Slavic Kitchen Alchemy
Steeped in ancient wisdom, magic and folktales, this illustrated scrapbook of Slavic lore offers natural remedies, beauty and cleaning products, healing recipes and wellbeing rituals that will appeal to modern witches and natural healing fans.
Pierogi
“As far as I’m concerned, this is a book of bliss!” – Nigella Lawson
The essential cookbook for preparing perfect Polish dumplings at home.
Amber and Rye: A Baltic food journey
‘A beautiful thing’- Giles Coren
Longlisted for the André Simon Food and Drink Book Awards 2021
Explore the new wave of Baltic food culture and its history, with storyteller and food writer Zuza Zak.
Polska – New Polish Cooking
Polska brings you a revolutionary style of cooking, taking you on a culinary journey through Poland’s national dishes and folkloric roots.
Zuza Zak welcomes you into her Polish kitchen, offering an inspiring take on both traditional recipes and new ingredients.
About Zuza Zak
“Capturing the spirit of the nation”
The Independent
“The antidote to Brexit”
The Food Programme, BBC Radio 4
Recent Blog Posts
Quick lunch recipes I miss those huge, Parisian-style salads, so substantial that they are a meal in themselves. Salad is a hard one for the kids – all those long leaves and sharp dressing everywhere, so recently I’ve been making them for our adult lunches...
With the invasion of Ukraine, it’s been an incredibly difficult few weeks for many of us. While I was still in shock and disbelief at what I was seeing, my incredible friend, Alissa Timoshkina’s, response was quick and impactful – she set up #CookforUkraine. #CookforUkraine...
Beginnings It’s barely the beginning of the year anymore, but the lateness of this post about my favourite nettle rye sourdough and my musings on the year ahead is a testimony of the times. The tail end of January is really the best I could...
Part 1 – Chaos I often get asked about my “creative process” and I love talking about it. If you’re a creative person, then everything you do is part of a bigger picture called the “creative process”. Whilst my mind can get a bit chaotic...
My new cookbook My new cookbook, Amber&Rye, is a culinary journey across the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In my first cookbook, Polska, I delved into Polish culture through the language of food and I am also doing the same in Amber&Rye, which...
Pancake day happens every weekend in our house because East European food is all about pancakes. We have sweet ones and savoury ones, thin pancakes and fat pancakes, pancakes that take ages to make and quick and easy ones. I wanted to share a couple...
We could all use a bit of comfort these day, so I thought I’d share my top 3 wintry soups with you. Soups are always my go-to comfort food at this time of year, but it seems we are eating them more than usual. Perhaps that’s...
Apologies to any traditional, British Christmas cake lovers out there, but I’m not fan (too heavy, too sweet). I felt it was time to come up with an alternative Christmas cake. You can, of course, make this alternative Christmas cake to compliment the traditional one...
It’s that time of year again – a time for contemplation and gołabki. I don’t know why I always eat so many “little pigeons” at this time of year. Perhaps it’s the abundance of cabbage and mushrooms… This year, after having various meaty versions wrapped...
Lazy dumplings have to be the most forgiving dumpling. And dumplings are a pretty forgiving bunch. Today, I first forgot that I separate the eggs and beat the egg whites. The first egg went in whole. Then I forgot about the egg whites altogether. They...
What a time. Me – feet swollen, tired with mild anaemia, trying to prepare for the unpredictable act of giving birth whilst finishing PhD, editing a book and juggling childcare. The outside world – still in the midst of a pandemic, unsteady and unsure, trying...
Structure: At the start of 2020, I want to share one of my favourite breakfasts – semolina porridge – and talk about my one and only resolution for this year: structure. It’s seems very simple but it does not come naturally for me. Introducing structure...
Uoksas, Kaunas Ruhe, Neeme (near Tallinn) Dziaugsmas, Vilnius Restaurant 3, Riga Mahedik Kohvik, Parnu Kolm Tilli, Tartu Fellin Kohvik, Vijandji Goldingen Room, Kuldiga F-Hoone, Tallinn Pamario Takas, Juodkrante This was meant to be “my top 5” list but there are so many great places to...
It’s been an intense few weeks, in both amazing and difficult ways. Summer has been about travel and research on one side and health on the other. Lake swimming and blood tests, meeting people and moving on, high end restaurants and dirty laundry. A summer...
The time has come to reflect and review… this year has been all about home for me… and so many things in my life to be grateful for – my daughter, my family, my home, my friendships… in 2018 it became clear to me that...
I have fallen in love with Lublin. This city feels like I imagine Poland did before the last World War, when the soul of the country was fractured. It always makes me sad to think how much culturally richer, healthier and more robust Poland would...
Making pierogi is considered a chore by some and a therapeutic activity by others. I belong to the latter category as you may have guessed. I love to experiment with both fillings and the dough, but I also love the familiarity of the act itself....
I was invited to my first supper club by Alissa Timoshkina of KinoVino: an elegant, candlelit affair. I loved the concept of talking to food-loving strangers while tasting a menu that is prepared with thought and love. This pre-empted Alissa asking me to cook for...
The entire concept of soup is different in Eastern Europe. People in the UK find it hard to get their heads around the idea of cold soups or fruit soups, yet in the summer in Poland, we use soups to refresh us, or sometimes even...
I used to think that when I published my own cookbook, life would be easy. I used to think that POLSKA would convince everyone to the merits of Polish and East European food and then the whole world would immediately want to know more. POLSKA...
I have been asked to write about Polish Easter recipes in the run up to Easter. There are many Polish Easter foods: żurek, hams, eggs, salads, but for me a Polish Easter is all about the cakes. There are so many different types of Baba...
Warsaw restaurants are booming right now and if you head there, you’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to places to eat, which could actually be a problem in itself (a good problem, but a problem nevertheless). If you are only there for a...
If you have been here before, thank you for returning – the poppy seeds lured you back in I hope. It turns out I’ve been pissing off everyone who comes to my site with my huge images that don’t load properly and steal data. For...
I don’t have many regrets in life but there is one thing I regret not putting in my cookbook – Kaszotto. They are really popular in Poland and the perfect thing to cook when you don’t have much in the fridge – much like it’s...
If I were to make my new year’s resolutions before the start of January, they would be very rushed and badly considered. The first week of January for me is still grasping on to the remnants of Christmas, holding on to the tree and the...
If you read my blog (and it’s predecessor cheesy mash) then you will know my love of happy accidents. After all, my daughter is one of them. There is nothing I love more than experimenting in the kitchen, and having the luxury (less and less...
I am extremely excited to tell you that I will be appearing on Food Network shortly in a little film about Polish Food (I believe it will be part of the Global Gourmet series, shown in ad breaks). We filmed it just a couple of...
Lilac is one of the smells that takes me back to the Warsaw of my childhood and my Babcia Halinka’s apartment on a hill overlooking the Vistula River. There was a Lilac bush right outside that apartment and we would stop and smell it’s flowers...
I’ve been trying to decide which recipes to share with you from the KinoVino-Kinoteka supper club I did a couple of weeks ago. Guests asked if all the recipes were in the book, and while some are, some were developed especially for the occasion. I...
It’s only human to err and some of the best things are born out of mistakes, such as this malty springtime sponge cake with matcha icing. It was meant to be a meringue (which was in itself a by-product of baked pierogi that call for egg...
The Polish Film Festival Supper Club with KinoVino went swimmingly. That’s not to say there wasn’t any stress. After cooking for 3 days, the drive to the venue with all the lovingly prepared dishes balanced on top of one another was one of the most stressful...
I believe that life is all about challenging yourself. This is when I was approached to cook for a Supper Club event, for over 40 people, I was a little nervous, yet I knew I had to do it. I have just been to my...
I’m not a great lover of Valentine’s Day. I usually just cook a Valentine’s meal at home, perhaps something a little more special than usual, and do everything in my power to avoid going to a restaurant on Valentine’s Day. I remember once when I was...
Christmas is my favourite holiday of the year, and it’s not because I was born just a few days before the big day (and my daughter also) on Winter Solstice. Actually, as far as birthdays go, it’s not ideal. It gets hurried through and swept...
The most well known Polish sauerkraut soup is Kapuśniak, but there is another Polish sauerkraut soup that arguably has an even more acquired taste – it’s called Kwaśnica. The sour one. I personally prefer it – I like the omittance of pork and that feral...
“Placki” are where it all began as far as the slavic people are concerned. In Russia, they might say blini is where it all began, but that’s just splitting hairs. Placki are everything that has that flat, round shape, and blini come under that category too. Archaeological evidence shows...
There is something about the humble apple that always reminds me of Poland. Even when there was nothing in the shops we still had apples, and therefore apple cake (Szarlotka) and apple “racuchy” were common during my childhood. Now that Putin has banned imports on...
Since becoming a mother a few things have changed undoubtedly. Not only in my life as a whole (which is to be expected), but also in my personality and my preferences. I have become a better version of myself in many ways – I am...
Summer is here in every sense. I often feel that life has different stages just like the seasons. Spring is childhood. My Spring lasted a long time. I have been somewhat of a late developer and chose to act like a child for most of my twenties – playful,...
You know that summer has arrived when you can finally eat juicy, flavoursome, local berries. They don’t taste quite the same at different times of the year. I always make it my general policy to eat as many berries as it takes to make myself...
Every few months I pull out a Koan card. This card is something I keep in mind for the coming months and it’s always the perfect advice for me. A few months ago, when I was finishing writing my book (“Polska” is now available for pre-order), the...
It is the way of life to always take you by surprise. For many years I felt like I was writing “Polska” only for myself. Then finally it all happened at once – the dreamt-of book deal… and the pregnancy. Two babies had decided to...
Polish is not the first cuisine that comes to mind when you utter the word “vegetarian”, and yet there are many recipes that are either vegetarian or lend themselves particularly well to being meat-free. Poland, being a Catholic country, has many “fasting” days. In days...
As the climate becomes more Mediterranean so should our diets! I don’t mean to trivialise climate change, it’s just that in the UK a slight climate change isn’t such a terrible thing. Weather has never bean our strong point. So far this year it’s been...
Seemingly overnight Spring has brought with it many wonderful things: shiny, new leaves on the trees; showers of cherry blossoms; the first warm rays of sunshine and also, happily, it has also returned to me my love of cooking. Motherhood dimmed my passion for the...
I am doing my own brand of earth-mothering right now. Although I can’t quite bring myself to use cloth nappies, I am washing my bubba in camomile water and using the most eco friendly, natural products possible. While I’m probably not going to do prolonged...
