.SOMETIMES RAW.

Hello and Happy Tuesday! 

These days I am diving deep into the art world, especially when I watch all these good videos on Vimeo. I have written a post on one of my favorite artists, Jackson Pollock already. Read it here.  I think his art is fantastic and that he is one of the most famous abstract artists and inspiring painter out there. He did not only love to paint, but also to entertain, host parties and cook. (and drink and smoke tons of cigarettes) I was even more thrilled when I heard about a Jackson Pollock Cookbook. It actually came out in March 2015 but for some reason it slipped by. Well, better late than never, right! 

“Dinner with Jackson Pollock features more than fifty recipes collected from handwritten pages scrawled by Jackson; his wife, artist Lee Krasner; his mother, Stella; or traded among their many friends in the town of Springs on Long Island, interspersed with Jackson s masterworks, still life of the Pollock-Krasner home, and beautiful photographs of each delectable recipe, plus delightful tales from Jackson and Lee s family and local friends, for a truly unique and insightful portrait of a great American artist.”

I do love to cook and with this great piece of art, cooking is even better and more fun. In this book are 50 recipes from him or friend and family photos combined with a great collections of some of his drawings and paintings.  Do you like to cook and what is your famous dish? If you are inspired by the book, order your copy here. 

I also will introduce three great apps to train your brain. Have you heard about Lumosity yet? This is so awesome and I am hooked. I do not like to play games on my phone anymore. Yes, there was a time, but honestly, I have better things to do now and actually not that much time anymore since my son was born. But when I find good apps to train my brain I find it challenging and exciting to see how far I can take it. Lumosity is simply great and the app is free and available to install on iTunes. Watch this video about it here:

The other brain training app I would like to introduce is Elevate and can be installed for free via iTunes here. I do spend time on my (oh so smart)phone here and there and these nice little apps at least train my brain. Isn’t it amazing that all these things are available to us? I do remember those times when I sat down in the kitchen to solve crossword puzzles from the local newspaper with a pen. Well, this is still great too. Elevate actually won a bunch of awards and was designed to strengthen brain functions in several areas. Writing, speaking, listening and math. (Yeah, Yeah, Jean and Thomas, I know! 2 2/1 years but ONE thing I know for sure: Statistics!) What I also love about this app is that it keeps track of progress and gives you more challenging questions and tasks the faster your performance improves. 

Last, I have to admit that I am addicted to TWO DOTS. 

What is the point of this game? Simply to connect the dots and sink an anchor. Download it for free here for your iPhone. I just cannot stop playing this game – it is crazy. It reminds me of the time when I came home from work one day and told my husband about CandyCrush. We ALL know CandyCrush! Well, he did not want to play it because he said he only uses his phone to work and not to play stupid games. Two days later I came home and heard the Candy Crush sound from the bathroom. Yep, hooked and it took a long time for him to quit which was so fun to watch. Well, I am sorry my love but you have to install TWO DOTS now, hah! It is all fun, right? I am currently trying to solve level 15 and I am totally stuck by the way. 😀 

What apps do you have installed on your phone? Which ones do you recommend? I would love to hear from you. 

Hello and Happy Saturday. 

My parents just came to “my office” to say goodnight and to tell me how disappointed they were about the TV program. This is not the first time this happened. It is usually like this in fact. Sad but true. The TV program is garbage.

It is Saturday night and is there anything better than crashing in front of the TV – alone or with your lover? Well, there are many other possibilities than watching TV, let’s say. I did not physically get rid of my TV yet but somewhat it seems like it. I don’t watch whatever is being presented on TV. What I do watch is either Netflix or YouTube. I used to watch TV for the news, but this [if I really want to get depressed] I can do as well on my phone. Hello, ten-thousand news apps! Honestly, my TV at my home is usually off. When people ask me what I do all day long I tell them about the window to our garden, show them toys, show them pencils and painting utensils that my son loves and of course nature. 

For some it may sound crazy, but I don’t miss TV at all. I do love to watch shows, don’t get me wrong. Netflix is good for stuff like this. Also kids-channels for my son. He has his favorites as I do. But we almost never sit in front of the TV. He watches his shows sometimes after having breakfast,  in the afternoon or after dinner. You can compare the feeling with this great situation when you walk into your hotel room at the ocean for example. You have a TV in your room but do you switch it on? No! You watch the ocean instead. And honestly, how many channels do you have and how many do you actually watch? Living in the United States we have approximately 1,000 channels and watched maybe FIVE on a somewhat regular basis. A bit of news here and there… and of course Family Guy or The Simpsons. Other than that, nothing. As far as movies go: Netflix all the way! You cannot even enjoy a movie anymore on regular TV with commercial breaks every ten minutes. So who needs all this? It is just annoying and makes you get up and walk over to the fridge and stuff something in your mouth. Exaggerated? Nope! 

