We moved!

As you might have noticed: There were no new posts on this blog in the last weeks. That's not because we were so lazy (well, maybe also a little bit ;) but because we moved our blog to wordpress and our own URL! :)
You can find it now HERE: http://blog.dogdaysofsummer.at/

We're looking forward to you all! :)


Wir sind umgezogen!
Wie wir vielleicht mitbekommen habt, ist unser Blog seit ein paar Wochen recht leer. Das liegt nicht daran, dass wir so faul sind (oder zumindest nicht nur ;), sondern daran, dass wir jetzt eine neue URL haben und unser Blog von Wordpress gehostet wird! :)
HIER könnt ihr ihn finden: http://blog.dogdaysofsummer.at/

Wir freuen uns auf euch!

Vegan Banana Buckwheat Pancakes with Peanuts

These delicious pancakes are the perfect start in the morning. They are gluten-free, vegan and just great: Fluffy, banana-ish with a strong taste of peanuts and cinnamon and – the best part for me here in a flat without kitchen-equipment – you don't need any machines, just a bowl and a spoon. 

Invite your friends or bring these to the next brunch – everyone will love them, no matter if vegan or not!

Note:

Since I'm in Prague my peanut butter affection just increased. I know I should stop but I won't until another glass is empty – and then hopefully I won't buy the next until the following week, haha. But I can't help, it's just too good. When buying your peanut butter read the ingredients carefully: You should be able to finish within a second as the only two ingredients allowed are peanuts(!!) and salt (if not possible in another way). 

Added sugars, palm oil or even artificial additives don't belong in your nut butter just as they don't belong in your body. 

What you need: 

 For the pancakes:

* 3/4 cup buckwheat flour

* 1/2 cup oats

* 1 cup coconut milk mixed with water (or any other plant-based milk)

* 1 1/2 bananas (the riper the sweeter)

* 1 tsp baking powder 

* 2 tbsp ground flax seeds + 6 tbsp water

* 1/2 tsp cinnamon 

* Pinch of salt 

* Optional: 1 tbsp sweetener of choice 

* Oil for the pan

For the peanut syrup:

* 1 tbsp peanut butter (100% peanuts)

* 2 tbsp hot water

* 1 tbsp maple syrup

As decoration:

* Peanuts

* 1/2 banana

* Cinnamon

How to make it:

1. Start with soaking 2 tbsp flax seeds into 6 tbsp water. Set aside for at least half an hour – the longer the better. 

2. Put the oats into your milk and let it soak for a few minutes. Mash the bananas with a fork.

3. Put the dry ingredients (buckwheat flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder) in a bowl. Now add all the other ingredients for the pancakes: soaked oats + all of the milk, mashed bananas, flax-egg and sweetener, if desired. The batter should be viscous as the pancakes break otherwise. If it's too liquid add some buckwheat flour.

4. Heat oil in a pan and bake your pancakes over medium heat until golden-brown. 

5. In the meantime mix peanut butter, hot water and maple syrup together in a small bowl and set aside.

6. Put your pancakes on a plate, pour the syrup over it and decorate with peanuts, banana slices and cinnamon. Enjoooooooooy! *_*

Credits:

Idea, Words, Photographs: Diana Ranegger

Homemade Oat Milk (or any other plant-based Milk)

When it comes to vegan food Austria is a highly developed country. Really, I mean it – and I saw it myself after I've moved to Prague: Plant-based milk for example, was about 4 Euros in a shop near my flat. Damn!

So what can you do if you have such an expensive problem but don't want to abstain from your daily portion of plant-based milk? Well, the answer is so ridiculously simple: Make it yourself!

Note: I found a pretty cheap one at – yes, it's no Czech chain – dm in Prague. Just in case you are in my position. But homemade is better anyway.

What you need:

* 1 cup oats

* 3 cups water

* 1/8 tsp cinnamon

* 1/8 tsp vanilla

* Pinch of salt  

* Optional: Liquid sweetener of choice (or 1-2 pitted soft dates such as medjool dates)

How to make it:

1. Soak your oats for a few hours or over night in a huge bowl of water. 

2. Now take a sieve, put the oats in it and wash and rinse them very well until the flowing water is clear. 

3. Put them into a blender and add the 3 cups water and sweetener, if desired. Then blend until very smooth. Now you just have to filter it through a sieve or a wet dish towel and fill the milk into a bottle. Add vanilla, salt and cinnamon, shake well and enjoy!

TIP:
You can adjust the recipe and make whatever milk you like – just replace the oats by almonds, cashews, hazelnuts or whatever. 

If you use rice, spelt or millet, it's recommendable to cook the grains instead of just soaking them as it would take ages (besides you have flakes). Have fun experimenting!

