The last couple of weeks have been manic, but brilliant! A quick re-cap...

I have managed to get a new job, three days a week working for an international organisation in their events team. So a 'proper' job which will look great on my CV. I have also been asked, and accepted a position as a Trustee for the Helping Hearts and Hands Foundation. This is a huge honour and am looking forward to getting more involved and continuing the good work which has already been done. Orders for Bespoke British Baking have picked up and next week is looking like it is going to be as busy, if not busier. And finally, we have been out and about and met a ton of new people!

Whilst I feel we settled in quickly, over the last couple of weeks it has really come together and I feel as though we are really becoming part of the community here!

On the downside (ever so slightly), the weather has been rubbish. It has not stopped raining all week. This is only more rubbish than normal as the weather is beautiful in the UK! Oh well... fingers crossed it will pick up in time for the arrival of our guests this weekend. It has been a while since we had any guests and I am once again really looking forward to showing off Sarajevo. We too are enjoying the long Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend and I hope to be able to enjoy a glass of Pimms and wave a flag!

Liz' ultimate chocolate brownies

A friend of mine made some of the most delicious brownies a couple of weeks ago and so, in the name of sharing the love of baking, I asked for the recipe.

After much persuasion, I got the mixer out last night and gave them ago. I have to say, I was not disappointed with the result. The recipe was straight forward and once I saw the list of ingredients and quantities, I realised why they tasted so good!

So, to pass on the love;

Liz’ Ultimate Chocolate Brownies
Preparation time: 20 minutes ; cooking time: 25 minutes
Makes about 12 brownies (depending on how large / small you cut them!!

Ingredients:
300g good quality dark chocolate, chopped
100g unsalted butter (plus extra for greasing)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (a little salt brings out the flavour of the chocolate)
3 eggs
50g light brown sugar
150g caster sugar (or normal sugar as caster is not available in Bosnia)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g plain flour (400 tip offer the best results)
100g chopped walnuts

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Butter a 20cm square baking tin and line with baking paper so that the paper comes up the sides of the tin.

2. Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl, add the salt and melt over a pan of barely simmering water. In another bowl, break up the eggs and add the sugars and vanilla until incorporated. Whisk the egg mixture into the melted chocolate (I use an electric whisk for this), then gently fold in the flour and walnuts until just mixed. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin.

3. Bake for about 25 minutes or until set. A skewer inserted should come out a little moist. Leave to cool completely in the tin before cutting into squares. These will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days (if they even last that long!).

A weekend in Sarajevo

We have just come to the end of a lovely Sarajevo based weekend which has been lovely. A relaxing mix of exercise, good food, delicious wine, sunshine, friends and cheese! And to top it off, a huge range in temperature and weather.

On Saturday we had a glorious day... 28 degrees, hot, sunny, blue skies and summer well and truly on the cards. Sunday (as forecast) was cooler and raining, but then to our surprise, we awoke this morning to a 3cms of snow... and more falling... crazy Bosnian weather! So, the flip flops have been put away and I have dug out the Ugg Boots.

 

Dust off the BBQ... summer is here!

Although we had our May Day Bank Holiday last weekend, we kept true to British tradition and on Saturday we dusted off the BBQ for the first time this year. Luckily our weather was a lot better than back in Blighty, a beautiful early summer afternoon, meant that the chilled Rose tasted even better.

A friend of ours kindly hosted the inaugural event, with everyone taking along a dish. And what a spread was produced! We had a whole range of delicious salads from roasted sweet potatoes chips, to roasted Mediterranean vegetables, a scrummy potato salad and the classic tomato and mozzarella salad. These flavours were accompanied by lashing of rose for us girls, cold beers for the boys and of course a selection of meat. Homemade burgers were put together, along with garlic and lemon marinated chicken drum sticks and any Bosnian BBQ would not be complete without some cevapi (a Bosnian speciality, little beef and lamb mince sausages usually served with flat bread and raw onion and are well worth a try)! To top it off, fresh chocolate brownies were made for pudding which were amazing. I have been given the recipe and plan on trying it for myself – what this space!

Whilst devouring this feast, we kept coming back to the same conversations... which part of the BBQ meal is the best and it seems as though people fall into two camps... There are the traditionalists (of which my boyfriend certainly is) who believe that a BBQ should consist of meat, meat and more meat. Salads (no matter how flavoursome) are unnecessary... give him several sausages, burgers and if possible a steak or two, a bit of bread and he is happy! However, I fall into the other camp, where the salads are as important as the meat, if not more so. The more exotic and tasty the better and if it can be put into the burger bun, along with the burger, then even better!!

How time flies!

I cannot really believe how busy the last few of weeks have been. So much so, that I have not even found time to post any updates. Lots of fun has been had, topped by the fact the weather here in Sarajevo has gone from Spring to Summer over night and we are currently enjoying temperatures of around 28 degrees!

Additionally, the busyness has been for social enjoyment, with small bursts of work which have had to be fitted in between. At Easter we enjoyed the long weekend in Dubrovnik. This was our first trip to the coast and it was very enjoyable. The weather was a little disappointing, but that is somewhat expected in mid-April. We stayed in a lovely guest house, located above the old town, so the views were fantastic.  We spent our days strolling through the old town, which is lovely, took the walk around the walls which is definitely not to be missed and ate plenty of fresh fish. We also explored some of the surrounding area – Ston and Mali Ston should be on any list, beautiful little towns located north of Dubrovnik where the Peljesac Peninsula meets the main land. Mali Ston is tipped to have the best oysters in the world, as the water is the cleanest. We also spent a day in Cavtat which is just south of Dubrovnik, another beautiful coastal town which is much sleepier than Dubrovnik itself and therefore slightly more enjoyable as you are not fighting with hordes of cruise liner tourists. There is a lovely walk all the way around the headland and plenty of lovely looking restaurants and bars overlooking the bay. This trip has definitely given us a flavour for the coast and I am looking forward to plenty of long weekends spent exploring the Croatian Islands over the summer.









We then took a fleeting trip back to the UK as we had hen/stag party commitments. Not only did we catch up with friends and family, we also had the opportunity to stock up on a few much needed items such as, cupcake cases, bacon, sausages, cheese, various herbs and fresh coffee! We also went out for a curry, which was fantastic! A curry is probably my favourite meal-out, so a quick trip into the Birmingham Balti Belt put my cravings to rest! (There is a curry house here and we have yet to try it... I will let you know when we do)!

Most recently we have spent the weekend in Ljubljana. We had a cracking weekend! Six of us embarked on the eight hour drive and it was well worth it. It is an absolutely beautiful city, quite small, but centred on a beautiful river which is lined with bars and restaurants. We also spent the day out a Lake Bled (about 65km north of the city), it totally lived up to expectations, it is beautiful. A glacial lake with a gorgeous little island in the middle, set with snow capped mountains as a back drop. We hired bikes to cycle around, stopped for a picnic half and took a rowing boat out to the island. All in all a fantastic day out and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

So, we are now back in Sarajevo for a bit of a break, but as the summer approaches, I think it is going to be anything but quiet!