Cheese, olive and wine...and much more

Dvigrad - hidden ruins in the heart of Istria

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 11:19:00 +0000

I come from Croatia, the country with thousands of islands, and several of the peninsula.

One of the peninsulas, the largest in the Adriatic Sea, is called Istria. Istria is shared by Slovenia, Italy and Croatia, but most of it is in Croatia.

Istria is magical land, full of secrets and legends, beautiful architecture and rich gastronomy and enology. One of these sites is Dvigrad (which means “two towns”, “two castles”), located in front of the village Kanfanar.

Some time ago, we visited the ruins of Dvigrad, and with the story of this old ruin, here come a few photos of this magical and beautiful place.

Dvigrad (the floor. Duecastelli, Docastelli, which means the two towers) are the ruins of a medieval town located in Istria. Thanks to the excellent strategic location, close to water and plenty of fertile soil, the area was already inhabited in prehistoric times. In historical sources Dvigrad was first mentioned 879.g.

Today, the visible remains are the ruins of the largest urban settlement in Istria and provide a unique picture of a well preserved typical medieval town, ie. The castle. The city is surrounded by double defensive walls, interconnected by three city gates. Within the walls, there have been preserved remains of more than 200 buildings and lines of communication between them.

Sardines in tomato sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 12:40:00 +0000

We are familiar with the importance of including fish in our diet and that’s why sardines make perfect choice for you. They are here during the whole year, they are cheap, and the most important thing – they are super healthy! Sardines are full of vitamins, packed with proteins and give you plenty of omega 3 acids.

The only “bad” virtue they have is the fact that they can be “heavy” to digest (especially canned sardines), so combining them with tomato sauce makes it much easier and digestible. I prepare this recipe often, and we never had any digest problems afterwards, so here it is…

Ingredients:

Olive oil (3 or 4 spoons)

2 or 3 shallots

Garlic (to taste, 3 or 4 bulbs)

Red pepper (it works fine both with fresh chili peppers, or pepper flakes – you need about ½ teaspoon)

Regular paprika (minced red paprika, ½ teaspoon)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

500 grams cherry tomatoes (halved)

½ cup (125ml) white wine

¼ cut (65 ml) water

There was 1 spoon of fish sauce in original recipe, but I didn’t use it J

500 grams fresh sardines (the number depends of their size) – cleaned and gutted

Salt (to taste, 1 ½ to 2 teaspoon)

Freshly grounded black pepper (to taste, 1 teaspoon)

Freshly squeezed lemon juice

Use large, oven-proof pan. Sauté shallots, garlic, pepper and paprika until shallots become soft and transparent (around 4-5 minutes). Add Tomato paste and mix. Cook for another minute, until tomato starts to turn brown.

Toss in cherry tomatoes and sauté for some 5 min. or so, till’ they release some juice. Pour the white wine, and water and simmer until it all begins to get thicker.

Remove from the heat

While cooking the sauce, turn on the oven (around 220 degrees).

Now it’s time to prepare sardines. Season the fish with salt and black pepper. In a large bowl whisk together lemon juice, olive oil and mix in the seasoned sardines. Let it be covered all the way.

Arrange sardines on prepared tomato sauce and put it in the oven, on the closest position to the griller (upper heater) and broil for some 10 or 12 minutes. Turn the fish in the middle of broiling (after some 6 minutes).

Sardines are finished when they are brown and crispy and their meat comes off their bone.

Don’t overcook them .

Carob cake (without flour)

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 11:27:00 +0000

Carob is not very common herb in our kitchen, but due to its' nutritional value and medical properties, you should think twice and try to to implement it in your cooking as much as possible.
Carob is rich in calcium, potassium, copper and riboflavin

It has small quantities of E and B vitamins, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese and selenium.

Carob contains tannins and gallic acid, which acts analgesic, antiseptic, antibacterial, antioxidant and antiviral.

Because of the high proportion of phosphorus and calcium, carob supports the health of teeth and bones, and reduced risk for Osteoporosis.

The studies showed that prevents uterine cancer, and recommended for the prevention of lung cancer.

Here's one simple carob recipe, which has additonal advantage - it has no regular flour in it!

