Lamb, revisiting my vegetarian past, and moving on with a mouthful of goodness.

Our group is embarking upon a weekend excursion in just a few minutes, during which it is planned that we will go to a wine tasting and a raw oyster farm. I'm worried about surviving the latter of the two, so I've decided to post on my favorite meal discovered thus yet, Lamb and Potatoes.

Quick background story. When I was but a wee child, I was a vegetarian for an impressive amount of time. Why? You wonder. Because I was fortunate enough to visit Prairie Farms, a local petting zoo in which I discovered my love for lambs, and Nyros Gyros in the same day. I found out my Gyro was lamb halfway into the meal and sh*t got real, quite quickly. Since then I've returned to the meat side, but still never eat lamb. This trip has changed that.

Our first excursion we drove up into the mountains for an hour, found the border of Bosnia, entered the restaurant that was practically straddling it, and what did they bring me? Lamb. I was cautious and wary, but the lamb has apparently been slow roasted all day. This method of cooking is a Croatian tradition. The slow roasting and perfect combination of spices both tenderized the meat and made it incredibly salty. Once I got the song from Lambchop's Play Along out of my head, I was in heaven. The lamb was truly divine, and it helped that they just kept bringing out heaping platters of it.

The dish that accompanied the lamb was even more spectacular and quite surprising. Our group took a vote and the potatoes won dish of the meal. Again, the potatoes are slow roasted with a couple of spices and onions ALL DAY. A great deal of salt must have been added yet again, because they were salty, but the heavy glaze that coated them and was a result of their slow roasting countered the salty with savory.

Our group has been served this exact lunch twice and we've been happy every time. The Lamb and Potatoes meal is heavy, savory, salty, filling. For me, these characteristics qualify the meal as comfort food. Why? I'm not sure, that question hasn't yet been answered for me, and other group members are a little perplexed too. I would guess it's because this meal doesn't fall far from our "meat and potatoes" American attitude. Of course American food is really just made up of the cuisine of many other places, but the "meat and potatoes" idea is one we have really latched onto. All I know is that  I am full and happy at the end of each lunch, but may not be so happy after trying raw oysters today. Enough reminiscing about the past DELICIOUS meals of Croatia, on to wetter, slimier and scarier things.

Sugar, Spice, everything nice. Oh, and brandy and figs. Lots of figs.

This past Saturday Dean B and Professor Banac took the group on a excursion to nearby sights of importance. At 10 before 9 we loaded up into a charter bus and took a winding road up and up until we were about 45 minutes away from the Old City. Our first stop was the home of a former nobleman, Borovac. We then visited an exhibition of the work of Vlaho Bukovac, on of the most notable Croatian painters of contemporary times. We then made our way to roman remains of a temple, that were actually used as a religious space even before the arrival of Romans, and finally we found ourselves in the wine cellar of two of our guides that dates back to the 15th century. Our hosts invited us to come in, sit down, and rest a while out of the hot sun. This invitation was a treat enough itself and I was even more pleasantly surprised when the announced that we'd be trying their firewater in just a few moments (the time was 11 a.m) All of the alcohols were homemade and brewed and despite being quite strong, were again, sweet enough to enjoy despite the distinct burning sensation that accompanied swallowing them. I tried the limoncello and was quite pleased to find that not only was it much smoother that that I drank in Prague earlier this summer, but it was sweeter as well. Though I can't claim to be a connoisseur of all things alcohol, I've got to give Dubrovnik props, so far I've really liked what I've seen—er—drank.

But let's get to the point of this post. The sweets. As we sat and looked at the original photos that our hosts had of the Yugoslav army ransacking their house during the Bosnian war, and poured over a portrait of a man with a grenade in his hand standing on their property, we were offered treats galore. The sugar rush was obviously needed. We were presented with this platter.

Starting from the bottom left and circling around to end with the center we have: Pressed Carob candies. Pressed grape and almond candies, a circular pressed fig with almond candy, sugared orange peels, and sugared almonds. Guess which kind was my favorite. A: All of them. Though I hadn't heard of a Carob tree before this trip, the taste of the red candies was really quite familiar. Another group memeber, Mike and I pinned the taste down as being like a fruit leather. This was a candy I could get behind, looks healthy, tastes healthy, so you almost forget about the sugar. Both the grape and fig candies were an interesting mix of nutty and fruity and the textures were enough to keep me interested until I got to the real gems of the orange peels and almonds. The orange peels pushed me out of my comfort zone. How many times was I told to not eat the outside of the orange as a kid? More than a few. How many times had I tried it and discovered that it tasted like, excuse my harsh language, crap? Many. But these sugared orange peels were something entirely different. The rind provided interesting texture and was hardened consistently all throughout each piece of candy to get rid of the mushiness that makes eating them so weird in their raw state. Oh and did I mention the sugar, yeah that was great. It was very similar to the sugar on the almond candies, which was almost exactly like the bag o' nuts you can buy in New York City for two bucks, so there was no way they could go wrong. All in all, the entire platter was great. 