I spent my pregnancy cooking and eating Polish food: practicing my dumpling making; stuffing my face with caramel and cream and cookie dough; making many, many doughnuts (three times in the space of 2 months) and generally re-working my favourite recipes. The book is coming out...
Ah the dreaded 4 month sleep regression, turning our perfect sleepers into… not so perfect sleepers. I feel uncomfortable with a lot of the advice I’ve read online: move your baby into another room now; leave the baby alone to cry; holding baby is a...
I always say that in food, as in life, simplicity is a virtue. Simple days, simple pleasures are the best. A baby’s laugh, the sun coming out from behind a cloud, a flower in bloom, these are beautiful things we do not need to fight...
Habits are funny things. They aren’t easy to form, but they aren’t as difficult as they first appear either. Sometimes they are painstakingly hard to break and other times painstakingly easy, yet they are one of the most important things in life. A bad habit can be...
This is a little list of the more useful stuff I learnt in my first month of motherhood, inspired by the useful list someone sent me before I gave birth. Remember, when you go home with your (first) baby in your arms, you are basically...
January is always about intention setting for me. By the same token it’s about looking back at the year that’s just been, reflecting on what happened and why. What were the seeds planted and what may be learnt. One very important seed grew into a...
Sauerkraut doesn’t sound terribly sexy I know. Yet it’s one of the healthiest things you can eat due to its vitamin C, mineral and probiotic content. The juice from the cabbage is a brilliant hangover remedy, my dad assures me, although I haven’t tried it...
Otherwise known as the “Waiting Cake”. I am more than 1 week overdue now and even though I know my baby will make an appearance soon I am feeling under pressure to start already. I like my hospital (Whittington) and all the staff I’ve met...
I’ve been eating dates religiously since finding out that they could potentially lead to a shorter labour. My life has been so busy recently with TV work, writing my book (manuscript’s due in September) and travelling – I am currently in Greece – that at...
One of the perks of living in London is all the free museums and exhibitions. My favourite has to be the British Museum with it’s futuristic ceiling juxtaposing the Greek revivalist facade and artifacts from all over the world. I spent a lot of time...
From avoiding sugar (with varying degrees of success) to full blown sugarholic. This is my journey. While everyone is on a healthy eating tip these days, with Helmsley&Helmsley and Deliciously Ella, I appear to have gone the other way entirely in the last couple of months, whilst experimenting...
London is sizzling. No, I don’t mean 23 degrees C going down to 10 at night, I mean a proper heatwave. Though they do say we’ll be going back down to our usual, civilized 23-with-showers in the coming week. Thank god. That’s not an ironic...
I have spent the last two months playing with my food and writing. I’ve been taking forgotten Polish recipes and reworking them into a modern context; researching the origins of dishes that I’ve known since childhood but never thought twice about; and tweaking old family recipes. It’s...
I love Ridley road market with it’s African fabrics, cheap food stalls and fishmongers. Even the sheeps’ heads add a little “je ne sais quoi” to the atmosphere. This is where you come to get cheap fruit and veg in east London. Unfortunately, it’s not...
Life has taken a strange turn for me, and I’m in a situation that I’ve never been in before, trying to feel my way through it… I can’t quite describe it to you as it’s still in the process of changing and fluctuating and I’m...
Experimentation is always fun, as long as you keep your mind open, your ideas flexible and some degree of control over what you’re doing. If you see something’s not quite working out, why not change direction? This is what I did with this venison (and...
Has anyone ever been more tired than me? I might be emotional if I had the energy, but it’s ran out. Don’t worry I haven’t got some strange, undiagnosed illness, it all makes sense and I will tell you why I’m so very tired soon....
I’m a big believer in openness. So much so that sometimes I worry that I overshare on this blog and try to tone down my natural tendencies. Yet I have been given some feedback recently from a few different people and apparently you, the reader,...
My apologies. My aim is to blog at least once a week, a commitment I’ve been neglecting of late. I am in a period of restructure. I am restructuring my timetable, my habits, my priorities, my social life and my mind. That’s basically my whole...
Hoxton 100 the best restaurant in Shoreditch? With all the up-market restaurants in east London these days that’s a big claim. I’ll explain my reasoning point-by-point. 1. I can’t actually pick a favourite dish. Every single dish we ordered was superb. 2. They have an...
The cod cheeks took me by surprise. You know those days when you know exactly what you’re going to cook only to be thwarted at every step. You go to your favourite butcher to get quail. No quail. Ok wild rabbit then. No wild rabbit....
My garden mystifies me. Everything is in bloom and I don’t know when it happened. Now the weeds are taking over and I’m not sure if I mind. I wish I knew what to do with dandelion, because I’ve heard it’s very beneficial, but I...
The world has woken up. Little buds are appearing on trees, the sun’s out almost every day, if only for a short while and there are even some cherry blossoms that are in full bloom, though not the ones in Victoria Park, which always take...
In 2015 instead of New Year’s Resolutions, I decided to have a monthly focus that helps me bring new habits into my life. The April focus is gratitude. Gratitude seems a bit meaningless. Everyone knows they should be grateful for what they’ve got, because there...
I don’t usually blog about risottos and the like because, well, everyone knows how to make a risotto. However, a few days ago I stumbled across such a great flavour combination that I can’t not tell you about it. Luckily, the days are getting longer...
Today’s post was going to be all about patience. About how life is always asking me to be patient and how nothing goes more against my very nature. But then everything happened all at once. Now I’m finding it hard to keep up and I’ve...
You know how I like to celebrate the small stuff. Just handing in a good piece of work is cause for celebration in my eyes. You can’t control the outcome of any situation but you can commit to it and do your best. When you...
The first ever post on this blog was about breakfasts, complete with my 29 year old self’s inquisitive attitude and some rather gross-looking pictures of food. Breakfast is still an obbession of mine, but that’s one of the few things that has remained constant. Over...
Washing up feels like my curse. I cook a lot therefore there always seems to be a pile of dirty dishes waiting for me. One day I will have a dishwasher – this is the dream. Until that day comes I am forced to deal...
The human condition is a strange one. The closer we get to what we want the more anxious we become. The stakes get higher as we realise that we have more to loose than before. Recently, I have had to remind myself constantly to enjoy...
“I’ve never used an avocado like this before”. That’s what I was thinking last night, when making the filling for these tarts. They’ve been pinned on my Pinterest Food board for months, because I love the way they look, yet the avocado filling stopped me...
The short answer to the question posed is: by adding a lot of other stuff. I first tried Nigella seeds about 5 days ago. I was handed a Nigella seed flapjack by a certain curious confectioner. It was an unusual taste that I fell in…...
My vegetarianism lasted about 6 weeks. It wasn’t the taste of meat that knocked me off the wagon, it was something much bigger and more exciting – my book-to-be. There is a very good chance that I may get it published soon. The point being...
Thailand was magical as ever. Days spent doing my favourite things: swimming outside; reading cookbooks in a hammock; eating fresh, healthy Thai food and bargain hunting in markets… Immersing ourselves in a different world. On my return, one of the first things I did was...
I’m going to come clean straight away – this is a cheat post, because I’m not making or cooking anything here in Thailand. I’m also not eating bugs or anything else out of the ordinary. I am however drinking these mango lassies every single day....
OK, so they’re not really called “fat faworki”, just “faworki”, but mine turned out a little on the fat side and “fat faworki” has a certain ring to it, you have to admit. Crispy, soft and flaky all at once, they were rather delicious and...
Where January was all about “health” for me, in February I am focussing on “beauty”. I don’t mean that I will be staring at myself in the mirror all February or drawing lines in black marker on my face, I just mean that at the...
My mum has three brothers and they all love to cook. Last week I was in Poland working on an important project. To celebrate my sending everything off on time, my godfather Wojtek (my mum’s youngest brother) came round and taught me this way of...
Not so very long ago, the phrase “seedy breakfast” would have meant something altogether different. Now it means that my breakfast is full of seeds. And turmeric, and cinnamon, and freshly grated nutmeg… it’s pretty much the best breakfast ever. Inspired by Leo Babauta and...
Just as our homes accumulate stuff, so does a blog. I try to spring clean my flat every year (the success rate varies), yet I haven’t spring cleaned my blog for at least 3 years. So you can imagine that amongst all the stuff, I...
As far as Januaries in London go, this one’s not so bad. It’s brisk but not freezing. There’s wind and rain, yes, but then there are also dazzling blue skies and vivid sunsets… So whereas during your average kind of January I probably wouldn’t dream...
There is nothing more thrilling than the feeling of cultural progress. This was my elated thought as I picked up a packet of fresh wild mushrooms in my local Tesco’s. Yes, the UK is now officially eating wild mushrooms, like the rest of our European...
John Lennon was right when he wrote that “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”. At this point I ask myself if any plan is worth making. Perhaps life has nothing to do with plans after all, perhaps the only...
Finally, something Christmassy This is the kind of rich indulgence that should only be allowed at this time of year, because such a heavenly taste can only be created with equally sinful ingredients – butter, cream, sugar… Don’t worry about it. It’s easy to make...
I know – at this time of year you probably all want to eat warm, comfort food and here I am giving you salad. It’s strange, yet this is what I’m craving at the moment – all kinds of salads. My friend David has written...
Patties are probably my favourite thing to make from leftover mash. Especially sweet potato mash, as that adds an exotic element to my patty, making me feel like I’m snacking in a tropical country. If I close my eyes I can almost smell coconuts in...
I told you about the cake I baked for my boyfriend’s and his mum’s birthday, which ended up having a big hole in the middle… so the problem was that I had so little time on that day that I tried to do everything too...
I was in Athens the other day visiting my heavily pregnant friend and wanted to make a huge pot of something that we could eat for dinner, then freeze for the busy days ahead. It’s getting a bit chillier, even in Greece, so I was...
The frothy sunsets and mild evenings of early Autumn disappeared overnight. The nip is taking over and we’ll need to start wearing gloves soon. My hands are already permanently cold and turning a tinge of violent. But the multi-coloured leaves and some sunny skies make...
As you may have guessed from the name of this blog, I am a fan of mashed potato. I love it for it’s unfussy, simple honesty and rustic charm. I don’t write about it because it’s a sure thing. Everyone knows Mashed Potato. But today,...
There are so many things that don’t quite work out in life, and this is okay. There are lessons to be learnt, compromises to be made, battles to be lost as well won, things given up on completely and things deemed worthy of being worked...
