Abstinence

….from solids. No, I am not going on a juice fast, or Master Cleanse diet, on anything like that. I just can’t eat solids because I can’t chew. And my new dental braces are to blame for it. I went to the dentist two days ago, and now my mouth hurts so much that I have the feeling that my teeth are going to fall. I know that is temporary (it will always hurt so much the first three or four days after adjusting the braces), but it’s annoying anyway.

So, I have been surviving on smoothies (like the one of the photo on the top,  made of melon, cabbage, lettuce and nuts), juices (my father bought a liquidizer yesterday. It’s wonderful! I ate 5 apples, 3 plums and about 4 carrots without noticing it O.o) and oatmeal with lots of water.

I don’t have a recipe today because I have not cooked in two days. Maybe I will post about juices combinations or smoothies later =)

Today’s breakfast: chocolate smoothie. I realized that just putting chocolate into the blender doesn’t work because after blending for almost five minutes there are still pieces of it left. So I melted it with a little bit of soymilk. I also added lettuce and cabbage (a must in all my smoothies), walnuts, pineapple, some jam and more soymilk. Oneof the most annoying things of wearing braces is…no whole nuts! They can stick to the teeth =( I can’t eat either anything very hard, chewing gum and I must crumble everything in pieces.

It didn't last too much

Just a quick post, no recipe (so if you are looking for a recipe, I am sorry. Look through the other posts) today because I am too depressed. If you have read my last post, you will know how excited I was because I got a job. Well, I though I got a job. Today I went for the second time to the workplace and I had the first hour of training course (requeriments the client must meet to get the service), but I didn't do the practicals becase I was not included as a holder in the copy of the banc accout I brough (although they yesterday they told me that it was not a problem, because it was my parents banc account and they just had to give me permission).

They sent me to open my own banc account, what I could not do because you can only open an account in a banc near to your home, and I was 50 km from home.

To sum up, I had to come back to home, with no practicals and quite disappointed. But my disappointment whas nothing compared with my indignations after looking for some information about the company in question on the Internet. Briefly, it is a swindle: you work a lot of hours, but it doesn't assure you a salary because it depends of your clients. No clients, no money. They promise you high incomes, but people who worked with him tell that is not not true. Also, the transport and meals are not included, so if you deduct all that expenses, the salary is not high at all, and you work a lot of hours. They don't register you with the Social Security either.

After reading all that, I decided that it was not what I am looking for. I am desesperate to get a job, but not so desesperate. I still have to do an investigation work this summer, and whith that job I would not have time at all. I won't sacrifice my studies for a summer job.

Sorry for such a boring post (at the end it was not so quick), but I needed to get it off my chest. Well, at least that will teach me that before accept a job vacancie I must know who I am dealing with.

A hard summer ahead and a seitan ham recipe

Right now, I am sitting in front of my laptop devouring half of a refreshing, cold watermelon…and I could eat the whole one if I didn’t eat the other half yesterday. Today has been a long day. I have spent all the morning in Barcelona, and have just returned to home at 4pm. Nevertheless, starting from tomorrow I will come back even later because…I have found a job! Yes, at least, after two months of job haunting, dozens of e-mails without reply — I don’t understand that quirk. Why can’t they send a quick e-mail, even if it is to say that I am not what they are looking for? I won’t bite them! It’s frustrating when they don’t say anything at all— and with already no hope left, I have found a job. Yeah, it’s a crap job, but it’s a job, and it will help to pay the bills, the mortgage, maybe a new camera and the FCE exam I want to do in December (it costs almost 200€!!).

In the case you are wondering, I will work as a saleswoman. Well, actually I won’t sell anything, but inform, but in the end is the same: I must convince people who has got a certain gas rate to fill in a form because it will allow them to save a 10% in their bill. The gas company in question is called Endesa. Today I spent all the morning with other salesman and saleswoman who showed me what the work consist in. It’s not difficult, but some people is really stubborn. Aggressive replies and door bangs are quite common, sometimes even before you have opened your mouth.

