Chicken Broth

Chicken broth is one of the most popular basic type of a soup in Poland. It’s also known to be on every single Sunday at home. You probably will wonder why? It is a simple soup that is also a fantastic base for other soups or meals/dishes (like risotto, added to pasta, etc.)

It’s also great when you have a flu or just feeling “under the weather”, filled with all the goodies to keep you going.

Ingredients:

For a big pot of soup (@3l pot)

1-2x big chicken leg - rinse under the cold tap

3-4x carrots, peeled and chopped whichever way you wish (just remember thicker the slices longer it will take to soften)

3-4x parsley roots, peeled and chopped

1x small celery root, peeled and chopped

1x leek, remove the end and outside first layer, then rinse under water, cut in half or into smaller circles

1x small onion, peeled, cut in half and then burned on the plain pan from each side, just to caramelise it, it will add fantastic colour

3x bay leaves

3-4x allspice

3-4x dried juniper fruit

Fresh parsley, washed and chopped for serving (optional)

Freshly cooked thin, small pieces of pasta (similar to spaghetti pasta, but thinner and smaller)

Knorr chicken / chicken beef cubes for extra taste

Take a big pot, add your chicken leg, cover with cold tap water and put on the gas to cook. Do NOT COVER the pot! That’s very important as alternatively it will be foggy, not a nice and clear soup.

While the water and chicken start to get warmer, prepare all the veggies and add to the chicken. Add your spices as well.

When water starts boiling in the pot, lower the heat just to have it gently simmer. Leave it for a good 30mins.

When you come back you should see a kind of white/browny foam forming on top of your soup. Take a spoon and a bowl and clear it all out, to make sure your broth will be so nice and clear. Add some cold tap water to top it up.

And now you can forget of your gently simmering broth for another hour or so. Just check it every now and then to take any of the foam out or to top it up with some cold water.

After around 2-3hours of cooking your broth should be ready - veggies should be lovely and soft and chicken leg should literally fall apart.

I normally add some chicken (or chicken beef cubes or both) cubes from Knorr just for an extra taste and serve it with noodles and freshly chopped parsley. Enjoy!

Homemade Pumpkin Spice

Also known as Pumpkin Pie Spice :) Since last year I was trying to either buy it or look up for some recipe for that particular spice.

It’s absolutely nothing fancy mixed together, but yet that comforting smell will surround you. Smell of autumn, warm drink in your hand and cinnamon, cloves, ginger spices all together… hmmm….

I love that… it’s just all together brings that melancholy warm to me.

I was googling different companies and what they had inside and here you go, that’s the recipe to make it at home and use it away to your baking, soups or as simple as coffee or tea or other hot drinks ;)

Ingredients:

1x packet of ground cinnamon (15-20g)

1x teaspoon of ground cloves

1x teaspoon of ground ginger

1/2x teaspoon of cardamom

1 and a bit of teaspoon of ground nutmeg

1/2x teaspoon of ground mixed spice

Pinch of ground black pepper

Whisk it all together and voilà! Ready :)

Keep in the jar and use whenever you wish! Enjoy!

Crêpes

I honestly don’t know a person that would not like crêpes. This amazing lovely thin or gently fluffy pastry can be used in so many ways.

You prefer to have them on sweet or maybe more savoury version? No problem! Or maybe you wish to have them a bit fried or baked? Hmmm… so many amazing ways to have it :)

Use them the way you would with pancakes and tortillas :) make the most out of it and be creative!
This recipe as always comes from Thermomix.

Ingredients:

330g water

230g of milk

2x eggs

25g of oil (any type you wish)

310g of plain flour

pinch of salt

20g of brown sugar

Take a big bowl, add all ingredients in, mix well and leave on a side for around 20-30mins.

After that time the dough should have a consistency of a double cream (so nice and thick).

Take a crêpes pan or just a normal pan, heat it up, turn the heat to medium and then pour in one soup ladle in on the whole bottom part of the pan, moving the pan on the angle helps a lot to make the mixture move around. Leave for maybe 2-3mins or until the crêpe will be coming off the pan and then turn it around using a spatula or by the movement of the pan to flip it upside down in the air. And then leave to cook for another 1-2mins or until lovely and gold.

Move onto a plate and keep doing until you finish the mixture.