It’s been birthday season in my world. My attempt to make a cake for my boyfriend and his mum last week went disastrously wrong. The cake tasted fine (maybe more than fine), but I was in too much of a hurry making it, not present...
As you may or may not have noticed my routine has gone out of the window recently. Flown away to another time and place, one where I didn’t have a full time (if freelance) job and wasn’t working nights and weekends on another creative project...
One of things I love about cooking is that paradox of nostalgia and newness. For example, I write this blog whilst munching on a warm, slightly crispy tortilla with Marmite. The reason I eat Marmite on tortillas rather than on toast like normal people, is...
Life changes suddenly. Just a month ago I was waking up some time before midday, working at a lazy pace for a couple of hours on whatever I felt like working on and mostly had no idea which day of the week it was. Now...
Whenever I eat sorrel now it reminds me of this lovely day, a couple of years ago, when my grans were still alive. It was just ordinary summer’s day then, mooching about, cooking, sunbathing… yet it will always live on in my memory as something...
Intense weather. August in Poland is hot, close and stormy. I kind of like it. Intensity is a bit underrated in the UK I feel. The UK is all about cool, while Poland is a land of extremes. Perhaps the weather is more important in...
There’s no denying that I’m swimming against the tide here. London is a city where most people work hard and party hard, then when they’ve had enough they settle down and start a family. Which is fantastic if that’s what you actually want. After 8...
I love cooking, as you know, but not having any scales, combined with a preference for healthy, savoury food has meant that I rarely bake. People tell me that baking is therapeutic, I find it powdery and messy. Until recently. You see I’ve found a...
There is nothing quite like the feeling of eating something that you have grown yourself. Unfortunately, the only things I can say that about at the moment are my mint and rosemary, yet I milk this glorious feeling for all it’s worth with Moroccan mint...
As my friends know, inventing cocktails is one of my favourite pastimes. I don’t do complicated though. I tend to take a well-known cocktail and rework it with some local, seasonal ingredients. The “Bellini” cocktail was invented at Harry’s Bar in Venice and consists simply of fresh peach...
Potatoes, rice, pasta, sweet potatoes, new potatoes, rice again… If you would welcome another carb onto your dinner plate, then look no further than these simple dumplings They are called “kluski kładzione”, which translates as “laid dumplings” (more or less) because we “lay” them...
You know that feeling when you could chew off your own arm, you’re that hungry? When you worry you might faint if your chosen recipe takes longer than five minutes to cook… It really is a small miracle when at a time like this you...
The Călușari are a secret society who are said to ward off dark magic through their dance. It’s also the name of this Romanian wine you can buy here or in certain wine shops dotted around the UK. It’s light-bodied yet full of dark flavour –...
If your garden is anything like mine then you’ll have plenty of stinging nettles in it at this time of year.This is in fact the ideal time of year to cook with them, as they are still young. Once they have flowered, they are too...
I have brought you a little gift from Greece – cheese pie. This recipe belongs to Vaso’s mum, but I have had to adapt it slightly to suit UK ingredients. Make the filling by squishing the feta and lightly beaten eggs together. Add black pepper and...
I’m in Greece doing non-specific, food-related research. That may sound like I’m just on holiday and eating a lot… which is partly true… But I’m also collecting recipes, which I will cook and tell you about when back home.
There’s something that happens when I’m about to get on a plane. I always manage to either miss my flight or create some kind of unnecessary drama. Even when in other areas of my life I feel calm and content, the time comes to catch...
The sun is shining and London is in a good mood. This is the positive side of living somewhere where the weather in unpredictable – when the sun does come out, the whole city is on a natural high. My friend, Ash, tells me that...
I have eaten many, many chocolate mousses in the 34 years I have spent on this planet. Anja’s chocolate mousse has been my favourite, closely followed by the one served at Saint Janou in Paris. I have attempted to make many chocolate mousses too. Some...
Early Spring, with it’s constantly changing moods, can bring about a melancholy in me. I have to remind myself that life isn’t just about bright sunshine and balmy Summer evenings; that we need the rain, wind and grey moments too. I am impatient for the...
It’s too easy to live a life filled with anxiety, frustration and stress, especially in a city like London. The more we want to move away from negative emotions, the more they stalk us. I’ve found that the only way is through: to accept that...
It dawned on me today, as I was sitting cross-legged on a quiet, sunny spot on the South Downs, my unkempt hair falling across my bare, shiny face, that I turn into a complete crusty when I’m in Eastbourne. It’s something about being so near...
There is a Russian saying that “life begins and ends with a blini”, which shows the true value of these mini pancakes in that part of the world. I’m not trying to suggest that blinis are given to babies in Russia, I expect that the...
Everyone loves scones. I always forget how much I do until I inadvertently try one, then I’m just all over them. Can’t stop. The shop-bought ones are fluffy admittedly, but often unhealthy, laden with sugar and fats, so when I realized I was going to...
I crave simplicity in the midst of chaos. This is especially true of Friday nights when all I want to do is get home as quickly as possible and is stay in, drinking green tea and eating wholesome food. Certainly no alcohol. By no means...
In Poland, and throughout most of Eastern Europe, soups will probably be made with animal stock. If you are a vegetarian – beware – you may think you are safe ordering a vegetable soup, and the maker of it may not even consider the bones...
Due to my recent diet of cinnamon bagels, pasta, bread and cheese, my body has been craving vitamins. It’s not that I’ve been completely unhealthy. I am still doing my kundalini kriya every day, in fact I have now built up my upper body strength...
I take pleasure in the passage of time. Some people lament loosing their youth and feel like their best years are behind them in their 30s – I’m the polar opposite of that. There is nothing I miss about being younger. I prefer my body...
My cat, Coco, caught a mouse a few days ago. I tried to release the small creature, as it had no external wounds, but I quickly realized that it was having some kind of heart attack or stroke, and that it was dying. I picked...
When a relationship ends, I am usually massively emotional, full of feelings of loss, and introspective about what went wrong. In my current situation, I am so shocked by the amount of lies and manipulation, that I have become eerily calm and empty. I have...
January has started to make sense to me. It is a month which I would suggest we all fill with friends and plans: sharing food and hugs with the ones we love, while dreaming of what the year ahead may hold. Coming up with new...
This warm Winter vegetable salad was inspired by the one I ate on a fun evening out at Bedford&Strand. In actual fact, I can’t remember much about that salad apart from that it was absolutely delicious and that it contained a vegetable that I hadn’t...
Kasha (“kasza” in Polish), or grains, are such a common food stuff here that actually we have sayings about them. For example, a person may be described as someone who “doesn’t let anyone blow on their kasha”, meaning that they don’t let anyone boss them...
I’ve had some kind of awful throat infection the past week, so I haven’t been able to get much food down me, yet I’ve been craving Chilli Con Carne – melt-in-the-mouth beef and vegetables filling me with warm, spicy goodness. The Chilli that I make...
It’s just a snack, but it was so tasty I’d feel bad if I didn’t share it with you Take a piece of rye bread and toast it. Meanwhile, mash a soft avocado with some sea salt, half a red chilli and a bit of...
I love the smell of dried, wild mushrooms so much that when I open the box, I can barely tear them away from my nose. Recently, my mum asked my auntie whether she’d taken any of her wild mushrooms that were standing in the kitchen,...
There are few foods in this world that are quite as sexy as French toast drizzled in honey. Yet the dangerous voluptuousness of the classic recipe has made it a once-in-a-blue-moon treat. So imagine my glee at discovering that French toast can be made healthy...
Perhaps it’s my grandma’s recent departing or perhaps it’s that I’m working on a book on this very subject, but Polish food is playing the leading role in my life right now. This is a reworking of a classic vegetarian sauerkraut stew, which we would...
It’s a strange kind of sadness when your last grandparent dies. Of course, at 33, my childhood is long behind me, yet while any grandparent still lives, there is still a connection, someone who still sees you in that way. My Babcia Halinka was born...
I’m going through a bit of a veggie phase right now, coming up with random combos of vegetables with various sauces and spices. This okra and black bean West Indian style curry was a particularly tasty invention I stir-fried some chopped fresh ginger, chilli and...
I know that hearty soups without meat do exist (I’m sure they do), and I certainly do not feel the need to eat meat every day of the week, yet I have found that the addition of meaty goodness is what constitutes a hearty soup...
October is one of my favourite times of the year. I like the slight nip in the air, the fact that the sun still comes out often enough for me to run by the canal a few times a week and I especially like the...
It simply wouldn’t be Autumn without you being inundated with my pumpkin experiments. So here we go. This is my take on the traditional Polish recipe of “Apple Placki”. If you would like to try the original recipe, then simply replace the pumpkin bits with...
I have been traveling for ever now it seems like. Living out of a suitcase, waiting for delayed planes, lost luggage and suspected terrorists. Meeting friends in unlikely places, swimming in any bit of water I can find, whether it’s a sea, ocean or an...
By coming to Los Angeles I have unintentionally extended my Summer. It’s about 31 degrees C here during the day! I have also made my friend Simone, who moved here a couple of years back, very happy. She’s been a little stressed writing her book,...
It’s the second year in a row that I’ve ended up in Sardinia, so it’s fair to say that I am a little bit in love the place. This time round, I was there for over two weeks. I went to a festival and travelled...
You know how I love simplicity. In food and in life, though the “in life” bit doesn’t always come as easily. In the kitchen I am in control, whereas in life there are many conflicting forces at work, people who think and feel differently to...
When I was working all the time I imagined that having free time in London would be massively productive. In actual fact, I have become a cat. I sleep, I sunbathe, I eat, I meditate, I run in the park, make love and stretch, write...
I’ve had the strangest few weeks in ways that I can’t even begin to explain. I haven’t been cooking much, as attention has been focused inwards. I think in time I will appreciate that this was an important period for me, my personal development, yet...
When left to my own devices for the day, I seldom do more than cook and write, interjected with spurts of yoga to wildy inappropriate music (dubstep yoga anyone?) and perhaps a spot of meditation once I’m feeling a bit frazzled. It was on a...
I believe that challenges help us evolve. This standpoint informs most of my life decisions, so I never choose people or situations that will make my life easy. I’m not saying that this is always the best approach, it’s just how it is for me,...
This is how I like to eat when I am by the sea I really can’t recommend this fish shop on the seafront in Eastbourne enough. I cooked the clams simply, in cider, adding a bit of crushed garlic, seasoning and a bay leaf, and...
