In the international competiton of monocultivated organic olive oils  Janko F. Morgan won the highest award with his Istrian Belica. We are proud that we have his superior olive oil in our regular offer.

Jurij made excellent home-made gnocchi from semolina flour and quality potatoes in a divine San Marzano sauce with spinach, nutmeg and garlic. It was delicious! Fresh white bread, white wine and Italian song – it was a perfect evening.

Pop-on line (provider of Slovenian the most visited web sites) is preparing a new internet site Okusno.je for foodies. They were making a promotional video and Jurij and I were happy to help them. Take a look at what was going on:

In a biggest gourmet shop in Ljubljana you can find two more of our specialties, so if you visit this shop, you can buy:
Spread of roughly chopped artichokes and Eggplant caponata.

Welcome!

Slovenian Association for the integrated production of fruit and vegetables, in cooperation with the Verus agency prepared an event on “Gospodarsko razstavišče”. We helped them and prepared a little different buffet with their really fresh and high quality vegetables and fruit.

One of nostalgic sweets for me are princess doughnuts. I remember how we used to bake them with my mom and how I liked to eat left overs of delicious vanilla cream. And on a last dinner with our friends we came across (I do not know how) a theme about these tasty bits. It has been a loooong time since we last made them with my mom, so I have decided to bake them on my own. I studied the theory from all sources available and started to work.
I recommend the following recipe for dough:
boil 250 ml water and 100g of butter, add salt and 150g of flour. Mix so that the dough becomes smooth and when it is a big dumpling, remove it from fire and slightly cool down. Mix in 4 to 5 eggs. You put the dough on a baking tray in a form of small balls and bake in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius approx. 20 minutes.
When the donuts are cold, cut them in half, inject vanilla custard and whipped cream, cover them and they are done. Recipe for vanilla custard is as follows: mix 4 egg yolks and 50g sugar, add 50g of flour and half dcl of cold milk and mix all together. Pour in the boiling milk, in which you previously cooked vanilla bean. Add vanilla seeds and a dash of rum into a mixture. Cook the cream to thicken. Finally, add the egg white of 3 eggs, which you have sweetened with 50g of sugar.

Yesterday’s Sunday was lazy and anti social and stuffing with princess doughnuts was very much in the context. I will surely repeat it soon. But I do recommend, that when you bake them, invite some friends over, because princess doughnuts are very filling, you bake them a lot and foremost, they are best fresh. And bon appetite!

It is nice to have something to drink before a meal that stimulates your appetite. Caper is known that it does just that so we recommend serving a glass of martini, vodka or gin with a caper berry. And then hurry behind the table full of Goodies!

Quality ingredients for cooking are highly appreciated in USA and tomatoes with a protected designation of origin are one of them. Most of the tomatoes of Mr. Sabato “Il Miracolo di San Gennaro” travel overseas, but this time Piennolo tomatoes from organic production were noticed in NY Times newspaper. Their price is more affordable in our store comparing to the price stated in the article. Read here.

Old Istrian habit is to have a cod fish for Christmas. It is very healthy and very special. Most often bakalar (stockfish) is made of it. Jurij makes the best one. If you want to know details about recipe, ask him. And, bon appetite.

It is nothing nicer than the smell of freshly baked home-made bread. Jurij is playing lately: milky bread, white bread, bread with herbs, tortillas, chapatti… We don’t need scented candles at all. My favorite is bread with half-dried cherry tomatoes – a beautiful color, sweet flavor, it is exceptional.

The ingredients and recipe:

1 kg flour
150 ml milk
2 teaspoons salt
150g semi-dried Pachino cherry tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cube of fresh yeast
Add yeast and sugar to warm milk and let it rise. Drain tomatoes and chop them. Sift flour, add leavened yeast, salt and chopped tomatoes. Knead the dough till it is smooth. If necessary, add lukewarm water or flour. Form kneaded dough into loaf, sprinkle flour on top and let it rise about 60 minutes.
After first rising, knead dough gently again and let it rise for another 30 minutes. Heat the oven and a baking tray to 220 degrees Celsius. Cover the pan with baking paper and place the dough on it. Bake for 30 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees and bake another 25-30 minutes.
And bon appetite!

Jurij cooked for and with Slovenian actress Aleksandra Balmazovič. He was invited by Delo.si – national e-newspaper. The session was a lot of fun and the dish he made was very tasty.

Jurij made a great risotto with porcini mushrooms and spelt rice. First he roasted leeks and garlic, then added porcini mushrooms and a little bit of parsley. When all was well softened and nice, he added mascarpone cheese and cooked spelt rice. He decorated risotto with fresh basil and a tasty and healthy autumn lunch was ready.

Some like »juicy« sweets, a lot of cream and chocolate. But I am more into sponge cakes. Therefore, the muffins are often on our menu. They are quickly done and are a great snack or a breakfast. Recently I felt like eating elder, so I made muffins with candied Elder blossoms. Here is the recipe: mix 250g rye flour, vanilla bean, grated lemon zest, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of soda bicarbonate and a pinch of salt. In another bowl mix butter with a jar of candied elder blossoms, add 2 eggs, 200g mascarpone, a tablespoon of lemon juice and 40g of raisins. Combine both mixtures together and fill up the muffin model. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius approx. 25 minutes. And Bon appetite!

Jurij makes sure that the cauldron does not get dusty so he used it again and prepared a great sea food treat in it.

Agrigenus San Marzano have a different label for a while, as they have made a special edition, so that on the label is beside sign for protected designation of origin also the sign for Presidi slow food, which means that San Marzano tomatoes are in the club of elite Italian ingredients for Slow food.

Elizabeth David,

British great woman, who introduced French and Italian cuisine to the British people in the 20th century. We both can easily identify with her about celebrating the regional and rural dishes of the Mediterranean with good, basic ingredients. We also think that eating is a reflection of a human culture. Check video.

In a biggest gourmet shop in Ljubljana in Maximarket you can find more of our specialties since this summer, so if you shop there, you can indulge yourself with:

San Marzano tomatoes,

Broccollata – cauliflower spread,

Bronte Pistachio Pesto and

delicious Cinnamon cream.
Welcome!

Well, we can not get enough of porcini mushrooms, so this time they lied on bread.

I made dough and baked a ciabatta. I fried porcini mushrooms on an onion and garlic and placed them on a grilled ciabatta. Put over some peeled traditional piennolo tomatoes. I finished off with GranaP and best this years’ oregano from Murgia (Apulia), which you can find in our shop.

A unique Balsamic sour apple sauce can be bought now also in 100g bottle. Nice and handy. Good idea to surprise someone with a beautiful and delicious present. More…

Falafel is tasty, trendy, veggie and we all like it and of course chickpeas rule! I do not want to boast but I have a feeling and patience for falafel. I will not write down the recipe because you can find a lot of them online. But it is also true that a lot of them are bad. A free of charge advice just for you , very important one… if you want to make a top quality falafel, never use canned chickpeas, or if you use raw chickpeas, do not cook it. If you want to learn how to make falafel, which you can offer without any shame to your Middle East friends, and you are from Ljubljana, I can teach you. It only costs 10 € (per person) and you will also learn how to make hummus. The falafel school will take place only if there are at least 3 participants. Send email to info@enjoygoodies.com to participate.

