FOOD

GERMAN CRISPY TOFU BOWL WITH BABY POTATOES & MUSTARD COCONUT DRESSING (V|GF)

02/17/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 6 Comments

I miss the days when things were simple. I also miss the days when I knew which place to call home. Today, right now, this very moment, I’m confused and everything seems just a tat too complicated. I’m not even going into politics here but has there been a time in history when there was more of a mess (thank you internet and social media for the information overflow) than it is today? Right! But then again it’s a time I wouldn’t want to miss.

Now I suddenly feel the urge to voice my opinion, do something for our community, get back to my German roots and actually make up my mind what I want to do with my future. Up until the beginning of last year I had a very casual (not indifferent but also not very strong) opinion about so many aspects of my life. “Are you proud to be German?” – “I guess so, Germany is a great country…”. “What’s you favorite German food?” – “Pfff not that I can recall one on the spot but I like Vietnamese spring rolls.”. “What can you do for your community back home in Germany as well as the one where you currently live?” – “Nothing?”. “And what about the immigrants that come to Germany?” – “They are welcome but not sure how to actually integrate them and make everything else work.”…

STOVETOP NUT COCONUT GRANOLA [v|gf]

02/14/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 9 Comments

It’s Valentine’s Day today and though I make nothing of it, this recipe is for my favorite person. I could now tell you how much he means to me, that he is the best travel buddy in the world and I can’t imagine daily adventures without him anymore. But I’d rather tell you that I love him so much that I created this Stovetop Nut Coconut Granola just for him (hint: not saying the last sentence with too much seriousness).

I’m not very romantic and won’t bore you by telling you the story of how we met or anything like that. At least not today. I think the internet is overflowing with love stories today. So let me tell you another story instead. Last night we went out on a late night grocery shopping spree. And as it always happens with those late night food searches, it’s usually not the healthy and green items that want to be taken home with you. So Felix (the favorite person I was referring to earlier) was desperately looking for his brand of sweet, very sweet granola. Luckily the supermarket was out of stock. Unfortunately, it was quite late already and I was too tired to make him a batch of oven-baked granola. So I made him this quick recipe of Stovetop Nut Coconut Granola the next day….

BAKED SWEET POTATO WITH CHIVE CREAM & CUCUMBER SALAD (V) – A RECIPE FROM MY CHILDHOOD

02/07/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 2 Comments

Today I’m taking a little trip down memory lane. Back to my childhood when there wasn’t any Trump but the GDR and sweet potatoes were unheard of. If you follow me on Instagram you know that I visited my grandparents for a few days last week. I flew into Berlin on Wednesday night because I had an important meeting on Thursday morning. After my meeting, I took a few hours off and just wandered around Berlin aimlessly, my favorite thing to do. Ever. Really!

I can’t do much walking anymore in Istanbul because it’s not very pedestrian friendly and you actually need a car to drive to some nicer areas where you can walk, have a proper sidewalk and not a busy road right next to you. So whenever I travel to more pleasant places (in terms of walking) I just love to walk for hours. Why do I tell you that instead of telling you about my visit to my grandparents? Because as a child I hated walking….

SWEET AVOCADO BREAD (just like banana bread but with avocados)(V)

01/30/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 5 Comments

Note to myself: Let’s keep this post short.

Hopefully these pictures speak for themselves. And you find the idea of replacing bananas with avocados in a banana bread to make it a sweet avocado bread as fascinating as I do. Are you still following? So yes, this is a banana bread but with avocados and it’s one of those food revelations I wish I had discovered earlier in my life. If you make it with white wheat flour and white sugar, it will definitely have a greenish colouring. I used dark whole wheat flour and brown coconut sugar, so it turned out rather brown than green. You can add more sugar if you want to have more of a cake than a sweet bread. And the other way around, add less sugar if you want a neutral bread instead of a sweet bread.

I’ve used MINIMALIST BAKER’S ONE BOWL BANANA BREAD as a rough base for this recipe. Dana’s recipe is vegan and gluten-free. The Sweet Avocado Bread is only vegan but you can follow Dana’s recipe if you’d like to make a gluten-free version. In terms of flavour, the avocado taste is actually quite strong which I loved. The texture is super moist and almost creamy and it’s best when fresh (2-3 days) or toasted. I sliced mine and popped it in the freezer so we’ll have some delicious sweet breakfast bread for Sunday mornings….

WINTER DETOX GREEN SMOOTHIE

01/25/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 4 Comments

Anyone else who can’t stand these dark winter vibes anymore? I’ve had enough of cold, grey days. I want sunshine in my life again, colorful fruit bowls and fresh salads. And I want my high energy level back again. Every year it’s the same procedure. Every winter I’m taken by surprise. Like why is my body and mind suddenly so tired? At times, I don’t even recognize myself anymore. Then I wonder how other people deal with the winter blues. But I quickly realize that I need to find a solution for myself instead of looking at others. And that’s the moments when I get moving.

