Daily

Eggs, cups and me

Those three egg cups with forget-me-nots were behind the sliding glass of my grandmother's sideboard. They were beautiful and I would secretly take them out for my dolls to have lemonade. When my grandmother passed away, I kept her sideboard and turned it into my cottage kitchen. Only those cups were gone. I missed them for a long time.

Until I have my own cups. Embroidered, with my name. Now our Davídek and his cousins have taken my cups and they are arguing over who will have the egg set in flowers, stripes, polka dots or houses, as the boys have named them. And they shout while poking at the cup for me to tell them about the "funny grandfather from Klatovy".

I'll start with my grandfather's master trick, how he cracked open the shell of a fresh egg with a spoon and drank it straight from the shell, most often after he had drunk himself the night before. The boys want to show it off. I won't let them, so I'll entertain them with a soldier, a toasted piece of bread that they dip in the liquid egg yolk until soft. They enjoy it and I enjoy watching them. Always.

And the boys want more stories, so I tell them about their grandfather, my dad Láď. The family remembers how he wrote his diploma thesis in his grandmother's apartment and was completely overwhelmed by the eggs. When my grandmother saw how crazy he was, she pulled herself through the mountains of his papers and books and placed a bowl on the one free square decimeter of the table for him, in which she whipped the egg yolk and sugar until foamy. "So that you can endure it, Ladíčka," she whispered to him and he didn't hear anything. I can also make the whipped mixture and give it to those in need.

Our Davča suddenly noticed that he was the only one who didn't have the picture-print briefs his cousins who no longer needed diapers wore. Of course, he wanted them right away too. So I put some on him from the boy's suitcase over his sweatpants and suddenly he looked like a big boy.

I have already infected our Davídek with my love for eggs. He has his own little kitchen with a sink, into which he cracks his "pajíčo" or egg. When he goes to the fridge for the third time and the yolks, whites and shells are everywhere, I prefer to sit him on the kitchen counter and we start cooking together for real. Svitek is his beloved. Mine too!

But I suspect that my love of eggs is connected to the forget-me-not cups in my grandmother's cupboard. How they stood there like soldiers and fell somewhere just as soldiers fall. Do you understand that I had to have my own? And when I made them, I stand over them and tell myself that they deserve honor. So I created and packaged a whole new set of egg cups for myself and for you. There are five of them, each with a different pattern and a salt shaker. I would say that this is my life's work. She will be baptized at Easter and I will give one cup to the carolers who come to see me. If they can still stand on their feet. Since the morning at the pomlázce, they have mostly drunk their cups to the bottom.

Eggs Benedict with hollandaise sauce

My friend Kuba tests restaurants with this delicacy with an amazing sauce. If it's not exactly how he imagines, he sends it back to the kitchen and that restaurant is over for him. I'm afraid to invite him to mine. He would never leave!

4 servings
Preparation 30 minutes
Proving 1.5 hours
Toasting 20 min
Cooking 3–5 min.

8 slices of bacon, fried
8 organic eggs, poached
2 avocados, thinly sliced
4 English muffins

English muffins:
300 ml lukewarm water
550 g plain flour
2 and 1/2 teaspoons dried yeast
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 egg whites
oil for greasing the bowl and for frying

Hollandaise sauce:
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons cold water
175 g clarified butter
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and freshly ground pepper

Poached eggs:
8 organic eggs
2 teaspoons wine vinegar

First of all, I make English muffins. I pour water into a large bowl, add yeast, mix and let it rest for about five minutes. Then I add flour, baking soda and salt. I mix everything thoroughly and finally add the stiff peaks that I whipped from the egg whites. I mix the dough thoroughly again. If it is sticky, I add a little more flour, if it is too dry and crumbly, I add water. I take the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead it thoroughly for about 10-15 minutes until it is beautifully elastic and smooth. I transfer it to a bowl that I have lightly greased with oil so that the dough does not stick and cover it with a clean cloth and let it rise in a warm place for an hour.

When the dough has risen, I roll it out on a floured work surface into a flatbread about two centimeters thick and cut out loaves with a glass about eight centimeters in diameter. I place them on a cloth that I have sprinkled with flour and let them rise for another 30 minutes. Then I fry them on a medium heat in a lightly oiled pan for four minutes on each side.

