I barely managed to make a jar of strawberry preserves! However, I got some magical preserves from the strawberries purchased when we returned from the Delta!

Well, using my Mom’s recipe, I needed:

180g small strawberries

180g sugar

45ml spring water

juice from half an organic lemon

After Marcel cleaned and washed them, I let the strawberries sit with the sugar for one hour. Then, I added the lemon juice and the water. I let everything boil, then simmer for half an hour.

Then, I poured the preserves into the jar.

We still have a small amount of preserves left in the jar. We don’t want it to end; it was that tasty! ♥

Something fast and sweet, Marcel’s idea, as summer should taste—

You’ll need—

1.5 kg watermelon flesh

6 teaspoons of sugar

1 lemon

How to make it?

Add the watermelon flesh pieces into the blender with the sugar and lemon juice.

Blend.

Savour.

1kg raspberries

1kg sugar

juice from one lemon

Behind this recipe (still my Mom’s recipe) are my childhood friends Erzsi and Hilda. Hilda made me drool when she prepared raspberry preserves. Erzsi delivered the raspberries grown and picked by her sister, also in Bod. ♥

Marcel made the preserves and it turned out wonderful.

Place the raspberries in a pan; add the sugar and let it sit for several hours. Of course, you will end up with some juice in the pan. Squeeze the lemon.

Place the pan on low heat. Let the mix simmer for 50 minutes after it starts boiling.

When the preserves has cooled, transfer it into jars. (We got two large jars and a small one.)

I haven’t been able to get to Sviniṭa this year to get figs. I was glad, though, that the figs came to Braşov. It was short-lived, however. It rained over them on the terrace and I wasn’t able to process them, so Marcel saved precisely 

350g figs

I also needed—

90ml water

175g sugar

the juice from half a lemon

How to make the preserves?

Boil the water and the sugar in a pan, on low heat, until the sugar dissolves.

Meanwhile, wash the figs and cut their tails. Add them whole in the already hot liquid.

After 20 minutes, squeeze the lemon half, all the while removing the foam from the mix as often as possible. 

Boil the preserves for 20 minutes more. Turn the heat off. Let the preserves cool a bit and pour it into a 300g jar. It’s all I got.

I was still grateful for my first fig preserves and its deliciousness! ♥

 

And I didn’t use all the classic ingredients; I adapted them—

30g basil

2 garlic cloves

20g walnuts

3 tbsp of olive oil

2g sea salt

a drop of lemon juice

Blend them. Then, store the pesto in a small jar in the fridge.

It’s not only great with pasta, but with some fresh or crunchy slices of bread, too! 

P.S. For this year’s pesto jar (I am trying to make one each year), I used

45g basil

2 garlic cloves

30g pine nuts (I still had some bought in Tunisia)

4 tbsp of olive oil

3g salt.

It turned out very creamy, with a rich, fresh flavour.

From Romania to Turkey, lavender has gained some momentum.

Even if it rained today – this summer, the controlled rain occurs every day –, I felt the endlessness of this season while I took sips from the lavender lemonade, walked barefoot on my terrace, and enjoyed the heat around me. 

For 1 litre of lavender lemonade, you'll need

900ml water

juice from 2 lemons

100g sugar

some lavender buds

ice

***

Squeeze the lemons. Mix in the sugar. Add the water (I used structured water – to be continued).

Pour in a glass. Crush some lavender buds and add them to your glass, together with ice (as much as needed).

Enjoy!

500g blackberries

500g sugar

125ml water

juice from half a (large) lemon

We went blackberry picking last Sunday; they are so flavourful! I placed some in the freezer for winter, ate some others, baked some desserts with them, and couldn’t help but make preserves out of them.

I used an old recipe of my Mum again. It goes like this (the fast version)—

Clean and wash the blackberries well.

Place them into a pan, add the sugar and squeeze the lemon. Then, add the water.

Let it immediately simmer on low heat.

When the texture is syrupy, place the pan aside (it took 45 minutes in our case).

Pour the preserves into jars. We got 1 big jar and 2 small ones.

I can’t wait to taste it in the morning!

It turned out wonderful, caramelised as much as needed!

Baking pan: 34 x 24 cm

220g poppy seeds

150g sugar

2 eggs

220g flour

½ sachet of baking powder

a drop of vanilla extract

juice from half a lemon

100ml milk

120g butter (melted)

We have always used poppy seeds in our family. Marcel doesn’t understand it, so this year, for Christmas, I didn’t bake a poppy seed cozonac.

