Semifreddo

This summer I had a chance to taste delicious Italian dessert - Semifreddo. I cooked it by myself at home. Four hours waiting seemed to be endless while the dessert was being frozen in the fridge!

Chocolate cookies with white pepper

Sometimes you haven't got any mood. No good, no bad, may be depressed mood? I can't express more exactly. Only kitchen saves me at such moments. Not eating tenth chocolate sweet, but cooking. Maybe even sweets. But I get special pleasure while baking pies, cakes and cookies. At first making dough, then wearisome waiting, working with the dough and finally long-expected result. You treat your family, take a sample by yourself, share the recipes - and get much pleasure. You feel happy.
Do you have such moments?

Apples «Raffaello»

Today I'd like to show you the apple: not fresh, not baked, but boiled. Are you interested? Welcome!

Almond cake with cream and vanilla

When guests suddenly come to you or you don't know what cook for family evening tea this cake is a real boon to you. It's easy to cook and delicious. I like it for this.

P.S. Like with milk, coffee or cocoa.

Lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

There is baking that I love not only for stunning taste but also for aroma. For example, with citrus plants. More than that I'm ready to bake with lemons, limes and oranges only for their aroma - it's so pleasantly-astringent, dizzy and agreeable. It's great pleasure to wake up to the accompaniment of such aroma. Our weekend morning consisted of a cup of coffee and delicate lemon cupcakes!

Roasted garlic pasta with quail egg

I decided to cook supper. Delicious and quickly. And, of course, from usual ingredients. What can be easier and tastier than macaroni whose package is in each house? May be potatoes. But they require to be peeled. Macaroni is quite another matter: put it into boiling water, wait for sometime - and, voila: you can eat. However who wants to taste macaroni without anything? My family doesn't. It isn't surprising: pasta is much tastier with sauce.
Do you still remember that I wanted to cook supper during 5 minutes? I couldn't. According to the recipe which I found in Donna Hay's journal I need to roast a head of garlic in the foil. By the way it takes 30 minutes! Sometimes I permit myself to deviate from original, but not today. I don't know why. May be I would like to know particular features of roasted vegetable? Of course, it may seem funny, but the head of garlic was in the oven as long as it was required. And it wasn't in vain. I wonder if it would be so tasty to us if I made my conservative and super-fast manipulations with garlic?

Plum cobbler

When can you enjoy juicy plums? Pick ripe fruits from the tree, fill your stomachs buckets, cook jams and bake pies? Only in August!
But sometimes after coming back from the garden you have strength only for sleeping. And what about rewarding yourself for successful harvest? You must do it! That's why I'd like to show the recipe of the pie which is not exactly the pie. It's more likely a dessert: aroma, pleasant and easy to cook!

Vareniki with cottage cheese

These vareniki are special. We cooked them by the whole company. Somebody kneaded dough, somebody cut circles, the others made the filling and then we all together shaped "grebeshki". At that we managed to make a competition on the neatest, the funniest and the most unusual "plait". I've never thought that such team-work can be so exciting. It was no less pleasant to eat home-made vareniki: cooked under the steam, generously poured by fresh sour cream, they vanished from the plate one by one. It was so delicious that we decided to make the process again but with another fillings!

Cherry&Walnut jam

May be for somebody it is an ordinary jam, nothing special, for somebody, but not for me. For a jar of ruby dainty I ...no-no-no, I'm not going to sell my soul, but if I'm offered to choose among Nutella, condensed milk and this cherry jam I will stopped on the last one. And there are some reasons for it.

This jam is skillful. It does all its best while cooking: the aroma attracts, charms, turns my head, knocks me down - in general, you understand me! The second cause is no less convincing: you can buy the chocolate paste and condensed milk in every supermarket when you want, even at night, even at severe cold or harassing heat. Cherry jam is completely different in this way. It's almost unreal to find natural one in the supermarket and you have a chance to cook it only in summer. But all charm is in it. It's pleasant to remember harvest, nights in the company of big pans with gurgling berries, especially in winter, warming by a cup of aroma cherry drink. And finally there are nuts in this jam. Walnuts - I like them so much, but I'm sure it'll be delicious with almonds too. I suppose the second portion will be with them!

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The name of these cookies points to their nature. It you leave them alone for two minutes somebody very bright, going by the kitchen at this moment, will take two pieces with him - it's impossible not to be tempted by their aroma at first and then their look. On the one hand, this thing is convenient to me. It means that cookies are tasty, my family appreciated them as their true value so there is a merited cause to reiterate the process. But! But just imagine such a picture: at first you knead dough with special feeling, model tiny balls, put them on the sheet so that every ball feels comfortable, then watch balls turning into cookies, see to it that nothing will burn slightly, to the accompaniment of incredible aroma take the sheet from the oven, enjoy equal ruddy circles and satisfied with the result go for a camera. But when you come back you find out that the sheet is almost empty. And only appetizing crunch is heard from the room next door. Of course you smile, scold a rowdy and ... knead dough again. At this moment cookies continue to vanish. By the way with your help! :)

Spaghetti alla vodka

Sometimes I want macaroni. Certainly in the sauce, certainly in the creamy one, with flakes of aromatic Parmesan and sweet-scented basil. If I want something very much I'll exactly do it. While pasta is being cooked (by the way, almost by itself) I'm making the sauce - there is a big area for experiments - mix them quickly and then ... then the moment for which everything was planned comes.
When I tasted macaroni cooked according to the recipe which I'll tell you later about I compared myself with Julia Roberts's heroine in the film "Eat, pray, love". Do you remember how appetizingly she ate spaghetti in one of Italian restaurants? With pieces of ripe tomatoes, basil leaves, moreover generously sprinkled with cheese, it looked incredibly appetizing. Like the heroine I twisted macaroni on the fork and enjoy my helping with sense.  I don't know the reason of my wild gastronomic delight: great appetite or the fact that I haven't eaten macaroni for years. Or may be it's connected with secret ingredient which I added to the sauce? However I got real pleasure. "Every molecule of my being was full of happiness" - the heroine would tell this if she tasted my macaroni.

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Cupcakes

If you had a chance to taste a cheesecake it won't be so simple to say no when you are offered to regale yourself with this pastry. Though....what do I tell about? I'm sure nobody is going to refuse. It's incredibly soft, light and delicious - the most pleasant dessert for girls. I like raspberry-flavored cheesecake. And what about you?