FOOD

ENGLISH HOT CROSS BUNS (V)

04/11/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 6 Comments

Where is this beautiful place, you might wonder? So let me tell you about last weekend. We spontaneously decided that we wanted a weekend away from Istanbul as the weather forecast looked very poor and we felt like it was about time again to explore some new regions in Turkey. Initially we planed on going to Izmir but I wasn’t in the mood for such a long drive. So I literally put my finger on a map, went a little north of Izmir (closer to Istanbul) and stopped at an island, which is just a stone, throw away from Lesbos, Greece. Our destination for the weekend, Cunda island, a 4.5 h drive from Istanbul.

A word a blow and the alarm went off at 5 am on Saturday morning. The day before I had prepared a picnic basket with English Hot Cross Buns, raspberry chia jam and coconut chia cream. I had hoped that we would find a nice spot on the way but unfortunately almost the entire route was built up with houses and factories. And so we quickly agreed it was better to wait for some peaceful greenery than sitting next to the highway. In hindsight, this was the best decision. Because as soon as we reached Cunda island, or how I would call it “the island of olive trees”, I spotted the perfect tree for our picnic….

FRENCH “HELLO SPRING” PEA ASPARAGUS QUICHE (V)

04/07/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 5 Comments

This week has been a successful week. I finally managed to make two savory recipes in the row. I also sticked to my goal of only recreating and veganizing food I got to know on my travels. And I have to admit that I enjoy the challenge and feel like I finally put some more thinking and research into my recipes. I also managed to set up a new blog section, called Resources. My plan is to share more about my photography process with you. In the future I’ll be uploading tutorials, equipment posts and answers to frequently asked questions. For now I’ve set up a small shop where you can buy the Lightroom presets I use to my moody food photography. And last but not least I finally changed my branding and I’m now slowly rolling it out on my blog and social media channels.

I’ll leave the change of branding to another time, once it’s all completely set up but I’m super excited about it. How do you like the new logo? Anyway, because I’ve worked so much on “behind the scenes” things on my blog and business, I didn’t have the time and energy to write a proper blog post. So unfortunately (or maybe fortunately depending if you like to read anything other than recipes), this post will be quick and easy. Just like my previous ones. Or just like this vegan quiche….

GERMAN GIANT PASTA POCKETS (MAULTASCHEN)(V)

04/04/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 6 Comments

My culinary journey continues. Today I’m travelling back home. Though home in a broad sense. More like back home to Germany but not back home to my part of Germany. Because Maultauschen or German Giant Pasta Pockets are not very common in the northern part of Germany. Maultaschen are a Swabian recipe and I’ve never had these pasta pockets until I visited a friend from Southern Germany in my early twenties. As a lover of all things pasta I don’t need to tell you what I ate every week once I moved to Munich a few years later.

In Germany you find pre-made Maultaschen in almost every supermarket. Back then I always bought the veggie version though the original recipe calls for a lot of meat. My Giant German Pasta Pockets (Maultaschen) are vegan but still with the very traditional flavours of spinach and nutmeg. Some people use only flour to create the dough which is more soft and similar to Italian ravioli pasta dough. I love my Maultaschen to be a little coarse and rough, so I replaced half the flour with corn semolina. Maultaschen taste best on the first day….

MALTESE EASTER BISCUITS (KWAREZIMAL)(V|GF)

03/31/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 2 Comments

The sun is shining, spring is slowly arriving and it’s almost Easter. Wait…what! How is it already Easter in two weeks. I haven’t even finished writing down my 2017 goals yet. But hey, I’m on time for the yearly overdose of Easter recipe. Maybe I’m even the first one you see this year. If I tell you that this is more or less an accident, would you believe me? Though I really wish I would be a little bit more organized when it comes to blog content (and goal setting) but I just don’t care much about holiday recipes. Neither Valentine’s Day cakes nor Easter bread or Christmas cookies (though I did actually post one last year here). …

TURKISH LENTIL BALLS MEZZE PLATTER

03/28/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. Leave a Comment

Here it is. My first vlog. Have you watched it yet? It’s not a cinematographic masterpiece but it’s a start and that’s what this blog post is about today. But first I would love to hear your thoughts on my first video.

Now that we all know that I have very affectionate cats, where I go shopping on Saturdays and how quick and easy it is to make a Turkish lentil balls mezze platter, we have a common ground to talk about why I spontaneously decided to do a vlog….

ISRAELI SHAKSHUKA WITH TOFU (V|GF)

03/16/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 2 Comments

I’ve done some thinking. The more I work and photograph for my blog, the more I wonder where all this is going. Or better said, where I want to take it. So far most things just happened naturally. I have a passion for food and travel. So obviously I post about recipes, publish food guides and give some tips for destinations I’ve recently been to. But I wanted to give my blog a deeper focus. I feel like that even though I have my own style and my content is unique my vision is still too generic.

