Sweedisch NotMeatBalls

I got these ballz from the swell vegan blog. I've no idea what sweedish meetballs taste like. These weren't bursting with flavor and were also a bit more crumbly than I'd hoped. They did feel very hearty, though, and I enjoy the chance to eat something like that occasionally. I found that these babies tasted best when I mashed them up with my home-made tomato sauce in the spaghetti. That made it taste like spaghetti bolognese, even though I don't know what that tastes like either.

Even if you aren't vegan, I'd recommend these balls as a high-protein, low-colesterol alternative to their meaty counterpart.

Randomly-Assembled Tomato Sauce
1 tomato, peeled and chopped
1.5C cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 package tomato purée (maybe 1.5-2 cups worth?)
2t dried basil
1-2t dried oregano
1t cumin
1t salt
few shakes black pepper

onions in a stock pot 'till they're a little bit soft and aromatic( 3-5min), then add garlic, spices and herbs. stir occasionally until onions brown. add mushrooms and tomato and really let that cook down (as long as 10min, on simmering heat and covered). once cooked down, add the tomato purée and bring it to a steady boil. take off heat. blend with an immersion mixer. if you don't have an immersion mixer, your life is just less good. add some water if you think it's too thick. The mushrooms make this nice and rich and really good.

Broccoli Leek Soup

There was a head of broccoli that I had to use up, so I made soup with it. The soup contained:

1 head broccoli
1 leek
~2 cups veg broth
1 container Alpro soy cream (blach I know! so unhealthy! can't win 'em all, can you?)
2 small cloves garlic
dash thyme
dash basil

I also threw in some lentils that I wanted out of the cabinet.
It's good with celery and maybe I'll hit it up with some roasted red pepper coulis tomorrow.

Here's some William Blake to inspire you:
A truth that's told with bad intent,
Beats all the lies you can invent.

That quote preceded a chapter in The Amber Spyglass, which I was reading today. I'm not cool enough to come up with Blake on my own.

Pot Pie!

I made veggie pot pie today! It was good. Well, the creamy veggie part was. In it is: carrot, potato, celery, peas, tofu and a bit o' garlic and other spices. I dumped some Alpro soy cream stuff in after I'd cooked the veggies. I accidentally added too much baking soda to my crust, though, and it turned out nasty. really nasty. How does one do that, anyway? I'm just an idiot. To the right are the pot pies uncovered.

I didn't measure or nothin' but Vegan Dad has two pot pie recipes.

Mediocrity Is Not Okay

As I've formerly admitted, I don't know shit about art, but I do know that there are some things that I dig and some things that I don't. I do like it when I feel that a painting, photograh, series, exhibition or whatever inspire some thought on my part, when it requires some introspection.

I went to visit an exhibition of Michel Comte photographs at the NRW Forum in Düsseldorf with an aquaintance over the week-end. I didn't know anything about the photographer nor do I really understand the art of (behind?) photography, but my companion told me that he generally enjoyed that sort of thing and additionally included that he was a bit picky with what he chose to view. I walked into the exhibition open-minded, thinking, "Cool. Ima gonna learn me sommat."

It was the biggest load of bull shit that I've ever laid my eyes on. It reminded me of a visit to McDonald's that I recently made. I never walk into that place willingly (unless I'm making use of their commode), but some friends of mine wanted to get some food there. I didn't order anything, so I just stood there, patiently waiting for my friends to order, examaning my surroundings. I'm perpetually repulsed by what that place means to our society- the people who go there, work there, where the food comes from, the abhorrant success of the corporation, what it does to people.... When my buddies were sitting around, one of them noticed that I had on a particular facial expression; she said, "Rachel! You've got such a sad face on!" I wasn't aware of it and made up a quick lie because I didn't want to tell them that I was disgusted with the act they were engaging in.

That trip to McDonald's was sort of like my trip to the museum, except I did tell the person in my company my actual thoughts and... I guess he disagreed. So I guess the dispute might go like:
"How can you eat this crap?"
"Because I like it. It does something for me."
"Well you're wrong and if we all realized this, the world would be a little bit better for it."
"What's so bad about it?"

It's true that the exhibition and/or McDonald's says something to some of the viewers, gives the visitors some nutrition. We're all entitled to our own opinions, but, in my opinion, some of them are wrong. (winkey face?)

The photos come from the exhibition's flickr page.

Der Medienhafen

I've got no hope of formating this post properly. I'm not even sure if "formating" is the correct word. Well anyway, this morning I'm going to meet a friend in Düsseldorf just to waste some time together and I figured I might persuade her to walk around the Medienhafen (media harbor) with me. That's what all these pictures are from, der Medienhafen. Either me or Dad took these photos way back in August, when he visited.

The brick building on the top left as well as the shiny metal building, in front of which Dad stands, are the Gehry buildings.

This area is a super chic part of the city. Some of the buildings areappartments, some are offices (and there are many office buildings in the area that are not pictured, including my host father's), and there are a few expensive restaurants and bars. Apparently there's a stand where you can get currywurst with a gold leaf on top. They do charge for the gold.

I've read in a guide book before that there's some sort of classy cult nightlife culture out there. I have not personally seen hide nor tail of this and seriously doubt the existance of any kind of "famed" parties. I think that the Düsseldorfers are too dull for that.