Tübingen, Germany - Day 1

Finally made it to Germany yesterday, despite the bomb squad delaying things at the Mumbai airport at my boarding gate and thankfully we took off just in time, before the airport was shut down briefly. The biggest dampener was not having a smoking zone inside the airport. There's only one place - a private lounge 'Celebrations' where you pay a cover charge of Rs. 1000 to enter and theres a place to smoke, your luggage is neatly stowed and you dont have to look over your shoulder every other minute to see if everythings still around (handy when you're traveling alone); you also get one free drink of your choice (always handy when you're flying) and starters.

I'm so glad I ordered the fruit platter on the lufthansa flight to Frankurt - was grinning ear to ear seeing the day old, limpid Asian vegetarian fare on the nearby seats. But what was really great about the flight despite my crummy seat at the rear, chatty neighbors, and some turbulence, was the super-cute male steward! Mr. Graf, if you're reading this, thank you for taking good care of me. I know I'm difficult when I dont have my feet on mother earth.

Having reached Frankfurt and whiling away my five hour layover to Stuttgart, I did some duty free shopping (essentials like ciggies and a mountain of chocolate), and gawked at the incredibly fresh looking food items in store there. I had a marzipan croissant and a heiße schokolade und milch (also known as the BEST. CHOCOLATE.MILK.EVER). Yes, my veganism is out the window. I even just had a tuck into a sausage. If I've come half way around the world, I might as well do as the locals do and immerse myself in all things german. I can always go back and eat dal chawal or raw vegan when I am back! (hopefully).

And despite popular belief that Germans are cold, everyone was smiling. Its another matter that I did feel lost there and not knowing the language, I turned to another Indian was assistance.

Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg is this sleepy little charming village in the south of Germany, which is more famous for its university than anything else. The first thing that hit me when I left the airport with L. was how chilly it was even at 4 PM! I was told to pack my warmest clothes, but living in Mumbai, you hardly ever need anything more than a shawl. Plus we have no idea what 0 or 10 degrees feels like. Thankfully my landlord lended me his jacket to keep warm. But I'm definitly buying a more shapely jacket from H&M at MarktPlatz.

Its funny the building opposite where I live has 'Nazi' graffiti-ed on the wall. But, its such a pretty looking building. As are most of the buildings in the village.

In Tubingen, I'm at Neckarhalde, 38 (live there) and Neckarhalde 5 (office). If anyone's around, do get in touch with me. Here's the view from my rooms. I'm told to make judicious use of the available curtains because there are horny uni students passing by (not that I care!).

My humble abode for the next 2-3 weeks:

Here are some of the gifts I got my my german colleagues and CS hosts.

Celery, Carrot, Lettuce, Cauliflower Salad

After long last I finally made my own lunch (almost a week)! Have been superbusy getting my visa in order, and have just been eating cooked meals at home or a plate of fruit in the office canteen. Why now? Because I was dying to try out my celery. We get orange+celery juice in many juice shops, but for some reason I've never seen celery being sold at the supermarket or veggie vendors. So, when I saw some at Nature's Basket, I immediately grabbed some!

Celery, Carrot, Lettuce, Cauliflower Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 large stalks of celery (including leaves)
• 1/2 icebery lettuce
• 1 red carrot
• Handful of cauliflower florets

Dressing:

• Juice of half a lime/lemon
• Tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon madras curry powder
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

What I Want Now: Raw Vegan Pesto Pizza On A Sprouted Lentil Crust

Doesn't this look gorgeous?! Photo and recipe courtesy of Joanne from Foods for Long Life.

It's Raining Awards

17th February, 2011 - Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

Thanks Toni of Boulder Locavore via email

18th February, 2011 - Three Awards - Stylish Blogger, Creative Blogger, and One Lovely Blog Award

Thanks Anu & Santanu of Bhalo Khabo

Piquant Pineapple Salsa

The post title may say "salsa" but I'm having this for lunch as a salad. Very simple recipe with pineapple, cucumber, onion. The veggies are dressed in red wine vinegar, liquid jaggery, chilli flakes, basil, and garlic.

What I Want Now: Madras Mashed Cauliflower

Love the look of this mashed cauliflower and potato along with madras curry powder.

Recipe and photo courtesy The Veggie Test Kitchen:

Banana & Lettuce Salad with a Chilli-Chocolate Dressing

Valentine's Day brings with it a whole gamut of giveaways on blogs - mostly chocolate. I even commented yesterday that chocolate has milk and hence is off-limits, in that I don't buy it myself. But if its offered to me for free, I figure its fair game. In that chocolate state of mind, this salad was born. My chocolate was not vegan, but I just used a couple of pieces, so don't have that much of a negative karma.

Carpaccio of Pineapple

Carpaccio (an appetizer of thinly sliced stuff, usually meat or fish) sounds like such a sophisticated term for what is, essentially, just sliced fruit. But astonishing as this association of fruit (pineapple), oil (olive oil), and spice (vanilla bean) is, they are in perfect harmony. And I dare you to not like it!

Cabbage, Grapes, Olives Salad in a Red Wine & Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

I had a bit of salad left over from yesterday - the lettuce was wilted, but the rest was fresh. So, I reused the kalamata olives, gherkins, and peppers; and added cabbage and black grapes to the mix. The vinaigrette is made of 1 part red wine vinegar, 2 parts extra virgin olive oil, sprigs of oregano, and a heaping of poppy seeds. I'd bought the poppy seeds ages ago and hadn't even opened the pack till today -  Had seen a salad dressing somewhere with poppy seeds added, so why not?!

Kalamata Olives, Lettuce, and Green Pepper Salad

An old flame of mine used to say "If you have't eaten kalamata olives, you've wasted your life." If that is so, then today was the first day of putting my life to good use. Since the salad below has that tang from the olives and the gherkins, I just dressed it with rosemary-infused olive oil.