In the shade

We tried to escape the heat today with a trip to our weekend house.

Initially, we intended to stay for about one hour, but ended up staying for five. Five wonderful and much needed hours in the nature. There is a small parcel of land within our farm with five to six tall pine trees that create a perfect shade. M's uncle set up a wooden table and chairs, so I decided to photograph there.


*****


Danas smo od vrućine pobjegli na vikendicu.

Planirali smo ostati sat vremena, međutim to se produžilo na skoro pet sati. Divnih i prijeko potrebnih pet sati u prirodi. Na jednom malom dijelu zemlje na našoj vikendici nalazi se pet-šest visokih borova koji prave savršen hlad. Tu sam fotografisala, pa oprostite zbog sjenki.

I arrived with prepared apple cake (made according to the recipe of Marie-Helene, the editor of Louis Vuitton City Guide). Once there I also made a mascarpone cheese desert - simple and perfect for a hot day out. 

I found the apple cake recipe online, after coming back home from a trip to Krajina with bags full of organic apples. They were a gift from Ms. Milka, a very kind, ninety-five years old partisan, grandmother, and a witness to a time long gone. She very generously filled up two paper bags (to surprise my husband who adores locally grown apples). She would have packed more if I had let her.


*****


Danas sam pravila improvizovani desert od sira i kolač od jabuka prema receptu Marie-Helene (urednice Louis Vuitton City Guide-a). Prvi je lagani ljetni desert - savršen za vrući dan na vikendici.

Drugi sam našla na internetu nakon što sam se sa puta u Krajinu vratila sa kilogramom domaćih jabuka - poklon ljubazne tete Milke, devedesetpetogodišnje partizanke, prabake, svjedoka jednog sasvim drugog vremena. Vrlo velikodušno je za mene napunila dvije papirnate vrećice (da obradujem muža koji mnogo voli domaće jabuke). Stavila bi još da sam joj dopustila. 

I liked Milka's stories even more than apples though. She gave birth to seven sons, and in her youth, she and her husband built five houses: ''Try doing that today, dear, raising seven children and building five houses.''

That was about the only melancholic sentence she uttered. Milka is full of perfectly joyful spirit, as well as energy that makes her take long walks and laugh without hesitating.


*****


Više od jabuka bile su mi drage Milkine priče - sedam sinova je izrodila, pet kuća napravila: ''Hajde ti danas rodi sedam sinova i napravi pet kuća, dijete moje''. I to je otprilike jedina melanholična rečenica koju je ona izgovorila. 

Teta Milka je puna savršeno veselog duha, kao i energije koja čini da se ona često šeta i mnogo smije.

Marie-Helene's Apple Cake 

Ingredients 

3/4 cups of cake flour
3/4 teaspoons of baking powder
a pinch of salt
4 large apples, peeled, cored and cut into cubes (if possible, use different kinds of apples)
2 eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 of vanilla bean 
8 tablespoons (113 grams) of cold, unsalted butter

Melt the butter over low heat and let it cool to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt).

Whisk the eggs until they start to foam. Add sugar and vanilla beans, and whisk for another minute. To this mixture add one half of the flour, mix it in, then add one half of melted butter, and mix in. Repeat one more time in the same order, until the batter is smooth and thick. Peel and cut the apples, and carefully add them to the mix. Coat the apples with batter.

Pour the batter in a round, 8-in. pan with removable sides (I used a larger one, so my cake turned out thinner), and bake for 45-50 minutes until the cake is golden on top. Cool before removing the cake from the springform pan. Serve with cold creme.


*****

Kolač sa jabukama (prema receptu Marie-Helene)

Sastojci

3/4 čaše brašna

3/4 kašičice praška za pecivo

prstohvat soli

4 velike jabuke, oguljene i izrezane na kockice (ako možete, koristite različite vrste jabuka)

2 jajeta

1/2 čaše šećera

jedna polovina vanilin štapića

113 grama hladnog, neslanog maslaca (8 kašika)

Otopite maslac i ostavite ga da se ohladi do kućne temperature. Zagrijte pećnicu na 180 C.

