Sweet

VEGAN BLUEBERRY TART INSPIRED BY MY SUMMER IN EUROPE

08/16/2018 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 4 Comments

Slowly but surely, she can see things change, like inside of a kaleidoscope, she is now amazed at the explosion of color her eyes can now see: A new look at life is now more than a dream. – Morgan Harper Nichols

The last time I said hello on this blog feels like an eternity ago. It was the beginning of May. I had just returned from a vacation in Mauritius and La Reunion and was preparing my thoughts and things for a monthlong summer trip to Europe. Just days before my dad had called to tell me that my grandpa had passed away. I felt lonely, sad and aimless. The funeral was heart-breaking and my mind started to wander and wonder. It’s always those devastating moments in life that one realizes that our time is limited, it’s precious and it’s too short to waste….

EMIRATI SWEET DUMPLINGS WITH COFFEE SYRUP (Luqaimat)

04/20/2018 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 13 Comments

You spread out beneath my eyes,
A land of dunes ━ ocher, bright.
The wind in search of water stopped,
A land of heartbeats and fountains.
Vast as the night you fit
In the hollow of my hand. – Octavio Paz

When this post goes live I’ll be sitting on the beach under palm trees and drinking fresh coconut water. It’s only T-11 hrs before our plane takes off to Mauritius. I only booked our hotel yesterday, I still haven’t started packing and I don’t know anything about this beautiful island. Long story short, I’m not the best when it comes to early planning. It’s not that I’m bad at it, I just don’t care enough. I still have 6 hours on the flight to go through our travel guide to pick some highlights. I also prefer to ask local people what they recommend once I arrive. Sometimes I do make a list on my Google Maps app with places to eat….

FRENCH PEAR & APPLE GALETTE WITH ROSEMARY SYRUP

04/15/2018 by Kati | black.white.vivid. Leave a Comment

Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that.
You forget some things, dont you?
Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget. – Cormac McCarthy

I’ve never been much of a dreamer. I was raised to be a do-er. In the past, I’ve terribly failed at finishing to-do lists, at setting goals, at achieving milestones, at dreaming big. I got things done. Without a plan, without a to-do list, without a strategy. In my late teens and throughout my 20s I was determined. To simply move forward. I never took a break, I never stopped, I never paused and thought about where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. It still feels like it was yesterday, having that crystal clear vision of your life, of how it’s supposed to look and feel like. Back then I didn’t know I was lost. I didn’t know that life wasn’t about moving forward as fast as you can. But that it was about taking detours, even moving backward and then again deciding to take a new direction.
…

TURKISH POACHED QUINCE WITH CLOVE SYRUP & A SNOWY STAY AT MELGARDEN

01/04/2018 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 3 Comments

Snow was falling,
so much like stars
filling the dark trees
that one could easily imagine
its reason for being was nothing more
than prettiness. – Mary Oliver

There are times in life when you feel like everything goes wrong. When you think that everybody is against you and your dreams. And then again, there are times when you have to pinch yourself to realize that you are not in a dream. When you can’t believe how fortunate you are because so many good things are happening to you….

PLUM PIE WITH HONEY AND BLACK PEPPER

10/12/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 4 Comments

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

I think of myself as someone who has a decent collection of spices. I’ve collected a taste for aromas from all over the world during my travels. I always use different spices when cooking savoury meals. But when it comes to sweet dishes I somehow go back to the same spices again and again. No matter if I make apple pie, pumpkin porridge or a smoothie bowl, chances are high I either use cinnamon, cardamon, vanilla or a combination of these three. As I recently decided that I want to get better at cooking and baking, I also unintentionally made the decision that I needed to experiment with different flavour a little bit more….

GERMAN PLUM CAKE

08/18/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 3 Comments

German Plum Cake - A Vegan cake recipe for Plain White Vanilla cake topped with juicy plums - A Vegan recipe by Kati of black.white.vivid. - moody food photography, food styling, vegan white cake, easy vegan cake, quick vegan cake, veganer Pflaumenkuchen

There are days that are easy and there are days that are not. I don’t know if it’s the recent news or if I spent too many weeks in a row in Istanbul. Maybe it’s the heat. But this week didn’t feel easy at all. I kind of dragged myself from day to day. I don’t think there is a ‘cure’ to it that I can apply here and now. The only cure I see is to get away. That always helps. No matter if I’m low on energy or full of it. To travel is to bring balance into my mind.

Luckily I have a trip coming up next week. So you might imagine that I’m more than excited about it. Until then I just keep daydreaming myself into my childhood. It does seem like a far-away land now. I dream of baking apple and plum cakes with my grandma. Sometimes we made cherry cake too but pitting the cherries was neither of ours favorite things to do. …

VEGAN FRENCH TOAST WITH CROATIAN WALNUT BREAD

07/25/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 7 Comments

I love the mellow vibes of summer in Istanbul. The city becomes a whole new place and so does our apartment. I can’t remember I felt the same last year but this summer has been good for my heart and soul. I travelled a lot the first few weeks but now I’m home for a while and I enjoy every second of it. Usually I like to get out of the city every few and sometimes even every other week but not at the moment. I feel content at home and I’m glad I get to spend some time with my kitchen, my books, my cats and our neighborhoods. This sounds nerdy but I’m quite proud of myself for finally being able to sit still and relax for once….

SPICED TURKISH COFFEE POPSICLES

07/21/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 10 Comments

I hope you are not totally sick of popsicles yet. This summer they seem to be everywhere and anywhere. I’m still very excited about these frozen treats because it’s actually my first time I made popsicles. I got the molds on my recent trip to Amsterdam and after deliberating for days which flavour I wanted to try out first, I put them back into my cupboard. Does that sometimes happen to you, too? You are overwhelmed with choices and instead of picking one and going ahead, you kind of give up. And end up doing nothing.

Not buying sandals that you desperately need. Not deciding where to have dinner until every restaurant is booked out. Also, not picking a name for your new cat so you keep calling it “cat”. And not making popsicles even though you just bought new popsicle molds. Luckily the summer heat changed my mind. So I made Spiced Turkish Coffee popsicles….

CROATIAN WALNUT SWIRL BREAD (POVITICA)

07/17/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 11 Comments

Okay, now seriously. I kind of feel bad. Because I really wanted to be a good blogger. I didn’t want to start yet again another post where I somewhat apologise for being absent for too long. So before I flew to Amsterdam a week ago I scheduled a very busy day of cooking and shooting and baking and shooting. With the aim to stick to my blog schedule. I wanted to post two new recipes while I was gone. I posted none like you might have guessed by now. Also, I didn’t post anything on Instagram for a week. Ooopsie. Can I still write “Life happened” or has this been overused lately? Not by me but in general. I feel like a lot of bloggers and Instagrammers are taking the summer off and enjoying time outside with their family and friends. I don’t blame them. That’s what I did in Amsterdam. Until……

ORIENTAL RICE PORRIDGE WITH ROASTED APRICOTS

06/16/2017 by Kati | black.white.vivid. 5 Comments

I do have a soft spot for Oriental desserts, though not for their sweetness. However I could bathe in cinnamon, cardamon, vanilla and rose water. If you then hand me a jar of tahini, ground pistachios or findik ezmisi (Turkish hazelnut butter), I believe you can create some of the best and most flavourful desserts in the world (sorry Italy and France). Just try a spoon of this creamy rosewater rice porridge topped with spiced and sweetened apricots and you know what I’m talking about. It transports you to a different place where the sun is shining, Turkish coffee is served and you get lost in the hustle and bustle of the spice and fruit bazaars….