Baked plums

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Hi there!How are you beguiling the time during this long,cold October evenings?Any good ideas I can steal?

I’m hibernating cocooned in a warm, thick blanket, with an iron teapot filled with my favourite flamingo green tea and a stack of books to read on my bedside table. Finally I’ve got time to read!(Although I wouldn’t mind to have more time for more reading.)I’m glad that winter is coming as my book wish list hit number 56(!!!Am I crazy or what?!), so I’ve got a lot of reading ahead 🙂 When I browse through the books on cold days like these I always have this urgent cinnamon cravings(and I’m not pregnant!) So I can’t help it but read, eat cinnamon(in any form) and sip tea.These are my kind of evenings.I might be the most boring girl in the world, but the best thing is I’m not bored at all!

These plums are not only great for bookworms.You’ll love this aroma! It’s just a pure insanity!I don’t know how I could buy fragrant candles in the past to fill my house with a cosy smell,if all I needed to do was place some plums with cinnamon, vanilla, honey and oranges in the oven. And in contrast to candles,you can also eat them.And they taste damn good 🙂

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RECIPE:

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/8 lb (500g) plums,halved and stoned
1 vanilla pod
1 cinnamon stick
3/4 cups (200ml) orange juice
2 tablespoons clear raw honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

To serve with:few spoonfuls of Greek-style yoghurt and a handful of walnuts.

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 18oC (356f/Gas 4).
2. Put the plums in an oven dish, skin side down.
3. Cut vanilla pod lengthwise and remove the seeds. Place the pod’s halves and cinnamon stick in a tray.Mix the vanilla seeds with orange juice, honey and ground cinnamon.
4.Pour the mixture over the plums and place in the oven for 25-35 minutes until they are tender but still “in shape”. The cooking time will depend on how ripe the plums are.Serve with Greek-style yoghurt and walnut pieces.

Enjoy x

Moroccan-style stew with poached eggs

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That feeling…when you are so hungry you could eat a horse with it’s horseshoes(just a polish saying),so you dash home, open a fridge and there is nothing left expect for the light. Ok, there also were a couple of eggs,some mushrooms, a cup of cooked chickpeas and half a marrow(vegetable) left.I know! Scrambled eggs,maybe?Ohhh there also was half a jar of tomato puree.Right!It struck me like a lighting bolt.Gas on, frying pan on, spices, lots of spices……20 minutes later I’ve magicked up this dish!I am a freaking genius! *dancing*. Believe me,when I normally act like this and claim to be a genius, a minute later, after sampling my ”awesome-to-be” dish it turns out,it’s not really that awesome…But this time it really is a hit!*still dancing*

Isn’t it weird that the next morning, I opened a magazine at work and the first thing I saw in bold,capital letter was:
”What is a work of art if not the artist struggle against her or his limitations.”by Saul Steinberg. Thank you my empty fridge for being my limitation!Otherwise I would be eating the same old 🙂

This “work of art”(I love this expression!) is my recent favourite dish 🙂

 

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RECIPE:

SERVES: 2 hungry ones or 4 not so hungry 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

4-5 shallots or small brown onions,diced
1-2 tablespoons of your favourite oil
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 cardamom pod (you only need seeds in this recipe)
2 garlic cloves,crushed
1 small chilli pepper,chopped
1 1/2 cups (150g) chestnut mushrooms,chunkily sliced
1 cup(150g) cooked chickpeas
1 cup marrow (vegetable), diced
1 cup (225g) tomato puree
1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cups (300-350ml )of water + 5 tablespoons
salt and pepper,freshly grounded

Additionally:
4 eggs

METHOD:

1. In a medium pan,brown the onions with oil.
2.Make a paste:in a cup combine turmeric,coriander,cumin,cardamom seeds,garlic and chilli pepper. Add 5 tablespoons of water, mix to make a paste.If it’s still quite dry add few more drops of water.
3.Mix the paste with the onions and add mushrooms.Keep stirring for couple of minutes until mushroom soften a bit.
4.Add water and tomato puree and bring to boil.
5.Add marrow or courgettes and chickpeas and let it cook until the vegetables are soft(around 10-15 minutes). Season with salt and pepper.
6.In the meantime pouch the eggs.(yum,yum)
7.Divide the dish into 4 bowls and place an egg on the top . Garnish with fresh coriander.

Enjoy as much as I do xxx