for Vanja’s Farewell Birthday: Look at Me, I’m Forty Three!
There is nothing that compares to the complexity of flavours infused into every pore of the skin and flesh of this succulent roasted chicken (Chicken Rostilj ). Vanja awoke to his doting parents already preparing his Birthday coffee and his midmorning birthday lunch.
Instead of the traditional chicken soup, Pava had splurged for the rich dark duck for her soup. Vanja was not happy about that, but we would never tell her. You can see the dumplings, or knedle in the soup, above.
Mmmm. Petar’s slanina, or smoked pork belly.
Petar had some special slanina (cured and double smoked bacon) and sunka (smoked meat) saved for this special meal and Pava had picked and frozen every wild strawberry that she could find for this day. There were still a few left ripening in the yard, and only she could encourage wild berries to grow in her own garden.
The powerful punch of sweet fruity perfume that this miniscule juicy ruby jewel delivers is unexpectedly enticing. I could not get enough.
Veal Goulash is the mid day “œlight lunch”. She had also made cheese pita, but we were too hot and too full to even cut into it. She also had two cakes. It is so sweet to see the little gummy hearts on the cake for Vanja. The main dinner celebration will be when it cools down outside. That scared me. This was huge. How much more is she making?
Today it was 42 degrees Celsius in the shade. I was drained and begging to be flung over the nearest bridge, and left there. Meanwhile, Pava was sweating in the smoke house, water dripping off of her nose as she diced the onions for the pljeskavica for the evening rostilj. She is one determined mommy. The photo is blurry as there is steam on the lens from the humidity!
Petar readied the grill. Pava seasoned and prepped the meat. Chicken first, then raznjici (kabob, in this case, cevapi with slanina), sausages, pork filets, pljeskavica, and lastly, the long green peppers.
You can see the onion salad that everyone craves with this grilled meat platter or the rostilj at the bottom of the pot. The onions are diced and placed in the bottom of a big pot, and all of the grilled meats are piled on top of them. They steam and marinate in the meat juices until meal time and are then an integral part of the feast.
Divine! All this with Pava’s cheese pita, Srbski salata, and bread: a meat lover’s feast. Petar is famous for his Chicken Rostilj but never will you find only chicken on his grill!
Zoka and his family were invited to share in the celebration and the platters and platters and platters of meat. It was still so hot in the evening, but everyone seemed to be lost in the farewell feast. Tomorrow, we leave. And, it was so hot, I was eager to go. What a wonderful finale for us all.
Food is so much more than just eating. It’s family and friends and memories. It keeps us alive in so many ways. oxox
I am new to your blog but can’t stop exploring. Love the way you meld food and family with the art of photography and words. Very inspiring to me. We are all connected by the love of food,family and friends. Thanks!
Sharon
How touching to arrive at the wifi cafe here in Bijelinja Bosnia today (“holiday”) to find this lovely message! Thank you! I hope we get to know one another through our food, family, friends and travels.
🙂
Valerie