Carob cake (without flour)

Ingredients :

150 g grounded carob

4 egg yolks

4 egg whites

50 g sugar

Lemon zest (grated)

6 table spoons of cream

1 tea spoon baking powder

Chocolate glaze:

100 g dark chocolate

2 table spoons black coffee (prepared coffee, not powder)

30 g butter

1 Whisk eggs yolks with sugar , cream and lemon zest, add grounded carob mixed with baking powder. Incorporate .

2 Separately, whisk egg whites until fluffy, and carefully mix it in egg yolks/carob mixture (the best way to do it is with plain wooden spoon)

3 Pour it in a smaller baking pan, covered with baking paper.

4 Bake at 170-175 C (in an oven with fan) for about 20 minutes .

5 While the cake bakes, make chocolate glaze (mix chocolate, coffee and butter and melt it under the steam)

While the cake is still hot, pour on it prepared chocolate glaze and leave to cool down (but not in a fridge) and cut in cubes

Simple cream broccoli soup

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 11:30:00 +0000

For this simple and delicious soup, you'll need the following:

1 large or 2 small broccoli (about 500-600 g)
1 potato (medium size)
1 clove garlic
some olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Peel the potato, cut it into cubes and place it in some cold water (about 0.5 l). When it boils, cook the potato for about 10 minutes.
In the meantime, wash the broccoli, and tear to little flowers or cut it, if you prefer. Clean garlic.
Once the potato cooks for 10 minutes, salt it and add prepared broccoli and garlic and pour more water (so that the broccoli is covered). Cook until are both finished.
Drain cooked broccoli and potatoes, and leave the water from cooking. Hand mixer (blender) Mixing up broccoli, switch back in a cooking pot, add water from cooking, how much is necessary to have a nice, creamy soup, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil (and salt, if you need).

When it boils again, infuse fresh ground pepper and serve ...
Soup can be served with toasted bread cubes (croutons) and (or) with a few shavings of cheese for grating (Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, ...)

Homemade bread

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:30:00 +0000

Although it looks complicated and expensive, preparation of bread in your own kitchen is cost effective and much healthier than the daily “school buying” baked goods.

Ingredients:

3 1 / 2 large cups of whole wheat flour (3 cups fro pastry + 1 / 2 cup to add when making bread)
1 / 2 dl oil
2.5 to 3 dl warm water
1 teaspoon salt
1 / 2 packet of dry yeast

In a plastic bowl, put 3 cups of flour, salt and yeast and stir. Pour a little lukewarm water and the mix with hand mixer. Add oil, stir and finally add water to get a compact mixture that is neither too soft nor too hard.

Mix with hand blender at least 5 minutes until the dough starts to connect to and detached from the wall of the vessel. If necessary add a little flour.
Take the dough out on floured surface and knead (a minute or two) it with your hands. Return to pan, cover with a cloth and allow to rest, to rise (until doubled - at least 60 minutes).

When the pastry has grown, take it out and knead it again with your hands, and put it into the desired mold (I use oblong mold bread coated with oil)
Cover it again with a cloth and allow to warm to re-grow.
Heat the oven to 200 C (after 10 minutes then reduce to 180 C) and place the dough . Bake for 30 minutes (or until the bread is separated from the mold).

Hot bread wrapp in a cloth and leave to cool.

Homemade cookies 2

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 06:46:00 +0000

These are extremely simple cookies, and they taste so good that they'll disappear before you'll be able to store them into box. The secret of a good and full flavor lies in the whole wheat flour that is used in stead of plain white flour.

Ingredients :
125 g butter
30 g vanilla sugar (in powder)
12 tablespoons whole wheat flour (integral flour)
2 tablespoons honey
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped raisins
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
50 g chocolate

Whist the butter until is becomes foamy and then add vanilla sugar in powder and sugar. Mix until sugar dissolves. Add the honey, chopped walnuts, chopped raisins and flour (mix in flour spoon by spoon) and at the end mix in baking powder.
Form "pastry" sausage 5 cm in diameter and wrap it in a plastic foil. Leave it in a freezer for 20 minutes. After cooling, cut the pastry into 1/2 cm to 1 cm slices, and put them on a baking plane covered with baking paper.
Bake the cookies at 190 C for about 10 min.

Decorate cooled cookies with melted chocolate.

