...so I'm becoming a chef again...cooking is so creative...like being an artist...preparing marvelous things...I own a Michelin star kitchen...ok, no more boasting. I certainly don't own any Michelin stars ...yet:).Lately I've been a fan of Rachel Allen's "Bake!" series. I learn a lot with every episode. Rachel creates amazing things with simple ingredients and visits these fantastic kitchens of culinary craftsman. Today she visited wedding cake maker.It takes hours to decorate the cake with all those intricate decorations like little petals,roses and other swirly wiggly things...no wonder it costs so much.
My late discoveries are freshly baked scones eaten with butter and jam, delicious carrot cake with orangy creamy cheese topping and muffins. I bought these cute little silicone muffin cups and Nataniel loves them.
I'm thinking of creating my own greenhouse on the balcony.I would like to have some fresh herbs...and other stuff ...yes ,my knowledge on gardening pretty much ends on shop bought herbs, so forgive me my lack of anything in that matter.
The April's book for the book club is amazing one "Let the Great World Spin" by an Irish writer Colum McCann. It's a New York tale of the 70ties. It consists of amazing stories build around man's crossing between World Trade Center towers on a wire. The thing accually happened and there a movie was made last year called: A man on the wire". I didn't see it but the members of the book club said that in spite of being a documentary it really keeps you at the edge of your seat. But back to the stories...Collum's ability to write makes the characters alive and although you meet them only for a split second you can get to their core. The place- New York looks kind of scary though...I haven't finished the novel..so many diversities...so much violence...like everybody has to fight to survive. New York... as big as the whole world.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
I need a hug
It's not easy these days.
On Saturday a plane crushed near Smolensk killing 97 Polish government officials including a President and his wife. This kind of news leaves you in a state of shock.How such a terrible thing could have happened? Why did they land instead of going to the safer airport where there was no fog? The plane was old, the small mostly closed for landing airport was not prepared for accurate navigation. Was is the place and the time that wasn't right. Is the land forever forsaken for it's previous monstrous killings of Polish elite 70 years ago and just wants to be left in peace? It is a horrible news for Poland and even more horrible for the families that are left here to mourn after their relatives and friends. I am so sad it happened and offer my condolences to the ones left behind.
My parents came back to Wroclaw today. It was so good to have them here ...I miss them all the time. I saw them today and next time I will see them in August in Poland. I can't wait. It was our first Easter with my parents in Dublin. They were here for two weeks and helped us a lot as we got a tummy bug and later a cold. I would never have managed taking care of sick Nataniel, Nikodem and being sick myself. So my dear parents thank you for being here and see you next time (bugs and colds are not welcome to take part).
While my parents were here we managed to see "Samson and Delilah" and "A girl with a dragon tattoo". The first one was in IFI so the atmosphere was magical. Before the movie we had a pint a cheese plate in the IFI's cafe and it was delicious. The movie was by Australian director Warwick Thornton and took place mostly in a desert of his homeland. The main characters were natives living in a desert. The boredom and simplicity of living were striking especially as I am used to big cities and opportunities they offer. For me an opportunity for them a scare. There was almost no dialogue. The face expressions and the harsh land said it all.Very interesting take on Australia we are not used to see.
"The girl with a dragon tattoo" was our first time in Lighthouse cinema. It also belongs to the network of "European cinemas" as The IFI or the ACF in Wroclaw so very high marks from us even before entering the building. I wanted to see this movie as this is an adaptation of the Stieg's Larsson's novel with the same title. I wanted to see the Swedish version before Americans make their own one. It was as watching a criminal from the 70ties.The language was amazing. I love how Swedish language sounds. The movie was a bit too long but even if I knew what will happen in the end it made ma sit on the edge of the seat almost to the very last minute. The other thing: Don't they have prettier actors in Sweden? In comparison with American movies where everyone is beautiful this was very striking and realistic. All in all the movie was a good experience for the language and landscape maybe not really to be remembered for the future generations.
On Saturday a plane crushed near Smolensk killing 97 Polish government officials including a President and his wife. This kind of news leaves you in a state of shock.How such a terrible thing could have happened? Why did they land instead of going to the safer airport where there was no fog? The plane was old, the small mostly closed for landing airport was not prepared for accurate navigation. Was is the place and the time that wasn't right. Is the land forever forsaken for it's previous monstrous killings of Polish elite 70 years ago and just wants to be left in peace? It is a horrible news for Poland and even more horrible for the families that are left here to mourn after their relatives and friends. I am so sad it happened and offer my condolences to the ones left behind.
