St. Pete - Raw Food and Concerts

Yesterday we went to St. Petersburg. It's like 2 hours south from Inverness and we went there for a concert. But since we had to drive so far we were lucky ('cause nobody needed the car) to combine this trip with some other stuff.

We went to IKEA to get a mattress and a slatted frame for our bus. The shop was kind of the same as in germany. But still not completely. What I appreciate about those european companies is that I feel like they seem to care more about ecology. Even if it's just little tiny things like signs asking the people to switch off their car while in the loading area. Just stuff like that.

The other thing we had planned on doing in between this shopping tour and the concert was eating out. There are several (not too many but still some) options for vegan dining in the tampa area. And two of those even offer 100% RAW vegan food. We had to check one of those out.

We went to that one I prefered which was a little bit further from the venue. But we left Inverness early and after IKEA there was plenty of time. So we drove to St. Pete Beach to check out "vida de cafe". Since this island has a beautiful beach the town seems to take this for profit and the parking spaces were pricey. So we decided instead of eating there to just stay for an affordable hour, grab something to go and eat it on the beach. As a snack. Then afterwards drive to the other restaurant to sit down without a rush and eat there.

And so we did. We shared tacos and Sisto got himself a mango shake while I already had made my decision for cheesecake. Yes, raw cheesecake.
You know what: this food was f*cking awesome. We never tasted a mango shake that was so rich and creamy. The tacos were insane and my cheesecake heavenly. Nothing more to say. I made pictures. Haha.

The hour passed quickly. We got the food. The inside of the cafe was very welcoming, too. Simple and quiet. No big time scenario, just homely wooden furniture and green walls. An open counter. Big windows. We went to the beach. It was beautiful. Sunny. A little bit crowded, but ok for a saturday. We had our meal and went for a short walk around the block. There were many nice houses, close to the beach and all in all it was as you imagine Florida to be.

We left around five. Still enough time before the concert to check out the "leafy greens cafe".
I was already kind of full from the cheesecake but wanted to eat a little bit since the evening was going to be long and I was curious about the food. So I took the thai curry soup and decided to share pizza with Sisto. The pizza unfortunately was out. It was like the main thing we wanted to try out. So Sisto ordered a Burger and we decided to share a sandwich.

So, the food here also was delicious. The soup was so refreshing but spicy at the same time. Sistos Burger was great and I really loved the sandwich that had a cashew cheese inside which really made you scream for more. And after we finished it all up we were so full. Nobody ever thinks you can be so full from just vegetables. But go to a raw restaurant (because they know what they are doing) and order    a starter and a main dish and if you feel like a dessert: you won't be able to move afterwards, I promise.

We didn't stay inside but sat down in front of the shop. So I can't tell you about the interior. It was little bit more restaurant style. The outside was nice, just the neighborhood isn't the best, so there were some strange people passing. And we were the only ones on the street. (At least parking was free..)

What us bothered at the second cafe was the service. Maybe it's an american thing - I read something about it, so it doesn't necessarily have to do with the venue at all - but from the moment we went in until the second we left we wouldn't sit for a minute without the waitress to come and ask if everything's ok. Like we went out. With her. We checked the menu. She was out. If we wanted to drink. We denied. She was back after a minute. Who can read and decide about a meal in such a short time? She came back after another minute. We felt rushed. We ordered. She brought the soup. While we were eating the main dish she came out to ask if everything's ok. After we had finished she was out to ask if we want a dessert. When we said no she brought us the bill. Hey, if I'm going out to eat I want it to be restful. I want to enjoy my food, not rush over it. I want to sit while it fills me up. I want it to be unhasty. Eating out to me is something special. I don't eat out every day. And I dislike to feel watched: if I finished my dish, wether I like it or not, how I eat and how quick I leave the table (especially if it's not full). We felt uneasy and though the food was delicate and tasty we wouldn't come back. What a pity.

So when we left the cafe it was early. We had planned way more time for this part of our day. However we went to the club which actually was the home of the organizer. It seemed to be some workshop with a huge garage in the past. Now the garage was the space where the concerts took place. 15 or 16 acts. And in his living room they had opened a gallery. Full of pictures of a guy that had passed away some time ago. His widow gave away all of his paintings and they took them and put them there. You could buy all the pictures for 5 to 10 bucks which they pass over to his widow for medication and stuff. The most impressing piece was one of a girl and a dog licking some ice cream together. Light and dreamy, playful and naive. I loved the picture (that unfortunately was already sold). He painted a lot of portraits, too. Ordinary people and well-known ones like Clinton or the pope (last one without his eyes).
Altogether they looked amazing.

