Brekfast Pancakes with Blueberry and Maple Syrup

Quite a while ago I was watching Nigella Lawson making pancakes with Blueberry and Maple Syrup, and told myself that I have to try it!!

Today I woke up with craving, for something sweet and comforting for breakfast!! I looked at my sweet little girl, ad I new!! Her name is Blueberry and I instantly new what I want!!
Decided to try Nigella syrup.

It came up delicious!! I am not a huge fan of Maple Syrup, but this combination, of hot, running Syrup, boiled with blueberries was so tempting!! And came up just delicious!

The portion is for breakfast for family of 3(well 3 and a half) : 1adult+ 1pregnant adult+1 toddler.

Pancakes:
3 eggs
1 mug of flour
1/4 of melted butter
2 tablespoons of caster sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
some milk
and splash of oil for frying

Syrup:
1 mug of maple syrup
125g of blueberries

How to make:
Separate egg whites and yolks. Bit white stiff, add slowly biting all the time: yolks, sugar, flour, baking powder, and few splashes of milk, then butter,  and again some milk if its to stiff. The batter has to be runny, but not as for crepes.
Fry butter (we like hand sized pancakes, but you can make big ones) on moderate heat, on very hot pan with splash of oil, on both sides until golden.

In mean time boil maple syrup together with blueberries.

Serve all hot!!

 

 

Not So Baked Beans

Baked Beans are in English cuisine like rice in Asian, you just cant miss it.

Normally is a side dish.

Today I want to show you haw to prepare it differently. That much different that is the main dish on its own. Filling and delicious.

You have to put some effort and time, but believe me, its worth it!! Once made, you can freeze it for later. Because it take some time to prepare, I always make a big pot at once.

Ingredients:

1kg Dehydrated Butter Beans (you can find them on organic isles in supermarkets, or in shops with organic food. As well as in all polish shops "Fasola Jas")
1kg of good quality smoked sausage
250g of smoked bacon
(if you have, but not necessarily skin from smoked ham, that part that you do not eat, but is brilliant for cooking and giving a lot of flavour)
1large onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 tube of tomatoes pure
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
salt, pepper, sugar and dried marjoram (marjoram in Polish cooking is like thyme in English)

How to prepare:
Put Butter Beans into large bowl and cover them with cold water for at least 12 hours.
Before putting into large saucepan, you have to drain the leftover water and wash them in cold running water.
In large saucepan cover Beans with water, add the smoked skin in you have one, and a spoonful of salt. Cover and simmer for about 2 hour on low heat, until beans are tender. You have to stir it once in a while or it will burn at the bottom!!
In mean time slice bacon and fry it, till crispy. Put bacon away and on the same pan, fry sliced sausage, when its golden ad chopper onion and let it "sweat".
When beans are tender add all the friend meat with onion. Together with tin of tomatoes and tomato pure and simmer for another half an hour/hour. Do not forget to stir it once in a while.
Now its time for tasting. Press garlic in garlic press, add handful of dried marjoram and spoon of sugar. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.

This tastes the best "next day" when reheated.

Serve with fresh bread.

Loin Of Pork with Apples and Cheese

Different view on Sunday Roast? Fancy something easy, quicker than Sunday Roast, but still nice and suitable for all family?

Why not try Pork Loin baked with grated apples and cheese??

Ingredients
1 kg of fine pork Loin, no bone!!
4 big apples (peeled and grated)
greater cheese
salt and pepper

Slice pork loin into about 2centimeter slices and tender the meat with mallet. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.

Put meat into glass ovenproof dish, "like sardines in a tin". One on the other but still as spread as possible, so every single peace can be cover as much as possible with apples. Put grated apples over the meat. meat has to be cover with about 1cm layer.
Put grated cheese over the apples. Again all apples has to be cover, we like it quite thick, but you can put as much or as little as you like.

Cover the dish with kitchen foil and bake in pre heated oven (gas mark 6) for 35 minutes. Then take foil off and bake for further 15 minutes until cheese is golden brown.

Serve with roasted vegetables and mash potatoes.

Lasagne

Lasagne is very easy to make, takes some time to prepare everything form scratch, but tastes 10 times better than the one that you will buy ready made or use jars.

For tomato sauce layers I use the same sauce as for my Spaghetti Bolognese.
As for White Sauce, I use very basic recipe for béchamel sauce.
Then is just building layers :)
I always use dry lasagne sheets, and there is no need to cook them first.

How to Make:

Tomato Sauce

If you are using frozen one, heat it before making béchamel sauce.
Always make tomato sauce first, as it needs more time to prepare.

1/2 kg on mince meat (the best is beef, but pork or turkey will be good as well)
1 large onion
4 large cloves of garlic
about 300g of mushrooms (optional!!!)
4 tins of chopped and peeled tomatoes
splash of oil
salt, pepper, Provence herb mix and fresh basil (handful)

Heat oil on a large frying pan, bronze the mince meat and add onion and garlic with some salt. When onion will be golden add mushrooms, fry for a little while and add tinned tomatoes. Turn the heat down and simmer for about 45minutes (especially when its beef). Sauce will thicker, meat will be tender, it will bring out all the beautiful flavours. Now season to your taste with salt, pepper and lots of herb mix. When you turn off the heat, add freshly chopped basil leaves.