Spaghetti with broccoli

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 09:24:00 +0000

Spaghetti with broccoli - simple, inexpensive, healthy, fast, accessible ... and you'll need following (serving for two persons):

250 g spaghetti
350 g Broccoli (1 medium broccoli)
salt and pepper to taste
1 / 2 dl olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 / 2 cords of parsley
chili peppers and Parmesan cheese (at will)

In a large pot of boiling water add a large spoon of salt and add spaghetti, and after a minute or two (depending on the length of cooking spaghetti), add washed and divided (in flowers) broccoli.

While spaghetti and broccoli are cooking, chop the garlic and parsley and prepare a larger pan with olive oil. Warm oil, add garlic, chili (at will), pepper, parsley and salt (if needed) - stir and let the garlic "smell" (garlic should not scorch). When the pasta and broccoli are cooked, drain and mix into the prepared sauce - Stir well and serve warm.

If you like, you can sprinkle it with grated Parmesan.

Bon appetite!

Quick kale pie

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 07:08:00 +0000

Inspiration for the next recipe I found on the BBC-GoodFood, and eventually was knocked out much better than I expected.The only thing you really must pay attention is the cooking vessel in which pie is prepared - do not bake in the pan with a removable bottom (as it stands in the original recipe) because it will leak liquid and oil on high tempertaure and before eye blinks, the kitchen will be full of smoke from the oven.

Ingredients:

300 g cale
6 sheets in a folder
150 g feta cheese
2 eggs
salt, pepper, oil
2 tablespoons yogurt

Boil kale in salted water, drain it and let it cool down a bit. Oil round baking pan and heat the oven to about 180 C. First, briefly blend kale with hand blender, mix 1 egg, feta cheese and a little salt and pepper - stir. Whisk one egg and 2 tablespoons yogurt. Put first crust into an oiled mold (baking Then put across on another sheet and also spread. Do the same with the next two sheets.

Pour mixture of kale and feta cheese in prepared four greased crusts. Cover with two rolls, brush more egg and yogurt and cover the end with rolls which protrude from the mold.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove and serve warm or cold

Diplomatic Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 08:05:00 +0000

Perfect dessert for Valentine's Day or any other sweet occasion...

Ingredients:
Material for 3 crust
12 egg whites
12 tablespoons
2 tablespoons flour
300g ground walnuts

First Cream
5 egg yolks
4 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2l milk
125g margarine

Second cream
7 egg yolks
7 tablespoons sugar
150g chocolate
125g margarine

For each crust whisk 4 egg whites, 4 tablespoons sugar, a little more than half a tablespoon of flour and 100g ground walnuts (mix egg whites and sugar with electric mixer and gently add flour and walnuts ). Bake each crust at 180 between 10 - 15 min.

First cream
Mix egg yolks with sugar and flour and cook it in a boiling milk - mix well to avoid creating lumps. When it cools down a bit, combine the mixture with 125g margarine - mix it with kitchen mixer.

Second cream Mix egg yolks with sugar and cook them on steam - at the end, add the chocolate (chopped into smaller pieces that are easier to dissolve). When filling has cooled, add 125g margarine.

Sort them in following order:
1. Crust
2. First (yellow) cream
3. Second (chocolate) cream

Finish it with chocolate glaze or whipped cream - cool it for a several hours in refrigerator and serve it cold

Homemade cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 09:08:00 +0000

Biscuits are the result of my (this time successful) experimentation - and for this "experiment"you will require following:

150 g margarine (or butter)
10 tablespoons sugar
1 package of vanilla sugar
1 whole egg
16 tablespoons of all proposed flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (as dark as possible)
1 / 2 package of baking powder

Frosting:
100 g dark chocolate
coconut flour
chopped roasted hazelnuts

Stir margarine to get foamy and add sugar and vanilla sugar. Mix with kitchen mixer until the sugar dissolves. Add whole egg and continue to mix. In a compact mixture add flour spoon by spoon, and add baking powder and cocoa - finish it with the flour.
Leave it in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Shape 3 cm (in diameter) balls, flatten them a bit, and sort them on baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes at 180 C.
When they cool down a bit, dip halfway into chocolate glaze, if desired, and the coconut flour or chopped roasted hazelnuts. Allow icing to harden overnight.

Kitchen helpers

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 13:08:00 +0000

Lemon, salt, vinegar - these are just some of the foods that are found in every household, and their peculiarity is that in addition to cooking, can be used for cleaning. They are simple and always available, cheap and environmentally friendly.