The concert was cool. For me after this day it was too long. So around twelve I went to sleep a bit in the car. And Sisto woke me up some hours later. There was a wide range of different noise related projects and bands. And a lot of people came to see them. Which to us was even more startling.
Around half past three I think the concert was over and we drove home.

 

We had to stop for a little baby racoon that wouldn't leave the street because it was so busy eating something from the ground and a deer was running cross the street in front of us. We slept too short. And I wrote a lot. So this is it for today.

The car

I promised to be a bit more specific on the car we bought. But then we started cleaning and working on it and there wasn't a lazy minute in the last two days. So I broke my word. You will understand!

Unfortunately the last owner wasn't completely honest about the condition and after we took the van home, it wouldn't start again. The battery was broke. But something else was wrong with it, too. Cause after we had gotten another battery and replaced the old one it still didn't start immediately. 

When we opened up the motor case (that's between the two front seats) there was a revelation. Some little animal, a squirrel probably, had built a nest inside the insulation. And the whole motor block was full with acorns and dirt. So i was vacuuming the nuts out of every tiny little corner and from between cables and plugs.

The thing had also bitten trough some cables. So one of the cylinders wasn't working. Probably the problem why it didn't start properly. We have to get it checked by a mechanic. But first Sisto needs his Florida drivers license, so we can get a license for our car.

Rear seats and bench were thrown out by Sisto. We try to sell them. We wanna built a bed in the back, so we can really do a comfy trip to the West and sleep in the bus wherever we are. Without worrying about motels and costs. We already fell in love with that old thing, though it's a little bit frustrating that we can't just get going immediately but have to fix it first. But still it's better to have it fixed here than having major issues while our trip. 

One last thing: yes, this car is absolutely a no-go when it comes to economics and pollution. I know. We know. And we would love to have one of those lately-on-the-market vans, that have the space and the good fuel economy. But since we are just poor, at this time of our life we cannot afford something like this. In any other situation I would never ever buy such a big and reckless car. But we have to travel the country. We want to sleep somewhere. And we have some stuff to transport. 

So far for today. Enjoy your sunday!

my backyard workshop

It's pieceful. It's quiet. There's just wind, birds, some squirrels and me.

 

Hell, yeah! I'm really kind of sitting in the forrest. Some days ago, when I made the picture above, reading my new book, the sun was shining. Now the sky is covered with clouds. Currently I am trying out some wire figures like the red fish I made last summer. And making photos of myself hanging around. The wind blew away all those little prepared paper pieces two times. I guess this is the only bug with that space. I get myself back to work!

Homosassa Springs and klean kanteen

Today we went to the wildlife park in Homosassa Springs. We got to see Manatees. They are so huge, I really can't believe it! They were fed with salad. 

I'm not quite sure what to think about those kind of parks. I love to see animals so close. And this park really just had animals native to Florida. The money earned there probably helps to safe wildlife and they also have the goal to protect endangered species like manatees. And they try to wake peoples interest in wildlife, in animal protection and environmentalism. 

But at the same time there are lots of animals that are kept in captivity. And I don't think a lot of the people visiting the park think about mentioned above aspects. They wouldn't put together that helping those animals is also done by reducing the amount of plastics in your everyday life (like the bunch of bags they wrap around every item you buy in every shop around here). That you can't safe the manatees with a 1 mpg car (to exaggerate a bit). And probably most of them don't give a shit about that at all. That makes me sad.

Well. Back to something else. Cause when we came back from the trip there was a big box waiting in front of the door. And inside I found my long awaited klean kanteen bottles. I read about them on birdies blog a while ago and since then wanted to purchase them. But then we knew we would move and I didn't wanted to buy anything. So I had to wait until we were here. But now I actually did it, I ordered two of those awesome bottles! No more drinking from plastic bottles. Why that? Ok, it's written in german, but here's the amazing summary of health dangers caused by plastic.

And now we go and have some ice cream in the sun. That's Florida best...

Veganes im Laden und in Holland

In letzter Zeit sind mir ein paar Mal neue vegane Produkte bei dm und auch an andere Stelle aufgefallen. Bei dm zum Beispiel habe ich festgestellt, dass alle als vegetarisch deklarierten Dosensuppen keinerlei tierische Inhaltsstoffe angeben: Erbsensuppe, Linsensuppe und Ravioli (ok, keine Suppe..)