I will tell you more about my first day yesterday…if I am not too shattered. My timetable is: training courses from 9.30 to 10.45 AM (compulsory) and work from 11.30 AM to 8.30 PM, with a stop for lunch. There is one hour by train from Cunit to Barcelona, at that means that I will come back not earlier than 9.30 PM….every day >.<

For the moment, when I still have time (this is my last weekday free afternoon!), I leave a Seitan ham recipe which I did last week. Have a nice week! =)

Seitan Ham I love seitan. If you have wheat gluten, it’s very easy to make (I tried once to wash wheat flour…don’t try it too, please. After it, my arms hurt for a week, and I only got a tiny, measly gluten ball. All the other  — not only the starch, but also a lot of the gluten — licked out through the waste pipe) and you can freeze it. Actually, I always do more seitan than I need and I freeze part of it. It keeps perfectly for months and it has saved my life many times when I didn’t have anything already cooked. Defrost the hamburgers you need, sauté some veggies, and you have an almost complete meal. That recipe makes a really tasty seitan. The key is not over simmer it, and let it cool in the broth: it will make a juicy, not too hard seitan, but full of flavor. I changed some things, like the ketchup and the soy sauce (I reduced a lot the amount of them) and it was still tasty. Actually, I think it was too salty (maybe my teaspoon of salt was too full), but it was great anyway. The next time I will try some other variations, like using chickpea flour instead of soy flour, or pumpkin seed oil instead of olive oil. I think that it will give a cool green color to the seitan! Adapted from I eat food Makes 8 hamburgers Simmering broth 7 cups water 1/3 cup soy sauce (instead of 1 cup) 2 Tbsp liquid smoke (I didn’t have, so I didn’t use it) 1 large onion, chopped 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp dried Italian herbs mix (instead of 1 tsp of sage) 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (I didn’t use it either) Seitan 1/3 cup soy flour 2 1/3 cups wheat gluten 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp white pepper 1 Tbsp sweet paprika 1 1/4 cups water 1/3 cup ketchup (instead of 1 cup) 1 Tbspoon extra virgin olive oil (or any other oil, preferably a strong flavored one. The original recipe didn’t have oil in it, but I added it to give a little bit more of flavor. Put the water of the broth in pot and bring it to boil. Add all the other broth ingredients. For the seitan, mix the dry ingredients ( soy flour, wheat gluten, salt, pepper and sweet paprika). Mix as well the wet ingredients (the water with the ketchup and the oil if used). Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mix (I used wood spatula)  and knead well. Separate the dough in 8 balls, and give them a hamburger shape with your hands. Renae, the author of I eat food, divided it into 6 balls, but I found the balls too big. Place the flattered balls in the broth and simmer for about one hour on a very low heat. I discovered that leaving the seitan cool in the broth for about another hour or so make it much tastier. Now, you can bake it or just brown it on a skillet. I just browned it on a skillet because I was in a hurry, but I suppose that baked it tasted better. If you want, you can try to bake it as Renae did it for her Easter dinner. Or if it is too much seitan for you (like it happened to me…yeah, my family is still reticent to try seitan. And eight seitan hamburgers are too much seitan hamburgers for one person, even if that person eats as much as I do) you can freeze them. I had to cut them lengthwise because they were still too big, but I liked the result because now they look even better =) Seitan can be kept in the freezer for many months. I even had in six month in the freezer, but I am sure that it can last more.

Jamón de seitan Adaptado de I eat food Hace 8 hamburguesas Caldo 7 tazas de agua 1/3 salsa de soja (en lugar de 1 taza) 2 cucharadas de liquid smoke **I don’t know how to translate it (no tenía, así que no lo usé) 1 cebolla grande, picada 1 cucharadita de orégano seco 1 cucharadita de hierbas italianas (en lugar de 1 cucharadita de salvia) ¼ taza de levadura en polvo (no lo usé tampoco) Seitan 1/3 taza de harina de soja 2 1/3 tazas de gluten de trigo 1 cucharadita de sal ¼ cucharadita de pimienta blanca 1 cucharada de pimentón dulce 1 ¼ tazas de agua 1/3 tazas de kétchup (en lugar de una taza) 1 cucharada de aceite de oliva extra virgen (o cualquier otro aceite, preferiblemente de sabor fuerte. La receta original no tenía aceite, pero yo lo añadí para darle algo más de sabor) Pon el agua del caldo en una cazuela y llévalo a ebullición. Añade los otros ingredientes del caldo. Para el seitan, mezcla los ingredientes secos (harina de soja, gluten de trigo, sal, pimiento y pimentón dulce). Mezcla también los ingredientes húmedos (el agua con el kétchup y el aceite si se usa). Echa los ingredientes húmedos en los líquidos, mezcla (yo usé una espátula de madera) y amasa bien. Separa la masa en 8 bolas, y dales forma de hamurguesa con las manos. Reane, la autora de I eat food, la dividió en 6 bolas, pero me parecieron demasiado grandes. Pon las bolas aplastadas en el caldo y hierve durante aproximadamente una hora a fuego muy bajo. Descubrí que dejar el seitan enfriar en el caldo durante otra hora más o menos lo hace mucho más sabroso. Ahora, puedes hornearlo o simplemente dorarlo en una sartén. Yo simplemente lo doré en la sartén porque tenía prisa, pero supongo que horneado sabe mejor. SI quieres, puedes probar a hornearlo como hizo Renae para su cena de Semana Santa. O si es demasiado seitán para ti (como me pasó a mi…si, mi familia sigue siendo reticente a probar el seitan. Y ocho hamburguesas de seitan son demasiadas hamburguesas de seitan para una persona, incluso si esa persona come tanto como yo) puedes congelarlo. Yo lo tuve que cortar a lo largo porque seguían siendo demasiado grandes, pero me gustó el resultado porque se veían aún mejor =)  El seitan puede congelarse durante muchos meses. Yo lo llegué a tener congelado durante medio año, pero estoy segura que aguantaría incluso más.

