The first time I made them, I made 24 mini cupcakes — which was good, but 6 massive cupcakes are way more fun. Plus, with only 6 you get to say “mmmm…. I just ate a third of a stick of butter! mmm…” every time you eat a cupcake!

What have you been cooking lately?

1. Great Beer. Germany, specifically Bavaria, is home to some of the best beer I have ever tasted.  It goes down smooth, even if it is served room temperature.  Each type of beer has its own special glass to be served in, and pouring a beer with good head is practically an art.  Plus, I don’t feel like I get the hangovers I get when I drink American beer — maybe it has something to do with the lack of preservatives in it…
2. The mixture of old and new. No matter what city you travel to, large or small, Germany has a beautiful mix of 100-year-old buildings and modern establishments.  I love how you can explore churches that were built in the 1400’s then head next door to a newer restaurant for lunch.  Since America has only been established for a few hundred years, I feel like we don’t have all the rich history and ancient structures like they do in Germany.
3. Amazing bread. There is something about the bread in Germany that is to die for.  Whether you get rolls or baguettes, the outside is golden brown and crispy, and the inside is soft and fluffy.  I have not been able to find anything close to this in the States.  It’s good, but not nearly as tasty as German bread.
4. Döner kebabs. Quite possibly the best late-night, drunk food ever!  Döners are Turkish sandwiches featuring thinly shaved meat (beef, lamb or turkey) that is piled into special bread pocket and topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and a special sauce.  They are amazing!  In my college town they had a kebab restaurant, but it’s not quite the same as the ones you find in Germany.
5. Awesome public transportation. I love how you can get around Germany without a car.  No matter the size of the town or city, there is some form of public transportation for you to take.  I am especially fond of the train system.  I have NEVER taken a train to travel extended distances in America.  I feel like it’s frowned upon to do so.  In Germany, everyone takes trains to travel within the country or throughout Europe, and they are very nice and comfortable.
6. Proximity to other countries. I love how when you live in Germany, you have the opportunity to travel to a variety of other nations for not a lot of money.  There are a number of airlines that offer super cheap flights or you can buy a Euro-rail pass and just explore.  Sometimes it boggles my mind that a flight to LA from Atlanta can cost almost $500 but in Germany you can luck out and get a flight for much less than 100 euros.
7. Interesting deli meat and cheese. My favorite deli meat in Germany is bologna-like and has mushroom slices inside.  It is so good, but unfortunately you can’t find it in the States – so sad.  You can also get this Gouda-like cheese with smoked ham pieces inside of it.  Paired with the mushroom meat and a fresh roll, it’s the best way to start the day.
8. Laid back lifestyle. Most of the people that I met in Germany were much more open-minded and live a laid back life.  The legal drinking age for beer is 16 and for liquor 18, and the laws concerning it are not nearly as strict as they are here.  I have never been carded when in Germany, but I am nearly 27 and still get carded when I buy alcohol in most places in the US.  Drinking alcohol is considered a way of life over there.  In America, specifically the South, people look down on drinking and act like it’s the biggest sin in the world to drink a beer with dinner.
9. Working to live and not living to work. Employees receive 5 weeks or more of vacation each year, and a lot more paid holidays.  People are expected to take lunch hours.  If you want to have a beer with lunch, no one thinks twice about it.  I feel like people are much more able to put their families first as opposed to here where companies expect you to give everything you have for your job, and don’t care if you have time left over to spend with the people you love.
10. Being multilingual. Most people you meet in Germany can speak more than one language, and especially our generation, are fluent English speakers.  Some of them are able to even speak a third language, and people are proud of their skill.  Children begin learning languages at an early age and continue to do so throughout their schooling.  I wish America put more emphasis on children learning foreign languages in school.

So, those are some of my 10 favorite things that make me happy about Germany!  If you’ve been there before, is there anything that makes you smile when you think about Germany?

Germany is definitely on my list still (next time I’m leaving the airport)! Now go check out my potty humor guest post, Toilets of the World!

