best granola and my morning routine- dedicated to ada

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Mornings are my favorite time of the day. Partially because it is a new day, and I have a chance for something very exciting to happen. But before I start my invigorating day I do my ordinary, boring things to make me feel safe, and grounded.

I love to ask people about their morning routines. It’s a source of endless fascination for me.  I’ve been asked that question so many times: what’s your morning routine? They seem to be expecting an inspiring answer. I hate to disappoint.  

My morning routine is pretty boring. Every day the same, getting up, exercising, shower, quick walk with my dog and bike ride to work. I break that boring routine once in a while with a short visit at a local coffee shop, usually combine with a friendly chat with neighbors, yes even New Yorkers have a sense of community and they are friendly sometimes, half sleeping, waiting for their first sip of coffee. Oftentimes the first thing I do in the morning is checking my email on my phone before I even sit up. I do this to calm my anxiety. Or to create enough anxiety that I’m not sleepy anymore. I’m not sure which. It’s a terrible habit.  I don’t have time to eat at home, I hit the ground running & get straight to work with my hair in a messy bun because I chose exercising over hairdo and makeup.

One of my routines is the choice of menu…. Fruit with yogurt and home made granola… Night owls rejoice! Now you can add some bee pollen, goji berries, seeds, coconut flakes, and superfood-, add some yogurt and have a legitimate, protein rich breakfast without doing anything more than waking up. This is particularly handy for not just night owls but for:

a) people who want to eat well in the morning (everyone, yes?)

b) people with children who even if they’re far better than I at mornings get pounced on with more needs than one woman can juggle 

c) people on the go that need something they can take with them.

So here’s to mornings, whether your idea of morning is burying a head under your pillow because you were up in the ambient glow of a screen as your brain buzzed all evening or if you’re a veritable bird from a Disney movie in the morning.

My best granola

 1 bag rolled oat

1/2 cup of coconut oil

·  5 tablespoons of honey or date paste (just mashed up dates)

· 1 teaspoon of flaky salt

· 1 cup of xylitol

·  FOR GARNISH

·  bee pollen

·  fresh fruit

·  honey

·  toasted coconut flakes

  goji berries

·  hemp seeds (or other seeds & nuts)

Mix all the ingredients together, spread out on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour in 275 F turn it occasionally so the oats don’t burn.

 

 

Mother's Day

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My mom is an amazing mother who dedicated her life to her two kids. She is selfless yet strong - and the most beautiful woman I know. She survived the death of her son and although she has never gotten rid of the pain, she learned how to show me her unconditional love and devotion and never made me feel -even for a second- that I am less important or less loved or appreciated because I am still alive and he is not.

Although my parents never made differences between us kids, it was always unspoken knowledge that my little brother was mama’s boy and I was daddy's little girl. Regardless of our alliances, I remember as a child walking 2 miles each way to the forest to collect Lilies of the Valley for my mom’s special bouquet. This was our thing. A small bunch of beautiful, to-die-for smelling white, tiny bells. I have kept this tradition to this day, sending my mom at least one dried stem in her Mother’s day card.

This year during my morning run – every day the same path - exactly on Mother’s Day I came across a patch of my favorite Mother’s Day flowers. They were peeking at me asking to be seen. Coincidence? A sign the universe is trying to tell me something? I ran the same path the day before and I did not see them. Pretty damn amazing.

Last Sunday although I wasn’t celebrating Mother’s Day (in my country we celebrate it on May 26th), I was thinking about all the mothers everywhere. The crazy religious mothers, who protect a purified piece of emotional land that they feed to their children at the detriment of their lives. The lost mothers, who follow their children’s paths, becoming whatever their children are, who look younger than their daughters, who will never be able to be a beacon of aging, of mothering, of acceptance. The mothers who cook and clean and make their own peach mush for infants, the mothers who never cook and never clean and leave their infants alone with pedophile relatives. All mothers everywhere, who have grown babies or adopted them, especially adopted, for they are the ones who waited in vain, who were not ‘chosen’ and still insisted on their right to the job of motherhood. They watch their children with a melancholy fear, what will it be? Did I buy a killer? Can I teach my child well on the right to the job of motherhood?

