Polish Girls Can Cook

Kitchen Closed . . . . for now

2012-01-30T18:38:00.001-08:00

Summer Hiatus.

Summers Here

2012-01-13T04:31:00.000-08:00

I am totally wracked with guilt at not posting in at all lately, but those hazy ( well just plain ol' hot) days of summer are here once more and this is a great time for me to take a break from blogging here. Mostly as I'm not spending much time in my kitchen due to the heat, and also we're taking a lot of cold meals to the beach picnic style.

back soon, when paradise cools down a bit!

Photo perfect Herring

2011-12-29T17:52:00.000-08:00

New way of serving herring - resting on a slice of tomato! New to me, found through sharing ideas with others! The web is a great place to be sometimes!

Jest Taki Dzien

2011-12-24T18:26:00.001-08:00

Wesolych Swiat!

2011-12-24T17:54:00.000-08:00

page 25, of my Christmas Journal

Merry Christmas Everyone

Wesolych Swiat!

Ready, Steady . . . . . . . COOK!

2011-12-23T02:51:00.000-08:00

Pictures taken from my Christmas Journal visual diary, which I made a few years ago.

It shows the countdown to Wigilia and what I'm doing at this time of the year. Ok, gotta run and get the Christmas show on the table, aprons on, table set, kitchen ready, so ready, steady, Go . . . because Polish Girls Can Cook!

Christmas Rituals

2011-12-14T18:53:00.000-08:00

Christmas Rituals

My grandma used to live with us when I was a child, and with her, came the Christmas traditions, not only of her childhood, but also a of a bygone era in Europe. These traditions held together our house hold with the very glue that made Christmas the special magical holiday that it was. It had all the hallmarks of special branded all over it!

The shopping for ingredients that went into make the special traditional foods jump started the Christmas season, and with that came the domino effect of marinading, herrings, oils, and other foods. Poppy seed cake.

The Christmas tree decorated with real candles, and special ornaments, made of wafer thin coloured glass.

Grandma, would stand by the sink and pluck things, cook them, add water, mash, and beat till done and it was those and other sounds that I would hear through the door, as I was relegated out of her domain and told not to get in the way. I would associate sounds with the dish she was preparing, if it was slicing, then it would be the onions for the herrings, and so on.

Sounds, delicious smells, such brilliant memories to cherish, and try to reproduce in my own kitchen at this time of the year. I often wonder if grandma would approve of how I prepare our special Christmas eve meal. I often cheat, using ready made ingredients, or instant this or that.

The ornaments are now made of plastic, and lights have long replaced the candles on the tree, But the effect is still the same, and as we sit at the table to eat our supper, I hope that my children are as keen to continue these lovely traditions that have been handed down the women in our family.

Polish Pickled Herrings and Salad

2011-12-14T18:46:00.000-08:00

Polish Pickled Herring

Ingredients

32 ounces salted herring fillets
1 red onion
2 garlic cloves
¼ teaspoon dill seed
2 cloves garlic
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
2 ounces vinegar
¾ cup water
¼ teaspoon whole allspice

Preparation

Take the herring fillets in a bowl and fill it with cold water.
Place the bowl in the refrigerator and let it stay there for 12-24 hours. However, remember that you have to change the water in the bowl at least twice. Once this is done, take the fish out of the bowl and remove the excess water by patting them with a paper towel and set aside.

In a medium-sized saucepan, take water and add vinegar, peppercorns, dill seed, allspice, bay leaf, garlic and sugar to it. Place the saucepan in the stove and cook this mixture till it starts boiling rapidly.
Do not forget to stir the mixture continuously till the sugar dissolves completely. Take the saucepan off the stove and allow it to cool. Meanwhile, start chopping the fish into 1 inch sized pieces and remember to remove the bones while doing so. After this is done, slice the onion and separate them into rings. Take a sterilized jar and fill it with a layer of onion rings.

Over this, place a layer of sliced herrings and again a layer of onion rings. This should be continued till the jar is full. Pour the cooled pickling mixture into the jar and close it tightly with the lid. Let the herring marinate in the pickling solution for three weeks, before consumption.

Serves/Makes: 4

Ingredients:

1 (16-ounce) jar marinated Bismarck herring (with onions)
2 cups cold boiled potatoes, diced
2 apples, core removed, peeled and diced
2 onions, chopped
4 dill pickles, chopped
Creamy Mustard Sauce (see the recipe below)

How to cook Polish Herring Salad:

Take out marinated Bismarck herrings from the jar and drain. Discard jar with onions and spices in the jar.
Dice herrings and place in salad bowl.
Add potatoes, apples, onions, and dill pickles.
Toss gently and fold in the Creamy Mustard Sauce.
Chill for 2 hours before serving.

Creamy Mustard Sauce Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons mustard

How to cook Creamy Mustard Sauce:

Fork-blend mayonnaise with sour cream and mustard.

Coming soon

2011-12-07T16:56:00.001-08:00

Coming soon . . . to this blog (when this person here manages her Christmas organising a little better!) the scrummiest, yummy pancake recipe ever!
Stay tuned!

Szopka

2011-12-01T22:13:00.001-08:00

My Christmas Nativity (Szopka) scene is up and ready for Christmas Eve - Wigilia, but recently I've come across a different kind of szopka (below)

From Krakow, looks very different to the one above, and hopefully I will find one of these to have at home one day, it looks very festive!

I won't be updating any of the Christmas recipes or customs that I've posted in before, because this is the Christmas formula that we have stuck to for years in my family and will be doing it all over again, more or less the same way as before. But, if you're needing some specific recipe for Christmas or anything else then please just leave me a comment in the comments box and I'll get back to you!
Please scroll down the post links on the right hand of the blog, I've just updated the blog format, but all the Christmas posts and recipes are posted in there.

Wesolych Swiat!

Amber - a Polish gem stone

2011-11-26T21:32:00.000-08:00

What says 'Polish' more than a piece of amber jewelry!!

And, if you're just writing up your Christmas gift wish list, here's an idea . . . .

How about considering getting some gorgeous Amber beads or jewelry. There is so much to choose from these days, and so many different colours of amber now available.

In my mothers days, the beads were usually plain, round and a certain colour of amber, now these ranges have expanded, and so have contemporary styles. At a recent festival I was amazed at the styles out there and, to my utter suprise there is now a green amber too!

Here is some info on amber

So, if your'e stuck on what you'd like Santa to bring you this Christmas, consider an amber gift!

Polish festival - Melbourne 2011

2011-11-24T03:54:00.000-08:00

I've just returned from this wonderful event - the kaleidescope of colours were dazzling, not only the crowds of people, the dancers, the costumes, but there was also lots of art displayed and off course, stalls full of my beloved Polish food! Make it a date in your next years calendar! I certainly will be!

Polish Picnic

2011-11-24T03:47:00.000-08:00

*sigh* Wish I could be there! I would just LOVE to meet Sammy and Bella from My kitchen rules! Maybe next year!

Cabbage with Caraway- Kapusta z Kminkiem

2011-09-25T17:28:00.001-07:00

I was sitting here today thinking how much I would love to keep posting in sweet dishes, but since life and food IS made up of other things aswell, I thought that instead, I'd post in a side dish that I made yesterday, to accompany the roast pork we had for dinner last night.

It was a lovely (slightly) crunchy textural dish that made a nice change from the usual soft boiled veg.
Just chop up some fresh cabbage with a knife, (usually, an average sized half a head of cabbage will stretch a long way and be enough for about four people ) but not too finely, and put into a hot fry pan with some oil. Fry the cabbage down and add some caraway seed, and season well. I also like to add some garlic herb salt too, just to add that extra layer of flavour. Sautee till slightly browned, but still crunchy on the hard white bits, and serve with your main dish.
I was given a huge thumbs up for this, and considering what an easy dish it is, will add an interesting change to any menu or dish repetoire. Try it soon!
Smacznego!

Sernik - Polish Cheese Cake

2011-09-19T22:15:00.000-07:00

Time for sweet delights for those craving some cakey treats! so here is a wonderful recipe for that signature Polish cake dish - cheesecake - or Sernik as its called in Polish. Suitable to serve at special occasions and holidays or . . . just because!
If your'e anything like me, then the sweet dishes always beckon, and I love nothing better than to finish a great meal ( any meal) with a sweet dessert or cake, in small portions off course (lol)!

