No need to knead

Better than any bread from your local bakery: home-made artisan bread.

Thanks to my Norwegian friend Kristin I made my first no-knead bread about three weeks ago. She suggested I would give it a try, because Norwegians just like Germans love a hard crust on their fresh bread and she thought I would like it. Would I ever?!?! This is the most delicious bread I have made so far and it really is almost no work at all. By now, I must have already made about six loaves and I want to share with you how it's done. It's so easy.

I basically watched the youtube video by the inventor of this great method, Jim Lahey, from Sullivan Street Bakery in New York. I'ld suggest you watch the video by clicking here.
I tried the recipe exactly as it was suggested and loved the first loaf, but then made little alterations and now I even like it better. You need:

3 cups or 384 grams all-purpose or bread flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 5/8 or 406 ml lukewarm water

After step one, the dough will look like a big lump, just cover it.

After 18 hours the dough is smooth, ready to be folded. 

Your house smells like a bakery when the bread is done.

• Step 1) In a large bowl add flour, yeast and salt and mix the dry ingredients. Add 1 and 5/8 cups or 406 ml lukewarm water and just mix with your hand, no need to knead! Cover with a towel and put in a warm place for at least 12 hours, but 18 hours is even better, I find.
• Step 2) After 18 hours the dough should be smooth. The yeast did all the work, not your hands. Carefully place the dough on a dusted parchment paper (I use oat meal for dusting) and fold the dough over from the corners to the middle (watch above mentioned video for details). 
• Step 3) What Jim leaves out in the video is that you should let the dough rise again for at least 30 minutes, better one and a half hours. 
• Step 4) Place an oven-safe pot that has a heat-proof lid in the oven and preheat to max. (225 degrees celsius is mine, Jim suggests 500 degrees fahrenheit). Detach the dough from the baking sheet and place it into the hot pot. I just flip it over and it comes off easily. I then dust the dough with some more oat bran. Quickly put on the lid and place it in the oven for 30 minutes with the lid on, then another 20 minutes without the lid. Done!

The crust on this bread is amazing. To me and my boyfriend V. this bread tastes better than any artisan bread at the local bakery. It seems like a lot of waiting in between steps. That's why I came up with a schedule that works for me. Here is what I do: I make the dough at around 6 p.m. before I get supper ready, it takes literally 2 minutes, no dirty dishes except for the the measuring cups. The day after at around 10 a.m. I fold the dough. At 11.30 I preheat the oven and at noon I put the bread in the oven. At 12.50 p.m. the bread is ready for lunch or it will be cooled down later-on for supper. Do the calculating and see what schedule works for you. 

Of course I did not only make white bread, but tried some variations. My favourite is this whole wheat bread with flaxseed.

The whole-wheat bread does usually not last more than 12 hours in my house.

1 cup  or 128 grams all-purpose flour
2 cups or 140 grams whole wheat flour
1/4 cup flaxseed
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt 
some oat or wheat bran or cornmeal (I used oat bran)

With your hand just gently mix the ingredients, no kneading at all.

You get a smooth dough without kneading after 18 hours of no work.

The process is exactly the same. Add the flaxseed to your dry ingredients before adding the water. The rest is just the same. This is my personal favourite!

Lacy, dressy, comfy

Strolling through the boutiques in northern Italy, I found this cute Molly Bracken dress. I loved it at first sight. It goes with so many items in my closet and is much more than just a simple underdress. I am showing a few combinations here, others might follow.

    

For combo number one I threw on a long blue shirt that I used to wear mainly at home with leggings. The brown chunky boots (Clocharme) dress the outfit down a lot. The grey high heels (Café Noir) make the ensemble look a bit dressier. 

The second outfit is a red lacy dress that I wear with high heel black shoes and (again) lacy socks.

In the last three pictures I wear a simple brown cardigan and a leather belt.