Béchamel Sauce:

1/4 of salted butter
2 glasses of milk
2  heap table spoons of white flour
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and white pepper

In medium sauce pan, heat butter. Add flour and cook stirring all the time. Make sure it is well combined. When butter and flour will become nice and golden, add milk stirring all the time(!!). I am using whisk to combine those two together, sauce will thicker when it will boil, if its to thick, add more milk, if not enough, boil little bit longer.
When its cooked, turn the heat off, add nutmeg and parmesan, season to taste.
Use ASAP!!

Now it time to build layers: in rectangle ovenproof glass dish.
Put just a little bit of tomato sauce on bottom, then dry lasagne sheets + tomato sauce+ a little bit of white sauce + lasagne sheets + tomato sauce + grated cheese+ lasagne sheets + tomato sauce + white sauce+ lasagne sheets........up to the top!! on very top use just all the rest of white sauce and cover with grated cheese/mozzarella cheese.
Layers must be quite thin, then you will use all the pack of lasagne sheets.

Bake in pre-heated oven (gas  mark 5 or 6 /180/190C), first cover with chicken foil and bake for about 20 minutes, then uncover and bake for further 20 minutes, until golden brown.

After taking out form oven, leave to settle for about 10/15 minutes. Then it will be easy to cut and you will have nice layers.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Spaghetti, everyone got their own recipe, some of you have your favourite shop jars sauces.

The base tomato sauce I always do in large portions, use some and freeze rest for later, not a big fan of jar, ready made ones, and this way I always have quick meal or sauce for lasagne. You will find that I use the same sauce for spaghetti Bolognese and for lasagne. Its easy to make, and its delicious!!

Tomato Sauce

1/2 kg on mince meat (the best is beef, but pork or turkey will be good as well)
1 large onion
4 large cloves of garlic
about 300g of mushrooms (optional!!!)
4 tins of chopped and peeled tomatoes
splash of oil
salt, pepper, Provence herb mix and fresh basil (handful)

Heat oil on a large frying pan, bronze the mince meat and add onion and garlic with some salt. When onion will be golden add mushrooms, fry for a little while and add tinned tomatoes. Turn the heat down and simmer for about 45minutes (especially when its beef). Sauce will thicker, meat will be tender, it will bring out all the beautiful flavours. Now season to your taste with salt, pepper and lots of herb mix. When you turn off the heat, add freshly chopped basil leaves.

Serve with spaghetti pasta and freshly grated parmesan cheese.  

Banana Muffins

This is "before shopping" treat.
Treat easy to make, quick and to use ripe bananas that no one like to eat raw. My lil lady some weeks will it 20 bananas per week and the other just 2. I have come up with quite a few recipes, what to do with very ripe bananas so the will not be thrown away. This is one of them:

 Ingredients:

3 very ripe bananas
1/2 mug of vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 1/5 mug of white flour
1/2 mug of caster sugar
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of backing powder
 (this time I have also added handful of white and milk chocolate chips)
Pre heat oven to gas mark 6 (190/200C)

Pure bananas with fork on the separate plate. In big mug whisk together eggs and oil (with fork will do). Sieve flour into big mixing bowl, mix with sugar, soda and baking powder. Add oil and egg mix and bananas. Mix it, just until you will not see flour, don't over mix it!! Add chocolate chips and stir them in.

Divide mix into muffin cases. If you have silicone one, there is no need of papper cups, just cover every cup with little bit of oil. Fill it to about 3/4 full. This will make about 12 big ones and 18 medium muffins.
Bake for about 20minutes

Muffins are very moist and everyone loves them!!!

Friday Macaroni Bake

Friday is normally my shopping day, that's why, on Thursday and Friday I am trying to use all the leftovers, from last shopping. I really hate wasting food!!

That's how this recipe came to life :) You can add and take whatever you fill like, mine will never be the same.

Todays version:

Ingredients:

-2 kinds of smoked sausage (Mine was homemade, not by me, back in Poland. But nowadays  you will find good smoked sausage in all supermarkets, Polish and German will taste similar)
/or you can use any leftover bacon, ham and meat that you have in your fridge.
-2 tins of chopped tomatoes
- some mushrooms
- 2 carrots
-large onion
-2 cloves of garlic
- grated cheese (if you have different kinds of cheese left, use it. I have used two types of grated cheese, it looks nicer. But you can also use some feta cheese/blue cheese/mozzarella etc.)
-pasta (I always have some opened packs of different kind, and this is perfect time to mix them and use)
-splash of oil
-salt, pepper and Provence herb mix (my favourite herb mix)

How to make:

Cook your pasta in salted water.
Fry sausages (other meat), when they will get nice colour add chopped onion and garlic fry for a while, until onion is golden. Add grated carrots and sliced mushrooms. Sweat them for a while, then add tinned tomatoes and a splash of water. Bring it to boil and season to taste.
In ovenproof dish mix sauce with pasta and sprinkle as much or as little cheese on the top as you like.

Bake in pre heated oven (gas mark 6; about 190/200C) for about 20 minutes, or until cheese will melt and become golden on the top.

Serve with side salad :)
Hope you will enjoy and change to your liking :)