When we have kids we know better. We know that the living child matters more than anything in the world. That is why it is nature’s prime directive. Reproduce, like a rose through the cement, like grass breaking apart rocks.

 

Apologies to all my friends who sent me Mother’s Day wishes. Although I am not really sure why – I am not their mother – I never reply or send anything back. Please don’t take this personally, it’s not you, it’s me. Weirdo, who doesn’t like meaningless words and gestures. Who has her own strong opinions about things and goes a bit against the grain.

I will be thinking of my mom on May 26th, the day when we celebrate Mother’s Day back home, the same way I think of her every single day of the year. A day doesn’t go by without some kind of a connection, sometimes we don’t say anything for a moment both hoping and wondering if next year will see us both alive. That day I might even make her favorite pancakes and serve them to my child to celebrate motherhood the way I understand it.

Recipe 

Scant 1 ¼ cup mashed bananas (about 3 small bananas)

2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter, melted

1 tablespoon lemon juice (about 1 small lemon, juiced)

1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup

2 eggs

1 cup quick oats

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

blueberries

In a small mixing bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, coconut oil (or butter), lemon juice and honey (or maple syrup).

Beat in the eggs. (If your coconut oil goes back to its solid state like mine did at this point, just warm the mixture for short 20 second bursts in the microwave, stirring between each, until it is melted again.)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the quick oats., salt and spices.

Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. With a big spoon, stir just until the dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened. Do not overmix! Add blueberries.

Let the batter sit for 10 minutes. You may want to thin out the batter a bit with a touch of milk or water.

Heat a heavy cast iron skillet/non-stick pan over medium-low heat, or heat an electric griddle to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly oil the surface with coconut oil, butter or cooking spray. (If you’re using a non-stick electric griddle, you might not need any oil at all.)

Once the surface of the pan is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles on it, pour ¼ cup of batter onto the pan. Let the pancake cook for about 3 minutes, until bubbles begin to form around the edges of the cake.

Once the underside of the pancake is lightly golden, flip it with a spatula and cook for another 90 seconds or so, until golden brown on both sides. You may need to adjust the heat up or down at this point.

Serve the pancakes immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven.

 

 

Pineapple crumble or happiness vs satisfaction

I was at the gynecologist office yesterday for my annual checkup, thinking about what is an appropriate small talk for those weird moments when the person you are speaking to is replying to your vagina, when my doctor asked me if I am truly happy, knowing what I was going through recently. A year and a half ago I would have found it very strange to be discussing the path to everlasting bliss with my gynecologist but yesterday it really made me pause for a moment and think about what I want in life, what makes me really happy, what are my goals, desires?

 It’s not that I don’t want to be happy, but growing up in Poland we didn’t talk about it. It makes us Poles uncomfortable around the subject. Asking people how they are today will bring you to a long conversation about what is wrong with their lives. That’s why standard American greeting “how are you" doesn’t exist in polish small talk. If you are friendlier with someone and have time to kill you might ask “what’s cooking“ – free translation, and for 15 minutes or more you will experience a lot of … it’s good but… I call it a “butt talk “. It feels almost embarrassing to discuss happiness and demeaning to chase it. It's like having sex for the first time and asking if it was the best you ever had. Part of this is that Americans seems to have a deep aversion to negativity, this could be a positive change for me, but the pressure to remain positive all the time could be mentally very challenging. It’s good to be away from the sometimes life – sucking negativity, but I also find it hard to throw myself full gear into approach to hunting down the bliss

What is it that I really desire, money, a better job, love, a new car, traveling? Do I wish to do something big, or maybe I am satisfied with my life as it is, and don’t want to change it? I started to analyze my goals, small or big and ultimate discovered that what I really want is security, and everything I do is motivated by the desire to gain it. I desire things not because I believe new car, more money, better job will bring me happiness, but it will free me from stress, anxieties and fears. 

