12/28/2011
12/19/2011
Zimska šetnja / A Winter walk
Staza za šetnju vijuga kroz ogolelo drveće jasike, među čijim krošnjama se nazire kristalno plavo nebo
The walking path is winding through the leafless aspen tress
Zagrljaj zaljubljenog drveća
The loving trees hug
Životinjski tragovi u snegu pored malenog potoka
The animal tracks in the snow, next to a small stream
Ponovo otisci... u svetlucavom snegu
Again the animal footprints... in the sparkling snow
Potok pokriven snegom i dalje žubori
The snow covered creek still makes a wonderful noise
12/14/2011
Novogodišnji motivi / Holiday Motifs
New Year Eve and Christmas are almost here and in our house everything is ready for the holidays. The Christmas tree is decorated and small village, covered with fake snow is placed on the window seat.
Moje seoce pod snegom me uvek podseti na knjige bajki sa prelepim ilustracijama, koje sam kao dete dugo gledala i pokušavala da na njima zapazim svaki detalj. Uvek sam želela da mogu da uđem u te bajkovite slike i prošetam tim ulicama ili pejzažima. I sada kada u nekim prodavnicama, obično pred Božićne praznike naiđem na ta mala seoca sa kućama kao iz bajke, ljudima i životinjama postavljenim na njihovim ulicama, ne mogu da odolim da ne zastanem i pogledam svaki detalj tog minijaturnog sveta .
My small village under the snow reminds me of the fairy tale books with a beautiful illustrations. As a child I observed those pictures for a long time, to catch every little details on them. I always wished that I could jump in and live in those beautiful villages and landscapes. Even now when in some stores I see those small villages, with people and animals on its streets singing carols, I can't resist to stop and look every detail of that miniature world.
12/12/2011
Rasadnik orhideja / The Orchid Nursery
Više o nezi orhideja u ovom postu
U blizini Čikaga postoji veliki rasadnik orhideja, navodno jedan od najvećih u svetu. Zove se Orchids by Hausermann. Pre dve godine posetili smo taj rasadnik i uživali gledajući orhideje.
Ovo je samo jedan mali deo tog prelepog cveća iz rasadnika.
Close to Chicago, there is a big orchid nursery, some of the biggest in the world. It is called Orchids by Hausermann. One afternoon, two years ago, we visited the nursery and enjoyed looking the beautiful orchids. These are some of the pics made that day.
12/08/2011
Banana hleb / Banana Bread
Recept za banana hleb sam dobila prve godine boravka u Americi. Takav slatki hleb sa dodatkom voća, moja porodica i ja do tada nismo probali. Svideo nam se ukus ovog hleba i nakon toga sam ga često pravila. Hleb je veoma jednostavan za pravljenje i odlično je rešenje kada ostanu prezrele banane koje više niko neće da jede. Može da se jede za doručak uz topli čaj ili za večeru uz šolju mleka, ali je dobar i kao poslastica. Kada navrate neočekivani gosti, hleb je odlično rešenje kao brz, sladak kolač.
I got banana bread recipe when we moved to the US. Before that, my family and I have never tried sweet bread with fruit. We liked it a lot and after that I made it many times. It is good as breakfast with a warm cup of tea or as a light dinner with a glass of milk. Sometimes, when unexpected guests arrive, it is an excellent solution if you want to prepare something sweet and delicious in one hour.
Ja obožavam lešnike i kad god ih imam pri ruci, uvek ubacim u kolače, tako da sam i ovom prilikom koristila lešnike kao dodatak hlebu. Hleb je odličan i bez ikakvih dodataka, ali lešnici, orasi, bademi pa čak i suvo grožđe poboljšaće ukus ove poslastice.
I love hazelnuts and whenever I have them in my house, I made a cake with hazelnuts in it. This time I used them in the banana bread. The original recipe is without any nuts, but walnuts, pecans, almonds or even raisins will be great in banana bread.
*Napomena: mera za šolju se odnosi na šolju od tačno 250ml.
Banana hleb
2 veće, zrele banane
1 šolja šećera (ili 185g šećera)
2 jajeta srednje veličine
3 kašike mleka
1 kašičica ekstrakta od vanile
1/2 šolje otopljenog putera ili margarina (oko 113g)
2 šolje brašna (280g)
1/4 kašičice soli
1+1/2 kašičice praška za pecivo
1/2 kašičice sode bikarbone
oko 1/2 šolje krupno iseckanih lešnika (ili oraha, badema...)**
**nije neophodno
Zagrejati rernu na 350F ili 175C.
Otrebiti i izgnječiti banane. U veću posudu ubaciti izgnječene banane, dodati jaja, šećer, mleko i ekstrakt od vanile. Sve dobro izmešati. U posebnu posudu pomešati suve sastojke: brašno, so, prašak za pecivo i sodu bikarbonu. Ubaciti suve sastojke u tečnu masu i dobro izmešati. Dodati otopljeni puter ili margarin i dobro ujednačiti masu. Dodati iseckane lešnike.
Pripremiti posudu za pečenje hleba i ubaciti smesu u posudu. Peći na 350F ili 175C oko 30-40 minuta ili dok hleb odgore ne porumeni. Čačkalicom proveriti da li je hleb pečen.
