Polish tradition on Holy Saturday

This is our basket this year

This is basket from last year decorated by my mum - flowers are from our garden!

One of the Easter traditions in Poland is blessing of the Easter baskets. Baskets containing a sampling of Easter foods are brought to church to be blessed on Holy Saturday. The basket is traditionally lined with a white linen or lace napkin and decorated with sprigs of boxwood, the typical Easter evergreen. It is a great fun to prepare a decorative and tasteful basket with crisp linens, occasionally embroidered for the occasion, and boxwood and ribbon woven through the handle. Ever since I was a little kid, I loved to see the creativity of other parishioners - some have little fluffy chickens and others some eggs decorated in a beautiful patterns (pisanki).

The foods in the baskets have a symbolic meaning:

• eggs - symbolise life and Christ's resurrection
• bread - symbolic of Jesus
• salt - represents purification
• horseradish - symbolic of the bitter sacrifice of Christ.

The food blessed in the church remains untouched according to local traditions until either Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning.

Some new scented candles and oils

I love when the flat smells yummy and fresh, especially since living in a big city can deprive you of nature and long walks in the countryside (or dashing to your garden for some fresh flowers). 

I am an avid user of The Body Shop fragrance oils - I love cranberry one during Christmas time and fresh lemon and green tea for spring. I recently ran out of these two and I was overwhelmed by the vanilla one left, so I went for a little shopping. I've bought lavender smell - perfect for Kacper, who is an addict (no judgement please!) and pomegranate & raspberry for me - I love this fresh, fruity smell!

I also bought for the first time ever Yankee Candles and even though I still haven't unpacked them, I am already impressed! The beach flowers smell is very summery (much needed for this wintry London weather) and I think I'll stuff a couple of these tea lights in my wardrobe! The whole pack was on offer in Clintons - 25% off, so I paid £5.06 for them - they have monthly offers of different scents, so I'll be on a lookout next month!

Last, but not least is this amazing Air Wick candle smelling like purple blackberry fig. I LOVE the smell of blackberries and I think this candle will be my new addiction! I don't care if Air Wick is more associated with cleaning products, for £2 I cannot wait to buy another one! It's a heavily scented, so definitely not aimed for those looking for a more subtle scent.

6 Reasons To Be More Happy

I recently subscribed to the very inspirational blog Marc and Angel Hack Life, which makes me pause and think about all the things in my life that I should be grateful for. 

Today it's 6 Reasons Someone Wishes They Were You or 6 Reasons To Be More Happy:

1. You are educated enough to read this.

Literacy is the bridge that closes the gap between discouragement and confidence, between confusion and understanding, and between sadness and hope. It’s the greatest platform of personal growth, and the means by which every human being can realize their full potential.

2. You are reasonably healthy.

In other words, if you got sick today you could recover.

Never underestimate the gift of your health. It’s the greatest wealth you will ever own. It’s the foundation for every chance at happiness and success life has to offer. Your body is the only place you will truly ever live.

3. You have the freedom to choose.

In the space between your yes and no, there’s liberation. It’s the difference between the path you walk and the one others want you to walk; it’s the gap between who you could become and who you want to be; it’s the legroom of free choice – a liberty that should never be taken for granted.

4. You have enough wealth to live comfortably.

You didn’t go to sleep hungry last night. You awoke this morning with a roof over your head. You had a choice of what clothes to wear. You have access to clean drinking water and electricity. You are online right now.

5. You have a home.

Home isn’t a physical structure, or a specific location on a map. Home is wherever the people you love are, whenever you’re with them – even if your encounter is virtual. It’s not a defined place, but a space in your heart and mind that builds upon itself like little bricks being stacked to create something stable that you take with you for your entire life, wherever you may go.

6. You still have a chance.

What you must decide is what you want to do with the time you have left. If your lifespan were to expire this evening at the stroke of midnight, would you be at ease with how you have spent your time today? This is not a rhetorical question. Nothing is guaranteed.

What are you most grateful for today?

Carrot Bread with Cranberries and Cream Cheese Icing

Today we've attempted to make a Carrot Bread with Cranberries. The recipe originally says it's good to top it up with Cream Cheese Icing, but it turned out that the bread was so sweet, because of cranberries that we didn't make it in the end - next time we'll try!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom or nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded carrot

2 beaten eggs

2/3 cup milk

1/3 cup canola oil

1 recipe Cream Cheese Icing, recipe below

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of an 8x4x2-inch loaf pan or three 4-3/4x2-1/2x2-inch loaf pan; set aside.