Cheese Cake Ingredients:

1 kg of cottage cheese
6 eggs (separated)
0.10 kg of butter
A cup of sugar
A tablespoon of flour
Raisins (soaked in rum preferably)
2 teaspoons of baking soda
Orange peel
Vanilla sugar/icing sugar

Mix your cottage cheese and cream with butter, preferably with a blender. Mix egg yolks and sugar into fluffy cream. Add creamed yolks, flour, baking soda, vanilla sugar, raisins, (maybe a tiny bit of orange peel to add zest) into your cottage cheese mixture. Be careful, too many raisins in your cheese cake may spoil it! Whip egg whites until stiff and then add it carefully into your cheese mixture.

Place ready mixture into a cake tin and then place in the oven and bake until golden brown. When baked the cake may be covered with a fine dusting of icing sugar

Enjoy, and Smacznego!

PGcC update, and hello Eton UK.

2011-09-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

I just CAN'T believe that so much time has elapsed since my last post! But with September almost under the belt, I can just about bring myself to start thinking about the "C" word, (Christmas) which will be upon us sooner rather than later - where does the year go??

Here in Aus, our spring season has just about begun, the days are getting longer, buds have appeared on the trees, and things are happening in the garden. the cucumbers have been sown, but I must add that these aren't the usual long salad variety, but a much smaller pickling variety. So, they are in the ground and hopefully starting to grow. Their companion herb, dill has also been sown in copious amounts! I don't think the pickled cucumbers would taste the same without a lot of dill!

I just love to think about those flavours, which to me quintessentially are so summery!
So onwards we go, preparing for Christmas (at a slow pace at this stage still!) and summer, and hopefully more recipes to post here!

I recently noticed that I had a visitor form Eton (Slough, UK) well first of all a big wave to you and , I thought you'd like to know that I grew up near Slough, and spent many happy times near and around Windsor and Eton, as well as taking many, many visitors to our home back then, sightseeing all around those lovely places, like the college, the shops in Eton high street, eating at the bridge restaurant, admiring the river from the bridge, the Castle( off course!) and the swans . . . and oh so much more. So a big cheery Hello to you Eton!
and on that note . . .

Cheers to you all from me

I'm thinking that my next post will have a sweet flavoured theme , along the lines of sweet and cakey . . . ( mouth watering . . .) sounds good to me!

Bigos I love you - Hunters Stew

2011-07-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

Totally yummy, cabbage and pickled cabbage stew. Called Hunters Stew or Bigos in Polish.

The nice thing is that you can add all manner of left over meats to this stew, as long as they are flavoursome, they will add to the richness of texture and taste. Here is some smoked pork belly I cubed and added to the stew.

I added half a cabbage head as it was quite large

two tins of tinned sauerkraut, drained and squeezed till most of the juice runs out - too much of this juice will add a bitter ( acid) taste to the end result

shred or cut the cabbage to fine strips

fry the meat with 2 brown onions

fry down the raw cabbage till its softened and then add the meat and fried onions
Add the drained sauerkraut and mix trough well.
Add chicken stock (can be vegetable stock) some peppercorns and bay leaf, and enough liquid to cover the cabbage so its not too dry.

Add some tomato ketchup - for flavour, colour and to add some sweetness to the stew - it actually counteracts the acidity of the tinned sauerkraut, so depending on how acidic you like your stew add less ketchup.

cook for at least 1 hour or longer till the fresh cabbage is soft. This dish freezes very well! so can be made well in advance and just defrosted as required.
It can be served up with mashed potato and a side dish of meat, or on its own as a stand alone dish, wonderfully warming in winter and a breeze to cook and make in summer.

What do you serve your bigos with?

Smacznego!

Buckwheat - with a twist

2011-06-20T18:52:00.000-07:00

Hello again, last night I made buckwheat again. First up though, I must apologise for the non magazine like quality of the photos, in that I mean that the photos I take are straight from my kitchen usually, or the plate, and are not set up food sets, so while the presentation of the food is not exactly cook book standard, I assure you that the taste of the dishes is sensational - and I think thats where it counts most!

So, back to the buckwheat. Here it is, cooked, but this time, while the buckwheat was boiling in another pot, I had a frying pan with chopped pancetta and onion gently fried. When the buckwheat was cooked and drained thoroughly, I added it to the fry pan, and gently stirred it through with the pancetta and onion, and just warmed it all up again.
verdict - Absolutely delicious!
Buckwheat is also suitable for those on a gluten free diet.
check the facts here
Try some soon.

Smacznego!

Potato Latkes/ Placki Ziemniaczane

2011-06-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

Golden crispy potato latkes/ placki ziemniaczne, perfect for those cold winter suppers!
Here are the ones I made last Saturday, I made a batch of about 25 - delicious!

Here is my potato mix, ready to be scooped into a spoon shape and placed into the oil to fry till golden brown.

Peel potatoes and coarsely grate by hand, transferring to a large bowl of cold water as grated. Soak potatoes 1 to 2 minutes after last batch is added to water, then drain well in a colander.

Spread grated potatoes and onion on a kitchen towel and roll up jelly-roll style. Twist towel tightly to wring out as much liquid as possible. Transfer potato mixture to a bowl and stir in egg and salt.

Heat 1/4 cup oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches of 4 latkes, spoon 2 tablespoons potato mixture per latke into skillet, spreading into 3-inch rounds with a fork.

Reduce heat to moderate and cook until undersides are browned, about 5 minutes. Turn latkes over and cook until undersides are browned, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to paper towels to drain and season with salt.

Add more oil to skillet as needed. Keep latkes warm on a wire rack set in a shallow baking pan in oven.

Smacznego!

Duck/Kaczka

2011-06-11T03:25:00.001-07:00

last Saturday we had the family over for dinner and had roast duck. Stuffed to the max with sage and onion stuffing and added an extra brown onion in to the cavity for that extra flavour. It was quite a tasty meal, although have to say that the duck was a little mean to say the least and there weren't a lot of leftovers for next day!

Served with a delicate and moody pinot noir it was a meal to remember.

And for my Polish friends - a song about a very strange duck! enjoy!

Wrapping paper wise words

2011-06-04T18:06:00.001-07:00

My daughter bought us a cook book and it was wrapped in this very interesting gift wrap, which I thought I'd share with you here!

Where in the World are you?

2011-05-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

I once saw that I had a reader from Hawaii, and that got me wondering, as to where do my readers (if any . .lol) come from? I don't really get much feedback in the comments box, so am curious as to where you live? Are you Polish and is there a Polish community where you are from?

Just wondering.

Galareta - Pork in aspic

2011-05-15T20:49:00.000-07:00

This is one of those dish probably polarises its diners, to those who will try it and those who won't, once they know the ingredients that make up this dish. I suppose its not for the faint hearted, but it does have some merit, so by all means give it a try.

I was bought up eating this dish, as my mother and grandmother were big fans of it, so I've eaten it on many occasion, but recently as tastes change over the years, I haven't been that keen on it.

Basically its an aspic/gelatine jelly with pork/other meats can be substituted and veg. Take a look at the recipe. Great for a hot summers day, or just a change form the usual fare.

Wash 1 1/2 lbs. split pork trotters or the hock part - which is actaully better, and place in pot with 10 cups of water. Simmer on low heat, skimming off scum until no more forms. Add 1/2 to1 lb. lean pork and cook on low heat another 1 1/2 hours.

Add 1 portion soup greens, 1 bay leaf, 6 peppercorns, garlic cloves at least 4-6 ormore if you like a stronger flavour, and 1 teaspoon salt and cook 1 hour longer. By now the meat should be falling off the bone. Strain. Taste stock and season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Remove meat from bone and dice. Cool stock to room temperature. Arrange diced meat evenly in square or rectangular pan and drench with stock over a strainer/sieve. Refrigerate overnight. Scrape off congealed fat from top and discard. Dip pan briefly in hot water to loosen jellied meat and turn out on platter of proper size.

Cut into squares and serve with vinegar, lemon-vinegar or lemon juice provided in cruets. Some like this old-fashioned cold dish with horseradish.

Smacznego!

Blinis

2011-05-04T22:13:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share with you a rather delicous light snack/lunch/brunch dish today.

taken out of a book lent to me by a friend who makes these all the time with a lot of success and finger licking appreciation from her family!

Perfect for Mothers Day this Sunday - in case you forgot! Please click on the pic above to enlarge and read the recipe.

Do you know your Polish Sausage?

