Nakon snežne oluje / After Snow Storm

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

Novogodišnji motivi / Holiday Motifs

Polako se bliže Nova godina i Božić i u našoj kući se oseća praznična atmosfera. Jelka je okićena, novogodišnje seoce postavljeno i veštački sneg koji pokriva njegove ulice se polako raznosi po kući.

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.

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.

 

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.

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.

Kolačići sa bademima / Biscotti with Almonds

Pre par nedelja sam tražila recept za kolačiće koji bi se mogli grickati uz čaj. Probala sam dva recepta i nijedan mi se nije svideo. Onda sam se setila da sam pre par godina gledala emisiju "Everyday Italian", sa Giada De Laurentiis, u kojoj je pravila čajne kolačiće sa prelivom od bele čokolade.

Recept sam našla na Foodnetwork sajtu, ali njen recept je sadržao pistaće i brusnice (cranberries). Kako nisam imala ni jedan od ta dva sastojka, već sam u startu izmenila recept. Njen recept sadrži samo obično pšenično brašno, dok sam ja zamenila jedan deo tog brašna sa bademovim brašnom. Umesto limuna sam dodala lajm ili zeleni limun koji je mnogo blažeg ukusa. Na sajtu Foodnetwork-a se može naći originalni recept.

Ovo je moj recept za kolačiće koji se grickaju uz topli čaj...

*Napomena: mere u šoljama se odnose na šolju od 250ml.


Kolačići sa bademima


220g pšeničnog brašna (ili 1+1/2 šolja)
60g bademovog brašna (ili 1/2 šolje)
1+1/2 kašičice praška za pecivo
prstohvat soli
113g putera, na sobnoj temperaturi (ili 1/2 šolje)
130g šećera (ili 2/3 šolje)
2 veća jajeta
1 kašičica nastrugane kore od lajma
2 kašike sveže isceđenog soka od lajma
oko pola šolje (od 250ml), iseckanih badema

Zagrejati rernu na oko 165 Celzijusa.
U veću posudu pomešati suve sastojke: oba brašna, prašak za pecivo i so. U posebnoj posudi, penasto umutiti puter sa šećerom i dodati jedno po jedno jaje. Dobro umutiti. Dodati nastruganu koru od lajma i ceđeni sok od lajma. U to dodati suve sastojke i dobro umutiti. Na kraju dodati iseckane bademe.
U podmazan pleh, staviti pripremljenu masu i rukama oblikovati masu ovalnog oblika, tako da bude oko 30-tak cm duga i 15cm široka, debljine 2cm. Masa će biti prilično lepljiva, ali se lako oblikuje rukama pokvašenim u vodi.
Peći na 165 Celzijusa oko 20 do 25 minuta. Pripaziti da donji deo kolača ne zagori.

Kada je kolač gotov, izvaditi ga iz rerne i ostaviti da se malo prohladi. Kolač iseći uzduž i popreko, tako da se dobiju četiri veća dela (na dijagramu označeno crnim linijama u obliku krsta). Onda svaki deo seći na male delove debljine oko 2 cm, tako da se dobiju kolačići koji izgledaju kao prsti (na dijagramu označeni plavim linijama). Kolačiće poređati u pleh i to na sečenu stranu i peći oko 5-6 minuta ili dok ne porumene. Nakon toga kolačiće izvaditi iz rerne i okrenuti i položiti na drugu sečenu stranu i peći dok ne porumene. Ostaviti da se ohlade i služiti uz čaj.
Ovaj dijagram je neka orijentacija kako kolač treba da se seče:)))

Few weeks ago, I was looking for the biscotti recipe. I found some recipes on the internet and tried two of them, but did not like them at all. Then, I remembered that a few years ago, I was watching "Everyday Italian", cooking show with Giada De Laurentiis and that she made some biscotti, dipped in white chocolate. I found her recipe on the Foodnetwork site, but the recipe was calling for pistachios and cranberries. I did not have any of those and used almonds instead. I changed a few other ingredients in the recipe: one part of all-purpose flour I substituted with almond meal/flour and also instead of lemon I used lime. Her original recipe could be found here. 

This is my recipe for biscotti, that is really good with a warm tea...


