RASTLINJE

is an exceptional place to work at. it's where art, science and care are combined. it's where they showed me what team spirit, great communication, generous sharing of the knowledge, ideas and incredible hospitality approach actually mean. it's where the techniques, flavours and textures created are something I've never seen or tasted before. it's where I can grow and learn every day and it's because of the people around me.

I'm gonna miss having my own (little) kitchen. Little throwback to Dordrecht days off work:
1 - mint syrup, leaves then used again to make kombucha
2 - me preparing a welcome dinner for my best friend
3 - goodbye summer salads (homemade pesto orecchiette, confit garlic hummus and charred aubergine spread missing on the picture)
4 - garlic confit with thyme (at one point I had a big bowl of garlic bulbs in the kitchen - confit is always the answer), then used for soups, sauces, spreads etc. and you also get aromatic garlic-thyme oil at the same time
5 - my beloved tempeh gyoza dumplings from scratch
6 - making kombucha on weekly basis became a routine
7 - elderflower kombucha (I also tried and loved mint, thyme, chamomile ones)
8 - random low-effort breakfast, I just like the scenery
9 - 🟢🐊🌱🍃🦖🌳

cucumber peel sorbet experiment

one day I didn't want to throw away the leftover cucumber pulp we had left in the restaurant, so I made (mojito vibes) granita for the first time in my life - last photo. but then again I didn't want to throw away all the peels and end cuttings of the cucumbers, so I juiced them and with its delicious deep-green-coloured juice I made a sorbet enhanced with some lime juice, terragon and ginger. still needs some improvement of the texture and the balance of flavours, but it's a very interesting starting point.

I love to question all leftover/wasted (parts of) ingredients and it's pushing me forward in my creative thinking and search for new ideas.

most of the days I currently spend in the creative kitchen. my fav part of the day is probably the service time after the prep is done. it's all about the focus, flow and I love the dynamic of it. and also the details of the platings.

it's when all the little pieces come together, when hours of work and attention are presented on a plate for guest to experience pure, elegant flavours of the current season.

roasted garlic and white miso (spiced up) congee with steamed eggplant and pb-chilli oil sauce

throwback to last year's SHOTS Film Festival venue. Lena and me organised the entire pizza pop-up from scratch without any previous pizza-making experience. beforehand there was one year of thinking, planning, practising and eating pizzas regularly. really a lot of energy, ideas, calls, to-do lists, worries and sweat went into the whole project, but it was such a fulfilling experience.

couldn't make it happen without SHOTS Film Festival support, BeetBox help and the most amazing pizza (picoteka!) team! thank you Nika, Neža, Aleša & Anika for all the effort and never-ending good energy. thank you Lena for everything. 💛

marelični tarte tatin z domačim listnatim testom in (tokrat) brez pridobljenih novih opeklin. male zmage!

elderflower - vanilla - lemon - pear

(flavourful elderflower cordial liquid) poached pear, accompanied by smooth lemony vanilla cream, crunchy caramelised (slightly salted) walnuts, sesame and sunflower seeds. & let's not forget about fun reduction of poaching liquid - syrup packed with deep floral flavours of elderflower, cardamom, vanilla and lemon

/plated in two different ways, while I feel quite inspired to play around with platings these days. trying to see what works and mostly what doesn't, haha. learning by doing, which is how I learn the most I think./

speaking of freestyle leftovers meals -- today's quick lunch was leftover pierogi dough dumplings filled w/ fork-mashed leftover roasted celeriac, pan-roasted asparagus, apple and miso filling, served w/ yesterday's leftover humus, yoghurt, parsley and asparagus tips

hard to write word 'leftover' more often in a sentence. oops

hearty Swedish potato dumplings (kroppkakor) filled with tempeh-oyster mushrooms-caramelised onions filling

boiled, pan-fried and served with homemade lingonberry jam and buttery white sauce with freshy grated nutmeg

fresh soba noodles

domač kimchi s kitajskim zeljem, mlado čebulco, šalotko, hruško in malo žnitloha

Krompirjeva solata malo drugače.

Kuhan krompir s (kremnim, ampak precej lahkim in svežim) koprc dressingom, v kombinaciji s hitro okisano redkvico, svežo hruško, ocvrtimi kaprami, popraženimi sončničnimi semeni, v pečici pečeno šalotko, čipsom krompirjevih olupkov in svežim koprcom.

orecchiete, trenutno najljubša oblika testenin - danes prvič domače

današnji zajtrk je bil za spremembo slan:
congee (kitajska riževa kaša) s popraženimi umami gobicami in mlado čebulo

- svetovno!