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!