves
• salt 
• balsamic vinegar
• 80 g pearl barley (1/2 to 1/3 cup)
• 1 leek
• 100 g smoked tofu (or any kind you like)
• 300 g frozen vegetables (I chose a broccoli- cauliflower-carrot mix)
• 1 teaspoon hot mustard
• 3 tablespoons chives
• any seasonings and herbs you like

Cook the water.
Press one of the garlic cloves and add to water.
Season with salt and balsamic vinegar (I added a little vegetable stock powder, because I thought there isn't enough flavor to it).
Add pearl barley, cover and let it simmer for about 15 minutes on low temperature.
Clean and cut leek into thin rings and dice tofu.
Add to pearl barley along with frozen veggies.
Bring to a boil again, cover, and let it simmer for another 10 minutes.
In between, add the other pressed garlic clove.
Add mustard, chives, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and any other seasonings to your taste.

 And there it is! I gotta admit, it isn't the best looking meal I've ever cooked (that's why I added this sparkling effect thingy to the picture), but it was really tasty and I'm definitely gonna make this again during the colder months.
What's your favorite winter meal?

xx Nina

Interior: My Record Shelf

This is what you always see in the background of my ootds... Because I get compliments from time to time for my record shelf, or for what is on it, I wanted to show you all the "stuff" in detail.

Alarm Clock:
I got this one from IKEA a while ago (I think it's still available), and I really like the retro    touch of it. I never use it to set my alarm though, I rather stick to my phone.

Plant:
This beautiful, weird, spiky plant and its pot is also from IKEA. I'm not a flower type of person, so I need something I don't really have to care for. I also prefer the look of cactuses and plants like this one.

Polaroid Camera:
I looove taking pictures with this baby! It's always something special when this credit card size picture comes out, you shake it and slowly the picture gets visible and you realize that you look like crap. But even then, it still looks kinda cool, just because it is a polaroid. I got it myself for christmas last year when I still was in the US. It was a special offer for 50-something dollars. Now you can get it off amazon for $60 and for 70€ on the german website.

Candle:
No explanation needed, I love candles with a slight scent and gotta replace it like every month.

Picks:
These are just some picks I picked up (got it? :D) at the Hard Rock Café in New York. Always grabbing one of those if I'm in need.

Flask:
This was the last flask in the urban outfitters sale with this design on it. It says "good vibes" which I love, and with the mountains in the background I really get this summery roadtrip feeling and makes me wanna go somewhere nice.

Louminous Ball:
Actually, there isn't anything to add...it gives a nice glow.

Converse-like coin bank:
Yeah, now it gets really fancy...I put coins in it?

Magazine:
I like to read magazines and I liked this NYLON music issue I bought at the Newark airport this summer because it has interviews of great bands like The Kills and Haim (check them out if you don't know them!) in it.

Tissues:
It is November and my nose is gonna start its marathon soon I feel like. I found this pop art design box and thought it would deserve a spot on my shelf.


And this post got longer than I thought it would be. Anyway, hope you like this kind of information. If you want me to do a record collection related post - just tell me. Now, I gotta change into my work clothes and head off to work. See you soon!

xx Nina

OOTD: Flannel Fall

faux leather jacket Zara / scarf pieces / dress asos / flannel BDG / tights urban outfitters / creepers the fabulous

cross ring shop wasteland / rings urban outfitters

Hey guys! 

I know it's been a long time since my last post and I don't really have a good excuse, maybe it's just a sign of my unability to blog, but whatever. Now, I'm back and really want to keep up with regular posts. Here's the look I wore today to school. I got this flannel at UO a couple of weeks ago, cause they had this flannels for 30€ sale plus free shipping, so how could I resist. Btw, I ripped my other flannel a while ago... (still wearing it though, it has kind of a punk touch to it now). Anyway, I hope you like the look and you'll watch out for my future posts.

xx Nina

OOTD: AC/DC on tour

cropped tee forever 21 / flannel clockhouse by c&a / denim levi's / creepers the fabulous / backpack nasty gal / sunnies h&m

That's the look I wore yesterday to a flea market. It really feels like summer at the moment! 

I really like this look, because there are just a lot of staple pieces of mine like the black'n'white flannel, my black skinnies, my creepers (that I got off ebay for 5€!), my favorite backpack, and some round sunnies. I own a lot of band tees and went for the AC/DC one this day, because I haven't worn this one for a while. 

I bought quite a lot of stuff at the market, but I'm gonna show it to you in a separate post. 

