Baklava

Among the pyramids

Some say that these pyramids are just imaginary and to make money, others that there is something mysterious there, and yet others that they are the oldest and largest pyramids in the world. I like to form my own opinion on such things. I chose a hot summer day, the temperature rose to thirty degrees in the morning already. Having bought a green card for the car, I typed the destination, Visoko, into the satnav. I arrived there in a half-cooked state: border crossings, roadworks that supposedly had been going on for months, a whimsical climate that blew one minute warm, the next cold, depending on the mood.

After a few hours of driving, I thought again about the famous Bosnian cuisine, but I was unlucky. In the town of Visoko, only twenty kilometers from Sarajevo, there were only the standard barbecue places. Pooh! It doesn’t matter, I came to see the pyramids. The next day, as I entered the archeological park, I saw an inscription across the road: traditional Bosnian cuisine, all organic. Of course I went over there straight away. What a shame I hadn’t known about it the day before! 

Of the six dishes offered by the small restaurant, five were vegan. The young owner laughed broadly. No, he is not vegan, he shook his head, but he has nothing against such food, because they do not eat meat every day at home anyway. Vegetables are also cheaper, his parents have a big garden, of course. The mother-in-law bakes pies, father-in-law delivers them, and what his wife does he didn’t say, but it was obviously a good family business. He offered juice from freshly squeezed raspberries, in the morning they were picked somewhere in the mountains. He points to a thermos flask in which he has Turkish coffee. You know, he adds confidingly, everyone prefers the one from the machine. My appetite and knowledge of real Bosnian food impressed him, he sat down and talked about the fact that more and more guests are asking about vegan food. “See today’s menu? Pumpkin pie. Bean soup. Nobody has asked me about čevapčiči yet.” I inquire about the pyramids in journalistic fashion. “Yeah, people even sit inside for hours, in those tunnels. They come from all over the world. You have to see it for yourself.” That was exactly my intention. After a great breakfast, the descent to the right frequencies deep underground was impressive, the discoveries amazing, and the return to our civilization ominous. I returned home the same way, but drove two hours less and used correspondingly less fuel. Maybe I was moving through some other dimensions? I really don’t know, but when I was home I wanted real baklava and strong Turkish coffee. Instead of sugar there is an awful lot of agave syrup, which comes in glass jars to avoid plastic packaging, in this baklava of mine. I will use the jar again, of course. Waste is a big topic, perhaps even bigger than the pyramids.

Days of the week

Baklava

Rustic pie

Button mushrooms in cream sauce

Living in Program