Good morning Everyone! I hope you’ve all had a good start to your weekend! It’s a beautiful, cool morning here in Maryland, there’s a breeze coming in through the open windows and there isn’t a cloud in the sky; it feels like fall is knocking on the door! As the summer begins to come to an end and September is just around the corner, I’m sharing one of my favorite comfort foods, perfect for fall, with you today! This beef stew is one of my favorites! It has the most wonderful flavor and is filled with tender beef and lots of vegetables. It’s the perfect dinner for a chilly night, and it’ll warm you up instantly! I always feel like fall is the season when everything slows down in the kitchen and when food has that wonderful, deep and complex flavor that can only come from slow-cooking it, and this is one of those meals! It takes a little while to cook, but it fills your kitchen with the most wonderful, homey aroma and tastes like a spoonful of cozy, delicious comfort!

2 lbs beef stew meat

4oz tomato paste

2 tbs butter

1 tbs olive oil

Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp granulated sugar

1 medium sized onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 medium carrots, diced

2 medium potatoes, cut into chunks

1/4 cup frozen peas

5 cups low-sodium beef broth

Salt & Pepper to season

1. First, prepare your meat by cutting it into chunks and making sure that it’s dry so it browns well (just use a paper towel). Season it well with salt and pepper. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pot, then add in the meat and cook it until it has browned on all sides. Remove it from the pot and set it aside (you may need to cook the meat in two batches so it browns well and the pot isn’t too crowded).

2. Cook the diced onion and minced garlic in the same pot, just until the onion softens, then add in the tomato paste and stir it in well (I used a whisk for this part), then let cook for a minute or two. Still stirring, add in 4 cups of the beef broth (reserve the remaining cup for later, in case you need to thin out the stew), then add in sugar and a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce. Stir well and return the beef and all its juices back into the pot, then cover and reduce the heat to low and just let the stew simmer for about an hour and a half, stirring it occasionally.

3. In the meantime, prepare your vegetables. Peel and dice your carrots and potatoes (you can omit the potatoes and instead serve the stew with mashed potatoes). After the stew has been cooking for about an hour and a half, add in the carrots, potatoes and frozen peas, and let the stew cook for another half our, or until the meat and the vegetables are soft. If the stew is getting too thick, add some more beef broth at this point too, and check the seasoning. Serve hot with some crusty white bread!

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Hi, Everyone! As it was a cold and rainy morning today, it felt appropriate to be baking this warm and cozy Apple Cranberry Crisp! This is my favorite recipe to use for crisps because it’s deliciously buttery and crunchy and works so well with different kinds of fruits. Since fall is almost here, I used some tart apples and added in dried cranberries flavored with some fresh orange juice. Together with the sweet topping and delicious scents of cinnamon, this dessert created an instant aroma of warmth in my kitchen on this rainy day!

FILLING

3lbs apples (8 medium sized apples)

1/8 – 1/4 cup dried cranberries

1 tbs granulated sugar

Fresh lemon juice from half of a lemon

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Fresh juice of one orange

1 tbs all-purpose flour

TOPPING

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

4oz (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup rolled oats

1. First, prepare your topping by combining flour, salt and sugar. Using a fork, work in the butter until you have a crumbly mixture. Add in the rolled oats, and mix until you have moist chunks. Set aside and preheat your oven to 375 deg F.

2. Peel and core your apples, then cut them into chunks and place them in a bowl. Soak your dried cranberries in the fresh juice of one orange (let them soak for a couple of minutes until they are plump). Add fresh lemon juice, ground cinnamon, sugar and a tbs of flour to the apples and toss everything together well. Add in the cranberries and about 2 tbs of the orange juice that they had been soaking in. Toss everything together again, then pour the apples into your baking dish (I used a regular pie dish) and sprinkle the topping on evenly. Bake for about 55 minutes to an hour, until the apples are bubbling and the topping is golden brown. (*Note: I covered the crisp with foil after about 10 minutes of baking and kept it covered for the rest of the baking time, then took it off for the last couple of minutes for it to get golden brown). Let cool for a couple of minutes, then serve with a scoop (or two!) of vanilla ice-cream.

Happy Baking, Everyone!

Good morning, Everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! I have a delicious muffin recipe to share with you this morning to start this week off! These Blueberry Streusel Muffins are so good; they are moist, bursting with juicy blueberries and topped with a sweet streusel topping. What better way to start your day! They are quick and easy to whip up in the morning, and if you don’t have any fresh blueberries, you can use frozen ones and they will be just as good! Warm out of the oven, these will brighten up any morning!

