White Bean burgers

Serves 4
What do I need?
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 lemon, zested
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
400 g butterbeans (also known as Lima Beans
A handful of fresh parsley, chopped
1 egg (I used 50 g flaxseed slime, to make it vegan)
100 g breadcrumbs


How do I do?
Heat a pan with a splash of oil and fry the onion and garlic in it for about 3 minutes. Stir in the thyme, lemon zest and salt and pour it in a blender. Add the beans, parsley, egg and breadcrumbs and blitz for a moment. I like it with a few lumps, but that's up to you, how smooth you want it. Shape it into patties and fry them in a bit of oil until they're hot all the way through.

TIP: If you want a golden crust, you can sprinkle the patties with a bit of flour before frying them.

New Years treats

Well, I guess my holiday has been long enough now and it's time to get back to blogging. These little cakes are called "Kransekage" in danish and they're a traditional treat for New Years Eve, while we're having champagne and waiting the last few minutes for the new year to arrive. It's super easy to make and tastes delicious! Some people make it a little different and shape it as a tower or a cornucopia, but I find it easier to just make it like this - plus, it's easier to transport!

Have a very happy new year and take care of yourselves out there!

~50 pieces
What do I need?
500 g marzipan/marchpane
150 g sugar
100 g eggwhites

Hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts - whatever you'd like to make them look even prettier


How do I do?
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius/400 fahrenheit.
Mix sugar and marzipan well. Add the eggwhites little by little, until the texture is smooth and even. Pour it in an icing bag with a pastry tip - the size should depend on the size you want your cakes to be in. I used a star-shaped tip with a diameter around 20 mm.
Squeeze out the "dough" to make small cakes on a baking sheet. Decorate with a little nut and throw them in the oven for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them, so they don't get too dark. It's pretty much up to you, how dark you want them to be, but I don't like them too dark.

If you want them to be extra delicious and pretty, you can dip the bottom in melted chocolate and let it cool before serving.

Salad with quinoa and fresh spinach

Those quinoas... I'd heard a lot about them, but couldn't really figure out if they really WERE that much better than rice, couscous and other kinds of grains. Turns out, they ARE! Considering the fact that it's basically a cereal, the protein content is quite high. Not as high as in beans and lentils, but still higher than potatoes and all other kind of grains and cereals - except from oats and wild rice. As if that wasn't enough (I mean, just the fact that it's full of protein is enough for us veggies to love it, right?) it contains a lot of dietary fibre, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and calcium. The latter one should make vegans (including my inner one) really happy.

So basically it's allowed to call quinoa a superfood. If it wasn't that expensive (and I wasn't a poor student) I would be eating a lot more of it. It's so yummy in salads and casseroles and as a substitute for rice. I've actually seen, that you can also get red and black quinoa, but I've never really found out what the (nutritional) difference is. Anyone who can help me?

Serves 4 (as a side dish) or 2 (as a main course)
What do I need?
1 clove of garlic
1 onion
1 cup of quinoa
4 cups of fresh spinach
The zest of 1 lemon


How do I do?
Heat up a spoonful of oiling a pan and fry the chopped garlic and onion until they're shiny. Add the quinoa and let them get all greased in. Add about 1 cup of water and let it simmer for a couple of minutes until the quinoa is tender. Let it cool.
Chop the spinach roughly and add the cool quinoa and the lemon zest.

Baked hokaido pumpkin

Two days ago (monday december 16) I had my 10 month anniversary as a vegetarian. I can't believe it's almost been a year! It's one of the best decision I've ever made and I feel like my body is thanking me every day. Being a vegetarian has never been easier and there's a loooot of different kinds of substitutes, if you want that - I don't feel the need to have meat-like ingredients in my food. Sometimes I add soy granule to a casserole, but that's pretty much it, then. No matter if you want these substitutes or not, the possibilities are almost endless!

Serves 4 (as a side dish)
What do I need?
1/2 hokaido pumpkin
A splash of oil
1 tbsp herbes de provence or thyme
1/2 cup of almonds
Zest from 1 lemon
125 g feta cheese


How do I do?
Peel the pumpkin, de-seed it and cut it into the kind of pieces you like - squares, triangles or lengthwise. Mix them well with the oil and herbs de provence in an ovenproof dish. Chop the almonds roughly and sprinkle them over the pumpkin. Grate the lemon zest finely and sprinkle it over the pumpkin as well. Throw it in the oven for about half an hour and sprinkle the feta cheese over it. I like to eat it with potatoes and some kind of veggie-steak.

Veggie crumble

Hey guys. I am so, so sorry, that I haven't been posting for the last few days. My internship is taking up all my time and energy, and when I've got homework and work to do at the same time, that means that the blog is less important. But don't worry, during the holidays, I'll prepare a lot of posts, ready to publish on days, where I'm a bit busy.