Credits:
Idea, Photographs: Clarissa Kober | Words: Diana Ranegger

Mouth-watering "Buddha-Bowl" with roasted Chickpeas

As I'm working from home often (my bed = my office) I need food that can be eaten in "bumpy" areas, too. So I came up with the idea of a vegan Buddha Bowl containing everything I love: Sweet beetroot-bites, fresh greens, crunchy carrots and hearty peanut-chickpeas. It may take some time but it is the perfect eating-in-bed-lunch and just de-li-cious. You have to try it. I mean it.

What you need: 

For the chickpeas:

* 1 big handful dried chickpeas (or 1 can)

* 2 tbsp peanut butter (sugar-free)
* 1 tsp curry powder
* 1 handful peanuts
* 6 tbsp hot water
* 2 tbsp shredded coconut 

For the bowl: 

* 1/2 small beetroot
* 1/2 small pumpkin
* 50 g tofu (optional)
* Fresh greens (I used spinach but take whatever you want)
* 1/2 carrot

For decoration:
* Sprouts (from beans, cress, alfalfa,...)
* Seeds (I used hemp seeds but sesame e.g. is also great)

How to make it:

1. Soak the chickpeas over night and cook them on the next day until they are soft. (You can skip this point if you use a can of chickpeas).

2. Cut the beetroot, tofu and the pumpkin into small bite-sized pieces.

3. Put peanut butter, curry powder, coconut and hot water in a small bowl and stir until combined. Use more water if you need some. Add the chickpeas to half of the mix and stir again until all are covered with the peanut-sauce.

4. Now put beetroot, tofu, pumpkin and chickpeas on a with baking paper covered baking sheet and let it roast at 190°C until chickpeas are golden-brown and crunchy. 

5. In the meantime cut the carrot into thin strips and wash your greens.

6. Now take your bowl and put all your delicious ingredients in it. Cover with the rest of your peanut-butter-curry-sauce, decorate with sprouts and seeds and enjoy!

Photos on the laptop are from our Dogdays of Summer Pinteres board and don't belong to us.

Credits:
Idea, Words, Photographs: Diana Ranegger

Sustainable Sunday: Wooden Tooth Brush

As there is so much trash in this world we try to do everything to reduce our daily amount of plastic. In this series we will show you some cheap and easy ways to do the same – try them, every step counts! :)

The one thing (nearly) everyone of us does (nearly) every day at least once is brushing our teeth. As you should change your tooth brush quarterly you collect a lot of plastic trash – including the packaging. Thus we tried an alternative: Wooden tooth brushes!

Clarissa found her brushes in the internet, I even found some at a local retailer in our city. They cost around 3-4€ (mine was 3,30€ I think) and consist of vegan and biodegradable materials.

Positive aspects 
1. The most important thing is the sustainable aspect: You neither have plastic packaging nor a tooth brush out of plastic. If you throw your brush away you can just put it into the organic waste trash bin as it is 100% biodegradable. And healthier for sure.
2. Seriously. What's the most visible difference between plastic and wooden tooth brushes? Right! The wooden ones are looking good! No childish plastic things in shitty colours anymore, but clean and simple shapes.
3. I have to admit – you have to get used to the wooden smell. But since I've grown accustomed to it I really like it: Both, smell and taste.
4. Of course there are cheaper tooth brushes but the wooden ones are really affordable and the material definitely worth the price.

Negative aspects

1. As the bristles aren't welded they can fall out – it happened with one of the holes in my tooth brush. The others stay at their place.
2. Clarissa made another negative experience: One of her brushes started to break in half, which didn't happen to mine.

Conclusion

Of course wooden tooth brushes aren't perfect and they have their minor defects but they are good-looking, good-smelling and perfectly sustainable. So try it, maybe it's the perfect alternative for you!

Credits:
Idea: Clarissa Kober and Diana Ranegger; Words, Photographs: Diana Ranegger

Valentine's Day Surprise: Red Love Smoothie

Croissants sind zu schwer für dich, zu fettig oder zu süß? Hier haben wir eine andere Frühstücksidee für diesen Valentingssonntag. Viel gesünder und trotzdem extreeeem lecker ♥

Croissants are too rich for you? Here is another breakfast idea for this Valentine's Day Sunday. Much healthier but still soo delicious ♥

Das brauchst du:

* 1 kleine, gekochte Rote Rübe

* 1 1/2 Hände voll Himbeeren

* 200 ml Reis-Kokos-Milch oder Hibiskustee für die leichtere Variante mit mehr Farbe

* 1/2 Mango

* 1 Banane

* Vanille

* Kaki

* Hanfsamen

* Erdnüsse

* Ingwer- und Lucumapulver

* 1 small, cooked beetroot

* 1 1/2 hands full raspberries

* 200 ml rice-coconut-milk or hibiscus tea for the light version with more colour