MUFFINS

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup canola oil

1 egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

STRE– USEL TOPPING

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold

1. In your electric mixer bowl, mix together the sugar and canola oil until you have a smooth, creamy mixture. Add in the egg, milk and vanilla extract and mix again. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients into the wet in three batches, mixing well to make sure you don’t have any lumps. Gently fold in the blueberries (if you are using frozen blueberries, don’t thaw them beforehand, just use them frozen so your batter doesn’t turn blue!).

2. Preheat your oven to 375 deg F and line your muffin pan with muffin liners. In a small bowl make your streusel topping by combining the flour, sugar and butter using a spoon, until you have a crumbly mixture. Pour the muffin batter into the prepared pan, then sprinkle the tops with the streusel topping generously. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. Let cool for a couple of minutes before eating.

Those of you who know me, or have been reading my blog for a while probably know that I love to bake! I am by no means an expert baker, it’s just something I enjoy doing and learning more about. While visiting my parents this summer, I went through my grandmother’s and great grandmother’s recipe files, which I’ve been meaning to do every time I’m here. I love old things, especially old family treasures like this, and besides finding some new recipes to try and being reminded of delicious memories from my childhood, it got me thinking about some other things too.

 

I find it so interesting how much you can find out about family, traditions and even culture and history, just by going through some old recipes. Let me tell you a little bit more about these particular recipes… my grandmother was born in the late 1920’s in Czechoslovakia, and my great-grandmother at the end of the 19th century in what was then the Austro-Hungarian empire. Many of these recipes are from the first half of the 20th century during which Europe experienced two world wars, and it’s interesting to see how much of that is reflected in these recipes. Cooking was much more frugal and women had to get creative and use whatever they had when there were wartime rations; the recipes didn’t use as many eggs or butter or other ingredients that were expensive or rationed at the time, and yet I found so many delicious looking recipes, showing that women still wanted to feed their families well and keep a state of normalcy in their homes. It’s interesting to see how everything, even cooking and domestic life was affected by things like war.

It was also fun seeing what dishes that my grandmother used to make we still make today, and how certain holiday traditions continue. I still make the same gingerbread cookies for Christmas that my grandmother used to make many years ago. All the recipes have a little note on them to say who they were from, maybe they were from a neighbor, a friend, an old aunt… but it shows how much people shared life together, even just exchanging beloved recipes, and how important that community life was. As the recipes were passed down from one generation to the next and as families grew, the traditions continued and were added to, and the recipes continued to be written down, and passed down again, holding not only delicious and secret culinary information, but precious family memories, which may just be even more important. Because even though I now live thousands of miles and an ocean away from the kitchen where my grandmother and her mother cooked, as soon as I put those same ingredients together in a mixing bowl my kitchen is filled with the warm and familiar aromas that bring me back to where it all started.

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And I guess that’s part of the reason why I write this blog today, and why I love reading all the other wonderful blogs out there. It’s a way of capturing what you love and sharing it with others, and hopefully creating and continuing something that many other generations will come to treasure in years to come! Thanks for stopping by today and reading along, I would love to know your stories and memories from your kitchen too!

Hi, Everyone! I hope your week is going well so far and that you are enjoying the last few weeks of the summer. I am so ready for the fall to be here, I can’t wait for the cooler temperatures and all the fun things that the season brings with it! And these Apple Crumb Bars, which have all the characteristic flavors of fall are my way of telling it to hurry up! These bars are incredibly good; they have a sweet, buttery crust that’s topped with a layer of apples and finished off with a sprinkling of a crunchy walnut topping and a sweet sugary glaze! They are absolutely delicious, and are the perfect way to welcome the new season in just a couple short weeks, or to enjoy now!

(Adapted from The Smitten Kitchen)
*Makes 12*

YOU WILL NEED
DOUGH
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (4oz) unsalted butter
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

FILLING
4 medium sized apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbs all-purpose flour

GLAZE
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tbs milk

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DIRECTIONS

Hi, Everyone! I have a delicious summer dessert recipe for you today! As the summer is slowly beginning to wind down, I’m trying to use all that great fresh fruit that this season brings with it and that I miss so much during the long winters. One of my favorite summer desserts are fruit crisps, and this Plum Oatmeal Crisp is one that I make every summer using fresh Italian plums. It’s absolutely delicious! The fruit is tart, the topping is soft and chewy, and eaten warm with some vanilla ice-cream it’s an ideal summer treat!