Above we have the orange peels, a bite of freshly peeled fig, and the pressed fig and almond candy in that order.

We were served raw figs as well. Those I had a hard time peeling and after peeling, really getting into. They were soft and plaint, quite moist and . . .well that's about it. I don't know if I didn't get a good one, but the taste wasn't good, and it definitely wasn't bad. I now feel about figs the way I feel about water. If you are thirst (in the case of figs hungry) drink (or eat). I won't turn to figs as my favorite food, but I wouldn't turn one down on a hot day either.

Now these babies came out next. As undelicious as these dried figs look, the were actually quite food. Yet again, I bit into one and was taken back to a childhood food, none other than Fig Newtons. You know those cookies that weren't chocolate-y so you couldn't figure out why they didn't taste bad. Well, these dried figs were sugary and fleshy and had seeds inside to remind you of the natural snack you were enjoying. Yet another snack I could, and did, really get behind. Alas, after the dried figs were tasted, it was time for us to go. With fire in our throats and sugar in our bellies we made our way back to the charter bus and continued our excursion. Before we left however, I was able to find our from Dean B that most of these goods are for sale in the daily market that takes place in one of the plazas of the Old City. You can bet I've already scoped out some orange peels to take home with me.

I love Seafood by the Seashore.

Well, my feelings may not have yet reached love for seafood but after trying a couple of dishes this past week in Dubrovnik, it's possible that I am on my way. Finally I have reached my destination and don't have to bore you with as many daily details, but can now really get down to business and write about the thing that all people love, food.

Our first night, Dean B and Professor Banac treated the class to a spectacular dinner out. We walked through the main street of the old city and end up at a restaurant named Rosario (formely Rosarij for those of you that might have already visited). Professor Banac assured the group that Rosario is the best restaurant in town and by the end of the meal, I was more than convinced.

We began the meal with small amounts of two kinds of tradtional Croatian liquor. The first, clear liquid's name was given to us as Grapa. Though I didn't have the chance to try it, it was describe to me by Django and being clear, smooth, and strong. The second drink was a light brown brandy that provided a nice balance of sweet and warm. Fiery going down, but not so strong that one couldn't sip more politely that my college student throw back.

The next course consisted of four smaller portions of traditional Croatian cuisine. The first, codfish with garlic and potatoes is a dish that is served around Christmas. Other people in the group commented that the codfish was a bit too fishy for them, to my untrained tongue, the garlic and potatoes seemed to cut the fish down quite nicely.  The dish felt like comfort food of the best kind, heavy, strong in flavor, and filling. Next came the octopus salad of grilled octopus, fresh tomatoes and onions with balsamic, salt and pepper and maybe a couple of other spices I couldn't identify by taste. The onions and tomatoes provided crunch to counter the chewy octopus, but I was so aware of the suckers that I wasn't ready to enjoy this dish as much as the cod. I then moved on to the raw sliced anchovies over fresh arugula. Now arugula, that's some foliage I can really get behind. The biting spiciness of the lettuce was refreshing after the first two, very different dishes, and it went well with the salty anchovies. The initial crunch when biting into the leaves was also helpful in balancing the softer texture and infirm state of the raw fish. Finally, we get to the baby calamari. These were entire tiny squids battered and fried to what looked like perfection. Once I got passed the relization that Iwas consuming an ENTIRE animal BABY animal, the dish was quite good. I am a texture person at heart, and the fried batter no only tasted delicious as most fried dishes do, but to me it felt like a much more comfortable and balanced way to eat a rather chewy sea creature.

The next course was a grilled blue-gill fish with Croatian Swiss-Chard. I was instructed to squeeze my lemon over the fish and dig in immediately. If one dish of the night were to win my heart over completely, this would be the dish. Though it seems simplistic and easy, I can honestly say as someone who is generally deathly afraid of going near seafood, this didn't taste like seafood. The taste was crisp, clean, and delicious, that's all my brain registered. I gathered from the regular seafood lovers around the table that the fish was not "fishy" at all, so much so that it tasted like a lighter healthier chicken (though not so much so that it diminished awe at the chef's execution). The swiss-chard was, well, swiss chard, but paired quite nicely with the citrus of the lemon and the surreal, fishless-ness of the fish. This was a plate that I cleared completely and would take more of any day, any time.

Finally after lots of wine, a taste of the sea, and incredible amounts of bread to soak up the wine, we were served a popular dessert that the Croatians as well as the Spaniards, Italians, and many South Americans like to claim as the own. Creme Caramel, or more popularly known as flan.

