Yummy!

Hello Dear Readers of this blog!

As I've been learning to cook some dishes new for me, I mean not prepared by me defore, I've come up with an idea to share with you several recipes I have recently found on the Internet and in my recipe book. Moreover, I should say the dishes I've cooked were really delicious! :) 

To begin with, I would like to point out that , like every good cooker knows, when you prepare a certain dish, sticking to all clues of a recipe, there is a risk it won't be so tasty you expect. It is because the ingredients you bought are a bit different or you have different tastes and prefer to add something more or less than it is suggested in the recipe. So it is always smart to improvize a little with proportions ;)

So here you can find a recipe of one of the tastiest Polish first courses - żurek!

To prepare the soup you will need (6-8 portions):

• 2 litres of meat stock
• 500 ml of rye sourdough
• 4 white sausages (not cooked)
• 200 g of bacon
• 1 large onion
• 2 tbsp of of horseradish
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 tbsp of cream
• 3 tbsp of dry marjoram
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper
• boiled eggs to serve with soup

1.  Cook the stock with meat (preferably beef, but can be also pork or chicken), vegetables (mirepoix)
2. In a pan, fry the bacon in a medium heat and in several minutes add a chopped onion until it will all become browned.
3. Add the content of the pan and the entire sausages to the stock and boil it for 30 min.
4. After taking out the sausages, add initially 250 ml of sourdough to the stock for the soup will not be too sour. Add the rest of the sourdough if you like.
5. Then add a sliced clove garlic, 2 tablebspoon of horseradish and the marjoram. I also advise you to add some more seasonings, like allspice and tarragon, it will bring a special aroma and a taste to the soup ;)
6. Boil all the ingredients for several minutes and after turning off the heat add the cream. 
7. Before serving chop the sausages in slices and the eggs in halves and flour żurek with some salt and pepper. 

Good appetite to you!

You can consult the recipe here:
http://www.zajadam.pl/przepisy-zupy/zurek-przepis

In the next post I will present to you another good recipe ;)

Music...

Is there anything in the world that makes you feel so good that you stop thinking about all your worries and problems? My friends and I totally do have such a thing - to create the music. In the beginning , we decided to concentrate on making our covers, but who knows - it is possible that some day we will start composing our own peaces of music. 

Everything started with an improvised lunch in our place, when we invited our friend and he brought a guitar, so we started to play some known songs and then he came up with an idea to register our performance. The first one really was not bad, so we continued our activity. We have already recorded three videos, probably there will be some more. ;)

Actually, every song we recorded, was practised just before our registered performances, and every rehearsal lasted maximum one hour. The two of the sons weren't even known by me and my friend Bartek, but we learnt them really quickly! :) As a matter of fact, it was quite a difficult task for my friend Giulia to combine simultaneously the singing and the playing, but she did well indeed.

I think it is an amazing and inspiring experience, to use our talents and to spend our leisure time in such a pleasant way. 

Here you can find the links to our covers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXSwZb5WtAE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh73D3CE8DY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxDJGbM6Yz8

Autumn...some advice ;)

How are you feeling? If you are ropey, you have a common cold,  a cough, a head ache and the hump, there is nothing strange - the autumn is behind the windows and  almost everyone is ill now. If you don't have yet any of the aforementioned symptoms you are lucky one, but you should be very careful and aware of a high probability of falling ill easily. So if you want to protect yourself from a long and weary staying in bed with a cold and fever, keep in mind some of the best and effective ways of self-treatment:
1) drink a huge amount ofhot liquids, specially powders like Coldrex, Ferweks and others, a lime or currant tea with a slice of lemon andgi gerandonw teasponof honey;
2) buy some raspberry syrupto soothea sore throat;
3) try to eat a piece of garlic with a slice of bread every day;
4) eat one spoon of honey before breakfast;
5) remember about a sufficient and good sleep - your organism needs to regenerate while you sleep;
6) try to reduce stressful factors and keep calm in difficult situations, otherwise your organism will be very weak and susceptible to different diseases;
7) stay away from drinking and eating cold things;
8) and the last advice is to wear warm clothes and to keep yourself away from the cold and from negative emotions and thoughts! ;) Be healthy.

