My Recipes from Croatia 1991-1995 'Jelo'

By Marica Love

A collection of recipes derived from the journals of Marica Love.

After the release of her first book Married to the War, Marica took the recipes she learned from family and friends and created a delicious guide to traditional Croatian cooking.

Slavonia is rich in produce and they believe in always having plenty of food and cakes in the home. This collection is a labour of love by Marica that she wants to share with you.

Enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marica Love
• Release date: Apr 26, 2017
• ISBN: 9780995401617

Book preview

My Recipes from Croatia 1991-1995 'Jelo'

My Recipes from Croatia

1991-1995

‘Jelo’

by Marica Love

My Recipes from Croatia 1991-1995 ‘Jelo’

EBook   № 3

‘Married to the War Collection’

Copyright © 2017 by Marica Love – All rights reserved.

All rights reserved under International Copyright Law.

This EBook or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

Registered and Distributed in Australia 2017.

EBook ISBN 10: 0-9954016-1-6

EBook ISBN 13:  978-0-9954016-1-7

For my dear children,

Mario Matinac and Klaudia Matinac. Now you have all of mama’s recipes, to treasure for ever after. 

Both of you are my source of energy and my drive in all that I do.  I am so proud of you both. Always follow your inner light, your heart’s desires and always do with loving intent but take no crap.

With eternal love, 

Your Mama xo

Transforming an idea into reality is a powerful creative art form.  Believe in yourself. Follow your inner guidance and you will achieve! - Marica Love

Thank You

To everyone who taught me how to cook and bake all the traditional Croatian and Bosnian meals during my 5-year journey throughout the Croatian War of Independence 1991-1995.

I thank you.

Hvala.

With love, always,

Marica xo

NOTE

‘This book is part of my ‘Married to the War’ Collection’

Recipes in this book are from my note book my sister in law Katica gifted me back in 1991 in Croatia to write traditional Croatian home cooked meals and cakes into.

I wrote about my recipe book in my first book titled ‘Married to the War’. 

I have passed my notebook onto my daughter for keepsakes.  I do not have any photos of the recipes from back then, so, the photos in this book have either been purchased, are royalty free, have been given to me royalty free or I have taken them myself.

Pictures are also available on my social media sites.

M xo

Foreword

I used to watch my mother, grandmothers, and aunt cook their scrumptious meals; a mixture of Bosnian and Croatian.  My mother was a right hand to one of the cooks in a busy hotel in Germany before she came here to Australia.  Her goulash is the best!  Smelling the beautiful aromas from the meals being prepared made my mouth water and amplified my hunger! Watching all the meals being cooked from memory amazed me!

I moved to Croatia in 1991 at the age of 18 where I lived there for 5 years. I arrived just before the Croatian Civil War began and left after the War ended.  This cookbook is derived from my first book, Married to the War, about my personal journey throughout the Croatian War of Independence 1991-1995.

During those 5 years, I learnt how to cook and found a love for learning how to cook and bake.  Everyone was more than happy to share their knowledge and love of cooking with me. I did not know how to cook a single thing!  I enjoyed learning how to make scrumptious traditional Croatian meals, cakes, tortes, slices, jams, relishes, stews, and much more.  Before I knew it, I was whipping up meals in a flash in the kitchen.  Now, to be able to entertain, cook, teach others, and share my recipes, as others had with me, which is amazing!

Croatia is a beautiful country.   Drago is from Slavonia, where my son Mario was born during the War in 1992.  Slavonia, a farming district, is very rich in local produce such as wheat, sugar, meat, poultry, vegetables, fruit, milk, cheeses, eggs, salami, smoked meats, hams, homemade condiments and homemade jams. Women would cook with fresh ingredients. 

I fell in love watching women cook with all the ingredients right there in front of them.  There was no need to do a weekly shop, only for coffee, toiletries, washing powders, and bread.  Everything tasted so fresh, the flavours satisfied your taste buds, enjoying every bite, spoonful, or mouthful of food and knowing it is all from your own backyard farm opened a whole new world for me!  I wanted