2011-05-03T22:05:00.001-07:00

Sausage is a staple of Polish cuisine and comes in dozens of varieties, smoked or fresh, but almost always based on pork (although in many areas, it is available in beef, and sometimes in turkey, lamb, veal, or bison), every region having its own speciality. Popular varieties include:

kabanosy, a thin, air-dried sausage flavoured with caraway seed, originally made of horsemeat (but today usually pork or turkey)
krakowska, a thick, straight sausage hot-smoked with pepper and garlic; its name comes from Kraków
wiejska a large U-shaped pork and veal sausage with marjoram and garlic; its name means "rural" or "country", or "village".
weselna, "wedding" sausage, medium thick, u-shaped smoked sausage; often eaten during parties, but not exclusively

Original kielbasa is also called "Polska kiełbasa" for "Polish Sausage" or "Kielbasa Starowiejska" known as "Old Country Style Sausage". This one comes closest to what is generally known in America as "kielbasa" (Polish sausage, Polska Kiełbasa). Nowadays, many major meat packers across America offer a product called "kielbasa," but it is usually quite different from the original.

In Poland, kielbasa can be served with fried onions, and—in the form of small pieces, smoked kielbasa can be served cold, hot, boiled, baked or grilled. It can be cooked in soups (such as biały barszcz, kapuśniak, or grochówka), baked or cooked with sauerkraut, or added to bean dishes, stews (notably bigos, the Polish national dish), and casseroles. Kielbasa is also very popular served cold as a coldcut on a platter, usually as an appetizer for traditional Polish parties.

A less widely available variety of kielbasa is the White Fresh (biała), which is sold uncooked and unsmoked, then is usually prepared by boiling or cooking in a soup in place of a typical meat. This variety of kielbasa taste is similar to mild Italian Sausage but is much leaner meat.

Rose Petal Jam

2011-04-27T21:03:00.000-07:00

With Easter now truly over, what can we talk about here? Well, for one, winter and colder days and evenings are drawing in here, just perfect for sitting in a warm nook with a great book.

Here is the perfect one, packed with tons of great food ideas just perfect for those chilly winter suppers. This book is not only full of recipes but beautiful photographs and stories.

I'm going to be ordering three of these books and give one to each of my daughters!
And let me know if you get this book, and what you think of it?
Happy reading!

Shiny Eggs for the Basket

2011-04-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

Here are the eggs I coloured, using only food colours with a few drops of vinegar added to the water to make the colour stay fast.
Polished up with a little vegetable oil to make the eggs all shiny.

The Easter basket I took to the blessing last year. I was very pleased with the way the Babka Easter cake looked in the basket.
I am taking a short blog break, so see you all on the other side of Easter now. I wish you all a very happy Easter.

Wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji Swiat, Wesolego Alleluja, Smacznego Jajka, i Mokrego Dyngusa!

Polish girls cook to win!

2011-04-13T17:56:00.000-07:00

Just as I said . . . Polish girls can cook and how!

Sammy and Bella Jakubiak - well deserving winners of the competition - My Kitchen Rules.

Well done girls!

Babka - Polish Easter Cake

2011-04-08T22:35:00.000-07:00

I baked these Babki, and the best one goes into the Polish Easter basket that we take to the Easter basket blessing on Easter Saturday.

Babka, which literally means "grandmother" in Polish, probably got the name because its shape is reminiscent of an old woman's wide, swirling skirts.

Babka is a slightly sweet yeast bread similar to Italian panettone that can be made with rum-soaked raisins, and iced or left plain. It's an Easter favorite.

Traditional babka is made with a staggering number of egg yolks. This recipe is lighter on the cholesterol load, requires no kneading and only takes one rise.

Here is a great Recipe that I have used in my own kitchen, please click on the green link!

Pisanki and other eggs

2011-04-05T22:27:00.000-07:00

My own collection of traditional Polish Easter eggs. Some are wooden, there are also handpainted/blown eggs here that I made many years ago. I find them very cheery to look at!

The Poles colour eggs for Easter. It's a very old tradition.

On Holy Saturday we take to church basket with food to be blessed: traditional bread, ham, polish sausages, salt, horseradish. We also take "pisanki" because this eggs symbolized life and Christ's resurrection. "Pisanka" is one of the most important food in "Swieconka" (food blessing). "Pisanki" are made by hand: painted, scratched, drew, crocheted. The most of Poles do it on Friday evening or Saturday morning at Easter time.

the traditional techniques of decorating of eggs

"Kraszanki"
There are made by boiling an egg in the extraction of plants or other natural products.

"Drapanki"
There are made by scratching a coloured egg with a sharp tool.

"Pisanki"
There are made by drawing designs with wax on an egg, next an egg is coloured.

"Oklejanki"
There are decorated with colourful paper, material, mulin, wool and thread.

Which of these methods do you/have you used to decorate your eggs for Easter?

Preparing for Easter

2011-03-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

A Traditional

Polish Easter Basket

Maslo (Butter) - This dairy product is often shaped into a lamb (Baranek Wielkanocny) or a cross. This reminds us of the good will of Christ that we should have towards all things.

Babka (Easter Bread) - A round or long loaf topped with a cross or a fish, symbolic of Jesus, who is the Bread of Life.

Chrzan (Horseradish) - Symbolic of the Passion of Christ still in our minds.

Jajka (Eggs) and Pisanki (decorated with symbols of Easter, of life, of prosperity) - Indicates new life and Christ's Resurrection from the tomb.

Kielbasa (Sausage) - A sausage product, symbolic of God's favor and generosity.

Szynka (Ham) - Symbolic of great joy and abundance. Some prefer lamb or veal. The lamb also reminds Christians that the Risen Christ is the "Lamb of God."

Slonina (Smoked Bacon) - A symbol of the overabundance of God's mercy and generosity.

Sol (Salt) - A necessary element in our physical life. Symbolic of prosperity and justice and to remind us that people are the flavor of the earth.

Ser (Cheese) - Symbolic of the moderation Christians should have at all times.

Candle - Represents Christ as the Light of the World.

Colorful Ribbons and Sprigs of Greenery - are attached to the basket as signs of joy and new life in the season of spring and in celebration of the Resurrection.

Linen Cover - drawn over the top of the basket which is ready for the priest's visit to the home or the trip to church where it is joined with the baskets of others to await the blessing. The food is then set aside and enjoyed on Easter Sunday.

So, be on the lookout for a similar basket and slowly start preparing for the Blessing of the Basket (with contents) on Easter Saturday.

Eat out - best eatery links in YOUR town

2011-03-21T03:20:00.001-07:00

If I came to visit YOUR town, where would be the best place to go to get some great Polish food? Please post in YOUR links to some of the best places/restaurants you can eat Polish food in, in your part of the world.

These are mine: (click on the names below)

Rembrandt's

Krakowianka restaurant

Over to you!

Too hot to handle!

2011-02-23T02:53:00.000-08:00

. . .Any cooking that is!

Hello all and here in sunny Australia, its been ridiculously hot lately ( with no respite in sight - its been a long and hot summer) and much to hot in the last fortnight to even contemplate having the oven on much less, thinking of recipes and cooking them.
The ONLY thing I have done in the kitchen lately is drink cold drinks and stand close to the air con! So now you know why I've temporarily hung up my apron!
Fingers crossed it cools down soon as I'm sick of salads and eating cold foods.
Winter? I'm ready for it!

And . . . please don't forget to add your vote to the poll on the sidebar!

Kopytka

2011-02-12T04:33:00.000-08:00

Someone has just asked me to post in a kopytka recipe, and although I must admit that while I'm not a great fan of these, this recipe here is as close as I can find to the one I follow. So, please excuse my laziness in having to type out the whole recipe from my book here at home, instead, please click on the link and you will have the same thing only probably better written in clearer steps that you can follow!

Kopytka Recipe
(please click on the link above)

So what are kopytka?

Kopytka, kapytki (literally "little hooves") are a kind of potato dumpling. They are very similar to gnocchi although they are typically served baked with cheese, fried bacon or onion. The dish is a part of Belarus, Lithuanian and Polish cuisines.

Serve these as a stand alone dish, or as a side dish with other food. Also try and experiment with different sauce toppings to suit you. Hope you enjoy making these, and off course eating them too. Perfect also to serve as a Lenten meal with a cheese topping rather than a meat one, and almost doubly yummy if topped with fried onions and mushrooms!

Smacznego!

Lent - Fat Thursday and delicious Pączki/doughnuts

2011-02-04T20:38:00.000-08:00

As Easter approaches, we're once again getting ready for some more '(delicious) food traditions that this holiday offers. If you thought that only exciting traditional things happened at Christmas then you will be pleasantly suprised! With Easter on the horizon, I thought we would start with this lovely 'sweet' tradition first.