* 1/2 mango

* 1 banana

* Vanilla  

* Persimmon 

* Hemp seeds

* Peanuts

* Ginger- and lucma powder

So gelingt es bestimmt: 

1. Mixe alle Zutaten für den Smoothie zusammen und dekoriere ihn anschließend mit Kakischeiben, Hanfsamen, Erdnüssen, Ingwer- und Lucumapulver. Am besten zu zweit genießen ♥ 

1. Put all the ingredients for the smoothie into a blender and blend until smooth. Decorate it with persimmon slices, hemp seeds, peanuts, ginger- and lucma powder. Enjoy with someone else ♥ 

Credits:

Idea, Photographs, Words: Diana Ranegger

Valentine's Day Surprise: Homemade vegan Croissants

Überrasche deinen Schatz (oder dich selbst) mit hausgemachten, veganen Erdnuss-Schoko-Croissants – lecker und so einfach, dass sie bestimmt jede/r hinbekommt! (Wahrscheinlich auch etwas hübscher als meine, haha... ;)

Surprise your valentine (or yourself) with some homemade vegan chocolate-peanut-croissants – delicious and so easy, I'm sure everyone is able to make them! (And maybe a bit better-looking than mine... ;)

Das brauchst du:

* Veganen Blätterteig (sehr viele Blätterteige sind von vornherein ohne Milch und Ei)

* Veganes Schokoladenmousse oder Schokolade

* Erdnussbutter oder Erdnussmousse

* Zimt
* Viel Liebe ♥

* Vegan puff paste

* Vegan chocolate mousse or just vegan chocolate

* Peanut butter

* Cinnamon

* Loooooots of love ♥

So gelingen sie bestimmt:  

1. Den Ofen auf 200° Celsius vorheizen. Schneide den Blätterteig in Quadrate und gib genügend Schokolade und Erdnussbutter auf jedes Rechteck. Verfeinere die Mischung mit etwas Zimt.  

1. Preheat the oven to 200° Celsius. Cut your puff paste into squares and put enough chocolate and peanut butter on it. Top it with cinnamon.

2. Jetzt die Quadrate zu Croissants rollen. Wenn du so viel Füllung wie möglich haben willst, kannst du sie auch einfach falten und die Ränder zusammendrücken.

2. Now roll the squares into croissants. If you want as much chocolate-peanut-mousse as possible, just fold them instead of rolling them.

3. Die Croissants etwa 20 Minuten backen. Danach lässt du sie noch etwas auskühlen und schon kannst du jemanden überraschen, den du gerne hast ♥

3. Bake your croissants for about 20 minutes. Let them cool and surprise someone you love ♥

Credits: 

Idea, Words, Photographs: Diana Ranegger

Be my Valentine ♥

Enjoy Valentine's day in our beautiful Valentine's Day Collection. Shop by clicking HERE.

Credits:
Photographs: Lumikki Photography | Johanna Bauer; H&M: Lena Wurm; Model: Thomas Amon and Helena Pichler; Assistance: Jasmin Stadler 

Chocolate-Peanut-Porridge with fresh Fruits

Du brauchst einmal etwas Warmes am Morgen? Probier doch mal diesen wunderbaren Porridge: Schokoladig, erdnussig und ohne Zucker – was will man mehr? ;)

You need something warm in the morning? Try this delicious porridge :)

Das brauchst du: 

* 5 EL Haferflocken oder Haferflockenmehl
* Reismilch
* 1 EL Kakao, ungesüßt
* 1 EL Erdnussmus, ungesüßt
* 1 sehr reife Banane
* Zimt

Als Topping:
* Mango
* Kaki
* Gefrorene Himbeeren
* Hanfsamen, Erdnüsse

* 5 tbsp oats or oatmeal
* Rice milk
* 1 tbsp raw cacao 
* 1 tbsp peanut butter, unsweetened 
* 1 very ripe Banana
* Cinnamon

As topping:
* Mango
* Persimmon
* Frozen raspberries
* Hemp seeds, peanuts

So gelingt es bestimmt:

1. Haferflocken, Kakao, Zimt, Erdnussmus und Reismilch in einen Topf geben. Solange erhitzen und köcheln lassen, bis die Haferflocken weich sind. 

2. Die Banane zerdrücken und zum Porridge geben.

3. Jetzt nur noch in eine hübsche Schüssel geben und mit Mango, Kaki, Himbeeren, Hanfsamen und Erdnüssen (oder was du auch immer gerne hast) garnieren. Fertig!

1. Put the oats, cacao, cinnamon, peanut butter and rice milk into a pan. Cook until the oats are soft. 

2. Squash the banana and add it to the porridge. 

3. Put the porridge into a bowl and top it with mango, persimmon, frozen raspberries, hemp seeds and peanuts (or whatever you like). Enjoy!

Credits:
Idea, Words, Photographs: Diana Ranegger