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0Satarash, or risotto stir fry: a contemporary take on a classic. Round grain rice simmered in a sauce of bell peppers, yellow onions and tomatoes for a light and filling vegetarian favorite.
Similarly to the stir fry we did already, this isn’t the traditional satarash format. When we speak of satarash, or Balkan stir fry, we’re really talking about a vegetable sauce. Contemporary Balkan cuisine has allowed itself some updates though. My mom makes (today’s) risotto stir fry where the taste doesn’t stray far from tradition, but the added rice transforms it into a standalone vegetarian dish. A filling one at that! (Meateaters: you have the option of grilling or baking meat on the side.)
***
An admission. For the past couple of years I haven’t been reading. There’s been an onslaught of information, sure, and I’ve picked up a book here and there. But this wasn’t the earnest have to finish this because nothing else exists reading from my youth. And until recently, if I told you there was a time I was kicked out of the library because I checked out a book, read it, and came back for another only a few hours later, you’d be surprised. All because you haven’t seen me with a book in hand for a while.
Time is not the problem. I demoted reading from my priorities. The distance increased. Instead of making up with it, continuing our torrid affair, I left it for other indulgences. Every person I have met has an addiction. Most addictions are socially acceptable and aren’t regarded for what they really are. For me, it’s binge watching shows. A realization flooded me recently: in a busy schedule I found a way to binge on two seasons of Narcos (15-20 hrs?), while stacks of unfinished books occupy my bedside table.
The books are not the problem. Books haven’t gotten bad. Azar Nafisi once described her reading habits as promiscuous. I recognize myself here. When it comes to serious books, rarely do I read anything written in the past decade, even two. Like good stew, a book needs to pay its dues, survive the proverbial test of time, before being ready for consumption. Let the feeding begin!
But there are times also when I want a book that doesn’t involve analysis, a book equivalent of McDonald’s. A “Big Mac” volume of sorts. In Bosnian this is called beletristika, the type of fiction which is more interested in aesthetics than literature. Although by today its aesthetics have deteriorated, and beletristika now is a kind of brain’s fast food, something to consume quickly and without thinking. I let myself fall under its charm from time to time. And I’m fond of some improvement books too.
Speaking of improvements, since the start of 2017 I’ve made some. I’m not where I’d like to be. Yet. But I’m reading again. Reading a lot more than in the recent past. Two reading rules help:
- I bring a book everywhere I go. (A physical book is best. Ebooks are ok. Audio books are a no-no as they make me sleepy.)
- If I don’t like a book after 30-ish pages, I move on to the next one. (Gasp!)
Here’s what I’ve been reading this March.
Haruki Murakami, 1Q84. Finally finished it. A story about a woman and a man who, in a way, save the (parallel?) world. Murakami plays with just enough magical realism to make it seem the events could (almost) be true. But you as the reader are not required to suspend your disbelief completely. A big book that moves very fast.
Charles Bukowski, The Way The Dead Love. Not sure if this book exists in English. A publishing house here put together a collection of his short stories from several different books. If you’re easily offended you won’t like Bukowski. He’s honest, dirty, sometimes disgusting. But he wrote some of the rawest, most precise prose you’ll experience.
Jacob Lund Fisker, Early Retirement Extreme. This book and the blog behind it started a mini-revolution in the US. Since it came out we’ve seen a proliferation of bloggers getting us to consider how much stuff (things and services) we really need, and how much life energy we are wasting for a dollar. Retirement is a misnomer here, he’s recommending getting your finances in order and then doing what you want with your time. To follow his philosophy you have to be ready for self-inflicted austerity measures, but they pay off relatively quickly. Thought provoking.
George Perec, Life a User’s Manual. I wanted to love this book. Imagine a building in a Parisian neighborhood, dissected in half height wise. Now you see all the inhabitants and can follow their lives as they unfold. Stories about past and present intertwine while a larger story looms in the background loosely connecting it together. Great idea. Cumbersome writing. It did not resonate at all. One interesting thing though, is Perec’s use of lists. Still, I started and stopped reading the book several times. Finally, I followed rule 2, and moved on.
