Slow mornings with Royal Doulton & Ellen DeGeneres collection + a recipe for PROPER WAFFLES


When I think of Poland, where I come from, and my family home, I think of the big wooden table that stood in the middle of the living room. That table has always been the heart of the house, the heart of the family. Gosh. Everything happened there. Literally EVERYTHING.

I’d be sitting there fighting with my brothers over who eats the last piece of mum’s apple cake, flipping cottage cheese at each other during breakfast time, we’d be playing cards, throwing dice, paint, do the homework, then put a perfectly ironed tablecloth to get it ready for a family dinner. All the family celebrations happened around that table: birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas. All the aunties, uncles, cousins would come, and everyone had their ‘own’ favourite spot.

Just a piece of furniture you’d think but it has seen it all: the homemade seasonal pies, countless cups of tea, spilled milk, Sunday roast, and all those lazy weekend breakfasts. It witnessed all the laughs and cries, the good times and the bad times too. It holds all the memories.





And there I am in my own, little house, with my own little family, with our own (not so little) wooden table in the middle of the room. And it feels like home. It feels like home because we can sit together, share the food, share the joys and the troubles, have friends round and make memories. Oh the simple things in life! They make the life worth living. And those simple things like a meal together, a smile, a hug, holding hands, a kind word or the smell of freshly made waffles might feel small at the time, but when you look back you realize how magical and BIG they really are.






All these beautiful plates you can see here in this post are just a lovely reminder of what really is important in life.
Designed by Royal Doulton and one of my favourite people and a role model Ellen DeGeneres and inspired by the casual entertaining at home, each plate, bowl and mug has a world ‘love’ written in the centre. Such a warm and positive touch! The look on the face of my loved ones when they finish the meal is just priceless. I am with Ellen on this one for sure – all the world needs these days is more love, joy and kindness…..maybe some more waffles too, slow mornings and more time spend together.

I’ve used Royal Doulton tableware for a long while now (this favourite set of mine, for example), and the quality always makes every meal special. Can you tell blue is my favourite colour? So I am just going to mix & match them to breath in some fresh air into my tableware. Happy!

Check out the Royal Doulton collection here : www.royaldoulton.co.uk , Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

 

Sooooo, the waffles! Can you actually smell them? I don’t think there is anything better than the smell of freshly made waffles! Seriously!!!

If you don’t have a waffle maker yet, I HIGHLY recommend you get one or put it on your Birthday list. You really won’t regret it! This recipe is my favourite and although it requires resting the batter for one hour, trust me, it will be worth the waiting! It’s truly the best recipe and I don’t make any other waffles now.

 

OVERNIGHT OAT JARS + GIVEAWAY

*This post was created in partnership with Quaker Oats UK

 

Good morning lovely people!

It’s 6.03 and the world is still asleep while I am eagerly typing this post. Yeah, that means much hasn’t changed on my end, I am still one of those annoying people that call themselves ‘a morning person’.

But mornings have a bad reputation!

Just think about it.A beginning of a new day.A new blank page of our life.The smell of possibility in the morning and a chance to do things that make us truly happy. What’s there not to like!?

But for me it’s even more that this. It’s actually the only time of the day I can plan, before things get really crazy, so these magical,serene moments that happen just before the noise of the outside world leaks into my day, are something I learnt to celebrate. And I celebrate in the sloooooow way!

While the snooze button is very tempting to press(no judgement!I totally get you!), how we start our morning sets the tone for the whole day.


But don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t mean that I don’t like my bed. Quite the opposite! Of course I do! Mornings spend in bed are always my best. So that’s why I’ve teamed up with Quaker Oats UK, they made me fall in love with overnight oats all over again, and I earn extra 10 minutes in the morning to enjoy my breakfast in bed and relax! That’s my GLOAT MOMENT!




And whether you are in a ‘morning club’ or not, a happy oat jar smiling at you first thing in the morning is always a win! And how cute is that designed jar with tiny figs printed all over it? Super cute! So if you’re in the UK, you can claim one of these lovely jars by buying one of the promotional 1kg box of Quaker Porridge Oats OR by entering the competition where you can win 5x of the specially designed jars.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So, are you hungry yet? Here is a super delicious recipe for you!

 

Breakfast in bed

1a
It would be rather cheeky to call this a recipe.A croissant with a few salad leaves,a handful of chestnut mushrooms sautéed with a small knob of butter,some garlic,a pinch of thyme and a fried egg.No extraordinary ingredients,no innovative methods of preparation…Naaaah!It’s not a real recipe,is it?But trust me it tastes freaking amazing!

So let’s say it’s something different…Let’s say…it’s not a recipe but….an inspiration.An INSPIRATION to learn to relax,cook something simple,because simplicity can be amazing too and to have breakfast in bed from time to time!We live in such a mad world,why not slow down and spoil ourselves sometimes?

3
I’m an inspiration hunter.My whole life is based on the inspirations I take from what surrounds me,what I see,what I hear and what I taste.I look around,have my eyes wide open and pay attention,because you never know when it’s going to hit you.But when it does,you’ll know straight away!Your heart will beat like crazy.And the best thing is that the same thing or situation can inspire everyone differently.

6a

Ever since I remember, I’ve had a problem to stick to the recipes.Not being disrespectful to chefs and recipe authors,I’ll be forever grateful to them for inspiring me so immensely,but we are all different,and we all like different things, and we all have different experience….and we not always have all the needed ingredients to hand,do we? 🙂

So,I let these recipes to inspire me.I twist them.Let them run trough me.I experiment and improvise a lot.Sometime it works, sometimes it doesn’t.But I always learn something,and that’s to me more important than ‘playing safe’.

Cooking is one of the most awesome things on the planet(just after taking pictures!).It can be so much fun(if we let it be) and it shouldn’t be taken too seriously.And most importantly,it should suit ‘YOUR’ taste buds.So please,take my ideas,my recipes and my photography too, go and do some great things with them,something ‘yours’ and don’t forget to SHARE it with the world.

Because that’s the thing about inspiration…you take it,shape it into something yours and give it back so others(and me!) can draw inspiration from it.It’s like a circle.Isn’t it great?! 😉

 

6a
4b

Inspiration for a breakfast in bed.

You’ll need:

Comfy bed
Cup of tea
Great book

Also:

croissant
salad leaves,rocket salad and baby beetroot leaves
handful of chestnut mushrooms
small knob of butter
few pinches of fresh thyme
little oil
two eggs with the brightest yolk in town 🙂

To do: Preheat the oven to 180C.Melt butter in a pan,add mushrooms and thyme,sautee for few minutes. Cut croissant into two halves and place in the oven for couple of minutes to warm up.
Fry the eggs sunny side up on a little oil.Assemble by placing salad leaves on a warmed croissant halves,top with mushroom and eggs.SLOW DOWN,RELAX AND ENJOY x