I love this Polish custom, as it involves something sweet and delicious! 'Pączki' is the name for doughnuts, usually filled with jams/powidla/plum conserves. In Poland, this authentic Polish paczki recipe is the sweet treat of choice when it comes to Fat Tuesday, the last day of feasting before the onset of Lent.

Fat Tuesday and authentic paczki recipes (pronounced “ponch-kee”) go hand in hand. The Christian custom of refraining from eating sweets and baking only unleavened bread during Lent can be traced all the way back to the Middle Ages. In Poland, to keep from being tempted, each household used up their remaining yeast supply on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, to create a delectable Polish dish called Pączki

Polish Paczki Recipe

Ingredients

1 stick butter
1 package dry yeast
1 cup warm (room temperature) milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
4 eggs
1 tbs. vanilla
4 ½ to 5 cups white flour
Vegetable oil or lard for deep frying

Equipment

Deep fryer/ deep frying pan can be used
Large slotted spoon
Newspaper
Paper towels

Directions

Melt the butter and set it aside to cool.
Pour the yeast into a small bowl. Pour the warm milk into the bowl and stir until the yeast dissolves. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine sugar, nutmeg, eggs and vanilla. Mix.
Add the butter to the large bowl and mix until it is well blended.
Add the milk and yeast to the large bowl. Mix well.
Slowly add flour. When you have four cups of flour mixed in, the dough should not still be sticky. If it’s still sticky, add a little more. (Remember, the eggs help make the paczki light, but too much flour can quickly weigh the dough down. Use only as much flour as needed.)
Knead the dough gently with your fists until it no longer sticks to your knuckles.
Put the bowl of dough in a warm place; cover it with a clean, damp kitchen towel. Let it rise double. (If the room is warm enough, it should only take a couple of hours.)
Once it has doubled, punch it down.
Let it rise again. (This should take about an hour.)
When the dough has risen a second time, dump the dough onto a lightly floured counter and roll it out to about one half inch thickness. Using a two and one half inch round (oblong is better) cookie cutter or regular canning jar ring, cut the dough. Carefully place the dough cutouts on greased cookie sheets, in a warm room. If you have used a round cutter, elongate each paczki slightly as you place it on the cookie sheet.
Let the dough rise until about double in size. While the dough is rising, line the counter top with a thick layer of newspaper, covered by a double layer of paper towel.
Heat the oil to about 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fry each paczki for about two minutes per side, or until deep brown. Use the slotted spoon to turn the paczki and lift each one from the oil carefully. Place the paczki on the paper towels to drain. The more grease that is drained away from the paczki the better the paczki will taste.
Paczki can also be frozen.

Smacznego!

Stay tuned for some more Lenten and Easter recipes which I will post in soon!

My Kitchen rules

2011-02-02T20:08:00.000-08:00

Watched an episode of My Kitchen rules last night and it was so nice to see those two delightful Sydney girls cooking up a storm. I loved the name they gave their restaurant - Olka Polka! how catchy is that? The Polish costumes used as decor was a great idea too.

I was a bit worried thought, when they started cooking their entree - the soup which was a beetroot soup ( barszcz)I felt that this was the only authentic Polish recipe in their whole meal - the other dishes just didn't look particularly Polish.

My recipe for the soup is different from theirs and personally I didnt think the soup looked that appealing in the end - looked too greasy to me, I have always hated globs of floating grease on a clear soup, which I didnt think was the right look for that soup, unless its a chicken rosol - chicken broth. But the judges loved it and gave them a score of 10 for the soup which was great.

Here is a link to the recipe.

It was good thought to see a Polish recipe being made on Australian TV and it empahised the whole point I am trying to make on this blog. . . and that is Polish Girls CAN cook. . . . so lets get the word out there!

In recovery mode

2010-12-24T21:10:00.000-08:00

today . . . sitting here slumped in a chair, completely wilted from the the heat and yeaterdays cooking marathon . . . and so will update with a new post in a few days or so when I have recovered some! In the meantime I hope you've all had the most wonderful of all Christmasses ever! Back soon.

My Christmas Menu

2010-12-16T20:13:00.000-08:00

Here is the menu for our family Wigilia this year, come to think of it, its only a week away! I have been shopping for some food ingredients, but the rush is not on yet. I'm not quite in panic mode just yet, but talk to me this time next week . . and it will be a different story!

We will start the food part with a plate of Barszcz beetroot soup, and I will add a small quantity of mushroom uszka to each portion.

Followed by Sledzie - pickled herrings, and possibly a local seasonal addition of prawns, and some dark rye bread . . .

Followed by pierogi off course! ( are you full to bursting yet?)

And after a short break . . . some pierniki, chocolate covered gingerbreads

and some traditional poppy seed cake (Makowiec)

The weather forecast here for next friday has been a little scary . . . we are supposed to have temps in the very high 30'sC possibly a 39C on Wigilia, but despite all this we will try to keep cool and enjoy the hot food!

Over and out for now!

Smacznego!

Choinka

2010-12-14T21:29:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas tree is up and dressed at last - dressed all in red this year, and I like it!
Merry Christmas / Wesolych Swiat to all that read this blog, till next time - back soon!

I heart my Christmas tree

2010-12-11T05:03:00.001-08:00

More photos of the tree tomorrow
( as its still a work in progress)

A red and white Christmas

2010-12-09T02:48:00.000-08:00

This year its going to be a Christmas tree dressed in Polish colours - red and white! Thanks to Ikea for all those delicious decorations this year in my favourite colours! Feeling tired as spent a lot of time wandering around Ikea today, totally inspired by their ideas! Love that place and their meatballs aren't bad either.
Dressing the tree tonight, hopefully photos tomorrow!

Dishes for the table

2010-12-07T18:54:00.001-08:00

Once you've cooked some of these wonderful Polish dishes, what better than to serve them on one of these traditional plates or range of dishes?

Polish Pottery - Boleslawiec Stoneware - handmade inPoland
check out the supplier in your part of the world.
I would LOVE to have as many of these as in the pic above!

'Lady' cheese dishes - cute!

Even the food tastes better when served in one of these beautiful plates!
I first came across this wonderful range of dishes in one of our local shopping centres, and have been hooked ever since!

Do you recognise anyone in THIS photo?

2010-12-05T16:55:00.000-08:00

Click to enlarge

~ We are family ~

I posted this on my other main blog and decided to post here too, because of the pre-Christmas heavier than normal traffic, hoping that someone may recognise someone here!
Read on . . .

As you may know I've been doing quite a bit of research on family history, and recently found family that I didnt know existed. I was lucky enough to get this photo of them from my cousin, which was taken in New Castle, PA (USA) in 1955. In the centre of the photo is my great -aunt. How wonderful it was to see a photo of her after all these years!

I would be over the moon if someone reading this blog, was actualy one of the people in the photo or recognised a family member in the group.

Fingers crossed!

How to make Barszcz/Borscht

2010-12-02T21:01:00.001-08:00

Clear Barszcz, all ready to serve at the Wigilia Meal on Christmas Eve, with the optional choice of adding tiny pierogi (uszka) to the soup

Barszcz ingredients

Beetroot (about 6-8 largish beetroots)

A couple of litres of meat or vegetable stock
cubed carrots/celery onion just for cooking the soup to add flavour, and these ingredients will later be strained out)

Garlic cloves (2)
Potato (optional)

1. Peel and chop beetroot roughly into chunks any size you want. I usually do them the size of large dice.

2. Add to soup stock (See 'Making a soup stock).

3. Add garlic, crushed.

4. Cover and boil until the beetroot and potato are soft. (Approximately 1 hour depending on size but increasing the length of time increases softness.

5. There it is, and the barszcz soup is ready to strain through the colander, so that only the clear liquid remains. You can add a few of the cooked beets to the soup if you wish. This soup as you can see is extremely simple and quick to make.

~ And if in a hurry, I suppose you could always use this ready made instant variety~

Here is a good link for making the uszka/little ears recipe to add to the Barszcz
but you can google 'uszka recipes' too.

http://www.brantfordpolishhall.com/recipes/uszka.html

Smacznego!