Then I make the hollandaise sauce. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with water until they are nicely fluffy. Then I place the bowl on a pot of gently simmering water so that the bowl is not touching the water. I continue whisking until the mixture starts to have a creamy consistency. I slowly add the butter and keep whisking and whisking. Every now and then I take the bowl off the pot, keep whisking, then put it back on. I do this so that the eggs don't start to curdle. When the sauce is nicely smooth and creamy, I stir in the lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Then I prepare the poached eggs. I boil water in a shallow saucepan or deep pan, the water needs to be at a very gentle boil. I add vinegar to the water. I first crack the eggs into a ladle or bowl and then carefully pour them into the water. They need to have enough space around them. And I put a maximum of four in one pan at a time, otherwise they will cool the water too much. I cover the pan with a lid and let the eggs sit for three minutes. Then I use a wooden spoon to loosen them from the bottom or help them a little so that they have a nice round shape. I cook them for a total of 3–5 minutes depending on their size. Then I take them out with a spoon onto a plate.

And then I put everything together. I put a few slices of avocado on the halved bun, then the poached egg, bacon, pour hollandaise sauce over everything, and season with pepper if desired.

Sweet semolina roll

It slides down your throat like a kid down a slide. This cake is so soft and just the right amount of sweet. We love it as a dessert, as a cake for guests, or with a nice cup of tea on a Sunday morning.

4 servings
Preparation 30 minutes
Baking 20 minutes

2 eggs, yolks and whites separately
40 g caster sugar
a pinch of salt
30 g butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon lemon zest
130 ml milk
120 g semolina
butter for greasing the mold
coarse flour for lining the mold

For pouring:
750 ml whole milk
60 g caster sugar

For the cream:
125 ml whole milk
40 g caster sugar
2 egg yolks
seeds from one vanilla pod
1 whipping cream, for serving

In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy, add the salt, butter and lemon zest and mix thoroughly again. Stir in the semolina a spoonful at a time, then stir in the milk and finally carefully fold in the egg whites.

I grease a round cake tin with a diameter of 20 cm with butter, sprinkle it with flour and spread the prepared dough into it.

Bake the rolls in an oven preheated to 180°C until golden brown. It takes about 20 minutes.

I cut the cooled roll into lengthwise pieces, place them in a larger saucepan, pour in the milk mixed with sugar, and heat on the stove over low heat until all the milk is absorbed into the roll. Then I place the roll on a bowl and pour over the cream.

And I prepare the cream like this. I mix cold milk with sugar, egg yolks and vanilla, pour it into a glass bowl, which I place on a pot of gently boiling water so that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. I mix until it thickens. I whip the whipping cream into whipped cream.

We like sweet pastries best decorated with cream and whipped cream.

This is our Sunday morning in the kitchen at the cottage. There's almost nothing more fitting for such a lazy start to the day than candles.

Stuffed eggs with garlic and spring onions

Are they spicy? They are! And special? That too, and beautiful. They disappear from the bowl of treats first. Plus, it's a handy recipe for an after-dinner egg treat.

5–10 servings
Preparation 15 minutes
Cooking 10 min

10 eggs
80 ml mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sour cream (as fat as possible)
tablespoon of clarified butter
1 clove of garlic, crushed
3 spring onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
chili for garnish
chives for garnish

I pour water into a large saucepan, bring it to a boil, add the eggs and cook them for 10 minutes. I drain the water and put the saucepan with the eggs under a stream of very cold water, where I leave them for about five minutes. The eggs then peel easily. I peel them and cut them in half and take out the yolks, which I mash with a fork in a bowl. I add the mayonnaise, sour cream, salt, pepper and mix everything well or blend them.

In a smaller pan, I heat a tablespoon of clarified butter and fry the garlic and spring onions for about two minutes. I take the pan off the heat, let it cool, and add everything to the yolk mixture. Then I add the chives. I mix everything carefully again.

Using a small spoon, fill the cooked egg whites with the yolk mixture (you can also use a pastry bag). Garnish each half with a pinch of chili and chives.

We are waiting for guests and our Davča is peeking through the chair - I stopped him in time before he could taste them all.

Soft-boiled eggs with “soldiers” and asparagus

Our Onďa didn't know that these little toasts are called soldiers in different places around the world and suddenly he says: "That's good, Dito. Those sticks are lined up like soldiers!" And he was quite amused by this simplicity. I always was too.

