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Polish Street Food – Zapiekanki
Being raised in Poland, I got to experience lots of different foods, but my favorite were always street foods. They were usually served out of little kiosks, or food trucks, and were a great way for people to get together after school/work and enjoy something yum. Today I got an extreme craving for this amazing “pizza bread”, or what we call, “zapiekanki” and decided I should take a stab at it and try to replicate it in my kitchen. Usually made on a long french baguette, they’re covered with mushrooms and cheese, then drizzled with ketchup when served. Here’s my recipe for two zapiekanki: for the baguettes: 1 1/2c flour…
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Sugar, Sugar!
I haven’t mentioned it yet, but I’m obsessed with Sweet Paul Magazine…. The new Fall’12 issue is out already and I could not believe my eyes when I saw this recipe, mostly because it’s GENIUS. And so so flexible and inspiring! I told you to save the apple peels from the Apple Spice Scones’ recipe for this reason: ~8oz of Apple Pie Sugar: peels from 6 apples 2/3c sugar 1t cinnamon 1/2t allspice 1/4t nutmeg 1/4t dried ginger pinch of salt 1. In a dehydrator or low oven, dry apple peels until crispy. 2. Using a spice grinder or a food processor, grind the dried peels until very fine. 3…
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Apple Spice Scones
Is it Fall, yet? Heard people say “you know Fall’s here when coffee shops start serving Pumpkin Lattes” hehe. So it’s here! I don’t know about you guys, but Autumn to me reads apples, pears, pumpkins and cinnamon. And booties with sunglasses., skinny jeans, hoodies and red lipstick…. browns reds and yellows. Ha! Although Chicago still celebrates summer weather, I was inspired to bring back my September scones. Apple spice scones. Yum. You will love these. I do. Bf does. Been making these for two Autumns already. Here’s the recipe, before I think of anything else fall I want to add on here… ‘Njoy <3 Ingredients: 1c wheat flour…
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Gingerbread Pound Cake
…and still no new mixer… So I made this by hand. I used Paula Deen’s pound cake recipe, and added my fall twist on it. Her Ingredients are: 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, plus more for pan 1/2 cup vegetable shortening 3 cups sugar 5 eggs 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan 1/2 teaspoon fine salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract I used margarine instead of butter. You will also need 4T cocoa powder and 1T gingerbread spice (i make mine from cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, nutmeg, ground cloves, in big batches, about 1/2…
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Blueberry Banana Pancakes
New morning routine (after doggy beach with Chuck, of course) I had one very very ripe banana starring at me, so I had to use it. I’m not fond of only banana flavored things (although banana juice sounds like it’d be fun) so I added a bunch of blueberries. 1 3/4 c flour 2 1/2 t baking powder pinch of salt 3T vanilla sugar 1 1/2 c milk 1 egg 2T melted butter 1 banana 1c blueberries, fresh Mix all ingredients except for blueberries (I use a juice blender), let sit in a fridge about 10-15 minutes, mix in blueberries. heat up a non stick pan, no oil needed.…
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Conan in Chicago
I’ve been trying to score freebies lately so when i saw an entry form to go to Conan’s live taping in Chicago I pretty much jumped out of my skin, stood outside of it, and gave it a slap on a face! They made me choose what day I wanted to go, I figured, well, people rarely call off work on Tuesdays so I might have better chances to get selected, right?! TOTALLY RIGHT! Today was the day. I couldn’t sleep last night I was so excited! I woke up early, went to claim my tickets and waited. And waited some more. And went to the show at The Chicago…
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Ribs, Ya’ll!
My first time at RibFest and I must say, it’s not for everyone. I made the mistake of going on a Saturday night. It was crowded. I was confused. You need to buy tickets ($1=1ticket) in order to purchase anything (or at least most things) Your hands will be sticky, your mouths will be sticky. It will be hot and crowded. You need strong mentality to survive thru it. You will see all types of people; pigs who think it’s ok to leave their trash behind on the table, ignoring the fact that there’s a trash can every 5 feet apart. You will look around you and see people smack…
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Peanut Butter, No Jam
Whoever came up with the idea that peanut butter and jam go hand in hand, or bread in bread, was not my kind of human. But he managed to fool my boyfriend that it tastes good. Ugh. I had no choice, but to think of a way to make this a couple thing. So I replaced the jam, and I replaced it right! Peanut butter (always crunchy) goes bread in bread with Nutella! And banana slices! So much better! Here, excuse my poorly upkept nail color and have a bite ; )
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Do Division Street Fest
Finally! Every year I’d miss all the fun festivals in the city, and this summer I’ll be able to enjoy most of them! I kicked it off with Do Division, in Wicker Park. It was packed with local goodies, from jewelry to beer to live tunes and amazing foods from local shops. I got to have a few brewskis and an ice cream cone, Chuck loves ice cream, too so he had a few licks as well. MMM ice cream. Fun summer of festivals and events has officially started! Yay!
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Racuchy – a treat to make you smile
I believe that your childhood encounters with foods make you the eater you grow up to be. Everybody has these couple dishes we remember eating when we were little, for me it was all at grandma’s in Poland. Grandma cooked dinner fairly early, around 2pm everyday, so we would have plenty of day left to eat dessert and supper. One of my favorite desserts was racuchy (rah-tzoo-hyh), made from yeast and fried, kind of resemble a doughnut, but it’s flat enough to seem like a pancake. Served sprinkled with powdered sugar, fresh fruits, sometimes whipped cream or ice cream, they’re a delicious treat for any kid, even the one in…
