Persian Love Cake

We have had so much going on recently, but I've still managed to make time to make home cooked meals each night, which I really love.

Lately I've been making a lot of Indian inspired foods including this beautiful Persian Love Cake in honor of the pending Valentine holiday.

The flavors are very interesting: cardamom, rose water, lemon, saffron, and pistachio. I added some heart healthy pomegranates, too.

It's such a luxury to have good food, made from scratch, and to try new recipes that remind me of places we've been.

This is definitely a good recipe to surprise your sweetie with or to make yourself as a sweet and exotic treat.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This year is extra special, because it's also the Chinese New Year / Year of the Tiger!

We celebrated with a much deserved dinner after a full day of packing. Thankfully everything will be finished by this time next week, including furniture deliveries. (Can I tell you how happy I will be when this is finally over?)

For dinner we went to Emiko, a restaurant that opened shortly before we left for our trip, in the new Louis hotel at Viktualienmarkt. The food is Japanese inspired and it was excellent. Lots of tiny portions served family style, which ensured a lot of variety. They also had a lot of little origami decorations hanging around for a sweet touch.

It was such a great way to celebrate - a mix of old favorites (a bottle of one of our favorite wines, Grüner Veltliner) and new classics (touches of Japan when we're missing Tokyo).

Happy ♥ Day!

Today is to our hearts - literally.

I made some heart healthy breakfast bars and then we met with Bruno, our trainer. For dinner we enjoyed some red wine and garlic to add to the theme of our heart minded day. It's a good thing we're married to survive the aftermath. Both from the garlic and from limping around like old people - from our bottle of wine at dinner and work out hangovers from Bruno.

For dinner we went to Tapas Teatro in Haidhausen, which is a decent attempt at a Spanish Tapa's restaurant. It was a 'staycation' experience and I would have guessed we were in Spain. The meal was delicious, but even if it wasn't, I would be disillusioned by the wonderful company that Stefan always provides.

One of the things that I absolutely love about my husband is his simplicity. For example, I love that he tips waiters and waitresses like an American. It's nice to bring happiness to people in the easiest of ways and I love that he realizes this. It's a dreary day to work - surrounded by couples and away from your own partner... or reminded of your loneliness. Here a 15% tip will get you extra drinks after a meal and a handshake when you leave. I also got a good laugh as we were finsihing our drinks when the waiter said, 'Hey Stefan how'd you like that wine?' while conferring with the table next to us as to which bottle they should order.

It's often easy to overlook the simple things. This isn't a day when flowers or chocolates are important. While I appreciate them as much as the next girl, for me it's simply a day to to appreciate what you have, and to let the people in your life know it.

I hope that you had a Happy Valentine's Day and were able to let someone special in your life know how much they mean to you!

One sweet Valentine

I'm easy to impress and a simple card is plenty for me. Leave it to Stefan to be full of surprises. He sent some beautiful flowers, despite the fact he's an ocean away. I really lucked out having such a thoughtful and romantic husband. Last year he made me a great breakfast, complete with chocolate and a very sweet card. He always keeps me on my toes and finds inventive ways to keep life unpredictable and exciting.

I cannot wait to pick him up at the airport - just over 24 hours. Times like these remind me of the months that we were apart while we were dating and how great it is to see each other again. Even if it's only been a few days, I never get used to it. We have a love hate relationship with airports, where we have shed many tears over the years... both for joy and out of sadness. Thankfully months apart are a thing of the past and now we just sit in wonder and amazement of all we've been through as well as all of the happiness ahead.

Food from Home

Yesterday when we went to the grocery store, I could vaguely feel how a foreigner would entering the immense sea of variety. The cereal aisle alone is so consuming with so many choices. I also have to get accustomed to not going to the store nearly every single day or to a separate bakery. It sounds so mundane, but it's really fascinating to have a bit of reverse culture shock. I lived in the US my entire life, until a year and half ago. I was last home in October, yet these small things still strike me. That is one of the joys of living abroad - having something to compare with and grow accustomed to and then suddenly something that was familiar for so long seems new.

Thankfully I'm not entirely foreign to this culture, and I know what I like and what brands I'm loyal to. Plus, I always have some great family recipes to come back to that can only be made at home.

My Grandma makes an amazing baklava at Christmas and she keeps the recipe top secret. Fortunately she always freezes some, so I can enjoy it when I come home. We aren't even Greek, but people often tell her it's the best baklava they've ever had.

Since today is Valentine's Day, my Mom makes her delicious chocolate Kahlúa cheesecake into tiny bite sized hearts. It is a great consolation if I must spend Valentine's day apart from Stefan. I'm already looking forward to picking him up at the airport tomorrow night. I'm also looking forward to hearing what his food requests are. He always tends to have a huge list of restaurants and grocery items.

I definitely notice how much more of a consumer society the US is and how infectious it is. Especially with the exchange rate in our favor, it will be difficult not to come home with a new wardrobe.

Happy Valentine's Day!

For me, Valentine's is a day to do something for loved ones and an excuse to eat a lot of chocolates. I am going to be taking Mieka on an extra long walk, especially since she will probably only enjoy her squeaky 'pupcake' for about 5 minutes. Hopefully I'll also be able to find some dendrobium orchids for my Mom.

Stefan and I don't really exchange gifts, which is OK with me, I'd much rather the time with him (even if I have to wait until tomorrow night). I did however find some cute chocolate covered fortune cookies to surprise him with and the brand is 'Emily's', which is quite fitting.

I hope everyone does something special for a loved one or for yourself today! Everyone needs another excuse to eat chocolates.

Love

This may come a bit early, but I was just realizing that Stefan and I won't be together for Valentine's Day this year, since I am traveling to the US before him. We don't necessarily need a designated day to remember each other or celebrate our love, but I'm more than willing to have another excuse to do so.



We'll be together for our year and a half anniversary though, which proves how quickly time flies... and without sounding too smarmy, how our love continues to grow. I simply look at Stefan and wonder how I could be so fortunate. It's amazing what he puts up with and loves me for, as well as the small things he does to remind me. He also reminds me how grateful he is for the sacrifices I make for him and for us. I don't think I deserve so much credit though. The happiness of life together is rather cyclical - we want one another to be happy, which in turn makes ourselves happy. It sounds rather selfish but it's really a beautiful thing.

Simply being together is a blessing. If there is anything a long distance relationship can teach someone -besides patience of course, it is how to be more conscientious and aware. Having an ocean between us for two years really made us articulate our feelings, trust in our relationship, and appreciate each other more than we ever knew possible. Granted, we did have a year together and many visits in between, but it really has added to our relationship... and prepared us for his 80+ hour work weeks.

So here's to Stefan's wittiness in a second language, his compassion and kindness, his funny voices that he does for me, and the endearing ways he expresses his love and emotions- from locking the door to make sure I'm safe when he leaves for work, to leaving notes, emails, and phone calls to say he misses me. I am one fortunate girl - and I know it.