4 servings
Preparation 10 minutes

4 eggs
4 slices of white toast bread
green asparagus
butter for spreading on toast
salt

I put water in a saucepan to boil. When it starts to boil, I put the eggs in it, turn down the heat a little and cook them for four minutes. In the meantime, I toast the slices of bread, spread it with butter and cut it into strips. I break off the woody ends of the asparagus and boil it in salted water for about 3 minutes. If it is a very young mini asparagus, we eat it fresh. I put the toast and asparagus on a plate, put the eggs in a cup and then we all have a nice dip.

Frittata

Try it and see what happens. My husband Mára doesn't like new things and when I put the frittata in front of him, he said: "What is this?" But he forced himself to take the first bite. The next day he called to see if we had any eggs at home, saying that if so he would buy some...

This time I served for you

in the brand new Egg Set 5 + 1

And you can also have them in a gift box

Beloved pancakes

It will all come together one day - maybe through pancakes. I can still smell the butter and sugar when my grandmother made me "lace" pancakes for breakfast.
And now it's up to me: our little boy Davídek calmly wakes me up at five in the morning and says: "Mom, I'm going to have a party!" And I fly because I know...

...that the kind of lace that my great-grandmother was able to bake after a round of pancakes could be fatal.

I will tell you about an ancient wedding veil, which was supposedly already lying over my cradle, where they laid me, tied in a swaddling cloth. It must have touched my face even then, because I remember the smell of the finest fabric... A beautifully embroidered veil, ancient and also memorable - I only found out about it after the ordeal. My grandmother and I made it, as my great-grandmother was called in Humpolec.

Every morning during the holidays, she would make me semolina porridge for breakfast, in which I would make rivers of butter and save the best for last: the middle island, which had the most chocolate and sugar. However, as soon as my grandmother told me that pancakes existed, I quickly abandoned wading through porridge. A new breakfast stage in my life began: pancakes.

Every morning, Grandma would step up to the stove in an ironed apron and scoop out a beautiful pancake with a ladle. Each pancake had a hem around the circumference like a lace skirt. Before rolling it up, Grandma would spread it with endless variations of fillings: jam, cottage cheese, pribináček, nutella from West Germany... And then she would roll it up so that there were rich, layered skirts at both ends. That's when it happened.

I flew to the closet, where deep behind the damask curtains, lay a lace veil hidden in a transparent box. I spread it out next to the plate of pancakes and tried to roll up a skirt from its edges, like the one my grandmother's pancakes wore. It wasn't very easy. So I took the Masha doll and rolled the lace around her body. "Ditunka, that would be a beautiful skirt, wouldn't it?", said my grandmother, and I brought the scissors. My grandmother always, always fulfilled everything I wished for. Before I could tell her. So she spread the veil out into a squiggle, sewed in an elastic band, and the skirt suited Masha perfectly.

Only the tears in my mother's eyes when she saw that "beauty" did I understand many years later. She just said at the time: "It was supposed to be your wedding..."

I got married without a veil. And with an eternal love for pancakes with a lace skirt.

Pancakes with sugar and lemon

These pancakes have the power of a lifesaver. They are sweet and sour, thin and filling. It's as if someone was stroking my hair in bed in the morning and saying: it will get better! It definitely does.

16-24 pancakes
Preparation 10 minutes
Maturing 2 hours
Toasting 20 min

4 large eggs
550 ml whole milk
250 g plain flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
60 ml melted butter
clarified butter for frying pancakes
powdered sugar and lemon for serving

In a food processor or by hand with a whisk, I first beat the eggs with milk, add the flour, sugar and salt and beat again. Finally, I mix in the melted butter. I put the prepared dough in the refrigerator and let it rest for two hours.

I heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and melt about a tablespoon of clarified butter in it. If I don't have any, I use regular butter. I pour the melted butter from the pan into a small bowl and lightly brush the pan with a butter brush before each pancake.

I take the batter out of the fridge, mix it thoroughly again. I pour one ladle of batter into the pan, swirl it around to spread it all over the pan, fry for about 2-3 minutes, then flip the pancake and fry for another minute on the other side. I do the same with the rest of the batter.

I dust the finished pancakes with sugar and drizzle with lemon juice.

Chocolate pancakes with vanilla whipped cream

These are festive for me. I'll wait for the moment when I can surprise someone with them, enchant them, or simply make them happy. And it works. Try it!.

