St George's Day

by Karolina, 23rd April 2012

It's St George's Day today,celebrated by several countries including England where St George is the patron saint. You must not mix it up though - it's English holiday (although not public holiday), not Welsh, not Scottish either. English but not British...I know it's complicated, if you're interested check out this site.
England was my home for over 3 years and I have to say that it's still quite dear to me (despite some small inconveniences & a few flaws).
And I will say it out loud - despite bad reputation- some of the best food I ever had was in Britain. Yes- believe it or not, but there's some really good food out there. OK, I admit, if you filter it down to fish & chips with vinegar, bacon butties & mushy peas...it doesn't look that good at the first sight.
But if you look under the pre-packed, frozen aisle surface you can find amazing gems.
And I'm not even talking about British chefs who are showing modern British cuisine to the world (and to British themselves) like Heston Blumenthal, Nigella Lawson or James Martin (and endless others), but there are lovely British blogs around which show that British is not "yuck" but "yummy" :)

My Favourite spots for checking what's cooking British are:
http://www.britishlarder.co.uk
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com
http://www.renbehan.com/
www.uktv.co.uk/food
http://www.deliaonline.com/

And here are some of my favourite British classics, I'd like to share with you
(singing Jerusalem or Rule Brittania while cooking is not necessary :))

1.Trifle via Moonlit Kitchen
2.Scones with strawberry jam (perfect with tea) via Bananamondaes
3. Beef Wellington via BBC Good Food
4.British gone lux- Beef with beer and roasted onion sauce, mini yorkshire pudding, horseradish flavoured potato puree, oyster mushroom, spring onions and turnip via Almond Corner
5. Phesant with wilted watercress via British Larder

Strawberry fields...(with rosemary)

by Karolina, 19th April 2012

Spring is here!!! Yay!!!
Spring symbolizes for me everything nice and pretty - my birthday, flowering fruit trees, sun rays waking up all creatures and plants around, new and colourful fruits and veggies...
I could probably give up all other seasons for Spring - mild & nice Spring.
Are you fan of Spring as well?

I would like to show you today little breakfast/dessert recipe.
It's a celebration of my favourite colour - Red :) and even better - it has strawberries in!

I like in this recipe for its simplicity but at the same time refined taste.

It combines cheese (Philadelphia style or any similar cheese), strawberries and....rosemary syrup.

Yep...rosemary, you read it right. 

First time I tasted combination of sweet with rosemary was in cute little cafe in Krakow where they served raspberry mousse with rosemary. It intrigued me...I tried it..and I was caught...Absolutely exquisite combination!

So this time I decided to try it in a little bit different combination.

You know what you're thinking - rosemary syrup - it sounds like some awful cough syrup.I promise - it is not. It smells divine and is excellent addition to cocktails and fruits.

First the syrup - really easy to make.

I usually do in proportions 1:1 - sugar + water and add a few sprigs of rosemary. Let it simmer until the sugar is dissolved, cool down, take out rosemary and...ready :)

Check the recipes for simple rosemary syrup here or here

Once we have syrup ready...time for yummy cheese delight

Strawberry cheese with rosemary syrup

250 g cheese

a few strawberries

2-3 tbs rosemary single syrup

Mix the cheese to fluff it a bit, add syrup spoon by spoon until well combined. 

Cut strawberries into chunks or slices and add to the cheese mixture. 

If you like it very sweet sprinkle with confectionery sugar.

Enjoy!

Tell me how you like it. 

I'm really, really curious how you'd like the combination of fruit and rosemary syrup.  

This will be excellent with rasberries too...I'll definitely try when raspberries will be in season.

Bon appetit!

Ciao Roma!

by Karolina, 15th April 2012

Have you ever been to Rome?
A few weeks ago I visited Rome for the very first time. We had only couple of days to discover "ethernal city" but it was enough to feel the athmosphere and visit most important sites.
And one thing is sure - I will be back :)

Although a bit chaotic, Rome enchanted me with its cafes, elegant people and history which can be found on every corner.
What suprised me, is the fact that Rome is actually quite walkable. Obviously you need very comfy shoes for all day sigh-seeing. But hey - you can buy some shoes there, if needed (every excuse is good to buy some shoes :))
Would you like to have a walk in Rome with me?

Let's go then. I'll be your guide:



quite obviously, Colosseum

 


Vatican

 


I wonder if anyone uses this letter box anymore? Charming!

 


fountain opposite Spanish Steps



When I saw it I just couldn't resist - via di Panico!!! Priceless :)



Rome is definitely stylish...



I hope you liked our little wandering in Rome...

Ciao Roma - I'll be back :)



Chocolate Day!

by Karolina, 12th April 2012

I just discovered that it's Chocolate Day today! I mean CHOCOLATE DAY! It should be national holiday...or best- global holiday :)

I couldn't skip it (obviously), so I prepared for you a selection of "chocalicious" recipes from around the web

1. Chocolate mousse from me :)
2. Triple (!) chocolate mousse cake via Tide and Thyme
3.Candied Orange Peel, Bliss and Grand Marnier Chocolates  via Foodalution
4.Chocolate & Rum cake via Marie Claire Italy

Happy Chocolate Day!