Enjoy your weekend (or your vacation like I do, muhaha)!

xx Nina

A Day Off School

cropped tee urban outfitters / denim BDG via urban outfitters

I had the Wednesday off - and not because I skipped school or pretended that I'd been sick (although that had happend a couple of times, I gotta admit). Anyway, here's what I did on that day:

Chilling around the house

that means lying in bed, watching TV, reading a book or a magazine, surfing the internet and putting all the stuff in my online cart I cannot afford and NOT buying it, watching YouTube videos, eating...

Eating

my bad habit is to enjoy the proximity of food when I'm home a little too much, so I'm constantly walking back and forth to the kitchen and back into my room...but that's just how it goes when you're home alone, right?

And I had this yumminess for breakfast:

cherry soy yogurt with organic chia raspberry granola and a pear 

Going outside

for me, it's important to go outside of my apartment, so that I don't forget that there is a life outside of my PJs and my bed. I gotta remind myself of the world out there, and we had really nice weather today (which cannot be taken for granted in October in Germany).

Riding my bike with my grandma

I love riding my bike, and I cannot imagine a single day when I don't use it. For me, it's the best way to get from one place to another. You get some fitness, fresh air, you do something for the environment, and you're mobile. We just had some errands to run and went to the city where I bought...

Shopping 

a white basic shirt for work and a pair of slightly acid washed jeans. Shopping when most of the people are working is kind of relaxing - at least to me. However, I sometimes wonder how many people don't have to work at like 1 pm.

I <3 ma bike

That's it for today again. Do you have a bike or do you use it at all? Do you have a scooter or a car or do you prefer public transportations? Leave me a comment if you like, I'd like to know!

xx Nina

Product Review: Soy Bolognese

There it is - the result of my Soy Bolognese experiment! As you may remember, I received this product in my "Vegan Box" of September, so I gave it a try...

First, it was just a dry mixture of soy protein, tomato powder, natural aroma, sea salt, vegetables components, spices, and herbs. All you have to do is to add water and let it cook 20 minutes. Then, you can add whatever you think belongs to a perfect bolognese.

I went for a classical Italian style bolognese sauce and added a carrot and a red pepper to it. At the end, I sprinkled a bit of the Jeezano vegan parmesan on top. Btw, I used gluten free spaghetti which are made out of rice and corn flour. 

DE: So, nochmal etwas detaillierter auf deutsch, denn ich glaube kaum, dass die "Farmitra Soja Bolognese" in Amerika bzw. in vielen anderen Ländern erhältlich ist. Nun, während ich das trockene Halbfertigprodukt für 20 Minuten gekocht habe (bis sich die Sojastückchen mit Wasser vollgesogen haben), habe ich ein bisschen geschnippelt: Eine Zwiebel, eine Paprika, eine Möhre, drei Knoblauchzehen. Diese Zutaten werden in etwas Pflanzenöl angebraten und nach ein paar Minuten eine Dose geschälte Tomaten hinzugegeben (als Alternative gehen auch passierte Tomaten oder Ketchup). Dies einige Minuten köcheln lassen und würzen (Ich benutze da immer von allem etwas: Salz, Pfeffer, Paprika, Basilikum, Oregano - und Sambal Oelek für etwas mehr Schärfe). Wenn das Soja-"Gehackte" fertig ist, dieses auch mit in die Pfanne geben und verrühren. Wer mag, kann auch noch ein paar Röstzwiebeln hinzufügen, ich habe das gemacht, weil mir die Zwiebeln ausgegangen sind und mir eine Zwiebel zu wenig war, aber habe Röstzwiebeln in der Sauce für gut befunden. Nochmals abschmecken und fertig ist das Festmahl! Die Packung reicht für 4-5 Portionen (wenn man die Bolognese also eintuppert und in den Kühlschrank stellt, hat man die nächsten Tage auch noch was davon).

plate IKEA / apron who the hell wants to know this?! 

To end this post, here's a beautiful, hungry, model-like, "I'm-so-fancy-I-don't-eat-spaghetti-with-a-fork-and-a-spoon-but-with-a-fork-and-a-knife" picture. See you next time!

xx Nina

Dark Lip Friday

beanie ebay / ring gift / lipstick L'Oréal / lipgloss Yves Rocher 

My outfit today wasn't anything special so I thought I just show you what...my face and hand look like? Anyway, I like a dark lip now that it's getting colder and, well, fall. And I'm that kind of girl that starts wearing a beanie as soon as it gets below 20°C (68°F). So I went for my "whatever" beanie, it just matches the weekday. Only one week until fall vacation!

Enjoy your weekend!

xx Nina