I've known for a long time that good and wild and big things are coming, but still it got me a little by surprise that I'M OPENING MY OWN CAFÉ this month! Oh boy. I'll keep this short cause I have a lot to do (obviously), but stay tuned! And there are already some sneakpeaks to the journey here and our website is open soon, too! Yay!

Theres' beauty in every day (even when you spent them mainly under blankets with an awful cold) if you look for it.

January / under blankets with the longest cold
February / dinner with little sis

March / he's one little a ball of energy
April / breakfast with my niece

May / the weekly crackers
June / family bbq

July / some of best people on earth over for lunch
August / my friends got married in Lammassaari

September / Shakshuka
October / view from my windowsill

November / Restaurant Day preparations
December / Christmas in the north

Lots of food and people, and a lifelong dream starting to come true; 2015 was a good year - with all the pain and all the beauty. My heart is full. There's so much hope and grace and so much to be thankful for. Whoa, God.

Roamers in Berlin, if I had to pick, is still my one and only.

Have a lovely, lovely Christmas time! Cherish those around you and tell them you love them. Stay warm, eat good food, laugh a lot and take it easy.

(Two weeks ago I was in Berlin, utterly inspired, as always. I'll post more pictures in a bit!)

We are free to explore creativity without fear of failures defining us when our identities are rooted in the Father who passionately loves us. (Cageless Birds)

I could write a song about this cake, it's so good. (I know the list of ingredients is long and they are costly, but I guarantee that once you have them in your pantry and you can make this cake again and again, you won't be sorry at all.)

BLISSFUL RAW CHOCOLATE CAKE

(adapted slightly from a recipe by Matleena Lahti)


base:
250ml nuts (I've been using almonds and walnuts)
about 20 fresh dates
100ml dried mulberries
1-2tbsp coconut oil
75ml raw cacao powder
0,25tl salt
100ml almonds and/or pecans, roughly chopped
a handful cocoa nibs

filling:
350ml cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours or overnight
200ml coconut cream
150ml coconut sugar
150ml cocoa butter
100ml cocoa mass
50ml raw cacao powder
a good pinch salt

cocoa nibs, almond flakes, bee pollen, fresh berries etc. for garnish


For the base ground the 250ml of nuts in a food processor. Add dates, mulberries, coconut oil, cacao powder, salt and blend well. Taste and add more salt if needed. Roughly cut the almonds/pecans and add them and cocoa nibs to the base mixture and blend by hand or with a spatula. Line a spring form tin (about 23cm) with baking paper and press the mixture evenly in the tin and place in the fridge to cool while you make the filling.

Melt the cocoa butter and cocoa mass in a bowl over boiling water. Drain the soaked cashews. Mix everything for the filling (cashews, coconut cream, coconut sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, cacao powder and salt) in a food processor until completely smooth (the cashews can take a while, depending on your machine, but give it time). Taste and add a little salt or coconut sugar if needed. Pour the filling over the base, and refridgerate till the cake is firm (this will propably take some hours, or you could also go for about an hour in the freezer; I refridgerate mine overnight - that also balances the flavours.) Garnish the cake with cocoa nibs, almond flakes, bee pollen, fresh berries, you name it!

In August I spent some wonderful, warm days in Berlin with my uncle running through old favorites and discovering new ones. Here I am having morning coffee with Simone (photo by her) in Distrikt Coffee in Mitte. It was my first time there, but I definitely want to go back. Coffee, my superfood breakfast bowl and the service were all really good!




Roamers remains my absolute favorite in town. If only I could've stayed long enough to try everything on their menu!




We stumbled upon Liquid Garden, a green smoothie bar, in Prenzlauer Berg. What a happy find! I chose "Rave Dave" from the list - and got the yummiest green smoothie ever. (I only realized too late I wanted a picture..)




Till next time, Berlin!

I really love spinach crepes and, without really intending to, keep perfecting my recipe for them. For a long time I've also wanted to come up with a savory filling. Here's number one!

And ahoy, I'm flying to Berlin in a few hours! Happy days!

SPINACH CREPES WITH SWEET POTATO FILLING

(serves 3-4)

300g frozen spinach, melted
200ml milk (I use oat/rice/almond)
3 eggs
200ml light spelt flour
1,5tsp salt
a good glob of oil
butter for frying


1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes
olive oil
salt
pepper
a good handful almond flakes
a handful coriander, roughly chopped
a handful basil, roughly chopped
50-100g goat cheese feta or spreadable goat cheese


Cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Drizzle olive oil and salt and pepper on top and fry them in 200 decrees for 45-60min till they are soft. Fry the almond flakes on a dry pan, carefully mixing all the time so they won't burn, till they get a little color and smell toasted. When the sweet potatoes are ready, scoop the insides on to a plate, discarding the peels. Mash with a fork and fold the almond flakes and the herbs in and add salt, if needed.

Mix everything for the crepes together. Fry thin, large pancakes in lots of butter (butter makes the edges nice and crisp), tilting the pan to spread the batter. Fill each crepe with the sweet potato mix, either spreading goat cheese on the crepe first or sprinkling feta on top, and roll.

Family and food make my heart happy.

I had overripe bananas lying around and I ended up making the best banana bread I've made so far (and I've made many!) Happy days.

BANANA BREAD (sugar-free)

230g light spelt flour
1tsp baking powder
0,25tsp baking soda
0,25tsp salt
0,25tsp cinnamon
3 very ripe bananas
100g coconut oil
80g honey
2 eggs


Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mash the bananas with a work and add coconut oil, honey and eggs and mix. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients and pour the batter into a bread tin greased with coconut oil or butter. Bake in 175 celsius for about 50 minutes. Let cool in the tin on wire rack for a while.

Try this toasted with almond butter on top, oh man!

Summer in the city: three museums in a day and the best lunch picnic I remember having. Bliss.

These crackers have become an ultimate go-to recipe lately..

SEED CRACKERS

(tweaked from Green Kitchen Stories)

65g sunflower seeds
60g sesame seeds
40g ground flaxseeds
75g flour (almond, oat, rye, chickpea, buckwheat.. I use a 50/50 blend of two of these)
0,75tsp salt
3tbsp olive oil
225ml water


Place a bowl on a scale and first measure sunflower and sesame seeds in, reserving a quarter of the mixture for sprinkling on top. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix. Add olive oil and water and stir until combined. Spread the mixture out immediately on a baking tray, as thinly as possible, (the dough will thicken quickly and then it'll be a lot harder to spread evenly) and sprinkle the remaining seeds (and a little more if you will) on top.

Bake in 150 decrees first for 20 min, cut in squares with a pizza slicer or a sharp knife and bake for another 20-30 minutes. Keep peeking in the oven after 15 minutes or so; the baking time can vary alot depending on your oven. The crackers should get just a little golden on the edges. Break gently into individual crackers and let cool on a wire rack.

Beware of addiction.