Ah those dreamy days… You know the ones I mean – when it feels like you are receiving a special gift from the universe: the sun is shining, you are in the right place at the right time, old friends reappear as if by magic...
After an impromptu barbeque last week, I found a freezer filled with mini Snickers ice-creams, which inspired me to make this particular iced coffee. I’ve been messing about with various recipes all this week, and finally today, I have arrived at the perfect one which...
So, it’s my first day off in London in a looong time. It’s boiling hot. I slept in deliciously until about 11am, then rolled out of bed and warmed up the placki I made for my friend, Ayesha, yesterday. Ayesha loves potatoes. This morning I...
Life is full of unsung heroes – invisible people that make your life better in small ways and don’t ask for anything in return. And food is the same. Normally, I don’t blog about every little thing that crosses my lips, every ordinary pasta dish...
This is the most refreshing cocktail I’ve ever had, perfect for a Summer evening, or even afternoon. It is only beer after all (with the tiniest bit of rum). I adapted the recipe from the one I tried at The Rum Kitchen a few weeks...
Although I’m not a massive baker and probably never will be for the simple reason that I prefer savoury food, now and again baking can be really fun. Especially making up your unusual flavour combinations, I love that. Today, I was in a Caribbean mood...
To fully commit to “city-life” and live happily within in, you need to find your balance. For me, that sometimes means cancelling all my plans and mooching around my flat, having a bath, cooking something I really feel like and painting my nails. The important...
Pancakes are such a Sunday food. Easy to put together, they’re ideal for a lazy brunch or even supper after a hard day of playing on the banks of the river Thames, looking for hidden treasures as I’ve been doing today (this is not a...
I’m going to start by saying something jaw-droppingly controversial: I don’t think the weather has been that bad this Spring. There, I said it. OK, it’s been massively changeable, we’ve had rain, we’ve had sun, and now I’ve actually caught a cold… but actually when...
Can you miss yourself? Because that’s how I’ve felt recently. Tonight was the first proper, whole evening I’ve had just chilling by myself for what feels like forever. In the past few months there’s been a lot of work, city-travel, late nights, early mornings of...
During my long search for the perfect breakfast, I realized that my reasoning was inherently flawed. What is obvious to me now is that the perfect breakfast depends on the time of year, on where you are on the planet, and where you are in...
Back when it was Spring, last Monday, we held our annual picnic under the cherry blossoms. The tradition started a couple of years ago with the Japanese Sakura as a model. In Japan they get a day off to relax, eat and drink under the...
One of the first questions I was asked on my return from Poland was whether I was living on £1 a day. I thought it was a reference to my new freelance status until the concept was explained to me. Even though I have no...
When you start craving salads instead of sweets or steak, you know it’s time for a detox. Unfortuntely, being on a detox in Poland is really hard work. I’ve been trying to avoid butter and sugar – really not a huge ask – and yet...
As I’ve been on the road recently I haven’t been cooking much, but I would like to show off this bento I made for my mum (and myself) for our plane journey to Gdańsk. When I was a child I used to love plane food....
Paris holds a special place in my heart. I have been here countless times, but our special relationship began when I was 19. I came here with my best friend for Valentine’s Day and we met some Israeli guys. They were in Paris to meet...
I’ve been travelling a lot over the past few weeks and eating plenty of good food, but one meal has stuck with me. I’m on the road again tomorrow so if I don’t tell you about it now, it will be lost in the vortex...
Since going on my diet a week ago (all I’m doing is not eating sugar or processed foods really), I have had to deal with temptation in many guises. First, Petey tempts me with a Snickers late at night because I may be tired of...
As I get older I really start to appreciate good wines. Not in a superior “look-at-how- sophisticated- I- am” kind of way, more in a natural ” I-just-know-what’s-good-now” way. Like with men. And this Croatian wine, it’s really good. If you ever see a donkey...
I’ve fallen in love with Williamsburg. It’s incredibly hip but also open and friendly: the perfect combination. If you plan on hanging out here then I would recommend this Korean restaurant on Grand Street for a cheap, healthy and delicious meal… Dokebi You may know...
The Winter refuses to give way to Spring. It has outstayed it’s welcome in the most appalling way here in London. On days like this I can’t help but reflect on the passing of time, going through sunny, old photos on facebook, feeling older than...
I have a rather unusual living situation at the moment in that my friend, Petey, has moved on to my couch for a couple of months. He’s leaving for NYC soon to be with his love and needs to save money, so he convinced me...
One of my favourite things about Madrid – along with the fun people; a “clandestino” night club I found myself in at 8am that Sunday; and a massage here – is the food. Spanish food is everything I love – simple, unpretentious and natural. There were...
I’ve been a bit slack with blogging recently. There’s a lot going on in my life right now, a kind of transition time I guess and I’m in the middle of figuring out my priorities and new routines. I have a few things that I...
Eating certain foods, even their smell, has the power to take you back in time. There’s the obvious dishes associated with certain countries and there’s the more subtle – corn-on-the-cob, for example, will always make me think of childhood summers spent in Hungary, Spanish rosé...
Having partied away the last few days away in Madrid, I’m really very proud to have been motivated enough to make a bento for work on my return. It must be testament of the effectiveness of this little course I’ve been taking online. And I...
I freely admit that neatness and attention to detail are not my strong points. I’m all about rustic food and a laissez-faire attitude. And yet I am fascinated by bento and love the whole concept of a well-presented, home-made lunch. So when the opportunity to...
Last Saturday my brother and I rented a van, loaded it up with unwanted furniture and drove down to Eastbourne, on the South Coast. It was a beautiful, sunny weekend, more Spring than Winter, full of champagne (it was dad’s birthday) and delicious food, with...
You’d be forgiven for thinking that I have deserted my old favourite, the humble flapjack, for more exciting pastures. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth – I make sugar-free flapjacks at least once a fortnight and have become quite the expert. And...
When it’s cold out, I love to play mad scientist in the kitchen. So this pasta is a kind of a Frankenstein’s monster that’s actually turned out damn tasty. Though still green, of course – my metaphor is perfect! I used spinach trottole, that’s why...
I’ve never been massively into baking, but now I’ve understood why some people find it therapeutic and enjoyable. Yesterday, I had one of the most pleasurable baking experiences in my whole life while making these honey and ginger biscuits. There was something about the warm...
I should have told you about this earlier. I don’t know why I didn’t – the time never seemed right until now. And black garlic hummus is a dark and seductive thing – sweet yet intense, strange yet familiar, it definitely lends itself to being...
This Winter has been all about congee for me, in it’s infinite varieties. But this one you see here, this one with the spinach and garlic and soya sauce, may well be the best one yet. Congee is an Asian rice soup, in case you’re...
As much as I love to make plans, sometimes I love to cancel plans even more. This is precisely what I did today, resulting in one incredibly pleasant Saturday. If you are lucky enough to be able to cancel everything and have a duvet day,...
Sometimes it takes a cold, dark month and a party full of people you’ve never met before to make you realize what a good place you’re at in your life My peace of mind hasn’t come easily, and I’m trying not to grasp onto it,...
Sometime in the 1940s Lesley Blanch wrote a rather unusual cookbook for her time – Around the World in 80 Dishes. In it, she wrote this: “…There is a popular misconception that southern food is rich and that southern passions run high. Nothing could be...
I remember eating this salad for the first time in St Petersburg. It was in the same building that Pushkin had his last glass of water – or it could have been a lemonade, no one is sure – before he went off to his...
It’s cold outside, I’m broke, I miss my ex and I’m worried that my cat wants to leave me for the insane woman down the road. Yet I also know that this sad time is the perfect moment to reflect on the past year and...
We all get a bit stuck in our ways sometimes, it’s human nature to want to hold on to things we know, yet it’s important to keep moving forward. And this is why my brother, my dad and me decided to have a vodka tasting....
The Cinnamon rolls were meant to be easy. Just a bit of dough, rolled up with some butter and cinnamon inside, only a few ingredients. Well, let me tell you the life lesson I learnt today: don’t expect things to be easy. Apparently, the Dalei Lama...
This salad is my own invention and it’s become one of my favourites of late. I’m eating it in many different ways – as a filling for jacket potatoes; with grilled, smoked mackerel, sweet potato mash and hot sauce; or simply on top of freshly...
Before I fall asleep at night, or sometimes in the morning as I wake up, I think about what my favourite part of the last day was. It puts things into perspective for me and shows me what I love. And what I’m loving most...
Last weekend my friend, Astrid, held her annual Christmas baking session. We made many varieties of cookie while drinking Prosecco and mulled wine, including all these ones, but today I want to tell you about beautiful Miriam’s little men. This is yet another German Christmas...
It’s a sad fact about love that the more you give, the more you stand to loose. It’s no wonder so many people are afraid of taking that risk. It’s a choice we’re faced with many times in life. Every time we start a new...
Usually, I go to Poland twice a year – for Christmas and during the Summer. Yet this year, my original homeland has been calling me back again and again. First, to see my grandma Ziuta before her death, then her funeral in March… Then it...
…and a side-serving of heartbreak. I’m just kidding – on the side we had 2 delicious, unpasteurized, vegetarian cheeses from The Deli Downstairs: Ardrahan and Triclemore. That’s not to say that I’m not heartbroken right now, but I’m not serving that up for lunch. For...
This caramelly, brown, sweet-tangy goat’s cheese won’t be to everyone’s taste, but I rather liked it on brown bread with butter I imagine it’s good toasted too, perhaps with some honey… and my friend Lana who brought it back from Norway said that they often...
Fish preparation and knife skills at the Open Kitchen is not for the faint-hearted. The mackerel was a bloodbath for a start But I also learned various techniques of chopping vegetables and how to delicately fillet a plaice. The most important thing I took away...
It’s weird to think now that there were times in my life when I was unhappy with my body. I have been within a couple of kilograms of my perfect weight for many years now, and I eat and drink pretty much whatever I want....
Having been working in a Scandi department for 6 months now, I am finding myself under the influence. My style is getting a little bit more cool and paired down, I find myself visiting the Nordic Bakery every time I am near Regents Street, I’ve...
Tiny, dried fish in my congee remind me of Thailand This congee I top with fish sauce, chillies and spring onion. I cooked the rice with a couple of chicken carcasses and a bit of sea salt, nothing else. LT, who doesn’t usually feel like breakfast...
