Back when our kitchen was looking about like this:

Martin and I started looking for a lot of convenience foods.

We needed something that was quick to make.  It couldn’t create a lot of dishes (I was using the bathroom sink), and it couldn’t require a lot of preparation area (I only had the top of our half-sized washing machine to work on).  We ripped out the old stovetop, and then we needed to find foods that also didn’t require cooking.

We’d been reading a little about the raw food movement at the time.  So it seemed only natural to give it a shot.  Instead of turning to convenience foods that are packaged and full of sodium and preservatives, we took the cheaper route.

We started eating meals like this one:

In fact, we’re still eating this type of meal all the time.  I love cooking, but I’ll be honest.  I can’t do it for every meal every day.  One huge advantage to living in a city is having access to such fresh food.  I understand all too well if you live in a place where you don’t have access to foods so fresh you’re okay with eating everything cut up and raw.  (We couldn’t when we lived in the house made out of tires in the US.)

As it turns out, eating meals of fresh fruits and vegetables, cheese, bread, and pesto have done several things to our relationship. Never would have guessed that a carrot could do that!

So try preparing a simple meal like this for your family.  They may be shocked at first.  But only at first.  Here’s why:

1.  You cannot gobble a meal like this down.  It involves a lot of chewing and different tastes and textures that slow you down.

2.  Oddly, these meals lead to more conversation than any other. Our best conversations have taken place over a plate of carrots and cheese – no question about it.

3.  No one can say you’re not getting your veggies. I’ve read a lot about raw diets, and while I’m not going to make any claims about meals like this, I will tell you that we don’t get the same exhausted feel we can get from eating a lot of heavy carbs and sweets.  It’s a very interesting meal to ponder.

4.  The kitchen keeps cool. I love this in summer.

5.  Cleanup is simple. Put scraps in the compost.  Wash the cutting board and knives/peeler.

6.  You can try new foods. See an interesting looking fruit?  How about a different cheese at the market or quinoa salad?  Since people are eating slower and tasting more, it’s the perfect chance to try something new.  The cheese pictured above has dandelion in it!  I love it; Martin calls it “weed cheese”.

How are you at incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet?  Any attempts at eating raw or close to it?  Or maybe you have another trick for a simple spring meal.  Whatever it is – you know we’d love to hear it.  We eat this stuff for dinner.  Right next to the weed cheese.

The amazing explosion of blooming flowers and trees in Berlin really slow me down.  I’ve been getting funny looks whenever I pull over on my bike to look at the flowers.  I can’t help it!  The flowers are just so beautiful, and well, we don’t really bring bouquets of flowers home.  Do you?

I’m always torn between being a sentimentalist and a pragmatist.  We all know how beautiful flowers are.  They’re in every photo in home magazines and on every design blog.  Wow – the flowers look amazing.  I think, “I’d love some fresh flowers all over my house .”

Then the pragmatist jumps in and kind of laughs.  ”Really, Katie?” he says with a heartier chuckle than an elderly German man with a beer in his hand.  ”Don’t you think bouquets of flowers in your house are kind of frivolous?  You’re not really into spending money on frivolous things.”

It’s true.  We rarely buy drinks at German restaurants.  We drink tap water and live in a tiny apartment, and I ride my bike to school instead of taking the subway.  The list of simple switches could go on and on.  I’m sure you could rattle off all sorts of little expenses that you avoid, too, right?

Then there are the flowers.

What do you think about vases of flowers in your house?  Do you always have fresh blooms?  Who buys them?  Do you have flowers only when you bring them in from your own garden?  Or maybe never?  Sometimes, I just don’t know what to think.  So won’t you tell us?  Where do you stand?

I am in love with Berlin right now.

I am in love with eating outside again.

I love finding people who are taking the time to kick back and enjoy life.

I am in love with the flowers that are blooming absolutely everywhere – and anywhere.

The tourists are all returning.  My bike bell is getting good practice so that I do not crash into anyone.  Berlin has so many bike lanes.  But unfortunately, tourists usually don’t realize they’re standing in these lanes.

Ha – I’m just realizing my expression below is usually the exact same one poor pedestrians in the bike lane get.

The season between “Christmas market season” and spring was very long, dark, and icy in Germany.  I can’t bare to pull up the pictures again.  It was lovely in it’s own way (so you can click here if you missed those shots), though I’m still trying to get reacquainted with the sun.  He didn’t recognize me with such dark blonde hair.

We have decided THIS IS THE SEASON to be a tourist in Germany.

Ahh.  I am in love.

Are you soaking up the sun, the warmth, and the GREEN in your parts?  And are you finding love where you are?  Right now?  Today?  Let’s share joy in these moments.  What do you say?