I use to devote a lot of time and efforts for getting something that in the end did not bring me the happiness and security I anticipated. I realized that my true happiness does not depend on possessions, and circumstances, new shoes, good sex, wonderful meal are only temporary excitements.  True security begins as a mental state, as inner strength, as faith in myself, and I also discovered that my inner happiness brings happiness and security in the material world. Sometimes is just not worth to fight and want more, it’s good to give out and make peace, it will all come back one day.

My happiness is my choice, I don’t let other people to decide either I am happy or not. It is my attitude that makes me feel uplifted, not the circumstances. I can choose to dwell on an unhappy event all day long, or I may also choose to refuse to think about it, and focus on other things that make me happy. I might not be able to change people’s behavior, but I can control my reactions, my response, and whether to let their behavior and their actions affect me. It’s so easy and so hard the same time. I learn new things about myself every day, I practice my patience with my testing me teenager and most of the time I succeed. 

Happiness is often compared to a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”

Waiting for the butterfly to sit on me and to answer my OB- GYN, for the time being I will stick to satisfaction, shifting my focus from being utterly happy to being happily satisfied with all I have had achieved, and all I have and care about.

Today's recipe is a perfect example of satisfaction over happiness. I mimicked the thick, sweet, sugary filling by treating the pineapple in two ways: I  mashed half of pineapples to thicken the sauce and cut the other half into chunks for added texture. To cut down on calories, I traded sugar for coconut nectar (or xylitol ) and regular flour for almond flour . Traditional recipes have 540 calories, 23 grams of fat, and 11 grams of saturated fat per 1-cup serving. My changes brought the numbers down to 300 calories, 6 grams of fat, and 4 gram of saturated fat. I am very satisfied with the end result and the taste. 

SERVES 6

Instant or quick oats turn the topping sandy; use old-fashioned oats. Note that the pineapple pieces and pineapple chunks are cooked differently.

INGREDIENTS
   Topping  

2/3 cup (2 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats                                                                                                1 cup mixed nuts
5 tablespoons packed light brown sugar, i used coconut nectar 5 Tbs or to taste
1/4 cup (1 1/4 ounces) almond flour
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt

Filling

1 pineapple or 6 large Golden Delicious apples (8 ounces each), peeled, cored, and  halved
1 cup pineapple juice or if you are using apples apple juice
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar or coconut nectar to taste
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS

1. FOR THE TOPPING: Process 1/3 cup oats in food processor until finely ground, about 20 seconds. Combine processed oats, remaining 1/3 cup oats, sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, nuts, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

2. FOR THE FILLING: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut half of pineapple into 1 inch pieces the other half into 1/4 inch chunks (3 apples into 1-inch pieces and slice remaining 3 apples into 1/4-inch-thick wedges. ) Bring pineapple pieces, apple juice, sugar, and cinnamon to simmer in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until pineapple pieces are tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer mixture to bowl and mash pineapple using potato masher. Reserve 1 tablespoon mashed pineapple mixture. Return remaining mashed pineapple mixture to skillet with pineapple chunks  and cook, covered, until chunks just begin to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Off heat, stir in lemon juice.

3. Scrape pineapple filling into 8-inch square baking dish and press into even layer. Add reserved mashed pineapple to topping mixture, stirring until mixture appears crumbly. Sprinkle topping over filling and bake until juices are bubbling and topping is deep golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Decorate with fruit, I used cape gooseberries also known as Peruvian ground cherry.                                                                                                                                           Bon Appetit !

 

