Happy New Year / Sretna Nova Godina

2013 was good; we should cherish all beautiful moments that happened in that year, but also bad ones - those who taught us some valuable lessons about real life.
Let's hope 2014 will be much less 'educative' and much more enjoyable.
Happy New Year everyone!


2013 je bila dobra; trebali bismo memorisati sve divne momente iz nje, ali isto tako ne smijemo zaboraviti lose - one koje su nas naucili vazne lekcije pravog zivota.
Nadajmo se da ce 2014 biti mnogo manje 'poucljiva' i mnogo vise zabavna.
Sretna Nova godina svima!

A few photos from my Christmas table / Nekoliko fotki sa Bozicne trpeze.

Roast Pork infused with Garlic

 December is always very busy in many homes of Australia, including mine. It looks like the end of year have accelerated even more...everyone is running somewhere or has something to finish, a lot of parties is held, school classes are ending, yearly holidays beginning for many employed, Christmas gifts have to be purchased, food prepared, homes decorated...
Roasts are ideal when you don't have time on your hand. Preparation is quick and the rest does the oven. Moreover, they can feed a large number of people and  they look good on the table

Ingredients:
1 leg of pork (or other part of pork; lamb can be used in the same way too)
5-6 garlic cloves
1 large onion

favourite herbs (I added thyme sprigs)
salt and pepper
olive oil

Method:
Preheat oven to 180*C.
Slice onion, place on bottom of your roasting pan, along with 4 garlic cloves and herbs.
Score pork skin with a very sharp knife ( I used scalpel) for easier carving later. Make incisions in the meat (10-14); place slivered garlic into each. Sprinkle salt all over the leg; oil surface well and massage into the skin. Place it onto onion, add 1/2 cup of water in pan. Cover with al- foil and place in the oven. Lower the temperature to 160, and forget about it for 5-6 hours. You'll get tender meat, that falls apart.

Alternatively, you can roast pork on 180-190 *C (30 minutes for each 500 g), without foil. Crackle would be crisper in that case, but you need to watch it during cooking and spoon juices over the meat now and then.



























Svinjetina spikovana bijelim lukom

Decembar je uvijek pun obaveza u mnogim domovima Australije, ukljucujuci moj. Izgleda kao da je kraj godine ubrzao jos vise...svako negdje zuri ili treba nesto da zavrsi, mnogo zabava se odrzava, skolska godina zavrsava, godisnji odmori za mnoge pocinju, Bozicni pokloni se kupuju, hrana priprema, kuce ukrasavaju...
Pecenja su idealna kada nemate mnogo vremena. Priprema je brza i ostatak ucini rerna. Stavise, veliki broj ljudi se moze nahraniti i dobro izgledaju na stolu.

Potrebno:
1 veliki komad svinjetine (najbolje noga), mozete koristiti i jagnjetinu na isti nacin
5-6 cena bijelog luka
1 veci crveni luk
zacinsko bilje koje volite (ja sam dodala timijan / majcinu dusicu)
so i biber 
maslinovo ulje

Nacin:
Ukljucite rernu na 180*C.
Izrezite luk na kolutove, postavite ga na dno tepsije za pecenje, zajedno sa bijelim lukom i zacinskim biljem.
Narezite kozu svinjetine ostrim nozem (skalpelom). Napravite ubode u mesu (10-14) i u svaki ugurajte komadice bijelog luka. Posolite svinjetinu sa svih strana, zatim utrljajte maslinovo ulje u kozu. 
Postavite meso na luk, uspite 1/2 solje vode, pokrijte sa al-folijom i smjestite u rernu. Smanjite temperaturu na 160*C i zaboravite na meso u narednih 5-6 sati. Dobicete mekano pecenje koje se raspada.
Opciono, meso mozete peci na 180-190*C (30 minuta na svakih 500 gr mesa), bez folije. Dobije se hrskavija kozica, ali u tom slucaju meso morate nadgledati i zalijevati sokovima od pecenja.




