Pohani kruh - French toast - Pane fritto

Za doručak mi je najbolji, onako svježe prženi s pjenicom ulja po korici…a kad prsti ostanu masni i ušećereni, moraju se polizati, moraju!

Pohani kruh, supice, prženice, svaki kraj ima svoje ime, mi smo ga zvali jednostavno pohani kruh.

Svaka zemlja pak ima svoje ime, svi ga pripremaju na sličan ali jedinstveni način. Skoro svi, jer neki se ipak čude kako stari kruh može “doći k sebi” i postati prava delicija.

Netko najprije kruh umače u mlijeko, netko mlijeko uopće ne koristi. Ja najviše volim kad se jaja i mlijeko skupa smute, pa nda kriške kruha jednolično upiju smjesu, lijepo se napušu dok se peku i postanu mekane kao kolač.

Kad od doručka (zabunom) ostane koja kriška, onda je osiguran i desert za ručak ili za večeru, ako ga do večere netko krišom ne pojede kad osjeti prazninu u stomaku. Taj netko nije tako kompliciran kao ja, pa ga jede i hladnog. Ja ipak više volim kad mi on malo “dođe k sebi”, pa ga obavezno podgijem, jer mi tako više paše!

Sour black cherries in syrup – Amarene sciroppate – Višnje u sirupu

I adore sour taste of fruits while not too ripe. For the same reason I prefer jam made of sour black cherries. Sour black cherries always have slightly sour taste (they have it in the name too!), they are not too sweet, but their flavour is absolutely perfect. I find the best ripe fruits at the end of June in the near village at my friend’s orchard. I want them to be fresh and not “stressed” because of long traveling to reach our city market. And then the “big” work can begin. It takes some time to pit all these tiny fruits, if you do it manually…and how do I do it? Manually, of course, but in this way my preserves are even more tasty!
Usually I bring my “preserves for winter” from Croatia, homemade by my mother, but in last years I started to prepare them by my own too, following the family recipes and traditions. It makes me so satisfied and proud, because these (my!) preserves are so good! And my parents are so curious to taste some of my “creations”. I like to experiment new combinations and flavours and they are so fascinated by this. So now, when I go back home, I usually bring with me some preserves too. Isn’t it extraordinary? In August, when I get back home, I’m sure I will find jars full of sour black cherries taking sun immersed in liquefied sugar and grappa waiting to become liquor.
This year I wanted to try something different then the ordinary jam (of course the jam was prepared too)!I also red Angela’s cookbook (“Racconti di Cucina” written by Angela Frenda) and I’ve found a similar recipe that inspired me and made me think about the sour black cherry liquor my mother prepare each summer. But I wanted to prepare something with no alcohol. So I have done some research in the web, I’ve found so many different recipes and at the end I have decided to combine all these new knowledge and prepared my sour black cherries in syrup!
.....and now I have enough cherry stones to make homemade cherry stone boule. I don't like to waste, so I try to use almost everything.....

Homemade butter - Burro fatto in casa - Domaći maslac

Probably I've already told you that I hate wasting things, especially food. It's so pity to throw away something so precious, while billion of people in the world, children and adults, are suffering from hunger and chronic undernourishment.

Said that again, last day I didn't use all fresh cream I've both for peach clafoutis, so I have prepared fresh homemade butter and buttermilk. I have used the buttermilk while fresh for another delicious and quick recipe (I need to bake it again, because we devoured it in a moment and there are no pictures of the cake). Butter can be stored in the refrigerator for days, so it's worth to do it on your own, if you don't know how to finish your fresh cream.

It is fascinating how this white liquid transforms in a soft cloudlike whipped cream and after a while turns into its solid form. And it even changes the nuance! What to say, this is pure chemistry!

How to dye Easter eggs – Come colorare le uova di Pasqua – Farbanje Uskršnjih pisanica

When I was a little girl, my mother taught me how to prepare beautiful coloured Easter eggs. This is another traditional Croatian recipe (or folk custom). She learned this art from her mother. I remember my grandmother also painted eggs with the beeswax and special writing tool, but unfortunately I didn’t have a chance to learn it from her. Modern times brought us to very fast way of living and some long makings didn’t survive, even some products disappeared, because old fashioned. But we continued to maintain the tradition at any cost and every year the eggs we made were more beautiful! I always keep few most beautiful eggs in the coffee cups until next year Easter as souvenirs (warning: it might happen that the egg explodes after few months, so handle it carefully).
Another amazing thing is that the colour I’m using is fully natural. I use onion skin to dye Easter eggs. I collect it all year long, because you will need a large quantity of it to get the beautiful dark brown colour. The decoration is made with plants and herbs, you can choose whatever you like, from clover to parsley. I found the print of darnel very charming. No problems if eggs get cracked during cooking and some coloure dye the egg white. You can eat your eggs anyway, as you have not used artificial products!
Take all time you need, handle your eggs gently and decorate them patiently.
Let’s create the art!

Dark chocolate muffins with orange flavour – Muffins di cioccolato fondente all’aroma di arancia – Muffins s tamnom čokoladom i aromom naranče

There are moments in our life when we need a hug, when we need to be revitalized and supported. Often we do it by ourselves, nobody help us, nobody is willing to do it. We try to find the strength deep inside our mind and we get up and continue to walk. This is the story of the nature too and this is how we are. Winter is over, new season arrived. Spring will bring plenty of joy and energy and everything will shine again!

Quince candies - Caramelle di mela cotogna – Bomboni od dunja

This recipe is part of the contest Kuvarigrice, our host for October 2015 is Kristina

Almost one month passed from the first (and hopefully the last!) this year snowfall. And it arrived silent, there is always the same perception of stillness and calm when it comes to snow. The snow continued to fall all night long and it was impetuous and so powerful and the signs of ruin appeared in the morning under the thick white cover. Tree branches were too weak to bear heavy weight of wet snow and collapsed, whole trees collapsed. A sad view of disaster remained all around for days. And then the snow started to disappear and the sound of the chainsaw arrived. We will miss our beautiful weeping willow and the pine in our garden. Just two miserable logs and many twigs and pine needles still lie on the moss-covered soil. I’ve picked up from the ground some pine branches and pine cones and took some pictures with the last quince candies that I forgot to have in a jar from last November. The combination of two fragrances is pleasant: smell of resin and light cinnamon perfume of dried quince go together surprisingly well. Today  I offer you the beauty from the waste.