If you’re ever looked at a vegetable and thought of those weird little creatures in Harry Potter, then you have probably seen a Mooli. It’s a Japanese radish I was told in the shop, but I think I’ve tried it in Chinese cuisine, and I...
The clouds are lifting! And all it took in this case was a little bit of self-nurture. I think it’s too easy to forget to really, fully look after yourself when living in a busy city. Also, as women we are often conditioned to believe that...
The grouse season is short this year. I’m not using code, I mean that sentence completely literally. I’m trying to explain (to myself as much as anyone) how on earth I paid £12.50 for one of those birds down there (the dark one). It’s pretty bloody expensive. The...
I’m getting into this whole congee thing. Just as there are infinite varieties of porridge, it’s the same with congee. This is a vegetarian one I made, by cooking white jasmine rice and butternut squash for about 3 hours in loads of water. I also...
The table at Anchor & Hope looked as if it was set for a Medieval feast – figs with parma ham, slices of what I believe was wild boar with grapes, cod roe and my favourite – chicken liver and fois gras parfais. This was...
I’ve decided to get my not-so-healthy butt on a massive, Chinese health kick. I’ve been on many Western health kicks and detoxes but I’m ready to try something different. To say I am unhealthy does not feel completely accurate, I am much healthier than I...
I don’t know how familiar you are with the saga of my garden. I started off optimistic, then I realized a few things about myself, which was promptly followed by an overly pessimistic phase. Now, I am trying a different way, which does not involve growing...
Look, some meals, like people, just aren’t that photogenic And we all know this doesn’t make them any less worthwhile. Sometimes, in fact, it’s the opposite. Just as you wouldn’t want all your friends to be models, it would also be unhealthy to be too...
On first meeting you, people often ask what you do and where you come from. I dislike both those questions for different reasons. The “what do you do” question I feel limited by, because what I do in my day job isn’t all that I...
All year I miss the sunchine, I crave it, and then when it finally comes, like the weekend that I made Ottolenghi’s sweet potato gratin and burnt aubergine salad, I turn into a complete wuss and can hardly move. I have become too accustomed to...
Finally we have Summer in London! This means beers and barbecues, dinners outside on pavements, leisurely night-time strolls and plenty of ice-cream. At least for me. I don’t have an ice-cream maker, so I just stir. It’s still the simplest thing in the world Although...
The best food discovery I made on my holiday in Sardinia has to be “Bottarga”. The discovery was made on the second night there, when I couldn’t tear away myself from the clam shells that were covered in it. It’s like cat nip, I remarked to LT. So...
I know I should be writing about Sardinian food right now, but yesterday I went to the FEAST food festival on St. Thomas’ Street in London Bridge and it kind of changed things for me I ate delicious Ceviche from The Last Days of Pisco,...
…Is the best brunch I’ve ever eaten. No that’s a lie, Eggs Benedicte and a Bloody Mary somewhere in New York is probably my favourite ever, but this comes a close second It’s a combination of eggs, tomatoes, sausage, feta and peppers. The description said there was spinach...
According to Chinese Medicine living in a place like the UK, as well as eating processed foods and sugar will increase our chances of catching damp-related disorders. Now, I’m certainly not an expert in Chinese Medicine, but I am interested in various life-and-food philosophies. I’ve...
I’m starting to think that no matter how good you feel, how sorted you are in life, if you have the predisposition to loose control, then sooner or later, it will happen. Perhaps with time, as you get to know yourself better, mellow with age,...
While we’re on the subject of going out, here’s a great little place in east London. I came here with a few international girlfriends last week to eat dinner, drink Blueberry Mojitos and discuss life. It made me think about how much I love interesting women....
It’s been a sociable time for little old me recently, and I’ve discovered some cool new spots, which I would like to share with you (of course). Last night a few of us went to Evans & Peel. A small, old-fashioned door off the Earl’s Court Road leads...
Sometimes life gets a little hectic. There are so many things to do, projects to finish, people to see… It’s a time when priorities are changing but I haven’t quite decided how yet. All you can do is follow your instincts at this point. And...
I bought a whole Brillat Savarin Tripe Creme from The Deli Downstairs a couple of weeks ago, but stupidly, I didn’t write down what it was called. It’s just the most delicious cheese and we ate the whole thing in an afternoon, so perhaps I subconsciously...
I know, I know it’s Summer now, but Spring Greens are still in season in June and I don’t want you to miss out on this recipe. In Poland, we make this with young, leafy cabbage in the springtime, which gives it a sweeter flavour,...
Have you ever tried sea spinach? It’s sharper than normal spinach and makes a great salad. You can also braise it and eat it with butter. Buy it from your fishmonger
Ah, Belgrade. If you’re not aware as yet, I have totally fallen in love with the place. It’s beautiful, interesting and romantic, what else do you need? Actually, there’s also chemistry, and Belgrade definitely has that in spades – an energy that can’t really be...
If you are looking for a detox where an Absinthe cocktail on the second day is allowed and you don’t need to spend two weeks miserably brewing herbal infusions while your friends go out and have fun, then you’ve come to the right blog. My...
I have just returned from a short stay in Belgrade, which I will tell you all about as soon as I’ve had a moment to digest it all. It’s one of those places that stays with you, and despite the short amount of time I...
My parents have decided to sell the house in Eastbourne. We knew it was coming, as they’ve been talking about it for a long time. When our Dreszcz was alive (that’s our beautiful boxer dog), they said they were keeping it for his sake and...
London’s hot, so I’m all about salads right now This is one I found through Pinterest, on sweet sugarbean, and been meaning to make for a while now. Have you discovered Pinterest yet by the way? It’s a virtual scrapbook – very cool But of course,...
Some of the best moments in my life so far have been spent cooking with people I love. Whenever I look back on any special occasion from my childhood, it was the moments spent in the kitchen beforehand that were often more fun than the...
Today was the day for my monthly Vietnamese shop experiment. Red amaranth I discovered last time. Although this time it was a lot more red when cooked with the same sauce as before, perhaps because I stir-fried it for longer… the colour was fantastic I...
As a rule, I prefer to make my food from scratch. If I didn’t, then I probably wouldn’t be here (writing my blog, I mean, not as in I wouldn’t exist). However, rules always have an exception, right? So after a long day, 3 cakes...
The bluebells have been out in my garden for about a month now. Every weekend, I’ve been staring at them longingly through the rain on my window, hoping for a few hours of sunshine, so I can get my BBQ out. Today, finally, it happened....
It’s British asparagus season so it annoys me to see asparagus flown in from Peru still on the shelf at Tesco’s. Why why why. Anyway, if you want to read my opinions on these matters, then read this (there’s a few extra exclamation marks than...
I’ve told you about Jose on Bermondsey Street in London Bridge, which I love. Jose is teeny tiny, so the same people opened another restaurant about 5 months ago, just down the road. It’s called Pizarro and we went there yesterday, because waiting 45min for...
I know, I know I’ve just returned from Lanzarote, started a new job, so what on earth am I doing in Basque Country? Having the time of my life actually, but yes it does seem like everything happens at once in my life. Months and months...
Having read my last blog post, a friend said that if they were Lanzarote they would feel hurt, which made me feel sad for the poor, bleak little island. The truth is that I had a brilliant holiday with my family, it’s just the landscape was...
I can’t say that I love Lanzarote. I find this volcanic and barren landscape oppressive But the people are sweet. And you have to admire their perserverence when it comes to wine, because it can’t be easy growing anything here. They produce wine in the...
…Is a really good idea My mate Mike’s girlfriend organized a surprise birthday brunch for him last weekend and we had a brilliant afternoon There are three brunch options – an English one, a continental one and a massive one. We had the continental, with...
Last year, a tradition started – though to be fair, the Japanese have been doing it for centuries – of a picnic under the cherry blossoms. Then, we bought lots of lovely things from the deli next to Victoria Park and drank sangria. This time I...
I was killing some time in an Asian supermarket yesterday, and came across some pretty purple leaves called “red amaranth”. Luckily, there was a description of what to do with them – the Chinese use red amaranth as a vegetable in stir-fries, whereas the Vietnamese...
I think I may have the best family in the world. OK, so my parents used to forget to pick me up from school, argue constantly and have some consistency issues, but they sure are making up for it now that we are all grown...
Last week I understood why funerals were invented. For me it wasn’t about saying goodbye, because my gran wasn’t there anymore and I was lucky enough to be able to do that a few weeks ago. This is a time to show respect for the...
I don’t mean to be big-headed, but I have, through sheer coincidence, stumbled upon genius here I have a habit of clearing out the fridge before I go anywhere and so I was doing this last night before I set off for my gran’s funeral, and I discovered...
This past month has been one of the hardest in my life. Not in a horrible, traumatic way (see when I was breaking up with my ex two years ago), but in a natural, growing kind of a way. Of course, there have been times...
I would love to tell you about the dinner of Polish tapas (przekaski) I made on Friday night, the little potato cakes, spicy beetroot salad and Polish cauliflower in breadcrumbs, the vodka poached pears which set the pan on fire and Tommy bravely blew out…...
Ok, there is no way I can spin this to make it seem like a part of my detox. But in my defense, when someone invites you to dinner at Gourmet San, you don’t refuse Especially if they’re one of your best friends and a Hong...
I have been on my detox for less than a week and I haven’t been entirely faithful. I’ve had a swig of coke, a glass of Pinot Grigio, a couple of oaty biscuits that looked healthy but actually had many ungodly things in them like...
Overbearing sadness, that’s what I keep coming back to. I’m glad that I’ve finally pinned down this emotion and defined it. I have moments of weird giddiness, of both rational and irrational anger, but underneath it all I know that it’s this feeling I am trying...
This wondrous spotted creature is my savoury porridge It’s loosely based on these breakfast soups that I eat in Thailand, which are made out of rice – a British version, I guess. I cooked the oats with water and a little salt, then added some beef...
You may be wondering what exactly is so avant-garde about chocolate and banana pancakes. Well, it depends on how you use the banana. I didn’t mean to make that sound perverted in any way, so I hope that’s not how you’re reading it. Today, I...
As I was describing to my friend on Friday how my mum was stuffing a chicken with liver in preparation for our weekend at home, I saw a horrified expression slowly spread across her lovely face and I realized that this recipe isn’t going to...
Quinoa cakes – what an amazing idea! I got it from this guy, who got it from this lady, who I imagine got it from… the Peruvians? Or perhaps the chain was even longer that that, no matter. These are different, as I adapted them...