12 pancakes

Preparation 20 minutes

Let sit for 20 minutes

Toasting 20 min

150 g plain flour
2 tablespoons cocoa, sifted
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 large eggs
250 ml milk
250 ml cooking cream
vegetable oil or clarified butter for frying

For the caramel sauce:

250 ml cooking cream
150 g butter
170 g dark sugar
a pinch of salt

For vanilla whipped cream

500 ml whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
seeds from 1 vanilla pod

First, I make the caramel sauce. In a small saucepan, I pour the cream, add the butter, sugar, and salt, and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. I increase the heat, bring to a boil, and cook for 8–10 minutes until the caramel sauce is thick. I remove from the heat and let it cool a bit.

In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar and ground ginger. In another bowl, beat the eggs, milk and cream and then gradually beat in the flour, sugar and ginger mixture. Let the smooth pancake batter rest for 20 minutes.

I lightly grease a non-stick pancake pan with vegetable oil or clarified butter and let it heat up over low heat. I pour one ladle of batter into the pan, swirl it around to spread it all over the pan, fry for 2-3 minutes, then turn the pancake with my fingers and fry for another minute on the other side. I do the same with the rest of the batter. I stack the pancakes on top of each other and cover them with a clean towel so they don't cool down.

For the vanilla whipped cream, whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla seeds until almost stiff.

I spread each pancake with whipped cream, fold it into a triangle and drizzle it lightly with caramel sauce.

Barley pancakes with homemade Nutella

I haven't known this recipe for a long time. I just succumbed – and gladly – to the talk about how food "does" the body and soul. And also a good mood and feeling. Yes, it does, I know that now. They should be called Merry Pancakes..

10 pancakes
Preparation 25 minutes
Resting time 30 min.
Toasting 20 min

600 ml plant-based or cow's milk
2 eggs, yolks and whites separately
220 g barley flour
a pinch of salt
vegetable oil or clarified butter for frying
two handfuls of roasted mixed nuts for serving

For homemade Nutella:

425 g hazelnuts
140 g almonds
35 g coconut or dark sugar
110 g clarified butter
50g coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
65 g cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

I start with homemade nutella. I spread the nuts and almonds on a baking sheet and put them in an oven preheated to 180° C. I bake them for 10-15 minutes, until they start to brown slightly, stirring them a few times during baking. I transfer the nicely roasted nuts and almonds to a clean towel, wrap them nicely in it, and rub them until I remove almost all the skins.

I pour the coconut sugar into a large pan and let it melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally. This takes about 5–10 minutes.
Then I add the nuts and almonds to the pan, mix them so that they are nicely coated with the melted sugar, pour them onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper, spread them evenly, and let them cool.

I put the nuts and almonds in the food processor, add the softened butter, coconut oil, salt and mix until smooth and creamy, this takes 8-10 minutes. I add the cocoa and mix until fully incorporated. Finally, I briefly mix in the vanilla extract.

I transfer the finished Nutella into jars with lids and store what I don't use right away in a dark, cool, dry place, where it will last for several weeks. In the refrigerator, it will even last for several months.

For the pancake batter, I mix milk with egg yolks, flour, and salt. It will form a liquid batter, which I put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Then I whip the egg whites to stiff peaks and carefully fold them into the batter.
I lightly grease a non-stick pancake pan with vegetable oil or clarified butter and heat the fat over low heat. I pour one ladle of batter into the pan, swirl it around to spread it all over the pan, fry for 2-3 minutes, then turn the pancake with my fingers and fry for another minute on the other side. I do the same with the rest of the batter. I stack the pancakes on top of each other and cover them with a clean towel so they don't cool down.

Finally, I spread each pancake with homemade Nutella, roll it up, and sprinkle with coarsely chopped roasted nuts.

Buckwheat galettes with ham and egg

When you ask me what men dream about, I will answer you with this recipe. It contains all the ingredients that can satisfy desire and make dreams a reality. Isn't that the best?

15-20 biscuits
Preparation 20 minutes
Overnight storage
Toasting 20 min

400 ml milk
2 eggs
150 g buckwheat flour
a pinch of salt
vegetable oil or clarified butter for frying pancakes

For the filling of 1 pancake:

15 g Gruyére or Comte cheese
1 egg
25 g ham
freshly ground pepper

I mix the milk with the eggs, add the buckwheat flour and salt, mix and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning I take the dough out and let it come to room temperature.
I lightly grease a non-stick pancake pan with vegetable oil or clarified butter and heat it over low heat. I pour one ladle of batter into the pan, swirl it around to spread it all over the pan, and fry for 2–3 minutes.

