In the mood for a quick dinner? How about the ever-adaptable tacos? You only need a handful of ingredients, some of which you probably already have in the fridge or pantry, and about 30 minutes to whip up a tasty meal. Below, we provide you with our favorite vegetarian tacos, with sweet potato and a fried egg bulking things up in the absence of meat. Follow our guide to create some great tacos tonight:

1) Preheat the oven to 400F. Cut 2 sweet potatoes into small cubes. Toss them with some olive oil and cumin, then spread them on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until they’re tender, stirring once during baking.

2) While the sweet potatoes are baking, prepare guacamole: mash 1-2 avocadoes with lime juice, 1 clove of minced garlic, minced cilantro, 1 diced tomato, and a pinch of salt.

3) Chop or slice thinly ½ head of cabbage or some crispy lettuce (like iceberg).

4) Grate some cheddar cheese.

5) Chop 1-2 tomatoes.

6) Once the sweet potatoes are done, put all the toppings out on the dinner table. Warm up some tortillas and fry an egg. Stack away and enjoy!

Remember that this is less a “recipe” and more a grounds for experimentation. Feel free to add or subtract toppings to your taste. Sour cream and refried beans are also common taco toppings. If you’re a meat lover, sauté some ground beef or diced chicken pieces with tomato puree and chili powder. We like to gather as many different colors as possible – just “for the fun of it”!

On sunny summer weekends, Münsteraners turn out in droves and set up camp around the Aasee for barbecues, kite-flying, and general sunbathing. (On New Year’s, the lake will be ringed with people setting off fireworks – check out the debris the next day.) You can also go out in sailboats or take a leisurely stroll along the path ringing the lake. The path is ideal for runners, and you’ll definitely encounter a lot of them at most times of day.

If you forget your barbecue equipment and don’t feel like exercising, there are a few restaurants and cafes dotted along the Aasee’s shores. From the Aasee it’s also a short jaunt to the Münster Zoo and, in the other direction, back to the city center’s pristine cobblestoned streets and many churches. But for today, let’s find a sunny spot of grass to relax on and watch the people go by.

Visitors are welcome at St. Paul’s Knightsbridge: you can attend one of the daily masses, stroll in at a different time to look around without worshipping, or attend one of the BBC radio live recordings. That’s right – the renowned BBC Singers sometimes record live concerts in this church for BBC radio. If you’re a classical music fan, this is a great way to hear beautiful music in a gorgeous acoustic space.

St. Paul’s Knightsbridge is a bit off the beaten track of busy Knightsbridge road, hidden between Hyde Park and Green Park. But next time you’re in the area – perhaps while walking from Hyde Park down to the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea – step into this lovely church for a few moments of quiet and calm.

This royal residence has housed members of the British Royal Family since the 1600s and is currently the official place where various Dukes and Duchesses stay when they are in London. But even though it is used as a residence, parts of Kensington Palace are open to the public to visit. You can pay to see the State Rooms, various exhibitions, and of course the marvelous gardens. Book an afternoon tea at The Orangery for when you’re tired of wandering the Palace looking at portraits and royal fashions.

Even if you don’t want to pay the entry fee to the Palace, you can find a bench somewhere near the pond across the Broad Walk and enjoy people- and dog-watching to your heart’s content. There’s never a dull moment in Kensington Gardens!

Highgate (Image from their website)

It’s a rainy Monday here in London, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun indoors! We’ve talked about afternoon tea before (remember those finger sandwiches and scones with jam?), so today we’re headed to a lovely little tea shop in north London’s Highgate Village.

Tea, anyone?

High Tea of Highgate (their website alone is worth a visit) is easy to miss if you’re not looking for it on the “high” street. If you don’t see a free table in the front, walk past the scrumptious-looking cakes on the counter to the little back room, which houses three more tables. This tea spot has more of an à la carte style – the menu features “savoury snacks” as well as the usual scones and the cakes you saw walking in. For a substantial afternoon snack, you can order the cream tea, which gets you a pot of tea and two scones with clotted cream and jam. Not in the mood for a scone? Order one of those amazing-looking cakes…

Your tea and scones or cake will appear on whimsically patterned, mismatched china, which just adds to the charm of the place. Even after you’ve finished eating and sipping your tea, you’ll want to linger in this cozy atmosphere to chat with your companion – and to avoid that rain outside! When you do decide to brave the weather again, you’ll find yourself atop Highgate Hill with a great view of central London.