I am constantly battling between wanting to add cute details to our home and wanting to edit and avoid clutter.  You probably know exactly what I mean.  My conscious, otherwise known as he  don’t-make-clutter cricket on my left shoulder, usually wins out.  I think he whispers, “Do your realllly need that, Katie?”

“No,” I answer, putting down the new treasure.  ”I don’t need it.”

But sometimes, every so often, I find something that I am absolutely drawn to.  The cricket starts chirping.  ”Ohh, Katie…”  And I just don’t know if I want to listen.  Like with this flea market find:

It’s made in Germany and has a little chip in the hand.  I paid 2.10 euro.  Then the dish proceeded to sit on the windowsill for three weeks.  That cricket on my shoulder had a hay day.  ”See, Katie,” it kept saying.  ”Now what are you going to do with that?”

I find that seeing an item every day and out of place helps me create good ideas for how I can use it.  Obviously, if no ideas come, it’s time to pass the item on.

It was a close call for this little guy… until I decided how I wanted to approach the next chapter of the No New Clothes Challenge at our house.  As you know, we’re not buying clothes.  We pretty much stopped in May.  A few pairs of handmade earrings seemed like just the ticket.  And as it turns out, this container is perfect.

I couldn’t be more pleased with my first flea market purchase.  Even managed to bargain in German for it with the help of a friend.

What’s something you recently purchased?  Do you ever ignore that “you don’t NEED this” bug?  I think it’s a balance between finding what you love and passing on what you don’t. Is this something you struggle with or think about?  And how do you decide?

Garden roses are red;
Easter violets are blue.
This post’s super short
’cause we’ve got something new.

You ready?

Happy weekend, everyone!  Martin gave us a fabulous spring clean look today on Making This Home.

I think you’ll find it much easier to find information from past articles and topics you’d like to read more about.  Plus everything is just so much cleaner, and as Martin puts it, “It’s so much more you, Katie.”  Which I think means it’s also so much more YOU.

If you have any troubles with all the new updates, please let us know the problem and what internet browser you use. Nothing is ever perfect in life, yet we can always work to make things better.  So please click around for a moment and see if anything strikes you.

See you back here next week when we have more fun stuff coming!

And just for a little teaser: one of those exciting things coming next week may just be more on those love letters I shared with you on Monday.  All this new blog refreshing by Martin?  …I told you those love letters did wonders.  Love you, guy!

The spring showers that fell all day didn’t stop me from biking straight to the grocery store after swapping out my German school books for the empty bottles that needed to be recycled.  In fact, I was absolutely soaked by the time I walked into the grocery store.  There was no turning back.  I’m back to Making This Home to show you why:

Yes – those are lemons that have been scrapped of every possible bit of juice.  We’ve been making a liter of lemonade from scratch about once a week since spring hit.  And oh my gosh – it is amazing stuff.

We definitely seem to be a seasonal beverage family at our house.  In the summer, we make this simple refrigerator iced tea with a regular old jar.  All autumn, we’re simmering our own spiced apple cider on the stovetop.  And now – we’re aching for some good ol’ American lemonade to welcome spring.

Like many Americans, I have fond memories of mixing frozen lemonade concentrate as a kid or eyeing the lemonade stands at the amusement parks.  But Germany doesn’t have lemonade like I remember.  You can buy a drink here called Bitter Lemon.  I’ve never actually seen anyone drinking it or purchasing it, though I did make the mistake of purchasing some once.  Let me just say that the moment the stuff touched my lips, my eyes could have bulged right out of place.  And my lips?  Oh they puckered up so fast.  I know exactly what “bitter” means now.  Yowzers!

Perhaps those of you in Germany can help explain the bitter lemon phenomenon to me.  In the meantime, I’m making more lemonade.

If you’re a lemonade lover or don’t know what lemonade is like, you truly have to try this recipe.  It’s really flexible.  You can add as many lemons, limes, and sugar as you wish.  Just don’t try and cheat with that lemon juice you can buy in a little plastic container or jar – Does Not Work.  Eww.  Yuck.

The sun is peeking through the clouds in Germany right now.  The rain has stopped.  It’s the most beautiful sunset.  Our day is just about over here.  You can guess what we have in hand.

Old Fashion Lemonade

1 liter water, chilled
3-4 lemons
1 lime (optional)
sugar

Squeeze the juice from the fruit.  You do not need any fancy tools.  A spoon is a really effective tool for scrapping the inside of the lemon… which is just perfect because that’s all I have.  Strain the juice and stir into chilled water.  Add sugar to taste and continue to stir until it dissolves.  Enjoy.

*I think a lot of people prefer equal parts sugar and lemon/lime juice.  We prefer far less sugar (and usually even more water to stretch those lazy lemonade nights), so play around with the combination.