Spelt rice is a very grateful thing to cook with in the kitchen. Always works out, does not complain, is a friend with all the extras and is very tasty. Baked spelt rice can be a great side dish to meat, fish, and salads or as a cold snack the next day. Cook it in salted water about 20 minutes. When it is cooked drain and cool it. Fry onion in a pan, add fresh peppers, zucchini, eggplant, garlic, fresh tomatoes … anything really. When the vegetables are done, add it to spelt rice, add an egg or two or three….. (depending on the amount of rice) and mix thoroughly. Try, if it is sufficiently seasoned and put it on a baking tray greased with olive oil. Place fresh sliced tomatoes and peppers on top, sprinkle with oregano and drizzle with some olive oil. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees about 35 minutes. Before you dig in, let it cool down a bit, because it will stick more and you can cut a nice piece that will not throw apart.

To make a plate more colorful, I suggest that as a side dish you serve grilled fresh zucchini – cut out the core and fill them with porcini mushrooms which you roast with onions and garlic, add mascarpone cheese and fresh parsley.

So, these time a chub mackerel a bit differently. I fried sliced prosciutto, chard and garlic. I added a little white wine and pepper. I did not use salt as prosciutto is already salty. I stuffed bellies of chub mackerels with this mixture. I put them in the oven for 30 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. Baking time depends on the size of the catch.

I braised the rest of the chard in garlic and rosemary and added boiled potatoes and parsley at the end. I poured over a rich amount of olive oil.

Best wine to serve with this delicious meal is white Bizeljcan or any dry white wine from Dolenjska region.

It has been a great year. Online store Enjoygoodies.com celebrates its first birthday on the 15th of August. On this day, Jurij and I started with a project – online store with Goodies for the refined tastes from Italy and Slovenia from manufacturers who offer diverse range of exquisite tastes. Thanks to all of you who have already pampered yourselves with our Goodies.

In the week from 15th to 22nd of August 2010 you will get a 10% discount for all on-line orders. All those who will buy at least 5 products at once, will be given one  tin of San Marzano tomatoes 400gr for free.
We wish that our offer will continue to be according to your taste.

Thank you, Jurij and Alesa

Sallemi printed a new label for semi-dried Pachino cherry tomatoes. Olive is more pointed out as their trademark, because their primary activity is still olive oil. Neat.

Jurij made this great dish. Very tasty – as a kind of pizza but with polenta instead of a pastry. Let’s take a look at the recipe: we cook polenta and then add fresh rosemary and top quality organic olive oil.

We place polenta on a greasy baking tray.

Cook San Marzano tomatoes in a pan for around 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper according to taste.

Put tomatoes on a polenta and cover them with fresh basil.

Grill zucchini and meat separately. Use meat from the pork sausage. You can also make this dish without meat.

Place vegetables and meat on polenta.

Cover it again with fresh basil and grated cheese. We used local organic cheese.

We bake everything in the oven on around 200 degrees Celsius so that the cheese melts and gets lightly brown.

Yummy!

You can rarely get a fish called chub mackerel on Ljubljana’s fish market. This fish is very similar to mackerel, only that it has a larger eye and is slightly different color. I cut up the chub mackerel to stakes, removed larger bones, rolled it into flour and fried it in oil. When it was done, I took it out of the pan. In the same pan I added a little more oil, onion, bay leaf, fresh rosemary and slowly roasted these all together so that the onions were soft. I added immodest amount of white wine and sliced, green, fresh San Marzano tomato. I waited for the alcohol to evaporate, added salt, pepper and fresh parsley. You may add extras to the marinade (wine, vinegar, peperoncino, salt, pepper …). Allow it to cool slightly and pour it over the chub mackerel. Place in refrigerator. The best flavor develops the next day when the fish is soaked well in marinade.

I have a really good recipe for short crust for pies:
Knead 200g of flour, 200g of butter, 100g of sugar (80g is also enough), 100g of grinded hazelnuts, egg, cinnamon, grinded cloves, lemon zest and a tablespoon of lemon juice. Let the dough rest for a while in a cool place and then place it on a tray and spread Mulberry jam on top. Great! And interestingly, although the jam is quite sweet itself, it is very sourly juicy on this pie. Bon appetite!

The origin of the food that is on our plate is important to us. And we started to do a little searching around. Recently, we broaden our horizon with Klemen’s help, who already has a bank of knowledge on traditional and less traditional food products in Slovenia. It is amazing what all is there, but we have not heard of it yet. And one such product (well, it is alive), is also Krskopoljski pig. Klemen and Jurij visited the farm of Ivanšek family from Zasap near Cerklje ob Krki, who are responsible for the revival of interest on Krskopoljski pigs.
Krskopoljski pig is the only preserved autochthonous Slovenian breed of pigs. It was formed in Dolenjska region. In 1851 there were mostly black or striped pigs with bigger ears and some were short with upright ears. Krskopoljski pig was endangered in the past on the one hand with the introduction of new breeds and on the other by limiting the area and lack of appropriate breeding pigs.
Klemen and Jurij were charmed by the places where pigs stay: cleanliness, tidiness, comfort. They do very well there. And their meat is first class. A domestic ham was given to us, dried, without artificial additives. Immeasurable good. See for yourself how the inside of the stable looked like…

On such hot days you start to understand why down south they have such a pace, as they have. During the day you are unable to work unless you are forced to work under air-conditioners. After lunch there is nothing else to do but to take a nap or siesta, as they call it in hot countries. And in the evening when the air is slightly cooler and the sun sets, you can become alive. Then you start to feel hungry and there is nothing better than to sit down behind a full table with a good company and a glass of cold wine. We also invited our dearly friends and served them the following:

Grilled eggplant with Provalone cheese and roasted tomatoes

Salad with roasted tomatoes

Marinated anchovies

Fried squid in a mixture of corn flour and corn meal

Mackerel paté

Salad with crab, mango and mentha

Homemade bread

All food was prepared by Jurij. We had crab meat in a freezer since our last spring hike along the Adriatic coast. Take a look at a table in the video, but if you want details of any food recipe, please call Jurij at 0038640467771. It is really too hot to write …

This year we were lucky. We got quite a big piece of land to rent, five minutes away from our home, to grow organic vegetables.
We have started working in spring. Thank God for all the experience of our mothers, grand mothers and all other experts, whose tips are very useful. These last few days we are totally amazed – garden went literally crazy, in a positive way. There are pumpkins, beans, lettuce, herbs, flowers and of course the king of the garden – tomato. San Marzanos are starting to blush and we are not complaining about the summer heat at all, because it only benefits them. San Marzanos love basil and not just on a plate but also in the garden. We planted it around the tomatoes as a guard. Otherwise, we really enjoy watching what Mother Nature is able to create: beautiful cherry tomatoes, enormous pumpkins, cucumbers, kohlrabi and incredible sunny colors of marigold, which will be placed in organic olive oil and will protect my skin. And there is nothing better than to go in the garden, cut a fresh salad and eat it immediately for lunch with all its nice fresh smell and crispiness. And all this in Ljubljana. Not to mention how healthy this is. I am impressed. God give us a good weather and no hail

Great idea for a quick, summer lunch.

Enjoy!

We are still into light, summer food. Here is a suggestion for a delicious and colorful plate: fry fresh champignons and add garlic and parsley. Put them on a plate and cover them with artichokes. Put cooked chicken fillets around and spread Broccolata on them. Pour over organic olive oil. Bon appetite!