So consequently, yes, I’ve done some thinking. I want to take my blog to the next level. I want to broaden our cultural and culinary horizon, write about places less covered, challenge traditional recipes by veganizing them and only cook with ingredients that are widely available for everyone (sorry, no acai bowls for now). It’s my goal to create food that tells a story about my travels, about nation’s traditions and about personal experiences. I don’t know much else yet. Just that the focus will be more on food as a way to bring people together, to share their passion and to unite different cultures through cooking. Does that make sense? My recipes are and will be still all vegan, often gluten-free and mostly healthy. I’ll just add a little international touch. Like I did for this Israeli Vegan Skakshuka with Tofu….

MY 3-DAY JUICE CLEANSE EXPERIENCE

03/14/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago I did my first ever juice cleanse. It was something I always wanted to do but never felt it was the right moment. So, I more or less decided very spontaneously, without much planing or any pre-cleanse diet that I wanted to a 3-day juice cleanse. I’ve felt a little unmotivated, was lacking energy and had been eating slightly unhealthy at that time. The reasons why people decide to do a juice cleanse are various but for me it mainly was about getting my energy level back to normal.

This is a report of my own experiences. I’m by no means an expert though I have asked one too answer a few questions for this blog post. Everybody is different and every body is different. The one thing I have really understood about my 3-day juice cleanse is to listen to your body more carefully. Because it’s the only one who can tell you what feels right and wrong (though don’t listen to it when it tells you to stop and just continue but in your own pace)…

CHERRY PEAR APPLE COBBLER (V|GF)

03/12/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. Leave a Comment

I had a plan. I even had a list of to-do’s for that said plan. And then I got hungry. My plan was to only post savory recipes for a while. I had just gotten back from Israel (and written a Quick Food Guide to Tel Aviv) with lots of inspiration for savory dishes. Like Vegan Shakshuka, Sabich, Israeli Salad and Cauliflower Sinya. And then on Friday afternoon, the weekend was near, I was craving something sweet. That doesn’t happen too often. But when it happens I usually make fruit crumble because it’s easy, it feels a little healthy and it’s super quick. I don’t remember why my mind suddenly wanted a cobbler. Probably because I was browsing Pinterest while developing my appetite for a sweet treat and simultaneously came across faring well‘s recipe for Peach Blackberry Cobbler.

I had never tried cobbler before and the recipe looked fairly easy, so I gave it a try. In comparison to crumble or crisp, a cobbler is not baked with a crust of a mixture of cereals, flour and nuts that loosely covers the whole fruit filling and has a streusel-like texture. Cobbler is made with a biscuit crust. At first I was afraid that the discs of dough would be too dry after baking but I guess the fruit filling keeps it moist and soft inside and crispy outside. Either way it’s a new dessert favorite in the bwv household….

ROASTED PUMPKIN SOUP W/ CRISPY TOFU (V|GF)

02/25/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 6 Comments

Long story short. I already wanted to publish this post yesterday but then things and my bad time management skills got into my way. Also drinks at a wine bar with the girls. There is just not enough hours to the day. Or I often seem to be unable to make full use of the valuable hours I actually do have each day. Sounds familiar? Chances are you’ve also read books, listened to smart podcasts and tried to follow recommended steps to on how to better manage your time. I have over the years. Just out of interest. But until now I never really needed to use it as I was in full employment and my free time agenda wasn’t overall busy that I needed to use any time management skills. This has changed now.

I dedicate more and more time to creating content for my blog and Instagram. This hobby has become a passion I want to make into a career. So every free minute I try to bring *this* (I still need to find a proper word…my black.white.vivid. world?) forward. And there is just so much to do and no end in sight….

BANANA BREAD (DOUGHNUTS) WITH CINNAMON TAHINI FROSTING (V)

02/21/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. Leave a Comment

This is probably the toughest post I’ve written to date. Why? I’m on a juice cleanse and I didn’t prepare any content for my blog or Instagram. I was however smart enough to shoot some photos over the weekend as I’d imagine it would be a little challenging (read impossible) to cook or bake something while on a juice cleanse. So at least, these photos don’t smell like freshly baked banana bread but I still had to edit them and write down the recipe for you. You’re welcome! Because banana bread turned into doughnuts need to be in everyone’s life and I didn’t want you to miss out on it any longer. I have most of the batch waiting for me in the freezer for when I’m done with my cleanse the day after tomorrow.

Though, writing this post wasn’t the easiest task of today, I’m thankful and glad I did it. I’ll be (hopefully) putting together a post about my juicing experience soon but this 3-day cleanse is as much about getting back on healthy food track as it is about self discipline. Yes, I hear you and myself say “Don’t be too harsh on yourself”. I’m not. I just want to prove to myself that I can still begin and finish something even though it’s hard. And trust me, I thought this juice cleanse would come easy for me. But it’s much more challenging than expected. And writing down the recipe for these banana bread doughnuts is just another milestone I managed to reach….

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FOOD