Skladniki na 6 porcji
 
kruszonka: 
2/3 szkladnki platkow owsianych ( nie blyskawicznych)                                                                               1 szklanka dowolnych orzechow, lub mieszanka
5 lyzek brazowego cukru , ja uzylam nektaru kokosowego
1/4 szklanki maki ( w moim przypadku orkiszowa) 
3 lyzki masla rozpuszczonego
1/2 lyzeczki cynamonu
1/8 lyzeczki soli
nadzienie:
1 swiezy ananas mozna uzyc jablek (6 duzych soczystych obranych ze skory i pokrojonych na czastki) 
1 szklanka soku anansowego lub jablkowego
2 lyzki cukru brazowego (nektar kokosowy lub ksylitol) 
3/4 lyzeczki cynamonu
2 lyzeczki soku z cytryny
1. kruszonka: zmielic 1/3 szklanki platkow owsianych w mikserze. Wymieszac zmiksowane platki  i pozostale platki, make, maslo, cynamon i cukier. odstawic na bok
2. nadzienie: rozgrzac piekarnik do 200C . Polowe pokrojonego anansa usmazyc z sokiem anansowy, cukrem i cynamonem okolo 10 min. Przelozyc miksture do miski i ubic tluczkiem do ziemniakow. przelozyc na patelnie i dodac druga polowe pokrojonego ananas, przykryc i gotowac do momentu kiedy kawalki zaczynaja byc miekkie. okolo 3-4 minuty. wylaczyc i dodac sok cytrynowy. wylozyc nadzienie na blaszke do pieczenia, na wierzch nalozyc kruszonke i piec okolo 25 minut. smacznego ! 
 

Aussie food

I will start by saying that I feel like I am waking up from the deepest, longest dream. But I am back and ready to start over.  Long overdue, the story about my trip Down Under is finally ready to be told. Australia deeply touched me, from its endless and incredible landscapes, extreme activities, dangerous animals, crazy people and, of course, the food.  I wasn’t expecting Australian food to be any different from American.  I actually didn’t know what kind of cuisine to expect, but that it would probably very much like what I eat in NYC.  To my surprise, I discovered completely new distinctive flavors and food combinations.

Aussie people are very proud of their country and culture as well as their food. Most places serve locally grown vegetables, farm raised animals, wild caught seafood as well as overpopulated kangaroos. Some of the dishes I can’t even describe; with so many different ingredients I have never tried and combinations I would have never thought of. 

Australians love their avocados – especially with their eggs and breakfast dishes. They develop so many variations of avocado toast that for 3 weeks I never tried the same dish twice. Aussies also have a fondness for avocado and Vegemite on toast. I am not a big fan of it, but I loved “Smashed Avo” - avocado on toasted sourdough, feta, lime, cashew and basil pesto with chili jam and poached eggs.  

Breakfast also means a variety of fresh squeezed juices and fresh made shakes. Options are overwhelming from beetroot /apple /ginger/ lemon/ oranges to The Nutty- peanut butter/ Nutella/banana and yogurt, to Bananarama- banana/spinach/mango/yogurt/Chia and almond milk and my favorite Cadolada- avocado/pineapple, banana, mint and coconut milk. All equally healthy and refreshing.  I was surprised by the muesli that are often served for breakfast, a mix of Chia seeds, oats, wheat germ, sunflower, pumpkin seeds, dried fruit, local yoghurt, poached seasonal fruit and local honeycomb, it was a wildly delicious thing.  

The best coffee I have ever had was in Thailand but the Australian latte takes second place; smooth and creamy, simply addictive. 

I never imagined combining beetroot hummus, poached eggs and pistachio yoghurt on a toast before but it works incredibly well. The sweetness of pistachio yogurt works really well with a touch of sourness of hummus and combined with the crunchiness of sourdough toast to make a tasty sandwich.     

The national product, world famous Vegemite, is just disgusting and no matter how many people tell you how awful it is, have to try it for yourself. Vegemite is a dark brown food paste made from yeast extract and spice additives. The most popular way to eat it is to spread it on bread or toast with butter. I have tried it and it not only looks and smells disgusting it also tastes disgusting. (Yuck!)

Crocodile and kangaroo meat are essential meats in Australian kitchen. Both are very lean and tasty.  Kangaroo, which is red and tastes more or less like steak, goes really well with a pepper strawberry sauce.  Crocodile is a white meat and tastes like chicken, often served with French fries and salad.Barramundi is the most popular fish in Australia.  It gets its name from Aboriginal language and it means “large-scaled river fish”.  The best one I had was grilled like a steak and served with herbed oil.  The Australian ‘lobster’- Balmain bugs or Moreton Bay Bugs has no claws and only its tail contains edible meat. I have tried them steamed, deep fried, grilled, barbequed and cold as part of a seafood platter. They all taste good.