Itali-awesome... is what I am

My yoga idol and teacher Sadie Nardini actually did it. She posted a link to my little blog on her facebook page. How amazing is that?! The ultimate wellness expert from Brooklyn actually liked my blog and wanted her fans to read about my yoga experience. Here is what her facebook post says:

SEE WHAT MY 21-DAY YOGA BODY COURSE DID FOR ONE FABULOUS CHICA! And what it could do for you!! Plus her blog is Itali-awesome! Get your tips today!
http://www.myitalianfairytale.blogspot.com/

Itali-awesome! Wow! That's what I am?!? 
Thanks to Sadie I have had literally thousands of visitors to my blog, people I have never met wrote positive comments and sent me e-mails and facebook messages in which they let me know that they were inspired by me. I feel very fortunate to be able to make a little difference in someone else's life and I am more motivated than ever to continue writing my little blog, taking pictures and remain a dedicated yogi. Once more I would like to say: Thanks, Sadie, you totally rock!

Links to:
Italian fairy tale faceook page 
Sadie's facebook page
Sadie's website

Humbled by so much kindness

This headline says it all. I am really humbled by the kindness that Sadie Nardini, the world famous  Yoga teacher from New York City and the inventor of Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga said to me in a tweet:

@maryjanawege love your blog! I'll soon be sharing it on FB, I'm honored to be your teacher for realz! #YogaRockstar Warriors unite! Xo

Positive responses I am getting not only from Sadie but from friends, family and strangers are really overwhelming and encourage me to move forward with this blog. I love writing, taking pictures and share with you all the things that inspire me such as healthy food, a yoga pose or a new item in my closet. Watch out for more healthy recipes and engaging photos.

One more word concerning my 21 day yoga challenge. On day 22 I participated in the whole 1.45 hour course that Sadie Nardini provides at the end of the transformation program. I was a bit intimidated, doing all of the poses, but I feel greater than ever and cannot wait to set extra time aside to work through it again tomorrow and hopefully many more times in the future.

Tweeting Rockstar Warrior - Thanks Sadie!

What a wonderful day today! A beautiful morning, a sunny afternoon and a lazy evening made this day unforgettable. Today marks the last day of my 21 day yoga body transformation program with Sadie Nardini. This girl from New York City has developed by far the most effective, fun and engaging yoga practice I have ever encountered: Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga. As I mentioned before, I am convinced that I will engage in this particular yoga practice for the rest of my life. After just 21 days of step by step practice my body and soul feel wonderful, light, healthy, in charge and very much transformed inside and out. If you want to make some time (about 1.5 hours a day of reading, yoga and engaged thinking) I can highly recommend the DailyOM 21 Day Yoga Body Course!

I am so proud of myself for completing it and am committed to continue the practice because it makes me feel like a rockstar warrior!

My yoga block was always by my side during the 21 day challenge.

Along the way, something amazing happened: I was so excited about the course that I not only blogged about it here, posted comments on facebook and even launched my facebook page linking to this blog, no, I also started to use twitter. Why am I so excited about this? Because not only some people around the world encouraged me in my adventure by tweeting, but Sadie Nardini herself, the super busy yoga queen, who is known all over the US and the yogi world, took the time to respond personally to my tweets! Not once but four times!
I tweeted tonight: @sadienardini I completed my 21 day yoga body transformation, feeling wonderful, in charge and transformed. Thank you Sadie! You rock!
Then Sadie actually answered me by tweeting: @maryjanawege incredible!!! I am so impressed & happy that you completed the challenge. We rocked it together!
I am in awe. How great is that?!

• My body feels lighter
• I have been drinking more water than ever
• I ate healthy meals
• I have been setting personal goals
• I let go of irritating and negative thoughts
• I did not crave chocolate
• I lost 3.1 kilos (6.8 pounds) 
• I joined the twitter community with more than 500 million users
• And Sadie Nardini personally encouraged me in this experience and is impressed with me! (If you want to read all of her tweets to me, click on the twitter button on the right or visit: www.twitter.com/maryjanawege to get to my profile.

All I can say is this: click on the following link "DailyOM", pay honestly what you can (it is worth every penny), start your 21 day yoga challenge today and become a "Rockstar Warrior"!