2. In a bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, soda and salt. In another bowl combine carrot, eggs, milk, and oil; add to dry ingredients stirring just until moistened.

3. Pour batter into prepared pan(s). Bake for 55 to 60 for the 8x4-loaf pan or 30 to 35 minutes for the large loaf pan or 30 to 35 minutes for the small loaf pans or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean (check the loaf 10 to 15 minutes before the end of baking time. If it is browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil). Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove and cool completely on a rack. Wrap in foil; store overnight before slicing (we waited a couple of hours only). Store up to 3 days at room temperature or freeze up to 3 months. Glaze with Cream Cheese Icing just before serving.

Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

1 ounce (2 tablespoons) cream cheese

3/4 cup powdered sugar

3 - 4 teaspoons milk

Directions:

Whisk together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and a little milk until smooth and glazelike. Drizzle over Carrot Bread. 

Glazed Doughnut Muffins

We wanted something sweet and I've found this amazing Glazed Doughnut Muffins recipe on Pinterest combining two loves - doughnut and glaze! They are not that sweet - the glaze make them sweet actually and next time we'll probably throw in some dark chocolate. 

 

Ingredients:

For the Muffins:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

For the Glaze:
3 tablespoons butter; melted
1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C. Line 12 muffin cups with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. With the mixer on low speed, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and vanilla until just combined. Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and mixing until just combined. Do not overmix!
Spoon batter into cups, filling the cups, and smooth tops. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Bake until muffin tops are a pale golden and springy to the touch, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 10 minutes before glazing.
To make the glaze, In a medium bowl mix together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth.
When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. Once hardened, dip a second time and allow to harden then serve.
Recipe Note: Muffins will keep at room temperature for about a day.

Strawberry Pie Recipe

 

Today we've made a yummy Strawberry Pie using one of the recipes found on Pinterest. It is really good, but I think we'll try to use less strawberries and more cornstarch - just experiment!

 

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups flour
12 tbsp. unsalted butter
1½ tsp. salt
1kg strawberries, halved (but we just looked and compared to the size of the pan)
½ cup plus 1 tbsp. sugar
½ cup cornstarch
2 tbsp. orange juice
1 tbsp. orange zest
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped/tsp. vanilla sugar
2 tbsp. heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pulse flour, butter, and 1 tsp. salt in a food processor until pea-size pieces form. Add ½ cup ice-cold water; pulse until dough forms. Form into a ball; halve and form into two disks. Wrap; chill for 1 hour.

2. Heat oven to 220°C. In a bowl, toss together remaining salt, berries, ½ cup sugar, cornstarch, juice, zest, and vanilla; set filling aside. Unwrap dough; roll both into circles. Transfer one circle to a deep-dish pie pan; mound filling inside. Cut strips of dough from remaining circle; transfer to top of pie, creating a lattice pattern. Trim and crimp edges. Brush dough with cream and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake until golden and bubbling, about 1 hour. (If crust begins to brown before pie is finished baking, cover with foil until pie is done). Let cool.

Banana bread with strawberries and dark chocolate

Originally, it was supposed to be a banana bread with raspberries, but when I went shopping I couldn't find raspberries anywhere, so I decided to buy strawberries instead and look for a different recipe. I am very glad that I did, because this is much easier and baking-novice-friendly recipe. Bread tates amazing and I think it will be one of my 'staple' recipes.

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. fresh strawberries1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 c. sweet butter

1/4 c. plus 2 tbsp. sugar

2 eggs

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

INSTRUCTIONS:

Toss strawberries with 2 tablespoons flour and set aside. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in small bowl. Cream butter slowly adding sugar, beating at medium speed; add eggs, beating well. Add flour mixture and bananas. Mix until dry ingredients are moist. Gently fold in strawberries.

Spoon batter into loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Broccoli Cheese Bites

Being vegetarian is not always easy, so when we've found this amazing recipe for Broccoli Cheese Bites we literally squealled! It's a great way to sneak some of the green vegetable to the kids. I love them and can't wait to try our variations with cauliflower. It's so easy and yummy and can't get enough!

Ingredients:

0,5 liter of fresh steamed broccoli (but it can be frozen)

1 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese

3 eggs

salt & pepper

1 cup of seasoned Italian breadcrumbs

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

With your hands, form small patties and lay on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake at 190C for 25 minutes, turning the patties after the first 15 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy!

Our Anniversary Picnic