Avocado Salad And... Time To Fly To Celtic Sea

   Як же ж давно я не писала українською! Що в принципі і не дивно, бо якшо в мене і є якась читацька публіка, то чомусь мені здається - не україномовна. Про мене вдома всі давним-давно забули і я вже з цим навіть змирилася :)
   А на фоні цього всього, в житті сьільки всього відбувається! Якраз сьогодні та неділя, яку важко назвати лінивим вихідним, бо бо бооооо за кілька годин я сяду в літак і мене чекає реально довга дорога до Кельтьського моря :) Я запаслась професійним фотоапаратом і може наршті почну робити якісні (!) пости. Якщо вас коли-небудь цікавила Ірландія і все що з нею пов'язано - заходьте на мій блог, протягом наступних тижнів буде багаааааато всього цікваого. Хештег #ялюблюсвоюроботу :)
   Оскільки в мене ще є ціла година нічого-не-роблення, поділюсь з вами нереально простим і швидким салатом (тобто не самим салатом, який ми вчора з"їли успішно, а його рецептом).

   Не знаю чи я про це писала - але я вже рік (оооо сама не вірю) як вегетаріанка і дуже впевнено йду в напрямку веганства. Тут не про це, але про це теж буде - я все збираюсь написати розумну статтю на тему "фу-фу-фу не їжте м'яса", але я тільки почала читати літературу на цю тему і спочатку мушу добре її начитатись, щоб могти пояснити всьо дуже чьотка :)

   А тепер мій салат (який став жертвою тестування фотоапарату). І так, приготування займе нам хвилин 15, за умови що ви не будете фоткати кожен крок по сорок разів, інакше може затягнутись надовго.

   Нам потрібно:

• 1) Грецькі горіхи (3-4 штуки, порізані і підсмажені на пательні, до реееечі - смажені грецькі горіхи це одне з найбільш приємних кулінарних відкриттів евер)
• 2) Авокадо (1 штука, ясно що в ідеалі - м"яке і стигле, але на практиці знаєм ми, які деколи продукти в супермаркет привозять)
• 3) Гранат (штуки пів) - я так і не нвчилась його чистити, тепер вся моя кухня виглядає як сцена з легкого фільму жахів
• Паростки stir-fry (цікаво мені, чи в Україні це продається, я не бачила і якщо ні - то дуже шкода, бо це капєц як смаачно і тут воно буває кількох видів - по перше залежно від рослини, а по друге є такі дуже молоденькі - на смак як трава, і є такі вже трохи хммм... зрілі - це ті що на фото внизу і їх треба 3хв на пательні смажити мммм)
• Свіжий шпинат (навіть ті хто його не любить мусять бути свідомі, що це як мінімум корисно)
• Сіль, перець, оливкова або кокосова олія, всє дєла - кому шо смакує. 

В мене ще до цього були рисові вафлі і соус з такої інтересної штуки яка називається passion fruit, але я впевнена що грінки з нормального чорного хліба теж ідеально впишутться:)

Смачного! І їжте здорово :) Ми - це те що ми їмо, чи як там кажуть :)

p.s. скоро багато-багато Ірландії, заходьте частіше :) І підписуйтесь - я тільки недано зрозуміла суть тої функції . Буде мені дуже приємно :)
p.p.s. І якщо в вас є якась ідея, пр що мені написати - залиште комент внизу :)

Energy From Within... Or French Breakfasts Are The Best

   “I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.” 

― Jack London

   When you think of a human being from a physical point of view – we are just a bunch of atoms. And then, what is an atom? Piece of matter. And when these pieces of energy collide - there is a splash of energy, which appears in some magical way. Same with people. We collide and create energy.

   It’s a beautiful Saturday morning, I decided to be a little like Carrie Bradshow today, so I woke up at 8, quickly packed my laptop to my bag and now, here I am, sitting at Charlotte, eating delicious french breakfast and  watching people collide. It’s just amazing to think that everything around me is just a sum of atoms, simple as it is – flows of energy, which interact in all possible ways. It’s crazy, if you think about it and try to understand... How does this work?

