Chicken Soup

Best of all! Why? Explanation in 2 words - 'Mum's kitchen' ;) It is even said that this is the first and sometimes the only soup that children like ;) It is very easy to prepare, very tasty and healthy (it helps to cure for instance cold and flu ;) )!

Chicken soup became our traditional meal :) We eat it every Sunday :) I do recommend!

P.S. It is not a spider on the spoon, it is a lamp on the ceiling ;)

Ingredients:

• 2kg fresh chicken
• 1 package of filini pasta 

vegs:

• 3 big carrots
• 1-2 parsley(s) (without leaves)
• 1/3-1/2 celery
• 1 leek

spices:

• some lovage leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon of vegeta (or more if preferred)
• 1/2 tablespoon of sea salt
• 2-3 allspice grains
• 2-3 pepper grains
• 1-2 bay leaves

Optionally:

• Chicken soup cube (like Knorr's)
• Maggi

Preparation:

1. Wash the chicken, cut out all the fat, tripe, etc. and throw it away. 
2. Using a big knife, cut the chicken into 2 pieces (or smaller if preferred, it will shorten the time of preparation).
3. Take a big pot, put chicken inside and fill completely with water. 
4. Add pinch of salt and start boiling (the entire boiling will take around 1,5 hour).*
5. During that time, prepare all the vegs - wash, peel and chop them if necessary.
6. At some point a ,,weird" foam will start appearing on the top of the water. Using a spoon, take it out and throw away.
7. When the foam stops appearing, add spices.
8. After at least 45 minutes of boiling, add vegetables and continue boiling. 
9. In the meantime prepare the pasta, as the instruction on the packaging says. When done, put in a colander and pour cold water on it (it will prevent the pasta from being too sticky).
10. It is good to check if the chicken is ready - take it out from the soup, put on a big place and cut into smaller pieces, checking if it isn't raw inside (put it back in the soup).
11. When done, serve with pasta, carrot pieces and parsley leaves.
12. Bon Appetit! :)

* Here - optionally and especially if the chicken isn't wonderfully fresh - you can put the chicken in a pot with water, add salt (1/2-1 teaspoon) and leave it for around an hour. After that time, change the water completely, add some salt again and continue preparing the soup as the following steps say.

Plum Dumplings

That's a very delicious, quick, easy and light dinner :) Soft, sweet, might be served with butter, sugar or shredded coconut. Children love it! It is definitely worth trying! :)

Recipe comes from my Grandmum :)

Ingredients:

• 10 boiled potatoes
• 2-3 pinches of salt
• around 300 g of flour
• 500 g of plums
• 1 egg

Extra ingredients:

• butter
• sugar
• shredded coconut

Preparation:

1. Take a middle-size clean pot, fill with water, add some salt (2-3 pinches).
2. Add potatoes and boil them till soft (10-15 minutes).
3. In the meantime, wash the plums, throw away the kernels, cut the plums into halves.
4. Take a pot, pour water inside, start boiling.
5. Take a big bowl, put boiled potatoes inside, smash till you get a smooth 'dough', cool down.
6. Add flour, and egg, knead till you get a dough, which is not extremely sticky and you can form a ball (which is why I put 'around' 300g of flour - depending on your potatoes - some of them come out more sticky after boiling, some of them less = in some cases you might need more/less flour). Make the ball flat. Put one half of the plum in the middle of the dough, add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, close(it needs to be done very precisely), forming a ball again.*
7. When the water in the second pot is boling, put your dumplings inside, boil for around 5-7 minutes.**
8. Take them out of the water (they cannot remain in the water).
9. Here you can distribute extra ingredients over boiled dumplings - some butter to melt or sprinkle them with sugar/shredded coconut.
10. Bon Appetit! :)

* It is not necessary to add sugar, you can make them without any sugar (but they might come out sour, especially if the plums are sour, so I do recommed adding it).

** If the dumplings 'swim' on the top of the water, they're ready.

A Shark Steak

Uhh, I must admit that was a challenge. A shark. My first question: my Goodness, is it edible? I bought only one small piece (in case it turns out to be terrible) and searched through the Internet to find out more about good ways to prepare THAT. During my research I found some information that sharks are under preservation, did you know? Well I didn't... so that's for sure the last time I bought it. I do encourage you all to look up for such information, they're life-useful.

But - for those who don't mind or - as me - didn't know and have already bought it - here is extremely easy and short recipe that will help you prepare it and not put it in the bin (as wasting food seems same bad...)

