CoffeeKit

Undercaffeinated

coffee, thoughts, , , ,

Something I have struggled to adapt to since we moved to Germany is the local preference for strong, darkly-roasted coffee beans. Outside of Berlin it is difficult to find locally-roasted fruitier, spicier and lighter-style beans that I prefer to use. This also means that the coffee in cafes and restaurants is almost always also super-dark and not really to my taste.

So, what to do when one is a devoted lover of coffee? When the day that starts with a lovely cup of coffee is a day that starts right? Well, one improvises.

At home, we order beans online from various roasteries around the country with some success. Our favourites at the moment are deliveries from The Barn and Five Elephant in Berlin and Vits in Munich. Hilariously, Vits have beans all the way from Australia and these are actually my favourites (although the most expensive that aren’t ‘novelty’ *ahem*catpoocoffee *ahem* beans). Coffee at home is made using the espresso machine or a Hario syphon, depending on the beans (espresso or filter).

An additional difficulty is that I often work four days of the week in a different city, living in a hotel room and far removed from the beloved Rocket and Hario. So, what to do now? One puts together a CoffeeKit to throw into one’s suitcase every week. After months of refining, my CoffeeKit has been streamlined and improved and currently looks like this: Continue reading Undercaffeinated →

Self-Improvement

thoughts, ,

One of my favourite websites is The Toast, it’s filled with witty articles and heart-breaking stories discussing topics that would never have even occurred to me but written so engagingly that I can’t help but be interested. I highly recommend that you add this blog to your regular-reads-list.

A recent article (Getting Better All the Time: On Self-Improvement) by Nicole Cliffe, one of the founders really made an impression on me. The topic, self-improvement, could easily be dismissed in a sort of New-Agey, self-help-y fashion but in this case I was actually interested in examining what I really want to achieve in my life. The article points to a change in the way women look at their future selves. To generalise, their diaries were previously filled with ambitions to be better people (kinder, more charitable, etc) which has evolved into ambitions to be better-looking people. This is important, I think.

So, what are my ambitions? How would I like to improve my Self? Well, before I read the article I probably would have also said dull and typical things like “I want to be healthier; to look better; to exercise more”. But after thinking about how selfish and inward those are, I’ve changed my mind a little bit. I now have a couple of more expansive ambitions that I need to articulate more clearly, but I have at least started thinking about them.

I’d like to stay in contact with my friends and family better
OK, that’s a pretty simple one – more emails, more Skypes, more Facebook messages and more postcards (I love sending postcards!).

I’d like to contribute more
This is a little more broad as it covers work, society, home and everything else. I’d like to be more confident about sharing my opinion and getting involved. This one says that I want to blog more, talk more and learn more. I want to be a part of things more.

That’s it for now, although I expect it will change and evolve.

Lunchtime struggles

cooking, thoughts, , ,

Lunches at the moment are a bit of a struggle. The office I work in is located across the road from a sort of supermarket mall thing with lots of discount stores and terrible takeaway joints. The office of course has a canteen, but there is only ever one vegetarian option and it’s… well… it’s not very delicious.

So, the problem is, how do I cater for myself a healthy lunch while living in a hotel room? My plan for next week is to stock up on some of the following and throw a little lunch salad together each day. It might be the same boring thing day after day, but at least it won’t make me feel ill while I’m eating it and I will feel a little healthier.

Options:

  • bag of mixed salad leaves
  • bag of julienned carrots (I’ve seen these in the market across the street)
  • mushrooms (these don’t even have to be chopped! Just throw them in as is)
  • fetta, cubed if possible
  • nuts (I’ve always liked walnuts in a salad)
  • balsamic / olive oil (if I can find two small jars)
  • olives (the olives here are generally not great, but I’ll try a few sorts and see if I can find some nice ones)
  • pearl barley

I think the pearl barley might be might be a challenge as I can’t actually cook it in a hotel room, but I think that soaking it overnight might work. I have a backup options if it is inedible – couscous or bulgur wheat, both of which just need a soak to be ready to eat.

I’ll post an update later in the week discussing how well it is (or not) going.

Portraits

photography, thoughts, , , ,

Tom tells me I should take more photos of people. He’s right, of course and it is even something I have been thinking about for a while. The problem is that I feel very self-conscious of taking photos of strangers and Tom hates having his picture taken about as much as I do.

So, what to do? Well, I’m not sure but I’m definitely going to be thinking about it and considering it as something that I need to solve. I like photographing people, especially friends, so maybe I need to take the camera more often in social situations. ‘Candid’-style portraits have always been my favourite and I’ve taken some pretty good ones of pals even when they know I’ll be photographing them. But taking pictures of strangers just seems so weird, you know?

Hmmm.