My parents came back to Wroclaw today. It was so good to have them here ...I miss them all the time. I saw them today and next time I will see them in August in Poland. I can't wait. It was our first Easter with my parents in Dublin. They were here for two weeks and helped us a lot as we got a tummy bug and later a cold. I would never have managed taking care of sick Nataniel, Nikodem and being sick myself. So my dear parents thank you for being here and see you next time (bugs and colds are not welcome to take part).
While my parents were here we managed to see "Samson and Delilah" and "A girl with a dragon tattoo". The first one was in IFI so the atmosphere was magical. Before the movie we had a pint a cheese plate in the IFI's cafe and it was delicious. The movie was by Australian director Warwick Thornton and took place mostly in a desert of his homeland. The main characters were natives living in a desert. The boredom and simplicity of living were striking especially as I am used to big cities and opportunities they offer. For me an opportunity for them a scare. There was almost no dialogue. The face expressions and the harsh land said it all.Very interesting take on Australia we are not used to see.
"The girl with a dragon tattoo" was our first time in Lighthouse cinema. It also belongs to the network of "European cinemas" as The IFI or the ACF in Wroclaw so very high marks from us even before entering the building. I wanted to see this movie as this is an adaptation of the Stieg's Larsson's novel with the same title. I wanted to see the Swedish version before Americans make their own one. It was as watching a criminal from the 70ties.The language was amazing. I love how Swedish language sounds. The movie was a bit too long but even if I knew what will happen in the end it made ma sit on the edge of the seat almost to the very last minute. The other thing: Don't they have prettier actors in Sweden? In comparison with American movies where everyone is beautiful this was very striking and realistic. All in all the movie was a good experience for the language and landscape maybe not really to be remembered for the future generations.
Friday, March 26, 2010
The missed book club
The last couple of days have been hard. I got a tummy bug than Nataniel got it from me. It's all better now but we are still recovering. Because of that I missed my yesterday's book club:(. The book for March was "A girl with a dragon tattoo" by Stieg Larsson. The book was amazing. I read it very quickly. The language was perfect-simple and too the point...very Scandinavian. I won't be getting into that book now I will save that for later as my parents are coming over today. I'm so happy. I miss them so much and finally I will be the one to be taken care of ha!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
"Mister Pip" - final conclusion
I finished Mister Pip yesterday and I have to take back the words I wrote about some of the characters and the story line. Dolores, finally made an astonishing impression on me. Her last sacrifice blew me away. I won't tell you what happened as some of you may want to read the story but my point of view changed drastically. Yes, Dolores was the big catalyst of the horrifying events on the island but she redeemed herself completely in the final chapters. And the storyline...it got very emotional towards the end of the book. I cried for half an hour while reading it. Later that night I was so scared that I slept with my son's toy Grover (don't blame me I still love the Sesame Street as much as I was 10).
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Book Three: Lloyd Jones "Mister Pip" ...and shaman's stories
Hello! I'm back again.If only someone invented the self cleaning kitchen I would be so grateful.So here I am with coffee in one hand and a slice of sticky gingerbread in the other. Outside there is a mixture of snow and rain. A dark and dingy day someone might say but I don't mind. I already took Nataniel outside and we sent some photos for my dad for his birthday.I feel so bad for not writing for so long. It's just I've been very busy lately. First of all I probably poisoned my dear son and husband with my delicious bolognese sauce and than I had to cure them for a week. So now I decided to go for more natural cooking. Nigella unfortunately is banned from my kitchen for a while. Now we came back to where we started - simple but delicious food. I have to admit that I'm blessed with such a wonderful son who loves to eat whatever I give him. Last Friday he even ate tofu with vegetables I made. So I make my own yeast free bread now, started to eat quinoa with apples and blueberries for breakfast, made soups with mung and adzuki beans, drink lots of fresh juices. I feel so good, light and with so much energy.
