It all started Wednesday, when I was given a break for the second half of the day. The day of my last blog post had been cold, rainy, and miserable. On Wednesday, however, all of that changed. The sun was bright and the birds were singing their little birdie hearts out. Although it was a mere 65 degrees (F), I had the feeling that Spring had finally arrived. But this was only day one of the warmth to come.
Thursday was cheerfully sunny again with temperatures climbing into the low to mid 70s. Being a Springtime person, and one who grew up in a colder region of the USA, perfect weather for me is 75 degrees, scattered clouds, and breezy. Thursday was a perfect day for me in this way, and I was loving the weather. Then Friday comes along. I had a very busy work morning on Friday, followed by a free afternoon and weekend (my host mother's parents are here again!), and the temperatures were in the upper 70s, low 80s. I got to take a stroll by the Isar River but I didn't have my camera with me to document the experience.
Then we come to Saturday. Somewhere along the line yesterday I realized that even though we had about half-sunny, half-cloudy skies, that the temperature seemed to increase, even with the added cloud cover. Then I decided to check the temperature at about 4:30pm. 87. And boy was it hot. Humidity wasn't too bad, but enough where I felt like instead of breathing I was almost panting. Therefore, as I stated in German as my blog post title: I found Spring! Or maybe Summer...
Since the weather was so nice I have some pictures with commentary to share. Today's temperature is in the mid 70s, but with cloud cover and a lot of it. We're not expecting rain until Tuesday or Wednesday, and the temperature is supposed to go back down to typical, which is anywhere in the 60s range and probably getting up to the 70s by the end of May. Have fun with the pictures!
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| TUPILS! Always a great sign of Spring. |
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| This is the first lily pad pond I've ever seen. I'm calling it: Lily Pad Pond. |
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| Grazing horsey with too many flies around his poor eye. |
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| Large pathway in the forest. |
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| A nice open German field. |
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| I love flowering trees. They are symbols of Spring, too. |
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| And my ALL-TIME FAVORITE sign of Spring: TADPOLES! I am going to head back to this pond in the next day or two and collect one or two of them to grow. |
All this lack of money has made me improvise something fierce when it comes to food, and I actually created something really awesome! I had a remaining part of an onion, some leftover lentils from my Shepherd's Pie, and some vegetable broth cubes, and I made something wonderful... all on my own! (Recipe follows.) Something else I discovered is that if you want to spice up a plain apple or plain apple juice (organic and without anything added), add like a half-teaspoon of cinnamon. I used to love cinnamon sugar with apple, but then it dawned on me: uh, hello? There's already like a ton of sugar in apples. So, instead of adding unnecessary added sugar calories, just add one calorie, in the form of cinnamon! I also plan on doing some more fun dishes this month and on my list is homemade bread (I'm thinking potato), something with chicken, a vegetable rice dish, and number one on my list is AVOCADO SMOOTHIE! Ever since Athens, I haven't been able to get that deliciousness out of my head. I have some craft things I'd like to do so stay tuned!
Holly's Basic, Yummy Lentils!
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| Okay, so lentils may not be the prettiest food, but they sure are tasty! |
Ingredients:
About a Cup of Lentils (any color)
One Medium Onion
About a Tablespoon Butter or Olive Oil
About Two Cups Vegetable Broth
Water as Needed
Black Pepper, to taste, if desired
Nutritional Value:
Lentils are off the chart with benefits! Let's see: molybdenum, folate, fiber, tyrptophan, manganese, iron, protein, phosphorus, copper, vitamin B1, and potassium!
Onions have vitamin C and B6, plus fiber, molybdenum, manganese, folate, potassium, tryptophan, anti-inflammatory benefits, as well as cancer protection qualities.
Gluten (Can Also Be Dairy) Free
Low Calorie (and filling too!)
Can Be Vegan!
Gluten (Can Also Be Dairy) Free
Low Calorie (and filling too!)
Can Be Vegan!
Directions:
1) Chop up the onion. In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium/medium-high heat. Add onion and stir often until onions are soft, about 5-7 minutes.
2) Slowly add the vegetable broth, and continue to stir for about 3 minutes.
3) Add lentils, turning up the heat only a touch. Stir frequently.
4) As the vegetable broth is absorbed into the lentils, and as some of it evaporates, add water. Be cautious though: you want the lentils to be thick, not soupy. Add pepper, if desired, during this time.
5) Continue to cook for about 30 to 40 minutes, until the lentils are soft, the onions have melted, and the mixture is thick. Remove from heat.
6) Spoon into bowls and enjoy!
Source:
www.whfoods.com
Last but not least I wanted to mention my plants, which, probably as a result of the weather, have been growing a bit faster and are lush with greenness. My pumpkin plants finally fell over, which is a good sign for pumpkin plants, and I have been getting more flowers. The little boy found an Oak seed and gave it to me to grow, which I was super excited about, so I have another tree that might grow!
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| Plants! I love my plants. I hope the family doesn't kill them when I leave. |
Hopefully Spring reaches everyone soon!
so nice that spring could come to you. It's still cold here. Are you planning on moving those plants outside at all? that lentil stuff looks... interesting, not sure if I'd eat it lol. YOU SHOULD HAVE SAVED THAT POOR HORSE FROM ALL THOSE FLIES. If you're in Munich, where is that forest and that open plain?
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