Vacations, photos and food

I'm thinking about writing a story and asking people "What I Ate On My [Summer] Vacation..." Going through a photo card, I came across some pictures I took on my trip to Slovenia last October before making my annual trek through Italy. The photo above was the bedroom view from the lovely Hotel Kendov Dvorec in Spodnja Idrija.

The placard below was on a building in the town of Ljubljana. For real.

You gotta love a country that has a society that recognizes the importance of sauteed potatoes and onions. The Slovenia guy showing us around Ljubljana couldn't really explain what the society does besides eating potatoes and onions or why there are bugs etched on this placard......I'm going to chalk it up to a Lost in Translation moment.

The pix below was taken at the farmers' market in Ljubljana. Those are giant vats of freshly made sauerkraut. There is no escaping the Slavic influence in Slovenia, which borders Italy and Croatia. Grandma types were buying big bags of it. I visited several vineyards and some of the wine from Slovenia is quite wonderful, especially Tokai and Rebula, but a local one called Teran, which was fine with the local foods, tasted much too much like the kraut once we opened a bottle of it in Tuscany.


One of my favorite stops in Slovenia was to the Piranske Soline salt store. (See below) Yep, a whole store devoted to salt. The salt is stored in canvas bags tied with red ribbons. You can also buy little wooden salt spoons for serving.


But this is not just any salt. Slovenia salt kicks that Morton babe's butt.

The salt is harvested from the Secovlje Salina Nature Park, on Slovenia's Adriatic coast using techniques dating from the 14th century.

Their slogan: Salt is the sea that could not return to the sky.

The salt's flavor and texture is prized among European chefs, including Alain Ducasse. I bought several bags for friends and family who cook - and, of course, the little spoons. The culinarians went nuts. It's that good. No one wants Italian scarfs or handbags from me anymore. It's Slovenia salt or nothing at all. Well, no one has ever said no to a bottle of freshly harvested Tuscan extra virgin olive oil.

(At customs, however, I did start to have some anxiety about an agent rifling through my luggage and finding all these bags of salt and little wooden spoons. I'm not sure if anyone would believe I was really muling salt for a bunch of sodium-craving Americans.)

I'm getting near the end of my salt and I need a Slovenia salt hook up very, very soon.

-Patricia Talorico