   And yes, I’m sitting here all alone. And no, I don’t feel lonely. And yes, I love spending time on my own – thinking, observing, learning something new. My life taught me, that this can be pretty cool. It’s such a rush around, everyone’s talking, laughing, nice music playing (as always in Charlotte) and I’m writing this post and inside I’m smiling – because I feel just right. Like everything around me is not happening for real. Strange feeling, anyways.

   Being alone from time to time - is kind of experience you can’t replace with anything on Earth. I mean, don’t get me wrong – I’m super social person, I can talk hours and hours, I love meeting new people and being with my friends. But there are just days and moments, when I need time for myself. 

   Coming back to atoms – I still can’t fully get it.How do emotions work? How does love work? I regret not learning physics at school, it could explain a lot now...
    Love, anger, happiness - are all those things simple result of atoms interactions? I always thought that emotions are not connected with logic. But what if it's a simple combination of laws of physics, chemistry and math rules? We meet somebody - our minds and bodies create energy, it comes from within and crushes into this stranger. There can be chemical reaction, There may be not... But if there is - we change, and never come back to previous state of mind. Then, according to probability theory there are millions of ways what can happen. One of them says "they lived happily ever after", but the chances are not that high. And it's not destiny, not some extra power - that's just math. If you try adding some logic, chances go even closer to zero... 

   Same with work. Same with all you love to do, your passions - you create energy and invest it, hoping it'll pay off. Hoping everything will work out. Dreaming. Giving more than receiving.
    And all together this makes our life. Math, physics, love, passion... Again passion, work, energy. And all over again. This is what life is about. And it is complicated (at least for me).

    Apart from this - it was a really nice October day! And with all the work and routine I completely forgot to look around and appreciate the city I live in. The moments I have to experience. To share with others and with myself. Krakow is beautiful and... full of energy :)

Midnight Cooking... Or First Steps To Going Vegan

   So, guys, we make decisions every single day. Sometimes we make up our minds very fast and then let's say, we're obsessed with some idea, we say "ok, starting from tomorrow things will change" but then... next morning our inspiration vanishes somewhere even faster than it appeared! Happened to you? Oh yes, happened to me as well. Many times :)

   But there actually ARE some decisions, that grow up in our heads slowly, with full understanding of WHAT we are doing and WHY we are doing this. I'm not gonna dig deeply into the topic of veganism, it's pros end cones etc. I'll probably make a separate post about this whole thing - including the root cause and consequences. But this will be later.

   

   Today I just want to share an idea of an extremely healthy, easy, tasty breakfast, and on top of that - really fast one! Because come on, we don't want to waste time on making breakfast forever... Actually, this "something" you can cook once in a big portion and then keep it for about a month and it still will be ok :) And this "something" is called homemade granola.

   Yeah, just one note, it's probably only for sweet-breakfasts lovers... Reminded me of guys from my work, they're like: "Miaaaaa what's that? Are we birds or something?" :) Well, not birds, but birds would definitely eat that too, I guess...

   So, biggest part of it is grocery shopping. Here's the approx list of what you can buy (and feel free to add some other things), that's just my quick version:

•    Oatmeal (rolled oats, slow cooking - I mean those in bigger pieces)
•    Maple/Date syrup (you can replace it with honey, but it won't be vegan anymore)
•    Vegetable oil (coconut or.... I chose palm oil - it's awesome or olive oil will do as well)
•    Sunflower, pumpkin seeds
•    Nuts, nuts, nuts (whichever you have - just chop them)
•    Dry fruits (raisins or anything you like)
•    Coconut strips
•    Flax seeds
•    Vanilla extract

Pretty much it. Now you have it all and you can go on and heat the oven to 150 C.

Recipe is as easy as you can imagine. First of all, mix 2 big spoons of oil + 150ml maple syrup + vanilla extract (1 tbsp.) + a pack of oatmeal (about 400g)... Mix it like that :)

Add the nuts and seeds. Don't add coconut and/or dried fruit yet...