Lemon juice

Lemon and lemon juice is not only a good cleaner, but also a pleasant smell, so here are a few handy tips:
- Cut a few slices of lemon and place in bowl with water, and all together in the microwave for 30 seconds to refresh the inside.
- Clean copper objects with lemon as follows – cut the lemon, soak it in salt and then rub copper surface.
- Cut the lemon in half and rub the surface of cutting boards. Rinse with cold water. This way you will clean the board and get rid of unpleasant smells.
- Clean kitchen tops with lemon juice or with lemon.

Salt

Salt is another kitchen cleaning supply that is used with equal success as a means for absorption, as well as for rubbing. Salt also kills various germs and preserves your food.
- If you spill food while cooking (at the stove), sprinkle it with salt. Salt will absorb the liquid, and you will get to clean the stains a lot easier when they cool.
- Frequently washing of cast iron pan washes "non-adhesive" layer, so it is sometimes enough to pour in a little bit of salt and shake, and then just wipe it. Wash with detergent every second time. Do it just before cooking so the food would not be stuck.
- Mix salt and vinegar to clean copper pans or rub salt on a piece of cloth, and clean egg stains Leftovers of food or water on sink can be also cleaned with salt.

Potatoes

Potatoes are commonly used for cleaning metal and metal ware. Rub rusty pan with a raw potato or retain water in which potatoes are cooked, dip in it silver or pottery items that has lost its shine.

Orecchiette with broccoli and anchovies

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 19:00:00 +0000

For this recipe you shall need following:

300 g orecchiette pasta
1 medium broccoli
4 cloves garlic
½ laces parsley
½ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Several fillets of salted anchovies
½ teaspoon hot pepper (chili peppers, not pepper powder)
½ cup roasted breadcrumbs

Boil a pot of water and add 1 spoon of coarse sea salt. In boiling water add the orecchiette and after 1 minute, washed and cleaned broccoli (cut in flowers).
Heat olive oil in large frying pan or shallow bowl and add the chopped anchovies. When they fall apart, add chopped garlic, parsley and chili pepper. Mix the ingredients to permeate, and remove from heat( if orecchiette and broccoli are not yet cooked - garlic should not scorch).

When the pasta is cooked, drain it in a hurry and mix with prepared sauce (you do not have to drain it all because the liquid from cooking pasta contributes to a better taste of this dish).

In a pan fry the breadcrumbs and sprinkle them as desired in meat.

Bon appetit!

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Vinegar

Vinegar is used in whole of our household - from the kitchen and bathroom, to cleaning pets. Vinegar kills bacteria and neutralizes and eliminates odors.
For the following procedures use classic, alcohol vinegar.

A solution of vinegar cleans coffee maker, it removes lime deposits and stains from water and refresh the internal mechanism. Fill pot coffee maker with vinegar, and pour into the reservoir. Turn on the machine and let it "do" a half-cycle. Turn off and leave it 10 minutes. Switched on again and finish the cycle. Throw the vinegar, and then make two or three cycle with a clean, cold water. Repeat once a month, or whenever you notice that your machine performs poorly.

Vinegar effectively removes odors from your washing machine. Washing machines that fill up front are particularly susceptible to this problem. Add approximately 150 grams of vinegar during the washing cycle(especially suitable for liquid detergents). It will also eliminate the odors in your laundry.

It is known that the vinegar is used to clean the refrigerator. After you thaw and clean your refrigerator (or freezer), pour a little vinegar to a cloth or sponge and rub the inside of the refrigerator - you are on the way to eliminate all odors and bacteria.

Patches of water that remain on the glass or crystal can also be eliminated by using vinegar. Mix one cup of vinegar and three cups of hot water, and wash your glasses in that solution. Leave them to dry in air.

Clean your bin by using frozen solutions of water and vinegar (in equal parts, frozen in the ice tray), and for removing odors, pour one cup of vinegar in a bucket, and rinse with water.

In the same way you can clean and drain the sink, and if there's clogged drain, mix equal amounts of baking soda and vinegar, and pour the mixture into the sink. Mixture will make a foam and remove the blockage.

Vinegar is also used for cleaning the bathroom, especially for removal of scale and sticky spots. To purify clogged shower head, remove and immerse in a bowl with vinegar. Rinse in the morning and return back .

Do you happen to have an "accident" with your pet, you can again resort to a bottle of vinegar. Pour mixture of vinegar and water (in equal parts) on the stain of urine, which would then neutralize the smell, but it will also prevent your pet to come back to this "handy" toilet.