Pierogi recipe

2010-12-01T16:29:00.000-08:00

Time is moving along, and now that December is here I thought it may be time to post in a pierogi recipe. . . one that was handed down to me by my grandmother and mother, with many hours of watching time under my belt - watching my gran that is, knead and roll out hundreds of pierogi in days gone by. She used to give me a board and a small rolling pin and some dough to practice on, and cook the small pierogi I used to make. Well now, we all know practice makes perfect, but it does take a little time and practise to make really good pierogi. I still tend to make mine a little larger than I should, but they still taste as good as the smaller ones! So here now is the recipe:

The Dough

2½ cups of plain flour (could be as much as 3 cups)

a good pinch of salt

1 egg

~½ cup lukewarm water - to make the dough come together to knead into a ball

Mix all ingredients together, and knead just a bit. The dough should not be very smooth, and it should be quite sticky. Let stand covered with an inverted bowl for ~1/2 h before using covered with a damp teatowel.

Just before taking the dough out to roll our, sprinkle more flour onto the dough to make it a little less sticky/drier, knead some more, then put the dough onto your surface to knead a little more and roll out.

Take either all, or a portion of the dough, and roll it out until it is reasonalbly thin, you will have to use plenty of flour to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin and rolling surface. You can also flip the dough several times as well. (Your work surface dictates how much you can roll out at one time.) The thickness is very important.I like to make lots of tiny balls of dough and then roll each on e out individually, this can be time consuming, or the other method is to roll out a larger piece of dough and cut into circles with the rim of a small glass or the right shaped round cookie cutter, then stuff each circle with the filling.

Potato filling

potatoes 6-8 or more if making more pierogi

2 brown onions

salt

pepper

cheese - grated

Finely chop the onions and fry until golden brown. Peel potatoes and cut them into thirds; cook until tender. Once cooked, completely drain potatoes and mash with no liquid. Add fried onions, and salt and pepper to taste. Since this is a fairly bland filling, you will find you need a fair amount of salt and pepper. I like to add some grated tasty cheese too this to add falvour and a bit of zing to the filling.

To see how pierogi are made and filled, please take a look at this video, it shows the method in detail

http://polishcooking.blogspot.com/2009/11/making-pierogi-for-christmas-on-youtube.html

Roll out the dough now and fill with the Filling of choice. lay the peirogi on a teatowel covered board, so that they dont stick and they can be left there for up to half an hour. Make sure each pierog is firmly sealed and that there are no holes in the dough that could lead to tearing or water seeping inside the filling to break up the pierog.

Boil the water, with a little salt, and prepare to drop the pierogi into the water to boil. The water will stop boiling once youve dropped in a few peirogi - drop less of them rather than more and don't overcrowd the pot as the pierogi tend to swell a bit in the water. Simmer the pierogi, and wait till they come up to the surface of the water, and simmer for a about 3-5 mins on a very gentle simmer.

Scoop them out, and put into colander to drain. Put them into a shallow layer in a dish and spoon a little of the onion/mushroom oil mix on top to prevent the pierogi from sticking and tearing when you are serving them.

Pierogi simmering till cooked.

A Mushroom and Onio mix with a little oil mix to put over the pierogi to stop them from sticking and tearing.
Now you are ready to serve and enjoy your pierogi meal!

Smacznego!

Pierogi

2010-11-25T19:16:00.000-08:00

The Question is asked . . . store bought, versus home made?

We tried these the other day just to road taste them before the big day, and to be honest, their lovely yummy taste was such a suprise that due to increased numbers attending Wigilia this year, I am opting to buy these and make them, rather than go for the home made option!
Available at the Little Russian shop in Bibra Lake WA. For more details please leave a comment.

Choinka - A Polish Christmas tree

2010-11-20T23:44:00.000-08:00

Christmas in Poland

In Poland, Advent is an important season in which special church services known as 'Rororaty' are held every morning at 6 am. The four Sundays of the holy month of Advent symbolize 4000 years of waiting for Christ. In Christmas Eve, there is a Polish superstition that if bees wax is poured on water, emerging shapes and forms can predict your future. People bake special Christmas honey cake as a custom known as Piernik.

Pierniki can be made in variety of shapes and forms such as hearts, animals and St. Nicholas figures. Polish people also love to make handmade Christmas decorations during Advent that include Pajaki or spiders, stars and decorated eggshells.

Christmas trees are decorated with shiny apples, gifts, walnuts, wrapped chocolates in different shapes, homemade decorations and candles and are kept outside homes and churches. At the top of the tree, is a sparkling Christmas ornament, usually a star. Sparklers are hung on the branches of the tree to make it look heavenly. Sometimes, Christmas trees stand as late as 2nd of February, the feast day of St Mary of the Candle of Lightning. Gwiadorze or star carriers go from door to door during the Advent season until Epiphany. They sing carols, recite verses, perform puppet shows known as Szopi and put up Nativity scenes known as Herody. The customs of Szopi and Herody evolved from traditional manger scenes and Jaselka or crib.

Another very interesting Polish custom is to attach Christmas tree to the celing and decorate it.

Its time

2010-11-06T20:47:00.000-07:00

To find and look through my collection of traditional recipes and see which ones I will make this Christmas. So many ideas, that its almost impossible to choose!

Mmm . . . mouthwatering cakes and pastries, and biscuits . . I would love to make them all!

Prayers to say before Wigilia

2010-11-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

The breaking and sharing of the Oplatek - the Wigilia Wafer.

- W imię Ojca i Syna, i Ducha Świętego. - Amen.
Zapalając świecę: - Światło Chrystusa. - Bogu niech będą dzięki.
Włączając światełka choinki: - Dziś Chrystus się narodził. -Radujmy się i weselmy.

Odczytanie fragmentu z Ewangelii wg św. Łk 2,1-20 lub wg św. Mt 1,18-25.

Panie Boże, w tą świętą noc Twoja miłość zajaśnieje w światłości narodzonego Twojego Syna : spraw,abyśmy w naszym codziennym postępowaniu jaśnieli blaskiem Twojej światłości .

Pobłogosław nas i te opłatki ,którymi będziemy się dzielić zwyczajem wielu pokoleń. Naucz nas dzielić się chlebem , miłością i życzliwością z każdym człowiekiem.

Obdarz nas wszystkich Twoim pokojem, abyśmy wspólnie sławili Twoją Ojcowską dobroć. Przez Syna Twojego Chrystusa Pana naszego. AMEN !

I also found a few more

Pobłogosław Panie Boże nas i ten posiłek oraz tych, którzy go przygotowali i naucz nas dzielić się chlebem i miłością z tymi, którzy tego nie mają. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.

Panie Boże,Ty sprawiłeś, że ta święta noc zajaśniała blaskiem prawdziwej światłości Twojego Syna: spraw, abyśmy jaśnieli blaskiem Twojej światłości w naszym codziennym postępowaniu.
Pobłogosław nas i te opłatki, którymi będziemy się dzielić zwyczajem naszych ojców. Naucz nas dzielić się chlebem, miłością i życzliwością z każdym człowiekiem. Obdarz nas wszystkich Twoim pokojem, abyśmy wspólnie sławili Twoją ojcowską dobroć. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego.
AMEN!

Dziękujemy Ci, Boże, nasz dobry Ojcze, za Twojego Syna Jezusa Chrystusa, dziękujemy za miłość do wszystkich ludzi, za ten wieczór wigilijny i dary, które spożywaliśmy. Tobie chwała na wieki.

Wszyscy odpowiadają: Amen.

A Very Polish Christmas

2010-11-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

I thought it may be time to slowly start thinking about the festive season, and introduce a few ideas about how we celebrate a Polish Christmas.

Advent

Special tasks carried out during Advent are the baking of the Christmas piernik (gingerbread), and the making of Christmas decorations. Pierniki are made in a variety of shapes, including hearts, animals and St. Nicholas figures. Traditional decorations include the pajaki, which are handmade stars and decorated eggshells.

Christmas Trees are decorated and lit the day of Christmas Eve and others are placed in most public areas, outside churches and in homes. Traditionally the trees are decorated with shiny apples, walnuts, wrapped chocolate shapes, hand blown glass baubles, and many homemade ornaments and candles. On the top of the tree is a star or a glittering top piece. In many homes, sparklers are hung on the branches of the trees for ambiance. Sometimes the trees are left standing until February 2, the feast day of St. Mary of the Candle of Lightning.

