Bye Bye Christmas Time...

One of the advantages of living in Poland is the fact the Christmas period here lasts as long as the beginning of February. However, with time flying as it does, not only did I merely notice Christmas at all, but I have just realised that the time has come to remove the decorations.Well, I guess it's high time to do so, as I've read that they're taking down Christmas lights in the city today.
It's a bit sad, as I love walking down the Royal Tract covered with snow and beautifully illuminated. On the positive side though, I have to think about a suitable replacement for the Christmas tree in the corner - guess I shan't be bored!

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Gingerbread Layer Cake

This Christmas I decided to "pimp up" my gingerbread a bit, after a last minute inspiration. I saw a photo of this cake, literally a day before making the cake and decided it's an absolute must this Christmas. I really like how the cake combines gingerbread and gateau type cake features, it's both presentable and delicious. The cake (4 layers): 150 g honey (liquid) 200 g butter or margarine 500 g plain flour 3 yolks 4 tbsp milk 1 tbs purified soda 100 g sugar 1 tbsp ground ginger 1 tbsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground nutmeg 1 tsp ground cardamon 1tsp ground cloves a pinch of ground black pepper Combine the ingredients in a large bowl - as it's really hard to do, you may be best off using dough whisks on a food mixer. Cover the bowl with cling film and put into the fridge for 24 hours. After that time, divide the dough into 4 parts, place on a baking paper-lined baking tray and bake in 180C for about 15 minutes. Leave to cool. The cream: ...

Home made pasta

I got a pasta maker for my birthday and we seem to be eating nothing but pasta since! Though the every first attempt was far from successful, I quickly sussed it out. The fact that I naturally tend to start with the most complex things, didn't help here, either. Instead of taking baby steps and making simple spaghetti or tagliatelle first, I had a go at making ravioli :-) Well, I ate my humble pie and next time I made simple soup pasta. Successfully! :-) It reminded my of the childhood days when my gran would make a delicious soup with home-made pasta when I stayed with her. Of course, I keep hearing questions, like: why bother making something you can buy in every single shop? Well, I bother as the home-made pasta is incomparably better! :-P To make basic pasta dough you need: 1 cup of flour 1 egg a pinch of salt a dash of olive oil water if the dough is to dry more flour - if the dough is to sticky, also to sprinkle on the worktop The proportions above are enough fo...

Pork with Gorgonzola

I came across this meal in one of my mags, and it looked cool enough to give it a go. Worked so well that it has become one of our staple dishes since. Though the original recipe had Gorgonzola cheese in it, we've tried it with a variety of other blue cheeses and it worked equally well. Also, the first time I made it I used rose, instead of white wine, and must say that it probably worked even better. You need: about 0.5 of boneless pork chops 3 cloves of garlic salt pepper some dry basil and thyme a handful of fresh parsley leaves 3 tbsp of oil 5-6 slices of Gorgonzola 200 ml of wine (white or rose) Slice the meat and season it, sprinkle the herbs on top. Pre-heat the oil on a frying pan, seal the chops on both sides (fry about 1 minute on each side, or until it turns golden brown), then move into a bake dish. Peel and finely chop garlic and parsley, place them on frying pan and fry them on a small heat in the remainder of the oil from dealing the meat. Pour in ...

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