What are you currently reading?
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 yellow onions (medium, minced or diced into large chunks)
- 3-4 bell peppers (red and green, cut into stripes)
- 2 tomatoes (skinned and diced)
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- Pepper to taste
- 1 cup rice
- Pour oil in a deeper pan and heat it up on low to medium. Add onions, stir and simmer until they crystalize. Add bell peppers, stir and continue simmering. Finally, add tomato and seasonings, stir and simmer. (Total simmer time for all is about 20 min.)
- Wash and add rice to the pan. As you're simmering, add a little bit of water at a time (about 1-1.5 cups). After 20 minutes, or when the rice is soft, remove off heat and serve.
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Dear Aida,
I have been following your blog for a while now. When I read this post I couldn’t keep myself from not replying :). To be honest I discovered you at Coolinarika and followed the link to your blog and liked it immediately. I like a good story for each recepie and your stories are very authentic,I suspected that you were a bookworm, given the quality of your written texts. In last years it was difficult for me to find a good book to read that would ‘feed’ me with some serious thoughts and ideas, however I was lucky enough to find some books this and past year that I enjoyed a lot. Therefore, I would recommend the newest book from Dzevad Karahasan – Sto pepeo prica (unfortunately you can only find it Bosnia, I ordered my from internet and my mom sent it to me in Austria because they ship only within BiH), a very good book that describes times that we live in (although the story takes place in year 1048-1131 I felt there was a lot of connection to the times we live in now), relationships and strenght of a woman – but I have to admit that it isn’t an easy literature. In addition I read a book from Haruki Murakami Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage which I liked as well. I also read the 1Q84 many years ago. A book I also liked a lot is the ‘Whom the bell tolls’ from Ernest Hemingway, difficult literature again but it shows you the importance of living in the moment and I liked the depth of the characters and the conversations. Last book I would recommend is the Elif Shafaks The architect’s apprentice. Sometimes I get tired of shallow conversations in daily life and seek for some answers in books, this time I will choose the one from Bukowski that you liked. It is ok if you don’t read as often as you used to, times change, we change, happened to a lot people I know, but at some point they all returned to book reading, so will you ;).
All the best and keep on posting your recipes and stories 😉
Azra
p.s.-sorry for the loooong post
Dear Azra,
Thank you for getting in touch, and your warm comment. It brightened my day!
You belong to a small group of readers who read texts on the blog. Most just scroll down for the recipe. So I’m especially happy you left a comment, as it confirms the utility of these stories.
I’ll look for Karahasan’s book. From your description, it seems like something right up my alley. I’ve read most Hemingway (love!), and Marukami (he’s our spirit animal).
I’m on the fence re: Safak. I liked her Rumi book, but her writing reminds me a bit of Coelho who I can’t stand for peddling thinly veiled watered-down New Age-ism as literature.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on Bukowski if you do end up reading him. He’s sort of like Hemingway, if Hemingway was even raunchier and drunker and dirtier. They’re both rootless with extraneous words. It’s cleansing to read literature like that. He’s really a poet, but I like his prose better. (But that’s probably because I’m not evolved enough yet to understand poetry.)
You’ve probably read some of these, but if you haven’t, you may enjoy them: Bulgakov (Maestro and Margarita), Marquez (anything, but especially 100 yrs of solitude), Hesse (Steppenwolf), Zadie Smith (White Teeth).
Do stop by again, I really enjoyed reading your thoughts. Alternatively, let me know if you’re ever in Sarajevo or DC, and we’ll grab coffee. 🙂
Hi Aida!