Usually when the TV- conversation comes up, people tell me they have at least two TV’s in their house. Some even more. Some have one in every kid’s room. Say what? Yep. And if you ask me, the bedroom should only be used for two things. You hopefully remember what those are, right?! And if I tell people I don’t have a TV in my bedroom they look at me weird or in disbelief and shock. On the other hand, is there ever anything new and exciting on the news? All over again you hear about hate, this celebrity dates this celebrity and they have now even more money and bought two more mansions somewhere, more hatred, more despair, violence and greed. And no, I am not getting into politics. And don’t you sometimes have thoughts like: “Are they serious? This is not breaking news. It is just a kitten on a tree.” Again, I do follow the news to some degree, with apps on my phone but this does not involve a TV. 

On the other hand, do we even still think for ourselves? How much do we believe about what they show us on TV, especially through commercials? I would love to hear your thoughts on this! 

No TV in the bedroom means for me to sleep better. Hands down! There is so much information on that it is bad to fall asleep with the TV on. Or with your cell phone, iPAD even next to you. We all know this, right? I sleep best when it is completely dark and quiet. So does my son. He sleeps 15 hours straight and wakes up rested. How awesome is a good night’s sleep? It has an effect on my mood, performance and my function throughout the day for sure. I do watch a short video on YouTube on my phone once in a while before falling asleep, don’t get me wrong. BUT, I do sleep better if I don’t or rather read some pages in a book instead. I just feel calmer and happier and I feel I am more informed about everything than if I would watch TV. 

What is your take on watching TV? Do you love it? Could you live without it? I would love to hear from you. 

Hello and Happy Wednesday!

Do you like Bagels? I love them. The best ones I had in New York were hands down at  H&H Midtown Bagels, Tal Bagels and Barney Greengrass!  However, I don’t want to depend on any store to make me ‘bagel-happy’ but instead rather try to make my own. I searched for a good recipe for a long time but  the bagels did not have the right constancy or taste. Then I found this one! My bagels comes very close to my beloved Barney Bargels and they are so easy to make. With this recipe you can make your bagels at home and you know exactly what is in them! Sweet, no? 

A litte bagel 101 from Wikipedia:

“A bagel is a bread product originating in Poland, traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, which is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior. Bagels are often topped with seeds baked on the outer crust, with the traditional ones being poppy, sunflower or sesame seeds. Some also may have salt sprinkled on their surface, and there are also a number of different dough types, such as whole-grain or rye.

Though the origins of bagels are somewhat obscure, it is known that they were widely consumed in East European Jewish communities from the 17th century. The first known mention of the bagel, in 1610, was in Jewish community ordinances in Kraków, Poland. Bagels are now a popular bread product in North America, especially in cities with a large Jewish population, many with different ways of making bagels. Like other bakery products, bagels are available (either fresh or frozen, and often in many flavor varieties) in many major supermarkets in those countries.”

And here is the recipe. Enjoy! 

Serves 12 bagels

How to: Let’s make some Bagels.

30 minPrep Time

20 minCook Time

50 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

• 750g spelt (Dinkel)
• 1 cube fresh yeast
• 400ml warm water
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 2.5 Tablespoons salt
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

1. Put the flour and sugar into a bowl
2. Crumble yeast and mix with 400 ml warm water
3. Add the yeast-water-mix and add 1.5 teaspoons salt
4. Add the oil to the flour and salt kneeling by hand
5. Let dough rest for at least 45 minutes (dough should double in size!)
6. Cover your working area with a bit of flour so dough does not stick to it. Kneel dough again
7. Make a roll out of the dough and cut in 12 pieces
8. Form 12 balls, flatten them and make a hole in the middle with the end of a wooden cooking spoon (approximately 4 cm)
9. Let formed bagels rest on your working area for another 15 minutes
10. Preheat oven to 220 degrees
11. Cover the bottom of a baking sheet with flour (add enough so bagels won't stick to baking sheet!)
12. Boil water in a large pot. Add 1 Tablespoon salt and 1 Tablespoon honey to the water
13. When water is boiling, add one bagel at a time carefully with a ladle into the water
14. Let cook for 30 seconds then carefully switch to the other side with the ladle for another 30 seconds
15. Place bagels on baking sheet
16. Mix the egg yolk with the milk and apply on bagels with a pastry brush
17. Bake in oven for 20 minutes
18. Done!

Notes

You can easily freeze some of the bagels before they are baked! My favorite way to eat bagels are with cream cheese, smoked lox, rucola, pepper, capers and some onion. So so good! My son prefers them with Nutella.

Why do I have to cook the bagels for 30 seconds in boiling water? This process is called "kettling". The pores on top of the bagel close up nicely so when bagels are baked a nice little crust starts to form. The honey makes the bagels taste sweeter. Some just add salt. Be all creative here. Whatever you prefer.

Do you know why there is a hole in the bagels? So bakers were able to put bagels on a string or stick and sell more of them in the streets.

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Do you love Bagels? How do you enjoy eating your bagels?