Penne rigate with kale

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:02:00 +0000

Salted experiment that requires the following:
300 g penne rigate
300 g kale (small head, or 1/2 head of large one)
1 / 2 dl oil (sunflower oil or olive oil - at will)
1 medium onion
2 medium carrots
small bunch parsley
salt and pepper (at will)
1 / 2 dl white wine

Boil water for penne in a large pot - when it starts to boil, add half of hand (1 1 / 2 ladle) coarse salt. In boiling water add penne rigate and stir. After a minute of cooking add the shredded kale (cut into strips) . Cook until the pasta is cooked, and drain it all together. Set aside one cup of liquid from cooking the pasta.

At the same time while cooking penne rigate, in a deep skillet or shallow pot warm up the oil and add chopped onion. Sauté until the onions turn "yellow" and add carrots chopped into small cubes. Season with salt and pepper and fry for another minute or two, pour the wine and cover. When the wine has evaporated, pour a little bit of cooking liquid.

Sauté until the carrots are tender and at the end - add a little of liquid from cooking the pasta, stir in cooked penne and kale and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Stir well and serve warm. If desired, sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

Bon appetite!

Danube Waves

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 20:45:00 +0000

Pastry:
3 eggs
15 tablespoons sugar
15 tablespoons oil
15 tablespoons flour
15 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 baking powder
Fruit topping:
1 compote of cherries (or peaches or apricots)
Juice of compote
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons rum

Cream:
5 dl milk
2 package of vanilla pudding
200 g margarine
200 g sugar
Frosting:
10 ounces chocolate
3 tablespoons sugar
6 grams of margarine

1. Pastry
Mix firm egg whites and gradually add sugar, oil, egg yolks, milk and flour mixed with flour for baking. Divide mixture into two parts and in one add cocoa. Yellow mixture pour into oiled and floured baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, remove from the oven, cover it with cherries from compote and pour the brown layer of dough. Bake the cake until the end.

2. Fruit topping
Half of compote mix with sugar and rum. Pour over roast hot cake. Allow the cake to cool.

3. Cream
Cook pudding in milk and cool. Add the butter foam made with powdered sugar. Coat chilled cream cake.

4. Frosting
Melt the chocolate, sugar and water to steam, add the margarine and pour over cake.

Serve the cake when it's cooled at least for 5 or 6 hours (the best thing is to leave it over the night in fridge).

Virtual health assistant

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Tue, 12 May 2009 10:21:00 +0000

I often seek for health advices on World Wide Web and I must admit I visited hundreds of sites, articles, news portals and e-books, but the most inspiring thoughts and tips I usually find on forums. Forums are perfect way to compare various points of view, thesis, or even arguments and at the end they help make a fair decision regarding certain issue.

I was really impressed when I ran on natural health forum because they offered me plenty of useful topics, sorted with order and means. It’s very easy to navigate through this forum and I’m sure that their topics from Women Health to MMS (Miracle Mineral Supplement) will not leave you disinterested at all, because I ended up scrolling through this forum much more then I planed to.

Hunting your privacy

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 06:03:00 +0000

How many times it happened to you? You come home from work, exhausted and tired, you sit in your favorite chair trying to collect yourself and continue housework, and then suddenly a phone rings, you jump up from that chair thinking it’s something important, or maybe a friend you didn’t hear for a year or two is calling, but no.

When you pick up your phone, ear phone brings you mechanic voice offering you “brand new product” on special action, just for you… We are all familiar with this kind of abuse. Luckily, now you have the opportunity to report this kind of harassment to CallHunter - special service offering you the ability to report all received calls. This is something very valuable for all of you who are concerned about your privacy, and privacy is one of the most important bases of one’s freedom.

Imperatives and myths

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:21:00 +0000

I don’t need to say that most of today’s modern population craves for being fit and with proper “sizes”. Of course, it’s not always about the looks – normal body weight has something to do with health as well.

When I turn back on myself, I must admit that I spent half of my life being on some kind of diet. First, it was my puberty, when I was teenager and we all know how delicate can be that period in life. After years of trying to stay fit and healthy, it was time to have a baby, and again, I found myself in similar “fights”. I can’t say that I have weight problem, but neglecting this part of life can very easy cause serious problems and misery.