     A few other suggestions for roasts   /   Nekoliko drugih prijedloga za pecenje

                                                                                   Stuffed Leg of Lamb

Greek Style Leg of Lamb

Greek-Style Roast Chicken

Meatloaf

Mechoui - North African Style Lamb Roast

7 Hour Lamb

Chicken Baked in Salt Crust

Apricot and Coconut Truffles

 I've managed to try another dessert from one of my bloger friends. Today I'm presenting a recipe from 'La cuisine creative', Serbian bloger with a great collection of wonderful posts. I wanted something quick and without cooking, that is different and unusual. I found it in this recipe; very aromatic, fruity and tasty. 

'Bombs' with Apricots (original recipe in  Serbian)

Ingredients: 
200 g dried apricots
100 g dessicated coconut
75 g margarine (I replaced it with butter), ct into pieces
50 g icing sugar
1-2 tbs apricot liqueur (I added almond liqueur and rum)
lemon zest (I added orange zest)
pinch of cinnamon
white chocolate (melted) for rolling bombs in 

Method:
Cut apricots roughly, pour liqueur over them; let it aside for 30 + minutes, mixing now and then a few times. Place all ingredients into a food processor, and pulls it until all come together. Take a spoonful at a time, roll between your palms to form little balls. Refrigerate until firm. Melt white chocolate, dip each ball into it and place onto baking paper to firm again. Place balls into paper cases and serve.

Bombice sa kajsijama

Uspjela sam probati jos jedan od vasih recepata koji su bili na listi.  Zeljela sam nesto brzo, bez pecenja, nesvakidasnje i originalno. Pronasla sam ovaj recept od  'La cuisine creative', i odusevila se. Lana ima divnu kolekciju recepata sa sitnim kolacicima!

Pogledajte Originalni recept; napravila sam male promjene, jer nisam imala sve sastojke iz Laninog recepta, pa sam se posluzila onime sto se naslo u mojim zalihama.

Sastojci:
200 g suvih kajsija,
100 g kokosa, 
75 g margarina, (zamijenila sam ga sa maslacem)
50 g secera u prahu,
par kasika likera od kajsija, (stavila sam liker od badema i malo ruma)
malo naribane limunove korice, (stavila sam narandzinu koricu)
na vrh noza cimeta
Bijela cokolada (otopljena) za uvaljati bombice

Nacin:
Kajsije se izrezu i namoce u liker. Zatim se svi sastojci ubace u sjeckalicu; ukljuci se dok se ne isjecka i pomijesa. Oblikuju se loptice i rashlade. Zatim svaku uvaljati u otopljenu cokoladu i ponovo vratiti da se cokolad stegne. Staviti u papirnate korpice i sluziti.

Here is link for my previous biscuits / slices recipes.
Evo linka za moje prethodne recepte za keksice i slicne kolacice.

Most beautiful Biscuits for upcoming Festive Seasons

Chocolate Hazelnut Crinkle Cookies

I love visiting other blogs and bookmarking stuff that I'd like to try. There are so many good blogers with fantastic recipes, and my list is becoming longer and longer.
This recipe comes from a Croatian blog called 'What's for dessert?'. Tamara is very passionate about her desserts, which is clearly displayed in the way she writes and presents her blog. I didn't change a thing in her recipe; biscuits came out very pretty and aromatic. I will make them again!
Original recipe (in English too):
http://cake-cookie-pie.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/daring-bakers-november-2012-twelve-days.html

Ingredients:
100 g toasted hazelnuts
2 tablespooons granulated sugar
200 g finely chopped chocolate
300 g all purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
80 g softened butter
100 g sugar
2 large eggs
60 ml milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
granulated sugar and confectioners sugar for coating