Some people are simply great and one of them is Barica Blenkus. Her Private Acting school was celebrating 20th anniversary this year. And we were very proud when Barica chose us to prepare a catering for all invited to a ceremony in a Cultural institution Spanski borci. We served salty canapés, sweet snacks and good champagne. And we were one very happy team at the end. Satisfied guests, happy client, what more can a person want…

Jurij was taking care of international artistic group Superamas for 14 days in cultural institution Spanski borci. He made sure that their stomachs were full. Superamas were working in Ljubljana on their new performance called Youdream. Jurij made lunch for them every day with freshly homemade bread and 2 dishes. 2 representatives were vegetarians and one was on a gluten-free diet (Jurij also made fresh gluten-free bread for him every day), all the rest were eating everything. Obviously they were very keen of Jurij’s cooking since he was very seriously invited to cook for them on their next tour.

This way usually the tables were set before their arrival to the lunch.

You can see a fraction of performances in the following video:

Here you can make his wish come true.

I like to start a day with a good home-made cake and tea or coffee. I have a very simple recipe for a delicious yogurt cake that is done in a second. I think this is the first cake I have ever baked as a child and since then I bake it quite often, especially now that also Maj likes to eat it. I just change the topping; the base is always the same. So, mix yogurt, two yogurt pots of flour, half a pot of sugar, half a pot of oil, half a pot of milk, 2 eggs, half of baking powder and a tablespoon of rum. Optionally, you can add vanilla or lemon peel and pour the mixture into a greased baking tray. Put the best sour cherry jam on top and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 30 minutes.

I like to bake it in the evening, when Maj is already sleeping and serve it in the morning as a surprise. Double joy  Bon appetite!

I did not have it for a long time and I really wanted it – rice pudding. Rice pudding is not really a dessert for me; I prefer to have it as a main dish. Best is cold for breakfast. Let me tell you my recipe:

I cook rice in the soy milk and add whole vanilla bean into it during cooking. I stir in butter, a pinch of salt, vanilla seeds, a tablespoon or two of lemon juice and about two large tablespoons of preserved elder blossoms. I let it cool.
I divide yolks and whites of three eggs. I mix well yolks and a spoon of sugar and add this to rice plus whipped egg whites at the very end.
I place half of the rice in the bowl that beforehand was buttered and sprinkled with breadcrumbs. Then I place three grated apples with some cinnamon on top and cover them with the rest of the rice.
I bake it in the oven on 180 degrees about 30-40 minutes.
In the end I got a pile of dishes to wash in the kitchen, which is why I make rice pudding so rarely. But every time it’s worth it – it is divine.

Bon appetite!

Another nice video about hand-made Fusilli from Gragnano, this time as a part of a TV documentary. We did not subtitle it as the picture speaks for itself. If I just summarize it, the whole point is:
Zampino brothers are very talented, modern pasta makers who produce Fusilli by traditional method. With simple tagliatele, iron stick and a lot of “fat from the elbow” pasta makers make almost 4 kg of pasta per hour. To become a pasta maker you need to be very precise and super fast, skilful.
Craftswomen at Alberto Zampino are all daughters of older pasta makers from Gragnano. This is a very rare profession and very few young women have the passion to continue this profession.

That’s it.

And this unique, superb and very tasty product is available in our offer.

Jurij was a part of a TV show last week on a Slovenian TV channel TV3. A show is called »Who is the Chef?« and it is about 4 people who do not know each other and each of them has to cook one day for all the others and at the end they have to guess who the real chef is. Luka was the real chef, but Jurij made them all very confused. You can watch him cook – sorry for not translating this video but I think a picture speak for itself. Enjoy!

Season for healthy asparagus is here again. Have them in a very simple way – steam cooked with pieces of grilled prosciutto and mustard topping. For topping stir mustard, olive oil, lemon juice, pepper and fresh thyme. A tip: good, a bit spicy mustard is sold by our neighbors on the market, who sell Dutch cheese.

Eet smakelijk!

Invite your friends to your home and Jurij will cook a delicious lunch or dinner for you. While you chat and enjoy a good company, he will do all the work instead of you.

TASTING LIKE THIS:
A WELCOME: Home baked buns with organic olive oil
TO CONTINUE WITH: Zucchini in the embrace of sun-dried cherry tomatoes
A WARM STARTER: Fusilli with Pesto Cetarese and fennel
FOR A BREAK: Young spinach with a mixture of nuts and mild spicy red dressing
MAIN DISH: Pot roasted rabbit in wine with herbs and vegetables; and potato cushion with wild fennel
DESSERT: Vanilla ice cream with topping of oranges in olive oil

AND TASTING LIKE THIS:
A WELCOME: Home baked buns with organic olive oil
TO CONTINUE WITH: Cold Eliche pasta with Neonata and sun-dried tomatoes
A WARM STARTER: Balls of fresh trout with herb mayonnaise
FOR A BREAK: Young spinach with a mixture of nuts and mild spicy red dressing
MAIN DISH: A daily selection of fish with potatoes and organic olives from the oven
DESSERT: Vanilla ice cream with topping of oranges in olive oil

Jurij cooks for 2-8 persons. Price is 25 €/person for the Ljubljana area and 25 €/person + travel costs for other locations in Slovenia and Europe. The price does not include drinks, which Jurij will be happy to provide according to your wish and it is payable by the actual receipt. At the end Jurij also cleans the kitchen so that you can really just enjoy.

For reservations please call 00386 40467771 or 00386 41510611 or send email to info@enjoygoodies.com.

The offer was put together for you by Jurij and Alesa.

The warm days are here and there will be more fresh vegetables available soon. The peppers are excellent as a side dish or as a light main course:
coat red pepper with oil and bake them for one hour in the oven at about 190 degrees Celsius. When baked, place them in a plastic bag for around 15 minutes. Steam generated in this procedure will help peeling the peppers. In the mean time mix cottage cheese, Piccantello, sweet pepper powder, salt, pepper and olive oil Polizzi in a bowl.
Remove peppers from bag, peel them and clean the seeds. Then fill them with a mixture and place them on a plate. Pour over a great amount of organic olive oil Polizzi. Add salt according to taste. I personally like to add a pinch of freshly grinded pepper.

Attack peppers with grilled bread. I recommend dry Rose wine to go with this dish.

Bon appetit! Jurij, Enjoygoodies.com

We have opened our new shop! In an indoor part of Ljubljana’s central market place between Pogacarjev and Vodnikov market. To help you find us, we recorded the path from the fish market to our shop:

In our store you can get a taste of our Goodies, talk about food, write down ideas for delicious cooking or you can arrange that we cook for you while you are visiting Ljubljana.

You will find us in our shop on Friday and Saturday between 8:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Welcome to our world of Goodies!

In the last few days Jurij and I spend most of the time furnishing our shop which will open on a central Ljubljana’s market in April. But still a man must eat. Most of the time we eat at my mum’s place, for which we are very grateful to her, but we still manage to make something to eat also at home. And as usual, even if we lack time, our motto is »it has to be tasty and delicious«.

So here is one suggestion: Hand-made Fusilli with porcini. Very simple. Fry onions and garlic in olive oil, add porcini (can be frozen). Fry, braise them for a while, and then add snow peas, which make a great color contrast. Cook Fusilli and add few spoons of water, in which pasta was cooked, to a sauce, then mix everything together. Delicious dish is ready. Bon appetite!

