I admit the title sounds better in Bulgarian as we have a special saying for that, literally – a hungry hen dreams of millet. However, it was my intention to tell you more about Crete and its beauties; but what can I do – when one catches some nasty virus and has to stick to the smallest room in the house chewing pretzels for a third day in a row – the only think that s/he can think of is delicious food! The more, the better! So abundant and beautiful as on the photo above which shows a product of the good people from the northern foothills of Belasitsa Mountain. So, I am thinking, the pretzels are ready to go, but why don’t a girl have dreams…

Delicious food macedonian style

So, here are some very cool meat products from the restaurant of Lebedovo Ezero (Swan’s Lake) in the municipality of Novo Selo, Northern Macedonia, very close to the Bulgarian border. I mean, if one founds him- or herself somewhere in Southwest Bulgaria, it is very easy to jump across the border and have some glorious meal. If it is a non-working day, however, s/he might not be able to find a table as the neighbours are most certain to have had the same fresh idea. I draw special attention to the small meatballs – they are fantastic! And the beans are not to be missed at all; they call this dish ‘tavche-gravche’ and it goes really well with the meatballs. And now, I did not start orderly but here is what I have to offer as salad:

Caesar salad in Veliko Tarnovo

This is how they make the Caesar Salad in my favourite source of delicious food – the restaurant of Shtastlivetsa in the town of Veliko Tarnovo. The vegetable basis is not just lettuce; the sauce is not just mayonnaise; the croutons do not smell of stale oil; the pieces of meat are not ‘imitating products’, and the thing on top is not just yellow cheese. All these ‘varieties’ of Caesar we have tried in various places. Ah, plus marinated herring sometimes, for colour. Varieties in quantity have also been quite interesting here and there. Same as cabbage. Never order a mixed salad containing cabbage – if you want to eat cabbage, just order a cabbage salad. But if you read that the salad contains ‘cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, ham, boiled eggs, etc’, what you can expect is a bowl of cabbage with two slices of tomato on top, 1 olive and half a boiled egg. So, about starters:

Starter in Balkan style

I do like Bulgarian – or I should probably say Balkan appetizers, since our neighbouring countries are so courteous to offer them to me too. Baked peppers and aubergines can never be a mistake. Special joy comes from the quality white cheese – from sheep, cow or goat milk, as well as the introduction of small teasers outside the tradition – like for example the baked minced walnuts in the aubergines. Ordinary kyopoolu – that is, ordinary for that part of the world – made of the same ingredients is always a delight to the soul if sometimes a problem for the nervous stomach that I think all of us have derived from our good and calm everyday life. The dish at the photo was served to me at the restaurant called – how else – ‘National’ in the town of Hissarya where I can most sincerely recommend the roasted lamb for St. George’s Day. Finally, for desert I suggest something fully un-traditional:

Dessert with... mussels

These are sea-shells in which the ‘meat’ (the mussel?) has been mixed with slightly boiled apples, rasins and carrots. Plus a little honey or brown sugar. This can probably only be found at the Dalboka (The Deep) oyster-farm near the town of Kavarna. I have the highest respect for their diligence, their desire to grow each year, and their imagination and creatiity in making delicious food. I do have a slight remark for the portion of French fries costing 8 leva but, who knows, maybe the one does not go without the other. Well, here I go to drink Imodium and watch culinary shows, and to you – Bon Apetit, wherever you are!