When the surface of the galette is dry, I sprinkle it with cheese and crack an egg on top of the cheese. Finally, I add the shredded ham. I cover the pan with a lid so that the cheese melts and the egg white sets. I uncover the pan, fold the edges of the galette into the center, carefully transfer it to a plate, and sprinkle with pepper. I do the same with the rest of the dough. I stir the dough from time to time, as the buckwheat flour tends to sink to the bottom.

Run, I'll be waiting for you at the cross!

I feel so good! Most of all… I “blame” myself for that beautiful summer. Also myself for stopping working like crazy. Also Davídek, who enjoys me when we run around the field together, play football and I let him wear a Spiderman suit or whatever he likes wherever he goes. And I “blame” our dinner at seven for that joy. It wasn’t always like that.

It can't have been that long ago, over scrambled eggs for dinner, my husband said: "Hey, everyone is jealous of me because I have Dita P." I didn't respond to that irony with a single sentence. Well, just one: "Tomorrow at seven at the table."

Our world stopped “tomorrow.” And it stops every night at seven.

In a minute seven I take off my apron, the table is set, always nicely, on my-our Embroidered Porcelain. At that moment I hear Mark kicking off his shoes in the hall: “What does it smell like in here” and I watch David cleverly climbing onto his chair. I’m telling you about these ordinary things that you probably have in your house too. We only had them sometimes. Until recently, David ate porridge, I ate “something from the fridge” and Marek ate what was left over from Sunday or some quick meal. Each at a different time and alone at the table. One snort over the fried eggs woke me up. I’ve had this beautiful ritual under my skin forever!

I don't know if I remember "since I was a child", but I've known since I was three that at five minutes to half past four, my mother and then Marika were standing at the bus stop for bus 190 and at exactly half past four, my father got off. He came from work. He had a brown bag hanging on his shoulder... we went on our bikes, grilled sausages, and rode down the artificial hills that grew in Jižní Město from the excavated foundations of apartment buildings on a baking tray. And then we went home.

It probably wasn't at seven, like it is now in our country, because Marika and I were already watching Večerníček in our pajamas. Mom must have had dinner prepared in advance, even though it wasn't anything complicated: French fries, pancakes, potato salad and so on. For me, those dinners together were nothing special back then. I sat next to my dad and didn't really enjoy talking while eating. Marika and I wanted to giggle, poke each other under the table and everything... Only when I grew up and remember that time, do I realize the meaning of our ritual dinners: they gave all four of us security, we are together at the table now and again tomorrow. We are at home. It doesn't matter what's going on outside, because we have dinner on plates with forget-me-nots, on a red tablecloth, it's warm and fun.

That's how it is at our home in Letná or at our cottage. Until now.

We sit together, Davídek will remember for the rest of his life that he ate from a plate "with lots of blue flowers", that he sat at the head of the table and had his mother on one side and his father on the other. And I enjoy our new anchor in the middle of the world so much that I secretly drag our table on a cart into the fields, cook and set it among the grain. I did that and then - just before seven - I called the boys: Run, I'm waiting for you at the cross.

I feel so good! The most...

Bruschetta with tomatoes

You will feel the real Italy, I promise you. These beautiful "breads" are more than enough for a summer dinner, for example after a light soup.

6–8 servings
Preparation 20 minutes

light Italian country bread, cut into 2 cm slices
extra virgin olive oil
fine sea salt
1 kg very ripe to overripe tomatoes from the garden or farmers market that have never been refrigerated

I heat up the grill in the oven. I spread the breads on a baking sheet and lightly toast them on both sides. Sometimes I toast them on a grill pan, but it's best on a grill over hot ashes.

As soon as they are toasted, I drizzle them with a thin drizzle of the best olive oil. I like it very pungent, almost burning in the throat and smelling like freshly cut grass. Then I sprinkle the breads lightly with fine sea salt.

I let the tomatoes warm up in the sun for two or more hours. I cut them into small pieces and layer them on hot bruschetta, or serve them on the side in small bowls. Everyone then salt them to taste.

Basil pesto

Pesto is my favorite and I would also say it's the best in the world. I learned it in Italy, where basil grows right next to the sea and they really know how to make it.

4 servings
Preparation 15 minutes

3 tablespoons pine nuts
1 clove of garlic
2 large handfuls of basil, washed and dried
100 ml olive oil
2 tablespoons pecorino, finely grated
6 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, finely grated
a pinch of sea salt

In a mortar and pestle, I pound the pine nuts into a smooth paste. I add the garlic and grind again until smooth. I add a pinch of salt and basil leaves and grind again. When the basil starts to release green liquid, I pour in the olive oil and continue grinding until the oil is absorbed. Finally, I add both cheeses and mix until a creamy pesto is formed.

