Soups are quite a big thing in Poland and many families will still have their lunch or dinner of two dishes - a soup followed by the main meal. Nowadays, perhaps less and less so with people spending most of the time chasing their own tails (sorry, pursuing their careers :-), but I guess many would agree with me that soups definitely are one of the best parts of our cuisine. There are soups for each season - lighter for spring and summer (we even have fruity ones) and heavier, more substantial for autumn and winter. This soup is pretty filling so it may well be served as the main meal. Ingredients:  Soup: 4 chicken thighs 3-4 carrots 2-3 parsley roots 4-5 potatoes 0.5 celery root 1 clove of garlic 3 bay leaves 5-6 allspice grains 1 stock cube 1 tbsp mixed dry vegetables salt and pepper Place the chicken thighs in a large pan and cover with water, bring to boil. Add the stock cube, dry veg mixture, garlic clove, bay leaves, allspice, celery  peeled and dice...

With about -15C outside, I decided we need something to "warm us up" :-) In other words, the cold weather served as a handy excuse to make ginger biscuits. Whereas I'm not entirely sure about their warming up properties, the flavour is definitely to die for! They're amazingly easy and quick to prepare (it didn't take me longer than an hour to make a solid bunch of I guess around 150 biscuits). They've been miraculously disappearing from the plate at a stunning speed now :-) Ingredients: 2 cups plain, all purpose flour 3-4 heaped tbsp ground ginger 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp ground cloves (or 5 whole cloves crashed in pestle and mortar) 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt 170 g soft butter or margarine 1 egg 1 cup caster sugar 4 tbsp honey 1 pack of vanilla sugar (or a few drops of vanilla extract) In a bowl mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda and salt. In anther bowl mix butter with a food mixer until it's fluffy, then gradual...

I guess each Polish child, at some point, used to believe that "gołąbki" (the diminutive of Polish word for "pigeons") are made of pigeon meat. Whereas to some it may be a perfectly logical assumption, pigeon meat is not very popular in Poland, and the idea seems rather amusing to the majority of people. Quite frankly, the thought  of eating the meat of world's most scuzzy creature never ceases to give me the creeps. As a child, though, I deeply believed that it was pigeon meat I got served stuffed inside the cabbage leaves. I seem to recall my grandmother fostering that belief, as my childhood credulity was the source of infinite joy to her. I don't quite remember when I found out about the real origin of one of my favourite dishes, but certainly was quite relieved by the truth.  The dish is made of mince - traditionally mixed pork and beef, though minced pork shoulder will certainly suffice. Although it may seem like a complicated dish, it really i...

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: ...

Gingerbread houses remind me of fairy tales. :-) I made my first "gingerbread winter village" a couple of years ago, and it's become an integral part of my Christmas preparation by now. You may say it's quite time (an labour!) consuming, but most of all - it's so much fun! OK, maybe apart from  the moment of sitting still and holding the walls and roof to "stick the house" together. :-) Ingredients (enough to make a couple of houses) 2 and 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup honey 1/2 cup icing sugar 1 egg 5 tbsp soft butter 1 tsp baking soda 1 tbsp cinnamon 1 tbsp ground ginger 1 tsp ground nutmeg 1/2 tsp ground cardamon 3 ground cloves Icing: Egg white Icing sugar In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, soda, and spices. Melt butter on a hob and add honey and stir until they blend, then pour into the bowl with other ingredients and crack in the egg. Knead until the dough is smooth. Cover the bowl with cling film and put it in the fridge for 30 ...

I got in the mood for making these cakes in the morning, and then it all started. Actually, the day started off with an argument, as I actually said I was gonna make 'mince pies' so it gave Sam all the wrong idea... as mince pies they are not! They look deceptively similar, but the filling (both in the original recipe, and my altered version is nothing like mince pies). They are both pretty and tasty, though they may be a bit tricky to make. The main reason to try out these little goodies, was actually my latest kitchen equipment purchase - star cutters. I ordered them online, hoping the delivery would make it before Friday (as I planned baking my last batch of gingerbread cakes). With my luck the courier arrived at my door just when I put the last tray of cakes into the oven. Well, what I could I do? Had to find a recipe for other cakes, and came across these little goodies. Looked nice, and the association with minced pies was immediate, plus the recipe looked simple enou...

The first batch of edible season decorations is ready, and I must admit that the temptation to eat them rather than put up, is really strong! After long hours of kneading, cooling, and rolling the brittle gingerbread dough, which was incredibly adamant in falling apart, there was a fair bit of icing and decorating, but it was worth it. So far, the flat is filled with Christmas smell, and I can't wait to put the cakes up! To make gingerbread cakes you need: 2 and 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup honey 1/2 cup icing sugar 1 egg 5 tbsp soft butter 1 tsp baking soda 1 tbsp cinnamon 1 tbsp ground ginger 1 tsp ground nutmeg 1/2 tsp ground cardamon 3 ground cloves 1 tbsp cocoa powder (if you wish for a darker shade) In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, soda, and spices. Melt butter on a hob and add honey and stir until they blend, then pour into the bowl with other ingredients and crack in the egg. Knead until the dough is smooth. Cover the bowl with cling film and put it in the fr...