Cherry Tomato & Feta Orzo with Dill – {for 1!}

Ingredients

• 1 TB olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 2 TB fresh dill (or 1 tsp of dried dill)
• 1/4 tsp lemon zest (orange or lime zest works too!)
• 1 cup of golden and/or regular cherry tomatoes
• 1/3 cup orzo
• 1/2 cup feta cheese (2-3 ounces)

Directions:

1. Start boiling water for pasta.
2. Mix together oil, salt, pepper, and chopped dill (dried dill works fine too) in a medium bowl.
3. Cut tomatoes in half and add to the oil mixture.
4. Cook orzo in pasta water as directed, usually about 8 minutes.
5. Drain orzo and mix with the tomato and dill.
6. Crumble feta cheese into the orzo and tomato and mix
7. Eat!

[View with PicLens]

You can also add random ingredients to this one fairly easily, such as: 1/4 English cucumber, chopped; 1/8 red onion, chopped; substituting 1/2 TB oil for balsamic vinegar etc.

“Now in its third year, Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.”

I wouldn’t consider myself an expert on environmental change, but one thing I’m fairly expert-ish at is being a vegetarian. After reading both Food Matters (Bittman) and In Defense of Food (Pollan) this summer, I was reminded again how utterly insane meat consumption — and in turn its affect on the environment — has gotten. Americans eat about 200 pounds of meat, poultry and fish per capita per year (and this excludes dairy)!  So who’s eating my 190 pounds? (As a recent pescatarian, I probably eat about 10 pounds of fish a year.) And we eat twice the global average. Obviously, some of that statistic is slightly skewed from other Western nations, as developing nations can’t afford to eat as much meat, but their consumption has doubled in the last 20 years.

So I guess we could probably all agree that it would be smart to eat less meat. As Americans, we’re getting double our daily protein requirements.

3 Ways To Eat Less Meat:

1. Eat more beans. Black beans are a staple in many Latin American countries, and are an excellent source of protein to boot.
2. Don’t go cold turkey. Ahhahaha… sorry about that. Anyway, I’m all for balance. Swearing off meat entirely isn’t for everyone, and if you don’t replace it with something you’ll probably just give up. So try being a “Monday, Wednesday, Friday” vegetarian by only eating meat a few times a week.
3. Think Asian. Asian countries have some amazing ways of creating brilliant meatless food, originally out of necessity, but now a huge part of their cultures… think bean curd (China), tofu (Japanese for bean curd), chai pow yu (Vietnam glutony stuff).

See how I cleverly got on my vegetarian soap box for Blog Action Day, and didn’t have to actually make any personal changes? :) I need a challenge… anyone?

Although there are probably a lot of great crepe recipes out there, I really loved the simplicity of this one. After putting all the ingredients in the blender, you just put it in the fridge overnight — and voilà it’s ready in the morning… other than the “making them perfectly thin” part. Next time, I think I’ll try savory crepes.

Great theme and an amazing house. I had the chance to visit last week and spent a good hour wandering through the house, admiring the designs and snapping pictures. It was a quick Metro trip from Georgetown (blue or orange line to Federal Center). For those unfamiliar with the DC Design Center’s Design House, it’s a “Street of Dreams” concept, but each room is created by a different designer …and of course there’s a focus on STYLE rather than EXPENSE. You’ll have no “Oh look, there are three TV’s in the bathroom” moments here.

I loved the mood boards the designers displayed in the entry way. It was nice to see the thought process, materials and color palettes. Even though each room represents a different district or neighborhood, as a whole it, feels very natural and the rooms transition well. Let the tour commence.

[View with PicLens]

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We love having chickens, but I definitely recommend carefully considering all the benefits (free eggs! great fertilizer! cute chicken antics!) and the drawbacks (cleaning the coop, feeding and watering them in the pouring, freezing rain) before your get them. So here are a few things for you to consider:

