Saturday, December 21, 2013

Butter Cut-Outs



Very well my favorite moment in time was the backhaus at the Dresden Striezelmarkt. Watching Lottie pridefully prepare Christmas cookies was heart melting and a task that she took very seriously. For just four euros, children are given the opportunity to roll, cut and decorate a sheet pan of cookies. Half an hour later, they return to pick up their baked cookies that have been carefully packaged just for them.

Christmas Cookie Cutting

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Pantry Pancakes

Our refrigerator died. I was left no choice than to throw all of the contents of the fridge and freezer away. I thought about offering them to the neighbor but I thought maybe that would be awkward. Then four days after throwing everything out, I realized that it is refrigerator temperature outside... I have very good hindsight vision.

Pantry Pancakes

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Layered Salad

Nothing makes a holiday dinner easier than those couple of dishes that can be prepared the day before company arrives. This timeless salad does just that - making it a perfect recipe to add to your holiday recipe collection.

Layered Salad

Friday, December 6, 2013

Coconut Cream Pie

My super cool brother-in-law (actually, I have three of them in total) requested a Coconut Cream Pie for Thanksgiving. I was in a delightful mood (which is typical) and he asked so nicely, so I replied - you becha! Then Thanksgiving suddenly arrived and I never baked the pie... Thinking surely he'd forget and besides, who can be that sad when there are a bazillion other slices of pie available - I shelved the promise I made about the pie. Turns out he didn't forget about the pie that he had been anxiously counting down the days for and he cried. Well, almost cried.

Coconut Cream Pie

Monday, November 11, 2013

Miniature Elderflower Cakes

Lottie's first words this morning were "mom, I really want to make cupcakes". So, we came up with a recipe, she pulled up a seat on the counter and we baked cupcakes.

Miniature Elderflower Cakes

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

I'm always ten steps behind on holiday shopping... But Christmas cookies, they may never leave my mind. These dainty gems prepare rather quickly and provide a welcomed highlight to the old cookie tray.

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

Friday, September 20, 2013

Eating Europe

As apparent by the silence here, you may assume that I haven't been in the kitchen much lately... Although I have been, it's just that when I wander into that space, I've been working from the same recipe over and over it seems... But for a little inspiration, I have compiled some shots from our recent adventures.

Bacalao - Stavanger, Norway

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

The Norwegian Table

We just returned from a wonderful trip to Norway where days were spent gathered with family - sometimes around the table, sometimes alongside the sea and during the other times, exploring the beauty of the fjords.

Bread and Homemade Rolls with Jelly

Friday, May 24, 2013

Egg Salad with Chickpeas

This is not the ordinary egg salad that you were raised with. This is the best - crazy good - darn fantastic - most extraordinary sandwich filling from here to Timbuktu. The combination of eggs and chickpeas have brought a new life to the classic (not to mention a fiesta of seasonings), you'll want to pack this sandwich in your lunch every day of the week!

Egg Salad Sandwich

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Banana Granola Bars

While I certainly love a slice of moist banana bread spread with a good layer of butter, with this weeks leftover bananas I was looking for something more wholesome. Looking through Pinterest for something a little different, I found these. They were the perfect base to work from. A wonderful little snack that can be packed for our next bike ride or picnic in the park and if you could have only been here to smell the warm oven air while they were baking. Pure American comfort.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Beet Salad

This is a down to the basics, very traditional and quite delightful salad. A favorite of Troy's, whenever he's along on a grocery trip he continually purchases a bag of beets hoping that I'll make him his own batch of salad. I then use them to make roasted beets or beet pesto... Well, this time his wish came true. A great side to accompany grilled kielbasa, it will make a summer grill-out all the more perfect.

cookingisawhim.blogspot.com

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Pad Thai

My favorite weeknight meal right now is Pad Thai. It comes together simply and I can keep most of the ingredients on hand. I never thought that while living in Poland, my cooking would become so Thai inspired - but my diet can only handle so much sausage and it's a section of the grocery store that is pretty well stocked.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Balsamic Strawberry & Broccoli Salad

Looking for a side dish for a grilled salmon dinner we turned to this recipe as inspiration. A fun twist to the typical broccoli salad, it will be one of my favorites throughout the summer.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Mung Bean Salad

Every now and then, my grocery store has a wonderful selection of sprouts. I finally grabbed a package and adapted this recipe from one of my favorite books, Livwise by Olivia Newton-John. It made a perfect and flavorful lunch that I can't wait to make again. I used a package of sprouts labeled as 'stir-fry mix' - and was a combination of lentil, mung bean and chickpea sprouts.