Nothing else metters(c)

Many times we are anxious about what other people would say or would think about our behaviour and our way of thinking. Sometimes we are afraid of being who we really are. Obviously, we don't always know how to behave in certain situations or sometimes we change our mind and in the course of time our personality changes itself.
Anyway, I believe everybody should be sincere with other people and first of all with themselves. The position ought to be clear, yes or no. There is too much duplicity and falsehood in people's relationships. We can see it in a banal example of some politicians, who are members of one party when it reins, but once it loses citizens' support and ceases to be a leader party, the politicians don't have scruples after joining their dissidents' party. But such a scenario can be also noticed in a simple everyday life. Many people who are in minority, don't have enough courage to express their true opinion and to brave the storm  of emotions or other people's comments.
So what I'm trying to say is that it is good to decide who we are, what our position is and to be sincere with everyone.

Autumn inspiration ;)

Falling leaves, cold and rainy days, strong wind and lack of the sun...are the best inspiration for preparing and having a cup of hot chocolate! :) 
The day started quite early (at 8 a.m.) especially when it's Sunday and normal people prefer to rest in bed as long as possible, to sleep or just to relax, to have breakfast when it's usually already supposed to have lunch :D But what about me, even if I go to bed rather late, I don't like to waste time sleeping till 11 a.m. I prefer to do as much as possible from the early morning. So this morning I had inspiration and after having breakfast I decided to prepare hot chocolate for me and my friend Giulia. There was also a guy who lives in the same apartment, so he also had an opportunity to taste our chocolate creation. I warmed milk with cinnamon and then I added chopped chocolate, some honey and cooked it a bit. Meanwhile I prepared a decoration - chopped cookies Hit and some walnuts. I sloshed the hot chocolate into cups and covered each with whipped cream and the decoration. 
The effect was wonderful - the hot chocolate was very tasty and after drinking it my friend and I even don't notice bed weather outside and have forgotten at least for some time what does mean hump ;)

Best friend

What a wonderful feeling you experience every time you realise you found a person you can trust and you want to live for. When you notice how many things you have in common, I mean a lot of similar thoughts that you have got, plenty of interests that connect both of you, talents, abilities, almost identical way of seeing and perceiving the world and people. Actually, I'm quite a sceptic person about close women's friendship, but I came around that there are always exceptions of rule. 

I met my best friend Julia a year ago. Our adventure started from finding out about our love of Metallica...:) Then we continued to talk a lot and now we live together for a couple of months. We really enjoy each other's company, talking, playing the piano and singing at home together, cooking for each other a lot of diverse goodies, taking care of each other and simply being together.
We would also like to have a dog, so I hope it will be possible in the nearest future.
I appreciate my best friend and I hope our friendship will be another exception of rule-will last for a long long time.

Bella Italia

It was an exciting and very intensive trip!

Sirmione

Everything started with a short call of my friend with an offer and my acceptance of it on Sunday evening one month ago. Then a meeting with an organizer of the trip, who is also a Polish-Italian sworn translator. In the beginning there were not too many questions - everything seemed quite clear and understandable. Some problems revealed only during our permanence in Italy...

I was a substitute of the translator, as she couldn't come because of some personal reasons. Our group consisted of five teachers, who accompanied the

Scaliger Castle

Girls' choir of Jerzy Kurczewski School in Poznan. There were 31 girls in the choir, at the age of 11-15. Firstly, we went to a little town Negrar in the region Veneto, where we booked in a hotel. The next day we went to a lovely town Sirmione, which is situated in Sirmio peninsula on Lake Garda. We visited a w
ell-known medieval Scaliger Castle - a showcase of Sirmione, which is now only an empty scheduled building. Then we found quite a nice and cosy restaurant next to the Scaliger Castle, and we ordered a delicious pizza to everyone.

