DRY GREEN PEA SOUP

Each time I cook with beans or peas a certain saying comes to my mind: “Beans, peas, good for your heart, the more you eat the more you “fart”!” My youngest was in 5^th grade and they were discussing healthy eating habits in the classroom, so their teacher, Mr. B., recited this little humorous saying for them. And as you can imagine, we had full ears of it for quite some time! And still, it pops to my mind each time I see beans or peas!

Dry green pea soup turned out super delicious. My husband even made a remark that it should be in a competition. He is a man of few words when food is involved (except if my culinary attempts are a failure!?), so it had to be really good! Yay!!! The only mental note I made was: Patience is a virtue which I have in normal quantities and would rather use it on other matters than passing puréed green peas through the sieve. Like maybe not getting upset if shoes cannot find their way into the shoe closet upon arrival home! So next time I’m definitely buying split dry green peas!

Dry Green Pea Soup

MY NOSTALGIC BAKLAVA

I was first introduced to baklava when I was very little. In my hometown, Ilirska Bistrica, Slovenia, we had just one pastry shop back then. This shop was owned by a Macedonian man. He came to my hometown after the second world war ended and my home town became his hometown, too. He was a very respected hardworking man. In his shop you could buy the best ice-cream ever! My favorite flavor was lemon. And in the winter he would make the winter ice-cream (marshmallow cream) topped with thin coating of chocolate swirled into an ice-cream cone. Unforgettable! There was a wide variety of pastries in his shop and among them baklava. Though the best piece of baklava I ever ate was in Istanbul, Turkey! As for the sweets made with both kinds of fillo dough, in my book, Syria wins the first place! And here it is, my nostalgic baklava!

My Nostalgic Baklava

SWEET BREAD enhanced with golden rasins and walnut cream

So much food to blog about, yet so little time to put it all in writing. This Sweet Bread is waiting to be published since Christmas and it came out just magical. The dough was puffing and huffing and when baked it was as light as a feather! Cardamom seeds added a seductive aroma; although my husband didn't like the idea of biting into the kernels! (Note to myself: Next time use grounded cardamom!!!) And the nutty filling and the golden raisins just added some additional moistness to the sweet bread. All in all, it was a total success!

Sweet Bread Enhanced With Golden Rasins and Walnut Cream