Starting from tomorrow, I will spend a loooot of time in Barcelona

About me

I think that every blog deserve a proper about section, don’t you? And I thought too that it was time to write the mine.  After all, people who read blogs like to know at least something about the author. At least, I like to; if I wanted just recipes, I would look for them in Allrecipes.com,  or similar. When we read blogs, we look for something more than information. Of course, there are bloggers and Bloggers, with a capital letter. Those whose blogs (and life) are sometimes more entertaining and beautiful written than most of the books. I would like to be someday one of that talented bloggers. For the moment, I will be satisfied if at least someone finds my little story interesting.

About my (for the moment short) life
My name is Ksenia, and I am a vegan 18 years old girl. I was born in Moscow, Russia, and I have lived there until I was seven. Then, my parents decided to move to Spain —first, they thought about moving to Canada—and I began Primary School here. This is the reason why I consider Spanish and Catalan my first languages: I use them in my everyday life, while I speak Russian only with my parents. Nevertheless, I try to read (when I have time) in Russian to don’t lose it. I have moved many times since we came to Spain, and now I am living in Cunit, a small town about an hour from Barcelona.

Living in Spain is great, but I miss a lot Moscow, with its impressive underground and grumpy passengers, its grey and cold days, the — although usually dirty — snow. People say I am crazy because I come back on holidays almost every year (Why do you need snow, cold and dirt, they ask). I just answer that they have never been far away from the place where they were born.

Why this blog and why vegan?
I love food. I love photography. I love writing. But first and foremost, I love being vegan and I wanted to share it with the world. I became vegan in December 2007, and I have never looked back. In fact, I have never been happier with a decision. Why vegan? I just discovered the truth: all the cruelty, all the horror that is hidden behind the meat and all the related industries (like egg and diary industries).
When I became vegan, I had to look for information. What to eat, in what amounts (the protein myth is just that…a myth), needed supplements (trust me, seaweed are not a source of B12)….And of course, recipes. With veganism, I discovered the joy of cooking, but also the blogosphere and all the fantastic people you can find out there. I understood that I was not alone! And believe me or not, this is very important when you are a 16 years old vegan who lives in a country where being vegan is something comparable with being an alien.

About writing in English
English is not my native language, as I suppose you already know. I speak Russian, Catalan and Spanish, but I am still learning English. This blog, as well as a way to share my edible creations and meet people with similar interests, is a way to improve my English. I understand that speaking English is important nowadays, and that you need it for everything. Writing a blog is a good way to oblige yourself to practice at least a little bit each week. And the best…it’s much funnier than thick grammar books —important to give you a base, but a drag if you have to study them everyday—which I would have abandoned a long time ago.

If you have not fallen asleep yet....more about me and my interests
A part from cooking and travelling, I love reading, graphic design and web design. I began with web site design many years ago, when my parents bought our first computer (I don’t know how we managed to survive with just one computer for years….Now we have four computers, one for each member of the family). At this moment, only one of my creations survived the corporate web site of my father’s company. All the other web sites (mainly about manga and Japanese culture) were closed before I began this blog. Nevertheless, I am working on an online portfolio of a friend of my parents who is a painter. I hope I will finish it soon!
I also love sports, especially volleyball — I have been in the school team for five years, which joined a league a year ago— and running. I have been running for seven years, and it’s my best antidepressant. Don’t you feel great after exercising?

Prague, Krakow, Paris, England...I have visited many beautiful European cities, and I hope I will visit many others. On the left, New Year's Firoworks by the river in Prague. On the right: on the top, a street in Paris; on the bottom, a town near a ski resort in Poland.

