Zebra cake

Today let's make simple, but impressive, tasty and reliable zebra ;) Cake is awesome, everyone will like it, and kids will like making it, so take them to kitchen with you :D

Zebra Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 5 eggs
• 1,5 cup sugar
• 3 cups flavour (and 3 spoons to white part)
• 2 tea spoons baking powder
• cup oil
• cup something earated (water, orangeade)
• 3 spoons cocoa
• oil to oil the sheet
• optionally icing (dark, white or dark-white)

How to make it

Whippe eggs with sugar (until it's white).

Add flavour and baking powder.

Pour oil and something earated.

Devide cake ito two parts.
Add 3 spoons flavour to first one, and cocoa to second one.

Oil the sheet.

Pour two spoons of white cake into the middle of the sheet.
Then pour two spoons of dark cake into the middle of the middle of the dark cake.
Repeat until all cake is poured.

Bake the cake about 45 minutes (I needed only 30) in 180°C.

You can pour icing over ready cake. 
Smacznego!

Carrot Cake

Very tasty and very simple carrot cake. Try it!

Carrot Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 2 cups flavour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 2 big carrots
• oil to grease the sheet
• possibly rasins or nuts - I don't use

How to make it

Wipe the carrots.

Mix eggs with sugar and oil. Add flavour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. At the end add the carrot.

Put the cake onto greased sheet.

Bake 60 minutes in 180°C.

WARNING! Unfortunately sometimes it happens to me that after 30 minuts of baking cake looks great outside, but it's raw inside. IF it happens to you, don't worry! Just turn temperature into 200°C and select baking from the bottom mode in your oven.

Smacznego!

First fan fiction

Hello :) Today I'll give you some Tolkien fan-fiction, I hope you'll like it ;) Try to read, it's really short...

"Prophecy"

It was a dark night. Maiwë, Aiwë and Morfin were coming home. They knew the road very well, so they walked fast and surely. Suddenly the dark figure appeared before them. Girls stopped and looked at each other, terrified. Figure came closer. She was an old, short and fat elf, obviously an elf, because she would be very tall, if she weren't crooked. Stranger walked almost halfway bent. She looked at the girls and she smiled with her toothless mouth. 

- Good evening, my dear girls - said she - I'm Gildur. I'm shadow.

- Do you know... future? - asked Morfin.

- I know many things. But it's very late, my dear girls - She passed girls by and she walked swaying. But she stopped after several steps and she recited:

 - First love will die,

Second will last forever,

Third will see the beginning and the end,

All loves will know the happines -  and she went away without looking back. Girls were staring at her back. And the old women suddenly straightened. Black coat slid to her feet and they saw long white dress she was wearing. Beautiful golden hair flowed to her arms. Phantom raised her hands and she disappeared in moment she connected them behind head.

- We won't tell anyone, will we? - asked Morfin.

- No... - Maiwë took her hand - we won't...

Birthday cake

Exactly nas in the title: my culinary torture with birthday cake :)
I - no artistic talent - made my own decorations... So effect is interesting.
Cake is for my sister (so Happy Birthday, Julia!)

Birthday cake recipe :)

Ingredients

• sponge cake (I bought mine, because it's my sister who usually makes birthday cakes)
• currant jam (or another dark)
• manna-croup
• milk (I used six cups)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 180-200g butter
• decorations (I used canned peaches and chocolate - one milk and one dark)
• you can also soak the cake (I used cherry liqueur)

How to make it

1.Cream

Butter should be soft! 

Boil milk with sugar. Add manna-croup. It shoud be thick.
Put into cold place (It cools fastest on several plates).
Whip butter and mix with manna-croup, when it's cold.

2. In the meantime

Cut the peaches and... make chotolates.

What?!

Well, I decided to decorate cake with chocolates ;)
Mostly because I hate grapes.

Because they're full of pits.
So I made something-like-chocolates.

I melted chocolate and I made small round chocolates without any filling.
I put them into freezer for they congeal faster. I heard that they'll become matt if you do it, but I guess that's not true. They were perfectly shiny.

