February update

I decided to order skating dress from Thuono and I have to say it was right. The dress is super warm so I don’t need to wear many layers anymore. The only thing it is made as a body, so if you need to go to the restroom that would be a problem.

I was advised to buy L size because of the length and still, despite I am not a tall person, I feel a kind of short in the shoulders inside the dress. I wish it would be longer.

Screenshot-2016-02-22-12.03

I had long flue and after flue recovery. I lost more than one month in total. Finally I feel I am as healthy as I was before the flue. But unfortunately I am not as strong as I was what makes me quite sad.

February is here and its windy. I gained few kilos this winter and started 100% protein diet for two days today, then I am going to continue with high protein meal plan to be ready for the spring.

My garden is starting blooming. I have many plans to grow veggies this year. I will keep it updated soon. I propagate a lot of seeds at the moment. Asparagus, 7 kinds of tomatoes, melon cantaloupe which I bought in CA this summer (see below),

melon

4 types of basil (2 of them are Thai for my curries) and normal for pesto and tomatoes.

Screenshot-2016-02-22-12.18

And my baby girl was eight this month.

_DSC0218-14Feb2016

Sandwich Project: #7 – jamon Serrano and basil pesto sandwich!

The true Italian styled sandwich with

wholegrain ciabatta bread
jamon Serrano
mozzarella
basil pesto
dried tomato

Jamon Serrano is much cheaper than Iberico and it is sold everywhere, so we use it often.

Fresh hams are trimmed and cleaned, then stacked and covered with salt for about two weeks in order to draw off excess moisture and preserve the meat from spoiling. The salt is then washed off and the hams are hung to dry for about six months. Finally, the hams are hung in a cool, dry place for six to eighteen months, depending on the climate, as well as the size and type of ham being cured. The drying sheds (secaderos) are usually built at higher elevations, which is why the ham is called “mountain ham”.

sanwich_with_jamon_serrano_dried_tomato_recipe

And for cheering up Italian spirit on this post I will show you some of the pictures with me and my very tiny daughter seven years ago.

Continue reading

Homemade Basil Pesto

Finally we got back our farm market after long winter. There are a lot of herbs on the Andel farm market today. Basil pesto is what we use quite often for sandwiches, mozzarella, salads and pasta. So I stopped to buy it and once a time make it by myself.

Here is a very easy step by step tutorial how to make fresh basil pesto at home.

I make it different from time to time: with or without garlic, with or without nuts or Parmesan cheese. Olive oil is always used and it has to be the best quality, because you feel how it tastes too much.

_DSC1946-15May2015  _DSC1917-15May2015

Today I made garlic and pine nuts basil pesto.

homemade basil pesto  _DSC1922-15May2015  

Just blend it all together and conserve with extra olive oil at the top to prevent color change.

_DSC1923-15May2015  _DSC1925-15May2015

I was so happy today to buy all that green stuff freshly grown in Czech.

_DSC1913-15May2015-2