Kitchen activity: fermented cucumbers - ma keszult a konyhaban: kovaszos uborka

If you walk on a street full of houses in Hungary, I bet you would see a lot of jars of fermented cucumbers in their patios and or window stills. It is a pretty easy side dish, or main dish if you love it that much. Which I do, and so does my father.

Azt hiszem Magyarorszagon a legtobb haz tornacan es ablakaban ott van egy nagy uveg alakulo kovaszos uborka. Nagyon egyszeru elkesziteni, es igen finom. Mi az Apuval annyira szeretjuk, hogy nem is kell foetel melle.

You will need a few fresh and crunchy cucumbers. Wash them, cut off the edges and cut them lengthwise in both directions, as if you were to quarter them, but you actually don't cut it all the way (so that the water can reach it better). Wash your bunch of dill, and cut off edges. If you love garlic, you can put some cloves in, but this is totally optional. And have some stale bread. I ended up cutting off the crust, to have a better exposure to the soft part.
Kell hozza par ropogos uborka, veguket levagtam, keresztbe vagtam,  (hogy viz jobban erje). Kaprot megmostam, veget levagvam. A fokhagymat ki lehet hagyni, ha nem vagy fokhagymas, de en bizony imadom.  Es vegul a kenyer, aminek a hejat levagtam, hogy jobban erje minden. (Bar szerintem hejaval is jo.)

 I almost forgot, you will need a tablespoon of salt for each pint of water. I used 3 pints to cover everything.
Ja majdnem elfelejtettem, hogy kell bele so is, fel literhez egy kanal. Nalam masfel liter viz fedett el mindent.

 I did not find my large jar, must have put something else into it, so I used a vase. Repurposing is great.
Nem talaltam a nagy dunsztos uvegemet, igy elo kaptam egy vazat, nem is nez ki rosszul. 

 Bread on top.
Kenyer a tetejen.

It is out in the sun, will be back to show you, when it is ready!
Es most mar a napon van, jelentkezem, amikor keszen van!

Yarn Along - Kotes es olvasas

I have two passions that keep following me in life. One of them is reading, and the other one is knitting. I am sure this is not a revelation for you, if you read my blog from time to time. However, today I am going to combine the two with this icon, Yarn Along.
The idea behind this icon is to match up two things you enjoy. It could be a description of a knitting, and some musings over a book; or it can be a picture to illustrate your progress in knitting/crocheting and the book.
This is how I join in with Ginny on Wednesdays about knitting and reading.

Ket dolog van amit soha nem unok meg, az olvasas es a kotes. Gondolom, ez nem nagy hir, ha mar olvastatok a blogot, de most elhataroztam, hogy osszekotom oket a Yarn Along gombbal.
Itt az az otlet, hogy ossze hozzuk azt, ami orommel tolt el minket. Az lehet egy kotes/horgolas leirasa, es egy konyvrol valo monfondirozas. Es lehet egy foto is, amin a konyv es az alakulo kotes/horgolas van.
Igy csatlakozom Ginny szerdai olvasok es kotok oldalahoz.

I picked up my long abandoned sock project. For a while I was dreading to make another sock. Now I am enjoying it so much, that I don't understand what took me sooo long. As you can tell I am almost out of yarn. I have divided the ball of yarn equally, so hopefully I am fine. This pattern is from Yarn Harlot ( Stephanie Pearl-McPhee). I have changed two things on it, the height of the sock (shorter, going back to my yarn concern) and added some ribbing to have a small pattern and structure.
Coincidentally I am reading her new book, All wound up. I mean I was eying it, but it was never in the library. Yesterday I got lucky, and snatched it from the shelf fast. I was laughing all night.
The  other book is about gelatos. I love Ciao Bella gelatos, and when I saw it in the library I was elated. This week I am going to make some delicious gelatos from it.

Na vegre ujra elkezdtem a zokni kotest. Mert ugye egy darab zoknival mit tehet az ember? Amennyire nem erdekelt az elejen, most annyira elveztem, hogy ujra zoknit kotok. Eleg keves a fonalam, de remelem azert pont eleg lesz. Saccra feleztem a gombolyagot, igy remelem minden oke. Ez a minta, Yarn Harlot-tol, rendes neve Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. Ket dolgot valtoztattam rajta, az egyik a zokni magassaga, hogy kijojjek egy gombocbol, es a masodik az meg a bordas minta, hogy legyen egy kis tartasa.
Tegnap a konyvtarban ket szuper konyvvel tavoztam, az egyikuk pont a Stephanie Pearl-McPhee uj konyve, Felgombolyitva, ami persze egy szojatek angolul, azt is jelentheti hogy teljesen felhuzva. Kis esszek, es hat fantasztikus a humora. Meg a ferjemnek is tetszett, mert hat voltak reszek amiket hangosan nevetve olvastam ujra. Itt ir a blogjaba.
A masik konyv az a Ciao Bella gelato(k)nak a recept konyve. Emlekszem, amikor meg rendelni kellett, de ma mar ott van a rendes abcben is. Es persze nem hiaba, mert nagyon finom! Ez egy igazi amerikai siker tortenet :). Kis cegkent kezdtek es ma mar befutottak, de meg mindig nagyon igenyes. A heten tobb receptjet is kiprobalom!