And I use it for everything, I spread it on bread, add it to salad dressing, brush it on potatoes when baking, but I like it best with pasta.

Salad with strawberries and caramelized nuts

I expected my boys to say: "Hey, what's this - strawberries and peelings?" They said, but they finished the salad bowl.

4–6 servings
Preparation 20 minutes

For the caramelized pecans:
2 tablespoons butter
110 g pecans, can also be walnuts
2 tablespoons dark sugar
a small pinch of salt

For the poppy seed dressing:
60 ml olive or avocado oil
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground pepper

For the salad:
200 g baby spinach or any green salad, it is great to add at least two handfuls of arugula
500 g ripe strawberries, preferably freshly picked, washed and chopped
1 ripe avocado, cut into thin slices or small pieces
1/2 red onion, sliced very thinly
110 g fresh goat cheese

First, I make the caramelized pecans. In a heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the pecans and mix well. Sprinkle in the brown sugar and a pinch of salt, and stir until the sugar has dissolved and coated the pecans. Finally, I spread them out on a baking sheet and let them cool.

In the meantime, I'll prepare the dressing. I'll whisk all the ingredients together carefully and set them aside for now.

I put the salad ingredients except the goat cheese in a large bowl, add the dressing and mix thoroughly. I sprinkle the salad with goat cheese pieces, caramelized pecans and serve.

Pistachio cake with strawberries

For those of you who love change, and a very surprising one at that, this cake will be a great delight. You will get a totally divine blend of flavors that – as cakes should be – tastes sweet and somewhere in the background you will smell something special, new. Those pistachios!

8 servings
Preparation 25 minutes
Baking 25 minutes

200 g shelled, unsalted pistachios + for garnish
120 g butter + for greasing the mold
130 g caster sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
6 eggs, yolks and whites separately
a pinch of salt
250 ml whipping cream
2 tablespoons honey
strawberries for decoration
butter for greasing the mold

Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Grease a 20 cm cake tin with butter.

I put the pistachios, butter, 100g caster sugar and vanilla sugar in a food processor and blend for about a minute until it forms a smooth paste. Then I add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing each time. Then I transfer the pistachio mixture to a large bowl.

I put the egg whites in a large bowl and beat until they start to foam. I add the salt and continue beating. I gradually add the remaining 30 g of sugar and beat until a firm, smooth snow forms, which I carefully fold into the pistachio mixture.

Pour the resulting dough into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the cake and let it cool completely on a wire rack.

I pour the cream into another bowl and whip it into a stiff cream. Then I mix it with the honey.

Spread whipped cream on the body, decorate with strawberries and chopped pistachios.

Cherry bubblegum

I will never forget my classic, because I believe that summer would not have started without it. And it treated us to the hot setting sun right after our beautiful dinner.

I always serve our dinners at seven on lunch sets. And I rotate them or combine them in different ways.

Set Stitch Set Pumps Set Stripe Set Linen

My chocolate birthday

The man came to dinner, where we were three women, with our arms full of bouquets of roses. He gave one a red one, the other a white one, and me a pink bouquet. And something happened to me: I spoke more quietly, my face was inconspicuous (in the end, noticeable) and I was proud. Why didn't I realize then that pink has miraculous powers: to turn a woman into a woman, a mother into a mother, a scared single girl into a cheerful young lady. I know it now. I know... I'm pink. And it's my birthday.

And on my birthday, for the first time in forty-two years, I put on my new pink apron early in the morning. My, in my opinion, beautiful apron, just pulled over my head.

I hid myself inside it and the miracle came like that time with the pug: I wanted to laugh, or at least smile, caress, sing and cook, bake, decorate, see how others liked it. And they praised me... that's not every day.

It's the pink color that I somehow pulled out of the closet and now I've put back on my apron. It was sent to me by the stars, spring, or the joy of being born a woman... I'm still amazed by it and I'm slipping into pathos or perhaps inexplicable events, but it happened.

Pink didn't bother me at all when I started unpacking tons of chocolate for my birthday cake, which could only be thick chocolate. I didn't even take off my new pink apron while carrying the cake, like I do with other aprons at home when I go to the table after cooking.