Pomiješajte suhe sastojke (brašno, prašak za pecivo i sol).

Umutite jaja mutilicom do pjene. Dodajte šećer i vaniliju i ručno mutite još jednu minutu. Dodajte polovinu količine brašna, umutite, pa dodajte polovinu količine maslaca. Ponovite još jedanput i mutite dok smjesa ne postane glatka i gusta. Ogulite i narežite jabuke, pa ih pažljivo dodajte u smjesu. Smjesa treba prekriti komadiće jabuke.

U okrugli lim (po mogućnosti onaj sa kojeg možete odvojiti strane) uspite smjesu. Pecite 45-50 minuta dok kolač ne poprimi zlatnu boju. Ohladite prije vađenja iz lima. Servirajte uz slatku kremu.

Napomena: Ja sam ga pravila u limu većem od originalnog pa je kolač, na M.-ovu radost, ispao tanji.

Berries with orange and vanilla-flavored mascarpone cheese (by Karen Mordechai) 

Ingredients

4 cups mixed berries
3 scant tablespoons of sugar
zest and juice of one orange
1 vanilla bean
250 grams of mascarpone cheese
graham crackers

Combine cheese, vanilla, sugar, juice and zest of orange. Gently stir until smooth.

Pour the mixture in the plate/bowl/cup. Dust with cookie crumbles and decorate with berries, juice and zest of an orange. Serve immediately.


*****

Šumsko voće sa kremom mascarpone sira, narandže i vanilije od Karen Mordechai

Sastojci

4 čaše bobičastog voća

3 (nepune) kašike šećera

korica i sok jedne narandže

1 štapić vanilije

250 grama mascarpone sira

integralni keks

Pomiješajte sir, vaniliju, šećer, sok i naribanu koricu naranže. Lagano miješajte dok ne dobijete glatku smjesu.

Uspite smjesu u tanjir/zdjelicu/čašu. Izmrvite keks po vrhu i ukrasite bobičastim voćem, te sokom i koricom narandže. Servirajte odmah.

Another one of the summer desserts that I truly love is warm, grilled fruit. For example, warm nectarines, filled with honey, lemon, and ground almond mixture, are delicious with vanilla ice cream or a cold juice. I made peaches today: dusted them with coconut flakes and drizzled with honey. They were very aromatic, juicy, and soft.

Great for a warm day at the weekend house or in the nature. 

While I photographed in the shade, M. picked some fresh strawberries in the sun. Now, the house smells like them. We planned to go to the market after the visit but there was no need. M's grandfather stocked us with fresh beans, spinach, peppers, carrot, potato...

M. just washed and cleaned the strawberries - I have been waiting for them whole day. I am leaving you in hope that each new post is better and more creative than the preceding one.

And, yes, those are my navy blue and white striped espadrilles in the photo.


*****

Jedno od ljetnih osvježenja koje mnogo volim je i voće sa grila. Na primjer, vruće breskve, nektarine, punjene medom, limunom i mljevenim bademom su divne uz sladoled od vanilije ili hladan sok. Danas sam breskve posula kokosom, prelila sa malo livadskog meda i zagrijala u pećnici. Imale su divan miris, i bile sočne i mekane.

Još jedan jednostavan desert za vikendicu ili ljetni izlet.

Dok sam ja fotografisala u hladu, M. je nabrao svježih jagoda. Kuća nam miriše na njih. Poslije vikendice planirali smo otići na pijacu, ali nije bilo potrebe. Sa vikendice smo se vratili sa vrećicama punim domaće buranije, graha, špinata, paprika, mrkve, krompira... M. je upravo oprao i očistio jagode - čekala sam na njih čitav dan. Ostavljam vas u nadi da je svaki novi post kvalitetniji i kreativniji od prethodnog.

I, da, to su moje modrobijele, prugaste espadrile.