...but I did bake a poppy seed cake using a very old family recipe (I couldn’t let my love for poppy go).

Baking it is very easy!

At first, Marcel helped me grind the poppy seeds. J Here are the next steps—

Mix the sugar with the egg yolks; add the flour, baking powder, vanilla extract, juice from half a lemon, milk, melted butter, and poppy seeds.

Beat the egg whites until stiff and slowly mix the foam into the initial batter.

Pour the mix into the baking pan lined with baking parchment and bake for 23-25 minutes in the preheated oven, at 180°C.

When the cake cools, cut it into square slices. Mine were fluffy, flavourful, and... oozing of childhood.

Hope you enjoy them, too! Merry Christmas! ♥

Ever since I can remember, my favourite preserves has been sour cherry preserves... made by my Dad. He gave me the recipe earlier this year and I ended up making some delicious cherry preserves. The good thing is that they resembled sour cherries a lot.

Do you want the recipe, too?

I used

800g cherries (without stones)

530g sugar

vanilla extract

juice from half a lemon

Remove the stones from the cherries (I used a metal straw to do that), wash the cherries and place them into a big pan.

Add the sugar and let it sit with the cherries for one hour. 

Then, add the vanilla extract and the lemon juice.

Let the mixture boil for 5 minutes on medium heat and then for 1 hour more on low heat.

Wash the jars. When the preserves is ready, pour a tablespoon of the hot preserves into each jar (I got 2 jars). 2-3 minutes later, fill the jars and lid them immediately.

You’ll get your summer memories back when it rains and it is cold and you are munching a toast with butter and cherry preserves!

1l water

1kg sugar

4 organic lemons

25 elderflowers

Each June, Marcel and I have things on our list: ’We’ll go pick elderflowers... June can’t pass without us making syrup’. To honour our childhood summers, full of elderflower scent and spent in our grandparents’ home, we find a sunny afternoon and pick elderflowers (Marcel – more). He also recreates the childhood taste. How?

Separate the elderflowers from the stem.

Boil the water and the sugar until the latter melts. Let the mix cool.

Transfer it into a large jar, squeeze the lemons, and add the elderflowers.

Keep the jar in a cool space for 3 days.

How to serve? Pour 2 fingers of cordial in a glass; add still or bubbly water.

What will happen? You’ll get refreshed and overwhelmed by memories. J

ꕤ

500ml water

1kg sugar

juice from half a lemon

40 elderflowers

It’s June again, so Marcel’s stocking up on elderflower cordial. It’s the second he has made this season. He used a different recipe, which he encouraged me to share.

Clean the flowers. Then, place them into a large-neck bottle.

In a pan and on low heat, mix the water, sugar, and lemon juice. 10 minutes later, pour the resulting syrup onto the elderflowers in the bottle. Let it sit in the light for 4 days.

I smelled what he got! With this scent, my Grandma would wait for me in Bod. ♥

CRUST

150g flour

a pinch of salt

1 vanilla sugar sachet

1 tbsp vinegar

2 tbsp water

70g butter (at room temperature)

1 egg yolk

FILLING

330ml milk

a drop of vanilla extract

2 eggs

115g sugar

55g flour

TOPPING

2 ripe guavas

30g brown sugar

100ml milk

1½ tbsp cornstarch

juice from a ¼ lemon

+ butter and flour -> your baking pan

One of the greatest surprises of the year in terms of flavour came this winter. I rediscovered guava. I knew its taste from Brazil (2011) – Marcel and I remember how it became our favourite fruit juice. We were lucky to be able to travel to Egypt at the end of November and... Who knew that we’d love Egyptian guava even more than Brazilian guava?! Whitish, not pink... but what a fruit!... So we also brought a few with us. As many as we could. Almost a year ago, I decided to create a recipe inspired by each trip abroad – and here’s the first one!  

I made the crust using my favourite and very quick recipe.

To make the filling, mix the eggs and the sugar. Add the flour and stir well. Pour the mix into the boiling milk (with the drop of vanilla extract added). Continue to stir until it thickens, then pour the vanilla filling into the crust (already left to cool).

Take out the cores of the guavas, sieve them, and mix them with the brown sugar, the milk, and the cornstarch on low heat. After it thickens, turn off the heat and squeeze in the lemon juice – and it will already have the taste of our favourite juices in Sharm!

Cut the guavas into round slices and place them on top of the filling, fill the round slices with the topping – and the spaces around them – [it will have a cooling effect that will surprise you].

So, whenever you find guava to buy, try out this recipe. My father ate two slices of this tart [which served as my birthday cake of this year] one after another!