Image from Highgate website

In the UK, Waltham Abbey is best known as the supposed burial place of King Harold II, who helped rebuild the church in the 11th century. King Harold II famously died – perhaps due to an arrow in the eye – in the Battle of Hastings (1066) and may or may not be buried at Waltham Abbey.

Waltham Abbey also carries some significance for classical music enthusiasts, as English Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis served as the Abbey’s organist in the mid-16th century. Indeed, the Abbey’s nave has beautiful acoustics, particularly suited to a capella choral music. But whether or not you care for classical music, Waltham Abbey is worth a visit for its historical significance, beautiful architecture, and stained-glass windows. Even if you’re not religious, standing in the ancient nave may give you chills.

I spent four sunny days in London at the end of March – not nearly enough time to see and do everything I wanted to do, but enough time to stroll around some of London’s many beautiful boroughs. (Visiting London became even more significant because I had learned not long before the trip that I would be moving there after finishing my Peace Corps service.) Here are my recommendations for a few nice walking-sightseeing routes if you find yourself in London for several days.

DAY 1

Marylebone/Fitzrovia and Regent’s Park

At the Marylebone Farmers’ Market

This posh, neighborhood-y area is known for its proximity to peaceful Regent’s Park. One of the friends I was visiting lived in this area, on Weymouth Street just a few blocks from the Sunday Marylebone Farmer’s Market, which even in late March was already full of gorgeous greens, plenty of parsnips, delicious homemade goat cheese, and the best carrot cake I have ever had. I recommend trolling for postcards and souvenirs on Marylebone Road – if you like wax figures, also check out Madame Tussaud’s – before ducking into Regent’s Park for a stroll around the lake or a run on the many winding paths that offer glimpses of the London Zoo’s residents.

Bloomsbury and Russell Square

Enjoy a picnic lunch in Russell Square

After your morning stroll through the park and farmers’ market snack, walk east out of Fitzrovia to Bloomsbury, the district from which the early 20^th-century Bloomsbury Group – the Woolfs and E.M. Forster were some of its prominent members – took its name. Drop into one of the many Sainsbury’s grocery stores to pick up picnic fare, then take it to Russell Square – most famously featured in Thackeray’s Vanity Fair – and enjoy people-watching while you nosh. Once your legs (and stomach) feel rejuvenated, walk one block to the British Museum. If you don’t have time for the whole museum you must at least stand gazing upwards in the glass-domed atrium for a few minutes. If you’d like to continue your literary tour, walk east on Guilford Street to Doughty Street, where you’ll find the Charles Dickens museum, situated in the house where Dickens lived for much of his life in London.

The British Museum atrium

DAY 2

Tottenham Court/Charing Cross Road to Trafalgar Square to Whitehall; the Houses of Parliament; Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace, St. James’ Park, and The Mall           

If your feet feel up for it, use a leisurely second day to take in many famous sights. Start on Tottenham Court Road in Fitzrovia and walk south; when you cross Oxford Street it will become Charing Cross Road in Soho. Take your time to stroll along, pop in and out of bookshops, and check out what’s playing at the theaters. Not far from Leicester Square you’ll run smack-dab into Trafalgar Square (contrary to popular belief, when I was there people actually outnumbered pigeons). If the weather is nice, grab a bite at Pret A Manger and people-watch while sitting on the steps of St. Martin in the Fields; if you’re lucky you’ll catch a choir rehearsal or concert in the church.

Westminster Abbey

When you have sufficiently refueled, walk south through Trafalgar Square to what becomes Whitehall Road; you will be flanked by tall, white buildings and soon will glimpse the Houses of Parliament and the famous clock tower known as Big Ben. Pause for some photos and then swing right to Westminster Abbey. You can pay to see the entire Abbey, but if you’d rather get a feel for it without shelling out any pounds, walk around to the west entrance and sit in on Evensong or Evening Prayer (check the schedule first; they offer free services and small concerts every day).

From the Abbey, continue walking west toward St. James’s Park, in the center of which you will find Buckingham Palace and the Queen Victoria Memorial. Walk away from the Palace along The Mall; you’ll eventually come out under the Admiralty Arch and find yourself back in Trafalgar Square. Stop in at the National Gallery or Portrait Gallery if you have time.

DAY 3

South Kensington and Chelsea

Start in Chelsea’s Sloane Square and visit the Saatchi Gallery, an art gallery that had an exhibition of contemporary German art when I was there. Even if modern art is not your cup of tea, the gallery is free and worth spinning through for its gorgeous design and use of space. Do you prefer shopping to art galleries? Walk up Cadogan Square to the famous department store, Harrods, where you will find anything you could ever want.