Dann gibt es dort diesen neuen Aufstrich mit Curry. Und bevor wir nach Holland fuhren habe ich ihn für die Reise eingepackt. Früher im Urlaub gab es bei uns öfters einen "Kip-Curry"-Salat, den wir total geliebt haben. Ein Hühnchenfleisch-Curry-Salat ist vielleicht an dieser Stelle nicht der beste Vergleich, aber der dm-Aufstrich trifft genau dieses leckere süßlich-würzige Geschmackserlebnis, das uns damals so umgehauen hat. In vegan begeistert mich das alles natürlich noch viel mehr. Yummy.

Außerdem habe ich Samba Dark entdeckt. Naja, so kurz vor dem Aufbruch dachte ich, noch einmal Samba.. Aber bisher hatte ich immer gedacht, samba dark schmeckt bestimmt zu herb und nicht nach Samba. Nun bin ich aber seit ungefähr einem Jahr vegan und irgendwie wollte ich da nicht grade jetzt eine Ausnahme machen. Also habe ich tapfer ins Regal gegriffen und:

wurde nicht enttäuscht.

Der intensive nussige Geschmack, der Samba zu Samba macht, stimmt einfach so mit meiner Erinnerung davon überein, dass ich mehr als zufrieden bin. Natürlich habe ich keinen eins-zu-eins-Vergleich, aber ich kann sagen, dass ich die normale Version nicht mehr vermissen werde.

Und zu guter Letzt noch ein kurzer Blick ins Keksregal des Nachbarlands. Früher haben wir uns dort mit dicken Zuckergespickten oder dünnen und krossen Waffeln, mit Eierkoeken, Kokoskransen und weichem marzipangefüllten Mandelgebäck eingedeckt. Bei meinem letzten Ausflug in das Land der Schokostreusel war ich auch noch nicht vegan und so war es nun eine neue Erfahrung. Die Thee-Kekse, eine Art sehr günstiger schlichter Butterkeks (ohne "roomboter"!) ist super für Tiramisu oder auch zum "so essen". Diese Kekse hatte ich schon beim letzten Mal entdeckt. Dann gibt es manchmal Appel- oder in diesem Fall Aprikozenflappen (gefülltes Blätterteigebäck) oder Apfelstrudelkekse, die ohne "scharrelei" etc. auskommen. Und am letzten Tag hat mein Liebster nochmal auf die am wenigsten danach aussehenden Kekspackungen geschaut: Schokocookies und Hafer-Cranberry-Cookies und mich damit in Hochstimmung versetzt. Jajaja.

Abgesehen von diesen gibt es in Holland wirklich viele schlichte "Meergranen"-Kekse. Runde und unspektakuläre, die aber toll zum zwischendurch mal knabbern sind. Und dass sich dort der Blick ins Aufstrich-Regal lohnt weiss sicherlich jeder unter euch. Viele Supermärkte haben "puur" aber auch weiße oder gestreifte Schokoaufstriche. Verschiedenste Schokostreusel. Speculoos-Aufstrich und mittlerweile sogar Hagel. Wermutstropfen dabei dann wohl das Wissen darum, wo diese Schokolade her kommt und dass für den Preis eine Menge in Kauf zu nehmen ist.

Abschliessen werde ich meine Nasch-und Schwänz-Leckereien-Tour mit dem Hinweis auf den göttlichen frisch gepressten Saft im Albert Heijn Kühlregal. Die Mischungen dabei fangen bei Erdbeer-Apfel oder Himbeer-Apfel-Birne an und enden bei ungeahnten Obstmärchen, dass einem Hören und Sehen vergeht. Der Preis lohnt sich, probiert es aus und ihr werdet nie mehr aufhören davon zu schwärmen. Manchmal hat man auch Glück und die Säfte sind reduziert. Dann gleich mal mehrere einpacken.

Das war's für heute.

Ich hoffe eure Ohren (oder Augen) fallen nicht ab!

Und nun raus in die Sonne und das schöne Wetter geniessen...

P.S. Blogtrödelmarkt anschaun und meine Abreise erleichtern!

Sammler und Jäger

Als Sammler und Jäger habe ich hier in 28 Jahren so manche Sachen aufbewahrt, die mir Lieb und Teuer sind, die als Material vielleicht irgendwann in Frage kommen, oder die aus anderen Gründen niemals weggeschmissen werden durften. Ein riesiger Fundus unerzählter Geschichten. Schade eigentlich.

