It’s about 6 months since I went diary- and gluten-free and man, it’s been a long, hard road. I struggled for a while, which is why this blog suffered. In the end, my life revolves around food, with bread and cheese being the staples. I grieved for both.

We like to go native as much as possible whenever we travel, and that includes local breakfast customs. If I had to choose my favourite morning meal option, it would be France with its croissant and a coffee, or a Sicilian breakfast of coffee, a fresh buttery brioche, and granita. What better way to start a day than with ice cream?

Apple cake is one of the most delicious staples of Polish cuisine. Everyone loves it, or at least I don’t know anyone who doesn’t! Interestingly, apple cake is not something my family would ever make and I only know its glorious taste from patisseries and other, more fortunate people’s homes. I’ve tried out many recipes and the one below is perfection, although I modified the original a bit to balance out the sweetness of dough and tartness of apples. 

September is one of my favourite months. Whilst summer is packing up its bags (not that we’ve seen much of it this year), it’s time to make use out of the best late fruit – plums, apples, and pears! An apple pie recipe is coming soon but in the meantime, I made a delicious plum tart. It’s comforting, buttery, and decadent, perfect for the colder days and evenings of autumn.

I recently had an episode of accidental blueberry hoarding, due to a very attractive price reduction. As a result, I ended up with 8 pots of blueberries. Initially I wanted to make a Polish summer specialty, jagodzianki (sweet yeast buns with bilberry stuffing), but I didn’t think my berry haul could make it to the weekend when I’d have enough time to make them, so I baked this quick cake instead. And I do mean it when I say “quick” – the entire process takes just an hour.

As someone with a passion for Mediterranean cuisine, I simply couldn’t ignore Brindisa. The True Food of Spain, the ultimate compendium of Spanish cuisine and food culture, written by Monica Linton. I haven’t put it down ever since I bought it. I even dare to say it’s up there with the works of Nigel Slater, the only chef whose writing style I find as captivating as books by Kurt Vonnegut or Terry Pratchett.