Prince Albert Memorial

From Harrods, it’s a short walk down Brompton Road to South Kensington and Exhibition Row, an area also known as “Albertopolis” for Queen Victoria’s establishment of museums, concert halls, and colleges in honor of Prince Albert, her husband who died too young. You could easily spend the rest of the day here in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Natural History Museum. Take some time to walk up to Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park to see the ornate Albert Memorial and the spot of the 1851 Great Exhibition’s Crystal Palace.

DAY 4

City of London

If you still have energy after the previous three days, start this day in the one-square-mile City of London, the oldest part of London and now the financial center. Spend some time at the Museum of London, free and chock-full of London’s history from the earliest times to today. When you feel saturated, walk south and follow your eyes to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Ogle at its dome and design – if you want to spend some money you can go inside – before continuing south to pedestrians-only Millennium Bridge, leading straight to the Tate Modern art museum. While crossing the bridge you will see the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. If you have time, catch a performance at the Globe after enjoying some modern art at the Tate. (Unfortunately I didn’t have time to do either of these things on my visit.)

St. Paul’s Cathedral as viewed from Millennium Bridge

Obviously, you cannot see all of London in four days. But if you like to walk, admire architecture, and really get the feel for a city, I recommend the four above walks as good starting points. I look forward to discovering many more great London walks after moving there – perhaps I shall share them with you. If you have suggestions for other walks, feel free to leave them in the comments section. Happy exploring!

~Tammela~

In September 2010 I arrived in Ukraine and was plunked down in a 2,000-person village to live with a host family and study Ukrainian for three intense months alongside four other Peace Corps Trainees. We became full-fledged Volunteers in December 2010 upon successfully completing – some say surviving – Pre-Service Training (PST).

Living with Ukrainian host parents who spoke no English – and not even pure Ukrainian – was often stressful. I felt like a grown-up baby for the first few (or more) weeks of PST: even though I kicked butt at “slap-the-correct-word” vocabulary games in Ukrainian class, I still had to painstakingly search for, write down, and memorize simple sentences before being able to ask my host mom if I could please do laundry.

PST was like climbing Mt. Hoverla, the highest mountain in the Ukrainian Carpathians

Fast forward to today, more than two years later. Now I speak Ukrainian well; my challenge lies not in communicating in day-to-day situations but in finding a way to express to my Ukrainian friends, colleagues, and students how much they have meant to me over the past two years.

With my departure looming, many daily exchanges pan out like this:

“Isn’t it too bad that you’re leaving? Won’t you miss it here?”

“Yes, I’ll miss it a lot. It has been wonderful to live and work here for two years.”

“But you could just stay!”

If only it were that simple.

Next stop: London!

Perhaps I could stay, and I probably would have stayed, if life hadn’t pointed me in a new direction: toward London.

I didn’t expect to be moving to London after the Peace Corps but I am thrilled to be doing so and look forward to continuing my adventures abroad. Life takes us in interesting directions, doesn’t it?

But let’s return to Ukraine for a moment.

Two years have been more than enough time for this country – its people, culture, language, and cuisine – to work its way into my heart, and it will probably stay there. From now on my head will whip around every time I hear someone speaking a Slavic language, hoping that it’s Ukrainian and that I’ll be able to strike up a conversation, or at least offer a “dobryy den” and a smile. I will order borscht every time I see it on a restaurant menu. I’ll probably end up thinking to myself, “Mama Anya’s borscht was way better than this.”

(My borscht is pretty darn good, too)

Ukraine has rubbed off on me, and perhaps a small piece of me will remain in this little southwestern Ukrainian town: the way that crazy American went running up and down the river in the mornings; the way I sat on the desk while teaching English lessons (a Ukrainian teacher would never do that); the way I smiled all the time and at everyone, regardless of whether I knew them personally or not.

Living abroad for over two years has expanded my perspective, and I believe that I’ve graduated from “travel enthusiast” to “citizen of the world.” I feel now as if I could make my home anywhere, and each place I live will only add to the parts of other places that I carry inside of me.

Or so I hope. Who knows what I’ll be saying in two more years? Keep up with me on EY to find out where life takes me!

In Ukraine, this spicy sweet condiment or salad called khrin (хрін) is a traditional Easter dish, but it is known and used throughout the world under a variety of names and for a variety of purposes.   In the US, it is commonly referred to as Red <Beet> Horseradish and its bright pink color makes it an interesting addition to more typical condiments.

