STEP 1Put the lentils, onion, tomatoes, turmeric and 1 tsp of salt in a pan with a tomato tin full of water, and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
STEP 2Meanwhile, put the aubergines in a bowl, and toss with the oil and some seasoning. Heat a large frying pan then cook half the aubergines until golden brown and softened. Tip out on a plate and do the next batch.
STEP 3Tip all the aubergines back into the pan and cook for a minute, then add the spices (not the garam masala) and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for a few minutes then tip in the tomato and lentil mix, plus 200ml of water. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring regularly, then stir in the coriander and garam masala and cook for another 2 minutes. Serve with rice and naans, if you like.
I am creating a whatsapp group with the purpose of visiting wine bars and wine festivals. In other words, not guided wine tastings, although those could also be an option from time to time.
But the main purpose is to try out Berlin’s wine bars and visit wine festivals in order to enjoy a glass or two of good wine, probably on a monthly basis.
IN PROGRESS (need to de-americanise it ….. for example – I THINK 18 ounces mushroom must be about 500 grams. I think. And how many grams of dried kidney beans end up as the equivalent of 15 oz can of same? This obsession with canned food …..YUCK!)
EDIT: Just found this website!! A lifesaver!! https://earthtoveg.com/calc/beans/
Using a damp paper towel, wipe the caps of mushrooms. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each stem. Slice mushrooms in half and add them to a food processor. Working in batches, pulse mushrooms 7-10 times until they resemble ground “meat”.
In a large dutch oven or pot, heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil. Add ground mushrooms and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until all liquid evaporates. Transfer sautéed mushrooms to a bowl.
Cook the veggies.
To the same pot, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, onion, garlic and both peppers. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Pour in diced tomatoes and beans into the pot with an onion and pepper mixture.
Simmer & serve.
Dilute tomato paste with 1 cup of vegetable broth and add to pot.
Add chili powder, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, oregano, cumin, maple syrup, the remaining 2 ½ c of broth and ½ teaspoon of salt to pot. Return cooked mushrooms to pot.
Give everything a good stir, cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. If the soup becomes too thick, add ½ cup of broth. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Serve the ultimate mushroom chili with sliced avocado, vegan sour cream and/or vegan mozzarella.
On public demand – despite the many recipes on-line – here is a description of exactly what I do:
One bag of Rewe’s bio cashew nuts soaks in distilled water for a whole day or a whole night (min eight hours).
Tap water cannot be used. The first couple of times I tried, I thought it was nonsense when I read that it has to be “filtered” water, which I take to mean anything other than tap water. So I used tap water, and then I could not understand why the substance did not ferment.
That changed when I started using distilled water.
After soaking and draining, I blend the cashew nuts with enough water, and long enough, to result in a thick-ish, creamy mass which I then transfer to a pot together with a little bit of extra distilled water whizzed around the blender in order not to waste anything.
I heat the cashew nut milk slowly till it comes to a slow boil, stirring constantly since it burns on the bottom very easily. Once it has bubbled up, I transfer it, still stirring, to a porcelain bowl, and keep stirring occasionally to avoid it drawing skin.
Once it has come to room temperature, I add a little bit of yoghurt from the previous batch. (The first time I made it, I used a starter powder which can be found in ecological supermarkets). Stir well. Cover with cling film, and leave at room temperature for 12-24 hours.
The yoghurt is ready when the surface starts to crack and it seems to be alive when you start stirring it. Stir and transfer to the lidded container or containers in which you want to keep the yoghurt refridgerated. Remember to set aside a little bit as a starter for the next batch.
A very nice, mostly leisurely – for me very leisurely but I knew that in advance = time for small detours and time to see, and be still, something one can always get better at.
The route on MapMyWalk here. (Somewhere a couple of km from the end goal, everybody jumped on a bus and I continued on foot along what may not have been the route originally planned).
After the visit of my brother and sister-in-law – one of the highlights of the year, and so great to have them here – and an unbelievably lazy day where temperatures reached 36C – time for an internations.org event – the annual visit to Schloßgut Schwante.
During the family visit, it had been relatively warm and sunny and our level of activity was kind of medium (none of us are getting any younger…….).
It included ambling along Landwehrkanal to eat in Vietnamese restaurant Via He Hai. The next day the almost obligatory visit to Tierpark where we inspected, among other things, the new “Savannah” area and had dinner in Chinese Restaurant Ming Dynastie on the way back, and finished the day with a stroll home along Märkisches Ufer (and of course, like all these fine summer evenings this week – drinks on the balcony). And from then on, nothing (except dinner reservations) went completely according to plan but since some people call me a control freak, that was probably only healthy :-).
I wanted to show them Das Kleine Grosz Museum and found out that they are closed on Wednesdays. But we did see some of the large murals in Bülowstraße, and stopped over in another oasis – Café Eule – SO Berlin in my view – on the way home.
Dinner in Restaurant Shiori – an experience with a difference. We all agreed that the thirteen dishes were a bit too much – we could have done without the cold soba noodles and the first dessert. Everything else was delicious, the crash course in the fine art of saké was interesting, and it was very entertaining to watch the “choreography” of the five staff.
On the last full day, the last-minute decision was to save the stasi prison in Hohenschönhausen till next time and instead take a leisurely stroll (or so we thought) through Tegel, and along Greenwich Promenade by Tegeler See to say hallo to Dicke Marie – alledgedly Berlin’s oldest tree. When we arrived lakeside it turned out that we walked straight into the almost completed preparations for Tegeler Hafenfest which was to take place the entire weekend. Something which to me is a bit of a nightmare. We did make it through and to Dicke Marie and found a nice place to have lunch outdoors while only hearing the music and other noises from the Hafenfest from a distance.
In the evening dinner at Restaurant NaNum, just a few steps from home and by now quite an institution in Berlin. The food was as always light, delicious, AND healthy :-), the natural wines were good, and it was great to see how the non-alcoholic drinks pairing is taken at least as seriously as the wine pairing. All plates, bowls etc. are made by the owner in her pottery workshop upstairs from the restaurant. She also sometimes gives kimchi workshops. She is the same age as me – I don’t know where she gets her energy, nor upper arms hahaha. Perhaps it is all those fermented greens. And thus, my 70th birthday (which was actually last year in November while I was in Reha) had been well and truly celebrated.
But back to the visit to the sculpture park.
First of all, my usual grievance: Of the seven others who had signed up for the internations event, two actually turned up. They were great company, but I am always wondering why people sign up for events and then don’t either turn up, or cancel their attendance. One or two of the names I recognise as “repeat offenders”. It is not that they do not receive reminders to do so – it is just that the majority of internations members, at least those that are expats, are spoilt, badly brought up brats with an inflated sense of entitledment.
With that off my chest :-), after that visit, I fairly inadvertently found myself back at Tegeler See and the Hafenfest. I have to say that it was nowhere near as bad as I had feared. I did force myself to take some photos, despite my dislike of humans as a species, and the German camera angst and photography paranoia. And I even sat down and had a softice without feeling crowded let alone claustrophobic.
The first photo is from the station in Hennigsdorf from where the regional train to Schwante leaves. The photo from the lake is from just before entering the actual park. Then follows two almost identical photos presenting the usual dilemma: Colour, or black and white?
And now to Tegeler See, and the Hafenfest, starting with the almost obligatory black and white tree photo from whenever I take my camera out.
And finally, the triptych of the day, and a church on the way to the S-Bahn station in Tegel.
