Today I Ate Vienna.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.