.SOMETIMES RAW.

Hello and Happy Saturday. 

I had an interesting conversation with my mom today while we waited for my father and people-watched. A man came out of the gas station in a hurry with two cups of “coffee to go” which is actually not that common in Germany. Some places do offer it however. The man looked really stressed out while he fumbled for his key and talked to himself. He  looked annoyed at his wife who sat in the car, also talking to herself. Or her phone, who knows these days. So my mom told me a story from when she was a kindergarten teacher and enjoyed her coffee-break with her colleague. “She made every little coffee-break special. The way she prepared everything, boiled the water first in a little pot and then added the coffee was what made me forget the stress of the day. Made me look forward to the first sip of this great cup of coffee. It was something different from the ordinary cup of coffee I drank at home”, my mom said. The way she explained this made me taste the coffee and almost smell the flavor and instantly I wanted a cup. [Yep, my mom is very well read and words are her thing!] 

In the meantime, the couple in the other car left; both with their coffee-to-go in their hands, arguing. This made me think about when I really enjoyed a cup of coffee last. I do stay at my parent’s house for now and my mom and I have our occasional afternoon chat with coffee or tea which is of course always great. Now, I am talking more about the coffee you have at a café or even at home but which sure beats sipping on a cup of coffee in a car while rushing through traffic. I have even seen people drinking coffee in the car in the morning. Well, in New York everybody walks around with a cup of either Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts at all times, especially on their way to work which I found very strange in the beginning. When I used to smoke [yeah, I broke this habit five years ago!] I literally smoked and walked to work while drinking coffee. My mind was racing and rushing constantly while I tried to not pour this coffee all over my clothes while walking to work. [If you live in New York you don’t walk anymore- you rush so fast that it feels like  one step from running]

It is difficult for me to live in the moment. I am learning, working on it and getting better slowly but drinking coffee on the go means to me drinking coffee not in the NOW for some reason. It does never taste the same than if I would sit down and really enjoy a cup and being fully present without doing anything else. For some reason I think about the movie Chocolat and this scene:

To really sit down, focus on this cup of coffee (or chocolate or whatever) without rushing and really tasting the coffee is what I enjoy most. Sort of like mindful drinking, hah! In so many cultures drinking coffee is such a ceremony and I love it. You rarely, or never, see a French or Italian running around with a cup of coffee, right? Well, unless they live in New York. Drinking coffee for them is just all about enjoyment and mostly relaxation. People just hang out for hours in cafés to take breaks from their daily routines and just enjoy themselves or each others company. Of course, if you read this far you might say: “What is she even talking about here? I have to rush to work in the morning, get the kids ready, drive two hours to take them to daycare and so much more.” Valid point. It is a somewhat luxurious experience to SIT DOWN and enjoy a cup of coffee without hassle but everyone can do it. Just imagine that there are no counters to order coffee but a waiter has to bring you your cup to your table (a normal size cup – not grande, venti and whatnot), with a glass of water and two cookies. [Have you ever been to a Starbucks and stood behind someone ordering a Venti-Soy- with caramel-flavored-moccacino-vanille-soy-cream-spicy-latte?]

My point is that it is nice to fully enjoy the little things in life. To drink a cup of coffee and sit down and smell the aroma of whatever your are drinking.  It is about the taste of the drink and the rich aroma in this cup in front of you. And YOU! The simple pleasures just like this cup of coffee. 

One last thing: Starbucks personnel never get my name right. It is Daniela – not so difficult, right? 

I would love to hear your thoughts about this. Do share your comment. How does Starbucks spell your name? 

Hello and Happy Wednesday! 

So, recently I have been crazy about chocolate-anything that it is not funny anymore. And no, I am not pregnant. It was just a phase and I am glad it passed. However, throughout this time I searched for recipes that made my hips and my heart happy. I discovered this Peanutbutter/Chocolate Madness and I have to tell you one thing about it up front. It is probably by far one of the best cakes I have ever had. It is creamy, juicy, chewy, smells and tastes like caramel and simply to die for. My father added that one should keep a defibrillator close by and after eating one piece it reminded me of the Family Guy Stroke Episode but it is so worth it. You cannot eat more than this slice pictures above; honestly, it is very rich. Are you ready for it? Do you want it? Do you want it now? Here you have it. Enjoy! 