Abouth olive oil or how to transform a bowl of steamed broccoli in a masterpiece

What do you think about the new design? I liked the old, but I had the feeling that it was too narrow. I was wasting a lot of space on the sides! The design is not mine, but I edited it and changed some details. I hope you like it!

Today I went to Barcelona again. Yes, I love being on holidays. Unfortunately, I am still on job haunting, so I have too much free time (I have posted two days in a row, so I suppose you already noticed it) I wanted to go to “Asia House” library and borrow a book, but when I arrived it was already closed. Yay! =(

Although I could not get the books I wanted to, at least we went shopping. I bough something I have been craving for weeks: a good, authentic, unrefined, cold pressed olive oil. Authentic olive oil is fragrant and dense,  and it’s enough with a little teaspoon to savour all the notes of its flavor. When I arrived at home, the first thing I did is to steam a whole head of broccoli and sprinkle it with sea salt and the olive oil. I don’t have a recipe today because it is as easy as this. And don’t think is less tasty than all the previous recipes! On the contrary: using only a few but high quality ingredients bring the flavor of each one out. If you still don’t have a high quality olive oil, I recommend you invest in one of them. Actually, is not as expensive as it could seem because you need less oil to get the same flavor. But be sure that is cold pressed. The next one I will buy will be also organic.

A little anecdote. Do you know that at the beginning I hated olive oil? I could not stand its strong and pungent flavor! I was seven and just arrived to Spain and was not used to olive oil because in Russia is not as common as here (although that was almost ten years ago. Now, is as easy to get as in Spain). Silly little girl! Now I could not live without a good olive oil. And you? What oil do you use? Do you like olive oil with strong flavor or mild flavor? What about the other oils? I love pumpkin seed oil and its green color!

Another thing I bought (in “El corte Inglés”, like the oil) is Indian green tea. I love tea, and Russian people drink a lot of them (almost more than English!), and this time I wanted to invest in a really good green tea (yeah, today I spent too much money, I know. The dangers of living in a capitalistic world) and I saw that lovely box of wood with imported Indian green tea inside.  You can see it on the photo above. I could not resist and opened it in the train. It smelled like heaven! I can’t wait to taste it (translation: I will post a recipe of a dessert soon. Probably this apple coffee cake)

Another Easter comes to an end

Tomorrow is my last day of Eastern break =( The only thing I hate about holidays is that is very hard to come back to routine after them, especially if you are a high school student, living in a small and boring town and with a ordinary life, so there is very little exciting in your daily routine. By the way, I should point that I don’t life in Barcelona city, but near Barcelona. My town is so small that it would be pointless to say its name, because nobody would know it (if someone is interested, anyway, I live in Cunit)

Today I went for a walk with my parents, and my 16 years old brother have tried to drive a car for the first time of him live. The crazy idea was of my mother, who wanted to go to a deserted zone and try it too. She has got a driving license, but she hasn’t taken the wheel of a car for years. And I must recognize, my brother’s didn’t do it bad at all. At the beginning,  he stalled the car many times. But after ten minutes, he was not only able to drive, but to turn and to stop without problem. My father asked me if I wanted to try, but I preferred to refrain from it. Crashing my father’s car would no have been the happiest ending to my Holidays.

This is my brother, Konstan, and my mother, sitting in our (old and rusty) car.

I don’t want to come back to school again. Maybe I can see my friends every day, but I am not sure if it worth it, because I also have to do lots of homework. I have been all the week reading, but I could read because I wanted to. It’s a big difference to do the thing whenever you please, and not when someone oblige you.



Yesterday I began to read again (I already began it once, but with all the exams I gave it up) “The mother tongue”, by Bill Bryson. The book is in English, which is another additional difficulty for me, and I bought it in Massolit Books, in Krakow. Massolit books is a bookshop specialized in books in English, and it has got both new and used books (you can find real bargains like I did!) I will write more someday about it because I still have things to explain about my trip to Krakow =)

It  began to rain again a few hours ago. For a change (irony, of course).


With such a weather outside, the best you can do to lie on your sofa and read a good book  or, failing that, a good magazine, or listen to your favorite song on the mp3. Of course, a hot cup of tea, chocolate or coffee (or the three things, why not?) is always welcomed. In my case, the August 2008 issue of National Geographic, all devoted to China because of the Beijing  Olympics, and  Towa no Han, by Chihiro Yonekura, sounding on my music player. Do any of you like J-pop?

By the way,...Happy Easter

At the backgroung, my hamster Cosa. Oh, well…and my socks.