Mushroom picking

After enjoying the forest mushrooms midweek, my neighbour and I went mushroom picking on Saturday morning. We had to get up early and drive out into the hills.
Unlike previous mushroom picking trips, this one was excellent because
a. I actually found some edible mushrooms (usually someone goes through my basket throwing out all the nasty mushrooms that I picked)
b. It wasn't raining

We didn't find lots of mushrooms but we had enough for lunch and we also picked some rosehips for tea.

Autumn and mushrooms

Yesterday I had some proper forest mushrooms with scrambled eggs. They were delicious. There were two types: slippery Jacks (masliak) and Aspen roughstems (kozak). I like the names in English but no one I know picks them in England - we forgot how. 

Aspen roughstem

Slippery Jack

It makes me want to go mushroom picking again. I just don't understand why we have to go at 5 o'clock in the morning!

The Radvan Fair

This weekend was the 356th Radvan Fair which is now held every year on the main square in Banska Bystrica. I watched the stalls setting up on my way to work on Friday morning.

Amongst the stalls selling woven baskets, young wine, sheep skins, gingerbread hearts and wooden kitchen implements, you could also catch a glimpse of times gone by.

On Friday evening there were two great bands - Balkansambel which plays different kinds of music from the Balkans and then the famous celtic-sounding Cechomor from Moravia.

The Slovak National Uprising

Thursday was 29th August which marks the start of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) against the Nazi occupation in 1944. The centre of the Uprising was Banska Bystrica.

Jan Repta's Partisan Unit with British and American Pilots

There are a number of different views on the Uprising. ' In fact, many factions fought in the uprising, including large rebel units of the Slovak Army, nationalist and Communist partisans, and international forces. Given this factionalization, the Uprising did not have unambiguous popular support. Yet, the participants and supporters of the Uprising represented every religion, class, age, and anti-Nazi political faction of the Slovak nation.^{' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovak_National_Uprising}

Today this event is commemorated with a bank holiday.

We went to the nearby village of Turecka and I took a photo of the SNP  memorial and a mural of partisans.

Each peach pear plum

This week I helped pick peaches and we chopped them up for jam. We also picked plums and baked plum cake.

My friends kindly gave me a lot of peaches so I am making peach chutney. Chutney is a kind of sauce from South India made with fruit or vegetables, spices, vinegar and sugar. It goes well with meat or cheese or with curries.

I have never made chutney before but it smells great. I am cooking it in the microwave which is easier than stirring it for hours on the stove.

Traditional Scales

Plum Cake Slovak-Style

An ant wanted to try the jam

Chutney Ingredients

The Chutney

Favourite films from the film festival

Here are some of the films I enjoyed most at the Four Elements film festival this year.

First up is Ninotchka (1939) - the film where Garbo laughed. A romantic tale of love between a capitalist parasite and a communist 'komisar' set in Paris. Seems ridiculous, then you love it - just like the strange hat Garbo wears.

Ninotchka (1939) USA

 

 

 

 

 

The Parade (2011) Serbia

  A Serbian film that deals in the most ridiculous stereotypes to confront both ultra nationalism and homophobia. A mafia boss finds himself trying to protect a gay parade through Beograd.

Tenderness (1991), Czechoslovakia

 'Tenderness' the first feature film made by director Martin Sulik in 1991. The first words in the film are, 'You beat your father.' The film explores a search for meaning in the life of the young protagonist after the end of Communism.

Vive L'Amour (1994) Taiwan

Three lonely people in Taipei begin using an empty flat. Sad, slow and beautifully filmed - this film is a slow burn. 

Parineeta (2005) India

'Parineeta' means 'married woman' in Bengali This film is based on a famous Bengali novel of the same name. The story has been up-dated and is now set in the 1960s. An epic production where family saga meets Bollywood musical - first the audience in Banska Stiavnica scoffed and then they cheered.

Preserving the harvest

Now is the time of year for preserving the fruit and vegetables from the garden to help us through the long cold winter. We made 'leco' which is a mixture of tomatoes and green peppers cooked with onion and put in jars. It is often eaten with scrambled egg. Yum.

Now I feel confident that we can survive the winter.