1. Know the rules. Before we got our girls I checked out the Seattle Municipal Code that covers keeping chickens. I learned that because our 6500 square foot lot was above average size, we could legally keep four chickens (lots 5000 feet and under can only have three) and that roosters aren’t illegal. We luckily don’t live in a neighborhood with a homeowner’s association, but if you do, check the bylaws before you buy birds.
2. Be sure you have enough time. All in all taking care of a small flock of chickens is not a ton of work. Jon and I agree that it falls somewhere in between keeping a goldfish and a cat. But consider this: chickens wake up at first light and need to be let out of their coop soon their after. You must also tuck them into bed at dusk to protect them from predators. They need fresh food and water every morning, and clean bedding about once a week, and a couple of times a year you need to clean out their whole coop and run and give everything a good scrub. Before you get your birds, I recommend talking with your family about how you will split up the chicken care so it doesn’t become an issue later.
3. Make nice with your neighbors, especially if you like to travel. Before we got the chickens, I let our immediate neighbors in on the plan. I told them we were placing their coop far from their bedroom windows and would be giving them lots of free eggs. This worked like a charm, and my neighbor Elaine even told me that she loves hearing my chickens in the morning (and I thought I was the only one!). Since chickens need to be taken care of twice a day, every day it makes planning to go away for the weekend slightly more complicated. We’ve dealt with this by teaching five families on our block how to watch the girls and paying them with fresh eggs.
4. And finally… I will tell you something that no one told me. Chickens poo a lot. Like twenty times a day. They tend to leave their slippery deposits in inconvenient places around our yard, including on the deck and the arm of our beloved sun chair. This, um, habit of theirs certainly shouldn’t be a deal breaker, but I wanted you all to know.

Thanks Willi!  After a little research, I found that the “urban livestock” ordinance in Portland, Oregon allows a maximum of three chickens and zero roosters.  :)  When I eventually accomplish #73 — buy a house (which quite frankly is NOT happening this time around, thanks to my globetrotting) — I want chickens! and maybe a goat or a bunny… or a pony!  Anyone else still want a pony?

Istanbul is one of my favorite cities, and I’d go back in an instant. I occasionally find myself searching for flights even though I have no immediate plans to return. ;) I loved having a week to relax and check out Istanbul at a snail’s pace, and I still feel like there’s so much more to see there. My favorite experiences were bathing at the hamam, exploring my first mosque, stuffing my face with Turkish delights at the Spice Bazaar, shopping at the book stalls behind the Grand Bazaar, the sound of Turkish pop music and…

My 7 Days in Istanbul:

• Overnight on the Orient Express to Istanbul
• The Cleanest Girl in Istanbul – A Trip to the Hamam
• The Blue Mosque & Belly Dancing
• Overdosing on Turkish Delight
• Forget Harem Pants, Visit the Harem at Topkapi Palace

(I’ve left the posts in my 2008 archives)  Dear Türkiye, I love you.

I forget that so many people hate fish. I should start a pescatarian club! What’s your favorite fish dish?

• You should read about bears that like to go shopping Thank you for the lovely tip. Where might these bears shop? Maybe at Build-A-Bear workshops!
• I’m tired of eating frozen vegan food I would be too! Might I suggest Brazilian Black Beans, Beets & Rice?
• Things that makes Santa happy For risk of you thinking I’m a horrible person, I’ll just say hot chocolate and lists? (I wasn’t the kind of child who believed in Santa. The logistics just never worked out for my realist mind. I’m officially “unfun” now.)
• Things to beware of in Greece 1. That you might fall in love with the country and not want to leave. 2. That the food will be too delicious, the beaches too grand, the ouzo too strong, and the people too friendly. 3. That Mykonos is over-rated and damn expensive!
• Asking forgiveness, not permission? Yes, I highly recommend it. After a lifelong struggle with authority, it’s a fairly safe method to live by. ;)
• 10 things you must have on a yacht Hmmm… a sail, buoys, rope, life jackets, beer… well there are five things to start with anyway.
• White water rafting in Spain with Royal Caribbean cruise? Only if you’re interested in paying 5x the regular price and hanging out with boring seniors (Hi Grandma, no you’re not boring, but you also wouldn’t go white water rafting, eh?)
• Accidentally ate bugs in rice Unfortunate. I ate a bug on purpose.
• Best Halloween rock songs Well, I did make an alternative/rock Halloween mix a few years ago.
• As you continue to not answer me Well at least you’re not passive-aggressive, yeah? I am answering, dear Internet. That’s why this post is called “Answer me this!”
• Cole Haan shoes in Bangkok Word to the wise: they’re probably not really Cole Haan.
• How do I know what pictures to hang in what room? May I suggest Apartment Therapy – the eight-step home cure.
• Powered by tofu unemployed Easy now, no need to rub it in!
• How to pack a scarf Option 1: wear it. Option 2: stuff it in your bag.
• Is Palinka strong? Decidedly so.

Have a question, that wasn’t covered in the above list? Shocking! Leave a comment or email me!