About the fish - surprisingly not disgusting, though it probably depends on your own taste and how well can you deal with the 'fishy smell' and 'fishy taste' of the fish ;) the meat itself is bright, delicate and moist. Personally I don't know what to do with the dark part of the fish - it is edible but maybe it should be cut out?
The big advantage is - no fishbones! :) except for a big one, that needs to be cut out before preparing, but that seems obvious :)

The recipe comes from... all the ideas from the Internet put together ;)

Ingredients (serves 1):

• 200g of shark steak
• 1-2 drops of lemon juice 
• spices: salt, pepper, oregano, basil
• chopped parsley

Optional/Additional:
anything you like to eat it with, for example:

• boiled vegetables
• chips
• potatoes
• rice
• couscous
• grains

Preparation:

1. Defrost the fish, wash. Cut out the big fishbone. (And here maybe the dark part too?)
2. Sprinkle with all the spices and put aside for 10 minutes.
3. Take a grill (electric one, or a grill-like frying pan, etc.) put the fish on it, add 1-2 drops of lemon juice, put parsley on the top, start grilling.
4. After few minutes overturn, add another 1-2 drops of lemon juice and parsley, keep grilling for another few minutes.
5. Bon Appetit (? ;) )

Pasta with basil pesto

Ohhh my! this is the very best meal I've recently eaten! And it might be prepared in many different variations as there are a few types of pesto :) Another advantage, for those of You, who has little time - some of the ingredients - like pesto - might be bought, ready-made, no need to prepare home-made pesto :) though I do encourage You to try ;)

Recipe for a good basil pesto.

Just one important thing about basil pesto - home-made or ready-made: do not heat it up, as it may change its taste, into bitter, because of the basil, so that you may not like it anymore.

Ingredients:

• 1 packaging of lovage-flavoured pasta
• 1 jar/packaging of ready-made pesto (or see the pesto ingredients&recipe below)
• 500g of chicken breasts
• salt, pepper, oregano (optionally something else to make it more spicy, like cayenne pepper)
• grated cheese
• chopped parsley leaves

Home-made pesto:

Ingredients:

• 25g of fresh basil leaves
• 1/3 small clove of garlic
• 25g of pine nuts or pumpkin seeds or cashew or walnuts
• 10g of 'hard' cheese, (like permigiano, grana padano, pecorino)
• 70ml of olive oil
• sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

Pesto preparation:

1. Take a blender, put all the ingredients inside and crush them all into very small pieces. In the end, season with spices.

Preparation:

1. Take a pot, put water inside, add a little salt, boil. When boiling, add pasta and boil for around 10 minutes, stiring from time to time (basic pasta preparation).
2. Take the chicken, chop into small pieces and put in a bowl. Season with salt, pepper, oregano (and optionally cayenne) and stir/shake, so that it covers all the pieces.
3. Take a frying pan, add oil, start heating. Add chicken and fry till gold.
4. Strain the pasta, put some on your plate, add some chicken, put pesto on it. Sprinkle with grated cheese*, some freshly ground pepper and parsley leaves.
5. Bon Appetit! :)

*If the meal isn't hot enough anymore to melt the cheese, it is ok to add cheese before pesto and put it for a few seconds in a microwave.

Mascarpone Pancakes

That's a very tasty idea, for instance for those of you who don't eat meat on friday or enjoy eating something cruelly sweet while drinking coffee ;)

Ingredients:

Pancakes:

• 160g of flour
• 300ml of 3,2% milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoon of sugar
• 16g of vanilla sugar
• pinch of salt
• 30g of melted, cooled down butter

Filling (optional):

• 250g of mascarpone cheese + 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
• chocolate and caramel sauces
• almonds
• fruit

Preparation:

1. Take a mixer and its bowl. 
2. Put flour, milk, eggs, sugars and salt inside, mix till smooth.
3. Add melted butter, mix till smooth again. Put aside.
4. Take another bowl. Put mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar inside. Mix with a fork or spoon, gently, a little.
5. Take a quite big frying pan(flat one, preferably), grease it with oil, and using a paper towel, distribute the oil on the entire frying pan.
6. Turn on the heat so that it heats up.
7. Put some dough on the pan and distribute it immidiately on the entire frying pan, to make a thin pancake.
8. Fry for few minutes on both sides.
9. Put the pancake on a plate.
10. Distribute mascarpone mixture on the entire pancake surface. Add caramel sauce.
11. Fold the sides of the pancake, then its bottom and at the end the top.
12. Overturn. Decorate with chocolate sauce, almonds, fruit.
13. Bon Appetit!