In Ljubljana’s restaurant Favola they are serving our pasta Eliche from a town Gragnano, Italy. In translation we call them “propeller” because they look like one, like a long, twisted propeller. Due to unique and cleverly made turns, sauce is literally stuck in the “propeller” and thus creates unique eating experience. In Favola they serve them with various sauces, depending on the season – on a photo they are with a cod sauce.

I simply adore semi-dried Pachino tomatoes

This time I prepared them with snow peas – quickly roasted; pancetta and semi-dried Pachino tomatoes.

Balsamic sour apple sauce does an excellent work as a deeping sauce.

Jurij, Dobrote.si

This time we suggest a nice home-made meal. Meatballs and mashed potatoes which are best if prepared at home. So, we make balls out of a mixture of beef and pork, to which we have added slightly fried onion, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, breadcrumbs and egg. Make balls of a medium size, somewhere between ping pong and tennis ball. We suggest that you invite children to create meatballs and in-between indulge yourself with a glass of a good wine.

When the meatballs are made, sauté them quickly so that they get a nice crust.

Make a tomato sauce in a large pot from Terra Amore e Fantasia tomatoes. Then throw meatballs in from a far distance. Cook them slowly for about 40 minutes. They taste even better the next day. For a side dish we recommend mashed potatoes with Wild rocket pesto.

Bon appetite!

We will open a new shop in April with our Goodies in the indoor part of Ljubljana’s main market place. There you will have a chance to try our Goodies and of course buy them. It will be open from Monday to Saturday. We will keep you informed about further details and happening around our shop. Warm welcome!

Olives in olive oil with herbs are so delicious that Jurij and I immediately started to think in what other way could we eat them other than directly from a jar with bread. We did not complicate much because the rule is simple: you can not miss with a basic cooking and excellent ingredients. So we placed sliced potatoes, fair amount of olives and very fresh fish (scorpaena) on a baking tray with baking paper underneath. We put everything in the oven, placed on a plate when baked, poured over olive oil and enjoyed. Olives were softer because of baking and the taste was excellent, juicy and very special. We recommend it a lot!

A French television station visited our pasta producer and recorded a short film about hand-made fusilli. As you will see in the video, they have a few trained women who skillfully and quickly wrap tagliatelle (broad spaghetti) around sticks so that they get their unique form. Then they place pasta by hand on a wooden plate and leave it to dry.

A truly unique product. And when you eat it, you feel it – firm structure, a taste of real pasta, different from the fresh and different from other dried pasta. Bon appetite!

Vienna is world famous for its Sacher cake. It is made in many versions throughout the world; however, if you buy it at the Hotel Sacher, where it is baked by the original recipe, the cake is really special.

For this year’s national holiday (8th February) we went after a long time on a walk around the lake in Bled. We also went to Hotel Park, where similar as they sell Vienna Sacher cake, they sell Bled’s cream cake in Slovenia.

And I was truly disappointed. I know food is a matter of taste but according to my taste it was too sweet, with too much whipped cream and it lack a character of its own. Cream cakes used to be composed of two-thirds of vanilla cream and one-third of whipped cream. Now this ratio is about half-half, which covers a great taste of vanilla cream. Plus vanilla cream itself lacks a genuine taste – it is just one foamy sweetness.

If you ask me, my mom still makes the best cream cakes and I doubt that today they bake exactly the same cream cakes at Hotel Park as they used to do in legendary bakery Ravnik, where cream cakes originate from. Unfortunately.

We have managed to make a deal with the biggest retail store in Slovenia – Mercator so some of our Goodies are now sold on the shelves of Maximarket – a very nice and big store in the center of Ljubljana. Our Goodies are among other delicacies in the basement of Maximarket where food/gourmet section is. You can find there Tangerine marmalade, Bronte Pistachio Pesto and Wild Fennel Pesto. In a little while you will be able to also find Sun semi-dried cherry tomatoes.

Welcome if you are visiting Ljubljana!

I do not know, maybe he was inspired by Maja’s departure to India. Last week Jurij decided that it is time after a short brake to start with Indian cooking again so he pulled out all the Indian spices from the kitchen cabinet and started to cook.

First he cooked a lot of couscous – we never have it in normal quantities so I am used to the fact that I have to use it for other dishes as well but more about this at the end…

So, cook couscous according to the producer’s instructions. Roast onions, add coriander seeds and whole small champignons. Roast so that the mushrooms soften. Pour in white wine and wait for the alcohol to evaporate. Add curry (Jurij added two different mixes), pour in vegetable soup, add garam masala and a spoon of Sweet onion jam.
Pour sauce over couscous and a good appetite!

Oh yes, I owe you a suggestion what to do with the rest of the couscous. We had it for apex. 4 portions left. Chill it and add small pieces of freshly cut pineapple – dribble some lemon juice over it. Add a handful or two of raisins, coconut flour and two tablespoons of honey. Allow it to rest for about half an hour in the refrigerator, and then again mix thoroughly. Before serving this dessert or delicious snack, pour over Balsamic vinegar with honey.

Last time we started a day with calamari and we will stick with them. They are very practical, tasty and we can prepare a series of great dishes with them. This time we suggest a combination with pasta.

Pasta – make homemade pasta with 400g of flour and four eggs. When the dough is done, wrap it in foil and let it rest for one hour in the refrigerator.
Make tagliatele with a help of a machine for making pasta. Very amusing thing, you can play with a dough as much as you like, you can even do a family contest, who will make the longest dough. Children will be usefully entertained and you will all have a lot of fun.

Sauce – roast onions in olive oil. Add calamari and roast for a while, mix in garlic and a bit of parsley and roast so that the garlic wafts. Then pour over white wine and fish soup (if you do not have it, then add more wine and water in which the pasta is cooked).

Around a minute before the end of cooking (when calamari are nicely soft – a matter of taste) we add chunks of fresh tomatoes, fresh parsley and Wild fennel pesto. Add cooked pasta (which was boiled in a large amount of water) into a sauce. Fresh pasta has to be cooked for a short time, depending on how thick you have made it, so be careful that you do not overcook it. When the pasta is served on a plate pour over rich amount of Morgan olive oil. Grating of dairy products (read cheese) is not required.

Bon appetite!

Slovenian biggest retail network kindly gave us a place in one of their supermarkets where they have »organic market« on Saturdays. So we had a chance to present organic olive oil Morgan from Slovenian Istria. We will be there again next Saturday 30/1/2010, this time also with Morgan’s best Preserved olives in olive oil.

Glaze onion and add rice, then roast this with constant stirring (carefully so that rice does not burn). Pour in white wine and stir allowing alcohol to evaporate.
While stirring dilute with hot vegetable soup so that the rice is almost cooked (about 18 min, depending on the type of rice). Before the end add sliced zucchini, asparagus from a  can and a few spoons of Tuna&Orange.

You can add Parmesan cheese if you want (we skip it when cooking sea food pasta or risotto).

Scyavuru has slightly changed the labels of their products. More clear and likable.

Movie Julie & Julia was an inspiration for Santa Claus and he brought a book Mastering the Art of French Cooking to Jurij.

We promised ideas for intermediate part of the New Year’s Eve dinner. We stick to the seafood theme.
For warm first course we suggest a simple dish: pasta with pesto from Mediterranean ingredients – anchovies, capers, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts, olives… Cook pasta and mix it with Pesto Cetarese. Simple, because nothing is worse than if a Chef spends a whole day in the kitchen and at the end of the evening he/she does not have an energy to relax and have fun so we think it is ok if there is a dish on the menu, which does not require a lot of work.