Since you are still reading this you must be a pretty open-minded individual. You may pat yourself on the back if so inclined As I scoffed this just a moment ago, I realized that it pays to be open-minded. It’s another strange and unusual way...
I was starting to worry that I’d lost my knack with flapjacks… But it turns out that I really haven’t. You just shouldn’t eat them as soon as they’re out of the oven, because they need time to set. I ate three in this warm, crumbly...
I’ve had a lot of trouble with my hoofs. I’m talking about those little potato dumplings down there. Sometimes the simplest things can be the hardest, because, as we all know from Julie and Julia, simple does not mean easy. And yet I firmly believe that...
I’ve been thinking a lot about vegetables recently. I miss the summer ones so much, but i don’t want to eat them if they’re flown in from Peru. Nothing tastes that great after such a long journey. And for some reason winter vegetables have stopped...
The thing about me and pasta is that it’s my go-to food when I don’t have time or can’t be bothered. Theo Randall’s book (Pasta) has got me thinking about it in a different way. With more care perhaps. I had fusilli in the cupboard...
I once read somewhere, that in a certain part of Italy the fishermen eat spaghetti with courgettes, olive oil and garlic on days when they have no fish. For some reason, I have remembered this little fact for years. This will surprise anyone who knows...
When it’s dark and cold as you get up in the morning, dark and cold as you leave work, and grey for most of the time in between, you need to try and bring some sunshine into your life in any way you can. And this...
I just have to tell you about this dish I ate at Little Hanoi (147 Curtain Road) not long ago, because I’ve never had anything like it and my mouth still waters at the memory! It’s called Cha Ca La Vong and it is a...
I was inspired to make cabbage soup by this lovely lady. However, the only ingredients out of the ones I needed for Bess’s ketchupy soup was an onion, cabbage and ketchup, and that didn’t sound too appetizing, so I actually made a completely different cabbage...
I came across this book at a friend’s house and was immediately mesmerized by it. Food Landscapes – what? why? And yet… These were a couple of my favourites. I mean, a salmon sea at sunset – genius. And that little house down there surrounded...
Hello! I’m still here, I just haven’t been blogging as much as I’d like to be recently. I might have mentioned before that I have an emotional relationship with food. And so when my emotions are all over the shop, as they have been recently,...
The Experiment: Stuffing onions The Outcome Conclusion: Some things shouldn’t be stuffed The Solution: Blend the cooked onions with cannellini beans, fresh rosemary, some olive oil or a bit of butter, and salt and pepper for a delicious bean dip to have with bread, vegetables...
I try to keep New Year’s simple, as from experience I know that this one evening of the year has the most potential to go horribly wrong. At least for me anyway, most people seem to think that it’s the best night of the year...
Since the excesses of Christmas, it’s been all about Japanese food for me. So it was fitting that my friend Mariana invited me over to hers to make sushi on Friday night. It was loads of fun, and apparently I’m an extremely gifted roller. It...
Although reading cookbooks is one of my favourite things in this world, I normally struggle to find even a handful of recipes that I really want to try out. Yet there is one book that I have renewed three times already and never, ever want...
We are not a religious family. And yet around Christmas my mum likes to pretend we are, and we all like to go along with it, even though it makes no sense at all. So on Friday, were fasted. Traditionally, you fast on Christmas Eve,...
I’ve had a lot of crap birthdays. It may be something to do with my birthday being so close to Christmas (21st December)… But this year I decided to have a fabulous one instead. I started celebrating on Friday 16th and felt like it was...
My no-sugar resolution has gone to the dogs. Or perhaps the reindeers, since it’s all the fault of Christmas. It’s difficult to work out exactly where this slippery slope began, but if I absolutely had to point my finger somewhere, I would point it in...
Without actively disliking her, I’ve never been a massive fan of Gwyneth Paltrow. Probably completely unfairly, I found her vaguely annoying. I think she reminded me of someone at school or something, one of those competitive, over-achieving types of girls… But all is forgiven now...
I can be such a bad friend sometimes. When I have a guest visiting me, I use it as an excuse to do stuff that I really want to do. Instead of trying to find out where my friend wants to go for dinner, what...
This is possibly the messiest breakfast I have ever made It’s also one of the most delicious. I cook the oats with either goat’s milk or soya milk, a pinch of salt, a large teaspoon of honey and pomegranate seeds. If you get the seeds...
I loved having my mum come to stay last week, even though my flat is so tidy now, that I can’t find a thing. Not that it’s usually massively messy, I’m just quite laissez-faire while my mum’s standards are very, very high. It caused a...
I have walked past here a few times now and always wanted to go in and sample the tasty-looking tapas – it looks just like a typical little restaurant you’d find in Barcelona. In fact, it is one. Except that it’s in London Bridge. It’s new...
It takes a mean drink to drag me away from my dirty (read filthy) vodka martinis. Meet Silver Bullet It’s 1.5 measures vodka to 1 measure Kummel A Silver Bullet is ideal as an aperitif, because of the slight bitter note that sharpens the appetite....
So Japanese-Polish-Russian fusion – don’t ever say that I don’t show you anything new. I’m being fasetious, of course, normally I would never attempt something like this. It brings to mind the time we were in a chalet in the French Alps and the guy...
I was going to say that if you’re a patient person, then Koya is the best place to eat a cheap meal in Soho. But I’m one of the most impatient people I know and I still loved it, so that doesn’t really work. I...
I have a confession to make. I though girolles were chanterelles for years. Until this very day actually, when I went to Borough Market with my dad and all became clear. Well, kind of. I’m still confused as to what chanterelles are to be perfectly...
I went to Eastbourne at the weekend. I used to hate it there as a teenager (“where are the cool shops/bars/clubs?”) but with time I’ve grown to appreciate this sleepy seaside town. I love walking on the South Downs, trawling the charity shops and watching...
One of the few good things about working in the arse-end of nowhere, is that you are close to the countryside. In our case, that means Osterley Park and a great farm shop selling fruit and vegetables grown on the grounds. I always get tempted...
Juniper berries aren’t so common in British cuisine. Which is strange since they are so typical of this country that in Poland they are literally called “the English herb”. They are used a lot over there Check my little bento box out! The herring was...
Because I’m worth it. And so are you… There’s no better way to recover from a successful Saturday night, than by lounging in bed with tea, warm food and plenty of reading material (cookbooks in my case). The bagels are from the bagel shop on...
Vegetarians look away now – it’s shooting season in the UK and the butcher shops are full of pheasant, partridge, grouse and wild rabbit. I am typing this while eating a delicious rabbit and spinach stew/soup (depending on how you look at it), the recipe for which I would...
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I am trying not to eat (processed) sugar. It’s become a bit of an ongoing joke at work, because I blatantly do still eat it. The point is, I am trying. I definitely don’t eat it every day now. You...
I’ve been incredibly busy recently. I have so many projects going on outside of my full time job, that everyone keeps saying to me “you must be really tired”. The truth is that I’m really not. I feel like I’ve stumbled upon a secret –...
You may be wondering what’s going on with all the flapjack recipes recently. The truth is, since I liberated myself from the maple and sesame flapjack, there’s been a bit of an oaty orgy going on at my house. So here were are – another brilliant...
I had another one of my impromptu Paris trips this week, to see an old friend, and would like to recommend a restaurant (which was recommended to us) even though it is a little on the pricey side. The whole of Paris appears to be...
A heat-wave’s hit London, so I’ve been eating out a lot recently. When it’s boiling hot here, everyone goes out. The thing is, if London was sunny and warm the whole time, it just wouldn’t be London. But when it is… it’s the best place...
Talking of being the least green fingered person you’re ever likely to meet, I tried to move some courgette leaves off the grass the other day and completely pulled out the whole bunch, with roots and everything. I don’t know how it happened. Either I’m superwoman, or...
If any of my neighbours looked out of the window this morning and saw me kicking the door of my shed, they’d be forgiven for thinking that I don’t particularly enjoy gardening. They would, however, be wrong. Despite my momentary anger at the shed door,...
When you’ve had the best flapjacks in the world, it’s hard to then try a different recipe. There’s such a massive risk of disappointment. And it feels a bit like cheating. Even though you know that the maple flapjacks will always take you back with...
I’ve had one of those incredibly busy and satisfying Saturdays. I went to the doctor, did the laundry, worked on a grant application, went to an exhibition with some friends, caught up with them over a margarita, did some research at the British Library, bought...
I have recently joined Hackney Library, which has a surprisingly wide and varied selection of cookbooks. As I am embarking on the massive project of writing a cookbook myself, I’m really interested in reading other peoples’ work, seeing all the many different ways you can...
Although I’m back in Autumnal London now, I still have one thing left to tell you about from Poland. It’s one of my all time favourite dishes – plum dumplings. We used tiny little plums for these we call “the Hungarians”, or if you want...
Driving from Poland to Holland isn’t as bad as I remember it being back in the day. We now have a whole 300km of motorway, you know, somewhere in the middle of the route from Warsaw to the border. Which leaves only 3 or 4...
Gofry, or waffles, were a rare treat during the bleak communist era They’re still as delicious now as they were then, the only difference being the massive choice of toppings. Up there on the left, is a cinnamon apple one with cream, and on the...
If you read this blog, then you may know already that in the summer, just like the Spanish eat gazpacho, we the Polaks, eat chlodnik. A couple of days ago, we tried something completely different and a little bit naughty – instead of the traditional...
In my family “pascha” (the sweet, not the club) was considered to be a Jewish dish, but the recipe we used is apparently Russian. Everything is quite mixed up in this part of the world. Especially the people, myself included. Although I’m Polish, my dad’s...
I’ve been thinking about this Polish summery salad for a while now. It’s been “following me”, as they say back in the homeland. And even though I’m off to Poland at the end of the week, I couldn’t wait. Besides, I make it in my...
I love these napkins! Apparently, you can get toilet paper like this too, from the pound shop in Dalston
All around the world, when ill, people eat chicken soup. One of the best is a really simple Polish/Jewish- style one called rosol. My mum and gran used to make it all the time when I was little. Once I was so ill that it...
Discovered some great new wines in Friday’s wine tasting at City Beverage. We were tasting various wines from California but my favourites were from the Wente Estate Vinyards, which double up as a yoga school apparently. Wine and yoga, what an amazing life! Myself and...
If a garden reflects the person that it belongs to then I must be at least slightly wild My peas and pumpkins appear to have vanished, and the courgettes and broad beans are doing whatever they please. Which is nice for them (I’m going to...