Apple Pancakes

Old recipe, delicious meal. It is a little bit different way to prepare pancakes, especially, if you have too many apples in your basket :) It might be prepared in 2 ways: the dough + apple slices or the dough + grated apples :) both fantastic! and the second version is much better for children :) It might be served with many, many different additionals, which is its another big advantage :)
Recipe comes straight from '(Grand)Mum's kitchen' :) 

Ingredients:

• around 5-8 apples (grated apples/apples slices)
• 500 ml of milk
• around 300 g of flour
• 1-3 tablespoons of sugar
• 16 g of vanilla sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder (optional, but with it, they will grow, become more fluffy)

Additional ingredients: (top of the pancakes):

• Whipped cream
• Cinnamon
• Chocolate/caramel/fruit syrup
• Maple syrup
• Powdered sugar
• Golden syrup
• Marmalade
• Honey
• ..... :)

Preparation:

1. Take a big bowl. Put grated apples inside (or its slices). Put aside.
2. Take another big bowl. Put milk, flour, sugars, egg and baking powder inside, stir till smooth.
3. Mix with apples.
4. Take a frying pan, put some oil on it, start heating, on a very low heat.
5. Put some dough with apples on the frying pan (if slices - one slice per one pancake), distribute the dough on the frying pan, as with a classic pancake, fry for few minutes on each side (check the colour from time to time - when gold - overturn).
6. Dry on a paper towel (if you wish to filter the oil), put on a plate, sprinkle/decorate with your favourite additionals.
7. Bon Appetit! :)

Rum & Ginger Pancakes

 Something new and quite unusual :) Very tasty :) I think it is hard(impossible!) to prepare awful pancakes ;) This is my own recipe, but the idea comes from the book I've mentioned some time ago ('Biblioteczka Poradnika Domowego. Naleśniki, placki, omlety').

You can prepare either rum pancakes or ginger pancakes or rum and ginger pankes. 

Ingredients for the basic pancake dough:

• 500 ml of milk
• around 300 g of flour*
• 1 egg
• pinch of salt
• 16 g (1 packaging) of vanilla sugar
• 1/2 glass of sugar (or less or a little more, depending on a personal taste)
• 1/2 or 1 flat teaspoon of baking powder

Additional ingredients:

• 1-4 teaspoons of rum (I used Golden Rum)**
• 1/3-1/2 teaspoon of grounded ginger***

* I don't measure flour - which is why it is 'around' 300g. The easiest way - put all the other ingredients in the bowl, mix and at the end start adding flour - the dough needs to be quite thick, it cannot be thin.

** and *** Be careful while adding rum and ginger as they're strong additionals. Add them step by step, tasting the dough every time, using a clean teaspoon everytime, though remember not to eat too much of the dough cause it causes stomachache.

Preparation:

1. Take a big bowl. Put all the ingredients inside, stir or mix till smooth.
2. Now you can add additional ingredients - whichever you wish and in a desired amount. If you want to have ginger and rum pancakes separately, you can make second basic dough in a different pot.
3. Take a big frying pan. Grease it with oil and start preheating on a low heat. After a few seconds, pour some dough on it and distribute the dough on the entire frying pan. Fry for around 30 seconds or more, on a low heat, till the dough congeals. Overturn when the colour is gold.
4. Decorate with a favourite additional ingredient - whipped cream, chocolate/caramel sauce, fruit, etc.
5. Bon Appetit! :)

Custard Pancakes

I bought a new book with plenty of recipes for pancakes :) This is one of the ideas, slightly changed.

And this is the book: 'Biblioteczka Poradnika Domowego. Naleśniki, placki, omlety' (wyd. spec. 03/2013), wyd. Prószyński i S-ka.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 glass of water
• 1 glass of milk
• pinch of salt
• 1-2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla sugar
• 2 glasses of flour
• 1/2-1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 packaging of powdered vanilla 'budyń' (=custard)
• oil

Accompaniments:

• whipped cream, chocolate, powdered sugar, caramel, fruit, marmalade, etc.*

* I used cranberry jam(=jelly) and pear 'sauce'(chopped pear boiled with sugar and cinnamon)

Preparation:

1. Take a pot, put eggs, water, milk, salt, powdered sugar and vanilla sugar, flour, custard, stir till all the ingredients mix and till the dough is smooth (without lumps). 
2. Take a frying pan, put oil on it, preheat.
3. Put some dough on the frying pan, distribute on the entire surface. Fry both sides for 2-4 minutes on a low(to middle) heat.
4. Add favourite accompaniments.
5. Bon Appetit! :)

Cod Pilaf

Pilaf, (also known as pulaw, pulao, polow, plov and pilav) came across while looking for an unusual way of preparing a meal. A very weird-looking recipe from http://www.kwestiasmaku.com/dania_dla_dwojga/pilaf_z_jajkiem_dorszem/przepis.htm has gained the name 'The fushion of flavours' because, indeed, it undoubtedly is. 

Definitely worth trying!

Ingredients (4 portions):

• 200 g (2 bags) of rice
• 2-3 tablespoons of raisins (= sultanas)
• 4 tablespoons of chopped parsley
• 4 tablespoons of almond flakes (might be slightly browned on the frying pan)
• spices: 1/2-1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 5-7 cardamom seeds (powder might be used instead, but then not more than 2 teaspoons), 2 teaspoons of Sichuan Pepper (I used basic, classic, black one instead), 3 teaspoons of yellow curcuma, 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 of the lemon or lime
• 300-500 g of cod fillets
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 2 boiled eggs, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. Take a pot, pour water inside, salt it. Boil. When the water reaches 100C, add rice. Boil it for 10-15 minutes, till the rice gets soft.
2. Take a quite big casserole, cut the rice bag and put the rice inside.
3. Turn on the oven and start preheating it to 150C.
4. Take the cod, wash it, cut it into smaller pieces, sprinkle with pepper and salt.
5. Mix the rice with raisins, parsley, almonds, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, 2 teaspoons of curcuma. Stir. Add bay leaves and lime/lemon wedges.
6. Put the cod in the casserole, sprinkle with the last teaspoon of curcuma and with oil.
7. Cover the casserole with foil and put in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
8. If the fish is not ready after spending 30 minutes in hot oven, take the foil off and bake for additional 3-5 minutes.
9. Add the eggs, cut into wedges.
10. Bon Appetit! :)

Curry Cod

Well... if it comes to fish, my favourite one is.. chicken. Yes, that's a joke and yes, I am not really a fish-fan. But, this way of preparing cod is beyond gorgeous (both if it comes to the time of the preparation and the taste).

Try it :)

Part of the recipe comes from this website.

Ingredients:

• 4 cod fillets (fresh or frozen)
• salt, pepper
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 2-3 teaspoons of curry (powder)
• oil

Preparation:

1. While using frozen fillets - totally defrost. Wash under running water, dry using paper towels.
2. Mix flour with curry on a big plate. 
3. Put one fillet on the plate, sprinkle it with the mix of flour and curry (both sides of the cod)
4. Heat the frying pan with some oil.*
5. Put the fillets (as many as your frying pan can take) and on a low heat - fry. When gold - turn around.
6. When ready - put on a paper towel (optional - to dry it from the oil, if you don't want to, don't do it)
7. Before putting next fillets on the frying pan, clean it using a paper towel and grease again.
8. Serve with potatoes, rice, salad, etc.
9. Bon Appetit!

*Don't use a lot of money. 1-2 tablespoons are enough, just grease the entire frying pan with it.

The old formula for a young cabbage

An old recipe, coming from my Grandmother, for a very delicius addition on your dinner plate. Worth trying :)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cabbage
• 1 bunch of dill
• 1 smaller onion
• 2 litres of salted water
• pepper
• salt
• 2-3 teaspoons of vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• water

Preparation:

1. Chop lettuce, put in a big pot with salted water. Put it on the heat and start boiling. (It will take something around 30 minutes, till it gets soft. Do not overboil it.)
2. Chop the dill, into small parts (try to seperate stems and throw them away, so that you get only the soft part)
3. Chop the onion.
4. Put the onion on a plate/in a bowl, sprinkle it with pepper and salt and vinegar. Stir.
5. If it is the right time, drain the cabbage.
6. Add dill and onion from the plate to the cabbage. Stir. 
7. Take a glass with water, put the flour inside and stir till smooth (there can't be any lumps)
8. Put the cabbage-mix on the heat and add the glass with water-flour, stir all the time till it links and starts boiling. 
9. Boil for 3-5 minutes. 
10. Try it - if you wish - add more salt or pepper.
11. Bon Appetit!