For the main course treat yourself with a fish pie, traditional English dish. Watch preparation on video in which cooks it a legend himself Marco Pierre White.

Our version of fish pie contains salmon and sea bass, no eggs, peas instead of leeks and we add a spoon or two of Wild Fennel Pesto into mashed potatoes. We of course replaced a stock cube which Marco Pierre White added to a cream with a fish soup (cooked from bones and head of a sea bass).

Isn’t it great if you can experiment and change recipe according to your own taste? Really tasty and easy dish.

Beside have fresh baby spinach with roasted pine nuts and parmesan cheese. Dress it with Morgan organic olive oil and lemon juice.

Bon appetite and all the best on a New Year’s Eve and a lot more pleasurable evenings in the coming year!

Alesa and Jurij, Enjoygoodies.com

Your bellies after Christmas will probably be full of roasted turkeys, roasts, hams and sweets. And there is at least one dinner waiting for us until the end of a year, which is on this year’s last evening so Jurij and I decided to make a suggestion for a New Year’s Eve dinner which includes fish.

Today, we are presenting ideas for the opening and closing of the feast.

For a starter you can serve small canapés on a fish basis:
1. spread Tuna&Orange on mini bread
2. sauté »naked« shrimp tail on a combination of butter and olive oil and then serve it with mashed avocado on a toast. Add salt, pepper and remaining sauce of the shrimps to avocado. 3. carve a roll cut from zucchini; put a spoon of tomato “A Miracle” from San Gennaro on the bottom and a Swordfish paté on top which you previously mixed with a fresh mint.

It should smell like cinnamon, baked apples, walnuts and Elder blossoms at the end. Recipe is as follows:
Place cleaned and cut into pieces apples (around 4) in a baking tray. Mix a ¼ cup of sugar, teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 cup of coarse grinded walnuts and sprinkle this mixture over apples.
In a bowl mix 1 cup of flour, a spoon of sugar, teaspoon of baking powder and a pinch of salt. Separately mix 1 egg, 1/2 cup of boiling milk, 1/3 cup of melted butter and add this to dry ingredients and pour over apples. Sprinkle ¼ cup of grinded walnuts on top. Bake for 55 minutes on 160 degrees Celsius.
Serve still warm with a whipped cream on top to which you added 2 teaspoons of Preserved Elder Blossoms. Great thing for dotting the i.

A tip: if some cream is left over, stir it the next day in a cup of hot chicory (or plain) cup of coffee. Mmmmm.

We will write you a recipe for a warm appetizer and a main course in a while. So you can start with preparations.

In 2005, the European production documentary movie was made about industrial produced food “Unser täglich Brot”.

Without words, only images that very clearly spoke for themselves. Tomatoes grown on an artificial ground without soil and lettuce, which does not see soil at all because it grows inside closed halls on a water. Cattle, whose entire life is on an assembly line from birth to slaughter. What kind of energy comes into our bodies when we eat beef steak, which has not once in a lifetime experienced gentle, warm human touch? It all seems so alien, cold, and tasteless.

Last year, Americans have made their own version of industrial produced food in the movie Food, Inc. I highly recommend you to watch it during this Christmas holidays or maybe better, after the holidays so that you do not kill your appetite.

Americans did it their own way with personal stories and testimonials included so that it touches you deeply. And you have to see those chickens which are so degenerated that they can not even stand on their own feet, because the weight of their breast is too big, as market dictates it. But which meat do you prefer, or which is more “healthy”: white or red? And is it normal that your child dies because the food industry lobbies are so strong that they have the power to keep deadly bacteria inside food because of the profit?

And it makes you think. Maybe we should get such “injections” more often for consideration. If you are lucky, you buy food from local farmers, people you know and you know their production processes. But if you buy food in supermarkets, bare in mind that we live in a market economy, in European Union with open borders. And don’t be naive – there are not enough serious, conscientious and reliable inspectors who would check and verify a content of every jar, each package. The origin is important.

Alesa, Enjoygoodies.com

Our loyal customer Maja Š. sent us a great recipe for vegetarians.

Ingredients for 2 persons:

-         apx. 30 dag fresh spinach

-         2 small pears

-         a piece of Brie or Camembert cheese

-         few pine nuts

-          Roses’ petals in a sugar syrup

-         Olive oil Morgan

Wash spinach, quickly fry it on hot olive oil and place it on a plate. Put over three slices of Brie or Camembert cheese. Wash pears, cut them into slices and bake them on a grill pan on olive oil then place them over cheese. Sprinkle some roasted pine nuts on top drizzle with Morgan olive oil and add a tea spoon or two of Roses’ petals in sugar syrup. Serve still warm with toasted bread.

Photo by: Maja Š.

I absolutely recommend it!

We invite others to send us their recipes with our Goodies.

Jurij, DOBROTE.SI

Last week Jurij and I visited a fair in Milan.

It was a craftsman, December fair and since it was not B2B (Business to Business) oriented, we could really find genuine small suppliers with excellent Goodies.
I was most impressed by diversity of the products offered on fair. Two halls, each bigger than Slovenian biggest fair, were dedicated to only Italy and its regions. Other two halls were presenting Europe and the rest of the world. Sad, that Slovenia was not present in Europe hall – we really do not know how to promote ourselves.

Also eco fair for home and navigation was there at the same time. Really spacious, varied and worth the visit. The fair was well organized; even the opening hours were created for busy Milan inhabitants as it was open on weekdays between 15.00 and 23.00 hours. I would not want to be critical, which would certainly have to be if I would take a detailed look at Slovenian fairs so I would just say in the end – obligatory homework for every Slovene: go on at least one large international fair outside Slovenia.

Alesa, Enjoygoodies.com

We got fresh, this year’s, organic olive oil with PDO label from Janko Franc Morgan. His olive groves are in beautiful environment around Grintovec (Slovenija). His olive oil has a very low acid level of 0,12%, which means that it is of extremely good quality. It is a mixture of Istrian Belica and Leccino. You can buy it in 0,5 and 1 liter bottles. This year, Janko decided to filter the olive oil and we have asked him about the reasons:

You simply have to try Colatura (extract) of anchovies, so that you know how it magically affects the taste. The dish becomes more delicious and the taste more intense. In a company of our friends we prepared pasta with swordfish and wild fennel and dressed it with Colatura. It was so delicious, that we all agreed at the end: “We did not cook enough pasta!”. The recommended sauce is great also with our hand made Fusilli.

Buon Appetite!

Piennolo tomatoes made by Casa Barone grow in the Mount Vesuvius National Park. They are the only organic Piennolo Tomatoes which are certified organic. You can not enter the park gate with anything which is not organic.

Piennolo Tomatoes will receive D.O.P. status (Protected Designation of Origin) in December by the Italian Food Authority.

We awaited this year’s cooking of a Balsamic sour apple sauce. A great process. In fact it was being cooked and cooked and cooked and sauce was being sort of self-cleaned in between. Peter collects foam that accumulates at the surface because of boiling and stores it in a bucket where it does not look good at all.

But in a cauldron remains a very pure and tasty apple sauce

that reaches its final density with cooling.