During a river safari, watching salt water crocs in their natural habitat, I was offered one of Australia’s iconic cheap foods – Damper – soda bread make with wheat flour, water, and a pinch of salt and baked on the coals of a campfire.  Mine was served with traditional Billy Tea. On the fancier side, the popular dessert is Pavlova; supposedly invented in honor if Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova while she was visiting Australia. New Zealand claims the same thing and both countries fight forthe title of inventor of Pavlova – a meringue based dessert toped with whipped cream and fruit.  Regardless of its origin this cake is absolutely delicious.

 

Anywhere you go in the world you should always try the local food.  You might hate it or you might be positively surprised and discover new flavors and favorite dishes.  There is so much complexity and variety to Australian food that I cannot wait to go back to this magical country to explore and eat, once again. 

 

 

Winter apple pie

Greetings after a long break. 

I am getting my hands back into cooking and photography, and will be piling on many new recipes and pictures for you. 

In October, I joined Aran Goyoaga at her food and styling workshop organized in a beautiful Brooklyn loft. The loft is owned by another great photographer and foodie, Karen Mordechai, and her fabulous Sunday Suppers Club. I was very envious of the big windows, wonderful light, and long spacious marble counter tops.  Karen organizes dinners for her club members and occasionally has a food styling or food photography workshop at her great space. 

I learned about Karen through my Friend Kinga. It was not easy to get in to her workshop.  I had missed one opportunity, in April, but with Kinga’s help I was able to get on the waiting list for the next one and ta-da… I was in for the October class. 

The workshop lasted two days and was full of learning, eating, sharing pictures, styling, blogging and other fantastic experiences. I met wonderful people, who I hope to stay in touch with. 

Aran is a great teacher, very approachable, warm and sweet.  Her ability to style and take beautiful pictures is natural.  She is a self taught artist who came to the States from Spain (Basque country). Her blog, Cannelle Et Vanille, is a finalist of the James Beard award for 2012 and 2013 Best Individual Food Blog. I came out from this workshop feeling like a new person and hopefully learned some new food photography tricks. I look at food and light from a different perspective now and will recommend her workshop to anyone.

We have photographed a lot of different objects and dishes; one of them was Aran’s apple pie. The recipe I tried at home is a little different from the one Aran used, but I can assure you it is as delicious and gluten free as Aran’s. 


Recipe
I've become a bit more hesitant to use nut-flours for baking, since exposing them to high temperatures causes them to oxidize, so I'm  trying out more recipes with coconut flour.
For the crust:
1 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup butter, soft ( you can use ghee)
3 eggs
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup shredded coconut
punch of salt
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp honey
Mix all the ingredients together, best way is to just use your hands. If the dough is a bit crumbly, add some water, but note that it will be a bit drier than regular dough
Next, peel and cut up about 5 apples, and add the following:

2/3 cup erythritol  
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
Roll out pie crust into large circle and place it on large baking sheets. Place the apple mixture on the crust and fold over the edges of crust so that it covers 2 to 3 inches of the apple mixture . No need to be artistic – the more rustic the better Last, spread some egg white over the top and bake in the oven on about 180C (350F) for 50 mins.


Przepis
ciasto:
1 szklanka maki kokosowej
1/4 szklandki masla , w temperaturze pokojowej lub ghee
3 jajka
2 lyzki oleju kokosowego
1/2 szklanki wiorek kokosowych
Szczypta soli
1 lyzka wody
1 lyzka miodu
Wymieszaj wszystki skladnki, najlepiej uzyc do tego rak, jesli ciasto jest za bardzo kruche, dodaj wody, ale powinno byc troche bardziej suche niz tradycyjne ciasto. 
Nastpenie obierz okolo 5 jablek, I dodaj : 
2/3 szklanki eryterolu
2 lyzki soku z cytryny
1/4 lyzeczki galki muszkatulowej
1/4 lyzeczki startych gozdzikow
2 lyzeczki cynamonu, 
2 lyzki oleju kokosowego
Rozwalkuj ciasto w ksztalcie duzego kola I poloz na papierze do pieczenia. Najlepiej walkowac juz na papierze. Przeloz jablka na spod ciasta I zagnij rogi ciasta tak zeby zakrylo 5 do 6 centymetrow pozostawiajac srodek odkryty. Wierzch mozna posmarowac bialkiem I piec w 180 C przez 50 min. 
 