As I am writing this, a helicopter is hovering right over my flat (at least it sounds like it) and gangs of youths are heading towards the main drag, while normal people are heading away. Being very close to Mare Street in Hackney is a...
One of the things I love about Eastbourne is that there seem to be lots of worse drivers than me. I also love the way that the sea changes all the time It’s been great spending the weekend with my old man. I don’t know think...
This shake wins the best summer beverage prize hands down for me And that’s coming from someone who doesn’t particularly like coffee. You need a blender, some instant coffee, honey, ice cubes and good quality milk. The milk is key – I use full cream...
I love meat. I also love animals. So when I see images like I did the other day from Elmkirk abattoir, it causes me a massive amount of stress and conflict. What to do? I tried to find out where they supply to, hoping to...
I made plans to go to Eastbourne and hang out with my dad this weekend. Then I changed my mind. About five times actually, back and forth (luckily, my dad is extremely chilled out). I’ve been doing that a lot recently and I’ll tell you...
I love unusual cookbooks and this one that my friend gave me tops the weirdness charts It’s put together by SPACE studios and each recipe is from a different artist. It goes from hugely surreal recipes like Worm Sandwich, Cornish Pebbles on a bed of Concrete...
It never ceases to amaze me how despite all the differences between the people and cultures around the world, you can find similarities between the various cuisines. So, while you may think sashimi and sake is a flavour exclusive to Japan, I actually ate something...
It all began, rather predictably, with a Greek salad. Here it is on my friend’s terrace, with Don Vito, the feta-cheese-loving-dog, looking on… And here it is again without the eager face of anticipation lurking in the background It had to be done, basically. There’s...
I have so much to write about and so little time. I have just returned from Greece for one night, and tomorrow I’m off to the Cotswolds. But what I want to tell you about first, is the weekend before I went on holiday, when I...
In a strange way, being completely broke can be quite fulfilling. You sort out your living space rather than going out and getting drunk, you sell stuff that you don’t need or use on ebay rather than buying more clutter, and you use up all...
Sometimes, only the simplest ingredients in the most classic combinations will do… I found the recipe for parmesan and basil tomatoes in the Observer a couple of weeks ago, and wondered why I hadn’t thought of baking them like this before – drizzled with olive...
This is a salad inspired by my friend Lou Lou and a sandwich that we ate together last weekend in Oxford. I had no idea that beetroot and goat’s cheese went together so well. You also need something nutty in this salad – I used...
The Trout is where Lou Lou’s grand parents spent the one night of their honeymoon sometime in the 1940s, so when I went to visit her in Oxford, we had to come here. They had one night before he had to return to the army,...
I never thought I cared for spring much, preferring hazy summer days and golden autumn with that smoky smell. Then this year it came around and, completely unexpectedly, filled me with hope. The smell of grass and earth and young flowers awoke in me the...
If I had to choose only one food to eat for the rest of my life… then I’d probably choose cheese. I love it so much that I find it very difficult to walk past a Neal’s Yard Dairy without making any purchases. Since I...
At certain times of the year, it just feels instinctively right to be eating certain foods. In the Autumn, I go mad for squashes – you’ve probably deduced this from the sheer amount of squash recipes that you are presented with around that time. In the...
I have an easygoing cooking style, improvising on the ingredients and/or techniques more often than not. I keep in mind the millions of people that have made a particular dish throughout history and all the hundreds of people that are probably cooking it right at...
What an amazing, wild Saturday night I had last weekend. And, boy did I pay for it. In short, lets just say that it’s been a long week, and there was only one thing for it – beans on toast. I believe this to be...
So I had this amazing bulgur wheat salad at the Boddington Cafe (we finally got a table, whoop whoop!) a couple of weeks ago, and I decided to make a pearl barley version, since I am constantly looking for ways to reinvent it, and I...
I just have to tell you a little bit about my garden, and specifically about the vegetable patch. As a novice gardener, I am excited about every tiny thing that happens there. A few weeks ago I planted peas, broad beans, courgettes, pumpkin, radishes and...
We are having the most glorious spring that I can ever remember. The weather in the UK right now makes me deliriously happy all the time – that’s the great thing about living in a country where you expect it to rain – it makes...
I love cooking with other people because you always learn something new, even when the person cooking with you feels like they have nothing to teach you. That down there is a picture of a couple of curries myself and my cooking-partner, Dan, made before...
So these are the kind of things that I have been eating for the past week That’s some lightly smoked salmon with roast vegetable quinoa up there. I boiled the quinoa, and blanched the purple broccoli while the diced courgette and red pepper were roasting...
I started my Spring detox yesterday. People always tell me that I don’t need to do it and that detoxes don’t work, but I can feel that my one one does. I feel crap for the first three days -even though I eat loads of...
Sometimes I feel like I am on a one-woman mission to popularize pearl barley. I go on and on about how cheap it is, how tasty and how good for you. But I won’t bore you with that lecture today, because I’m a bit bored...
After deciding that I couldn’t live without the £300 cardigan, I dragged my ill self to Selfridges on Saturday to finally be reunited with it. However, the reunion was not to be a happy one… we spent a crazy half an hour in the changing...
I am truly terrible with money – every month I work out my finances and it all seems fine, and every month there’s a at least a few days where I am completely and utterly broke, and end up putting random meals together from whatever...
Ironically, ever since pancake day I have acquired an unquenchable desire for pancakes, and am eating them loads. I use this recipe, which Mariana would argue is a crepe recipe not a pancake one, but I honestly can’t work out what the actual difference is....
It’s been a week since coming back from Tenerife, and now all that’s left is lovely memories. How fast time flies. There’s one thing I haven’t written about yet from that trip, which I’d like to mention – it was the one day I saw...
Eating fresh fish while overlooking the sea has to be one of the best things life, and it’s what I’ve been looking forward to a lot before this holiday – sitting in the sun, sipping wine, feeling the sea breeze, and trying all the lovely...
My friend, Dan, cooked a lovely dinner for me on Sunday night. It was an Indonesian dish, which he said is called something like “Cow Pat” – nice. I said that if it was good, it would feature on my blog, so being the competitive...
I’ve never cooked West Indian food before. I don’t know why that is, because I do love it a lot. So when a guy at work suggested I try to make ackee and saltfish, I took it up as a bit of a challenge. I...
There’s a few things that I want to write about, but as this is where I went to eat tonight and it’s fresh in my mind, I’ll start right here. Mamuska is a canteen-style place, where you order at the counter and come pick your...
I’ve been trying, and failing miserably, to give up processed sugar in January. I feel that I’m addicted to it, and I’ve come to point in my life where I’d rather not be addicted to anything. Being in my 30s has made me rather sensible...
I realize that that down there doesn’t look like much, but it was the best beef bourguignon I have ever made, so I have to share the recipe with you quick before I forget it, as it was one of those instinctive, improvisational ones I...
I was stood up by my own father today. I wish I could say that this is a new low, but actually it’s more of a long-standing tradition in my family Anyway, this is where we always go out to eat when my dad is...
When will I ever learn not to get drunk on Sundays? Really, I’m old enough to know better The thing is that, recently, my weekends have actually been quite sensible, it’s just those bloody Sundays I can’t get under control. Of course, it’s always fun...
I really, really love it when, just when you least expect it, life gives you a little present. Like today, for no apparent reason, I had the nicest Bank Holiday Monday. I managed to do all the things that make me happy (well, most of...
I’ve been a bit out of sorts lately so no wonder my new year’s chocolate mousse turned into what looked like a bowl of poo, and didn’t taste much better. Sad face. I tried to simplify all the recipes I’ve seen to create a healthier...
Oh why is baking so messy? I feel like my whole life is covered in a layer of icing sugar and green tea powder. I’m not averse to getting a little down and dirty when cooking, but I really don’t like cleaning up. But these...
So, as you might know already, in Poland, Christmas Eve is the big deal, when you are supposed to have 12-13 dishes (for the apostles), all consisting of fish and vegetables. You are, in theory at least, fasting “Ryba po grecku” is always my...
My mum made me the loveliest birthday cake for my birthday, which I’d like to share with you She then proceeded to loose me in a shopping centre, which took me back to being 5 again, some things never change…
Just a quickie today, before I head off to the airport and hope to take off for Poland. There’s always a massive drama about getting there, with everyone literally praying for my safe arrival, and hoping that my luck hasn’t run out on me just...
The Penbury Tavern has been the one constant in my life since I moved to Hackney. Ok, so if any of my friends are reading, I am being a little dramatic, and of course, they are always my constant. But it terms of pubs, it...
There’s these little cakes, individually wrapped, that I can only ever find in Spain. And only randomly, in some parts of Spain, but not in others. They are my favourite cakes in the world, and it pains me that I only ever get to enjoy...
So winter is well and truly here And yet I still have one more pumkin recipe for you. It’s the ultimate pumpkin recipe really, as it is the one I grew up with. As I am at my parents’ house in Eastbourne, and there has...
You know you’re ill when you nearly cry in the supermarket because you are faced with what seems like a ridiculously large choice of honeys, and all you want is just one of them, but you have no idea which one that is. OK, so...
Last weekend was pretty perfect Amongst other things, on Saturday I went to the Ministry of Food exhibition which has inspired me to grow my own vegetables. I have toyed with the idea before, but now it’s going to happen. I even raked my whole...
I found this recipe in the Guardian weekend supplement that someone had left on the train and liked the simplicity of it, as well as the photo, which made it look very tasty and just like the sort of thing I like to eat at...
Perhaps I am a little obsessed with pumpkins right now But the season only comes round once a year, right? That’s not a rhetorical question – I have no idea if what I’m saying is actually true, but i assume that’s the case, because it seems to...
For Halloween, a small group of us left London for the village of Syston (though I called it Cistern for most of the time I was there) in the East Midlands…this is where our mate, Ed, is living before he makes the permanent move to...
It’s that time of the year again… The nights are closing in and there’s a nip in the air, who wouldn’t want some pumpkin soup? This is one I made last week for myself and my uncle Kazik who is staying with me right now,...
Just a quickie today to mention my favourite restaurant in China Town. New World is hidden down a side street off the main drag (Gerrard Place), but it’s worth the (tiny) detour. It’s definitely not the slickest of the lot and you will most likely...
I have finally got a kitchen! Well, sort of – it’s still full of crap and dust – I have a cooker, a sink and a working fridge, that’s the main thing… And since I ate waaay too much brie at work today, I decided to...