1/2 cup plus 1 tbs all-purpose flour

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup (4oz) unsalted butter

2 1/2 lbs ripe Italian plums

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DIRECTIONS

Hi Everyone! Happy first weekend in August! I hope you all have a fun and relaxing one! It’s been a great week here and today I want to take you on another little castle tour with me, to a place that literally looks like it’s from a fairytale! As I had mentioned earlier, we’ve been traveling and visiting my parents, and a couple of days ago we got to visit Hluboka castle, in the Czech Republic. It’s one of the most popular castles in the country, and rightly so because it’s just beautiful! It was originally built in the 13th century, but has been remodeled several times, finally getting its neo-gothic look that it has today in the 19th century. It’s surrounded by a park and beautiful gardens, and is filled with absolutely beautifully furnished rooms! We had a great time visiting the castle and walking around the surrounding gardens and town, ending the day with a delicious dinner at a local wild game restaurant.

      

A view of the beautiful castle.

It was a beautiful day to walk around the castle grounds.

The castle gardens that were filled with beautiful roses and lots of other plants and flowers.

Inside the castle courtyard where we waited for the castle tour to start. The architectural details on the castle were breath-taking. There was something to look at and admire in every little corner of the building. I love taking castle tours and seeing the beautifully decorated interiors. I love how it gives you a glimpse into the life of the people who once lived there. I always love seeing all the beautiful china, furniture, fabrics and paintings.

 

The woods behind the castle were beautiful. I can just imagine horse-drawn carriages coming up to the castle through the windy little roads that lead to the castle.

Sitting in the castle gardens.

We had dinner at a nearby wild game restaurant called Hubert. The whole restaurant was filled with different animal trophies and their menu included lots of different wild game dishes!

My delicious wild game goulash and dumpling dinner! Goulash is a slow cooked stew made with different herbs, spices and meats. This was was made with venison, wild bore and beef, and served with deliciously soft dumplings.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour, and that you all have a great weekend and enjoy the month of August! Thanks for stopping by today!

Hi, Everyone! So, the other night I had a craving for something really good… not just good, but REALLY good. I’m sure you know those cravings. For some (annoying) reason I always start thinking about all the good things I want to eat around midnight, right before I’m supposed to be going to bed and not filling my stomach with unnecessary amounts of sugar! So I was trying to think of all the things I could possibly bake the following day and then I had a delicious thought… Nutella Swirl Rolls! Is there anything better in this world than Nutella? There is no bad day that a spoonful (or whole jar) of the smooth, chocolaty goodness can’t fix! Sweet rolls are one of my favorite things to bake and I often make different variations of them, and so I thought I would combine the two things and make these Nutella Swirl Rolls. Seriously the best idea I’ve had in a LONG time! They are ridiculously good; soft, chewy, filled with crunchy nuts and lots and lots of Nutella, of course!

Happy Baking, Everyone!

Hi, Everyone! Today I want to take you on a little castle tour with me! We’ve been visiting my parents for the past couple of days and the other day we visited Dobris Castle, not too far from Prague. There are hundreds of beautiful historical castles in the Czech Republic and I love traveling to see different ones, walking through their gardens, touring their interiors filled with beautifully decorated bedrooms and elegant ballrooms, and learning about what kind of lives their inhabitants lived back in the day. This particular castle was the home of the Austro-Hungarian nobility at the time and was originally built in the 16th century but was then rebuilt in the 18th century which is why it has the Rococo style look, and is surrounded by beautiful French gardens. We had a great day there, walking through the castle gardens, touring the beautiful interiors (unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take any picture inside!) and eating some delicious food! Here are some pictures of our day…

A beautiful view of the castle from the French Gardens that surround it. The gardens are filled with beautiful trees, flowers, statues and fountains, and used to have green houses growing citrus fruits in the 17th and 18th centuries.

I can just imagine the ladies strolling through the gardens in their ornately decorated gowns carrying their parasols or having fancy garden parties out there. When we toured the inside of the castle, they told us about what daily life was like for the ladies in the 17th century, and my favorite part was that they used to have to sleep with their heads propped up so that their hair-do’s wouldn’t be ruined, and they actually had fruit baskets put under all the layers of hair for it to keep its shape! I can’t even imagine doing that!

My husband and I sitting on the steps in the castle courtyard.

At the castle restaurant inside the courtyard. They had all kinds of traditional Czech dishes, including different kinds of fish, schnitzels, pork of course, and lots of desserts!

My husband at the restaurant. It felt good to sit down and enjoy a relaxing meal after walking through the gardens in the summer heat and an hour long tour of the castle interiors.

My lunch! Chicken schnitzel (breaded chicken) with croquettes – all fried and very greasy (and probably not the best or healthiest choice on a hot summer day!) but so delicious!

Every good day has to end on a sweet note, as far as I’m concerned! Delicious chocolate cake for dessert to end the fun day!

Thanks for joining me on this little castle tour, I hope you enjoyed it, and hope you are enjoying your summer! Have a great week, Everyone! Thanks for stopping by today!