Veeery last minute Easter gift...

by Karolina, 8th April 2012

You've been invited for Easter party but you have no hostess gift prepared?

Try my quick idea

Take the egg box, paint it or glue craft paper on top.
Fill with homemade truffles or store bought chocolates or sweets.
Finish with the nice ribbon.
Tada! :)

Happy Easter!

OMG! It's Easter already!!!

by Karolina, 5th April 2012

Is it only me, or time just flies lately?
Before I managed to turn my head around 2012, it's already Easter breathing on my neck!
Sooo much to do, sooo little time!!!!
Do you know this feeling when it's 2 days before holidays and you have no gifts, no decorations and actually you feel like closing yourself in the closet and wait there until it's all over? Yep, been there...done that... but didn't get the T-shirt :)

Don't panic!

Everything will be ok...

I prepared for you a few ideas for homemade Easter hostess gifts which:
1. you can prepare veeeeery quickly (between choosing the dress & finishing make-up)
2. are easy (you won't ruin your manicure :))
3. are rather budget friendly (but you won't look like a cheapskate)

Stop biting your nails and follow me then :)

If you really,really don't have time, why don't you take some Spring flowers and dress them accordingly

I took this cute green dots crepe paper because it's playful and kind of "Springy".
But try all kind of colour combinations - depending on the flowers you have.
I finished with green ribbon for coordinated look, but again it's up to your imagination.

You have more than 5 minutes?

OK, why not to try this:

OK, wine is rather standard hostess gift...and yes plain bottle of Chardonnay is not really the most creative gift...
But what if you add some Easter spirit to it?

I printed out the silhouette of Easter bunny and cut it out. Then stuck it to the bottle and...Voila!
You want more - write a few nice words or Easter wishes on the paper - that will transform your wine from "yet another bottle" to "wow, that's so nice of you" :)

Do you want to go one step further?

Take the cut-out silhouette of the bunny, stick it to the bottle and spray with some paint (I had white left over from other project - that's why it's white). Leave it for half an hour or so to dry....And ready - your special Easter wine bottle is there. Finish off with some ribbon or Easter egg and it's fully dressed up.

I told you, easy-peasy :)

Bear with me...tomorrow, I'll show you an edible Easter gift!

Pin + Pan

by Karolina, 4th April 2012

I'm a huge fan of Pinterest - it's great for organizing inspirations & ideas. Finally a can find recipe or DIY I wanted to make easily and without spending an hour going through all the links I saved in Favourites :) Check out my boards- maybe you'll find something inspiring as well.
This leads me to today's subject. I start a new feature in the blog: Pin+Pan.
I will be sharing some recipes I pinned and trying them out.

You're with me?  Then let's start...

And we do actually start with something what might be the beginning - a breakfast.
In my case it ended being a dessert though :)

Oatmeal Honey Waffles
The recipe via Pass the Sushi, originally from Southern Living 2008 Annual recipes
(slightly changed by me - see the comments below)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked oats (I used oatmeal straight away, so skipped the first step of the recipe)
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cup low-fat milk (I used normal milk)
• 4 tbs melted butter
• 2 tbs honey

Preparation:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . Line a baking pan with aluminium foil and spread oats over pan evenly. Bake 10 minutes, stirring often, until the oats are lightly toasted. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Pulse oats in a food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. (skipped this step as I had oatmeal on hand)

2.Preheat a waffle iron and spray with non-stick spray if needed. (not needed in my case - thanks to Teflon covered waffle maker ;))

3.In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and ground oats (oatmeal).

4.In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the egg whites at high speed until soft peaks form.

5.In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, milk, melted butter, and honey; stir into oat mixture. Gently fold the egg whites into the oat mixture.

6.Pour about 1/3 cup batter onto waffle press and cook until golden. Serve with butter and syrup if desired.

 I got 7 waffles out of this amount - but I guess it depends highly on your waffle iron.

I served my waffles with :
- Nutella (for my boyfriend)
- Strawberries and sugar (for me)

So, what's my verdict on this?

Great!!!

You know what's the best - it's healthy (definitely healthier than normal waffles)...but without "it's good for you so don't complain if it doesn't taste good" feeling.
Best mark - my boyfriend really liked it and was suprised when I told him (after eating) that actually it doesn't include sugar but does include oats.

 Bon appetit!

April Fool's! Prima Aprilis! Poisson d'Avril!

by Karolina, 1st April 2012

It is the Day....1st April.
Watch your back today :) Did you play pranks on others today or maybe you were a victim of others?

Do you know that you can make a jokes with food as well? (I mean nice ones not nasty ones ;))

Check below some funny ideas...


1.Sushi? Not really...tiramisu dessert :)
2.Fancy an egg for breakfast? What about brownie egg?
3.Do you like your sunny side up? Or cookies?
4.Yummy cupcakes? Or meatballs with mashed potatoes & peas by Schlitterpoopenstien ?
5.What a lovely tomatoes...Really? Or rather macarons with mascarpone :)?

 Happy April Fool's Day!