Mix it again (wow, this becomes complicated) and place it on a foil before putting to the oven...

This one above is with extra date syrup, because I really like it SWEET :)

Bake it for some 10-15 min, then add coconut strips and raisins and let it bake for another 10min or so...

And voilà! Your personal granola is ready. Now you can put it in nice fancy jars and you'll have breakfast ready for next week or two :) 

   It goes well with water or milk (I mean almond or coconut), but I personally just pour some water and put it to the microwave for 30 sec. And then I just enjoy it while reading my e-mails with a large, no... HUGE cup of morning coffee :)

   And a really quick post, took me 15 minutes in total :)

   Bon Appétit! 

p.s. see you soon...

p.p.s. this really tastes good and it doesn't contain any sh*t they usually put in packed products :) 

Copenhagen. A Short Story

    “If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating, as possibility!” 

―  Søren Kierkegaard 

    

   Just a little bit of inspiration from our friend Søren, whose hometown I recently had a chance to visit.

  To say Copenhagen surprised me - is to say nothing. What a great feeling a traveler experiences, when a new destination exceeds expectations, I think you know what I mean :)

    The Streets...

   Probably first thing that attracts your eye is that there is no traffic jam or rush, because there is simply...no cars. When in my beloved Ukraine the biggest life goal and the most significant accessory of the social status is a luxury car, in Denmark (one of the richest countries in the world) - it is absolutely normal to bike. Bike with children in a special dedicated seat, bike with flowers in a basket, bike with groceries in a big bag, bike with your friends in a big box, located in front of your bicycle. I did not see overweight people in Copenhagen :) 

   City is so multicultural! This is obvious, as in any big capital, like London or Paris, you meet each and every nationality just around the corner. But there is also a lot of locals and they are visible, and that is a nice fact (because I remember in London it was kind of hard to find real English gentleman in the crowd).

    Copenhagen is super green! First time in my life I saw so many parks and they were really huge! A funny fact, that Assistens Cemetery (where Soren and Hans Christian Andersen were buried, by the way) is more like a park, then a cemetery itself. People come to sunbathe and do picnics there. Sounds like a perfect place to have eternal rest some day :)

   The People...

   What is the trait of self-confident and satisfied people, you tell me... I know - they don't give much f*ck about unimportant things. And I want to be like them :)

    The family that rent us an apartment was also very nice and I learn the fact, that in Copenhagen it's quite popular to let your own apartment (where you live Monday to Friday) for a weekend. Our landlords do this very often and they move to a country house for a weekend. Amazing way to travel like this, because we had a chance to live like true citizens of Cph!

   Of course - you should visit Free Town of Christiania when you're around - it's totally unique. No photos can be taken there, but apart from this not too many restrictions :)

   And yes, everyone speaks English! This is really some other nations should learn from Nordic countries - not to be ignorant and disrespectful to those, who do not speak "their" language. Of course I wish I did speak danish, maybe one day... But it makes life of a visitor so much easier, when you can simply ask and simply get an answer :) 

   The Food...

   My friends, let's be honest - Copenhagen IS expensive. Oh well, you just have to be prepared when going there that beer will costs euros, accept this fact and have fun! No point going on a travel and counting money all the time :)

   The fish is amazing - the street food we had at REBEL FOOD was worth all those calories! Walking around Norrebro district - go to a small cozy cafe to have some local beer at Cafe Auto :) 

    There is also totally opposite posh side of Denmark - at Lumskebugten we had a table booked near to one, where Prince of Denmark sometimes eats lunch with his family - yes, you pay more for a service (kind of a lot), but this is worth experiencing. 

   And finally meeting morning sun at Nyhavn canal while eating light Sunday breakfast at a small cafe Hyttefadet - was an amazing ending of our short trip. If you ever go to Copenhagen - I recommend to spend a nigh out at Nyhavn, nigh life is so cool there! We didn't have a chance, because we planned some other things, but now I feel like we obviously missed something important!

   And remember - you can't buy happiness, but you can buy a plane ticket - it's already half of the success :)

P.S. See You Soon