Fresh olives from the trees to your table

Last year was my first time picking olives and for some reason I never got around to posting any photos.  I couldn't go a second time this year but hubby went to help his Grandma and uncle. I can't remember the exact amount of kilos that were harvested but the net amount exceeded well over 200 liters. But don't quote me on that!
( photos are from November of last year )

There were four generations working on the field.  Here is Great-Grandma and Beli working together.

The next step in the oil extraction process is cleaning the olives. I think if I say there were thousands of them, (green and plum colored olives) flooding the kitchen floor I wouldn't be exaggerating! The leaves, stems, and debris were removed. Beli was helping by taking the leaves from the bucket and putting them back with the olives! Great-Grandma never once complained! She said that work is her life and she actually enjoys it. She is such a trooper.

The final step involved taking the olives to a facility to be processed and then enjoy the olive oil until the next harvest! Hubby and I discussed that it would be a fun project to make our own labels to place on our olive oil bottles, just like those fancy ones from the grocery store.  That was last year and we never got around to doing it.
But this year we revisited the idea and my Father-in-law gave us the idea for the brand name. What do you think?

We incorporated Beli's name plus the family's surname. The back of the bottle reads: " This first pressed premium quality olive oil originates from a village in the vicinity of picturesque city of Skradin. Hand picked by family members."

Ingredients:
*100% organic olive oil, love, care, passion, tradition, quality, taste.

 Please enjoy!

Contact: Belaoliveoil@gmail.com

Family time at the farm

I was indoors washing dishes when I heard a bell ringing. I looked outside and saw a group (herd) of sheep feeding on the front yard of Grandma's home. I noticed one black sheep and I quickly grabbed my camera and ran outside. 

Even Beli came out with Great-Grandma to look at them.

I tried to be as quiet as possible,but one sheep was always keeping an eye on me.

Seeing the one black sheep reminded me of my genetics class back in college. Remembering something about..."the recessive  gene and if a white ram and a white ewe are parents of a black lamb, both must be heterozygous for black, so there is a 25% chance that the lamb will be black."  I always had fun working with the Punnett square.

I took a few more photos then went back inside to resume my household chores. One of them was making sure the stove always had wood to keep the house warm. 

Beli loves to color and draw and she convinced Great-Grandma to join her. It was more of a demand, because Great-Grandma insisted she didn't know how and Beli screamed in Croatian, "BAKA, ZNAM!"(Grandma, you know how!) I even got it on video.

at the farm

Fruit Quince, or membrillos in spanish.... hmm now that I think about it, "quince" also means #15 in English.

Figs and more figs

I don't know what to do with so many figs because they are deteriorating very quickly. So here are a few ideas I found online. I especially like the idea of making fig butter.

10 Tips for Incorporating Figs in your Diet

1. Eat dries figs as a healthy energy snack. For extra flavour and nutrients, stuff them with nuts and a little honey.
   
2. Add figs to baked goods such as muffins, cakes and muesli bars.
   
3. Add dried or fresh figs to porridge, oatmeal or breakfast cereals.
   
4. Stew dried figs in fruit juice with other dried fruits to make a delicious fruit salad. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg before serving.
   
5. Poach figs in red wine or fruit juice and serve with Greek yogurt or creme fraiche.
   
6. Add quartered fresh figs to a salad of fennel, rocket and parmesan cheese.
   
7. Stuff fresh figs with goat's cheese and chopped almonds and serve as an appetizer or dessert.
   
8. Make a fig butter by boiling dried figs in fruit juice until soft. When all the liquid has been absorbed, place the mixture in a food processor and blend until smooth. Use to spread on rice cakes, toast or crackers.
   
9. Add chopped fresh figs to rice, quinoa or couscous dishes.
   
10. Make a fig tart by grinding two handfuls of walnuts in a food processor. Add one packet of dried figs, 1/2 packet raisins, 200ml apple juice, 1 tablespoon grated orange zest, 2 tablespoons honey and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Process until the mixture is the texture of a sticky paste. Press into a pastry case and bake at a medium heat for 35 minutes.

And if you want to learn more about the health benefits of eating figs you can click here or here. I didn't realize this fun fact about figs, "...in some parts of southern Europe, figs are thrown at newlyweds much like rice is thrown in some countries." Well I don't know anybody getting married plus I don't live in Morocco so I won't be throwing figs at anyone. I think I will stick to eating them. How about you, do you like figs, any special recipes you would like to share?

Family Tree

What or who is Beli running after?

Hurry, hurry there is a very energetic little girl chasing after you!

Whew! we are safe in here.

Safe in Grandma's arms.

This weekend we drove to the countryside to visit Beli's Great-grandparents. Hubby told me we were going to also meet his Grandma's nephew who was visiting Croatia after 35 years of living abroad (England). I told hubby, "you mean we have family in London?" You see, grandma Vida is the only surviving sibling, her sisters and brothers have all passed away. I'm very interested in family roots so I quickly started asking questions (with respect of course) because I wanted to construct a family tree for Beli. I think it's very important for her to know her extended family. Plus it's a more organized way of keeping all the names straight. To give you an example, on my Mother's side of the family I have 22 first cousins compared to hubby's 2 cousins. But then you go to the extended cousins and aunts and well the list just gets longer.

I remember as a kid every Christmas, all of my Mom's 9 siblings and spouses and kids gathered at my Grandparents home in Mexico. It was a fun time to see my cousins all together. Yes, those were some happy memories. I'm hoping, wishing to have a family reunion, but how do I begin?

Sunday: a day for celebration

Having an interesting conversation with Abuelita. I think she is asking if she could have a sip of her kava but Baka Nada said, "ne, ne."

Beli's great-grandparents celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary this past Sunday. This bird sang in their honor. (Wonder what type of bird it was.)

Beli con Daddy, Abuelito Ljubo y Bisabuelito Uros. Four generations.

Beli's Bisabuelita Vida working on her garden. She is picking soybeans, the vegetable that's in season, along with green onions.

These are the jalapeno seeds hubby planted. I'm looking forward to having salsa everyday this summer. Poor chickens were running away from Beli.

She is trying to get their attention.

How would you like your potatoes, baked or fried?

These sweet cherries are just about ready.

But it will still be a few weeks for the figs to ripen.
Some of the produce we brought home with us from the garden in Bribir. What are some of your favorite veggies/ fruits to eat during the summer?