Spiritually or otherwise speaking, what books changed your life?
Citizen of the Cosmos asked a great book question, and so it got me thinking. Are there books that have changed your life? What books and what did they do for you? Why are the special?
One is good, but three or four or five are even better.
Hot Rod magazine..Motor Trend ,Stock Car magazine and Open Wheel.
i became an auto mechanic and hung around racing.
bye
What are some very simple, very fast Polish recipes?
For food prep tomorrow, I need to bring in a recipe from a country I chose.
I chose Poland, and now I am drawing up a blank. All of the recipes I want to use require me to go out and find ingredients I’ve never heard of, or they take forever to make.
Is there a very simple Polish recipe to make, preferably a desert, that I can make with ingredients around the house?
SAUERKRAUT SOUP (Kapusniak)
This is a typical polish winter soup and is very simple to make.
You will notice that sauerkraut is a common ingredient in the Polish kitchen.
Heat butter in a small frying pan and fry the spare ribs briskly to seal in their juices. Gently boil the ribs and all the other ingredients in the water for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauerkraut softens. Remove the spare ribs and bay leaf, season to taste and serve. Serves 4.
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SOUR CUCUMBER SOUP (Zupa Ogorkowa)
Another sour flavoured soup
1 litre chicken stock
2 med sized potatoes
2 med sized cucumbers, pickled in brine
25g butter
150 ml sour cream
1 tsp plain flour
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the stock. Peel and dice potatoes and boil them in the stock until soft. Peel the cucumbers and grate them coarsely. Melt the butter and soften the grated cucumber. Add to the stock and potatoes. Taste and add a little brine if necessary – the soup should have a pleasantly sour taste. Mix the sour cream with the flour and stir into the soup. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately without bringing back to the boil. Serves 4.
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HERRING WITH SOUR CREAM (Sledzie w Smietanie) Herring is a traditional Polish hors d’oeuvre. There is no lack of herring in Poland, as it is fished in large quantities in the Baltic Sea. There are many different herring dishes, and although they can be eaten fresh, this is the most favourite way of preparing them.
Rinse the herrings and set aside. Peel and dice onions. Mix the onions with the sour cream in a bowl. Add herrings and chill. When ready to serve, decorate with sliced hard-boiled eggs. Serves 4.
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LITTLE FINGERS (Paluszki)
Best served straight from the oven.
Preheat oven to 240C/475F. Combine butter, potato and flour to make a dough. Place on a well-floured board and knead. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, then roll out very thinly. Cut into narrow strips. Place on a well greased baking tray and brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with salt and caraway seeds. Bake for approx 10 minutes, until golden. Serves 4.
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HUNTERS STEW (Bigos) Poland’s national dish, and one of my favourite dishes. There is a variety in ingredients, some have mushrooms and juniper berries, while others contain apples, venison, lamb or beef. It is best made a two days in advance and reheated on low heat before serving. This enhances the flavour.
50g butter
2 onions, peeled and chopped
1 jar sauerkraut
1 can tomatoes, peeled
1 small white cabbage
300 ml strong beef stock
250g smoked sausage
5 to 6 pork ribs
salt and pepper
Melt butter in a saucepan and fry the onions until golden. Rinse the sauerkraut in cold water, drain thoroughly and mix with the onions. Add the tomatoes. Chop the cabbage finely and mix in. Add the stock, stirring well, and then the pork ribs. Slice the sausage and add into the stew. Allow to simmer on low heat for one hour. Season to taste. Remove from heat and leave covered for 24 hours. Refrigerate and reheat before serving. Serves 8.
Note: If you prefer the dish to be more sour, add more sauerkraut.
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MEATLOAF STUFFED WITH EGGS (Klopsy)
A simple yet satisfying Polish dish.
2 eggs, hard-boiled
50g stale bread
25g onion
20g butter
500g Ground Beef, pork or a mixture of both
1 egg, beaten
25g breadcrumbs
1 tbs chopped fresh parsely
oil/butter to grease baking dish
salt and pepper
Peel the hard-boiled eggs and quater them lengthwise. Soak the stale bread in water, and when soft, squeeze out the excess water and mince. Peel and chop the onion and fry in butter until lightly golden – set aside. Mince the meat with the bread, onion and beaten egg. Add salt and pepper and knead until all ingredients are combined.
Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on a large board and place the meat mixture on top, spreading it fairly thin to form a rectangle (A4 size). Place egg quarters along one side, pointing them towards the middle. Sprinkle with parsely. Roll the meat up into a thick cylinder, starting from the side where the eggs are so that they will be in the middle.
