LAND&SEA

2 serving

1. In a medium saucepan, heat a little olive oil on medium heat and rol l 1 cup couscous around in it for a few minutes until sizzling. (NOTE: You may choose to first have cooked down some onion and garlic before adding the couscous.)

2. Add water or broth, salt if desired, and bring to a boil.

3. Cover and simmer low for 10 minutes. Check. Continue for a few more minutes if water remains.

4. Move off the heat and set aside. Steak

5. Keep out at room temp for 30 minutes before grilling. For a good sear, have the meat patted dry, then oiled & seasoned.

6. Heat grill to medium-high.

7. Sear 5 minutes on the first side; then 3-4 on the other.

8. Reduce heat and continue cooking if desired. Using a thermometer, rare is about 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Medium-rare is about 140. Medium, 150. There will be some carryover cooking. (Using your face, touch the meat and if it feels like you’re touching the area between your cheek and nose, then it’s medium-rare.)

9. Let meat rest for a few minutes before serving on a bed of the couscous and veggies.

Sautéed Veggies (Substitutions abound!)

10. In a large frypan, heat the oil on medium heat.

11. Sautee, stirring the carrot and onions with salt & pepper for 5 minutes or so until softened.

12. Add the greens and saute’ for 3-5 more minutes, stirring frequently.

13. Fold in the garlic.

14. Drizzle the liquid and stir. Cover, remove from heat for a few minutes, until just ready to serve.

Healthy Hint: What, you ask?! A STEAK in the healthy pages of Life Recipe Magazine? Yep. Grass-fed local beef is more pricey than other meats – in the short run. But, like every food in the organic-sphere, as I like to call it, the cost of NOT including them in the diet ultimately leads to illnesses down the road -that cost much more than investing in abundantly available, chemical free, melt-in-your-mouth natural foods.

I have always loved grilling through the winter; the flames seem so much more rewarding to me during a snowfall, than in the increasingly brutal heat of summer. We feature a grilling recipe and technique here, in each seasonal issue of Life Recipe Magazine, designed expressly for you. My one word of year-round grill-n-chill advice: always remember the VEG!!

Chef’s Note:

All ingredients for our products are grown in our garden in Župa Valley and picked seasonally or sourced locally. Our backyard also hosts a small orchard where we grow lemons, oranges, mandarins, and grapefruit. Steps away from our back door are our everchanging vegetable, herb, and flower gardens, with tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, rosemary, olives, lavender, and so much more…

Garden Of Youth

BEST PESTO What Does Pesto Mean in Italian?

The word “pesto,” in Italian, is derived from a word meaning to “pound or crush.” Italian purists insist that pesto can only be made using locallygrown Genoese basil – a small-leafed variety with a delicate taste – and that it must be made using a pestle and mortar.

As an Aussie, we tend to twist traditional and aim for freshness and fusion of ingredients!

Who Invented Pesto?

Pesto has its roots in ancient Rome, where our ancestors prepared a lovely, palatable paste made with cheese, pine nuts, oil, salt and aromatic herbs, called “moretum.” During the Middle Ages, in Plebeian cooking, the spread was called “agliata” (Italian for “garlic”). The pesto of modern times is from Genoa in northern Italy – its main ingredients are – basil, garlic, olive oil, grated hard cheese, pine nuts.

Why is Your Pesto Sometimes Bitter?

Extra-virgin olive oil contains bitter tasting polyphenols coated by fatty acids, which prevent them from dispersing. If the oil is emulsified in a food processor, these polyphenols get squeezed out and the liquid mix turns bitter.

So, fold it in just before serving – along with your cheese!

Why Does Pesto Turn Brown?

The reason pesto turns brown is because of a chemical reaction the cut basil has from being

The Most Important Rule … …of Cooking with Pesto: Don’t Cook

It!

The high-heat sterilization necessary for canning and bottling ruins the basil. — So, make it fresh and freeze the rest!

exposed to air: “oxidation.” To prevent oxidation, especially if you want to freeze your pesto, blanch the basil leaves by dropping them for a few seconds in boiling water until they turn bright green, then into cold water to stop carryover cooking and to effectively “blanch.”

BUT: If you are going to serve the pesto immediately, skip this process.

How Long Does Pesto Last?

This easy basil pesto sauce will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator if stored in an airtight container. To extend its shelf life, add some olive oil on top before chucking it into the refrigerator. In our house, it’s made weekly!!

So, lets get down to it.

Mikki’s Flavour-Rich Nut-Free Pesto Recipe

ingredients • fresh

2-3 large handfuls basil (based on hand size)

1-2 large handfuls parsley (ditto)

1-2 large handfuls baby spinach (ditto)

1 small bunch chives

1 small bunch dill

6 leaves sage

1 lemongrass leaf

1 ginger plant leaf

4 sweet potato leaves

1 sprig lavender leaves

1 sprig rosemary

1 sprig lemon thyme

3 sprigs mint

4 large garlic cloves, peeled by Mikki Kojakovic (Mackay) ingredients • more

1 cup of drinkable red wine

2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds

2 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds

1 Tbsp. Mikki’s Vegetable Booster (or an organic dehydrated vegetable powder)

4 Tbsp. quality virgin olive oil

1 cup grated hard cheese

1 lemon, sliced into quarters for garnish method yields 2 cups

1. Roughly chop all FRESH INGREDIENTS removing any hard stems.

2. Into a food processor put ½ cup red wine, sunflower, pumpki n seeds and Mikki’s Vegetable Booster blend to a smooth paste

3. Slowly add the FRESH INGREDIENTS until smooth.

4. Add the remaining red wine as you blend.

5. Place the blended mixture into a serving dish

6. NOW fold through the olive oil.

7. Lastly, the cheese.

8. Garnish with lemon quarters.

Hi, I’m Mikki, owner of Mikki’s Croatian Kitchen here in the valley of Župa Dubrovačka, Croatia. I was born in Sydney, Australia. I married a Croatian seaman 25+ years ago and I moved permanently to Dubrovnik in 2003. We have a small property with 30+ free-range chooks (chickens), 50 lemon trees, amongst other citrus trees, a couple of olive trees and we grow our own vegetables and herbs all year round.