My great-grandmother used to change her aprons: she had all sorts of ordinary ones for cooking, and she tied a white, embroidered apron for serving – about once a year. I have her holiday one hidden in an old cupboard at the cottage, and a whole collection of aprons to go with it. There are a few men's ones, but no man in our family has ever worn an apron. At most, she tucks a tea towel behind her waist. And I'm happy.

The man in the apron is a professional chef and I can't tell anything about his masculinity through the apron. The man in the pink apron is not a man. He really isn't. The pink apron is feminine. Totally, tenderly, sweetly. uniquely feminine. After my birthday, I went to bed in it. So that the miracle would stay with me even after my birthday night.

Chocolate cake

Just the thought of chocolate, let alone a chocolate cake, sends me into ecstasy. And then I bake it, decorate it, and feel like Michelangelo when he painted the almost-touching hands in the Sistine Chapel. And then I bite into the cake… it’s incredible!

8 servings / Preparation 10 min / Baking 30–35 min

butter and plain flour for greasing and lining the cake tin
350 g plain flour
350 g caster sugar
150 g of good quality cocoa
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
375 ml buttermilk
375 ml warm water
110 ml vegetable oil
Filling
400 g good-quality milk chocolate, melted
250 g sour cream

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Grease three 20-centimeter cake tins with butter and sprinkle with plain flour.
2. In a food processor, mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt on low speed. Add the eggs, buttermilk, water, and oil, and mix again on medium speed until smooth.
3. Divide the batter into 3 cake tins and bake for 30-35 minutes. Let cool slightly, then remove the cakes from the tins and let cool completely.
4. In the meantime, I prepare the cream for the filling. In a bowl, I carefully mix the melted chocolate with sour cream. I put the resulting cream in the refrigerator to cool for ten minutes. And then I use it to beautifully decorate the cake.

Chocolate meringues with chocolate

They are delicate and beautiful. Like a little girl who has just been born. And that's how we treated those giant meringues: we ate them carefully, slowly, with love.

5–6 meringues / Preparation 25 minutes / Baking 70 minutes / Cooling 15 minutes

Meringue
6 large egg whites, room temperature
a pinch of salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons of good quality cocoa
320 g caster sugar
Chocolate icing
40 g of good quality cocoa
100 ml of water
50 g sugar
40 g corn syrup
20 g good-quality dark chocolate, broken into pieces
1 whipping cream for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 140°C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. In a large glass bowl, beat the egg whites with salt. Start at low speed and gradually increase the speed. Keep the whisk upright. Once the egg whites are foamy, gradually add the starch and sugar, spoon by spoon. Beat for 10–15 minutes until stiff, shiny peaks form. Carefully stir in the cocoa until a “chocolate swirl” forms.
2. Using two spoons, I make meringues on the baking paper. They should be 10-12 centimeters in diameter and 6 centimeters high. Then I circle each meringues with a spoon and create a nice pointed top on top. I dust each meringues with a little cocoa and carefully create a few more “swirls” with a small fork.
3. I bake them for an hour and 10 minutes, then turn off the oven, slightly open the oven door, and let the meringues cool in the oven for another 15 minutes.
4. For the chocolate icing, combine the cocoa, water, sugar, and corn syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil over low heat. Remove from heat and add the chocolate chips. Stir until the chocolate melts. Let the icing sit at room temperature for an hour before serving.
5. Serve the meringues decorated with whipped cream and topped with chocolate icing.

Chocolate ice cream

The frosty sweet spot behind the birthday sweets was a hit with everyone. It settled us down "temperature-wise" and we ate it with tiny spoons to feel the velvety taste for as long as possible.

6 servings / Preparation: 30 minutes + making ice cream in an ice cream maker

100 g 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces
300 ml whole milk
85 g caster sugar
3 egg yolks from domestic or organic eggs
300 ml whipping cream

1. Place the chocolate chips and milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat slowly over low heat, stirring until the chocolate melts, then remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
2. Beat the sugar and eggs until light and fluffy, carefully stir in the cooled "chocolate milk" and strain everything through a colander back into the saucepan.
3. Slowly heat the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Do not boil, as it may curdle. Pour into a bowl and let cool, stirring occasionally.
4. Whip the cream and carefully fold it into the cooled chocolate mixture. Pour it into the ice cream maker and let it churn according to the instructions.

Boundless joy and happiness. Everything is done and I would love to eat it all myself. And I think I will.