91 days -91 nap

91 napja eltuntem innen a blogrol. Most kerek elnezest, hogy egy mukkot sem szoltam, hogy miert. Es hat az az igazsag, hogy nem tudtam, hogy fogalmazzam meg, mi is tortenik velem, korulottunk, igy nem irtam. A tenyek, az erzelmek es a penz hianya olyan hullamvolgyekbe dobtak minket, amikre nem voltunk felkeszulve. Pedig megis valahogy meg kellett volna fogalmaznom, hogy mit erzek, es milyen donteseket kell hoznunk a jovore nezve.
Diohejban mar irtam arrol, hogy szeretnenk kisbabat, es hat orvoshoz is jarunk. Itt az USA-ban harom mesterseges megtermekenyitest probaltunk meg, mert erre futotta anyagilag. Sajnos a mesterseges megtermekenyites(ek) nem jart(ak) sikerrel. Azt sem tudtuk, hogy miert nem. Innen a kovetkezo lepes az a lombik bebi program. Szamunkra az olyan draga, hogy azt az USA-ban mi nem tudtuk megengedni magunknak. (Parok akiknek nincs mas lehetoseguk felvesznek kolcsont, -ami itt egy elfogadott es kialakult dolog- es abbol probalkoznak. Az adatok hihetetlenek, hogy meddig megy el egy par, hogy meglegyen a lehetosege arra, hogy kisbabaja lehessen. Ertem en ezt, mert en is nagyon szeretnem, de a ferjem az sokkal racionalisabb, mint en.)
Utana neztem hogy Magyarorszagon milyen lehetosegeink vannak, - en mint magyar allampolgar, o mint amerikai, tehat o fizetos- es mi mennyibe kerul. Hat mindennel egyutt egy negyede volt az USA-i arnak. Minden alatt ertem a replojegyeket, a gyogyszereket, az orvosi konzultaciot, es a TB utolagos visszafizeteset 2007-tol a mai napig. Az az osszeg ami itt egy alkalmat fedezne, az kb. harmat-negyet fedez Pecsen. Es ugy tunik hogy a lombik bebi nem az elso alkalommal jon ossze, tehat jobb ha ugy indulunk, hogy van meg lehetosegunk....
A (pecsi) Kaali intezetbe mentunk, es nagyon jo hogy oket valasztottuk. Minden szempontbol csak a legjobbakat tudom irni. Majus kozepen mar Pecsett voltam, es majus utolso heteben elkezdtem az injekciozast, majd jott a pete leszivas, megtermekenyites, es a 4 napos embrio visszaultetese. Sajnos az embrio nem tapadt meg, es harom honap kivarasa utan augusztus vege fele kezdjuk ujra a masodik  lombik bebi programot.
Nem vagyok elkeseredett, mert tudom, hogy mi mindent megtettunk, meg mert meg van lehetosegunk ujra probalni. Az sem utolso szempont, hogy a ferjem imad, es mindenben tamogat. A hazassagi evfodulonkra egy oda-vissza jegyet kaptam tole, hogy egyutt lehessunk amig nem kell visszamennem a dokihoz.  Nagyon szerencses vagyok. Szoval igy van az, hogy hol New Yorkbol, hol Pecsrol jelentkezem majd.