This christmas is my first christmas as a vegetarian and I've been thinking a lot about, what I'm going to eat. I don't want to just eat potatoes and red cabbage - I don't even want to eat the gravy, since it's going to be made out of the fat from the duck. I happened to find a recipe for a veggie crumble and they suggested it as a part of the vegetarian christmas meal. I wanted to try it out, but used some other vegetables, than the recipe suggested. And guys, I am telling you, it turned out to be amazing! This is definitely going to be a part of my christmas! I got a few more things I want to test, to see if they too got the potential to be a part of my future christmas dinner. Now, the challenge will be to convince my family that we should make all these delicious (vegan) dishes. A danish christmas dinner already consists of so many little dishes, so there's always a lot of stress and run in the kitchen. But I just don't want to feel like I'm missing anything, you know?

6-8 persons (as a side dish)
What do I need?
1,2 kg vegetables - I used potatoes, carrots, leeks and parsnips
6 twigs of thyme - or more, if you (like me) are crazy about thyme!
Vegetable broth
1/2 cup white wine
3 tbsp white wine vinegar or apple vinegar
Salt and and fresh ground pepper

35 g pine nuts - or 50 g nuts, like almonds
125 g flour
70 g oats
1/2 olive oil
Leaves from 3-4 twigs of thyme
Twigs of thyme for garnish


How do I do?
Peel the vegetables or clean them well, if you like to keep the skins on it. I always keep the skins, it's just make the vegetables taste better, not to mention that a lot of the good vitamins etc. supposedly lies in the skin. Anyway! Once cleaned and/or peeled, cut them into smaller pieces (about 1,5 x 1,5 x 1,5 inches). Boil them with the broth and twigs of thyme for a few minutes until they're just tender. Separate them from the water (you can save it and use it as a base for the gravy, if you'd like), throw them in a bake sheet and mix them well with the white wine and vinegar. Spice it up with some salt'n'pepper!

Preheat the oven to 200 celcius/400 fahrenheit.
Mix the pine nuts, flour, oats, oil and thyme leaves well until you get a crumbling dough. Spread it over the vegetables and garnish with the rest of the twigs. Throw it in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes.


TIP: I preferred to eat it the same day. It wasn't quite as good the next day, but defo still edible!

Cinnamon almonds

Yum, this little snack is perfect for christmas! The cinnamon taste isn't overwhelming, but it's there. It's there to give you that hint of christmas without making you nauseous. Oh lord, I could eat these all day....
I originally found a recipe on Pinterest, but I didn't have a slow cooker, as the recipe told me to use. So I started thinking.... How could I make this in the oven? I starter out at a relative low temperature and stirred a few times until I thought they were crispy enough. And I'm pretty satisfied with the result! Oh, and get ready for your kitchen to smell A-MA-ZING!


What do I need?
1 egg
2 cups almonds (about 500 grams)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla (I prefer vanilla powder, but you could use vanilla sugar instead)


How do I do?
Preheat the oven to 125 celcius/250 fahrenheit.
Separate the egg yolk from the whites. You only need the whites for this recipe, so fry, freeze or eat the yolk - whatever you feel like. Please don't throw it away, that would be such a waste!
Beat the egg white lightly with a fork until it gets a little frothy. Stir in the almonds at let 'em get all greased in.

In another bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients well. Sprinkle it over the almonds at make sure they all get coated. Spread them onto a baking sheet - either greased or coated with a piece of baking paper. Make sure the almonds are in one layer. Throw it in the oven for about an hour and make sure to stir every 20 minutes. Be careful that you don't knock too much of the coating off.
After an hour in the oven, take 'em out and allow them to cool. Store them in an airtight container - that is if you don't eat them all right away, like I almost did!

Pizza with zucchini crust

Ah, who doesn't love pizza? I know I do! I love pizza the traditional way, but making a healthier version ain't bad at all. Even though the stuffing is nothing else than vegetables, the crust plays a big role, when it comes to counting calories. You could easily add the kind of stuffing YOU like on your pizza and you can even use a ready-to-use tomato sauce, if you're not really in the mood for making your own.

The pizzas don't end up that big, but the crusts will get you full in a good way, instead of the way a traditional pizza can leave you with a heavy feeling.


Serves 2
What do I need?
1 zucchini
A little less than 1/2 cup almonds, blended to flour
1/2 grated mozarella
1 tsp dried oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
A pinch of salt
1 egg

1 can of diced tomatoes
1 tbsp olivenolie
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper

Fresh mozarella
Fresh basil leaves


How do I do?
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celcius/450 fahrenheit.
Grate the zucchini (or use a food processor) and drain it, using a tea towel. It's really important to drain it from as much water as possible, otherwise it won't stick together. Mix the well-drained zucchini with almond-flour, cheese, garlic oregano, salt and egg. Divide it into two balls and press it out on a lined baking sheet. Make sure that the crust is even, especially the edges or they'll darken really fast. Throw the crusts in the oven and let 'em bake for 10-15 minutes, until they're lightly brown.