Raspuknuti Keksici

Volim posjecivati druge blogove, zaviriti u njihove kuhinje i 'bukmarkirati' sta bih voljela isprobati. Toliko je divnih blogova sa receptima i lista postaje sve duza i duza.
Konacno pronadjoh malo vremena za isprobam neke od njih.
Danas predstavljam recept sa Tamarinog bloga 'What's for dessert?'. Vidjala sam mnoge verzije ovih raspuknutih kolacica, ali sam se odlucila za Tamarinu verziju, posto mi se cini da je veliki ljubitelj slatkih stvari i da tu svoju ljubav zna i-te-kako pasionirano prenijeti u virtualni svijet. Nisam promijenila niti najmanju sitnicu u receptu; Keksi su ispali divni!
Originalni recept:
http://cake-cookie-pie.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/daring-bakers-november-2012-twelve-days.html

Vine Leaf Parcels - 'Yaprak' / 'Dolma'

Vine leaves have beautiful distinctive taste. In country where I was born, they're mostly used as wrappers for mince and rice stuffing. Young leaves are picked, then cooked in salty water for some time, before using them. Already cooked (preserved) leaves are available (in Australia) from Turkish or Lebanese grocers.

Ingredients:
600 g mince (beef preferably)
1 large onion,  diced
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup short grain rice
vine leaves already prepared (or fresh, young leaves from your vine)
olive oil
2,5-3 cups beef or chicken stock
1 can of diced tomatoes in juice (optional - see note*)
Method:
Dice onion finely, add mince, garlic, rice and salt and pepper. Add water, mix again.
Rinse vine leaves really well (if using already prepared). Lay each leaf (shiny side down), place 2-3 tbs of stuffing (slightly squeezed in your hand), and make a parcel as shown in pictures. Place them into an oiled pan. Add stock, place a plate (slightly smaller than pan) upside-down over the parcels, cover and cook slowly for 1-2 hours (older leaves need more time).
*Note: Traditionally, Yaprak is served either with sour cream (Greek yogurt) and lemon juice, or in tomato sauce. If you're going to add tomatoes ( at the end of cooking; remove plate and bring to boil again), omit 1 cup stock.









 

Japrak / Dolma / Sarmice u vinovoj lozi

Listovi vinove loze imaju divnu aromu. Najbolje je koristiti mlade, koji se uberu i kuhaju u slanoj vodi, ali mogu posluziti i kupljeni.
Naziv Japrak (od Turskog Yaprak = list) se koristi u vecem dijelu Bosne. U mom kraju smo ih zvali 'Sarmice od vinove loze', a evo pronadjoh i podatak da se i za njih kaze 'Dolma'.

Potrebno:
600 gr mljevenog mesa (govedina, po mogucnosti)
1 veci crveni luk
1-2 cena bijelog luka
1 k crnog bibera
1/2 k soli
3/4 vode
3/4 solje rize, krace zrno
listovi vinove loze (kupljeni ), ili mladi listovi sa vase loze
maslinovo ulje
2,5-3 solje temeljca / supe
1 konzerva sjeckanog paradajza u soku (opcionalno- vidi napomenu*)
Nacin:
Isijecite luk veoma sitno, dodajte meso, bijeli luk, so i biber. Uspite vodu, dobro izmijesajte.
Isperite listove vinove loze (ili prokuhajte u slanoj vodi ako koristite vase). Stavite listove na povrsinu (sjajna / glatka strana dole), uzmite 2-3 K punjenja, stisnite blago u ruci i zamotajte kako je prikazano. Smjestite sarmice u nauljenu posudu, uspite temeljac. Preokrenite tanjir, nesto manji od posude, preko sarmica, pokrijte i kuhajte na slaboj vatri 1-2 sata (stariji listovi trebaju nesto duze vrijeme kuhanja).
*Napomena: Tradicionalno se serviraju ili sa kiselim vrhnjem i limunom, ili u paradajz sosu. Ako cete dodati paradajz (na kraju kuhanja - skinite tanjir, uspite paradajz i ponovno prokuhajte), smanjite temeljac za 1 solju.