It has been 91 days since my last post. It is a long time, and I am sorry for disappearing without a word.  However I was overwhelmed by emotions, cold facts and the lack of money to deal with something that is really crucial to our life right now. It is hard for me to articulate my feelings or deal with these new challenges. We have to make decisions for our future, and it is not easy.
As you might remember, I have mentioned that we are trying to have a baby. We went to see a specialist in the US, and had three IUIs. Unfortunately they did not work, but we did not know why. The next logical step is to try an IVF cycle, but we could not afford the cost. (The fertility clinics offer loans, as we were not the only couple who are blown away by the cost. It seems couples use this option, but really how far can you go in debt to have a chance of having a baby? Well as I can identify with the desperation of wanting a child, it is really hard to draw the line. My husband is the rational one in the family.)
I heard that the costs are not as high in Hungary. So I looked into it; how much would it cost for us to go there for the IVF cycle. I am a dual citizen, so I would use the Hungarian health system as a Hungarian, and my costs would be nominal, compared to my husband (a foreigner). We had to reinstate my Hungarian health insurance, which meant that I had to pay all the fees from 2007 till now, 2012. We also had extra expenses, such as airline tickets, doctor's consultation and the cost for the medicine. The IVF itself is free for 5 trials (!). All these expenses combined, it comes to one fourth of the cost of an IVF cycle in the US. We are very lucky to have this option, as it seems that IVF usually does not work for the first time.
We chose the Kaali Institute in Pecs, Hungary. I am very happy with our choice, everyone is wonderful there, and the doctors are superb. I went back to Pecs, in mid May and started the hormone injections at the end of the month. We had the egg retrieval, the fertilization, an embryo and the implantation. Unfortunately the embryo did not implant. so we are going to start our second IVF cycle at the end of August.
Right now I am not upset, since I know that we tried everything, and we have more chances to succeed. It is very important, that my husband stands by me and adores me. For our wedding anniversary he got me a ticket to come back to the US to be together before going back to Hungary in the middle of August. I am a very lucky woman.

Yarn Along - Kotes es olvasas

I have two passions that keep following me in life. One of them is reading, and the other one is knitting. I am sure this is not a revelation for you, if you read my blog from time to time. However, today I am going to combine the two with this icon, Yarn Along.
The idea behind this icon is to match up two things you enjoy. It could be a description of a knitting, and some musings over a book; or it can be a picture to illustrate your progress in knitting/crocheting and the book.
This is how I join in with Ginny on Wednesdays about knitting and reading.

Two days ago I started to knit my first sock ever. Everybody tells me it is easy to knit a sock, so I decided to give it a try. I was a bit afraid to fail, but at the same time I have stress in my life and needed a challenge to keep my thoughts at bay.
Yarn Harlot, as Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is known, has this recipe for a sock that seems like a wonderful way to start this adventure. I like her essays and approach to knitting. Her stories brighten up my days.   The instructions are very easy, however I am a visual type, so the first time around I needed to see the process of knitting the sock. So I watched Staci from Verypinkknits to explain the steps. My stitches are different, but I have the same steps. I watch her videos all the time, like her style a lot.

I have started to read Salman Rushdie's Luka and the fire of life. I am coming to the conclusion, that people either love him, or don't care for his magic realism. I am head over heels into him. I love the stories, and his style blows me away.  I think I had the same love affair with Mika Waltari as a teen. He is not that well known here in the USA, but he is a wonderful writer of historical novels. I am not sure why he did not gain traction here.

  Ket dolog van amit soha nem unok meg, az olvasas es a kotes. Gondolom, ez nem nagy hir, ha mar olvastatok a blogot, de most elhataroztam, hogy osszekotom oket a Yarn Along gombbal.
Itt az az otlet, hogy ossze hozzuk azt, ami orommel tolt el minket. Az lehet egy kotes/horgolas leirasa, es egy konyvrol valo monfondirozas. Es lehet egy foto is, amin a konyv es az alakulo kotes/horgolas van.
Igy csatlakozom Ginny szerdai olvasok es kotok oldalahoz.

Ket napja elkezdtem eletem elso zoknijat. Mindenki azt mondja milyen konnyu kotes, igy bele vagtam a kototuimet. Persze azert feltem is tole, de a kihivas jo az eletben. (Megjegyzem ezek a kihivasok mindig akkor jonnek, amikor valami mas stresszes szitu van az eletemben, es nagyon kell hogy masra koncentraljak.)
Meg hat ahogy elnezem, hogy a Moncsinal csak ugy nonek a zoknik, mint a gomba :) hat ki kellett probalnom.
 Stephnaie Pearl-McPhee-nek a leirasat hasznalom, ami eleg egyertelmu, de en elso alkalommal jobban atlatom a dolgokat, ha latom mi is hogy mi tortenik, igy Staci videoit neztem a leirassal parhuzamban. A szemek szama az mas, de kotes sorrend es tematika az ugyanaz. Staci a verpinkknits alatt egy csomo videot felrakott es szeretem a stilusat, sokat nezem, miket es hogyan kot.
Visszaterve Stephanie Pearl-McPhee-re, ismeritek ot? Mas neven Yarn Harlot, ezen a neven van blogja is, nagyon jol ir...megjelent tobb kotessel kapcsolatos essze kotete is, szellmes es szorkoztato es megbujnak a tortenetekben az alap igazsagok. 