I haven't had flan before, and slightly gelatinous textures are not for me. But I did take a spoonful of this big guy and was surprised by how un-sweet the Creme Caramel actually was. Yes, that brown sauce you see does taste of caramel, but the inside was heavy, eggy, and dense. Not bad, but not quite the dessert I was looking for. I much preferred the sauce and whipped cream, though Django, who was able to eat 8 of these lovely desserts while we all watched in amazement, might beg to differ.

Austria and Slovenia in a Nutshell of sorts.

Salzburg, Austria
When we arrived in Salzburg, Austria, all I knew what that the city was in Austria. That's it. After arriving to the city pretty early on in the day, Django and I toured the places where the legendary movie, The Sound of Music, was filmed. The city consisted of 10 or so quite charming streets, a very very blue river, and a castle/fortress surrounded by mountains. Back in the day, Salzburg was famous for still holding on to the tradition elaborate street signs advertising the trade of the store owner (Apotheke, Cobbler, Pekanra, etc), but now the city seems to be a tourist attraction for Austrians that live on the wealthy side. Stores ranging from Hermes to Rolex lined the streets and Django and I could find very little to do that didn't involve a ton of money. We did have drinks down by the river, visit the castle and take in it's amazing view, and visit the a gorgeou Cathedral in the middle of the town. Food wise- Salzburg wasn't the best. We weren't able to try much local food because of high prices, and the Italian restaurant that we did stop at charged over-cooked the pasta a bit, but the Penna al Arrabiata was still magnificent and about the spiciest thing I can ever see myself eating (not that spicy). I crossed my fingers that I would do better in Dubrovnik and we took the train to Slovenia after two days.


Ljubljana, Slovenia
The train ride from Austria into Slovenia was one of the prettiest I have ever witnessed. For hours our train drove through valleys surrounded by gorgeous ice-capped mountains. I haven't yet been out west in the United States, but I'm willing to bet that Slovenia does mountains even better than we do. We also got to see rolling green country side and some of the more agricultural parts of the country. Two people shared our train car, a magnificently funny old man that had more Orange Fanta and coffee than I've seen someone over 50 drink in ages, and a very quiet middle-aged woman. The man helped up by repeating the names of the stops slowly enough for us to understand where we were.
Django and I hit a rocky section of time when we first got into Slovenia. We were lost without bus tickets, couldn't find our hostel, wished we hadn't once we finally did, and finally had to walk two miles into the city because our concierge was clueless. Once John and Betsy (my parents) were so generous enough to pay for a room at a different, MUCH nicer hotel near the city center, we really got to enjoying ourselves. Django tried a horse hamburger one afternoon and thought it tasted good, but wasn't ever sure exactly what it was made of. I was a little on the safer side and had a chicken salad, the dressing on which seemed to be a local standard: vinergar, sour cream, salt and pepper. Though the dressing was a bit too watery and too abundant for me the salad was an overall success. Our last night in Ljubljana we tried a local restuarant called Ljubljanski Dvor that boasted some of the best pizza in Ljubljana. Not the case. It turns out the pizza was seared for about two minutes and then served right away to keep a steady stream of customers in and out of the restaurant. The result was burnt cheese and a soft crust, neither of which we very appealing.
 

Django and are now in Dubrovnik though and look forward to some better eating and the beginning of my Croatian food project. Though I can't say that I like seafood (in its defense I have never tasted much of it) I am excited to embark on this culinary adventure and see what happens.

Hello from Prague

As the title says, Why hello there, I am indeed in Prague. Django and I are well on our way to Dubrovnik. One country down and Austria and Slovenia to go. We've spent the last 3 days touring Prague and though I have managed to avoid the local food like the plague, I'll have to really work on that to properly complete my project in Dubrovnik. Today we started out in the Jewish Quarter and paid a whopping 15 dollars to visit the Old Jewish Cemetery which was a big as a small Super Walmart. Though the atmosphere was somber, the tombstones beautiful, and the experience an overall good one, it was not worth the price we had to pay. After that we made our way over the Charles Bridge up to St.Vitus' Cathedral only to find it closed. You'll see it in the pictures, it's quite tall and didn't make it all the way into the frame. The building in really beautiful from the outside though. We then mad our way to to a bar for lunch, Django had the collared pork and I stuck with french fries and a Pilsner beer. We bought a beer glass for my dad as a gift and Django got himself one of the huge metal capped beer glasses that are common here. We stopped at a pub for a pizza dinner, walked around Old Town Square for a bit and then made our way home early to deal with my broken cell phone issue (still isn't fixed which makes me more homesick than ever.) Now we're packing for our seven a.m train ride tomorrow to Salzburg. I'm still quite homesick and sad a lot of the time, but Django is being a good sport and we're crossing our fingers that the pulling of my heartstrings goes down a bit over each coming week. Day 3 of six weeks in down. Still got about 40 to go til I'm back in the good ol' U S of A.