Mini cherry tomatoes and scamorza cheese frittata in whole wheat flour crust - Frittata di mini cherry pomodori e scamorza in crosta integrale - Omlet od mini cherry rajčica i scamorza sira u kori od integralnog brašna

Birds are still not on the wire, trees are still full of green leafs and these last summer days are still hot and bright! Last weekend I spent with my family again and I fully enjoyed these free moments. I  walked in the forest and enjoyed the generosity of our garden. It is so full of plants and trees, but I like it this way, wild and free. 

Before first September rains ruin all green shades and leafs become soggy and loose their form, the garden is still offering all its richness of colours and flavours. This year the production of tomatoes was enormous, even these small cherry tomatoes continued to ripen day after day and while walking in the garden it was impossible not to eat some directly form the plant.

These little red balls are so interesting and decorative and their intense redness gives warm touch to every dish. Some of them are already frozen and I will use them during winter months added to a vegetable or legume soup. What I have prepared now is a kind of union between frittata and quiche with some cheese, little mint and greek yogurt. Practically I have opened my fridge and invented something that turned good and tasty.

Plum jam - Confettura di susine - Pekmez od šljiva

My grandma used to prepare very special plum jam, the one with peaces of dark blue rinds rolled up as small scrolls immerged in sweet violet pulp. Its colour was so dark, near to black. It was sweet and you could feel a delicate citrus smell coming our from the jar. There was no recipe for it. All was added and combined roughly, she never use the scale. This is exactly how my mother prepare her jams and preserves today and it's amazing how she always use the exact quantity of ingredients to get the perfect result! Her plum jam (and not just plum jam!) is even better then grandma's. It is simply perfect,  my mother's homemade jam is my favourite "brand"!
Little by little I've started to prepare some jams and preserves too following my grandma's and my mother's suits. I'm so amused while I prepare it and I'm very proud of myself, because I prepare very good jam too! The easier jam I've ever made is this plum jam. Plums are full of pectin and fructose, you don't need to use much sugar and you don't need to cook it too long. This year our plum tree was full of fruits and I've brought with me to Italy so, so many plums, but we couldn't eat all of them, so I deep-freezed some, I made a cake and at the end I prepared this simple jam.

Scrambled eggs with mini cherry tomatoes and chives – Uova strapazzate con pomodorini cherry e erba cipollina – Kajgana s mini cherry rajčicama i vlascem

I’m so lucky to have my parent’s garden (I use to call this place “the garden with the view”, because we have this beautiful bird’s-eye view to the Kvarner Bay!) full of fruits and vegetables during all year long and every time I go back home I bring to Italy some fresh produces. Some means plenty! No need to go to the market several weeks upon my return! But this is part of my travels and being emigrant. I’m also lucky because I have now two homes, I belong to two countries and two different ways of living. Even if my two countries are “neighbours", there are so many different habits and customs and I definitely needed to get used to many new things. After all is said and done, I like all the changes I did and all new changes that still happen day after day. This is life!

Speaking about vegetables again, I must admit that tomatoes are my favourite vegetable (or fruit?!), so I don’t mind if my refrigerator is still full of tomatoes of all sizes. This is the only vegetable that I buy during winter months too, I really can’t resist to it…and I really love, love, love tomatoes. When I was still living in Croatia I used to eat the tomatoes picked directly from the plant. I can remember the sweetness of cold and juicy tomatoes…I assure you, it is heavenly good.