Elkezdtem Salman Rushdie Luka es az elet tuze cimu konyvet. Ez szabad forditas, nem jelent meg meg magyarul tudtommal.  Azt hiszem az ember ugy van Rushdie-val, hogy vagy imadja, vagy nem hat ra a varazslatos vilaga. En teljesen odavagyok erte, es hat ahogy ir az valami fantasztikus csoda. Azt hiszem ilyen hatassal utoljara Mika Waltari volt ram tini koromban. Az USA-ban nem nagyon ismerik, nem tudom miert van ez.

Yarn Along -Kotes es olvasas

I have two passions that keep following me in life. One of them is reading, and the other one is knitting. I am sure this is not a revelation for you, if you read my blog from time to time. However, today I am going to combine the two with this icon, Yarn Along.
The idea behind this icon is to match up two things you enjoy. It could be a description of a knitting, and some musings over a book; or it can be a picture to illustrate your progress in knitting/crocheting and the book.
This is how I join in with Ginny on Wednesdays about knitting and reading.

I am one color stripe away from finishing this OpArt blanket. I will knt the baby's initials in there with the contrasting color (orange).
Yesterday I went into the used book store in my neighborhood. I have lived here for almost three and a half years and never been in there. I have walked out with 4 books and spent 5 dollars. I am happy I helped them to succeed, and that I got some nice books. French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano interested me because I want to find a healthy way of eating. I am curious how this book will speak about the French food culture. Beautiful Roses Made Easy by Jackson & Perkins is the perfect book for me to start to learn about roses. We just planted 3 rose bushes and I have to be more informed. The three bushes that we have planted look so happy, and I would like it to stay that way.

 Ket dolog van amit soha nem unok meg, az olvasas es a kotes. Gondolom, ez nem nagy hir, ha mar olvastatok a blogot, de most elhataroztam, hogy osszekotom oket a Yarn Along gombbal.
Itt az az otlet, hogy ossze hozzuk azt, ami orommel tolt el minket. Az lehet egy kotes/horgolas leirasa, es egy konyvrol valo monfondirozas. Es lehet egy foto is, amin a konyv es az alakulo kotes/horgolas van.
Igy csatlakozom Ginny szerdai olvasok es kotok oldalahoz.
Tegnap bemereszkedtem a fo utcankon levo antikvariumba. Mar lassan harom es fel eve itt lakok,  de meg soha nem mentem be. Sikerult elkoltenem 5 dollart es haza hoznom 4 konyvet. Mondjuk orulok, hogy egy kicsit igy segitem a kis boltokat, es persze a konyveknek is orulok. A francia nok nem hiznak (Mireille Guiliano) -re azert esett a valasztasom, mert szeretnek egy egeszseges etrendet, de elegem van a buntudatokat ebreszto kajakbol. Kivancsian fogom lapozni, hogy mit gondolnak a francia nok az evesrol.
A masik konyv az az elso rozsas konyvem, mert ugye ki kell muvelodnom rozsa ugyileg, hogy most van az a harom, (ill. negy csak a sargat meg nem ultettuk el, mert az egy kesobbi szerelem -vasarlas- kovetkezmenye) szep rozsa bokrunk. Es olyan jol erzik magukat, es szeretnem ha ez igy is maradna.

Third Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, Photography and Composition - Harmadik Evi Kotes es Horgolas Hete a Blogokon, Fenykep es Kompozicio

This is week is the 3rd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. So as you know I don't need a special week to write about knitting or crocheting... However this week we will all write about craft related creativity each day, and that I find fascinating. We often see the finished products, but how do we really get there?
Today is the second day of discussing yarn or craft related ideas in our life.  If you plug into google 3KCBWDAY2 you will find out what other crafty bloggers think about today's topic.
The topics for today is photography. This can relate to your yarn or  just a clever composition related to your craft. The main emphasis is on imagination.
I am going to share with you a fridge magnet that I received almost 10 years ago as a gift.... and still cherish it a great deal. Even though you can see that one of the needles is missing an edge, (it must have broken as it fell down from the fridge) it is still special. Hard to see perhaps, but the whole thing is not wider than 2 inches. I am not aware where it was bought, but it was somewhere close to Morristown, NJ.