Diets are often connected with deceptions and wrong advices like “starving can help you lose your weight” or “Don’t eat food with fat”, so I did a quick search, and here are few advice that could, hopefully, make your dieting easier.

1. Don’t starve yourself – you will only lose your body musculature and there’s nothing healthy in that.

2. Carbohydrates are bad for your body – well, white sugar or various sweets won’t do you any good, but you must know that your body needs about 40 % of carbohydrates a day (when you count your daily needs), so food like bread, rice or any other integral grain product must be on your daily menu.

3. If you want to lose weight, eliminate all fatties – I’m sure when someone discovers that our body can work without omega 3 fatty, then this could be of use, and since this time is far away from us, consuming food rich with omega 3 fatty is still an imperative.

4. Too much water is no good for you – our body is about 70% water, so is it logical that drinking water can harm our body.

5. Always try to split your meals in little portion and eat it several times a day, that way you’ll keep your stomach working a little and you won’t shock your body with huge amounts of energy which are always “accumulated” in wrong places.

These are just few lines regarding this subject. Of course, it’s important that you don’t become slave to all that artificial commercial looks because real beauty comes from inside, and when you combine it with natural way of life, success is here, for sure, and it will last much longer then all that “lose 10 pounds in 5 days” promises.

Never enough of "going green"

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 07:20:00 +0000

Going green is one of the most common words lately, maybe even boring to someone, but I'm afraid that is one of the way that will surely help us in prevail our Planet.

Surfing our virtual world, every day we run on positive and green enthusiast that contribute with their work to "Green mission".

One of those "positive fighters" are definitely LayZgreenPeople.com - website with great content and original approach. So, help our planet and visit LayZgreenPeople.com - you won't be sorry!

While we wait for colorful spring...

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:17:00 +0000

As much as we are looking forward to spring, we are still faced with the certain “grayness” on our markets and shops – when you look at a shelf in grocery or a supermarket, you’ll notice that there is no too much choice in offered fruit and vegetables.

Bananas, apples and oranges, OR onion, potatoes and carrots are the food you are most likely to find that fit in this year period (I will not count tomatoes which look like they were made of plastic or similar food).

Well, it’s no reason to feel bad because of the poverty of choice, think positive and you’ll be able to find the benefits of simplicity in these caterers.

Onion is proven to be a great helper in decreasing high blood sugar level, high cholesterol level and high blood pressure. If you consume onions regularly, you’ll not only help your cardio vascular system, but you’ll reduce the risk of developing colon cancer, because of the effect of its’ substance called flavonoid for which it has been proven to stop the growth of cancer cells.

There’s no doubt that potatoes are the one of the most popular food, and it is not imaginable to prepare a wholesome meal without them. Unfortunately, we mostly prepare potatoes in the unhealthiest way like chips or fries. Potatoes are worth of exploring new recipes because they’ll give you in return many quality features like a decent amount of vitamin C, vitamin B, dietary fibers, potassium, copper and various phytonutrients which act like antioxidants.

Carrots – for someone maybe boring, but for those who think the world of carrots, let me tell you that they are great source for pro-vitamin A carotenes. Antioxidant compounds in carrots protect us from cardiovascular diseases and really help in achieving good vision (especially night vision). Certain studies suggested that a carrot a day, in our every day diet, can considerable cut down the risk of lung cancer. Carrots can also enter the company of food that reduces the high blood sugar level, so joined with onions, they can make perfect and simple dish in future days, or until there will be more natural colors in our super markets and groceries.

Mediterranean gold

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:36:00 +0000

One of many fashionable expressions lately has definitely been Mediterranean diet. I live in of Mediterranean countries, Croatia, and I’m really happy and proud to see that sometimes we can really use fashion for a good cause, and that is our health.

Many studies and researches have proven benefits of Mediterranean diet, and the last one on the list is dedicated to EU parliament and their wish to put this diet to UNESCO list of World cultural heritage.

Mediterranean diet helps in prevent of cardio vascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer diseases, and it even mollifies symptoms of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

This includes healthy and natural food and plenty of vegetables and fruit. Main ground of that diet is extra virgin olive oil and food prepared with and on olive oil.

We are offered with hundreds of olive oil brands and manufactures, so we must be very careful when we buy it, because labels don’t always speak the truth.

How can you recognize good and quality olive oil?

