Summer savory

I owe you the photo story of one of our last trips to the mountains before I returned to Sweden.

I don't even know how I got M. to come, which is, when I think about it, how it happens most of the time. But he always enjoys it and keeps telling me it was a good idea to go hiking and such.

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Dugujem vam foto pricu naseg posljednjeg planinarenja prije nego sam se vratila u Svedsku.

Kao i obicno, ne znam ni kako sam uspjela nagovoriti M. da odemo do Umoljana, jer su dani bili dugi i topli, a obaveza i previse. Ali, nekako je pristao i mislim da mu je bilo lijepo.

Originally, I wanted us to go and get some more elderflower. The joy of it was that we ended up discovering two more elder trees (we laughed about not having spotted them earlier, even though they are sort of difficult to miss).

We picked a few flower heads and kept on walking to the nearby spring. All along the way we were stumbling upon trees of wild cherries. M. climbed up one tree and filled up half of a paper bag with cherries. People usually don't eat them but I don't really see why (not). They are more sour than the ordinary ones and not as meaty, but they do have their own special something.

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Ideja je bila da idemo brati jos zove na istom mjestu gdje smo brali i ranije. Na nase iznenadjenje, na samom pocetku puta naisli smo na jos dva drveta zove (smijali smo se kako ih nismo ranije primijetili, jer, vjerujte, ova dva je bilo jako tesko promasiti).

Ubrali smo nekoliko cvjetova i odlucili prosetati do obliznjeg izvora. Citavim putem nailazili smo na neobrane, divlje tresnje. M. se popeo na jedno drvo i nabrao pola fiseka, da probamo. Znam da se one inace ne jedu ali ne razumijem bas zasto. Da, kiselije su od standardnih tresanja i nisu previse mesnate, ali definitivno imaju svoj sarm.

Once you walk further away from the village, the nature takes over the sounds and smells completely. Nothing but the buzzing of bees, wind in the trees, and an occasional bird. And, oh, the fragrance that is in the air. The smell of multiple flower heads awash in the warmth of the sun.

We came upon a meadow filled with summer savory and yarrow. Working as a team, we sat down and filled up our bags. I always leave amazed at how much the nature gifts us with.

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Kad se tako udaljite od naseljenog mjesta, u jednom trenutku ne cujete nista vise od vlastitih koraka i zvukova prirode. Zujanje pcela, vjetar u krosnjama, poneka ptica. Meni su vrlo dragi mirisi, a planine Bjelasnice u ovo doba odisu raznovrsnim biljem koje je svuda uokolo. Tako smo naisli na livadu prepunu cvjetova kunice i cubra.

Sjeli smo u travu i brali, u drustvu sa skakavcima i pcelama koje su zujale oko nas. Uvijek me dojmi velikodusnost s kojom nam priroda daruje svoja blaga.

When we arrived home, I washed the savory (and yarrow) under the gentle stream of water, patted them with a soft towel and spread on a clean cotton towel to dry. I kept them in a cool place until they were fairly dry and then I packed them in small bags to have for the winter teas and spicing up of our summer meals.

I have used summer savory to flavor cooked green beans, and have discovered a delicious recipe for an herb, summer savory sauce to serve along grilled portobello mushrooms. Savory is a great replacement for pepper and I have enjoyed using it in my cooking. 

Yarrow tea was favorite of M.'s paternal grandfather. M. likes preparing it, and every time I drink it I feel a strong connection to the man I never knew but who, like I, loved yarrow tea very much. 

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Kad smo stigli kuci, ocistila sam stabljike i cvjetove cubra, kao i kunicu. Oprala sam ih pod tankim mlazom vode, lagano posusila mekanim rucnikom i rasirila na cisti, pamucni stolnjak. Cuvala sam ih u hladnoj i prozracnoj sobi dok se nisu dovoljno osusile, a zatim sam ih spakovala u male vrecice. Zimi cemo od njih praviti mirisni caj, a ljeti cubar stavljati u jela sa povrcem.

Zapravo, svaki put kad sam pravila buraniju ovih ljetnih dana, dodavala sam dvije do tri smrvljene stabljike cubra. Nasla sam i ukusan recept za biljni sos od cubra koji se servira sa vrganjima. Cubar daje aromu slicnu biberu, a dobar je i jer, za razliku od bibera, nikada ne uznemirava probavne organe.

Caj od kunice bio je omiljeno pice M.-ovog djeda sa oceve strane. M. ga voli pripremati a ja se svaki put kad ga pijem osjetim povezanom sa covjekom kojeg nikad nisam niti poznavala, ali koji je, kao i ja, volio caj od kunice.

Of course I already miss the beautiful Bosnia and Herzegovina, but there is also so much going on in Sweden and I cannot wait to tell you all about it. We are finishing up the blog redesign too, and new recipes are coming up soon. 

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Naravno, prelijepa Bosna i Hercegovina mi vec jako nedostaje. Ali i u Svedskoj se u ovih nekoliko dana otkako sam se vratila toliko toga desavalo da jedva cekam da vam sve pricam. Zavrsavamo sa redizajniranjem bloga (kako vam se cini?), a spremam i nove recepte, pa vise o svemu u narednim danima.