3. Layers

I hope your cake has 3 parts too.

First soak cake (using pencil).

 

Then you do (from bottom to the top): cake - jam - cream - cake - jam - cream - cake - cream (on sides too) and decorations.

For my idea look at the picture below ;)

Of course you can just sprinkle  the cake with grated chocolate,
But you have to be careful - because someone can blow it with the candles!

Smacznego!

Where are feelings?

Today I'll give you another double opinion ;)

But what does "The Host" have to do with "Fablehaven"? 

Answer is simple. Feelings.
And emotions maybe.
But first let's see what the books are about.

Both are really awesome. Actually "Fablehaven" is rather for kids, but it's still amazing.
I really think that each new part is better than the last. The fourth had incredible end and brilliant intrygue. 

Shortly, "Fablehaven" is about magical animals reserve. This time main characters have to leave the reserve and find the key that is one of five able to open demons prison. The keys are also found by evil organization that wants to set demons free.
That was really shortly, I can recomend the book to the young and to the old. :)

"The Host" is rather for older readers and this is a book that really surprised me. I've read "Twilight" so I thought that "The Host" will be something like that but for adults.
I was wrong.
Imagine world which is possessed by souls - calm and good creatures that finally brought peace to Earth.
The only wrong thing with them is that they're... parasites, so they have to use human bodies.
"The Host" is about girl, that has the soul inside and fights with her.
Unfortunately, the soul took over body's feelings.

So there we are. Feelings.
Both books tells about where feelings are. Inside us, of course, but are feelings part of body or mind?
In "The Host" we can notice how Melanie's (body) feeling transferred to the soul inside her.
On the other hand, at the end soul finds love. And I don't mean Melanie's love.

It is actually similar in "Fablehaven" when you look at...
... Dragons.
Tne dragon doesn't want to hurt people when it's in the human form, but as a animal it kills them.
Why?
Body changes, but the mind should stay the same, right?
Of course we can try to separate feelings from emotions and say that feelings belong to mind and emotions to body, but what will happen in another situation?
Ostatecznie, chociaż zmienia się ciało, umysł pozostaje ten sam.
I don't know how to explain it without spoiling the plot.
There's a person in book who falls in love with another person. He has to say the truth and he says that he really cares about the second person.
But then bam, bam!
He turns into a dragon and he tries to kill his love!
So he is perfect actor or he thought he feel something he didnn'y fell or his dragon part is stronger than human one.
That's sad.
Anyway, please say what you think about my conclusions.
But first READ THE BOOKS!
They're really amazing!
Write to me, comment and visit my facebook site!

Porridge with spinach and mushrooms

Today I decided to experiment with barley porridge. I did it mostly because of my laziness (I didn't want to peel potatoes), but also because of mushrooms I had. The final effect wasn't bad :)

Barley Porridge with spinach and mushrooms recipe

Ingredients

• 2 bags of porrige
• 2 glasses of vegetable broth
• frozen spinach
• mushrooms
• olive oil
• garlic
• cream
• favourite spices

How to make it

Rinse the porrige and boil it in vegetable broth.

Cut mushroom into slices and fry in olive oil. Add spinach when they become brown. 

When spinach thaws add cream, garlic and spices.

Mix with porridge.

Smacznego!

Chocolate tart

Who doesn't like it? :D
Unfortunately I decided not to eat sweets during the Lent, so I didn't want to write about this cake!
But, actually, it's not that sweet.
I took this recipe from my Aunt Marta, but then I lost it so this what you can see below is what I remember + some things from Internet.
But don't worry, I tried it!

Chocolate tart recipe

Ingredients

Cake:

• 2 cups flavour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• egg
• about 160g butter
• 2 spoons homemade vanilla sugar

Filling:

• 2 bars of dark chocolate
• 50g butter
• 6 spoons sugar
• 6 spoons cocoa
• 3 eggs

How to make it?

From the cake ingredients make pastry.
Bake it until it's white but not raw.

Break chocolate and melt it with butter and cocoa.

