E.A.T World: Germany (and an update on our real-life travels)

Yep. I abandoned the blog. Everything was going so well until an unexplained abdominal pain made me lose the will to blog. And cook. And pretty much anything else. To keep this story short, I went to an urgent care clinic with a lower-right abdominal pain right around where the appendix is. There they did a few tests and they misdiagnosed me with something not even remotely close to whatever it is that I have. The tests (including a CT Scan) were expensive, and the only reason why I chose to have them done was because our incompetent health insurance broker (he is our ex-broker now) told us that all tests were covered. We actually called him from the waiting room to double check. Now it turns out that the tests were not covered and we have a big hospital bill to pay - and nobody figured out what the abdominal pain was all about. I am done with doctors and hospitals, even if I grow a furry tail - no more doctors and hospitals for me! If we had been home it would have been better, but we were traveling which made things even more uncomfortable. We are still traveling, but we are going to take a week off soon!

Anyway, I have been feeling better these past few days so enough about that. There hasn't been any craftiness going on around here, but a couple of people at a little health food store in Colorado liked my seagull wallet and asked me if I sell them! It inspired me to get crafty again, so hopefully I will make more goodies to participate in the W.I.P Wednesdays soon.


Travel Update - Who wants to see some furry cuteness?


Our first fun stop of the year was at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. We visit the park every year and we always have lots of fun stalking the wildlife... from a safe distance. I made a little video of the buffalo, wild horses, and cutie patootie prairie dogs. It's shaky and a little awkward but I hope you enjoy it! The background song is Lisa Loeb's very soothing version of Home on the Range. It's my favorite version of that song! Warning: the following video will de-stress you and make you wish you were a sleepy, slow-chewing buffalo.



*Zzzzzz* Did it make you fall asleep? If you visit TRNP, don't forget to check out Theodore Roosevelt's cabin while you're there. It's a charming little cabin where Roosevelt lived for a while. It's furnished with a few of Teddy's personal things, and some period pieces that even though they did not belong to him, they represent what you would have found in a typical cabin back in the 1800s. Unfortunately (though totally understandable) all the rooms are protected by glass panels, so the pictures that I took of the interior don't look too great. Here are a couple anyway:




Just dropping by to borrow a cup of sugar! :)


Bonus TRNP turkey picture!


Moving on from real-life travels to imaginary ones! It has been so long since my last E.A.T World post! What a slacker! The total opposite of a slacker is Mandee, who has been kicking some serious E.A.T World butt! Check out her blog, Cupcake Kitteh, to drool over all the awesome Viva Vegan yummies she has been making. Mandee pimped Viva Vegan so well that she made me buy the cookbook. I'm glad I bought it before we found out about the hospital-bill fiasco, or I would have had to show some restraint! Expect a cookbook spotlight for Viva Vegan and Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar soon! :)



But now... it's time for E.A.T World: Germany! When I decided to make some German dishes, I didn't need to look around for recipes because I knew exactly who to turn to - Mihl from the Seitan Is My Motor blog! Mihl has so many awesome recipes that it was hard to pick just a couple, and I ended up with a long list of dishes and breads to make in the future. First up is the best faux sausage ever with a yummy sauce: currywurst!


E.A.T World: Germany, Currywurst


Currywurst is a cut up sausage smothered with a curry-ketchup sauce. So simple! So good! Never mind my soggy oven fries, the sausage had an amazing texture and the curry-ketchup sauce was delicious. The texture was excellent actually, sometimes faux sausages can get a little chewy for my taste - not these! Check out Mihl's recipe and definitely make yourself some currywurst soon! :)


E.A.T World: Germany, Currywurst


For dessert I made some of Mihl's Rote-Grütze, which is a red berry compote that was obviously created by the gods. So fruity! So sweet! So pretty! Mihl said that Rote-Grütze is traditionally served with a thick vanilla sauce or whipped cream. I went with a vanilla custard because I don't travel with an electric mixer, but when we go home for a while I will top it with a good scoop of coconut whipped cream! *drool*


E.A.T World: Germany, Rote-Grütze
Thank you for sharing such stellar recipes, Mihl! :)


Well, I think I've done my damage here. One more thing about the hospital nightmare - because of the unexpected bill, I have decided to try to monetize my blog a little. See the little Amazon widget on the sidebar? Yep. Those are affiliate links. I do not care much for ads, but I thought this widget which is personalized with some of my favorite things was a good compromise. I hope you guys don't find it too obtrusive! :)

Comments

  1. Oh no! Poor River! I'm so sorry that you had such a yucky hospital experience. I'm totally with you with staying out of hospitals/away from doctors. I know there are some good ones out there but it's scary to try them out..had a lot of bad experiences.

    I loved your movie..can you guess what part I loved the most? Well, the baby horsies I loved but of course, the prairie dogs stole the show for me! They are so much like my goos..especially when they scratch..lol!

    Yay for Germany! Mihl's recipes rock!

