One of the best parts of my grandparents' house was the vegetable gardens that my grandpa constantly tended to in the backyard. We always had fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers (great for stuffing!). It was the norm to leave their house with a giant box or two of peppers. My grandfather is Serbian, so much of the food my grandma cooked was from that culture. Not much beats a few cevapcici: delicious little sausages. However, my personal favorite food is gibanica. It is a flaky cheese pastry that can be altered to be sweet or salty and there are many delicious variations. I just recently recreated my grandmother's recipe and I will share it with you at the end of this post.

we were constantly laughing and having a great time. Unless, of course, we were glaring at each other silently in the heat of the game, which happened on occasion. And by occasion, I mean all the time. Each day we spent at their house, at least 3 rounds were played.
Their house was located in a quaint neighborhood just down the road from Lake Hamilton, a great place for us to spend our hot summer days. Just a Drew Brees stone's throw from their house was a resort whose pool and park we snuck into all the time. Every Fourth of July, my family and my aunt's family would visit my grandparents. My cousins, sister, and I would trek up the road to the fireworks tent and summon our inner pyromaniacs as we set off sparks in the large backyard. We didn't need to watch television or play video games when we had such a gorgeous area to explore and family with whom to spend our time.
My grandma passed away a few weeks ago. Being able to reminisce about these times with her has helped me heal so much but I will always miss her. She had this fire inside that made her such an amazing woman, and I know I have it in me. Here's to Johanna and her everlasting flame. *Clink*
As promised, here is my recipe for gibanica.

3 large eggs
1lb cottage cheese
1lb thawed filo dough
1 stick melted butter
1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Add cottage cheese and mix well.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Unroll 2 layers of filo dough and brush with melted butter.
4. Scoop a few (4-6) spoonfuls of the cheese onto the dough and spread evenly. Not too much because the filo with break, but enough to be an adequate filling.
5. Roll up the dough and place in pan. Repeat steps 3-6 until the pan is full.
6. Brush the rolls in pan with remaining butter.
7. Put in oven for 1 hour. Take out and let cool for 10-15 minutes, then cut into squares and serve.
8. Eat, enjoy, fall in love, thank me for having a Serbian heritage and introducing you to your new favorite food!
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ReplyDeleteConsidering this post is about our grandma, I wanted to contribute some of my memories with her, too.
We practically grew up in that house in hot springs. I remember choreographing dance shows and fishing for catfish in the pond. Her house was my favorite place to go on vacation because it meant a family vacation with my cousins. She spoiled us rotten, always making sure that she had stocked up the "secret" candy drawer before we arrived. She fed us like we'd never eat another day. At the time it was hard to understand that, but now I'm grateful to have been so taken care of and for being able to pick up some of her kitchen tricks as well. I also remember driving the golf cart for the first time which began to open new doors like going to the gas station up the hill by ourselves. And at the end of every trip, we'd wave to her while she teared up in the driveway so sad to see us go. The best parts of my childhood were in that house by the lake.
I had always hoped grandma and grandpa would be around to see me graduate, get married, have kids. Of course I knew that was unlikely, especially with all the recent stress regarding the divorce and her health. Now that she's gone I've just gotta bring her with me. I like how you brought up her fire because she was definitely one firey lady who didn't take any shit. But she was also caring and sweet and wanted everyone around her to be happy.
I think all of her girls got her flame. We flare up sometimes and can be incredibly independent and hard-headed. But we also warm the people up around us and draw them in like a campfire because we want to take care of them and make them happy. Even though she can't be with us anymore, we all still have her flame. And as long as the people around us are laughing and have full bellies then she lives on through us.