Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !

Yep, it’s just beginning of this special month, but I’m already in Christmas mood. Gifts are packed, tickets are bought and I just need to pack my bag and take direction of my family home. Europe is coved by snow, so… I just hope to drive safely this 2000 kilometers and not to be obliged to be back or stop in the middle of the road.

Driving home for Christmas
Oh, I can't wait to see those faces
I'm driving home for Christmas, yea
Well I'm moving down that line
And it's been so long
But I will be there
I sing this song
To pass the time away
Driving in my car
Driving home for Christmas…

Thank you Chris Rea for this beautiful song ! It always makes me good to listen in on the road ! Do you have your special song ?

Probably it’s my last post of this year, so let me wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !  Let’s enjoy this special season. Hope each of you will get a really nice time with family and friends, you’ll smile and get many sunny days ! This holiday season is also the opportunity to say thank you for being a part of my blog, my life… So happy to meet you and hope you’ll stay with me next year.

Warmest thoughts and best wishes to you all! 

Bosnian cakes…

Who doesn’t like cakes, desserts, tarts, cookies and other delectables?

It’s really something obvious to connect France with its tarts or Belgium with chocolates, but… what exactly you should try in Bosnia and Herzegovina ? Knowing about all different traditions from the region, it’s simply impossible to find only one taste.

For me, there are two groups: sort of Balkan cakes, like baklava, ružica etc… 

 and… dessert dishes based on fruit and cream as main ingredients.

Surly you should try both to get your own opinion. Unfortunately, I can’t say I’m big fan of them. Balkan cakes are really sweet. Don’t be amazed if you receive a really small part of it on your plate.  Others, in my opinion, are terribly fat… Somehow I feel really sad to speak not so positively about Bosnian desserts. It’s simply not my taste… but maybe yours ?

Homemade RAKIJA

Let’s start from the beginning… 

RAKIJA is kind of brandy, which is produced of fermented fruits, like plums (the most popular), apricots, grapes, peaches, apples, pears or it can be also done with herbs. Its alcohol content is about 40% ABV, but home-made rakija is much stronger, typically 50-60%.

Rakija has no color, unless herbs are added. It’s supposed to be drunk in small glasses. Attention: you drink it slowly and celebrate the taste ! Take a breath, a quick sip directly down your throat right to the stomach, long breath and you should feel the burning in your chest. 

Rakija is considered as a national drink in the Balkans. Drinking it has also a traditional meaning. People drink it during weddings, baptisms, joining the army. It’s offered to guests no matter what time of day it is and in the end of the orthodox funerals, people drink it “for a soul” of the deceased, some spill some rakija on the ground before drinking the rest.

During winter, especially during open-air festivities it’s very popular to drink “cooked” rakija which is heated and sweetened with honey, sugar, added spices.  

According to the local people if you haven't tried homemade Rakija, then you just haven't tried Rakija at all. It’s also very interesting to see this productions…  So, enjoy it !

Expresso or polako ? Speaking about coffee…

If you ever put your feet on Balkans, you surly noticed full coffee shops and people drinking coffee no matter of the time. In fact, here we can speak about special culture of preparing and drinking coffee… 

Surly it’s a national drink of Bosnians and Herzegovinians since the arrival of Ottomans. Traditional Bosnian coffee, which is known as a Turkish coffee in the whole world, is prepared in the special coffee pot, called džezva, and served in special miniature coffee cups, called fildžan. This coffee, made by boiling ground coffee beans with water, is really strong. It’s always served with sugar, little lokum sweets (it’s mostly eaten after drinking) and running water. Be careful if you’re not used to drink it. In Sarajevo, it’s said that’s enough clean and it’s really good for a health…. But it’s also true you can get a runny tummy after the 1^st degustation. 

Just to show you džezva and fildžan

If you don’t want to try Bosnian coffee, you’ve got other choices. According to the local people, you can take:

1. expresso  - yes, you read well, that’s changed name of espresso :) ; it’s not exactly like coffee to go, it’s rather coffee which needs to be drunk really fast.
2. polako (a word very often used on Balkans; it means slowly, not to hurry)… coffee for degustation even during few hours… 

Attention ! if You don’t want to look like a foreign, you should order coffee  with another drink. Here, the most shocking for me, it’s mix coffee – coca cola, or coffee – orange juice…  I really don’t understand it  and I can’t drink it…

What you also need to know is that you should never refused a coffee. It’s really not well seen, it’s like you refuse hospitality….