Extra virgin olive oil is product of first pressure procedure and it has the level of free fatty acid bellow 0.8 %; percentage above that value refers to virgin olive oil, or just olive oil (percentage above 2 %). You must pay attention to color, taste and smell of oil.

Color of oil is ought to be between golden and dark green, it must be transparent and it taste must not be sour.

But these are only the basics, quality of olive oil depends on its’ storage conditions, producing procedures, and we must be careful with expiry date.

Lower temperature can affect the structure of extra virgin olive oil because some part of it coagulates – so that’s one of the confident proofs it is really extra virgin olive oil.

Grow organic vegetables - fashion or our need?

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 07:54:00 +0000

Words like organic, bio, ecological, green or eco have become rather fashionable nowadays, but can we define clear line between pure swagger with new eco fashion and real, natural and ecological aware way of life?

Definition of organic (eco) agriculture is very clear - you grow cultures towards certain standards, you don't use conventional pesticides and artificial fertilizers. Those cultures must not be polluted with any kind of poison or waste, and they must ge GMO free. They must be cultivated in natural, defined conditions, and oif there is a certain amount of inorganic compounds in them , that percentage must be very low and it must me shown on this culture, or product (this value varies from country to country).

We saw that the definition of organic is very simple, but what about all the products we find in our supermarkets that are tagged with "eco friendly", "100% natural" or " organic" stickers and commercials? Can we trust those tags?

Scientists proved that organically grown cultures (vegetables and fruit) is indeed healthier then those grown in conventional way, but I'm not sure that all that lies on our market shelves marked as "100% organic" is always true.

Those products are very often overrated and it's really a bit ilogical that one pound of "eco grown" tomatoes costs twice times as s pound of "conventionally" grown tomatoes, and to produce this, "conventional" tomatoes you need far more means because you use all that fertilizers, pesticides and similar supplements. I've succeeded in growing my own, "eco" tomato and the only expense I've had was the seeds I bought (which was declared as "non" treated, I hope it was GMO free as well). Everything else I found in nature (therapeutic herbs which I used for fertilizers and protection), and, of course, my time - but you use your time in any way of agriculture.

If you would to grow organic potato and conventional potato, which French fries would be healthier?

I don't think we can talk about totally healthy "eco" potato and totally unhealthy "conventional" potato because it is far more dangerous to eat a pound of "eco" French-fried potatoes, then to eat a pound of steam boiled "conventional" potatoes.

Don't trust to all that is written on one product label, paper can suffer anything - it's more important to pay attention to fair balance and diet, even if it means to eat conventional food sometimes.

Acne, spots, pimples, blisters...

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:44:00 +0000

Acne, spots, pimples or blisters - it isn’t matter how we call them, but they are the same and boring unpleasant plugging of pores on our skin face or upper part of chest and back (shoulders). Many “puberties” suffered acne problems and it surely made them feel miserable in that, very sensible period of their life.

Today, we have a possibility to choose (some natural and some not so natural) products like skin tonics, cleaning lotions, or creams to stop acnes, but we are not always in situations where we can buy those products or sometimes we can’t afford them, so we are left with alternative ways to fight pimples.

The first rule we must obey is not to squeeze pimples because squeezing can damage our skin tissue.

We must pay attention on what we put in our mouth and we must avoid very spicy, salted and fat food, and we need to reduce our chocolate, sweets and alcohol to the minimum level. It is highly recommend eating fresh vegetables and fruits, and especially onions. One of the best spices that helps in fighting acne is thyme.

You can clear pimples with fresh bakers yeast or beer yeast. There are some sources which recommend direct consummation of yeast (three times a days, once a week), and, besides consummation, you can use yeast face masks - crumble one tablespoon of beer yeast and warm it up on steam, cover your face with melted yeast three times a day (wash it off after 10 do 20 minutes), along with mask, it is recommended to drink fresh carrot juice. Results are visible after 7 days? – I haven’t tried so I’ll end it up with this question mark.

Besides yeast, you can use therapeutic herbs and its’ remedies to fight acnes.

Prepare 1 liter of tea made of wild pansy – boil 4 tablespoons of wild pansy, strain it after 10 minutes. Drink half of it, and other half you can use for compress.

Take 4 tablespoons of chopped fresh thistle leaves and roots and boil it with one liter of water, strain it and drink three cups a day. You can prepare tea made of nettles or dandelion on the same way.