Beat the eggs with sugar.
Mix chocolate mass with eggs.

Then put the filling on the pastry and put it again to the roaster.
Bake until the top cracks.
Smacznego!

Legend about the Hundred Wifes of the King

I dedicate this story to my cousin and friend Kalina and to my Mum, who (almost like the King from story) always call my my sister's name :D.

Once upon a time there was a King. He had got a huge castle and many loyal people. But it was marriage what made him truly happy.
His wife was beautiful and kind and she really loved him.
Soon two cute princesses were born. The queen and people were happy, but King was not. He wanted to have a son, who could be a king after him, but the queen bore the third daughter.
The King said then, that he has to marry another woman, who will give him a son. He allowed the queen and daughters to stay in the castle, but the queen prefered to leave with children. And she's never told them who their father is. The King married different women, that bore the boy, but he was not happy with her. So he allowed her to stay with child too, and then he married third woman. But he was unhappy with all the women that started to live in his castle.
The women were soon called The Hundred Wifes of a King.
There lived a boy in the kingdom, whose greatest dream was to become a king. He didn't have father, but he inherited cleverness and intelligence from his mother. That's why he went to the King, when he grew up and said:
- Good morning, father!
- Good morning, son! - said the King hesitantly - but are you really my son?
- Well, you have got a hundred wifes and a hundred sons, father - answered the boy and King convoked his children to count them. Yes, there were hundred boys with new one!
- That's right, my son - confirmed the King happily. He actually loved all his sons.
So the newcomer stayed in castle and tried to get close to the King every day. He still had to remind him his name ("it's Kryspin, father"), but he thought that the lord actually spends more time with him than with the other children.
One day he dared to ask:
- Father? Have you decided yet, which one of your sons will be the king after you?
 There were hundred boys waiting for King's answer.
- The king - said the King slowly - will be the one, whose mother I really love.
He smiled, pleased. How can they prove his love?
The sons started to shout:
- I'm the oldest, my mother was the first you loved!
- I'm the youngest, you still love my mother!
And the Kryspin has left the castle. He went home. The King couldn't love his mother, because he didn't even know her...
His sophisticated plan didn't work. He unwittingly collided some woman, carrying a jug full of water. Water poured out and the woman almost fell. One of the three following her girls supported her.
- I'm really sorry! - said Kryspin. He raised the jug quickly.
- It's alright - smiled she warmly - but I have to come for water again. 
- I will do it, mother - said the girl, that helped her mother. She gave her her full jug and she extended hands for the one that Kryspin was holding. 
- I will come with you - said he ashamed. 
She nodded and smiled. 
Kryspin felt like the new, unknown feeling was filling him. 





"I think it's love" - thought he.
He proposed to her on the same day. And when she agreed, he decided to take her to the castle ans to say the truth to the King.
It was quite strange, but he didn't want to have power anymore.
- Father - he began as usual, standing in front of the King - I want to present you my fiancee.

The King looked at the girl and he recognized his daughter.
- Son... - he began. He knew he had to say something. If they're brother and sister they cannot be together! But Kryspin interrupted:
- I'm so sorry, my lord, but I'm not one of your wifes' sons. And still I consider you to be my father and being sorry for all my lies I ask for your blessing.
The King didn't know what to say and he knew that soon he will have to say the truth about his first wife, so he said:
- Bring your fiancee's mother here, son.
It was really hard for him to stop thinking about him as about a son too.


Kryspin has brought his mother, his fiancee's mother and sisters to the castle.
All of the King's sons gathered in front of him, waiting for his decision.
But when the King saw his first wife coming into the castle wearing a straight peasant dress, he regretted what he has done years ago.
- Daughter - said he, looking at the oldest princess - you will govern after me as I promised, because it's your mother I really loved.
There were a terrible noise after his words, but he ignored it and knelt in front of his first wife and begged her to forgive him and to become his wife again.
And so Kryspin married princess he loved and they both governed the kingdom, and the King has left the castle with his wife, that he really loved.

The end

Magic today?

