Caramell cookies

There are some things I can never manage to do in my kitchen. Never. No matter how hard I try and however diligently I follow the recipe. Whether it is the ancient one from my 'ma's old cookbooks, or the contemporary, composed by a cook or blogging guru. It can also be checked and tried time and time again by my bestiest friends. No way!

The yeasts just don't want to grow and bread is always soggy or fallen. I don't know, whether it's the issue of precision or patience, but either way - my kitchen just says a big, fat, greasy NO. And there's nothing I can do about it.

Another of my kitchen defeats is every single attempt to make caramell. It always (and I do mean always) ends up burnt. I can stir it, I can not stir it, add some water or butter, or both. The blob just bubbles angrily and turns brown. But only on the top - the rest remains crystalised. As a result my kitchen smells heavenly - of warm caramell and cookies and all the goodies, but only for a moment. Soon it fills up with smoke and attacks your eyes, nose and throat with bittery, nutty aroma.

But since in my kitchen nothing goes to waste and defeats are turned into victories I put my brave smile on. With a little bit of traditional, Polish slyness I was able to present this experiment and say "it was meant to be like that from the beginning."

So, long story short: those cookies were meant to be different. But thanks to my two left caramell hands they turned out not-so-deadly-sweet. Nutty in taste and magnificiently crunchy.

Perfect with your morning coffee or afternoon tea.

Caramell cookies

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• tbsp butter
• cup wheat flour
• 1/2 cup wholemeal rye flour
• pinch of salt
• egg

Warm up the oven to 180 centigrade (350 F).

In a saucepan prepare (ekhm, burn a little bit) caramell: put in sugar, add butter. Warm up, not stirring, until it dissolves completely.  Cool it down a little bit.

Sift both flours into a bowl, add the agg and caramell (cool should clump a little bit. Because of that a part of it will mix into the dough, the rest form delicious, crunchy bits).

Knead the dough until smooth.

Form little marbles and bake for about 15 minutes, until golden-brown.

Enjoy!

Grilled baby carrots

It's hard to believe, that I'm writing such a note in a middle of this cold, frosty February. Because to me it smells like my summerhouse, lakes and forests. And it's as if my face was turned torwards a warm, sweet wind, carrying an oh-so-tasty scent of grill.

But such are the wonders of the times we live in, that fresh baby carrots are available a whole year round. And instead of grill - a ribbed pan. Ok, it may seem as if I'm cheating here. But trust me, only a little bit!

It's warm, it's fresh, it's crispy. The carrots are sweet and crunchy, served on equally crunchy toasted rustic bread smeared with goat cheese. With a bit of rapunzel to that, just for funsies :)

Oh, and I almost forgot! It's also mouthwateringly aromatic! Garlic and thyme do their magic well. Yum!

And suddenly life is so much sweeter and simpler. That is, of course, as long as you don't have to go outside :)

Grilled baby carrots

• bunch of baby carrots
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• tablespoon butter
• pinch dried thyme
• tomato
• 3-4 slices of dark bread
• goat cheese to spread
• handful rapunzel
• olive oil, salt, pepper

chillin', grillin', baby! :)

1. Cut off carrots' green parts, throw them away. Give the veggies a good wash. The bigger ones cut along in half.
2. Peel and crush the garlic.
3. Heat the grill pan, melt the butter, add garlic. Place the carrots and fry them for a couple of minutes on each side. They should be soft and have this wonderful tiger-like print. At the end add the thyme, salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add the bread and sliced tomato to the pan, fry on both sides. Season the tomato.
5. Serve as a sandwich: grilled bread spread with goat cheese, carrots and tomatoes on top. Drizzle with olive oil and decorate with bay. Add some rapunzel as a side dish.
6. Enjoy!

And as a bonus I wanted to treat you to a song. Because it's so cheerful, light and positive. Spring-like. Somehow it fits the sandwiches perfectly :)

Ratatouille and rosemary shortbread

It comes as no surprise, that ratatouille in Polish is a woman. Well, of a female name. Ratatuja. A very delicate, warm salad, with creamy, mouthwatering veggies. Amazingly colourful and tasteful. If there's any  definition of a woman, then this one sure comes close to it.

And as it fits best, I made this particular dish for one of the last get-togethers with my dear friend back in Budapest. She was supposed to prepare for a dreaded exam, I was there to help. Since my help usually comes down to cooking and joking around, I did what I do best :)

Dinner is served... At least was, a while ago. Now it's just a wonderful memory of moments, that unfortunately won't repeat any time soon.

Now, that I think of it - we should've watched the cartoon. It would've fitted perfectly and made for a perfect break from studying. Maybe next time? :)

Ratatouille

• tomato
• half a aubergine
• one red and one white pepper
• chili pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt, pepper, olive oil
• handful of fresh rosemary

1. Warm up your oven to 180 centigrade.
2. Wash the veggies, slice thickly.
3. In a baking tray lay a baking paper and place vegetables. Add some rosemary and crushed garlic on top. Drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper.
4. Bake for about 20 minutes, until all veggies are done.

Rosemary shortbread

• one cup flour
• 2-3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Combine all the ingredients to get a soft, uniform dough. If needed, add some flour or water.
2. Roll the portions of the dough thinly and fry on a hot, dry pan. To add to the aroma, throw in some rosemary.
3. Serve hot, drizzled with olive oil and decorated with rosemary.

Back home, breakfast smoothie

That was one crazy half a year! And to top it all, last week was just a bunch of intensive days - goodbyes, packing, and moving. But also last little gossips, eating delicious food and spending the time to its fullest.
Then looong, strenous way home.

So, to all my Budapestian buddies - bye, have wonderful lives and may our paths cross again someday, I hope not only once! I miss you all already...

Right now time for someting completely different. Coming home, but not the same. With head full of ideas and eager heart. Isn't that everything, what's needed to succeed? At least what movies taught us.

Since this blog will be mostly about food, here's my idea of a fantastic breakfast. A smoothie, that can replace any other meal. Delicious, light, fulling. You see, breakfast is incredibely important. Not only as a meal, also as a ritual. Slowly waking up, getting ready physically and mentally for the demanding day. It's great to always have at least a couple of minutes just for yourself, your thoughts and the rising sun. Don't rush. Let this little, orange cloud of the morning help you through it. Celebrate it, with delicious meal and fresh, aromatic coffee. There'll be time for clear, sharp edges and rush later in the day.

Why in a wine glass, you might ask? Simply - why not? :) And more elaborate answer is that being a kid I always found them fascinating. With their delicate, thin glass and dainty leg, they just looked like fantastic flowers. And they always seemed to contain a forbidden fruit, available only to adults. I remember hiding with my cousins, to drink our orange juice from my mom's cristals. With all due care and respect, of course :)

And being an old cow right now, noone can stop me from drinking my smoothies like an adult. Try it, it's so much fun!

Breakfast smoothie

• half a cup oatmeal
• cup milk
• teaspoon honey
• banana
• half an orange (the other half fits the smoothie perfectly as a snack)
• tiny pinch salt

1. Just combine everything in a blender.
2. Drink from a wine or normal glass, or even from a jar - it's all up to you :)
3. Just celebrate your morning!