I finally took some time to write about BARS, but not just any kind, these are very special bars. I don't even know when or how I first got them, but I know it's one of my favorite things to eat (except cashews which I'm addicted to).
Both brands of bars (Larabar and Raw Revolution) are made out of just few ingredients: dates, nuts, and other ingredients like coconut, cocoa powder, coconut oil, and other ingredients depending on the type of bar. For instance, one of my favorites is of course the cahew cookie bar from Larabar. But you should try all!

I am not sure if they're available in Europe, I guess I will have to find another brand once I leave the United States..
For Larabar website click here.



The other brand of bars is Raw Revolution. Same concept, you can read more about it here. The bars are sweetened with Agave syrup which I love. It has a low glycemic index and it comes from the Agave plant in Mexico. For me, it's one of the best sweeteners, but of course, you can't use it for everything. If you would like to bake with it, you would need to make some adjustments because Agave is sweeter then regular sugar, but it comes in a liquid form, so that also alters the final product. I didn't experiment baking with it, but I hope I will in the near future. A great food writer, Chef, and photographer Heidi Swanson from 101 cookbooks who also published a cookbook, has fantastic agave and other recipes with natural sweeteners.

Have a great weekend everyone! I will try to get my camera out of the case this weekend.

I know this might be off topic, BUT...Going to a Keith Urban concert is kind of a big deal. While I was still home for summer break, I saw a dvd from Keith's last tour and wow, was I impressed. First thing Stacey and I did was too see whether he was on tour. Sure enough, he was. We got our tickets right away and the locaiton of the concert was in Rochester, NY. I didn't even think about where Rochester really was, and it happened to be 5 and a half hours away.
Anyways, we were very lucky because a friend of mine from school lives there and her family was so kind to have us stay with them. Thank you!!!







Now to the concert...We were so lucky again, because the first rows on our side were empty, so we moved, and eventually got down in front of the stage! It was amazing, one of the best experiences I have had. I have to mention that the opening act was Taylor Swift, which was fun to see, but I am not that big of a fan. Keith's music though is fantastic and all the members are such amazing musicians. For each song they had a different guitar and boy they sang well...





We were determined not to leave until we grab Keith's hand. All other band members were coming all the time, and eventually did Keith as well. The first time Stacey kicked the pick out of his hand and at the end of the concert we were standing on the stage and I finally grabbed his strong sweaty hand :)





I had the time of my life!

Here at the Culinary Institute we do have a garden, and not just one. There is a small one that I wrote about once and it's run by the Garden Society, then there's a herb garden in front of the restaurant Catarina de Medici, another little garden (that I picked zucchini from last weekend, shhh..) in front If St. Andrews restaurant, and finally a looong piece of land going along the path that leads to the Recreation center and there are so many strawberries, blackberries which are not quite ready yet, and rhubarb. It was planted last year by the Nutrition society and since this is the secon year, everything looks a lot better and there's definitely more yield.



Sooo...I take my bowl and I am ready to go! They also have a funny shape, they're flat on the bottom. It must be a special variety.
I usually eat them plain, often put in a bowl with agave syrup sonce they are not as sweet, and something both Stacey and I love is putting them over corn flakes (REAL one, so sugat, just corn and salt) and cold milk.

I love summer! :)

This will be a short review from my fabulous summer break. I was back home in Split for 3 weeks and Stacey finally joined me, which made everything so much more fun!
I don't think I can put it in words how amazing it was. Yes, I do wish it was longer, but hey...it's better then nothing!
It is always so weird to come home, I feel like as if all this college experience is just a dream, and then I come home and I feel like I am back to myself. Very odd...

Anyways, the two of us have done many things, including baking (of course), resting, sunbathing, sightseeing, shopping...I must say, we did some serious baking as well. If you are from Croatia, then'll know that each summer there is Split summer festival with many different art related performances from ballet, opera, drama...So Stacey and I got an offer to make a few hunderd pieces of specialty desserts. Of course we said yes! Everything turned out very well and it was a great experience. Unfortunately I don't have any photos because we were so busy that we totally forgot about taking pictures!

The next photos are what we did one day for fun, and the results were more then satisfying. This recipe comes from our dear Chef and friend Johnny Iuzzini's book the ''Fourplay''. He is the head pastry Chef in one of the top New York City and US restaurants ''Jean Georges'' and we met him when Stacey took me there to eat for my birthday. And so from then on, we go there on the weekends to work with him and his time and it's an amazing learning experience, not to mention how much fun we have.
He is like a pastry oriented rock star, you have to check out his website to know what I'm talking about:
Johhny Iuzzini



This was an apricot pancotta with lemon verbena jelly, garnished with crystallized lemon verbena flowers. The original recipe was with peppermint and the garish was a bit different as well, but we used what we had on hand and still got a great flavor profile







And one more thing...If you are in Croatia, you can check out the latest issue of ''Glorija'' to read an article I had a photoshoot for. I had a great time doing that and I hope to influence young people out there who want to pursue the same profession, because it's amazing!!! :)

Click here for the website.