Mung Bean Salad

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Walnut Beet Pesto

One of the trendy things this spring seems to be beet pesto. Since beets are the foundation of a Polish kitchen, I thought that I would give it a try. It is fantastic - fresh, flavorful and as zingy as a back-alley jazz band.. Simple and I didn't even need to run to the store, I had everything that I needed. Because of all of this, beet pesto has earned go-to status in my kitchen.


Thursday, April 4, 2013

Dark Chocolate Brownies

So tender, so decadent and so chocolate perfection, these brownies are in the oven in minutes. A la mode or plain, they are pretty fantastic. Ditch the box and keep it real!

cookingisawhim.blogspot.com
Dark Chocolate Brownies

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Easter Market Extravaganza.

Following are a few more gastronomic delights from Vienna, this time focusing on the Easter Markets. Easter has perhaps always ranked as my favorite holiday and when paired with markets in it's honor, I'm not sure it could be any more grand.

Altwiener Ostermarkt

Friday, March 29, 2013

Today I Ate Vienna.

Astray from a typical recipe, today I thought I would share some gastronomic braggings of my day in Vienna.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Honey Tea Cakes

For me, a good day is when suddenly the need to bake a cake arises and despite having a pantry the size of a typical cupboard and no cake pans, I'm still able to pull together just the thing. And even though Easter is fast approaching and it's still bitter cold outside - what better way to embrace the lingering winter than to fill the house with warm oven air scented with spice.

cookingisawhim.blogspot.com

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Lavender-Rosemary Butter Cookies

Dainty and delicate with plenty of buttery notes and floral undertones, this may be my favorite cookie that I've ever designed. It makes a small batch (because that's all of the butter that I had on hand..) but you can easily double if you're baking a batch to share.

cookingisawhim.blogspot.com

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Bistro Egg Skillet

This is one of my favorite breakfast dishes and served with crusty bread and a glass of Bordeaux wine, it makes a fantastic dinner.


Thursday, March 21, 2013

Polish-Style Sweet Pancakes

Today's chilly wet air has kept Lottie and I indoors today, so we figured what could be better than a little brunch. I've been waiting for the perfect day to give Polish pancakes a try and today was just that day. These little cakes are perhaps the best that I have ever made! Rich and egg-y, tender and moist, they're just exquisite.


Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Barley Salad

I mentioned a bit back that I'm beginning to have some success at the butcher counter... And a person can never have too much salmon, right? I was so proud that I purchased a fillet of salmon all by myself and Troy was quite proud of me as well, until he saw the bill... I was so excited that the lady at the counter understood that I wanted salmon that I did not have the heart (or talent at Polish) to tell her that our little family did not need the biggest fillet in the case.. Weighing in around 1-1/2 kilograms and a price tag of 76 zloty, we have still been feasting on it daily.

   To go along with today's lunch portion of salmon, I made this lovely little salad. Prepare the barley the night before and toss with the peas and some of the oil and you'll have a good start for the next morning's lunch packing session. It makes quite a bit, which to me is a good thing as lunch the rest of the week is pretty much already conquered.


Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Lunch Box Salad

Need an easy way to sneak in a good couple of midday vegetable servings? Center your lunch around this salad and you're sure to feel refreshed!


Monday, March 18, 2013

Apricot-Almond Baked Oatmeal

Making oatmeal is surely easy enough, but when you can throw it in the oven and forget about it, I love it even more. Not to mention that you trade the mush factor for a toasted depth that will give your day a much more indulgent start. For even further morning ease, combine the dry ingredients the night before.


Sunday, March 17, 2013

Ruby Winter Salad

We've been living in Poland for six months now and I have a grocery store that gives me a feeling of home. I'm no longer too shy to approach the butcher counter and in fact can even put together just enough polish and sign language to usually get what I am asking for. So, now that I've been tying my apron strings a bit more often, here I am.

   Beets are an every day staple here and if you had a meal that didn't include beets, it was probably breakfast. To accompany tonight's baked salmon (fresh from Norway), I assembled this lovely salad. It has just enough essence of spring to take away any lingering winter chill, at least for a moment.