Charming Chanterelles

by Karolina, 4th September 2012

And it's here- September.
I can't believe how quickly the summer came and went again.
No, I'm not complaining, I don't mind September at all actually. (If the weather is good that is)
It's quite nice when temperatures drop little bit but there's still nice warmth in the air.I love the autumn colours and lovely taste of plums, apples and pears.
But I'm missing already cherries and raspberries and hot weather which gives excuse for another ice-cream :) Can't help it...

Anyway, one of autumn staples recently visited my kitchen :)

And oh boy, what a wonderful guest it was :)
Chanterelles are not the most popular here and finding some with approachable price tag is not easy chore.
But I found them...gorgeous chanterelles!

Yes, I did a lot of mushroom pictures :)
OK, maybe it's strange but I really, really enjoy their shape and beautiful colour (yes, you can call me weirdo :))

These particular batch of chanterelles ended up in simple but nice dinner of polenta with creamy chanterelle sauce. Unfortunately I don't have picture of the ready dish (we were too hungry for making pictures - sorry).

However below picture will give you an idea:
- chanterelles
- bacon
- onion
- sage
- thyme

All this fried quickly on butter added good splash of white wine. Boiled little more and finished with a blob of cream.
Lovely sauce ended up on the bed of polenta with herbs and fresh pepper.

Seriously good stuff, really!
This sauce will be perfect with pasta as well - so give it a try.

Shall we have a one more look at the beautiful mushrooms?
Come on, I know you like it as well :)

Eat a cake and have a cake

by Karolina, 30th August 2012

I found this great recipe on Pinterest and was totally sold straight away - quick , easy and relatively healthy (as for a cake, of course).

Recipe comes from Crumb (lovely blog btw, you should check it). Any changes or suggestions by me in the brackets, in Italics.

Yoghurt cake with fruits

Ingredients

1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 cup canola oil (I used vegetable oil and olive oil and both worked well)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp grated lemon zest

1 cup fresh red currants (or other fruits - I made as well versions with raspberries, blueberries and even apricots)

 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F (I'm in metric system - 180 C worked great). Lightly grease and flour the cups of a mini-loaf pan (or a jumbo muffin tin, if you prefer).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together yoghurt, sugar, eggs and oil until smooth and well blended.
3. Add flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest, and stir until the batter is smooth and silky. Pour into the prepared mini-loaf tin, dividing evenly between the cups. Scatter berries on top of the batter, using around 2 tbsp per loaf.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges are pale gold and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the centre of one loaf. (If using a muffin tin, you may need to add another 5 minutes of cooking time.)
5. Let cool on a rack for 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out and let cool completely before serving.

This cake is my new hit. It's fluffy and light but definitely satisfying any sweet tooth.

Huge advantage - it's quick and easy! Seriously, you can wipe a batch in a few minutes. 

And last but not least....it's one bowl mix. No extra washing up! Yay! :)

 

It's even good the day after....this is, if it would make it to the next day :)

Picture-worthy breakfast - Eggs + Sage

by Karolina, 23rd August 2012

It all started with this...

This lovely big bunch of fresh sage. You should probably know that fresh sage is not easy to come by where I live. So when I saw it on the farmers market I immediately grabbed a bunch.
And lovely it was indeed. It worked wonders on pork, added to baked vegetables,with chicken and other combinations that week.

However...being a fresh herb it was deteriorating rather quickly and I had to use it up before it lost its glory :)

So there it was, my picture-worthy breakfast.
Simple and quick, and well..yummy :)

Scrambled eggs with sage.

Sage leaves first gently fried on butter to release all herby goodness.
Tnen obviously eggs, salt and pepper and that's it. And that's enough.
Nothing else is needed (OK, maybe a slice of good bread).

Believe me, it was really tasty...Actually don't believe me - try it for yourself!
How little leaf can make a huge difference (one little step leaf  :))

So yes, there's not much else you can do - straight to get some sage and eggs and making breakfast (have it even for dinner if you wish :))

And guess what...when I went to the market week after, they didn't have sage anymore!

Summer entertaining

by Karolina, 19th August 2012

I love having friends over for dinner, I really enjoy preparing bigger parties and I especially adore summer entertaining. With long evenings, friendly weather and bountiful of produce summer entertaining is definitely the most enjoyable.
I try to keep menu simple - nobody feels like eating roast dinner when it's hot outside!
So I stick with salads, cold platters, cold soups (you'll see some later this week), fresh fruits.

Today, I wanted to show you a classic...

Watermelon + feta + basil

The best of summer really - fresh sweet fruit, salty cheese which reminds us holidays in Greece and beautiful green basil.

If I prepare a buffer I would just cube cheese and watermelon and hold them together with basil using a toothpick. This is the version you can see today.
Finish it off with fresh pepper and sprinkle of olive oil for the best taste.

Don't you just love the colours? Vibrant and fresh - definitely perfect for summer



You can as well cut out different shapes out of watermelon, or prepare bigger portions if serving as a starter for dinner party.

So, go on - prepare these tiny morsels of summer before it's gone!

The art of cooking with Julia

by Karolina, 15th August 2012

Celebrated by chefs, food bloggers and people who simply appreciate good cooking...
It's 100th Anniversary of Julia Child today.

Rose honey

by Karolina, 12th August 2012

My mum's birthday was approaching and I was wondering what special gift I could make for her.
Something she could enjoy even days after her birthday. Something that she wouldn't have to share with the rest of the family...Tough one, right?
I thought so too...but then I found this amazing post on one of my favourite blogs-Kucharnia (do visit it - it has it all -stunning photos, beautiful words and mouth-watering recipes) .
And then suddenly everything was clear :)
I was sorted - that was it!

Two ingredients needed - so simple yet so magically beautiful.
Honey + Roses...

Rose honey..delicately scented, feminine, sweet - just perfect!

The process is extremely easy. The most important here is the quality of ingredients.

The best honey you can get and lovely flowers. Make sure that roses are untreated (you do not want chemicals in your honey, do you?)



Just mix honey (I used about 200g) with rose petals (amount of roses would depend on their size, I used 2 bigger ones).

And then just give it time. Before you tightly close the jar make sure you take a sniff or two.

It's just divide smell - sweetness of honey with this amazing flowery smell of roses. Mmmmm..

Give it a day or two for the scent to penetrate the honey. You can either remove the petals afterwards or keep them in honey (the will be wilted though so not such a stunning look).

And then just enjoy (I hope my mum enjoys it too) - on your bread, in yoghurt, in cup of tea, with your simple bundt cake...

Let the rose honey enchant you!

I amsterdam

by Karolina, 5th August 2012

Today, I wanted to take you on a trip again. We'll travel together..
This time Netherlands. We'll visit Amsterdam and other places.
I've been to Holland a good few times already, but each time I feel like I'm there for the first time :)
I like it for being friendly, open and picturesque.

Below you'll see a bit of everything- little kaleidoscope of my recent trip to Holland. Dutch bits and bobs in pictures :)

So, seat belts fastened?

We're off!

If you'd like more info on the places I took these pictures in or you have any questions, just drop me a note or comment underneath. I'll be more than happy to share some tips for Amsterdam/Holland trip.

Tot ziens! (See ya!)

P.S. This post is dedicated to all my lovely Dutch friends! :)