Now serve it with whatever you wish - some berry compote? No problem. Maybe chocolate spread and berries or peanut butter and jam and bananas? Or maybe bacon and golden syrup? All of them and way more options to go through :)

Enjoy!

Basil

That sweet smell…. That amazing pinch of it to your favourite pasta… pizza or salad or dressing, or give it a twist to a drink… hmmm yum! One of my all time favourite herb!

I honestly can’t imagine my kitchen without this herb.
And did you know that basil is part of mint family? And it is also one of the most known herb across the whole world with many believes to be known for more then 5000 years. Now is that true? Nobody knows… so we shall leave that :)

There is also between 50 to 150 different species of basil, which includes:

• Purple Basil - similar to normal basil with a bit of more of the earthy taste and that lovely colour :)

• Lemon Basil - lemon and freshness

• Cinnamon Basil - lovely cinnamon finish

• Thai Basil - typical star anise taste

• Greek Basil - small leaves with A very similar but strong taste like the normal basil

Worth mentioning is also fact that basil can be dried as well however it’s the fresh version that is used the most.

I think there is nothing else to mention guys! Time to start cooking ;)

Salt

As the spice saga continues. Today we will talk about another most famous spice that is in our daily day use which is salt.

The main sources of the salt are either the Rock Salt or the Sea Water Salt.

Salt is not only use to add an extra taste and flavour but also to preserve the food, which means it is added to nearly every single thing you have in your kitchen.
We have so many different type of salts available, such as:

• Table salt

• Sea salt

• Kosher salt (salt with larger crystals and no extra additives)

• Fleur de sel, grey salt - this type is picked from the top of saltwater ponds on the Brittany coast; the grey one then is from the bottom of that saltwater pond

• Pink salt, Himalayan salt - similar to table salt, different origin, pink colours gets from traces amount of iron oxide

• Himalayan Black Salt - that lovely black and red hue colour of the slat comes from the mineral greigite

• Different types of Infused salts.

See below some examples of the salts:

All the above information comes from www.Foodrepublic.com

Meringue’s

Did it happen to you as well?
You were doing something else and then yet you got left with some egg whites? No fear my friend! :) Whenever it come to that use this recipe and make some lovely little meringue’s or maybe a bigger one that would be a base like for Pavlova? Be my guest! :)

As always this recipe is extremely easy and fast to make, but…! It’s a very long time to bake them! So just be aware of that.

Recipe comes from Thermomix Cookidoo :)

Ingredients:

3x egg whites

165g of icing sugar

pinch of salt

Remeber! All ingredients NEEDS to be in room temperature!

Prepare a tray and line it with baking paper. Leave on a side. Turn on the oven for 90C degrees.

Take a bowl, add your egg whites and salt and start beating it with mixer until you get lovely and fluffy stiff mix (around 2-3mins). Then start adding your icing sugar slowly and keep beating it for another 2-3mins.

After that time egg whites should be lovely, fluffy and “sparkly”.

Move them to pippin tin and make a small meringue’s on prepared tray.

Bake for 2hrs and then switch off the oven and leave it close to cool there.

Eat stray away or keep in close box.

Enjoy!

Peppercorn Spice

Peppercorn is one of the most common and known spice around the world.

But did you know that peppercorn grow on the flowering vine? And most commonly in parts of India?

We all know the most popular pepper which is black. Black pepper is an unripe fruit, that is dried on the sun and then fermented. It is one of the strongest, most spicy of all the peppers.

Black pepper

We also have Green Pepper that is also an unripe fruit, however they do not let it dry on the sun but instead they dry it in the low temperature. It can be then marinated in brine or vinegar. It is one of the most delicate pepper.

Green Pepper

Another popular pepper is White Pepper. But this one comparing to the other two is ripe fruit, that after collecting it is being left in the water for a while and then they are taking the first layer off and then dry until white. This pepper is known for the intense aroma with more delicate spice then the black pepper.

White pepper

One of the last one is Red Pepper. This pepper is also ripe one. There is no peeling first layer, those fruits are added and marinated in brine or salty water. Ver similar taste to the green pepper.

Red Pepper

There is also loads of other variations of the pepper. They are usually a mix of the black or white pepper with some lemon juice to make a Lemon Pepper (perfect for fish) or some mix of herbs and pepper - Herbs Pepper (great for salads).