berry panna cotta

My house is located an ideal location in long island (not to brag about it), but I am very fortunate. On one hand, about 10 minutes drive, I have an open ocean with beautiful empty beaches … on the other hand I am close to the north fork with its casual wineries, plenty of green, lush farms. Best of all it’s only 1,5 hours from the city, which is the big bonus when you travel every weekend and have to sit in the Hamptons traffic

Visiting  farms is a great option on a “ not so beach weather “ day. A lot of them have the “pick your own” option.  I love good deals and picking my own produce again provides me with the best of both worlds. Last week I decided to get blueberries. The day was hot and humid and I didn’t last long, My dog was especially suffering, laying down under each bush of blueberry trying to get some shade without the benefit of picking or at least eating the berries…and on top of that he got his face covered in cling-ons that were very hard to pick from his hair. Overall the visit was successful, I came back with plenty of blueberries, some blackberries which are just starting to get ripe, and a little bit of raspberries, which are almost out of season. I completely snoozed the season for this delicious and beautiful fruit.

 I had a hard time coming up with an idea for a good skinny dessert using these berries.  I decided on berry Panna Cotta, incredibly easy to make italian dessert, and if it takes you more than five minutes to make, you are doing something wrong. That is the beauty of italian cooking: it’ straightforward and almost effortless in its simplicity. Popular italian saying is: ”spend more time shopping and less time cooking”.   

My last Panna Cotta was a fiasco… not very tasty and looking rather grainy and not smooth and creamy as it should be. I tried to cut the richness of panna cotta and swap the heavy cream with milk and the results were very disappointing. This time I mixed milk and heavy cream; I let the cream cool for a while before I mixed in some yogurt.  I think this combination is the best if you want to cut some calories and not compromise the taste and look of this fool- proof dessert. I served this batch with a pile of berries, very juicy and lightly sweetened with a whisper of citrus. But if berries are not in season you can make it with lemon or lime, gooseberries or just drizzled with a bit of honey. The best Panna Cotta is made in advance make it few days before and keep it well covered in the fridge. 

Recipe

2 cups of heavy cream 

1 cup of milk

1 cup of greek yogurt 

1/2  cup (100g) sugar or equivalent of stevia 

2 tsp of vanilla extract, or 1 vanilla bean, split

lengthwise

2 packets powdered gelatin (about 4 ½ tsp)

6 tablespoons (90ml) cold water

Heat the heavy cream, milk and sugar in a saucepan. Once the 

sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla

extract. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a medium-sized bowl and let stand 5 to 10 minutes.

Pour the very warm Panna Cotta mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

After 5 minutes mix in the yogurt 

Lightly oil eight custard cups with neutral-tasting oil.

Divide the Panna Cotta mixture into the prepared cups, then chill them until firm, which will take at least two hours but I let them stand at least four hours. 

Run a sharp knife around the edge of each Panna Cotta and unmold each onto a serving plate, and garnish as desired.

 

Przepis

2 szklanki slodkiej smietany

1 szklanka mleka

1 szklanka jogurtu greckiego

½ szklanka cukru, lub ekwiwalent stewi

2 lyzeczki olejku waniliowego

2 saszetki zelatyny ( okolo 4 ½ lyzczeki

6 lyzek zimnej wody

Podgrzac mleko I smietane w sredniej wielkosci garnku, dodac cukier  olejek, mieszac dopoki wszystko sie nie polaczy. Rozmieszac zelatyne w zimnej wodzie I odstawic na 5 min.  Wymieszac  goracy krem z  zelatyna . Po 5 minutach dodac jougrt I wymieszac do momentu uzyskania jednolitego kremu.  Przygotowac foremki, smarujac je lekko olejem ( najlepiej bezsmakowym. Wlac krem do foremek I odstawic do lodowki na kilka godzin. Przed podaniem przejechac ostrym nozem po krawedzi foremki aby latwiej bylo wyjac panna cotta. Podac na talerzu z wybranym przybraniem, jogdami , malinami, lub miodem.


french toast stuffed with cheese and bananas

Weekdays morning everyone is on its own when it comes to breakfast.  I eat pretty much the same food every day: berries with plain goat yogurt and granola. 