During Advent the "Gwiazdory", or star carriers, wander through the towns and villages and this continues until Epiphany. Some of the Gwiazdory sing carols; others recite verses or put on "Szopki" (puppet shows), or "herody" (nativity scenes). The last two customs are developments from traditional manger scenes or "Jaselka" (crib). One tradition unique to Poland is the sharing of the "opłatek", a thin wafer into which is pressed a holy picture. People once carried these opłatki from house to house wishing their neighbors a Merry Christmas. Nowadays, the bread is mostly shared with members of the family and immediate neighbors. As each person shares pieces of the wafer with another person, they are supposed to forgive any hurts that have occurred over the past year and to wish the other person all the happiness in the coming year.

Christmas eve

Christmas Eve supper - dishes

In Poland, Christmas Eve is a day first of fasting, then of feasting. The feast begins with the appearance of the first star; there is no meat (except fish) in the feast, and it is followed by the exchange of gifts. The following day is often spent visiting friends. In Polish tradition, people combine religion and family closeness at Christmas time. Although gift giving plays a major role in the rituals, emphasis is placed more on making special foods and decorations.

On Christmas Eve, so important is the first star of the night that it has been given the affectionate name of "little star" or Gwiazdka, in remembrance of the Star of Bethlehem. On that night, all watch the sky anxiously, hoping to be the first to cry out, "The star!" The moment the star appears, people start eating. According to tradition, bits of hay are spread beneath the tablecloth as a reminder that Christ was born in a manger. An even number of people must be seated around the table or, tradition states, someone may die in the coming year. Wigilia is a family feast. In some places an empty place setting is symbolically left at the table for the Baby Jesus or for a wanderer who may be in need, or if a deceased relative should come and would like to share in the meal. The meal begins with the breaking of the opłatek. Everyone at the table breaks off a piece and eats it as a symbol of their unity with Christ. They then share a piece with each family member giving good wishes for the following year. There should be twelve dishes, as a symbol of the Twelve Apostles, or an odd number of dishes for good luck (usually five, seven, or nine). Poppy seed cake, beet soup, prune dumplings, carp, herring and noodles with poppy seed are universal Polish Christmas foods. Traditionally, there is no meat eaten on Christmas Eve. Often there is compote of dry fruits. The remainder of the evening is given to stories and songs around the Christmas tree. In some areas of the country, children are taught that "The Little Star" brings the gifts. As presents are wrapped, carolers may walk from house to house, receiving treats along the way.

Christmas Eve ends with 'Pasterka'- mass at the church at midnight. Following tradition one commemorates the arrival of the Three Wise Men to Bethlehem and their paying of respect and bearing witness to the new born Messiah baby Jesus. The custom of Christmas night liturgy was introduced in the churches after the second half of the 5th century. In Poland that custom arrived together with the coming of Christianity.

Info source - Wikipedia

More Christmas dishes, recipes and photos coming soon.

Jablecznik - Polish Apple Cake Recipe

2010-09-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

Makes 12 servings of Polish Apple Cake Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 + 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) soft butter + 3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
4 large apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon cloves

Preparation:

Lightly coat a 13"x9" pan with cooking spray. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and 3/4 cup sugar. Add 1/2 cup softened butter, milk and eggs. Beat at medium speed 4 minutes.
Pour half the batter into prepared pan, then layer on half the apples. Spoon all but 1/2 cup of the remaining batter over the apples, covering completely. Place the remaining apples on top and dot the reserved 1/2 cup batter over the apples.
Cut remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cloves into 3 tablespoons cold butter and sprinkle over the unbaked cake. Bake about 40 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan so the apple juices will be reabsorbed to create a moist cake. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, if desired, and cut into 12 squares.

Delicious, served hot or cold, the apples make a scrumptious tart contrast to the sweetness of the cake. I like to bake this cake in the summer months, because of the clean crisp flavours, and it makes a change from the apple pie (in crust) that is served in the colder winter months.

Smacznego!

Mizeria

2010-09-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

With the approaching warmer weather this simple salad called'MIZERIA' adds a simple, but delicious and cooling touch to any summer meal.

The Polish name for cucumbers in sour cream is "mizeria" literally meaning "misery," referring to the dish being conceived by peasants, who were nicknamed "the miserable ones" by the have-gots! See the legend below.

This delightful, cooling salad is anything but "misery." It's a great accompaniment to pork, ham, chicken, fish, just about anything. Choose thin cucumbers with small seeds or the seedless variety. Dress this just before serving so the dish doesn't become watery.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 large cucumber with or without seeds, washed and trimmed
Salt
1/2 cup sour cream (try the garlic and parsley combined one)
Pepper
chopped up chives or spring onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

Preparation:

Note: Legend has it this dish was a favorite of Queen Bona Sforza, an Italian princess who married Polish King Sigismund I in the 16th century. Homesick for her native Italy where cucumbers were common, everytime she ate it, it made her cry. Hence the Polish word for "misery," derived from the Latin.

Run a knife or fork down the length of the cucumbers to produce a pretty edge, and slice thinly. Place in a colander over a bowl to catch the juices and salt the cukes liberally. Allow to stand for 30 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Pat cucumbers dry optional, but cukes produce a lot of juice which makes the salad watery otherwise, and place in a medium bowl. Add the dressing and toss with the cucumber slices. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Chill and sprinkle with additional dill, if desired, or chopped spring onion/chives before serving.

~ Smacznego! ~

What can you do with buckwheat?

2010-07-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

In my pantry - Buckwheat/Kasza

In my family childhood home, kasza . . . buckwheat was not eaten. My dad apparently hated it from his childhood and so my mother was 'banned' from making it, and so I wasnt familiar with this dish till I got married and tasted my first buckwheat dish at my mother in laws house. I loved it! It really is so simple to make and we just love it!

First you boil the buckwheat till its soft and in another pan I fry some bacon and onion and when the buckwheat is ready, I toss it through the bacon and onion and voila, thats it . . . its ready to go! How easy is that?

Here it is, served (last night) with some pork (white) sausage. Totally yummy!
Smacznego!

Chicken soup ( Winter warmer)

2010-05-18T17:55:00.000-07:00

Chicken soup (rosół z kury)

This is the typical soup served at Sunday dinner, weddings and other family occasions. A fryer/broiler chicken can be used, but for that rich, old-time flavor a mature stewing chicken is preferable.

Ingredients

3 lb chicken
1 tablespoon salt
½ onion
1 tomato
1 carrot
other soup greens based on preference
6 peppercorns
3 grains allspice
1 bay leaf
parsley for garnishing

Directions

Wash 1 cut-up 3 lb chicken, place in pot, add 1 T salt and 2-1/2 - 3 quarts water, bring to gentle boil and cook 90 min or until meat is fairly tender. (Cook only 45 min if a fryer is being used).

Skim off scum until no more forms. To broth add 1 portion soup greens and 1 halved onion (impaled on fork and charred over flame), 1 whole tomato, 1 whole carrot, 6 peppercorns, 2-3 grains allspice and 1 bay leaf.

Cook until vegetables are tender. Strain, discard all spices and serve. Vegetables may be used in some other dish, but the carrots may be diced and served in the soup.

If weight-watching and calorie-counting, refrigerate broth overnight and discard congealed fat.

Serving Suggestions

Serve over home-made or store-bought egg noodles, egg-drop dumplings or poured-batter noodles, cooked diced potatoes, cooked rice or barley. The boiled chicken may be removed from bone and served in the soup. Garnish with diced carrot (from soup) and fresh parsley.

Here are the cooked egg noodles with fresh parsley, ready for the hot soup to be added and served!
Smacznego!

A very Polish wedding

2009-11-30T19:10:00.000-08:00

In a few weeks we are going to a wedding - its the wedding of the daughter of one of our oldest friends and I have been asked to do the wedding blessing at the ceremony, so off I went looking on the net for the words to the blessing and thought I might share all the other traditions with you too.

Polish customs have not changed much during the centuries, but due to the rich variety of many regional traditions in Poland, some published information might be little different.

The wedding is one of the most important family celebrations.

1. First there is the engagement period called
Oswiadczyny, Zareczyny or Zrekowiny.
2. The wedding day is set up by young people.
3. Invitation time called: Zaprosiny or Oprosiny.
4. Wedding Day (Church and reception).
5. Next Day party. In Poland sometimes 3 days
party.

The engagement ceremony comes before the wedding. The engagement is usually a small ceremony that takes place in the house of the parents or parents in law (either the bride or the groom). Many times this is a time when in-laws meet each other the first time.

Wedding traditions demanded that guests be invited in a certain obligatory manner. First, invitations were issued to relatives or friends to act as groomsmen or bridesmaids. The bride and groom then went to invite their godparents. In some sections of Poland old custom forbade the exclusion of anyone in the village from being invited to the wedding.
If somebody from invited guests is unable to participate in a wedding ceremony he/she usually sends a telegram or a postcard or the gift.

