by boabedecafea -

Aperitiv cu vinete si feta si cateva fotografii din Grecia/Appetizer with eggplants and feta cheese and some photos from Greece

In ultima vreme am tot mai putin timp pentru blog. Imi propun de fiecare data sa fiu mai activa dar de cele mai multe ori planurile mele nu sunt respectate.

Am avut o vara plina, un inceput de toamna agitat si nu se intrevede vreo perioada de liniste…mai degraba una si mai aglomerata. Cu toate astea eu incerc sa tin pasul si sa mai scriu cate ceva si pe aici.
Azi am sa va propun o reteta de inspiratie greceasca si am sa va arat cateva fotografii facute in vacanta din Grecia.
Lately I have less time to blog. I propose to myself every time to be more active but often my plans are not followed.
We had a full summer, a very busy early fall and I don’t see quiet times any time soon … I see a rather crowded period. Yet I try to keep up and to write something here.
Today I’m going to suggest you a Greek-inspired recipe and I’ll show you some pictures taken on my holiday in Greece.
Ingredientele pentru aceasta reteta sunt putine dar combinate minunat.
Veti avea nevoie de:
– o vanata mare
– 1-2 rosii
-150 g feta (sau telemea de oaie)
-4-5 catei de usturoi
-oregano
-ulei de masline
-sare grunjoasa (sau de mare)
The ingredients for this recipe are few but in wonderful combination.
You will need:
– 1 big eggplant
– 1-2 tomatoes
-150 g feta cheese 
-4-5 cloves of garlic
-oregano
-olive oil
-coarse salt (or sea salt)

Am spalat vanata si am taiat-o rondele. Daca feliiile sunt prea mari le puteti taia un jumatate.
I washed the eggplant and cut it into slices. If the slices are too big then you can cut them in half.

Apoi am pus feliile de vanata intr-o tigaie incinsa cu strat antiaderent , le-am uns pe fiecare parte cu o pensula cu ulei si le-am intors de cateva ori de pe o parte pe alta pana s-au inmuiat.
Then I put the eggplant slices in a hot pan with non-stick coating, I smeared on each side with a brush with oil and we have turned on both sides several times until they have softened.

Am prajit cateva felii de paine la cuptor (se pot praji si la prajitor-eu nu mai am pentru ca am considerat ca am devenit dependenti de el si mancam prea multa paine 😛 ) dupa care aranjam feliile.

Pe fiecare felie de paine punem cateva picaturi de ulei, frecam putin usturoi dupa care asezam pe rand vinetele, cubulete de rosii, putin oregano si branza razuita. Pentru decor puteti folosi ce verdeata aveti la indemana. Sunt convinsa ca va veti indragosti de reteta asta, asa cum am facut si noi!
I toasted a few slices of bread in the oven (you can toast them in toaster-I do not have because I felt that I became addicted to it and that we eat too much bread: P) then arrange the slices.
On each slice of bread put a few drops of oil, rub garlic on it then we put on slices of eggplant, diced tomatoes, oregano and a some grated cheese. For decoration you can use whatever herbs you have. We think you’ll love this recipe as we did!

Ne plac foarte mult mancarurile mediteraneene, in special cele de inspiratie greceasca si italiana. Nu am fost pana acum in Grecia sau Italia. S-a ivit ocazia sa merg in Grecia pe cand ma asteptam mai putin si ma bucur mult ca am fost deoarece a fost foarte frumos. Si nu m-am intors cu mana goala-am adus cateva fotografii si pentru voi.
We love Mediterranean food, especially Greek and Italian inspiration. I didn’t have the opportunity so far to visit Greece or Italy. The opportunity arose to go to Greece when I was least expecting it and I’m so glad I went because it was very nice. And I didn’t came back empty handed – I brought some pictures for you.

Am fost impresionata de multitudinea de flori colorate si arbusti de pe strazile Atenei. Sunt indragostita de putina si spectaculoasa vegetatie pe care o au! I was impressed by the multitude of colorful flowers and shrubs on the streets of Athens. I love rare and spectacular vegetation they have!

Am locuit intr-un frumos hotel situat pe dealul Lycabettus – St. George Lycabettus Hotel (http://www.sglycabettus.gr/default-en.html). Mai sus puteti vedea o fotografie a dealului Lycabettus realizata de la Acropole.

We lived in a beautiful hotel located on Lycabettus Hill – St. George Lycabettus Hotel (http://www.sglycabettus.gr/default-en.html). Above you can see a photo of Lycabettus hill taken from Acropolis.

 Panorama orasului este extraordinara, Lycabettus avand chiar un loc destinat special pentru observarea acesteia (fotografia de mai sus este realizata de acolo, noaptea). In fiecare dimineata admiram Atena de la etajul 6 al hotelului, marea si desigur, Acropole. City panorama is great, Lycabettus having even a special place for its observation(photo above is made there at night). Every morning we admired Athens from the 6th floor of the hotel, the sea and of course, the Acropolis.

In drumul meu spre obiectivele turistice am vazut oameni interesanti, rutine inedite si lucruri pe care camera de luat vederi nu va putea niciodata sa le surprinda pentru a ni le arata la TV.  On my way to tourist attractions I saw interesting people, unique routines and things that the camera can never capture to show them to us on TV.

 Templul lui Zeus din Olympia mi-a placut in mod deosebit si trebuie sa recunosc faptul ca acolo am avut parte de cateva intamplari inedite.
I liked in particular the Temple of Zeus from Olympia  and I have to admit that there I had several unusual happenings there.

Mi-am gasit doua prietene… I found two new friends…

…am vazut pentru prima data masline in pom…
…I saw for the first time olives in the tree…

…am constatat ca si porumbeii iubesc maslinele… …I saw that the doves love the olives also…

 …ca intr-o tufa oarecare pot creste rodii!