My new book "Mister Pip" is the one I read for the Book Club this week. It's not long. About 220 pages. The story takes place on Bougainville Island (near New Zealand) during the 1990s. It's shaped around a civil war between the natives and the invading redskin soldiers. The main Character -13 year old Matilda - lives on the island with her mother while her father works in Australia. After the invasion the school was closed, many have escaped while they still could. But something amazing happens when the only white man on the island (married to the native) takes up a position as a teacher. He is not trained to do that but I cannot imagine anyone more ready. Mr. Watts, as that's his name, starts to read to the children "Great expectations" written by Charles Dickens. All pupils are thrilled with the story from another world. Every school day is like an escape from terrible things that are happening in their village.I'm still reading the book so please don't blame me for wrong judgements but Mr. Watts seems like a good guy. He befriends Matilda. Very interesting is also the relationship between a girl and her mum Dolores. Dolores is very religious type and disapproves the book reading or rather the impact of the reading on her daughter. For now I can say that I didn't like the mum from the start. She didn't talk to Matilda, she stole the "Great Expectations" with terrible results for the village and she didn't even had dignity to come up clear while she could to prevent the redskins from burning the villagers possessions. It was fascinating to see the relationship people have with the Ocean and it's creatures. It was their whole world and everything depended from the quality of that relationship.One cute example: Grace, wife of Mr. Watts had made a family tree that begins with fish. It's a good read that proves that stories can often have the life changing powers.
My last sentence reminded me about the Northern Exposure. There you can often find a shaman's story that is said to have healing properties. I experience that as with every episode I learn something new, something fascinating that makes me want to think about my life.
As for the weather forecast follow up: It's snowing. Is it a Christmas miracle? I think so!
My new book "Mister Pip" is the one I read for the Book Club this week. It's not long. About 220 pages. The story takes place on Bougainville Island (near New Zealand) during the 1990s. It's shaped around a civil war between the natives and the invading redskin soldiers. The main Character -13 year old Matilda - lives on the island with her mother while her father works in Australia. After the invasion the school was closed, many have escaped while they still could. But something amazing happens when the only white man on the island (married to the native) takes up a position as a teacher. He is not trained to do that but I cannot imagine anyone more ready. Mr. Watts, as that's his name, starts to read to the children "Great expectations" written by Charles Dickens. All pupils are thrilled with the story from another world. Every school day is like an escape from terrible things that are happening in their village.I'm still reading the book so please don't blame me for wrong judgements but Mr. Watts seems like a good guy. He befriends Matilda. Very interesting is also the relationship between a girl and her mum Dolores. Dolores is very religious type and disapproves the book reading or rather the impact of the reading on her daughter. For now I can say that I didn't like the mum from the start. She didn't talk to Matilda, she stole the "Great Expectations" with terrible results for the village and she didn't even had dignity to come up clear while she could to prevent the redskins from burning the villagers possessions. It was fascinating to see the relationship people have with the Ocean and it's creatures. It was their whole world and everything depended from the quality of that relationship.One cute example: Grace, wife of Mr. Watts had made a family tree that begins with fish. It's a good read that proves that stories can often have the life changing powers.
My last sentence reminded me about the Northern Exposure. There you can often find a shaman's story that is said to have healing properties. I experience that as with every episode I learn something new, something fascinating that makes me want to think about my life.
As for the weather forecast follow up: It's snowing. Is it a Christmas miracle? I think so!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Book Two: Cecelia Ahern: "Where Rainbows End"
Pages:584
My new read...well, I've already finished it so not that new I guess...was so hard to put down that I actually ended up reading it till the 1 o'clock at night. It was a story of two best friends Rosie and Alex from the age of six or seven and finished in their fifties. It nearly gave me a heart attack as I wanted the main characters to get together so much. I absolutely loved the story and the idea of writing a book consisting of letters, emails or instant messages only.Cecelia is a genius I can't get enough of her books.
And the Book Club was such a step forward to me. It was exactly how I imagined it would be. There it was, in the library at 6.30 pm, around 10 ladies gathered to discuss a book of the month. It wasn't like school at all, thank God, but more like casual, social gathering of people who love books. I felt so good even on my way there, it was just my thing so instead of a buggy I had a bag full of books. I felt like a student again. The weather was nice and it was a pleasure to walk. I really feel very hopeful in this new journey of mine.I loved the coffee, I loved the friendly faces, the atmosphere. So now I have two books to read for next month: Lloyd Jones "Mister Pip" recommended by Jack and Judy and David Wroblewski's (not Polish though)"Story of Edgar Sawtelle"(Oprah's Book Club). The second one is extra as it won the hearts of all the members of the book club. I'm a bit afraid of that one as it has almost 600 pages, very small print and not so easy to read language (maybe that's how they write in Wisconsin) so keep your fingers crossed.
Now the most important part: Thankfully I don't have much time to read now as I WRITE. I write, write and write and feel excellent and I really love that. Hopefully in 3 months I'll finish it and then I can start preparing myself, Nik and Nataniel for the big trip to Australia. I want to go there for few years now and maybe now it will finally come true.