One thing is certain: everything seems very easy at first glance, but when you see this sauce cooking with your own eyes you realize that as for all things, especially for good cooking man simply must have a great deal of feeling. And Peter has it that is why his Balsamic sour apple sauce made by his skilled hands is a real masterpiece.

is always a question that we ask ourselves when we plan to celebrate something with someone. And these months of the year are here again. Considering how fast we live, Christmas will be here any time. Some people are smart and arrange everything during the year – quite smart I would say. Some people run around shops in the last minutes and buy left overs – not so smart I would say. But styles are different and Christmas goes by no matter how you do things.
Most important to me is that I find a gift which really suits a person and most of all that it is useful. It is said that a person usually gives presents that he wishes most for himself and that might be true. Because I hate so called dust collectors.

What I want to say is that we also have many products in our shop that are special, delicious and soooo useful. Jurij and I decided on purpose that we will not do pre-wrapped gifts. They might be convenient indeed for no thinking and fast giving, but we want that each person thinks for whom the present is, what he wants to say with it and what personal touch will he add. You can find many ideas in our shop just use your imagination: a present “Italian dinner” with hand-made pasta and San marzano and a drop of olive oil for all lovers of good, classic Italian cuisine. Or “Cuddles for both” – apricot spirit which takes you among fragrant orchards. You can do “A sweet package” and choose some Goodies from category “mmm irresistible”. Enough. There are many more ideas, but as I said, tastes are different and they should be.

In short, we invite all those who are already looking around what to buy to check our offer. And for those of you who are currently in no hurry, we will probably send you a reminder, but we will be glad if you remember us yourself in those last moments when the time will run out.

Good luck!

Alesa, Dobrote.si

This year I have a privilege to be in my son’s kindergarten representative of the parents of our group in a Kindergarten parent Council. And yesterday we had our first meeting. Already in our group there were quite a few comments from parents on a food that children have in pre-school and this seemed really encouraging, because I wrote a letter myself to the person in charge for food this summer and told her what I think does not belong on the menu for children. I mostly complained about sugar, which was present in all forms throughout the day: for breakfast chocolate on milk meal, fruit for snack, cake and sugar juice for lunch and for afternoon snack milk dessert on fruit … Well, not to be too long as this was not the only thing that bothered me.

And yesterday at the meeting we also talked about food, but I have experienced a cold shower. Some parents were nagging why tea, that children drink, contains no sugar: »is it not better that children drink tea with sugar than they are thirsty as they do not like unsweetened tea?« ??!  Everyone who knows the issue probably does not need a further explanation. I am really sad to see that that many parents are not yet fully aware about the seriousness of the problem of modern nutrition, processed food and additives.

Let’s get back to the subject: I felt most sorry for the chief of nutrition, because she has to handle parents’ wishes, ministry directives, prices and suppliers. She is doing a good job according to the given facts. I blame parents the most. Well it is their children’s health after all. After my letter to the chief of nutrition they put plain yogurt on the menu instead of fruit one and apparently a lot of children does not like plain yogurt. A matter of education and habits I would say. Just look at the label on fruit yogurt, what is inside. For example: yogurt made from pasteurized milk, fruit preparation (peaches, glucose-fructose syrup, sugar, peach juice from concentrate, flavor), sugar. I hope you do not think your child had a healthy fruit and a lot of vitamins with this yogurt. Sugar is already added in three forms in fruit preparation and yes they put extra sugar inside. Mad.

And I hear often, “yes, but how we grew up? We also ate chocolate and fruit yoghurts, etc… ” True, but thirty years ago the industry has not been so developed and literally corrupted. And above all, we ate “shit” only now and then as a treat and today it is everywhere and in almost all products. Why artificial additives have to be in bread? Well, this is another story…

In short, we eat plain yogurt at home or we make a fruit one ourselves: what is wrong with adding fresh fruit to plain yogurt? Yesterday, my son ate fresh persimmon with plane yogurt and he liked it a lot. If you think that yogurt with fresh fruit is not sweet enough, add a spoon of jam to it. Still a lot less sugar in that spoon than in normal fruit yogurt. We suggest Ribera strawberry jam or orange jam from organic production, which will very soon be in our offer.

To conclude: it is very important what we put inside ourselves; much more than what we put on ourselves (except the cosmetics). And far from being extremist and that I eat only natural and healthy. It is quite hard to do so nowadays. But I try and I think it is necessary to start with things that are easiest to change. Food is life and bad food is a pathetic life. Or how my friend would put it:

Ingredients:
-zucchini
-olive oil
-lemon juice
-semi-dried Pachino cherry tomatoes
-hazelnuts
-feta cheese
-salt
-pepper

Cut zucchini into strips, pour over olive oil, lemon juice and lightly season with salt and pepper. Let zucchini marinade for 30 minutes. Then add Pachino cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and sprinkle with roasted – cracked hazelnuts.

Enjoy it!

Bernard from Favola runs a place with great enthusiasm and passion for food, which is unfortunately quite hard to find in Ljubljana’s restaurants. And our paths have crossed. One of the Goodies, which also convinced him, are hand made Fusilli from Gragnano. They are now serving them with salsiccia and fresh spices, grated pumpkin and radicchio. They will serve Fusilli also with other fresh seasonal ingredients in the future but the sauces are a secret for now. Welcome to Favola, when in Ljubljana.

We were inspired by rabbit again. This time for dinner. Mashed potatoes with Wild fennel pesto rule! Bon apetite!

Mr. Janez Bratovz from JB restaurant was fascinated by the Balsamic vinegar with honey and Preserved Elder blossomos.
Good ingredients and master’s hand can not create anything bad. We are very curious, what will Mr. Bratovz cook with our Goodies. You are welcomed to visit him when in Ljubljana.

Enjoy it.

Pasta with broccoli, courgettes, San Marzano tomatoes, hazelnuts and … radicchio salad. We drank red wine.

Best Regards from Enjoygoodies.

In our offer we have seven different producers of olive oil. You may probably ask yourself “Which one should I choose?”. Oils of course vary in taste, but tastes are different so we do not want to recommend olive oils on the basis of taste. Everyone likes something different. If you want to choose only between more or less spicy, bitter, then you have to pay attention on the content of olive oil. The more there is Istrian Belica inside, the more bitter the oil will be. Moreover, we believe that it is best to view the stories of all the olive oils, perhaps you will be attracted to the character or description of the oil. You can also try all of them and then decide which your favorite is. Also take notice about labels. All, except Agapito olive oil have the label PDO (protected designation of origin) – they must follow specific criteria in order to achieve superior quality, while only Morgan and Starakortina wear a label for organic olive oil.

We know that all the olive oils on our list are superior; it is only a matter of taste which you are going to choose. If you still can not decide or you have some additional question, you are welcome to call us on 0038641 510611 or 0038640 467771 or write to us on info@enjoygoodies.com . Enjoy our Goodies!

We put some game meat in the freezer and it gave us inspiration recently. We could say let the game go back in the woods, in the greenery. Deer roasted with green vegetables (peas, beans, leeks) and for the contrast sun dried Pachino cherry tomatoes from Sicily. Delicious ragout which, in combination with buckwheat mush (žganci) was so good that we all licked our fingers. Simple, natural, healthy and veeeery tasty.

Enjoy!

Our loyal customer told us about the recipe with Preserved Elder Blossoms: fresh ricotta mixed with banana and a spoon of Elder Blossoms. A great snack. We also suggest adding grated apple instead of banana. Also a great recipe for mothers with babies that are starting with a solid food. Bon appetite!