Heat the oven to 220C/425F. Grease a fairly deep baking dish. Add the meatloaf, basting with some oil/butter. Cover tray with foil and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, basting frequently. Cut into slices and serve. Serves 4.
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VEGETABLE DISHES
CABBAGE PARCELS (Golabki)
Golabki which means ‘little pigeons’, vary in their seasoning and stuffing from region to region. Some use rice and meat or rice and mushrooms or even potatoes and onions. These can be made a day in advance and reheated when needed.
1 large cabbage (with big leaves)
175g long grain rice
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
2 cans mushrooms or 450g fresh mushrooms
50g butter
1 1/2 litres tomato juice, vegetable stock or mushroom stock
salt and pepper for seasoning
Slice through the base of the cabbage and cook in lightly salted boiling water until tender. When the leaves are tender, peel off. You may have to peel the first layers first and then return the cabbage to cook and continue peeling the leaves until all are done.
Boil the rice until just tender. Drain and set aside. Fry the onions in 50g butter until softened. Dice the mushrooms and fry lightly with the onions. Mix with the rice and season well. Place a spoonful of the rice mixture in each cabbage leaf and wrap it carefully, folding the ends under like a parcel.
Heat the oven to 200C/400F. Grease a roasting pan and fill it with cabbage parcels, packing them tightly together. Pour over enough tomato juice, vegetable stock or mushroom stock to cover them. Cover and bake in oven for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake for another 10 minutes to brown the cabbage parcels lightly. Serves 6.
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PIEROGI FILLED WITH SAUERKRAUT AND MUSHROOMS (Pierogi z Kiszonej Kapusty)
Another favourite of mine. Peter and I had our first try at making them and you should have seen the mess we made in the kitchen!! There is a variety of filling which you can try. Some use potatoes or mushrooms and some like it sweet and fill them with fruit. It is recommended that if you use mashed potatoes, the filling should be made at least a day in advance and refrigerated to allow it to dry.
For the dough:
300g plain flour
1 egg
salt
warm water
For the filling:
450g sauerkraut
150g butter
1 onion
110g fresh mushrooms
sour cream to serve
To make the dough, sift the flour, add the egg, salt and sufficient warm water to make a loose dough which holds in shape. Divide the dough into quarters and roll out thinly. Cut out circles 8.5cm in diameter.
To make the filling, chop the sauerkraut finely and saute in 50g of butter. Chop the onion and fry in 25g butter. Dice the mushrooms and fry in remaining butter. Mix everything together.
Place a heaped tablespoon of filling on each circle, fold over and press the edges firmly together to prevent them from opening while cooking. They should be well filled. Bring some salted water to boil and drop the pierogi (a few at a time). When they rise to the surface, turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and serve with sour cream. Serves 8.
You may not get it right the first time, but lots of practise makes perfect.
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Cucumber Salad (Mizeria)
According to legends, this salad was Queen Bona Sforza’s favourite. Mizeria which means misery in Latin, it was believed that Bona Sforza had cried from homesickness for her native Italy while eating it.
1 large cucumber
150 ml sour cream
juice of half a lemon
1 tsp salt
2 tbs freshly chopped dill (for garnish)
Peel and thinly slice the cucumber. Place it in a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave for 30 minutes for the juices to drain. Rinse and drain thoroughly. Arrange the cucumber in a salad dish. Meanwhile, make the dressing from sour cream and lemon juice. Pour over the cucumber and garnish with dill. Serves 4.
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LETTUCE SALAD (Salata po Polsku)
2 crisp iceberg lettuce
150 ml sour cream
1 tbs chopped dill
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and sugar
2 eggs, hard-boiled and diced
Separate leaves of the lettuce and was and dry it thoroughly. Tear into bite-size pieces and arrange in a salad bowl. Meanwhile make the dressing by add sour cream, chopped dill, lemon juice, salt and sugar. Pour over salad and toss well. Sprinkle with diced eggs and serve. Serves 6.
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APPLE FRITTERS (Jablka Smazone w Ciescie)
Apple crescents dipped in batter.
2 eggs, separated
40g caster sugar
5 tbs single cream
110g plain flour
1 tbs cornflour
450g cooking apples
110g butter or oil
icing sugar
To make the batter, beat the egg yolks with sugar and cream. Whisk the egg whites until very stiff and fold in. Sift the flours and mix in lightly.
Peel, core and cut the apples into rings. Spike the apple rings and turn in the batter. Melt the butter or heat the oil in the frying pan, and drop the apple rings into it. Fry on both sides until golden and nicely puffed up. Pile on a plate, sprinkle icing sugar over them through a fine sieve and serve immediately. Serves 2 to 4.
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