Dinner for one (hehe)

Early today I roasted an eggplant and a red pepper in the over for a while (wrap in tinfoil, with salt, pepper and olive oil, bake 180ºC for a couple of hours).  When they were ready, I smashed them together a little bit and they were perfect with some pita, then, I added a capresse salad.... need I say more?  Fresh, tasty, light and delicious!

Something to look at.

I am absolutely no fan of propaganda.  I hate, HATE, to get emails (and especially the pictures attached to them) telling me how cruel they are in Norway by killing the whales or the seals, for example.  I eat meat and enjoy it!  I travel by airplane (which other way is there for me to see my family then? Boat?!?), my point is, I don't like these types of manipulative messages.  I am aware that we need to be responsible with the environment and take care of it the best way we can, I try my best to recycle as much as I can, to unplug electrical objects that are not in use, I don't own a car, I walk, take the bus or use my bike instead, etc.  I try to be conscious of what we eat at home and where it comes from.  I am aware!  But from time to time, I find something that is eye-catching and interesting.  Such is the case of Neozoon, a collective of female street artists that recycle fur coats and transform them into these urban interventions.  There is some controversy around it.  Is it or is it not an effective way of recycling?  Is installation art such as this making a valid point?  Or is it yet another way of exploiting the animals?  Could the fur be used in a better way?  I leave you up with the question.

Sunny days in the autumn are just the best!

A sunny day with Rafa in the balcony playing around with my phone's camera (and it's "retro camera" function.)

Hotel booked

Jonas and I are going to escape to Berlin for a weekend in October.  Actually, I have a school trip planned there first, so, he will catch up with me later when I am done with my duties.

We found this really cool hotel called the Michelberger Hotel located in between Kreutzberg and Friedrichshain, so not bad at all.  Also, compared to the prices at other popular places like Circus, it was pretty good, so, not only cool, but different and not so expensive!

The design is unlike anything I have seen before at a hotel.  Well, just look at the pictures (which by the way, are also very cool!  They make the rooms feel used, and populated, which is very refreshing, makes you feel like this is a place you can feel at home for a few days.)

Fine piece of work

I had never heard of Adrian Lohmüler, German artist living and working in Berlin.  Now, after only looking at some pictures of one of his latest installations called Das Haus bleibt still / The house remains still, I can't help but to put him in my list of most inspiring artists at the moment.

All these images come from the artist's website.

Can't seem to put it in a more effective and concise way: "On four floors, water seeps from containers into pipes and collects in the first floor, where it is heated, dropped onto a salt block and finally led over the floor into a white bedding - the white salt cristals form a pattern on the floor." (found in Quite Contrary blog)

True love for tomato and eggplant.

I am not sure of what I want usually, dinner has become a challenge since I have to eat healthy and balanced but there are so many things I really don't want to even look at at this moment!  Like fish, any fish!  So, today, I started thinking about what I wanted.  No meat today either please!  

Tomato.  Always tomato.  I love tomato.  And eggplant.  I could eat eggplant any time any day.  So I decided to make my own version of "ratatouille" or "pisto" or whatever you want to call it.

Onion, red bell pepper, eggplant, and lots of tomato (I cheated here, I had found a readymade Arrabiata sauce in the good supermarket, and I was saving it for a rainy day.  I usually make things from scratch, but this one looked and "sounded" soooo good).  I stirred fried on EVOO (I know, how very Rachel Ray, but really, it's a mouthful!) 1 roughly chopped onion, then added 1 roughly chopped bell pepper, then the eggplant (cut in small cubes ca. 1x1cm), after around 10 min.  I added the arrabiata sauce (spicy tomato sauce originally from Rome), a bit of water, salt and pepper to taste and some basil.  Let it cook for a while... I measure by eye but the idea is to try not to kill the veggies and to let it reduce enough that the taste is intensified.

I made a 50/50 mix of bulgur and quinoa to eat it with. To add a bit more protein besides the quinoa, I made some hummus with toasted pita chips.  All very tasty, fresh and delicious!  This I could never get tired of eating.

Tip:  Sprinkle some feta on top!  Give's it an extra little something.