Prutići od tikvica pečene u pećnici - Oven baked courgette's sticks- Bastoncini di zucchine cotti nel forno

Znam neke trikove koji mi uvijek olakšaju život, pogotovo kad sam u žurbi ili kad baš nemam neku eksplozivnu ideju za večer ili mi se uopće ne kuha (da i to se ponekad dogodi!).

Ovo je lažna fritura (za one koji ne znaju, prijevod na književni hrvatski jezik riječi fritura je ”prženje”), jer prava se fritura radi u puno vrelog ulja. Pravilno bi bilo pržiti u vrelom dubokom ulju ali ulje nikako ne treba dimiti, jer ako se ulje dimi, onda ono gori i proizvodi toksine….a kad imate malo vremena, to je sve tako komplicirano i za to vam trebe jedna prava nedjelja u sred radnog tjedna! Onda se treba snaći na bilo koji način i iako me svi krivo gledaju kad spomenem lažnu frituru, mislim da nisu svi tako odani pravoj frituri da nikad ne posegnu za nekim trikom i da si olakšaju posao.

Sataraš - Sautéed mixed vegetables - Verdura mista saltata

I could tell you that I spend every holiday at home in Croatia, but you know this already...

And you also know how much inspiration I find in my parent's garden with the splendid sea-view...

Do you know what are emigrants craving for while they are abroad...their traditional food (parents excluded, of course)!

To make me feel longer at home, I pack our car with all possible home-made and home-grown stuff and despite the initial debate with the "car driver" about the best way to arrange stuff in the car, at the end of the story, every single vegetable and preserve arrive safe and intact to Italy. When we arrived to our destination, even the car driver was happy that we brought all that goodness from home, but only at the end and only after we unloaded our car, because then I took full responsibility of my vegetables and preserves. And then my activity in the kitchen started again...

Aubergine hand pizzas - Pizzette di melanzane - Mini pizze od patlidžana

Recept sudjeluje na kontekstu  "ajme, koliko nas je!" domaćica Jelena s bloga JelinaJela:

http://www.jelinajela.com/2015/08/tema-za-septembar-ajme-koliko-nas-je.html

In these last years I’ve discovered plenty of new varieties of aubergines that I didn’t know before. In the market you can usually find the same old dark violet and oblong fruits, more or less puffed up. Last year I’ve tried the “pearl aubergines”, very long and thin light violet fruits that are perfect condiment for a pasta together with cherry tomatoes and black olives. This year I’ve cooked light violet striated puffy aubergines with a bright white pulp and less seeds inside. What I like most of aubergines is their slightly bitter flavour, therefor I never peal aubergines and I never let them lose the water before cooking them. This procedure is usually recommended in all recipes: peal the aubergines, cut them, put some salt on them and leave them to rest for some time in a colander.

It was so hot this last July and August, I almost didn’t have a willpower at all to turn on the oven, but it’s better to cook something in the oven then to stay near to the heat of the burner. Luckily the aubergines can be cooked in the oven and it was easy to make a decision what to prepare with them.

If you like Italian food and you like aubergines as much as I like them, you will love this trat for sure. This is not a complicated stuff, you just need to assemble all ingredients into small pizzas and bake them in the oven until the cheese get melted and golden brown. It is similar to another tasty Italian dish, the wel-known Parmigiana, but much easier and quicker to prepare.

The result is a “hand-pizza in one bite”. It is still aubergine season here in Italy and nice ripe aubergines can be found in the market. I think I will have to repeat these pizzas one of these days for dinner.

Buon appetito!

Couscous a modo mio

Con tutti questi colori e abbondanza di verdure mi sa tanto che il mio couscous non sembra nemmeno l’originale piatto nordafricano. L’ho voluto preparare così, completamente vegetariano, multicolore e leggero! E’ veloce soltanto la sua cottura, ovviamente acquistando il couscous già pronto al supermercato nella sua bella confezione di cartone. Per accendere il colore pallido dei chicchi del couscous ho scelto le verdure di colori diversi e per tagliarle tutte ho impegnato un po’ di tempo…ma ne è valsa la pena!