Lovely leftovers

What to do with leftover veggies? Italians would answer by saying: passato di verdure! The other day I had my hopefully-soon-to-be-in-laws over for supper. As a side dish I made crunchy carrots and zucchini (for my recipe click here). They were perfectly crunchy when we had them, but I made way too much of that side dish. Had I heated them the following day, they would have been too soft so I decided to make a soup. It was delish! I will give you two recipes today, one with the leftover vegetables and one with all fresh vegetables in case you don't have already cooked veggies on hand:

Recipe one - with barley and leftovers (serves 4)
The quantities depend on how much veggies you have got left over. I would say, cut up as many vegetables as you like and adjust the quantity of water. The vegetables should fill 2/3 of your large pan to allow enough space to add water.

leftover baked zucchini and carrots (for my recipe, click here)

 "Passato di verdure" with barley and bread. 

2 leeks (cut up)
2 more carrots (cut into small cubes)
2 small potatoes (cut into small cubes)
2 liters hot vegetable stock
salt, pepper and parsley (if desired)
1/2 cup barley
sunflower oil (if needed)

• Heat the stock.
• Wash barley well (at least three times with fresh water or until water is clear), then put in a bowl and cover with water. Let soak for at least 20 minutes or entire cooking time of the soup. 
• Put the leftover veggies in your large pot and let them fry a bit, they should already have enough oil on them, otherwise add some more. Add leeks, let them fry for 20 seconds, they should not change colour, just get a bit translucent. 
• Add remaining veggies and about 1.5 liters of the hot stock. Cover with a lid and let cook on low to medium heat for about 40 minutes. When the vegetables are cooked, put everything into a blender and blend. That's your "passato di verdure".
• Put the "passato" back in the pan, add remaining stock and barley, let cook for 15 minutes over low heat or until barley is cooked. Do not overcook. Add salt, pepper and parsley. Serve with fresh bread (recipes will follow soon) or kamut sticks or grissini ("bibanesi di kamut" they are called here)

Recipe two -  all fresh veggies without barley (serves 4)

6 medium size carrots (cut into small cubes)

4 small size zucchini (cut into small cubes)

2 leeks (cut up)

2 small potatoes (cut into small cubes)

1.5 liters hot vegetable stock

salt, pepper and parsley (if desired)

1 tbs oil (I use sunflower oil)

• Heat the stock.
• Heat oil in the pan. Add some carrots and leeks (not all of them, just a few to fry in the oil for better taste). The leeks should not change colour, just get a bit translucent.
• Add hot stock and remaining veggies. Cover with a lid and let cook on low to medium heat for about 40 minutes. When the vegetables are cooked, put everything into a blender and blend. That's your "passato di verdure".
• Add salt, pepper and parsley to taste. Serve with fresh bread (recipes will follow soon) or kamut sticks ("bibanesi di kamut" they are called here).
• If you wish you can add barley, follow steps from recipe one.

We have vegetable soups all the time, you can use all kinds of different vegetables. I love to see what colour the soup turns out to be. Always a great surprise!

Waterfall pigeon and challenging crow

I wish I had the right word to express how much I love the 21 day yoga body transformation course from DailyOm that I have been taking for the past 19 days. I love it. I love it and, oh right, I love it! I must say I do not even feel bad about quitting my other 21 day yoga challenge from the Yoga Journal. Yes, this was supposed to be a double yoga challenge, doing two programs for 21 days simultaneously. Along the way, however, I realized that I not only love Sadie Nardini's lesson much more than the other one, but I acknowledged the fact that Sadie's course was also much more effective - and on day 16 I quit the other program. Why do I not feel horrible about quitting? That's because I have transformed not only my body but also my ways of thinking thanks to the course. I managed to follow through the one yoga challenge that I really like and in fact, I have been feeling even more than satisfied these past few days, because I listened to what my body wanted: Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga by Sadie Nardini!

Sadie's program is very challenging though, the crow pose is impossible for me to do, but I loved the waterfall warrior and my favourite of all times is the waterfall pigeon! Two more days to go. Cannot wait for the next lesson tomorrow!