…that in some bushes can grow pomegranates!

Despre Acropole cred ca nu este cazul sa va mai spun nimic – este incredibil!
About Acropolis I believe that there is no need to say anything – it’s incredible!

Am vizitat si Agora cu Templul lui Hefaistos, un monument spectaculos in jurul caruia domnea o liniste neasteptata. We visited the Ancient Agora with the Temple of Hephaestus, a spectacular monument around which silence reigned unexpected.

Si ultima fotografie selectata reprezinta planurile viitoare de vizitare a Greciei – urmeaza partea insulara! 😀 And the last photo selected represents our future plans of visiting Greece – we’ll be visiting Greece’s islands! 😀

by boabedecafea -

O zi de toamna la munte/Atumn day in the mountains

V-am spus ca urmeaza o postare mai deosebita! 🙂
Saptamana trecuta am profitat de vremea superba de septembrie si ne-am dus la munte. La inceput s-a vrut o plimbare scurta pana langa Calimanesti. Aglomeratia ne-a determinat sa ne continuam drumul. Asa am ajuns mai sus de lacul de acumulare Bradisor, intr-un loc superb.
Am sa las imaginile sa spuna tot ceea ce e important. Am sa intervin pe ici pe colo cu mici precizari 🙂
I told you that I’m preparing a post that will be special! 🙂
Last week we took advantage of the beautiful weather of September and we went to the mountains. At first we wanted a short walk near Calimanesti. Congestion determined us to continue our journey. So we got above Bradisor lake, in a beautiful place.
I’ll let the images say everything that is important. I will interject here and there with some clarifications 🙂

Dupa ce am iesit din orasul Brezoi am tot oprit sperand ca vom gasi un loc perfect pentru gratar.
After we got out of town Brezoi we stopped hoping that we will find a perfect place to barbecue.

Dupa mai multi kilometri am gasit un loc minunat, langa raul Lotru unde ne-am asezat si am petrecut o zi de toamna superba.
After several kilometers we found a great spot near the Lotru river where we sat and we spent a beautiful autumn day.

Am pregatit focul pentru gratar cu aschiile de lemn Jack Daniels pe care le-am castigat anul trecut la un concurs organizat de Grill Society. A fost alegerea perfecta! 😉
We prepared the fire for barbecue with Jack Daniels wood chips that  I have won last year in a competition organized by Grill Society. It was the perfect choice! 😉

Pentru inceput vedeta a fost cotletul de porc bine condimentat 🙂
For start the VIP was the very well seasoned pork chop 🙂

Pentru pranz am mai pregatit si ceafa de porc, carnaciori proaspeti si cartofi copti. Apoi a urmat o plimbare prin imprejurimi.
For lunch we also prepared pork neck, sausages and baked potatoes. After that we went for a walk.

Fiind la munte nu puteam rata ocazia de a pregati si un gratar de pastrav. Doar urma masa de seara si plecarea spre casa. Being in the mountains we couldn’t miss the opportunity to prepare delicious trouts. Dinner was close, so was our leaving to home.

 Desi eu sunt cea care gateste in cea mai mare parte a timpului, “the master of flames” de data asta a fost altcineva.
A fost o zi superba. Probabil ca urmatoarea zi petrecuta pe Valea Oltului va fi atunci cand isi va pune hainele de toamna, in superbe nuante de galben si rosu.
Although I’m the one who cooks in most of the times, “the master of flames” this time was somebody else.
It was a gorgeous day. Perhaps next day spent on the Olt Valley will be when the valley will fall clothes in beautiful shades of yellow and red.
by boabedecafea -

Ceea ce face diferenta…/ What makes the difference…

Ne traim viata in graba, fara a ne uita in stanga si-n dreapta. Ignoram ceea ce nu ne intereseaza, eliminam ceea ce nu ne place, cautam mereu ceva mai mult.
Rareori ne dam seama ca unele lucruri sunt trecatoare, ca viata poate sa fie blanda sau cruda cu noi.
Cruda este si viata Gabrielei Tudorache, mama a doi baieti minunati, o femeie superba, ce sufera de meningiom – fomaţiune craniană, afecțiune care duce la orbire prin strangularea nervului optic.
Copiii ei minunati si familia se zbat sa stranga suma necesara operatiei pe care trebuie sa o sufere in Hanovra, Germania, si a carei cost este de 35 000 de euro. Este ceea ce face diferenta intre o viata linistita alaturi de familia ei si o viata traita in intuneric.
Voi, prietenii mei, puteti sa va rugati pentru ea – are nevoie de asta. Puteti de asemenea sa o ajutati si financiar daca doriti. Stiu ca doriti mai multe detalii si de aceea am sa va indrum spre blogul ei: http://gabrielatudorache.blogspot.com/
We live our lives in hurry, without looking left or right. We ignore what’s not interesting for us, remove whatwe don’t like, alwayslooking for something more.
Rarely we realize that some things are transient, that life can be soft or cruelwith us.
Cruel is GabrielaTudorache’s life, mother of two wonderful boys, a beautifulwoman, suffering from meningioma – skullensemble, disease leading to blindness byoptic nerve strangulation.
Her children and wonderfulfamily are struggling to raise the amount needed for the surgery that she needs to suffer in Hanover, Germany, and whose cost is 35 000 euro. This is what makes the difference between a quiet life with her ​​family and a life in the dark.
You, my friends, you can pray for her – she needs it. You can also give her financial help andif you want. I know you that want more details and so I will point you to her blog:

 http://gabrielatudorache.blogspot.com/