 
 Ez a 3. ev, hogy egy hetre sorra kerul a kotes es horgolas hete a blogokban. Mondjuk nalam gyakrabban, mert ez az ami teljesse teszi a napjaimat. Viszont orulok, hogy igy osszejovunk, es irunk egy-egy temarol naponta, hogy mi is az az ut, ami a kesz alkotashoz vezet.
Ma van a masodik napja hogy a kotesrol irhatok es mutathatom meg mi is az ami naponta inspiral. Ez a bejegyzes a fotozassal fugg ossze, a kep temaja lehet fonal, alkotas vagy csak valami ami a koteshez kapcsol teged. A kretivitas a lenyeg.
Ha beirod a google keresobe, hogy 3KCBWDAY2 akkor ott olvashatod hogy mit gondolnak mas blogosok a mai nap temajarol, es milyen kis klassz fotokkal rukkoltak elo.
En egy kis huto magnest mutatok be nektek, amit lassan mar 10 eve kaptam ajandekba. Bar igy nem jon ki a kepen, de az is meg az erdekessege hogy az egesz nincs  5 cm szeles. Annyit tudok rola, hogy Morristown (New Jersey allam) kornyeken vettek nekem anno.  Nagy becsben tartom meg ma is... (bar letort a tu egyik vege, amikor leesett a hutorol)

Third Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, Color Lovers- Harmadik Evi Kotes es Horgolas Hete a Blogokon, A Szinek Szerelmese

This is week is the 3rd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. So as you know I don't need a special week to write about knitting or crocheting... However this week we will all write about a certain topic each day, and that I find fascinating. We often see the finished products, but really how do we get there?
 If you plug into google 3KCBWDAY1 you will find what other crafty bloggers think about today's topic.
Today's topic is color.  How do I choose the color(s) for my yarn? My mood and the color picking go hand in hand. I adore yellow, orange and fuschia. These colors make me happy and hopeful. They brighten my day and I smile each time I look at them. I have knit turquoise and light green shawls, as they reminded me of the ocean at Hawaii, and that is a blissful place for me. Then again, sometimes I just go for the contrast, as I did in my layered shawl, where purple and golden sand color were competing for attention. I love colors and I am bold to use them.
Since I am aware of Raverly I often browse patterns to see them  in different colors. I can do this for hours. Yet when it comes to knitting, I have to say, I almost always have the yarn first, and then, I find the pattern.
Of course I have beige, grey and olive green colors as well, but they did not make the line-up yet.
In this post I have put up three pics of my recent purchases. The stone white color is such a classic it won me over. The yellow I did not have to think about at all, (and it is on sale, Knitpicks is discontinuing the color). The blue is clearly out of my comfort zone.

Ez a 3. ev, hogy egy hetre sorra kerul a kotes es horgolas hete a blogokban. Mondjuk nalam gyakrabban, mert ez az ami teljesse teszi a napjaimat. Viszont orulok, hogy igy osszejovunk, es irunk egy-egy temarol naponta, hogy mi is az az ut, ami a kesz alkotashoz vezet.
Ha beirod a google keresobe, hogy 3KCBWDAY1 akkor ott olvashatod hogy mit gondolnak mas blogosok a nap adott  temajarol.
A mai nap a szinek kivalasztasarol szol. A szinekkel valo kapcsolatom a hangulatomat tukrozi leginkabb. Peldaul imadom a az elenk szineket, mert vidamma varazsoljak a vilagot korulottem. Sarga az elso helyen all, de a narancssarga, turkizkek vagy a melyebb rozsaszinek johetnek minden mennyisegben. Tavaly ota kotottem egy turkiz, halvanyzold kendot (a tengert jutattja az eszembe Hawaiinal) es nem regen egy ket retegu  kendot, (lila es barnas-arany bezses) amiben a kontraszt fogott meg. A szinekben nem vagyok visszafogott.
Miota ismerem a Raverly-t, persze sokat elmelazok, egy-egy mintan, hogy hogy is nez ki xy szinekben, de inkabb tampont, mint szentiras. Ugy is mondhatnam, elobb veszem meg a fonalat, utana jon a minta megtalalasa.
Persze van visszafogottabb szinem is, bezs, szurke es oliva zold, csak meg eddig nem kerultek sorra.
Ez a harom motring a mult heti vasarlasom eredmenye. A csont feher moher egy orok klasszikus elegans szin. A sargan meg gondolkodnom sem kellett, foleg hogy le van arazva, mert Knitpicks megszunteti ezt a szint. A kekhez batorsag kellett, de biztosan lesz egy minta ami pont ebben a szinben lesz tokeletes.