Banana Bread
2 large, ripe bananas
1 cup sugar (185g)
2 eggs
3 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup melted butter (113g)
2 cups all-purpose flour (280g)
1/4 tsp salt
1+1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup coarsely shopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven at 350F/175C.
Mash bananas. Add the sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Mix well. Add flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Mix thoroughly. Add melted butter and mix well. Add nuts.
Pour in well-greased bread pan. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes.
I got banana bread recipe when we moved to the US. Before that, my family and I have never tried sweet bread with fruit. We liked it a lot and after that I made it many times. It is good as breakfast with a warm cup of tea or as a light dinner with a glass of milk. Sometimes, when unexpected guests arrive, it is an excellent solution if you want to prepare something sweet and delicious in one hour.
Ja obožavam lešnike i kad god ih imam pri ruci, uvek ubacim u kolače, tako da sam i ovom prilikom koristila lešnike kao dodatak hlebu. Hleb je odličan i bez ikakvih dodataka, ali lešnici, orasi, bademi pa čak i suvo grožđe poboljšaće ukus ove poslastice.
I love hazelnuts and whenever I have them in my house, I made a cake with hazelnuts in it. This time I used them in the banana bread. The original recipe is without any nuts, but walnuts, pecans, almonds or even raisins will be great in banana bread.
*Napomena: mera za šolju se odnosi na šolju od tačno 250ml.
Banana hleb
2 veće, zrele banane
1 šolja šećera (ili 185g šećera)
2 jajeta srednje veličine
3 kašike mleka
1 kašičica ekstrakta od vanile
1/2 šolje otopljenog putera ili margarina (oko 113g)
2 šolje brašna (280g)
1/4 kašičice soli
1+1/2 kašičice praška za pecivo
1/2 kašičice sode bikarbone
oko 1/2 šolje krupno iseckanih lešnika (ili oraha, badema...)**
**nije neophodno
Zagrejati rernu na 350F ili 175C.
Otrebiti i izgnječiti banane. U veću posudu ubaciti izgnječene banane, dodati jaja, šećer, mleko i ekstrakt od vanile. Sve dobro izmešati. U posebnu posudu pomešati suve sastojke: brašno, so, prašak za pecivo i sodu bikarbonu. Ubaciti suve sastojke u tečnu masu i dobro izmešati. Dodati otopljeni puter ili margarin i dobro ujednačiti masu. Dodati iseckane lešnike.
Pripremiti posudu za pečenje hleba i ubaciti smesu u posudu. Peći na 350F ili 175C oko 30-40 minuta ili dok hleb odgore ne porumeni. Čačkalicom proveriti da li je hleb pečen.
Banana Bread
2 large, ripe bananas
1 cup sugar (185g)
2 eggs
3 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup melted butter (113g)
2 cups all-purpose flour (280g)
1/4 tsp salt
1+1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup coarsely shopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven at 350F/175C.
Mash bananas. Add the sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Mix well. Add flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Mix thoroughly. Add melted butter and mix well. Add nuts.
Pour in well-greased bread pan. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes.
12/03/2011
Orhideje / The Orchids
Više o nezi orhideja u ovom postu
Sa dolaskom sivog i otužnog vremena, i kišom koja danas pada ceo dan, nedostaje mi šarenilo cveća iz moje bašte. Jedino cveće koje će uskoro ulepšati moj prostor su orhideje, koje su pustile izdanke i negde u januaru kada zima stegne, otvoriće se prvi cvetovi. Verovatno će to biti baš u trenucima kada mi se bude činilo da zimi nema kraja.
Ovo su neke stare slike orhideja, od pre par godina. Orhideja, načičkana ljubičastim, sitnijim cvetovima već četvrtu ili petu godinu cveta svakih šest meseci. Ostale orhideje cvetaju mnogo slabije, i to je verovatno delom i moja krivica, jer zaboravljam da ih prihranim. Srećom, ove jeseni sam uspela da se setim da ih prihranim i deluje da će moj trud uskoro biti nagrađen, u vidu novih cvetova.
Pored pažljivog i ne preteranog zalivanja, pokušavam da im svakog leta redovno menjam podlogu na kojoj rastu (specijalna mešavina kore drveća, mahovine...). Tada obično isečem i staro, osušeno korenje.
Today, weather was gloomy, with rain that was drumming on the windows whole morning and afternoon...And I missed my colorful garden. Right now, the only plants that will bloom soon, are my three orchids. They have shoots that will have flowers somewhere in January.
These are the old pics of my orchids. The orchid with the cluster of purple, small flowers blooms every six months or so, for the last four or five years. Other orchids do not have flowers often, but it is my fault, because I forget to fertilize them most of the time. But, this fall I was not so careless and fed them properly. It seems that they appreciated it and they will reward me soon with new flowers.
Even I do not fertilize them as often as I suppose to, every summer I change the soil mix in their pots. And at that time, I usually cut dry, old roots.
Još koja nedelja čekanja i nadam se da će novi cvetovi biti isto ovako lepi i krupni kao stari, i da će ulepšati moj prostor ove zime.
A few more weeks and hopefully the orchid will have new, beautiful flowers to awake my space this winter.