Quickest Birthday Cake

Yes this is the quickest birthday cake I think I’ve ever done in my life.

You probably wondering why you would not find it in the Baking part? Because it is just a trick.
See the ingredients ;)

Ingredients:

2x Cadbury mix cake - bake following instructions (you will need eggs, milk and oil or butter - I always use melted butter)

1x package of Dr Oetker Karpatka cream mix (it’s lovely fluffy white cream that all you need to add is 400ml of milk)

1x tin of cherry in thick gel (also knows as “frużelina”)

1-2x chocolate chips (I’ve used dark and milk ones)

1x ready to go chocolate icing (from Cadbury)

Prepare your cake mix accordingly to the instruction on the box. Leave to cool. (I usually make that night before)

When cake is cool. Cut it on 3 and bottom move to a tray that you wish to have your cake.
You can make your Karpatka cream as the instruction on the package is saying. Try to

Open your cherry in thick gel (frużelina).

Now divide your Karpatka on half. Use the first half to put on top of your base. Cover with half of the cherry in thick gel and sprinkle some chocolate chips on top. Cover with another slice of the cake and repeat the above and cover with final part of the cake and cover with chocolate icing and sprinkle with chocolate chip to decoration.

Leave in fridge for good 1hour just to make sure everything settle in and then simply serve and sing that “Happy Birthday” and enjoy! :)

Here you go guys the quickest Birthday Cake of all! :)

How to Make Pumpkin Puree?

Now guys how to make that amazing goodness that you can convert to so many other goodies?

So simple to make, won’t be delaying you :) Just remember that you can always make some more and just freeze and use when you wish.

Ingredients:

1x eatable pumpkin (size is up to you)

Prepare flat tray, line it with baking paper and leave on a side.

Turn on the oven to 180C degrees.

In the meantime prepare your pumpkin, wash it and then cut a hole in the top and using a soup spoon start taking off the middle (the seeds and the strings only), just to make it all clear with just the best part of the pumpkin.

When that’s done, cut the pumpkin for smaller parts (depending how big it is - for half or for 4 or smaller if you wish). Put on your prepared tray skin down and bake for around 45 - 60mins. The main goal is to make the pumpkin middle as soft as possible So the fork or knife would go into it like into soft butter.

When it’s ready leave it to cool.

Then you should be able to just take the skin with your finger or just a small help of knife, it will be just peeling off.

The flesh part of your cooked pumpkin put into blender and mix for a perfect puree.

Store in fridge for max of 3 days or freeze for whenever your ready.

Enjoy the fun part!

Al’s Poached Eggs

One of those simple and basic classics that can be then added to so many goodies! Just yum!

I won’t be getting you bored - straight to the good part.

Ingredients:

2x eggs

around 1-2x teaspoons of white vinegar

pinch of salt

around 600ml of boiling water

pot & kitchen skimmer (if you have or something similar to it)

Put the pot on heat, add vinegar and bring to boil.

In the meantime take the eggs out of the shell into the bowl.

When water is boiling add salt and start stirring the water to make a whirlpool. When it’s ready add your eggs.
Gently tip them from the bottom with your skimmer. When boiling lower the heat and leave for around 2mins until the white is ready to go and the yolk is still runny.

Prepare plate, put some paper and using skimmer move the eggs onto your plate.

Serve straight away!

Enjoy!

How to make an icing?

Have you ever struggled on how to make it? Or just never got around it to know on that simple thing how to?

Here it is! A quick basic recipe for sugar icing that you can use on almost any cakes/muffins/sweet buns.

Ingredients:

1/3 glass of icing sugar

1x lemon, chopped in half (you can use orange if you prefer, works the same - just make sure there is no seeds in. If you are like me and you don’t mind bits you can leave them too, otherwise just strain it)

Take a little whisk and start slowly adding some lemon juice. Keep mixing and adding bit by bit of lemon juice.
the consistency should be of a thick cream, but loose enough so you can pour it around your goodie :)

Simple? Yeap ;) It’s ready! Enjoy!

P.S. A small tip -> If you don’t have an icing sugar just blend some normal sugar in the blender or grounder on full speed ;)