You can mix chamomile, sage, milfoil, calendula, onion, garlic, nettles, linden and mint, also take 4 tablespoons of that mixture and boil it with 1 liter of water, drink it few times a day. Make a steam bath for you face with chamomile tea – cover your face under that tea and “steam” yourself until chamomile cools off.

Vegetables can also provide a good, alternating cure for spots. Bit up few leaves of savoy (kale) and keep them on your face for a half an hour. Take few dark green leaves of lettuce and cook it with whey (I haven’t tried it, it sounds maybe a bit strange), keep it on your face for about twenty minutes. Wash it off with warm water.

Scrub horse radish and put it in a jar. Cover it with fruit vinegar and leave it to rest for 10 days. Put vinegar that was made of that horse radish on spots with a cotton cushions, then wash it off with warm water after ten minutes.

These are only alternative solutions. Unfortunately, there isn’t 100 % effectively remedies in fight against acnes. You must take in consideration your own heritage, which means bigger or smaller tendency towards spots. It’s recommended to spend as much as it is possible time on fresh air, and especially it is useful to take sunbathes and spend time on the sea side.

I hope this post would offer few more alternatives in acne fighting since this is something that doesn’t stop when you turn up 19 years; sometimes it continues to annoy you until much more serious age.

Thyme - Thymus vulgaris

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:33:00 +0000

It's rather cold these days, everything is frozen, and some of it that has been left, is covered with snow.

Among those frozen unfortunates is my thyme plant. Whole summer we’ve been enjoying its’ sweet and pleasant odor, and it was a real treat to enrich herbal tea with few leaves of fresh thyme.

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is a smaller, bushy plant which doesn’t exceed 10 inches. She likes sunny and dry places, near paths or fencings, and it can grow even on rocks.

Thyme blooms through whole summer (from June to October) and it’s adorned with beautiful and strong smell. You can pick wholesome plant (without wooden parts) and dry it in a cool, clear place, on the attic, for example. When you dry it, it is recommended to use wooden or glass sticks instead of your bare hands.

Thyme has a very wide usage in popular medicine. You can use for clearing respiratory system; it smoothens coughing, hoping cough and nerves. Thyme tea mixed with honey helps women give birth, and it has positive effect on anemia, kidney diseases, women diseases and rheumatic troubles.

If you dip thyme into olive oil or brandy, it can act very favorable on bacterial lung diseases or intestinal diseases.

Thyme increases physical strength of patients, and in some older times, thyme baths were used for helping pulingly children.

Here’s a simple recipe for thyme tea that helps in curing problems with coughing, bronchitis, insomnia, lung catarrh, migraine, asthma, flatulence, stomach ulcer and diarrhea:

Put 1 spoon of thyme to 3 to 4 dl of boiling water, leave it covered for about 15 minutes, and then strain it and sweeten it with honey. Add a little bit of lemon juice as well.

My personal recipe for wonderful herbal tea is as follows:

Take one spoon of a mixture of thyme, mint, calendula, fennel, sage and a little bit of fig tree leaves and add to 3 dl of boiling water, leave it covered for 5 minutes, filtrate it and put in some honey. It’s great prevention for these freezing days.

Party is over!

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:33:00 +0000

Holidays are long gone and all that we have right now is a slight hangover, minus on our credit cards and, at least, 5 pounds more – or not?
Did you manage to stay calm during this “merry season” and control yourself in enormous spending and overeating?
I must confess that I had to fight very strong with “generous” side and stayed in limits of normal “consumerism behavior”, but from what I’ve seen from the supermarkets I visited and from the news, I don’t think everyone can say that.

They are all predicting very hard 2009 with global finance crisis, so I hope that bills that’ll arrive in January will not contribute to this modern fashion of depression.
What are these lines “upstairs” have to do with whole sound of my blog? Well, credit cards aren’t connected in any way with herbal remedies or natural cures, but they can very well add to our (un)healthy way of life. If we spend too much time worrying about finance (or we spend too much) we’ll eventually find ourselves in a situation where we’ll need those herbal remedies or cures to help us overcome health problems that came from our stressing way of life.
I truly hope that New 2009 will only bring peace and financial independence to all of us, little people, who struggle our every day life and that herbs, natural remedies and all other cures will only have an amusement role in our life.
Once again – Happy New Year!