Ingredients

• 2-4 stalks of fresh horseradish, grated
• 1-2 raw beets, peeled and grated

Procedure

• Peel and grate raw beets. Let them sit for a little while and then squeeze the juice out.
• Grate the horseradish and put into a bowl (note: the grating of the horseradish releases an enzyme that creates its spiciness.  As the grated horseradish sits,  it will become spicier – to a point – however if left too long, it will lose that pungent flavor and become bitter).
• Add the beet juice to the horseradish and mix (note: adding the beet juice counteracts the enzyme and stops the spiciness from perpetuating.  Additionally, the beets add a sweet flavor which further mellows the horseradish)

Khrin is a delicious accompaniment to any sort of cooked or cured meat.

On that spicy note – Happy adventures in Ukrainian cooking-with-beets! Leave a comment if you have other favorite beet-related or Ukrainian recipes.

Смачного (smachnoho)!  ~Tammela~

Other names this (or a similar horseradish) dish is known by:

Central and Eastern Europe – khreyn or keen.

Poland  – ofchrzan

Czech Republic – křen 

Lithuania – krienai

Russia – хрен, khren 

Hungary - torma

Romania – hrean

Bulgaria – хрян,khryan

 Slovakia – chren

As you all may know by now, I’ve been living in Ukraine as a Peace Corps Volunteer since September 2010 and thus have had plenty of time to taste – and sometimes cook – many traditional Ukrainian dishes. A lot of these dishes include the staple (mainly root) vegetables that grow so easily and abundantly here in eastern Europe: potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, and beets. It is amazing how many different combinations and variations one can create from just these five vegetables.

Most people are quite familiar and comfortable with cooking and eating potatoes, carrots, onions and even cabbage. But I have found that beets challenge and puzzle many cooks. They are a funny shape, have a thicker skin than potatoes or carrots, and are (usually) a deep red-purple color that stains almost everything it touches.

How the heck does one cook and eat a beet?

That is what I am here to tell you!

I developed a passion for beets several summers ago while shopping at farmer’s markets in the States. That first summer I experimented with beet preparation: I roasted, boiled, and sautéed beets, sometimes alone and sometimes with other root vegetables. Some dishes turned out well and some failed. Living in Ukraine for the past year and a half has expanded my how-to-prepare-beets horizons.  Following your introduction to Borscht, I shall now introduce you to some other classic Ukrainian dishes that feature beets.

These beet-sporting Ukrainian dishes, which are often made for holiday meals but are equally as good for regular consumption include salat vinehret (салат вінегрет), one of my favorite salads; and salat shuba (салат шуба; shuba means “fur coat”), which is a bit of an acquired taste.

Hope you enjoy!

Tammela

 салат вінегрет (salat vinehret) 

The vegetable proportions are generally about equal, but feel free to add more or less of anything, to your taste.

Ingredients

• 1-3 small-medium potatoes, peeled
• 1-2 medium beets
• 1-2 medium carrots
• 1-2 medium dill pickles (preferable homemade ones), diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• Oil, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Procedure

• Boil whole potatoes, beets, and carrots until cooked through. The beets will take the longest to cook – 45-60 minutes – so put them in first.
• Meanwhile, dice the pickles and onion and put them in a big bowl.
• When the root vegetables are cooked, peel the beets and carrots and let cool. When they are cool enough, dice the potatoes, beets, and carrots.
• Add diced root vegetables to the bowl and season with your preferred amount of oil, salt, and pepper. Mix, and enjoy!

салат шуба (salat shuba)

If you are a mayonnaise lover, you can add it in between every layer. But if you’re like me and are slightly mayo-averse, feel free to only add it to the top layer.

Ingredients

• 1-3 small-medium potatoes, peeled
• 1-2 medium beets
• 1-3 medium carrots
• 1-2 cups pickled herring, diced
• Mayonnaise, to taste

Procedure

• Boil whole potatoes, beets, and carrots until cooked through. The beets will take the longest to cook – 45-60 minutes – so put them in first.
• Meanwhile, dice the herring and spread it out on a large shallow platter.
• When the root vegetables are cooked, peel the beets and carrots and let cool. When they are cool enough, grate the potatoes, beets, and carrots but keep them separate.
• Spread the grated potatoes over the herring, smoothing them into a nice, flat layer.
• Spread the grated carrots over the potato layer.
• Spread the grated beets on top of the carrots. Add a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise and spread it around evenly, letting it mix a little with the beets.
• This salad looks beautiful when served in clean-cut slices that reveal the colorful layers.