While the crusts cook, use the time to make the tomato sauce. Heat a pan with the olive oil. Let the garlic fry shortly, don't let it burn! Add the tomatoes and oregano, and let it cook for a few minutes, until it's not too liquid.

Take the crusts out of the oven and spread the tomato sauce and stuffing on 'em. Throw 'em back in the oven for about 2-3 minutes (5 minutes tops!) and serve with a few fresh basil leaves.

Vegan brownies

I'm not exactly proud of this picture. It could've been better, but the light was just really bad. With that being said, the brownies were A-mazing. TBH I'm sometimes a bit scared to make vegan cakes, cos it sometimes requires all these fancy ingredient that I do not have - like No-Eggs, an egg-substitute. I want to be able to make a cake out of the ingredients that I already have. And this one is one of those! I actually made it a saturday afternoon, where I was a bit hungover and had the most intense craving for brownies! They were super easy to make and after a couple of hours in the fridge, the texture was even better than when I took 'em out of the oven. Whether you like your brownies warm or cold, that's a personal matter - but I really DO recommend cooling them in the fridge!

~15 pieces
What do I need?
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

How do I do?
Turn on the oven at 175 celcius/350 fahrenheit.

Mix all the ingredients well until theres no clumps and pour it into a buttered or lined ovenproof dish. Throw it in the oven for about 25-30 minutes, until the top is no longer shiny.

Overnight oats

During my internship I need an easy breakfast, that I can divide into two and eat before I leave home and just before my day starts. I'm in this unlucky situation, that it takes almost 2 hours of public transportation, to get to the hospital, where my internship is taking place. These overnight oats are perfect AND so delicious! They're so easy to prepare the night before and even easier to just grab from the fridge, throw in your bag and eat while you're on the train or in the bus.

My internship is going to last for two months (december and january) and I'm very exited, although there seems to be some problems with my schedule. I'n going to be staying at the Department of Clinical Biochemistry, where I'll learn a lot about different kind of analyzes and taking blood samples. So watch out!

Serves 2
What do I need?
1 cup quick oats
1 cup juice (I used apple juice)
1 handfull of your favorite seeds and nuts (I used sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds, sesame seeds and hazelnuts)
A few pieces of dried fruit (I used abricot)
1 grated apple
Ground cinnamon and nutmeg to the taste


How do I do?
Mix all the ingredients well and add cinnamon and nutmeg to the taste. Put it in a container with a lid and put it in the fridge until the next morning. If the texture is too wet or dry, you can adjust it by adding more oats or juice. Enjoy with a nice cup of tea and have a nice day!

Bloglovin

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Spinach-lentil-soup

I really do love soups! It's the perfect winter-meal and when my internship is over, I'm going to make a monthly event called Sunday Soups - I'm going to invite my friends over for soup on the last sunday of the month. They pay a small amount to join and we'll have a nice evening with a delicious soup. Great idea, huh? I can't wait!

This soup is definitely a good candidate! It's so delicious, easy to make, spicy and cheap at the same time. The lentils provide a lot of protein and the spinach provides a lot of iron and calcium - a great combination for vegetarians and people, who live on a low-meat-diet.

Serves 4
What do I need?
1 big onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
A splash of oil
1,5 tbsp garam masala (Curry will do just fine too!)
1/2 tsp ground chili
2 tbsp grated, fresh ginger
100 g green lentils
5 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp sugar
300 g fresh spinach, chopped


How do I do?
Fry the onion, garlic, ginger and spices in the oil for a few minutes. Do not let it burn! Add broth, lentils and sugar and let it simmer for about 30-45 minutes, depending on when the lentils are tender. Add the chopped spinach and let it simmer for another couple minutes. Make sure the soup is well heated and add salt to the taste. Enjoy!

Welcome!

Hey y'all!

So, today is the day! I'm going to publish my first post a little later today, when I get back from work. Each week, I'm going to publish at least one recipe, that you can use on Meatless Monday. For the next two months, I'm going to publish it on sundays because of my internship (I'm going to be home really late!) and if that works out well, I'll continue publishing it on sundays.

I really hope that you'll like what I'm posting and that you'll find inspiration to a meatless diet. Please please PLEASE let me know if there's anything, you'd like so say - whether it's good or bad. I'm tough, I can take it!

Lots and lots of love,
Mie

Ps. Happy 1st of december!

Just a few more days....

For all of those curious souls out there: I will publish my first post on december 1st. And believe me, you want to look forward to it! It is going to be yummy!

Test

Not much to see here, folks. Just testing and stuff, until I'm ready to publish my first post!