I go on daily walks outside (running to the supermarket or close by coffee shop does not count), I visit the gym more often, I do yoga and I make myself a green smoothie with my JTC Omni V Blender in the morning. In the past few years, every single winter I went through this exact process. And every single winter I make the same smoothie because my body seems to crave its green, fresh, slightly sour, slightly sweet taste. It’s literally the easiest thing to make….

LIME COCONUT TAPIOCA PUDDING WITH CARDAMON ORANGE COMPOTE

01/23/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 2 Comments

Did you notice, that it’s almost February again? Where have these three and a half weeks of January been? It seems like time flies like crazy and then again, it’s very slow sometimes. But I also feel that I’ve become slower. That I take more time and try to get less distracted. I read a book instead of scrolling through Instagram. I bake Sourdough bread instead of committing to yet again another time consuming project I actually don’t have time for. And I spend more calming moments with my cats instead of checking my phone. I even took up Yoga again after I got back from our holidays in Sri Lanka.

And that’s because on New Years Eve I didn’t make a list of things and goals that I want to achieve in 2017. I decided to take a step back. And live a more mindful and slower life. Maybe not always and everywhere but here and there. The more I tell myself that I can take my time to evolve, learn and accomplish goals, the more I relax. It’s like magic. I haven’t felt anxious or overwhelmed in weeks. I’m at ease with myself and my work. I have fallen in love with photography all over again. I have even slightly changed my editing style and feel very comfortable with the mood and vibe of my recent photos. But, there is a big BUT….

TURKISH LENTIL SOUP WITH FRESH MINT

01/18/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 5 Comments

How do you feel about coming back home after a long holiday? I was away for more than 3 weeks. First I went to Germany for my other (aka daytime) job and to spent Christmas with my family. I only came back to Istanbul for merely half a day before we left to Abu Dhabi and then Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka we enjoyed warm and sunny days filled with an abundance of fresh exotic fruits. You’d think that coming home, especially after enjoying our last three days at the magical Tri hotel, would be nothing less than painful. And yes, our journey back home to Istanbul was not a good end to our holiday, neither a good start to work life. Due to a little bit of a snow incident in Istanbul, we were delayed by more than a day. Completely exhausted and tired from our odyssey of spending 1.5 days on and off the plane, the first thing we did was getting some comfort food….

GINGERBREAD PANCAKES WITH WINTER TOPPINGS (v | gf)

12/19/2016 by Kati | black.white.vivid. Leave a Comment

Gingerbread Pancakes by black.white.vivid.

It’s the last week before Christmas and I’m currently on a flight from Istanbul to Munich. Though Munich used to be my home for more than two years I only have some business meetings here before heading up North to spend Christmas with my mum. In previous years I never really got into Christmas mood until the very day. Maybe it’s because we lived in countries that don’t celebrate Christmas. There was the occasional glittery and often very pink Christmas tree in shopping malls in Hong Kong. And even in Egypt, the German school would organise a yearly Christmas market which was hugely popular and very crowded. Last year we spend most of the Christmas season moving from Cairo to Istanbul, searching for a flat and unpacking boxes.

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CREAMY VEGAN EGGNOG + CLUSE WATCHES GIVEAWAY

12/14/2016 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 2 Comments

Last week I had a talk with friends about the perfect gift. We all agreed that it’s super difficult to give someone trinkets and nonsense things. At least not if the person didn’t put it specifically on her or his wish-list. Like that drinking game for your grown-up cousin…maybe not so cool. Or that ‘bake your own boyfriend’ cookie cutter might be funny once but probably ends up in the drawer and never be used again. You probably wouldn’t want any dust catchers in your home either.

There are a few gift ideas I love to fall back on when I don’t have anything specific in mind. Like when non of my family members and friends mention in my presence “Oh, I’d wish I had (fill in the blank)”.Since that pretty much never happens I almost always turn to my “the great three”. …

APPLE CINNAMON ROLLS (v)

12/12/2016 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 4 Comments

How come we are already two weeks into December? I’ve not even bought a single Christmas present yet, though I have a list of things in my mind. Phew, at least something. But where have all those days gone? I feel like I haven’t done anything though I did actually achieve a lot. Or let’s rewrite that last part. I’ve started a lot of things in the past few weeks. But then again I wish I would have more time to finish what I started. Because lately I’m very very excited about…me? This blog? My work? All things related to black.white.vivid.! I feel very motivated and inspired at the moment. I can’t even really explain the shift of my mindset because, you know, it’s dark outside. And rainy. And cold. So normally my brain, heart and soul would go into sleep mode. But not this year. Not this year….

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