As for my cooking skills they seem to take a break as lately my beetroot cake looked like a volcano and my seafood sauce...was good ...but cold (I forgot to warm it up before pouring over the potatoes during a party with our friends from Dundalk). I'm forgetful again. If I wasn't sure I would think that I'm pregnant(it was like my head went for holidays during the whole 9 months). Eh, hopefully the phase will pass and I'll be a Super Dooper Master Chef again.
My new read...well, I've already finished it so not that new I guess...was so hard to put down that I actually ended up reading it till the 1 o'clock at night. It was a story of two best friends Rosie and Alex from the age of six or seven and finished in their fifties. It nearly gave me a heart attack as I wanted the main characters to get together so much. I absolutely loved the story and the idea of writing a book consisting of letters, emails or instant messages only.Cecelia is a genius I can't get enough of her books.
And the Book Club was such a step forward to me. It was exactly how I imagined it would be. There it was, in the library at 6.30 pm, around 10 ladies gathered to discuss a book of the month. It wasn't like school at all, thank God, but more like casual, social gathering of people who love books. I felt so good even on my way there, it was just my thing so instead of a buggy I had a bag full of books. I felt like a student again. The weather was nice and it was a pleasure to walk. I really feel very hopeful in this new journey of mine.I loved the coffee, I loved the friendly faces, the atmosphere. So now I have two books to read for next month: Lloyd Jones "Mister Pip" recommended by Jack and Judy and David Wroblewski's (not Polish though)"Story of Edgar Sawtelle"(Oprah's Book Club). The second one is extra as it won the hearts of all the members of the book club. I'm a bit afraid of that one as it has almost 600 pages, very small print and not so easy to read language (maybe that's how they write in Wisconsin) so keep your fingers crossed.
Now the most important part: Thankfully I don't have much time to read now as I WRITE. I write, write and write and feel excellent and I really love that. Hopefully in 3 months I'll finish it and then I can start preparing myself, Nik and Nataniel for the big trip to Australia. I want to go there for few years now and maybe now it will finally come true.
As for my cooking skills they seem to take a break as lately my beetroot cake looked like a volcano and my seafood sauce...was good ...but cold (I forgot to warm it up before pouring over the potatoes during a party with our friends from Dundalk). I'm forgetful again. If I wasn't sure I would think that I'm pregnant(it was like my head went for holidays during the whole 9 months). Eh, hopefully the phase will pass and I'll be a Super Dooper Master Chef again.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Chef at home
Dear friends,
I would have never thought that I will fall in love with cooking,ever! But it happened.With this blog, my book and fascinating food discoveries I feel that I finally have found myself. This took me 27 years !!!
Last Saturday I watched the 1st episode of Chef at home. The host is a Canadian chef Michael Smith. He talks so passionately about ingredients that fire your imagination, about beautiful tomatoes, herbs, smells, creating new tastes that it changed my point of view. It's not about spending hours in the kitchen but about spending hours in the kitchen having fun!
So the title of the first episode was: Easy Asian Beef Stew. So a couple of hours later (including a trip to the shop) I was tasting an incredible combination of beef, ginger and...oranges. One of the ingredients was orange marmalade which I made from scratch!!! It was so much fun. The marmalade, orange juice, soy sauce (Dorota, it's still the same bottle you bought:))with bean sprouts and spinach in the end it literally blew my mind away. I made that? The effort was so worth it. Nik and I devoured it in 3 minutes but somehow we managed to take a picture (it was was torture though as it postponed the eating:)).
God bless Canada!
I would have never thought that I will fall in love with cooking,ever! But it happened.With this blog, my book and fascinating food discoveries I feel that I finally have found myself. This took me 27 years !!!
Last Saturday I watched the 1st episode of Chef at home. The host is a Canadian chef Michael Smith. He talks so passionately about ingredients that fire your imagination, about beautiful tomatoes, herbs, smells, creating new tastes that it changed my point of view. It's not about spending hours in the kitchen but about spending hours in the kitchen having fun!
So the title of the first episode was: Easy Asian Beef Stew. So a couple of hours later (including a trip to the shop) I was tasting an incredible combination of beef, ginger and...oranges. One of the ingredients was orange marmalade which I made from scratch!!! It was so much fun. The marmalade, orange juice, soy sauce (Dorota, it's still the same bottle you bought:))with bean sprouts and spinach in the end it literally blew my mind away. I made that? The effort was so worth it. Nik and I devoured it in 3 minutes but somehow we managed to take a picture (it was was torture though as it postponed the eating:)).
God bless Canada!
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