I have to admit that, what my friend, Magda, innocently pointed out, is true – I have been more than a little hedonistic of late. However, it’s not because I have decided to go off the rails, or because I have finally cracked. I believe...
I haven’t been cooking much recently. Partly because I still don’t have a fridge, and partly because I am feeling a bit lazy. In a nice way. I am relishing the fact that it’s just me and I can do, and eat, anything I want,...
Is it weird that I didn’t notice that my fridge wasn’t working until a week after I got it? That, in fact, it had never worked… I was so happy to have one, and it was so lovely and shiny that I completely disregarded the...
Spain feels so far away now. It was an amazing holiday, I haven’t laughed so much for a long time, and will always have fantastic memories of chilling by the pool with sangria, strolling around Valencia at night and singing along to crap tunes while...
Oh it hasn’t been easy. I have been buying a flat, and the dates had moved forward so many times that I had to exchange while I was on holiday (my phone bill is going to be humongous). This was further complicated by the fact...
God, I deserve a holiday. And perhaps even a medal. Moving house is really hard. And I hate packing. And buying is extremely stressful. I have someone moving in literally on top of me on Saturday, and anything could still potentially go wrong with the...
There are few things better than clothes swapping and a girly lunch on a Sunday afternoon. Now some girls may be satisfied with a chicken salad or something equally dainty, but me and Rubes just ain’t those type of girls. I needed to make something...
So these little oat and yoghurt pots are my favourite breakfast at the moment. I am one of those people who is hungry every two hours, and oats are one of the few things that really fill me up. And as it’s too warm to...
I am almost satiated with seasonal berries. I have been eating them in different forms almost every day – I miss them so much throughout the year, that I have to get my fill in the summer months. And I’m so nearly there… but before...
I went fruit picking in Oxford at the weekend and ended up with masses of berries in the fridge, so I had to figure out something to do with them all. I also had some gelatine staring down at me from the shelf in an...
I learnt this dead easy garlic soup recipe when I posed the question at work: “what dish can I make with stale bread?”. My friend from the Basque country suggested garlic soup, and it was by far the best sounding option. In fact, it sounded...
I work in Isleworth, so for the past year and a half that I have been here, the only distraction I have had is walking around Tesco’s in my lunch hour. You can, therefore, imagine my joy to have recently discovered Osterley Park – a...
I know, I know, it sounds weird. But in Poland we often eat pasta in sweet dishes. And it is so delicious, and so easy to make that I had to write about it. At this time of year, blueberries are in abundance, so we...
So as you know, I have a bee in my bonnet about Polish food being misrepresented in the UK, with, for example, bigos being served on food stands in the summer. Why anyone would want to eat heavy sauerkraut stew on a hot day is...
This is a very special recipe that Auntie Krysia has been perfecting for years and years (she’s nearly 80). We planned a surprise party for gran, so Krysia (her sister) came down from Olsztyn for the day, bringing her revered potato cake. We warmed it...
“Chlodnik” is the Polish “gazpacho”. Instead of tomatoes we use beetroot, however, as well as plenty of yoghurt. It’s perfect for hot days, and once you make it, you can keep it in the fridge for days. We ate it with boiled eggs, but it...
Poland was unbelievably hot, just how I love it. If you are thinking of going, and you like your weather hot, go in June or July – for the past four years I have been going in August and always catching the storms. No more....
I discovered this dish when reading an article about various local dishes in different parts of Europe – it is the only part of the article that stuck with me for some reason. Apparently, it is a very common dish for fisherman in a certain...
Most Sundays I have some friends over to mine for a roast. Last Sunday, it was lamb with roast potatoes and onions, peas, and mint sauce while we watched England loose painfully to Germany. Almost every week I used to make the same soup from...
I almost didn’t come here, as I couldn’t get through to anyone to book a table. In the end, I called another Rushmore group restaurant and booked a table through them – so that’s a good tip if they forget to turn their answering machine...
How can you not want to make cakes with a name like “nun’s farts”? Well, actually I imagine some people might not find the name that appealing, but for me, along with the simplest recipe in the world, it was a “fait accompli”, or something...
I have decided to start following the Fife Diet. Luckily for me, this doesn’t actually mean any form of dieting, but simply eating as much local produce as possible. I haven’t ordered a veggie box just yet, but started off by going to a local...
For me, summer means rose. I start drinking it around April or May, on warmer days, to remind myself that summer is coming, and don’t stop til October. That way, the great British summer feels as long as it possibly can I want to tell...
I love eating outside! The weather was so crap all day on Friday, and then as we left work, the sun came out – what a miracle! I had a couple of old friends, Rob and Jim, coming over for dinner, and decided to cheat...
The cuisine that I remember from my childhood in Poland was always seasonal. We would eat this kind of cold soup on hot summer days, sitting under a fruit tree in someone’s garden or dacha. You can use all sorts of fruit – sour cherry...
I am discovering that there are certain advantages to being single: you are no longer ruled by your mobile phone; you don’t have to rush, or even look at the time; you can watch anything you want on TV; and you have the freedom to...
This is not your typical teriyaki marinade, as it’s not Japanese. I learnt it from my Korean friend, Cat, about 10 years ago, and she got the recipe from her mum. It has now not only become part of my repertoire but also been passed...
Sometimes all you want is some lentils and rice – simple, nourishing food. There are so many different ways of making dhaal, that I have a different method of each different type of lentil. Yesterday, I used green lentils. These need to soak in cold...
A few days ago I had a dream about making milk soup, or “zupa mleczna”. In my dream, I used cannelloni, which is completely inappropriate, and accidently put paprika in it. I have no idea what my sub-conscious was trying to to tell me (perhaps...
I am back in Eastbourne for the weekend – I forgot all my camera bit and pieces, that’s why I haven’t written for a week. Since I am by the sea, I decided to cook a fishy dinner. And if you’re going to do that...
I have to be honest, I messed up the tomato soup. But it still turned out good. I spent ages cooking, tasting, adding ingredients to get the taste just right, and then I messed it all up by putting way, way too much rice in....
Polish food has a reputation for being meaty and stodgy. This isn’t entirely unwarrented of course, but, there are many lighter, meat-free, lesser-known dishes, which I would like to bring to someone’s (anyone’s) attention. One of these is this spinach dish, which my mum used...
I woke up this morning to find I have finally grown some balls. Not literally, thank god, but I woke up with a strong feeling that enough is enough. I will own my suffering now, so that I never have to feel like this in...
I’m terrible at break-ups so I am pretty much in hell right now. However, I need to remember these things do happen, and life goes on. I am lucky that I have the support of my unconventional but loving family, and loyal friends. My aunt...
I haven’t been blogging much recently as I haven’t really been eating. I have lost nearly a stone already on the break-up diet, which consists of cigarettes, the odd piece of toast and gallons of wine, and promises to take about five years off your...
Food is like love to me – when I am happy and content, I express it with cooking and I enjoy every bite I eat. However, when I feel heartbroken and sad like now Jamie has gone, I view food almost with suspicion. It’s not...
There’s no other word to describe my Easter, other than “traumatic”, hence my failure to keep up with the blogging recently. But before all the trauma, there was my mum’s lovely low fat cheesecake, which is ridiculously easy to make. My mum measures everything in...
I personally think that the full English breakfast at Hackney City Farm fits the bill quite well. All the food is free range and tastes fresh and flavoursome, not greasy. The price of about £7 (with extra for a cup of tea or coffee) also...
I haven’t had the best luck recently and today my oven went insane when I was attempting to cook my Sunday roast. When it rains it really pours in my life it seems. I have cooked hands of pork many times before, as they are...
We were supposed to be house-sitting for a friend and looking after Bosley the Boston terrier for one night. But then me and Jamie fell out and I spent the whole weekend in a lovely house in Turnham Green. Thank God for this little cafe/deli…...
Despite having dilemas about what to eat for breakfast during the week, I never have any problem choosing what to have for a weekend breakfast, when I have time to go to the shops for supplies and mess around in the kitchen. This is one...
Sometimes it takes a long time to fully appreciate a gift. When my friend, Matt, gave me Claudia Roden’s new book of Middle-Eastern food, I felt that it was a thoughtful gift, since I’m into cooking, but I didn’t realise that this book was going...
The lady at the wine fair called this her “10 o’clock wine”, and she meant in the morning. Even though I have never drunk it at this time (and probably wouldn’t admit it if I had), I know what she means. Although it is a...
When I am in a far away land, such as Thailand, I mainly miss two things about Europe – wine and cheese. This is why I am writing today’s blog while sipping a glass of white Rioja and scoffing Wensleydale cheese that Jamie brought back...
I have eaten some great food in Bangkok. However, first I just want to mention some of the weirder stuff that has challenged me in one way or another. We’re staying at Pantip Court on Sathorn Road (great hotel btw and good value for money),...
I find blogging in Thailand slightly frustrating. Even though internet is readily available everywhere, I seem to encounter constant problems. I can’t upload photos, or the wireless cuts out, or my card runs out, as happened tonight, and I lost my whole blog. So despite...
I am lucky to even be writing this today – many complications had to be overcome and even as I am writing this I am being attacked by mosquitoes and flies and worried that the power could cut off any minute (we literally had to...
There’s as many bigos recipes in Poland as there are households I imagine, and mine changes from year to year. But some things never change – you only eat bigos when it’s cold and in a group of family or friends. It’s perfect for sharing,...
Just a quick nod to my favourite local restaurant today- it’s Thai Vista on Roman Road in Bethnal Green (just round the corner). Now, in my opinion the three most important factors of a good local are: lovely, fresh food, friendly service and good value...
I’m not really a “pudding person”. Perhaps this is because I struggle with self control at times. However, at this time of year, cold Sundays are crying out for a warming traditional English pud. And bread and butter is an old classic (it was invented...
Mes Amis is where I go when I stay at my friend Anna’s house in Hammersmith. It may be close to impossible to find if you don’t live in the area. For those who do, it’s a well loved little restaurant, and always full to...
Last night we had a great night making dumplings at my friend Mariana’s house. It was easy, as we bought ready-made dumpling “skins” from a Vietnamese shop. And it turned out that even inexperience can’t make a dumpling taste bad – they were all delicious!...
And we start at the beginning: breakfast. I have yet to find the perfect breakfast and so far the month of January has been dedicated to that search The healthy breakfast was where it all began, me being on a post-Xmas detox. On a cold,...
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