How to Make Sauerkraut

2 Days in Dubrovnik, Croatia: What to See, Do and Eat

Our first stop on our Croatian adventure: Dubrovnik. Way down in the Southern tip of the Croatian coast along the stunning turquoise waters of the Adriatic sea, this ancient walled city is one of the most beautifully preserved medieval cities in all of Europe.

Dubrovnik has become an increasingly popular tourist destination in the past decade (thanks in no small part to its portrayal as Kings Landing on HBO’s Game of Thrones), and it certainly has the crowds to prove it. But don’t write off this city as an over-crowded tourist trap; it is truly a spectacular place that everyone should see at least once in their life. There’s a reason it’s called the Pearl of the Adriatic!

Dubrovnik is charming in the same way that Venice is charming, despite the hoards of tourists. Maybe it is the fact that the old town itself is completely car free (not that it has a choice, other than the main promenade none of the streets are wide enough for cars anyway!) Still, I really wish more cities (in the US especially!) would go car free; it just makes them that much more enjoyable for tourists and locals alike.

Most people who have issues with Dubrovnik cite the crowds as the main reason they dislike it; and they’re probably the same people that dislike Venice for the same reason.

Considering how crowded it was when we were there during the shoulder season, I can only imagine what it’s like during the peak summer months. It’s a popular European cruise ship stop, so the crowd volume can vary wildly depending on how many ships are in port. (It’s a bit hard to navigate, but this site has information about how many cruise ships will be in port each day. Try to plan around the highest traffic days if you can!)

That said, even with the crowds it’s not impossible to escape them, despited being walled in (literally). Most of the people cluster on the main promenade and walk around the city walls. Head a few blocks on either side, or venture outside of the walls, and any anxiety you may have felt will slowly fade away.

Dubrovnik a small town, so unless you plan to take day trips to islands or other attractions nearby, two days is the perfect amount of time to get to know this ancient city.

(If you’re interested in seeing on overview of our entire 2 week itinerary in Croatia, I’ve written up a summary of our trip here. I’ll be posting more detailed accounts of each location in the coming months!)

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Easy Vegan Cornbread

Future Fridays: Rachel Krupa, Ashely Koff on Making Nutrition Accessible

In this Future Fridays video, Rachel Krupa, founder of The Goods Mart, and Ashley Koff, RD and CEO of The Better Nutrition Program, talk about how they are reinventing the convenience store concept to bring nutritious products to everyone. Despite a proliferation of options, it's still difficult for consumers to find and purchase food that is both healthy and tasty. "We're at an intersection of knowing what is better for us, but we're finding that it's not necessarily easy for us to make those choices," says Koff. 

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Best Damn Lentil Soup

Pesto Mac and Cheese

Blackened Shrimp Tacos with Dragonfruit Salsa

Bold in both flavor and color, these blackened shrimp tacos feature a tangy avocado cream sauce, boldy-spiced sauteed shrimp, and a fresh and fruity dragonfruit salsa on top.

Dare I say these are the most stunning tacos I’ve ever seen? The pink tortillas (naturally colored with dragonfruit powder) make for one truly unique, and truly beautiful taco.

It all started with a vision… a vision of a hot pink tortilla. I have no idea where this vision came from, all I know is that once it was there, there was no ignoring it.

I still had some dragonfruit powder left over from my unicorn hot chocolate drink mix this past fall (the dragonfruit powder giving the drink a pretty-in-pink hue that’s entirely natural).

As it turns out this pink powder makes for gorgeously hued corn tortillas as well!

And before you ask, the tortillas just taste like normal tortillas. The dragonfruit powder doesn’t add any noticeable flavor, only color.

Since my tortillas were going to be pink, I figured, why not go all in with the pink/dragonfruit theme and top the tacos with a bright and fruity dragonfruit salsa.

Dragonfruit is hard to find around these parts, but my friends at Melissa’s were so kind to send me an assortment of both white and red to play with for this recipe! I ended up using a combination of both in the salsa for a really unique and beautiful appearance.

While dragonfruit is drop-dead gorgeous, it’s unfortunate that the flavor isn’t quite as spectacular. The best way to describe it is like a mild, watery kiwi. Only perfectly ripe dragonfruit has any flavor at all (unripe fruit won’t taste like anything).

So yes, I fully admit the use of dragonfruit here is more novelty than anything (because it just looks so downright cool).

The salsa itself has a hearty squeeze of lime juice and a generous amount of salt and chili powder, all of which serve to amplify and exaggerate the mild flavor of the dragonfruit.

If you’re using a mix of white and red dragonfruit, I recommend holding off adding the red fruit to the salsa until the very end, then just lightly fold it in. The color is potent, and will quickly turn your pristine white dragonfruit pale pink if you’re not careful. And that’s not all it will stain, so definitely wear and apron if you care about your clothing while preparing the fruit.

Can’t find dragonfruit? This recipe would work swimmingly with mango or pineapple as well.

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