I read The books from Marquez and Hesse back in high school. Sometimes I think and dream about reading them again, now when I’m older and (hopefully) somewhat wiser to understand them better and deeper:). Bulgakov I read befor few months. I did like it a lot while I was reading it, but I forgot about it fast. Yout thoughts on Shafak didn’t surprise me, you are right. After I read her Rumi book I read all the ohers as well, they were not as good as the Rumi one but she did put a lot of effort to describe the turkish culture, food, people, situations and somehow liked it, because sometimes I like to live in the oriental fairytales. If you ever read Legenda o Ali pasi (which I think you did) you’ll know what I mean…One friend asked me once after I read a book ‘And Azra…, which one of them are you, Rumi or Shams?’ 😀
Although my schedule is a bit busy I’ll try to read Bukowski and for sure I will tell you my thoughts on it.
Back then when I lived in Sarajevo I was reading a lot of poetry, have written even my Matura thesis on Bosnian alternative poetry. Poetry is tricky, sometimes you just have to read it and not necessarily understand it, because if you experienced something similar the poem is about you may be able to resonate with it…That is what I learned back then and you will always feel a bit unevolved for poetry it is natural, but it shouldn’t discourage you ;)…Yes, even after all this time, the years spent in Sarajevo were the happiest, it is so unusual how such a small place can offer sooo many different things to experience and discover, therefore I liked all your stories and understood them, sometimes just going out to buy a bread may be unique and unforgettable experience :). Back then I was going out and discovering new places in SA, spent the weekends with my grandmother who always cooked everythig so tasteful and never had a recipe with ingridient volumes, everythig was ‘od oka’ :). I also know the other side of the story a bit to well, when you leave the country… So please, keep on writing you stories, maybe there are more readers than you can imagine ;).
Thank you for the coffee invitation, I appretiate it a lot and if I come to SA or DC I will contact you, same goes for you if you ever find yourself in Vienna or maybe in somewhere Germany (currently I don’t know where I might end up until the end of year) 🙂
And for last to answer you quenstion, because I forgot it last time, currently I’m reading ‘The cell-A visual tour of the building block of life’ from Jack Challoner and ‘The universe in a nutshell’ from Stephen Hawking. The second one is especially interesting because there is much more work, personality and life of Einstein than his ‘lolled out tongue’ picture how he is sometimes potrayed and how some people remember him, I know I did…. But that book is veryyyy difficult to understand, every five pages I have to find some documentary about physics in order to understand the topic. I read after long time only a few pages, but I’m not giving up and I expect to read it maybe in one to two years (I like long projects ):)
I am very curious on your thougts on Dzevad Karahasan, I hope you will like it.
Hi Azra!
You’ve gotten yourself into deep waters w/ Hawking. Fantastic! Good strategy too – tackling it piece by piece to grasp everything. You’re right, long projects are rewarding.
I had a feeling you worked your way through Hesse and Marquez, but they’re worth revisiting. As you mentioned, the understanding is deeper after a few more years of life under one’s belt.
Odokativno is indeed a great way to describe how food is prepped in the Balkans. However, mine is mostly a US audience for many of whom the Balkan cuisine is relatively new, thus “from the eye” method wouldn’t work for the blog.
Re poetry: I’ve had moments of resonating with it, but I’m of the opinion that no one can really understand it before they reach old age. Life has to pound us for several decades before we can seek solace in its sagacity.
I get what you’re saying regarding getting to know the culture through writers, and can completely understand your appreciation of Safak.
Not surprised your happiest years were here. I’m yet to meet a Sarajka/ lija whose soul isn’t yearning for this confusing, beautiful, frustrating and magical place. (Except for folks who have just left… it takes a few years to process the experiences of a new place… but sooner or later a small voice starts nudging.)
On the other hand, there has to exist a valve for letting oneself away from the intensity of here. I find travel to be one way of solving this.
Good luck with your (potential) move. Both places are full of opportunity, so it seems to me it’s a matter of choosing one great option versus another great option.
I look forward to sitting down for coffee with you one day. Karahasan is now in my April rotation. 🙂
Have a lovely week.