Before you start, this is what you will need: a tart-pan; I used 9-inch/1-inch tall and found that this is definitely the right size. If you do want to use a standard pie pan you might have to double the filling and chocolate which you actually don’t really want. [little reminder of Mr. Stroke here, hah!] Also, use parchment paper instead of greasing the pan. I had difficulties removing the cake from the tart pan afterwards! I used Walkers Shortbread just because they are so good. You can use any cheaper variety of  butter cookies in fact. 

How to: Chocolate Peanut butter Tart

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Ingredients

• For the Crust
• 150g shortbread cookies (2x 5.3 ounce cookie packages)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• For the Filling
• 115g cream cheese, 1/2 cup or 4 ounces
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 40g (1/3 cup) sugar
• 130g (1/2 cup) creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• For the Topping
• 170g (1 cup, 6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• a pinch of salt
• 120ml (1/2 cup) heavy cream

Instructions

1. Start with the crust: pre-heat oven to 170 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
2. Grind cookies with sugar and salt in food processor
3. Add butter and process until clumpy
4. Put parchment paper in the tart-pan and press crumb mixture into bottom and up sides of pan
5. Bake until crust is lightly brown (approximately 10 minutes)
6. Let completely cool
7. Now make the filling. In a large bowl, add the cream cheese, butter, sugar, peanut butter, salt and vanilla and mix with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy
8. Spread the filling with a spatula evenly onto the crust
9. Put tart in fridge to chill
10. Now make the topping. Heat the chocolate, pinch of salt and cream together in a saucepan until the chips are mostly melted. Stir with a whisk until smooth. Let sit for 5 minutes and to cool slightly, then pour over peanut butter filling and spread evenly until smooth.
11. Chill this tart now until firm. (I left it in the fridge for 45 minutes!)

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I enjoyed my slice with a nice cup of coffee. Happy baking. 

Hello and Happy Sunday. 

Spending quality time with my son is one of my favorite things to do. I love to watch him learn, discover and even make mistakes. It is all good; it is life. I learn while observing him myself and I see how he loves to do certain things with a passion. For whatever reason, when we are close to a piano, he wants to sit and “play”. Or drums. Same thing. 

I read the New York Times almost daily and save articles I really like. I stumbled upon a great article by Adam Grant on ‘How to Raise a Creative Child. Step one: Back off’. I found his point super interesting and I am of course interested to bring more creativity into my life – or in my son’s life. I am getting a little philosophical here for a couple of minutes.  Grant argues that to a good way to nurture a creative child into eventually being a creative adult is to simply back off. 

“The parents of ordinary children had an average of six rules, like specific schedules for homework and bedtime. Parents of highly creative children had an average of fewer than one rule. Creativity may be hard to nurture, but it’s easy to thwart. By limiting rules, parents encouraged their children to think for themselves. They tended to “place emphasis on moral values, rather than on specific rules,” the Harvard psychologist Teresa Amabile reports.”

He further mentioned studies on how creativity gets destroyed when there are too many rules and practice. It is sort of like we are trapped again by the same thought patterns or the same familiar way of doing things. I even noticed this for myself. Writing is my passion. I love it and have so many great ideas. But then in the evening when I am finally at my computer and have time to write it sometimes seems my creativity has just gone out the window. I think this happens because I am also getting sucked into some sort of routine. On the other hand, if I am really passionate about something I do make it happen. No matter what. 

“What motivates people to practice a skill for thousands of hours? The most reliable answer is passion — discovered through natural curiosity or nurtured through early enjoyable experiences with an activity or many activities.”

Have you heard about Pragmatic Theory of Truth? I have taken several philosophy classes in college and learned about Pragmatism and a great philosopher named John Dewey. In a nutshell, Dewey was very well knows for his education method and he said that children should be educated through discovery. Children should be able to explore and show a somewhat natural interest in any area or subject. Then you should teach and educate them about this particular subject or thing. He says that it is wrong to force any liberal arts education on a child. One should rather focus on their natural interests that bring more passion into the learning process. 

What do you think ? Have you ever thought about this? I would love to hear your thoughts. You can find the article here. Enjoy and have a great week!