Today I'm going to talk about magic and two books: "Fablehaven" and "Artemis Fowl". I think they're really interesting because of... magic exactly. Both tell about it - but not as spectacular as J. R. R. Tolkien or J. K. Rowling, so it's possible that you haven't heard about them. However both of them answer a difficult question: where's magic today? Tolkien's elves leaves Middle-Earth, Rowling's wizards hide or mix with muggles and magical creatures are dying (giants).
It is noteworthy that writers imagine those creatures in very different ways. Eoin Colfer like Tolkien says that they're as smart as people (or even more). Brandon Mull and Rowling treats magical beings like animals (except those that are people in part). And in Harry Potter's world there are only a few giants left, but it's Mull who finds out way to protect magical creatures. Think logically: what people do when the animals become extinct? They create nature reserves. And that's what you can find in "Fablehaven".
In Artemis Fowl's world (and it's actually our world) magic is hidden too. But there fairies seem to be smarter than people so it's not human beings who keep them in secret (although it was them who caused it).
Fairies hide under ground and they create unbelievable technology. This is actually quite unusual comination of magic and science. In "Harry Potter" there is completly different situation; wizards know magic but they still write letters by birds' feather on the parchment, when Muggles send each other mails. So what's happening when one community has got magic and technology?
That's in "Artemis Fowl".
And finally the books are rather for children...
... and that's great.
I love those books because there's action. Nobody tries bore kids by long nature descriptions.
And that's why I think "Fablehaven" and "Artemis Fowl" are worth reading.
(It's almost the end)
So... there were several things that I didn't like in those books (like "childish" fairies in "Fablehaven" or strange inconsistency in "Artemis" - about Foaly's persecution mania), but they're both really worth reading.
They say a lot about magic today, about how magic copes with science and technology and about people trying to control it.

Mackerel paste

Today and yesterday... Or even earlier I terribly wanted mackerel paste. As you can read below, I made two. Both are tasty and quick. You can also try them with your favorite ingredients.

Mackerel paste recipe

Recipe number 1

Ingredients

• smoked mackerel
• onion or chive
• 2eggs
• 2 pickles
• mayonnaise

Directions

Boil the eggs (and disembowel the fish in the meantime). Chop all ingredients (except fish and mayonnaise). Mix all the ingredients.

Recipe number 2

Ingredients

• canned mackerel
• onion or chive
• 2 eggs
• 3 small slices of cheese
• mayonnaise

Directions

Boil the eggs. Chop all ingredients (exept fish and mayonnaise again). Mix all the ingredients.

Smacznego! :) (Yes, I know it's in Polish :D)

Terribly sweet and tasty cake :)

Honestly: this is not the cake for people on a diet. But I'm sure you will regret if you don't try. It tastes like Twix, but I think it's better, because of nuts. 
Here is an original recipe.

Recipe for Twix cake

Ingredients

• cup flavour
• 120g butter
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 500g dulce de leche
•  nuts (I used cashew nuts)
• 200g chocolate (I used one milk and one dark)

Method

Mix flavour, sugar and butter. Put the pastry on a small baking sheet. Bake until golden. Then spread the dulce de leche on it. Put nuts on it. Melt the chocolate and pour it over the cake.

Smacznego!

Best thing I've ever eaten

... and I've eaten a lot.
I tried this thanks to my wonderful aunt Gosia :) and she agreed to put recipe here.
It's like summer in winter - and also like winter in summer.
I'm sure thet this is really the tastiest thing I've ever eaten - and belive me, it's strange, because there are meringues in it, and I hate meringues!
Wanna try?
So let's begin!

Wonderful dessert with meringues and frozen fruits

Ingredients

• meringues - small or crumbled
• whipped cream 
• frozen strawberries
• grenade (fruit)

How to do it

Crumble (I don't know how to say it - well, use blender) frozen or at least cold strawberries and meringues. Peel the grenade.

Put all ingredients into some glass (make your own special artistic composition).
Bon appetit?
Ok, I'll say it in Polish: Smacznego!