Some Polish brides and grooms like to celebrate the big change in their lives - the wedding - with a bachelor and bachelorette party. The bachelor and bachelorette party sometimes takes place a night before the wedding but more often - on a Saturday or Friday - a week or two before the wedding ceremony. During the bachelor party, the groom gets to go out and socialize with his guy friends. They usually visit a couple of bars where they have drinks, play pool or throw darts. During the bachelorette party, the bride either goes out with her girl friends or invites the girl friends to her house for a light meal and drinks. During the party, the girls talk, gossip, play games, and listen to music.

A wedding ceremony is usually both religious and civil and takes place first a magistrate and then in a church.

The most typical wish to the newlywed:
"Zycze Wam wszystkiego najlepszego na nowej drodze zycia."
(I wish you all of the best on your new road through life.)

There are several ways to express Polish traditions on the wedding day:

Blessing

1. Before the church ceremony everyone would gather at the home of the bride to accompany the bridal couple to the church, but also to witness the blessing and symbolic farewells of the bride with her parents, relatives, and friends. The blessing by the parents before church were seen as more important than the church ceremony itself. A crucifix, a lighted candle, a bowl of holy water and a sprinkler (if the regular Polish brush-type sprinkler is not available, this can be a leafy tree branch) should be prepared. Traditionally the mother of the bride gives the blessing. Either kneelers or some cushions are provided for the bride and groom to kneel on. They hold hands as they kneel in front of their parents. The mother then sprinkles the bride and groom-to-be with Holy Water, whereupon they make the Sign of the Cross. She then gives them the crucifix to kiss. The father of the bride may utter a blessing of his own or simply sprinkle the couple with Holy Water. The bridegroom's parents may also impart their blessing. Others, for instance grandparents, or godparents may also bless the couple.
After the blessing, the bride and groom thank, hug and kiss their parents and the wedding party prepares to leave for church. Years ago, the blessings were so important that, if a mother or father had died, the wedding party would stop at the cemetery where the groom or bride asked for a blessing from the deceased parent.

2. The Bread and Salt Blessing is an old and most popular Polish tradition. At the wedding reception, the parents of the bride and groom greet the newly married couple with bread, which is lightly sprinkled with salt and a goblet of wine.

Parents usually say:
"Staropolskim zwyczajem witamy Was chlebem i sola, aby w Waszym domu zawsze goscil dostatek."
"According to our Old Polish tradition, we greet you with bread and salt, so that your home might always enjoy abundance."

With the bread, the parents are hoping that their children will never hunger of be in need. With the salt, they are reminding the couple that their life may be difficult at times, and they must learn to cope with life's struggles. Also It was believed that salt had the power to heal and cleanse, uncover thieves, protect houses against fire, dispel storms and hail, and drive away evil spirits. The wine symbolizes the desire that the couple will never go thirsty, and that their lives will be filled with health and happiness. After the bride and groom each taste a piece of bread they break the plate and glass for good luck. The parents then kiss them as a sign of welcome, unity, and love.

Church ceremony

Everyone would gather at the home of the bride to accompany the bridal couple to the church, but also to witness the blessing and symbolic farewells of the bride with her parents, relatives, and friends.

The trip to the church took place in various ways, with the bride and groom riding together, or bride and groom comes separate. If they come separate the bride waits in the church and the groom shouldn't see her until the mess ceremony starts. Father walks with the bride to the Leaving the church ceremony, the bride sometimes threw handfuls of straw on the young boys and girls who followed the wedding party. Whoever it landed on was prophesied to marry before the others. Another belief was that whichever one of the bridesmaids touched the bride or her wreath first after the marriage would marry that year.

After the wedding ceremony there is a time for congratulations. While the young couple leaves a church, the Wedding March of Mendelssohn or Ave Maria is played by the organist. Then the rest of the invited guests leave a church and wait, usually in a long line to congratulate a young couple in front of the church. The parents and the closest family congratulate first, later the rest of the family.

Than guests usually throw small coins to a young couple, where the money needs to be picked up, mainly by guests. This is an old and pagan habit but still very popular. In the past people showered a young couple with grains or rice, usually millet for a good and prosperous future.

Music and Dance

Many young couples consider hiring a polish band / polka band, so their guests can enjoy Polish Music. It is customary to have musicians playing as the wedding guest began arriving at banquet hall or the Dom Weselny (wedding home). Sometimes musicians are rewarded with a small tip. It is often sung to celebrate any major occasion, such as a wedding.

First toast and song called "Sto lat" which literally translated means "one hundred years". Sto Lat, usually is sung by the guests that signifies 100 years of good health for the bride and groom.

STO LAT - ONE HUNDRED YEARS

Sto lat, sto lat niech zyje, zyje nam,
Sto lat, sto lat niech zyje, zyje nam,
Jeszcze raz, jeszcze raz,
niech zyje, zyje nam, niech zyje nam....

Good health, good cheer, may you live a hundred years,
one hundred years....

Also there is tradition that all the guests at the reception line up or make a circle for a last chance to dance with the bride. It is customary to donate money to the newly wed couple for the privilege of the dance. Guests pin money to the bride's wedding dress to buy a dance from her. Or the money can be put into an apron, basket, plate, or decorated box before dancing with the bride. The money collected during the dance is sent with them to spend on their honeymoon.

Next day after reception party, there is a follow-up party the day after the wedding (poprawiny). This is held at the home of one of the newlyweds' parents, especially when there is quite a bit of food and drink left over from the previous day's festivities.

The Unveiling and Capping Ceremony ( called "oczepiny") during wedding ceremony

This tradition is still the mainstay of many Polish brides, representing a rite of passage from young woman to married woman. All single ladies circle the bride as the maid or matron of honor stands behind the bride and removes the veil/cap (welon, czepek) from the bride's head as music is played. A married woman is given the responsibility of pinning the cap on the bride as all married women circle around the bride. At this moment, the bride is officially considered a married woman. Sometimes, after the unveiling the bride will toss the veil, rather than the bouquet, to one of the single women or give the veil to the maid of honor.

Years ago, the veil was usually a gift to the bride from her godmother. This veil/ cap was always held as special and reserved for wear to church, for special folk festivals, and on her death, for burial.

Food

Some Polish favorites are: Polish beet soup (barszcz czerwony),
hunter's stew (bigos), dumplings (kopytka), dough pockets (pierogi)
roasted meats and vegetables, potatoes with gravy, meat pastries, torte and fruit bar.

In addition to food, they serve Polish drinks as well, such as Polish vodka or wine.

Typical Polish wedding in a village is much bigger than a wedding that takes place in a town. Since people in villages usually own a house, they can afford to invite much more guests than in the towns where people usually live in apartments. In the village it is not unusual to have a wedding which last three days and nights straight.

Making Pierogi for Christmas on youtube.

2009-11-19T04:48:00.000-08:00

Cabbage Rolls - Golabki

2009-08-11T22:07:00.000-07:00

Ready to eat - and a wonderful easy dish to freeze and enjoy another time too.
According to my husband I don't make these often enough, and although they are quite work intensive to make, once cooked they are so freezable and so tasty for a quick delicious meal anytime.

cabbage rolls and filling

Cabbage (1 or 2)
Minced meat (few pounds of beef or pork)
Onion (1 large chopped)
Rice (few cups)
Carrot (1 or 2 grated)
An egg
Butter (few tablespoons)
Salt and Pepper

Sauce

Tomato paste (about 1 cup)
Chicken stock (about a cup)
Butter (couple of tablespoons)
Canned tomatoes (1 can)
Flour (2 tablespoons)
Garlic cloves (1 or 2 crushed)
Sugar
Salt/pepper
Fresh thyme and parsley

What you do

Boil cabbage until leaves start to fall off.
Boil the loose cabbage leaves until tender but do not over boil. Roughly 15mins.
Place leaves on a colander to drain and cool.
Boil rice with salt for about 10mins until tender
Rinse rice with water and drain in colander. Leave to dry.
Brown onions in a pan with butter.

Mix onions, minced meat, rice, salt, pepper, carrot
Trim spines of cabbage leaves.
Spoon 2-3 tablespoons mixture onto wider end of flattened out leaf.
Fold in sides and roll from wide end to narrower end.
Place all cabbage rolls into huge stockpot or saucepan and cover almost to the top with stock and boil very gently then to simmering on the stove top for about 45 - 60 mins
Serve golabki covered in sauce and topped with chopped parsley, with ziemniaki (potatoes) add grave if to your taste.

