The change of weather, the change of seasons, the imminent entry of autumn manages to make me dizzy. Once last August, known as the month of holidays, I seem to have a work frenzy. Because the preparations for the winter that awaits us must be made in advance. Well, these are not my habits, they are actions done by all my ancestors and which have been inscribed in the genetic code, as a necessity for survival.
I try to fight these impulses that come from the unconscious because I prefer a vacation as long as possible, but my wife does not allow me to escape.
So I went to the market to buy vegetables, to make preserves for the winter. I tried to argue that the times when they were indispensable for survival are over, that now the supermarket offers all the products regardless of the season, I had no escape... So I bought eggplant, bell peppers, onions, hot peppers, mushrooms.
In order to reach a finished product, a vegetable cream that in Romanian is called Zacusca requires a lot of work, hard work to do after a few months of sweet and effortless life.
These vegetables must first be cooked. They can be baked in many ways, but the tastiest is when they are baked on the grill, over a wood fire. Zacusca will have a slight taste and smell of smoke, very discreet but important.
Baking was the easiest time because all these ingredients must be cleaned of the burnt part. This is more painstaking and time-consuming.
These activities were done in the yard and because of this, it was more pleasant, clean air and more space. But there was another activity in the kitchen, where a tomato and onion paste was prepared.
Not to mention what a pleasure it was to clean the onion for my eyes.
After many hours of work, we reached the final moment, when all the ingredients are fried in sunflower oil.
Also now, in the end, add hot peppers, garlic, salt, and pepper.
It takes almost two hours to boil until Zacusca is obtained, until it reaches the desired consistency.
You may find that the pot in which I cooked Zacusca looks dirty. It is not, it was well washed at first but it is very old, it was also used by my wife's grandparents and we like to keep this tradition.
Finally, because the end has come, the whole composition is put in jars. The jars are put in the oven for half an hour, in order to be sterilized and thus Zacusca can be eaten in winter.
There is also a much easier option to have Zacusca, to buy it from the supermarket, but we consider that ours is much tastier.
In winter, Zacusca puts on a slice of bread and together with a glass of brandy makes life more beautiful.
I wanted to show you, on this Friday, when we usually think of #marketfriday and @dswigle, the promoter of this challenge, how we can use the vegetables that are most often bought from the market or supermarket. It's not a recipe because I thought I shouldn't be so bad as to incite you to this long and laborious work.
I just wanted to remind you that autumn is coming and with it comes work from home.
Beyond the effort, it was very pleasant to work in the yard, on the grill, and surrounded by greenery and flowers, even if I filled the neighbors with smoke.
But I have a joy offered by my flowers. I have been trying for a long time to have a certain flower and so far I have failed to cultivate it. Now it has blossomed! Because there must be a flower, that is. Passiflora. The flower of passion!
This is an amazing flower, when I look at it I see a resemblance to an insect and a ballerina. It is also ephemeral, the flowering lasts only one day!
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