Very delayed Easter aftertaste

Provided that everybody has already forgotten Easter savors I am bringing up some colorful scents - that didn't squeeze into work schedule of last few weeks. But better later than never.

So the queen of traditional Polish Easter table: Yeast baba with lemon frosting - 10 eggs included.

















Now very sweet and crusty cherries mazurek - not my favorite, but a family must;


















Another mazurek: caramel inspiration - hard to believe but even more sticky and sweet... Was Easter invented by jobless dentists ???

















Poppy seed cake moist of apple purree for those who need more juices and spice... Not typical but adorable.


















Last, but not least, refreshing dessert cheesecake with aromatic orange whipped cream layer.


















ALL THE PICTURES BY J.PAVLINEC

sweet bit of sunday tradition

I don't know if anybody had ever made it clear how traditions are brought up to life.
But somehow they do and there is something particular about Sunday rituals.

Some people go to church, others for dinner to parents-in-law. Hard to say how much fun that is. I know even some who go for hooligan football matches. As for myself I'd rather opt for something definitely pleasant. That's how sunday cake breakfast tradition was born.


















It's definitely relaxing - no fancy omlettes or eggs on bacon chores. Just cut the cake, pour some yoghurt and make coffee.

Latest chocolate cake turned a bit disatrous, as storm Emma over Czech Republic cut off electricty supply just when my ultra-light (yoghurt and beaten egg whites) chocolate cake landed in the oven. Fortunately glueiness made no harm to perfect falvour of chocolate.

















Previously, poppy sponge roll was on display. I stuffed it with forest fruit yoghurt cream and refrigerated. They say that poppy seeds are highly addcitive - it's hard to judge if they can overcome cocoa but definitely it's a close shave.

First dinners of independence

I left family nest to settle in Czech Republic. First 1000 km towards the Equator made!!! :)

Apart from this immense distants I also managed to go through the fisrt month of totally controlled cooking. One kitchen for one woman - that's what feminists should fight for!!!

So here is a short brief of my first steaming and spicy steps:

















A bit of Poland: potato puree and salty herrings - leek salad




potato dumplings filled with minced beef




fish flan - the only way to digest frozen fish cubes




garlic soup, garlic to be continued...




iceberg salad with toasted sunflower seeds and lots of garlic



shrimps in... yes, garlic, broccoli and rice - good old classics



pierogi ruskie (my heritage) with chilli beans (other half's heritage :)




immortal cheesecake - best homesickness treatment
So we are still far away from malnutrition :)

Apples:lemons - 1:0

January Daring Bakers challange was all about lemon meringue pie.. I hate meringues and lemons in sweet dishes so my hope was lost since first moment of getting the recipe.


















But I did dare and as easy to imagine my lack of faith was heavy in consequences. Innocent as above might seem, it turned out to be inedible. Soaken gummy crust, lemon cream melting, chewing gum-like meringue...
At least I learned a lesson about cooking against your taste ;)


















To cheer the climate up a bit I made an apple pie using my mum's invincible recipe. Maybe it was my innate love for apples, maybe just family wisdom but when our little cousin, speaking only Czech, visited us for a piece of "Szarlotka" he managed to muster all his school skills and afirmed: This cake is best!
And that made up for all my lemon bitterness.

on snowy Austria roof

Santa made me surprise this year. And it wasn’t about getting stuck in the chimney.

He hijacked me to Austrian Alps for some snow fun or rather lots of snow and lots of fun. And as much as the soul screams happy after sliding downhill stomach needs a bit more than frozen water to have a pleasant afternoon. Fortunately, those mountaineers either have the same picky stomachs or just simple sense for business and in a hutte perched 2000 m above sea level you can find really amazing food.

This season no 1 was undoubtedly huge yeast knedel with plum jam inside bathed in sweet vanilla sauce. On special order of a couple of true addicts poppy seeds were sprinkled lavishly atop the fluffy ball of sweet pleasure.
Now if you close your eyes and imagine chilly fresh alpine air in your mouth being suddenly replaced with a bite of warm delicate dough, sticky with intensively flavoured custard and mesmerizing with non-terrestrial poppy aroma you almost are surfing the sky.

For those who treat such temptations as a cherry atop the cake called real meal for iron muscled free-riders there are other attraction in autrich typiche cuisine. Take this sliced potato knedel enriched with bacon pieces and served with a decent steak of pork meat and heart warming sauerkraut. It is not for sure that you will be able to jump a lot afterwards but certainly you will have one more reason to enjoy chilly beer.

PS. wonderful pictures were taken by J.Photographer

Daring Bakers - December

Some old pagan traditions made certain nations of our continent extremely affectionate with the beauty of wooden logs. It goes to such an extent that instead of baking luscious three tier chocolate cake with whipped cream snowflakes they are spending hours to produce something as tempting as a piece of trunk.

















This month our ambitious sect of very Daring Bakers decided to spread nature friendly recipe and so we came up with all sorts of sweet flavourful rolls disguised in coffee buttercream bark.
Not surprisingly, having the option of choosing genoise flavour I went on with pure chocolate filled black currant home made jam.

















As ornament for what French people call La buche de Noel there were obligatory mushrooms to be planted on the log. I made ones from meringue but in the process of fiery culinary reaction they evidently gained hallucinogenic proprieties.


















Final result didnt have slightest wooden note and dissapeared quickly enough to consider baking whole tree next time.

Daring Bakers - November

This is my first challenge int he noble group of crazy bold baking ladies of the world. I won't deny I hope for something at least as delicious and mouth-watering as last month's sticky toffee buns so you can imagine my face when I saw potato bread recipe...

















But I did it and have to say that taste is absolutely gorgeous, not mentioning the bakery smell all around home. I put my favorite pumpkin seeds atop and now have to stand over the loaf with a knife to make sure everybody gets fair share ;)

















OK, there was one failure but as a beginner I feel excused: some glueiness resulting from probable underbaking... My mum blames the oven. Let it be ;)

















This small inconvenience was completely absent in parsley focaccia, that was consumed immediately, still hot, with lots of fresh tomatoes and onion.

















I definitely restored my faith in humble potatoes!!!!

Birthday cake update

It is already long ago after the last bit of my October birthday cake was vaccumed from the plate but it's never too late to refresh sweet memories, is it?

















This time I went for cocoa sponge cake cake moistened additionaly by some chocolate syrup and layered with strawberries (Thank God for refrigerators!) and whipped cream+ greek yoghurt strawberry mousse. I have certain reasons to think now that the next year is going to be all sweet and carefree and full of wild strawberry fields!