Looking back: My first year of blogging

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I started blogging in December 2013. It’s been a year of blogging and I'm still here - so I must be liking it! ;) Now it is the end of 2014 and the time is perfect for a post on my personal development in blogging and that’s why I came up with this list:

6 things I learned in my first year of blogging

Apple Peach Crumble / Crisp (or: What to do with leftover fruit) - vegan

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Finally the autumn mood has also kicked in for me and when I get home from work, all i want to do is relax somewhere cozy and warm, maybe have a nice cup of tea and something that fits perfectly with that is a warm and juicy fruit crumble. I'm still not out of ideas for what beautiful things one can do with apples, and I also came across some great posts on other blogs so this might not be over yet ;) The recipe I'll share with you today will not be disappointing!  

Apart from being delicious, this Apple Peach Crumple/Crisp is also suitable for vegans. I'm not a vegan, but I love to try out vegan recipes from time to time. On my journey to a more sustainable lifestyle, I try to take one step at a time, but I'm very aware of the impact of animal product consumption. So, at the moment I am at a point where I manage to eat very little meat. I do eat meat at restaurants and dinner parties from time to time but I only do so, when I'm sure it will taste good and then it's something special. Sometimes it happens, though, that the choices of vegetarian meals are very limited. I hate nothing more than eating meat that's tasteless because that makes me feel even more sorry for the animal that had to die for this.

Cinnamon apple chips

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And the apple-craze continues! In my last post I shared with you my Apple Cinnamon Muffins (which where gone really soon) and so I thought of making something that might last a little longer: oven-baked apple chips! I got my inspiration from the blog Kosher on a budget and these turn out especially well with really ripe apples as they will be very sweet and don't need any sugars added.

2 ingredients needed:

Whole Grain Apple-Cinnamon Muffins

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You might already be familiar with my Rhubarb-Muffins, which are adapted from my favourite, quickest and most simple muffin recipe by Donna Hay. Since it's autumn now, and rhubarb is not in season anymore, I thought of how I could change this recipe a little. And what's one of the most popular fruits in autumn? Correct! APPLES :) So this is my adjusted recipe, I hope you like it as much as me and my friends did!

 Ingredients (for 10 muffins):

Baby Crib Mobile DIY

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I was inspired to do this mobile for a baby crib because a colleague of mine is having a baby. I wanted to give her something personal and cute and something that she might have a use for. I decided on something simple yet pretty and so I made paper butterflies and clouds to hang. It was not very hard to make but definitely one of my longest DIYs to make so far! Nevertheless, I'm very happy with the outcome and wanted to share the instructions with you, in case you want to make a nice present for a baby shower yourself sometime.

What you'll need:

DIY-pimp your coasters

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Now this here is the perfect DIY project for anybody who either has boring, old coasters for glasses at home, or who just can't find cool ones in the shops. I had some cork coasters at home that we never used but I think that's going to change when I'm done with them :)

What you need:

Rhubarb Muffins - Inspired by Donna Hay

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It was time I used something seasonal I haven't used before and here's the outcome of my challenge :) I've had rhubarb before but I never actually considered cooking or baking with it before. But since it's in season now and the supermarkets are full of it - why not try something new! A couple of years back I bought the cookbook "Off the Shelf" by Donna Hay. I loved the book at the time and I tried a couple of recipes but somehow I forgot about having it for a while. Now, however, I rediscovered it and it already inspired me for a new blog post! I'm really happy with the outcome and I have found my new favourite basic muffin recipe! I used Donna Hay's blueberry muffin recipe from the book as a foundation and adapted it to fit with rhubarb.

Ingredients (yields 8 muffins):

5 Easy Spreads for Breads

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Now I don't know about you, but I love bread for breakfast or as a snack and I have started to make my own spreads to go along with it. So much better than most of what you can get in the supermarkets these days. All of these spreads are vegetarian and some of them are also suitable for vegans and all yield about 10 servings. So let's get to it!

DIY glass jar decoration

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I've been really busy and haven't been able to anything new in a while but that doesn't mean I haven't been creative ;)

Here's a quick and easy tutorial and you just need:

• a mason jar or any other glass jar
• acrylic paint
• and about 5 minutes of your time :)

Whole-wheat Banana Bread with Apple Pieces

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I somehow always seem to have leftover apples at home. I guess that's why I love recipes that help me use them up! I came across this recipe over at fitsugar.com. If you follow my Pinterest, you might have already seen it there. I just had to try it and share it! And it was sooo good! Here we go: my successful first attempt to make banana bread with apple pieces (small adaptions to original recipe)!

Ingredients:

Flourless Protein-Brownies

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When I discovered this recipe I just wanted to try it out straight away and I'm really happy with the result! Here's my Flourless Brownie recipe with a few alterations.

Ingredients:

Omlette with swiss chard and cheese

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Our Sunday brunch this week: Omlette with swiss chard and cheese! I haven't cooked an omlette in a while and I felt like it was a good idea for today - and it tasted delicious ;)

Ingredients for one omlette:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (vegan)

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Who doesn't like a good desert? I certainly do and this recipe has made it to become one of my late favourites. Here's my version of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, adapted from the vegan recipe of Alicia Silverstone which can also be found in her book, 'The Kind Life'. I'm not a vegan myself but I appreciate cooking or baking vegan occasionally and I can only recommend everybody to try out a vegan recipe once in a while. I was really surprised about how good it can taste! Of course you could easily use conventional butter, milk and chocolate for this method.

DIY Tote bag from old T-Shirt

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Inspired by Cassey Ho from Blogilates I was exited to try out this project of a DIY tote bag from an old t-shirt. I'm pretty sure every one of us has one or two t-shirts at home that are not being worn anymore for whatever reason. This makes them perfect for this quick and easy DIY! 

So get out the t-shirt...