Chrusty, Faworki

2009-08-07T23:21:00.000-07:00

Time to have an update on this site, and present you with a delicious melt in the mouth biscuit that can accompany your coffee, or serve as a post dinner dessert with coffee. They are truly more-ish and you won't be able to stop at just one I promise you! Some people call them Chrusty, or Faworki. I have always known them as Chrusty. ( Things have different names and this is usually due to regional dialects and depending on which part of Poland you hail from).

1,5 cup of flour
1 tbs of butter
1 tbs of vodka
100 ml sour cream
a pinch of salt
cooking oil
confectioner's sugar for dusting

1. Mix all the ingredience, put into fridge for 15 minutes.
2. Roll out - about 0,3 cm
3. With a sharp knife cut the rolled out dough into strips about 2 inches wide. Then cut
the other way on a diagonal to make pieces of dough that are about 2 inches by 4 inches
4. To form the cookie, take one end and place it through the slit
Very gently pull the end of the dough through the slit to form a bow shaped cookie
5.In a large pot or deep skillet heat cooking oil until very hot.
Fry the cookies in small batches - depending on the size of your pot
6. Drain on paper towels. Dust liberally with confectioner's sugar.

Smacznego!

Breakfast in Poland - Sniadanie ( breakfast)

2009-07-19T03:07:00.000-07:00

A traditional Polish Easter breakfast - I thought I'd include this picture.

(Thanks to Marie Noel - who jogged my memory and effort to bring you the next cooking instalment on this blog.) its about time I updated this page . . .isn't it! Seeing as I don't live in Poland, it will be interesting to see what Joanna - from Friendsheep blog says about what contemporary Poles eat for brekky these days.

In our family,we observed the traditional breakfast mostly during the holidays or special ocassions. On a day to day basis, I ate typical British breakfasts as thats where I was born and lived. Here in Australia, and in our family, the only tradional Polish breakfast we ever eat is the Easter breakfast at Easter time.

The traditional Polish breakfast are sandwiches called kanapka, which consist of just one slice of bread or toast with butter and toppings such as cold cuts, meat spreads, the Polish sausage kielbasa, Swiss cheese, tomatoes and sliced pickles. Twaróg, a Polish cheese, is the breakfast classic and comes in many forms. Twaróg can be eaten plain, with salt, sugar, or honey, or it can be mixed with chives into a cream cheese-like spread. Eggs are served often as the main breakfast item, mostly soft-boiled or scrambled. Hot oatmeal, muesli or breakfast cereal with milk are very common, especially for kids. Jam spreads are popular for a quick breakfast, including plum, raspberry, and black or red currant spreads. Breakfast drinks include coffee, milk (some areas may serve fresh milk from the cow), hot cocoa, or tea. Traditionally, the Poles avoid heavy-cooked foods for breakfast. For the most part, one will not see fried meats or potatoes in a classic Polish breakfast. Emphasis is placed on a large variety of foods to satisfy everyone at the breakfast table.

So, hoping that you enjoyed tasting this breakfast, along with me, Smacznego!

Krokiety

2009-06-07T20:12:00.000-07:00

*~Yum, and ready to eat!~*

*~ krokiety filling - in the fry pan ~*

*~Krokiety~*

Yesterday, saw the remake of the recipe my Daughter tried out for the first time, last weekend This time I wanted to have a go and have another run a trying out of this tasty dish. The krokiety came out perfectly and so I thought this might be a good recipe to begin this blog with.

Here is the recipe:

Krokiety are Polish crepes filled with cooked sourkraut, mushrooms and fried onion .They taste great served with red borsch(, mushroom or tomato sauce

Ingredients

500 ml sauerkraut
250 gr mushrooms -( wild mushrooms would be perfect, but any other will do fine as well),chopped
1 big onion, chopped
chicken broth
salt, pepper

For crepes:
1 cup milk
1 egg
not full 1 cup flour
salt, pepper

Other:
bread crumps
egg, well beaten

Preparation

First , in medium bowl mix all ingredients for crepes.Melt 1 teaspoon butter, then pour 1/3 cup of batter into center of skillet; lift and turn pan to cover bottom. Cook until lightly browned; turn and brown the other side.

Take a big plate and put it upside down. Place your crepes on the upside down side of the plate - it will prevent crepes from sticking one to another and will allow you to easy seperate them

Filling:

Boil chicken broth, add sauerkraut and cook it for about 15 minutes until soft,drain it and put aside. In the skillet melt 1 tablespoon of butter, add chopped onion, fry until well cooked. Season with salt and pepper.

When our sauerkraut is drained and of room temperature chop it into small pieces.
Then mix it with mushrooms and onions, season with salt and pepper.

Next, take one crepe, place it on a smooth surface,place 2 tablespoons of mushroom filling in to the center of the crepe; spread it evenly leaving about 1/2 inch border along the edge.

Roll your crepe so that all the corners were inside. The best way to do it is to fold two opposite corners toward the middle of the crepe, then still pressing these corners roll two remaining corners .If you look at the shorter side of your crepe it will look like a snail :)with no filling visible.

Finally, place your crepes into beaten egg making sure that it is coated well, then into bread crumbs . Heat a skillet with 4 tablespoons of oil. cook each crepe so it was fried on each side.

Serve with red borsch , toamto or mushroom sauce.

Do try this one out and . . . Good luck in your culinary adventures!

Hello and Welcome - Witam!

2009-06-07T20:09:00.001-07:00

Hello and Welcome to my new blog - Polish Girls can cook.

Why the blog? For a long time now, all the recipes I see and hear on the TV and the radio are the more popular ones taken from different countries.

In Australia, at least here where I live, all we seem to hear about are recipes from Greece, Italy and lots from Asia, while delicious in their own right, it seems that the food and recipes from these countries are already well known and covered by the media, but the foods from less known cultures are not so well convered, so to redress the balance a little here is my blog that features food from Poland. More on this later.

Poland is a well known European country with minimal food exposure over here, and so I just want it to be known that Polish Girls CAN cook, and indeed do so with pleasing results and wonderful dishes and food for their family and friends to enjoy!

Without further ado . . .

Go, read and enjoy the recipes, food ideas and flavours of Poland!

Smacznego!

Krissie

Polish Girls Can Cook

Kitchen Closed . . . . for now

Summers Here

Photo perfect Herring

Jest Taki Dzien

Wesolych Swiat!

Ready, Steady . . . . . . . COOK!

Christmas Rituals

Polish Pickled Herrings and Salad

Polish Herring Salad Recipe

Creamy Mustard Sauce Recipe

Coming soon

Szopka

Amber - a Polish gem stone

Polish festival - Melbourne 2011

Polish Picnic

Cabbage with Caraway- Kapusta z Kminkiem

Sernik - Polish Cheese Cake

PGcC update, and hello Eton UK.

Bigos I love you - Hunters Stew

Buckwheat - with a twist

Potato Latkes/ Placki Ziemniaczane

Duck/Kaczka

Wrapping paper wise words

Where in the World are you?

Galareta - Pork in aspic

Blinis

Do you know your Polish Sausage?

Rose Petal Jam

Shiny Eggs for the Basket

Polish girls cook to win!

Babka - Polish Easter Cake

Pisanki and other eggs

the traditional techniques of decorating of eggs

Preparing for Easter

Eat out - best eatery links in YOUR town

Too hot to handle!

Kopytka

Lent - Fat Thursday and delicious Pączki/doughnuts

Polish Paczki Recipe

My Kitchen rules

In recovery mode

My Christmas Menu

Choinka

I heart my Christmas tree

A red and white Christmas

Dishes for the table

Do you recognise anyone in THIS photo?

How to make Barszcz/Borscht

Pierogi recipe

Pierogi

Choinka - A Polish Christmas tree

Christmas in Poland

Its time

Prayers to say before Wigilia

A Very Polish Christmas

Advent

Christmas eve

Jablecznik - Polish Apple Cake Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Mizeria

Ingredients:

Preparation:

What can you do with buckwheat?

Chicken soup ( Winter warmer)

Chicken soup (rosół z kury)

Ingredients

Directions

Serving Suggestions

A very Polish wedding

Making Pierogi for Christmas on youtube.

Cabbage Rolls - Golabki

Chrusty, Faworki

Breakfast in Poland - Sniadanie ( breakfast)

Krokiety

Ingredients