Philharmonic Theatre of Verona

That evening we also went to Verona, the girls had a performance in the beginning of the International Choral Competition at the Philharmonic Theatre. Then we were invited to a meeting with a Choir La Parete consistits of male seniors, who were extremely funny and friendly towards us. They also performed for us a medieval Polish anthem Gaude Mater Polonia, which almost made us cry with excitement and commotion. Then we got back to hotel in Negrar.

Piazza delle Erbe

Arena di Verona Amphitheatre

Juliet's House

The penultimate day of our stay in Italy we went to Verona to pass our laisure time just walking in the centre of the city and visiting the most famous places, like Piazza delle Erbe, Arena di Verona Amphitheatre, the Juliet's House (Balcony) and her statue, Garda Family House ecc. We also couldn't restrain from eating a true delicious Italian ice-cream!

Garda Famly House

Lake Garda

 The last day we spent in mountains with a breathtaking view from the top...The name of the locality is Monte Baldo, where we got to the top of the mountain in a cable car, but unfortunately because of a strong fog we barely saw Lake Garda...We had dinner in a local restaurant, which was really cozy and comfortable.
It was quite an intensive and full of emotions trip. We couldn't spend so much time sleeping we would like to. Anyway, it was a great and very rich experience for me as an Italian-Polish translator. I wish I could go back soon to Verona, one of the most amazing and entrancing cities in the world!

Let's make the Ukrainian borscht!

Hello Friends! :)
Have you ever tried a genuine Ukrainian traditional first course - borscht? By the way, what type of cuisine do you like? Do you prefer to cook some dishes which belong to your own cuisine or do you relish some typical Mediterranean or Asian dishes?

As we know, Polish and Ukrainian cuisines have quite a lot of similar dishes and recipes. Both cuisines share many similarities, e.g. the dishes are quite fatty and nourishing, there are many braised products, the cabbage is in wide use and cooked in different ways, a meal for dinner consists of three parts: the first course is a soup (like cucumber soup, cabbage soup, sorrel soup), the second course is entree consisting of meat with potatos or kasha and vegetables, and the third one is a dessert and a hot dring or a cold beverage.
As to Ukrainian borscht, there is one recipe with fixed ingredients, but realised in plenty of ways depending on regions and even families, where it is cooked. So in this post I'm going to share with you my beloved granny's recipe of a true Ukrainian borscht!
You will need following ingredients:

• 1,5 kg of beef;
• 2-3 beetroots;
• 8-10 potatos;
• 0,5 fresh cabbage;
• 2-3 carrots;
• 1 onion;
• tomato puree;
• bay leaf;
• beans:
• salt, pepper.

1. Cook meat for 1,5 hours;
2. Cut an onion and fry it for 5 min.;
3. Over time rub carrots with a big grator and add to the onion, fry it for 5 min;
4. Then add 2 glasses of cooking bouillion;
5. Slice the raw beetroots and add to the frying onion and carrots, brase the vegetables for 20 min;
6. After 20 min add the tomato puree (not too much) and brase it for 20 min, add 2 spoons of cream;
7. Over time cube potatos and add them to the bullion, cook it for 25 min;
8. Shred cabbage and add it to bullion, cook it for 15 min;
9. The braising beetroots add to the bouillion, cook until it boils for 15 min; 
10. Then add some bay leaves, salt and pepper;
11. Take the pot from the tile and leave it under the cover for 20 min;
12. The borscht is prepared! Good appetite to you ;)

I hope you'll try to cook the dish using this recipe and enjoy a delicious Ukrainian barscht! :)

I recommend to serve the dish with pampushky (typical Ukrainian doughnuts) embrocated with garlic. :)

An only child = selfishness?

