Something different.

Do you sometimes get tired of planning meals and you feel like you're always cooking the same things? Boring. I know. I feel this way very often. Luckily, I like trying new things and always look for some inspiration from blogs, cook books or TV programmes. Lately, I've been in love with River Cottage recipes and yesterday I decided to try one of them for supper. River Cottage spinach and goat cheese pie, anyone?

I love spinach. Raw, baked, wilted, steamed, you name it. And I'm a big fan of goat cheese too. To combine them both together is an opportunity I can't miss. Yesterday's pies were a big success. G. wasn't too exciting about the filling but she did love the pastry. We loved everything.

You can find the recipe here.
To make rough puff pastry dough I used a recipe from "Pie" by Angela Boggiano (a really good book for pie lovers).

Simple pleasures

Some of you already know that I'm not very good at baking but for the past few days I've been feeling   unexplained urge to make something sweet, to fill our flat with some delicious smells and aromas. Maybe it's the weather (cold and grey and depressing), maybe it's a memory from my childhood that comes to me every now and then (my mum baking cakes for afternoon tea) or maybe it's just because of all these great recipes out there, supported by fabulous photos that make my mouth water...

This afternoon I wanted to cheer us up a bit. I wanted to make something I'd never done before,  something sweet and tasty but easy enough to bake. So I baked these chocolate muffins/brownies with mascarpone and raspberries. 

The recipe for these muffins comes from this fantastic blog. For a long time now I've been feeding my eyes there with beautiful photos of deliciously looking food and today I finally decided it was time to start feeding our bellies too. I decided to try some recipes and the muffins looked easy enough to make and very tempting at the same time. And although I feared one huge baking disaster, I must proudly announce: I have finally baked something edible! And not only my muffins are edible, they actually taste good. Here is hope for my future baking :)

Apple crumble...

We can't deny it: winter is coming. I can feel its breath in the air. I don't know why but when I think of winter, I think of apples and cinnamon. It's my favourite combination and yesterday I tried a new recipe that was passed by a good friend of mine (thank you, Blue!). Apple crumble... mmm... sweet heaven in mouth… We ate it almost all at once and we’re sure we’ve found a perfect warming up treat for this coming winter.

Ingredients:
1 kg apples
1 cup instant oats
¼ cup coconut shreds
½ cup flour
½ cup sugar
125g butter
cinnamon

Preparation:
Peel apples and dice them, mix them with a bit of sugar and cinnamon and simmer for about 10 minutes on a low heat.

Mix all dry ingredients. Add soft butter (cut into chunks) and rub it properly until mixture becomes crumbly.

Place warm apples in ovenproof dish and cover them with crumbs.
Bake in 180 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.
Serve with vanilla ice-cream and enjoy! (Believe me, you will…)

(Apple crumble just before putting it into oven. No picture after baking was taken- we ate it immediately! ;) )

Sweet taste of summer.

There are many reasons I love summer for but one of the best things about this season of year is variety of veggies and fruits on the market. Having such a big choice puts me into inspirational mood and lets me enjoy my experimantal kitchen. I try preparing new things but I don't feel too comfortable in the kitchen and I always worry too much about the results of my work. Usually there is no reason to worry because my experiments turn out fine. They are edible. What's more, they are tasty.

Some time ago I made apricot jam. I's my very first jam; I wasn't sure if it was going be a success but I'm more than happy with the result.

I love its thick consistency and vivid orange color. The taste is delicious. Thanks to some lemon juice, it's not very sweet, it's just right. And a breakfast made of pancakes with this jam is a real heaven, trust me.

I think that making jams is a great way of saving a piece of summer for later, for colder and less colorful time of year. My mum used to make lots of jams for winter. Goosberries, black currants, cherries, plums, strawberries, any fruits we had in the garden were turned into little treasures of summertime, closed in jars and put away in the pantry for winter. When I was a child, we used to go to the forest to pick up blueberries and wild raspberries. The first ones were for jams, andf rom the second ones we made juice. I still remember its thick, sweet taste. My mum used to add it to my tea when I cought cold in winter.

To save some sweet taste and color of summer you need:
1.5 kg washed and peeled apricots*
330 grams sugar
half a cup water (around 100ml)
half a lemon

In a big pot mix apricots with water, sugar and juice from sqeezed lemon. Boil on a small heat, stirring from time to time, until the mixture gets jam consistency. Pour into jars and keep it safe. And enjoy!

*or any fruit of your own choice

Spicy Oat Biscuits Recipe.

I don’t bake a lot. To be honest, I don’t really think I have baking skills and I prefer to cook. Oh, yes, cooking… It brings me pleasure and satisfaction while baking brings me nothing but stress. If I bake a cake it is very possible it will taste like play-dough. Except for apple cake, I think. So, if I bake anything, it’s always something quick and easy. Scones, gingerbread for Christmas, apple cake and biscuits- that’s all I’ve got on my baking list. I’d love to know how to bake more but it seems like I don’t really have a heart for it. C. instead bakes really great. Thanks to his skills we don’t buy bread, he makes his own and that’s the best bread I’ve ever tasted.

But, coming back to the oat biscuits that I baked yesterday: they are such a delicious snack and it’s so easy to make them. I like their taste- not too sweet and a little spicy. The recipe, which I got from a friend few years ago in London, is straightforward and it doesn’t take a lot of time to prepare them.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp allspice
½ tsp ginger
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
2 cups oats
¾ cup butter
1 egg
2 Tbsp honey

Preparation:
Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Melt butter and add to lightly beaten egg and honey. Mix wet and dry ingredients well together.
Take about 1 tsp of mixture, roll into ball and flatten. Place on baking tray and bake at 200°C for about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!