In meinem Blogflohmarkt könnt ihr nun diese Geschichten betrachten und zu Ende erzählen. Ich habe dort kleine Schatzkisten zusammengepackt, die mit einer bunten und aufeinander abgestimmten Mischung aus Flöhen und Kitsch, Material und Brauchbarem aufwarten und auch schon ganz für sich allein ihr kleines Eigenleben entfalten. Ich hoffe euch gefällt es und ihr unterstützt durch den Kauf der einen oder anderen Kiste meinen Aufbruch in die neue Welt und das "Goodbye" zu meinen Habseligkeiten.

Stoffe findet ihr dort übrigens auch. Regelmäßig wird aktualisiert und spätestens im April muss alles weg sein.

Good vs. Evil

Childrens Movies.

Really I don't know why there is nobody protecting children from bad movies. It even seems as if they were producing extra specially bad movies for kids. Why? It's like in theatre, some adults seem to think children are just stupid things that you can satisfy with crap. Well, probably lots of children are satisfied with crap but that's ridiculous. Really, lets protect them from stuff like this.

The storyline was ok, but what they made of it was incredibly boring. The main character was a crying baby and half of the movie you would see him looking sad into the camera. First we thought ok that won't be something great but lets watch it just because it's crappy. But when the film was over we blamed ourselves for that decision cause it was so lame. I don't want to go into the details but the best moment of the movie was when the bad boy was so frightened he pooped his pants. Pffff it made. Unbelievable!

So here is what you should show to your children. It is our new discovery. It is intense and rich and magic: Jim Henson's The Storyteller.

We found the DVDs in the library and watched the first three stories: Hans my hedgehog, fearnot and a short story. From the greek myths we watched all so far (if wikipedia is right and there are just four).. There is always the tale told by the story teller to his old dog (a puppet that is lovely played and is reacting to the story), there is the actual tale (performed by actors) and there are transitions with shadow figures. The athmosphere is dark and thrilling. And I love how the story is told in fragments, framed by the storyteller and the use of puppetry elements.

Go for it! For me it's one of the best finds lately.

Einkaufen und entdecken

Zur Zeit habe ich richtig Lust auf Wintergemüse in meinem Salat. Also auf Sachen wie Kohlrabi/Sellerie/Rote Beete etc. zum rein raspeln.

Außerdem ist die Lust da, neue Gemüsesorten mitzunehmen und zu probieren. Neulich im Bioladen hatte ich z.B. das erste Mal Wurzelpetersilie eingepackt. Und war fasziniert, wie süß und aromatisch diese Knollen schmecken. Dann sah ich eben Steckrüben und auch dieses Gemüse habe ich noch nie gegessen und werde es auf Salattauglichkeit testen.

Zum Schluss und sicherlich am Interessantesten für heute fand ich diese kleinen runden Früchte: Misbeln. Und die nette Frau im Gemüseladen liess mich eine probieren. Ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob ich jetzt total begeistert bin, aber ein paar Stück habe ich eingepackt. Wenn sie reif und sehr weich sind zupft man die Spitze ab und lutscht sie aus. Die Kerne spuckt man wohl aus. Aber vielleicht könnte man sie auch mit essen. Vom Geschmack her erinnern sie vielleicht am ehesten an Birne, die Konsistenz ist matschig und leicht mehlig. Auf jeden Fall Abenteuerobst!

z.B.

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Leckere Mischung: Wurzelpetersilie, Rote Beete, Möhre, Öl/Zitrone, Salz+Pfeffer

Und was wird von euch so entdeckt??

Gegessen + Würstchentest

Was bei mir auf den Tisch kam:

Vor einer Weile hatte ich entdeckt, dass es bei Rossmann vegane Tofuwürstchen gibt. Gestern landeten sie in meinem Einkauf.

Im Glas sind 6 Stück, es kostet 2,99€. Die pummligen Würstchen sind ungefähr 9 cm hoch und 3 cm dick.

Farbe: Sehr blass. Hat sich auch beim Anbraten nicht großartig geändert.

Geschmack: Sehr mild. Roh würde ich sie nicht essen (im Gegensatz zu anderen veganen Würstchen), gebraten schmecken sie ok. Die Konsistenz ist eher weich, auf keinen Fall knackig, aber ok.

Insgesamt sowohl optisch als auch geschmacklich etwas blass. Hauen einen nicht vom Hocker. So auf der Suppe haben sie mir aber gut geschmeckt. Und vielleicht kann man sie auch noch etwas schärfer anbraten und nachwürzen.

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Außerdem:

Stuten mit *

Chocolate Almond Swirl Bread

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Obstsalat

Birne, Apfel, Banane, Zitrone, Granatapfel, gefrorenen Johannisbeeren und Yofu

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Pizza

mit Ricotta, Spinat, Zwiebeln, Sesam (und Mungo-Sprossen)