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  2. I was wondering where you've been. I hope your stomach troubles are over and you don't have to deal with doctors or hospitals for a while. Ugh. That whole episode sounds horrible. On a more positive note, the food looks amazing — I'll have to revisit Mihl's blog for the recipes. And I enjoyed the video, too!

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  3. Amanda - Doctor avoiders unite! Meh, I will avoid them like a stinky spoiled block of tofu from now on. I'm glad you liked the video! The prairie dogs do remind me of your little goos too! Prairie goos? Gooey dogs? :D

    Andrea - Thank you, I have been feeling better these past few days, after weeks of that mysterious pain. I'm glad you enjoyed the video! It was originally about four minutes long, but all the "scenes" were way too long. *zzzz* :)

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  4. OMG vegan curry wurst!! I have to make this. My trip to Germany was pre-vegan days and I fell in love with currywurst despite never having been a sausage fan. It was also Christmas market time and I also devoured countless chocolate covered apples and bananas and got very tipsy off of gluwein :)

    I'm sorry about your stomach! I hope it's getting better on its own. I have the same issues with doctors and have had unresolved problems for years but I get so fed up with them. I've just decided to end yet another round of tests that never tell me anything other than something is wrong that requires more expensive testing that will give them the same results without ever giving me a solution. Now I'm in search of good homeopaths.

    Where are you headed to next?

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  5. I am so sorry this happened to you! I really hope you feel better.

    I can't believe you liked the curry wurst. Most non-Germans hate it :D

    And the rote Grütze looks amazing! I'm glad you found some recipes to use.

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  6. Oh, River, I'm so sorry about your hideous doctor visit and accompanying pains (both physical and monetary). I hate doctors and avoid them as much as possible! I hope you are feeling better. Your video was adorable. All those little baby horsies! So sweet. It's good to see you in the blogosphere again!

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  7. So glad you're feeling (a bit?) better--and how awful to go through all of that and STILL not know what it was!! Seriously, if that broker told you you were covered, is there no way to make him responsible (ie, legally)? How awful! And I hear you on doctors and hospitals. After 18 months of ACD symptoms and still not 100% better, I have more or less given up on "conventional" medicine. So sad.

    But your food is happy-making! That berry compote does look stellar, as does the sausage. And I must say I enjoyed the buffalo, no zzzs over here. ;)

    Looking forward to more eats and craftiness.

    PS Also wanted to say THANK YOU for that amazing review--and such great photos--on amazon! I just saw it the other day when I was on the page--when did you post it? Thanks so much, River, your opinion means a lot to me! :D

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  8. Gaby - That sucks! It's an endless cycle of useless tests and worthless medicine. I hope you can find a good homeopath to help you. Travel-wise, after we take a week off we will do a few states East of Missouri (where we live). We just finished doing the western states (Iowa, Minnesota, both Dakotas, Wisconsin, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, and of course Missouri), so now we have to wait and see where our Mystery Job will take us during our trip out East! :)

    Mihl - Thank you! All the good thoughts and healthy vibes are helping! I loved the curry wurst! I found more than just a few great recipes on your blog, I wish I had more time! :)

    Aimee - Aren't those baby horsies the cutest? I like it when the first baby horse starts walking towards the road, and all the big horses block him (or her?) and make him go back. Our Doctor Avoiders group is getting bigger and bigger! :)

    Ricki - Conventional medicine is such a disappointment. You have the tastiest way of dealing with Candida though! :)
    I wish we could sue our insurance broker, but it would be a case of "he said, she said" and it would end up costing more than the hospital bill. He has caused us so much distress. The cretin didn't even apologize to us!
    Anyway, you're very welcome! I wrote the review last week, because I am the world's biggest procrastinator. Your opinion about my opinion means a lot to me! :D

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  9. Oh dear! Poor you! I find it offensive that one has to think about money and which tests are covered when one is in pain. I'm so sorry and hope that you feel more like yourself soon. I can't wait for more crafts and now want to see you seagull wallet. Oh, and the video definitely made my Monday better!

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  10. Cindy - It really is offensive! I would have chosen not to have that expensive test done if I had known we were going to be stuck with a big bill. How are people supposed to get better if they have to worry about paying for their hospital bills?! Anyway, I'm glad the video made your Monday better! There is a preview of my seagull wallet in this post, but I will write a new crafty post soon and it will show the finished wallet - it's a little wonky but I'm still proud of it! :D

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  11. Ohmigoodness! That wallet is quite adorable!

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  12. I'm so sorry to hear about your medical issues. I hope you are feeling better soon!!

    I LOVE the video. That park looks like a beautiful place. I would get lost all dsy there, just watching the animals.

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  13. Thank you, Cindy! :)

    Kiersten, I am actually feeling better - I think it's all the good thoughts you guys have been sending me! :)

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  14. Great blog! I love the turkey pic! I wish Hawaii had turkeys, because I so badly want to adopt one! I am following your blog now. Check mine out when you can :)

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  15. Thank you, Carissa! (what a pretty name!) Aren't turkeys adorable? I still can't believe I took that picture two seconds too late. It would have been nice to have a picture of his feathers all fanned out.

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