Enjoygoodies.com chose some Slovenian Goodies (some exclusively only for the event mentioned below) and sent them to Strasbourg, France to proudly represent Slovenia and Slovenian cuisine. Morgan olives, sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, balsamic sour apple sauce, olive oil from Slovenian Istria and delicious cow and sheep cheese were heartily accepted by participants of banquet at the headquarters of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on the tenth anniversary of Greco (Group of States against Corruption). The conference was attended by representatives of the states that are members of the Council of Europe, including a number of Judicial Ministers and State Secretaries, and representatives of international organizations. The current President of the Greco is Drago Kos, President of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption of the Republic of Slovenia and  Slovenia currently presides the Committee of Ministers at the Council of Europe,so that Slovenia received an honor of being a host and completed the mission successfully.

The more we were talking to the olive oil producers, more advice, we got for what all the olive oil is applicable. More or less serious. In the end we were very impressed and we decided to share the knowledge with you. If anyone knows about any other good advice for usage of olive oil, let us know.

So, olive oil can be used not only for culinary enjoyment and health, but also for the following:

• apply some olive oil on the skin after shaving for extra softness,

• dry hair can be best fixed if you massage head with olive oil,

• the best way to care for hands and face, especially in winter, is to apply some olive oil. Put a few spoons of olive oil into a bath,

• to polish a wooden furniture pour a spoonful of olive oil on the cloth. For extra purity and shine add a little vinegar or lemon juice,

• if your zip is stuck, the easiest way to fix it is to apply some olive oil and pull softly,

• spray leather shoes with olive oil and then polish them,

• if you add a spoon of olive oil in food for cats once a week you will prevent cat fur from falling out and you will add some shine,

• to stop snoring drink a sip of olive oil before going to bed, which will oil the muscles inside throat and thus prevent snoring,

• to stop dry cough drink a sip of olive oil,

• if your child has lice, apply olive oil on hair and leave to work at least 40 minutes. Then wash the hair 2 times with a shampoo and repeat the whole procedure several times to prevent a repetition,

• against nappy rash gently rub into a skin some olive oil.

First there were sea bass Fonda – the best sea bass, which can currently be found on Slovenian fish market. Then our grandmother had a garden full of tomatoes – big, juicy, tasty tomatoes. And we decided that this time we will prepare a proper lunch. Nice grilled sea brass, tomato soup and tomato »steak«. A good recipe for vegetarians and for those who do not like to peel tomatoes as they think that this way too much of a good ingredient is thrown away. Watch how we deal with this at Enjoygoodies.com.

Bon appetite!

Shortly about Michelin and Michelin stars for all those who did not know about it by now. Andre Michelin (1853-1931) was one of the brothers who founded the factory Michelin tires. The first guide was issued as an instruction book for drivers – help them find where to repair a car, where to sleep and eat well when driving in France. In early days the Guide was for free. Restaurants were first awarded with a star in 1926; in 1930 2 and 3 stars were added. Today there are 12 series of guides covering more than 45,000 hotels and restaurants throughout Europe. There are also guides for some other world capitals.

Among the famous chefs and connoisseurs, Michelin stars are a sign for excellence. Getting a star or getting another one can mean being a legend and on the other hand, to loose a star can mean a great failure for the chef.

Having 3 stars means that the visit of such restaurants is a real experience: food, wine, interiors, and service are outstanding. The visit will be expensive and you might leave children at home. This year to all together 72 restaurants 3 stars were awarded.

2 stars indicate that the restaurant is worth the detours from the main road to visit it. All will be as it should be – perfect and do not expect a bargain.

1 star means that if the restaurant is on your way, visit it. A very good food is served in a pleasant atmosphere.

Even Enjoygoodies.com has had a feast cooked by a former owner of Michelin star. Mr. Nicola from Crema (Italy), owner of Naso Rosso indulged us at Ruj restaurant last week. Excellent. Peter (the owner of Ruj) named this social evening with a very good name “Earth, hands, wine,” and despite predictions that continental cuisine will be cooked, some were surprised of such »literalness«. On the plate were snails, tripe, pig cheekbones, beef tongue. Someone might think »disgusting« but trust me, the chef proved that his hands are worth a Michelin star. Everything was joined in a great harmony with other, also very domestic, authentic ingredients such as polenta, kale, parmesan and at the end despite the 8 course-meal the plates were emptied till the last crumb.

Some argue that 2, 3 Michelin stars put more emphasis on the selection of wine in the wine cellar and service perfection, rather than food itself. Maybe it is true, maybe it is not, probably best that we check on our own taste buds and senses.

Enjoygoodies.com

Dobrote.si know, that not everyone has time to cook and experiment, so we prepared a recipe with our Goody, which is very quick and easy, and it guarantees a success in many situations: as an appetizer at a dinner for friends, as a tasty snack, when you want to impress with a light and healthy meal, when you do not have time, but would still like to eat something good…

You need a good cottage cheese – Italian Ricotta. Add Wild Fennel Pesto and mix well. Add a little salt according to taste, as the cottage cheese is rather unsalted. Wait few minutes, so that cheese and pesto mix and combine well and  then serve. Best spread on toasted slices of bread.

Bon appetite!

Value of the olive tree is not only a Bible myth, but it is actually a great fighter against premature aging; diseases of the stomach, liver, digestive organs. It maintains the elasticity of the skin and blood vessels; stimulates wound healing and prolongs vitality.

USAGE OF OLIVE OIL
Healing purposes
• Regulates blood pressure with only 3 spoons of olive oil daily for women and 4 spoons for men.
• Fights against the stroke because of tyrosol, which is a component of biophenol – a strong antioxidant.
• It reduces the size of ulcers in the stomach, it reduces acid secretion and fights against infection with the bacterium Hekicobacter pylori, which causes various digestive disorders and bears the risk of certain types of cancer.
• Protects cells from harmful oxidation by free radicals and thus inhibit DNA damage.
• Reduces cancer and vascular heart disease and prevents and even cures diabetes. Lowers the harmful LDL cholesterol and helps regulate the level of sugar in the blood.
• It works as analgesic medicine. Because of oleokantal (characterized by bitter and savory taste) it works as natural anti-inflammatory medicine. The daily intake of 4 spoons of extra virgin olive oil equals 1/10 dose of ibuprofen. This is the recommended daily dose for adults.
• It works as a medicine for elimination of gallstones.
• It is also a tool for cleaning intestines and does not cause irritation, so it can be used for the treatment of hemorrhoids.

Home tips for healing with olive oil:
• Regulates digestion. Against constipation take 1 or 2 spoons of olive oil on an empty stomach.
• Against bronchial catarrh, loss of voice and angina take 3 times daily 1 to 15 drops of olive oil on a sugar cube before meals.
• Against gallstones and problems with liver:

- take 100-200 g of olive oil in a few hours laps. Take 200 g of olive oil, 0.5 g of menthol and 1 egg yolk, mix well, and drink divided in 3 meals.
- Mix 150-400 g of olive oil, 15 g of cognac, 2 egg yolks, 0.25 g of menthol or 50 g of a strong tea from menthe (Mentha piperita). Drink divided in 2 meals in the morning to prevent the attack or in interval of half an hour if the attack happens.
- You can also take 100-200 g of olive oil every 3 hours.
- To clean the gallstones drink 2 spoons of olive oil before bedtime for 3 or 4 days.

