http://www.storiesfromemona.com Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:19:16 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en There are plenty of reasons why I like summer. Here's one, for example. The abundance of fresh produce is reaching its top, and every time I get to see the garden, my heart fills with happiness. And another reason is the calmer, emptier city - people move out and go ... http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/07/03/summer-day/ What do you do if you're left with some dry bread? I, personally, have created a list of dishes where I'd use remaining bread - which doesn't really happen very often, since I tend to store the stock of home baked bread in the freezer, and by portions, taking them ... http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/07/01/bread-pie-with-currants/ Whoever has been to Portugal, will for sure agree with me on one thing: Portuguese food rocks! Although I've only seen a tiny piece of this west-Mediterranean country (and I'm longing to visit it again!), and had lunch in only one village restaurant, I think I've got a good impression ... http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/06/27/a-portuguese-bean-dish/ My love for herbs has been growing at a high rate through the past few years and learning through reading books, picking herbs, processing them and then using them in daily life, all made me feel closer to Nature, making me aware of the great power the herbs possess. I'm lucky ... http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/06/25/herbal-infusion-for-good-night/ After a week of hot and sunny weather, we got a surprise from the sky in a shape of heavy rain storm and a 15ºC temperature decrease, all in merely 24 hours. The weather in Slovenia can be highly unpredictable, even more as years pass by. Juanpi, used to the ... http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/06/21/chocolate-sin/ A few more days, and it'll be summer. Summer, of course, means light food and lots of refreshing drinks! It's the time when we don't feel like neither cooking nor eating much and when fresh produce becomes our preference. I can hardly wait to get my hands on some juicy watermelon ... http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/06/17/summer-drinks-fruit-water/ In these difficult times of "economic instability that noooooooooooo one could have predicted" which gave a great excuse for higher prices of everything to this land, one is being compelled to calculate the expenses even more than ever. I'm having some sort of mixed feelings while hearing that the prices ... http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/06/12/pasta-and-potato-hotchpotch/ Three years ago I was the proud owner of a tomato plantation. It was the 1st and only time I took over the family garden entirely (something that most probably won't happen again) when, after a very successful seeding, I converted the entire garden into a big tomato scene. I ... http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/06/09/tomate-frito-revisited/ Our first flat was rather small. So small, in fact, that we didn't have any oven, as it just couldn't fit in the house. No matter how much I wished for baking a cake or pizza, I could not do it. I got quite desperate after a while, so that ... http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/06/07/semolina-cocoa-balls/ I've written already something about chive flowers not long ago. Today I'd like to show you, what I have done with the rest of them, because they were just too beautiful to let them go to waste! Did you know you can make chive flower scented vinegar? I love to add ... http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/06/04/chive-flower-vinegar/ Honestly, I've no idea where would the name of this salad plate come from. I've always known it as French salad and I remember we ate it only on birthdays, anniversaries and some of the December feasts, hence it was considered a rather rich, festive side dish. Basically, we're talking ... http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/06/01/french-salad/ Last weekend we visited my father's birth village, Prapreče, a very small settlement by the river Krka with merely 75 inhabitants. My father possesses a medium-sized orchard there, mostly apple and pear trees, and also some peach, apricot, cherry plum, cherry ones, plus a small grape vine which he ... http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/05/28/orchard-photos-and-a-tasty-recipe/ What does a food-loving girl like me do when she stays home alone all day long? She treats herself to an excellent meal! A meal, consisting of ingredients she would normally have to omit in her cooking, in order to please her better half's wishes. :) I could have just taken ... http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/05/22/my-solo-menu/ While I'm still patiently waiting for the vegetables in our garden to grow, I've been picking very diligently the only greens readily-available - herbs (thyme, oregano, chives and basil that grows on my window sill). Adding fresh herbs to dishes feels so good, be it cooked or raw! For example, ... http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/05/18/chives/ Clafoutis is a classic French dessert, very simple to prepare and yet tasty enough to satisfy even those with the most "demanding" palate. It can be done in an hour or even less, and is best served warm, traditionally straight from the pan. Basically, you arrange the desired fruit on ... http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/05/16/rhubarb-and-apple-clafoutis/