Healthy Chocolate Mousse with Chia Seeds [vegan]

I have heard many times about a chocolate mousse made with avocado and was really intrigued by the idea. Even though I often find avocados very uncooperative - they can be too hard for days and then suddenly one day they are already overripe: brown and not looking appetizing at all - I still like them a lot. But to use them in a chocolate mousse?! The only way that I could convince myself this whole idea would work, was to make such a mousse myself. When...

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Spicy Pumpkin with Spinach and Cashews [vegetarian]

We all enjoyed the combination of flavors in Oriental Spiced Pumpkin Pie so much that I decided to use it in a similar but easier (and faster) to prepare dish. My idea was to create a type of vegetarian stew that could be served as a main with rice, couscous or quinoa, or as a side dish for duck/chicken. I used coconut milk not only to create the sauce but also to enhance the taste of the dish. And – in case it is supposed to be served...

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Christmas Cupcakes with Nougat Icing

A few weeks ago I read an article about nougat – a sweet made of sugar, honey and egg whites mixed with dried fruit and/or nuts, very popular in Italy and France.  It is really lovely and making it doesn’t seem to be difficult so I definitely try making it one day. This article made me think I could use an adjusted version of the nougat to create a snow-like icing. And because of the season, I opted for using it on top of cupcakes...

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Sweetcorn and Spaghetti Squash Soup [vegetarian]

After I used the spaghetti squash for the first time and saw that its strands looked like noodles, I thought it would be a great idea to use it in a soup. When I thought which ingredients would go well with squash; sweetcorn, sage and mushrooms immediately came to my mind. This time I decided to skip the mushrooms but added a green pepper instead for a bit of crunchiness and sharpness that contrasts well with the sweetcorn. I cooked...

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Marzipan Cookies [gluten free]

I didn’t even plan to bake these biscuits. I wanted to make Italian almond cookies but didn’t read the recipe carefully enough when I came across it some time ago, and didn’t notice the batter had to rest for 12 hours. I simply didn’t have the time as I already had a craving for almond tasting biscuits. So I had no choice, but to find a satisfactory replacement. In one of my Polish cookbooks* I found a marzipan cookies recipe that...

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Carrot and Banana Cake

If you are one of these people who can never decide whether a carrot or a banana cake is your favorite, hopefully you will be happy with this solution as it is a very successful (and delicious) combination of both of them. The cake is wonderfully moist and addition of walnut pieces gives it extra texture. There are no spices added to the batter but this cake has a vanilla aroma due to the yummy icing. I must be honest with you, this...

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Plant Based Diet - is it safe to be Vegetarian?

I have never been much of carnivore: I could do without meat for days on end. But I do enjoy good meat or poultry dishes like Peking duck or roast lamb when I have it every now and then. That is probably why I never considered becoming a vegetarian myself and didn't even know there were actually a few variations of plant based diets: TYPE OF FOOD TYPE OF DIET Plant-based Dairy Eggs Fish ...

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Pasta with Ham, Mascarpone and Green Peas

I myself am surprised I didn’t written this post earlier because this pasta dish has been a classic in our family for many years. It is so easy and quick to prepare yet so delicious! I have served it to our friends on some informal occasions but – probably more importantly – it is a hit with children. When my daughters were small and they had their friends over in our house, I could be almost sure that if I had cooked this meal, all...

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