• In case of inflammation of the lungs massage the chest with as warm olive oil as possible.

It is better to use unfiltered olive oil since olive oil loses vitamins and other important nutrients with the refining.

Elder. Since many of us adore sweets, Alesa decided to put aside the camera and step in front of it. She baked a homemade Apple Strudel. In addition to traditional ingredients (dough, apples, butter, raisins, sugar) she used also Preserved Elder Blossoms and she applied Roses’ leaves in sugar syrup at the end. We apologize in advance as we ate almost all Apple Strudel before putting it in front of the camera, but that’s the way it is.

WHAT IS THE OLIVE OIL
Olive oil is pressed juice from the olives, it is easily digestible, stimulates secretion of stomach juices and better absorption of vitamins, especially vitamin E. The protective effects are a result of a high content of antioxidants, especially biophenols (also known as polyphenols) and as a result of a balanced acidity (oleic acid).

ISTRIAN BELICA It is a variety suitable for areas where the strong northern wind (Bora) blows as the fruit does not fall so quickly from the tree. It is intended primarily for processing into high quality oil. Its advantage is that it is a good and regular fruiter and it is very juicy.

EXTRA VIRGIN
Slovenia bets primarily on the quality as in quantity it can not be compared with countries such as Italy and Spain. Large quantities require a different method of processing. Specialty of the virgin olive oil is that the oil is extracted from the fruit solely by mechanical means. Such olive oil is virgin, because neither it is chemical nor heat treated and contains no additives.

CRITERIA FOR PDO (protected designation of origin)
Superior olive oil from Slovenian Istria has been registered in the European register of protected products with protected designation of origin since 2007. One requirement is that the oil must contain at least 30% of the Istrian Belica of the total quantity of processed olives. Otherwise, it must be harvested from olives solely by mechanical processes at temperatures below 27 degrees. Olives must be processed within 48 hours of picking. During the process it is not allowed to add any additives other than water.

STORAGE
The oil keeps its rich aroma for around 12 to 18 months. It should be kept in the dark and at a temperature of 12 to 15 degrees. If it crystallizes it loses its quality. Olive oil is very sensitive to oxidation by UV light, so it must be kept in dark bottles. Olive oil must not come in contact with oxygen. It is advised to buy olive oil in smaller bottles so that it is not opened too long. Bitter taste is becoming weaker as the olive oil is aging.

Next time we will write about olive oil and health.

As we promised, we will, within the Blog in category “Enjoying”, give priority to you and our Goodies. Together we will taste, cook, exchange opinions, and more.
For a start we cooked common mincemeat pasta but in a different way: on an open fire in a cauldron all in one pot. We used traditionally potted tomatoes from Casa Barone of organic production and the superb olive oil Savrin.
We suggest that you take a look at the process of cooking (recorded in two parts) for yourself:

Next time we will try another recipe with our Goodies. We invite you, if you have already tried your recipes with our Goodies, to contact us and we may also try your recipe in front of the camera.
Bon appetite!

So what we have prepared for you at Enjoygoodies.com? Here is a web store for all EU citizens in which you can buy Goodies which origin is mainly of small producers and which are produced by heart and in the traditional manner. The focus is on organic production.
Under the categories on the left side, you can find first-class and unusual Goodies: velvet olive oil from Slovenian Istria, delicious tomatoes ripened under the hot Italian sun, jams cooked according to old recipes and if you would like to indulge yourself with something new, unusual, search under the category “Quite unusual”. You will be surprised by Pestos from pistachios and Wild fennel or Rose blossoms in sugar syrup.
More Goodies will join us in the future; however, they remain a secret for now.

Inside the shop you can also find Top and Bottom Menu which leads you through General conditions and other useful information. You are advised that you read the content of all the sub pages on the menu at your first visit. In our web shop you can also register (log in): just enter some basic information, and thus create your personal “account” with which you can follow your purchases, items in your basket and you can also change your data.

In the bottom left corner, there is a link to our Blog. We divided it into three sub-categories: “Reading from Enjoygoodies”, “Enjoying” and “Stories”. In the first one we will write about more or less serious topics. As is the case today. “Enjoying” will give priority to you and our Goodies. Together we will taste, cook, exchange opinions and more. In the last category there will be older stories avalable about the products when there will be already new ones on the site.

Maybe a word or two about the payment. You can pay also with credit cards through the PayPal system. All you need to do is open your PayPal account – of course you can do that through our web shop.
That’s it. We hope that we managed to show you brief and comprehensible enough way through our web shop www.enjoygoodies.com

If you have any problems on the way, please contact us on info@enjoygoodies.com or by phone 0038641510611.

We wish you a smooth, sweet and fun tasting!

In June my husband Jurij and I visited Tuttofood fair in Milano, that is one of the biggest European food fairs. The categories in a bulletin looked promising and also the first impression was that the fair is spacious and tempting. Four huge halls full of exhibitors. After careful examination, however, things were not so promising as most of the exhibitors were from meat and dairy industry and also from frozen food industry. I use word »industry« intentionally, since there has been revealed all its »greatness«. Rich exhibition showrooms, animators, sexy hostesses, however, no content. Food without taste and we had to make an effort to find out the producers of our own taste. Small, with modest exhibition showrooms, but the products which we could taste were phenomenal.

We also took that opportunity to meet with our suppliers. One of them was Casa Barone, whose Piennolo tomatoes can be found in our store. Manuela is great. English language is not a problem for here and her answers via email are really prompt. What more can a man wants from cooperation with Italians? J We tasted a few of their specialties and we were talking about this and that. You can see a part of our conversation on the video – about the product, which will soon be a member of our ENJOYGOODIES.COM family, about their groves and a history of Casa Barone.

In spite empty batteries and heavy feet at the end of the day, we had smiling faces. We found a few very interesting products that you will have a chance to meet in the coming weeks. Let them remain a secret for the time being.

All this are concepts with which we, Aleša and Jurij closely identify, things that are the sweetness in our lives. First there was a tomato »San Marzano – Il Miracolo di San Gennaro«. Its story is remarkable. And so our idea was born, to give a chance to all other great products, good stories that maybe just because of their smallness and different way of production can not find their place on a broader market.

For now mainly Slovenian and Italian markets are included in our offer. Slovenia is our country of origin and we are both in love with Italian cousine. These two include so many interesting tastes that we will proceed to explore further on this area. But we can not promise that also some other products from new regions will not be introduced in the future.

So what is the essence of our offer? We choose products that are genuine in their own way and that carry the special story within. We believe that the key to the top cuisine is above all a high quality ingredient. And this can not be obtained by mass production. That is why we have searched for manufacturers that use old way of production; food products that are special on their own and above all we searched for food with soul. Have you ever heard that part of the cook’s energy goes also into a food he is preparing? We also believe that plants grow faster and more beautiful if you take a good care of them and that also food products taste better if they are produced with love.

And we forgot about all that in the modern hasty living. We want to return to good old-fashioned tastes and we will search out these products for you. We will offer only the best. All products in our shop are first tested by us and if they pass the test than they are included in our offer. We will start with some of them but we will continue to search. The goal is to find them as much as possible and above all let the world also know about Slovenian products that are of high quality but because of a small market often neglected.

Our shop is firstly for those who value, respect and appreciate excellent food; for restaurants who know how important quality ingredients are and we also want to invite those who find our story and have a product like this on their own to share it with us or to contact us.

You are welcom to enjoy goodies…