Biscotti with almonds


1 + 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup almond meal/flour
1+1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1tsp lime zest
2 Tbs fresh lime juice
1/2 cup chopped almonds


Preheat oven at 330F.
In a big bowl mix all dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, almond flour, salt and baking powder.
In another bowl beat butter with sugar and add eggs, one at a time. Add lime zest and fresh lime juice and mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix well. At the end, add chopped almonds.
Pour batter on prepared baking sheet, and shape with damp hands. I made oval shape about 13 inches long and 6 inches wide, and thick around half inch. Bake at 330F for 20-25 minutes. When done, let it cool for a while.
Cut cake as shown on diagram, lengthwise and across (black lines). Then cut small pieces little less than 1 inch wide (blue lines). Arrange the biscotti with the cut side down and bake for 5-6 minutes or until golden. Turn biscotti over and bake another cut side until golden. Let it cool and serve with warm tea.
This is a diagram that shows how to cut baked cake.

Zalazak sunca / Sunset

Belo / White

Ovde, u Ajovi je pao prvi sneg. Dva dana je lila kiša, da bi se noćas pretvorila u sneg, koji je ujutro prekrio ulice, drveće i kuće. Iz čista mira i da nas malo obraduje belinom, jer je nakon par sumornih dana sve zablistalo i osvetlelo.


Here in Iowa, we had a first snow. For two days we had a rain. It was cloudy and dark, cold and damp. Then overnight, rain became snow and now everything is white and clear.

Moja bašta za leptire je pod snegom
My butterfly garden is covered with snow

Lavanda / Lavender

Cvet lavande je za mene jedan od najlepših mirisa u prirodi. Miris ovog cveta me uvek podseti na one lepe fotografije iz Provanse, gde se ljubičasta polja lavande protežu pored kamenih, osunčanih kuća.

For me, the scent of the lavender is one of the most beautiful scents in nature. It reminds me of the amazing photos from Provence, where purple fields of lavender stretch next to the stone houses.

from Flickr by Patchok34

Kako nemam lavandu u mojoj bašti, naručila sam cvetove ove biljke preko interneta. Jedan mali deo lavandinih cvetova sam potopila u med da bi med dobio miris i ukus ove biljke. Deo mojih zaliha će sigurno otići i na pravljenje kesica za ormare, koje obožavam. Jednu kesicu sam već napravila za jednu prijateljicu.

How I do not have lavender in my garden, I ordered through the internet. One small portion of my lavender I added to honey, to infuse it with the scent of this flower. And of course, I love small scented "pillows". I've just finished one for my friend.

Kesica je veselih boja, sa detaljom pokrstice iz knjige Helen Philipps.

The little "pillow" is cheerful, with a detail of cross-stitch, from Helen Philipps' book.

Jesenje nijanse / The Hues of Fall

Ja obožavam leto, kada zelenilo drveća i šarenilo cvetova razveseljavaju na svakom koraku. Kada se uz to dodaju mirisi ranog jutra sa cvrkutom ptica, jako je teško ustati loše volje. U jesen, kada su  jutra zaparana oštrinom, koja stavlja do znanja da je i zima već tu negde i čeka u prikrajku, izazivaju u meni želju da se pokrijem toplim, perjanim jorganom i utonem u san kao medvedić.
Ova jesen je bila lepa. Jutra su bila prohladna, ali dani topli i sunčani. Zlatne nijasne krošnji drveća, uz kristalno plavo nebo i blago jesenje sunce izazivale su u meni osećaj smirenosti. Topli dani su za još koju nedelju produžili život raznovrsnom cveću i ulepšali i onako već lepu jesen ove godine.
Kada sam pre neki dan gledala fotografije sa bloga talentovane Zee, inspirisala me je da pogledam oko sebe i zapazim detalje jeseni. Njen foto blog sadrži predivne slike prirode u Arizoni.
Ovo je jesen, onako kako je ja doživljavam...

I adore the summer, when green colors of the trees and  the colorfulness of the flowers cheer you up on every step. When you add the scents of the early summer mornings and the chirping of the birds, it is difficult to get up in bad mood. In the fall, when the morning air is cold and crisp, and it seems that winter is around the corner, makes me wish to cover myself with a warm blanket and sleep like a little bear. But this fall was very beautiful. Golden crowns of the trees with blue, clear skies and the warm fall sun gave me the feeling of calmness. Warm days prolonged the life of late summer flowers for a few more weeks and made this fall even more beautiful.
A few days ago, I visited the blog of the talented Zee, who inspired me to look around myself and to notice details of the fall. Her photo blog is full of beautiful photos of the nature in Arizona.
This is the fall through my lenses...