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A SIMPLE, DOWN TO EARTH, HANDS-ON, SELF-RELIANT LIFE #ONTHEMOUNTAIN

About marta

Born in the Balkans, raised in the Lowlands, and now living at the foot of the French Alps. Worked most her life on 'the internet' and was educated as an historian. On this blog stories are shared about food, gardening and explorations.
Latest Posts | By marta
Holiday in Denmark
10 years ago

Holiday in Denmark

By  •  denmark, travel

It has been quiet around here as we were on a small holiday the last two weeks. It’s back to work today, but not before I show you a quick and …
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Neskafe ice coffee from the Balkans
11 years ago

Neskafe ice coffee from the Balkans

I like to start my day with coffee and then during the day I drink one more coffee in the early afternoon and sometimes take another one somewhere in between. …
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Camping trip Languedoc & Provence
11 years ago

Camping trip Languedoc & Provence

By  •  travel, travel france

We spend our last weekend in the Languedoc and Provence region. As we had four days off, we decided to pack up our tent and go south. We considered going to …
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Ajvar, a-jar-full (of comfort)
11 years ago

Ajvar, a-jar-full (of comfort)

Ajvar [ajвар]! Or Ajver – whatever you prefer – is one of those terrific foods from my youth. Back then it was a real comfort food, since I didn’t have …
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Knit 3h baby vest

By  •  knitting, make

I love to knit, it keeps me physically occupied while I’m doing something that only requires (some) mental work. Or when I’m stuck somewhere where I can’t do anything else but knit, like in a car for example (when I’m not driving). I’ve been knitting as long as I can remember, and before that my mother and grandmother knitted from the beginning of history, my history at least. So it must be part of my nature. If not, then it must be nurture. Read More

Last bits and pieces of the new collection

By  •  make

I’ve been knitting macbook sleeves for a while now and I still enjoy it a lot. It’s a perfect way for me to relax and get my hands off the computer. But about 250 sleeves down the road a few months ago I did decide that I have to reshuffle the way I work, in producing – but mostly in how I push these sleeves into the world. Read More

It took me 32 years to find out how chick peas grow
11 years ago

It took me 32 years to find out how chick peas grow

By  •  garden

When I was small, in Macedonia, I was first introduced to chickpeas in the form of leblebii. We bought them in nut stores all over town and ate them while …
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How to make green tomatoes red

By  •  garden

ripen green tomatoes1

That time of the season came where tomatoes aren’t turning red as easily as in mid-summer. In all kinds of gardening groups I’m seeing a discussion come by whether you can get green tomatoes to turn red. A lot of people say you can’t do it. It’s advised to make chutney out of the green tomatoes. Well, ever since I have had tomatoes in buckets on balcony’s and stuff I have taken green tomatoes from the bushes this time of year and placed them in a sunny place to turn red. This always turned out great and I just couldn’t understand why this wouldn’t work for other people. Maybe I had always used those small cherry tomatoes? Maybe it doesn’t work for bigger ones?

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Unripe green walnut preserve and confiture
11 years ago

Unripe green walnut preserve and confiture

The harvesting season for green unripe walnuts began nine days ago for me this year. A bit late, but summer came late this year and everything moved on a bit. …
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No car Sunday – about freedom that comes with dependence

By  •  Uncategorized

This weekend took off positively. Our first visitors arrived on Saturday as the prelude to the upcoming two months where we will have many more friends and family that will follow them on the same road from NL to FR. The house will be pretty busy. We tried to tidy up everything and arrange everything properly before all the excitement would begin. So that during this period we would be able to do the things we wanted to do and our friends and family could enjoy their holidays without having to lean too much on each other. We could enjoy the time separately and come together when we all wanted to. And so we thought we were prepared when the first guests arrived on Saturday evening. On Sunday this plan bursted apart though and we became pretty dependent on our guests. But first some fun things ;)

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