But weekends are different i love to experiment with breakfast and have something new.  I usually get up early and enjoy my morning coffee with my dog snoring next to me in the quite house. Around 9-10am I get bored and start making noise with pots and pans.  This weekend it was time to face a challenge that my friends set upon me after they had the French toast served at the restaurant Extra Virgin. I had to come up with something even richer, tastier, over the top, something much better then what EV serves.

So I did. I decided to stuff the french toast with mascarpone cheese and bananas then soak them for a few hours,a trick a learned from a French chef friend. He told me that as a kid his parents use to soak the brioche, or any other leftover bread overnight. When I make the regular version of this dish, without stuffing, I leave it overnight as well. It makes the bread very soft and moist. 

I have to say, the french toast came out great. Make sure you cut each piece a little thicker to help hold the stuffing so it does not fall apart in the soaking process. They also need to be transferred with extra care onto a rack to let drip the access liquid. They are super rich, scrumptious, and finger licking good, all at the same time. After one each we were too full to eat lunch that day. I think I might have won this battle over the best french toast on the block. 

French toast remains our favorite breakfast choice. Done right, there is an unpretentious beauty to this classic comfort food. There is rarely something as tempting as a plate of crisp, thickly sliced, perfectly prepared french toast piled high on a plate with a sprinkling of powder sugar. 

Recipe:

1 Loaf of brioche bread  (or less depends how many people you serving)

Butter for frying

Batter:

4 eggs

½ of cream

1 cup of milk

½ of sugar (or any substitute, I use stevia)

1tbs of maple syrup

2 tsp. of vanilla extract

pinch of sea salt

stuffing

1 cup of mascarpone cheese

1 tsp. of vanilla extract

2 tbsp. of sugar

1, 2 bananas sliced

Slice bread, about 1,5 inches thick cut a “pocket" on the side of each slice for stuffing, mix all batter ingredients until well combined.

Mix mascarpone cheese with vanilla and sugar, place one or 2 slices of banana in the bread pocket, put cheese in the piping bag and stuff each slice of bread, be careful not to over fill.

Soak bread for a few hours. Than drain well. On a hot pan with a little butter sear each slice until golden brown, turn carefully and sear the other side. Serve with maple syrup and berries. 

Przepis:

Bochenek chleba, najlepiej brioche lub chalka

Maslo do smazenia

“marynata”:

4 jajka

½ szklanki slodkiej smietany

1 szklanka mleka

½ szkladnki cukru ( lub zamiennik, ja uzylam stevia)

1 lyzka syropu klonowego

2 lyzeczki olejku winiliowego

szczypta soli morskiej

nadzienie

1 szklanka serka mascarpone

1 lyzczka olejku waniliowego

2 lyzki cukru

1, 2 banany

Pokroic chleb na grube plastry okolo 2 cm. w kazdej kromce zrobic kieszonke z boku na nadzienie . wymieszac wszystkie skladniki marynaty, banany pokroic na cienkie plastry I wlozyc po kilka do kazdej “ kieszonki”  ser wymieszac ze skladnikiami I nadziac nim chleb, uzywajac woreczkow do nadziewnia. Moze byc zwykly worek z dziurka w rogu. Zanurzyc kromki w marynacie I moczyc przez kilka godzin. Odsaczyc delikatnie na sitku lub kratce ( na plasko). Rozgrzac maslo na patelni I smazyc przez kilka minut na kazdej stronie na zloto- brazowy kolor. Podawac natychmiast z syropem klonowym, miodem lub owocami I bita smietana.