As it's widely known, a popular stereotype about only children makes us think they are generally all selfish. This ascertainment tends to be true and to be justified by several reasons. First of all, they say, only children feel the bee's knees from the beginning of their childhood, as they are accustomed to achieve what they are eager for (e.g. sweets, toys, money) without an obligation of sharing it with anyone, in contrast to those children who have siblings. Secondly, only children are surrounded by their parents' love and attention, so again, they don't have to think about anyone and to bother themselves with siblings' problems. Another reason to affirm that this stereotype is true, reffears to long periods of time only children are accustomed to spend alone, e.g. at home, when their parents are at work. Even if only children have got friends, it is a significantly different case if they had siblings, simply because we can't choose relatives, but friends.
 I could agree with a statement that stereotypes are based on some true observations and tendencies, but, as a matter of fact, probably all stereotypes are exaggerated or ignore some significant real facts about a discussed subject of any stereotype.
So, firstly, much depends on childrens' upbringing and values and priorities being taught by their parents. If parents pay attention and explain to their child (most effectively by their own example) that, for instance, everything should be shared with others or it would be a nice gesture at least to offer something to somebody, a child starts to behave so, and later it comes natural to share what he/she has got with others.
What is more, there are many cases, when children who have got siblings, are selfish and stingy thoughout their life. Secondly, it can be true, that only children love to be in the spotlight and to be surrounded by somebody's attention (but not necessarily), nevertheless, everything depends on a personality of such children and on their character. I have met many only children who pleasantly astonished me with their sincere caring about others and dedicating their time helping to resolve others' problems.
 Lastly, it is somewhat true when it comes to preferring to spend time in isolation, since only children are accustomed to act on their own, not depending on somebody's plans, and I would add that comparing to children who have elder sinlings, only children become earlier more self-relient and take care about themselves with much ease.
In conclusion, there are some aspects, that make us think only children are generally selfish, but we shouldn't forget, that a stereotype, like a first impression, is frequently misleading.

Learning English

Hello, my Dear Friends! :)
Let's talk about a very often discussed and all-important topic when it comes to learning lenguages, in our case learning English. So, do you agree with the statement that people who haven't learnt English in an English-speaking country are at a disadvantage when trying to master their English?

 

As for me, I definitely agree, and I regret so much about not being able for now to go e.g. in England and spend there at least several months, in an English-speaking environment. So, why do I consider these people to be in a disatvantage? First of all because, when practicing English by watching films, listening to music in Egnlish, having lessons with the best teachers of English (native or non native speakers), it takes them rather much more time to learn to speak fluently and accurately. They are bi- or multilingual people, and they do still have problems with expressing of their opinion in English. Actually, it occurs because they think in their mother tongue and try to translate the sentences, obviously, with some errors, which are a consequence of the calques/loan translation of some phrases. In constrast to this, people who are submerged in the language in an English-speaking country, listen to people speaking English, they are forced to try to speak as fast as possible to communicate with others, and they use the language in an everyday life and observe (consciously or not) how does language function in common situations. So, it's obvious that, despite the difficulty of aquisition of English among native speakers, it comes naturally for them to express themselves, as they simply start to speak automatically, without reflecting, applying the phrases used by native speakers.
In conclusion, there is nothing left to say but that you definitely will be at a huge advantage if you decide to mater your English in an English-apeaking country! ;)

The book's death?..

Hellooo there! :)

We live in times when an ordinary paper book we became accostumed to is gradually startng to be  replaced by it's competitors - computers, laptops, tablets or simply by cell phones. Some supporters of the products of the advanced and developed technology believe that thank's to these modern devices we will make do without the traditional version of books and probably it could cause the total extinction of the paper books. They also claim that in this case many trees that serve as a material for creation of books could be saved from cutting. Moreover, according to them, we could eliminate some main problems paper book readers have to face: a difficulty for students to find in libraries a copy of a book they need (as the quantity is limited) and to carry heavy or enormous books and manuals in their bags.
Of course, on one hand they are right, I regret very often for not being able to take so many books with me that I would like to. In addition, so much paper is being used for printing photocopies...Anyway, I wouldn't agree with the statement about the book's 'death'. I simply love to read books in the traditional version, because I can enjoy turning each page, making notes and some comments with a pencil on the pages, I love the fresh smell of a new book, it is not only the content that counts, but also its form. On the other hand, when we are are speaking about sources for the printing of books, we should also admit that all electronic devices need to be recharged very frequently, so the electicity is also being consumed which doesn't give positive results for the environment. Yes, a smartphone or a tablet is much more comfortable and practical in use, but I think there will always be many paper book lovers who will put the lid on the extinction of the real touchable books...