The secret of the amazing flavour of this cake lies in the long process of maturing and only natural ingredients such as honey and spices. I prepare the dough on stir-up Sunday and let it sit in the fridge for almost a month. After the long rest, the cake is baked, sprinkled with Amaretto Liqueur,  dressed up with layers of plum jam and marzipan, tightly wrapped, and left in the fridge for another week. Just prior to the festivities or one day before Christmas, Polish Traditional Gingerbread Cake needs only a shiny coat of chocolate ganache. Find the recipe here….

Simple courgette fritters are perfect for a quick lunch or light supper, and they are very seasonal. I know the courgettes are available all year round in the grocery shops, but they now have a lot of flavour, and this is the time for many beautiful dishes with this humble vegetable. Although the word fritters conjures up deep frying and greasy dishes, the patties are light, and the cooking uses little oil. The courgette fritters can be eaten straight out of the pan or warm with a dollop of crème fresh. Find the recipe here…

Having a bottle or two of this ruby liquid in a pantry is fantastic; in winter, its flavour and aroma will remind me of hot summer days. Homemade Raspberry Vinegar is a unique condiment perfect for salad leaves, asparagus tips, in marinades or vinaigrette dressing. It’s easy to make it at home with just a few simple ingredients and a bit of patience. Allow the raspberries to sit in the vinegar for a week, and then let the vinegar rest for a couple of weeks in a pantry, and your patience and work will be rewarded. Find the recipe here.

In the summertime, I literally can’t live without this bright green sauce made from fresh basil leaves, pine kernels, garlic olive oil and parmesan cheese. I can eat it daily, spread on fresh white bread, tossed with pasta or gnocchi. Pesto originated in Geona, the capital city of Liguria, the region in Italy and was traditionally made in a marble mortar with a wooden pestle. I find making the pesto easier and faster by using a food processor. Don’t be tempted by a ready sauce from the store, The ingredients are available all year round, and any other ready-to-eat sauce can’t be compared to a homemade version. This recipe shows you how to make pesto at home. Here...

This is the most delicious summer dessert: crisp outside and fluffy inside waffles, slightly sweet whipped cream and summer berries dusted with icing sugar. You can use any summer fruits of your liking: strawberries, raspberries or blueberries. The recipe is easy and quick, and the payoff is enormous. How long you cook the waffles and how many you get depend on your waffle machine, but the portion of the batter makes about 16 delicious squares ready to be paired with sweet fruits and cream. Find the recipe here.

There aren’t many contemporary sources that confirm the origin of this condiment. Bread and Butter Pickles were allegedly a Depression-era staple due to their high availability and low-cost ingredients. They can also most likely trace their roots back to the early 1920s and Cora Fanning from Illinois, who made the pickles with the surplus of little cucumbers and exchanged them with a local grocer for household staples like bread and butter. Whatever the story is, these tangy and sweet crunchy cucumbers are an excellent addition to sandwiches, burgers and wraps. They are a great summer condiment when cucumbers are in season. Find the recipe here...

Their shape symbolises prosperity and luck, so by serving these little golden dumplings at Lunar New Year’s dinner, you may hope to have lots of good fortune in the coming year. Money Bag Dumplings can be filled either with vegetables, meat, seafood, and tofu – anything delicious you can think of, then steamed or fried. But they always have the shape of little money bags and yellow-golden colour. My Money Bags Dumplings are made with homemade dumpling wrappers, filled with flavourful pork and vegetable mixture, steamed and served with sour-sweet garlicky dumpling sauce. Find the recipe here…

Traditional stolen often contains marzipan – a confection made mainly from ground almonds and sugar. I don’t use marzipan because the fruit blend and a thick coat of icing sugar that covers the bread are sweet enough, so extra sweetness is overwhelming for me. Stollen is a yeasted bread baked with dried fruits and spices that's originated in Dresden. It’s traditionally served at Christmas time in Germany, Austria and parts of France. Stollen symbolises the baby Jesus blanket, and the fruits in it represent gifts of the Three Wise Men (called the Three Kings or Three Magi as well). Find the recipe here…

Panettone, sweet enriched bread comes originally, according to many sources, from Milan and is a true symbol of Italian Christmas. It’s more bread than a cake, although brioche-like dough of slightly sweet flavour is studded with dried fruits, almonds and raisins. The most traditional panettone is made by wild-yeast fermentation, augmented by a small amount of commercial yeasts. Making of this Christams sweet bread is a lengthy procedure, but the result is well worth it: you will end up with a golden, aromatic, and delicious Christmas bake that melts in your mouth with every bite.  Find the recipe here…

This is a classic dish served in the United Kingdom and Ireland as an accompaniment to roast turkey for a Christmas dinner or as a side dish. Pigs in Blankets, also called kilted soldiers are small chipolatas wrapped in bacon, and baked in the oven until crisp. I used the chipolatas of the usual size and divided each sausage into half to get ‘pigs’ that can be served as finger food or a one-bite size dish. And honey drizzle made this staple of the festive season super sticky and shiny. Find the recipe here...

This is a type of relish-like salsa commonly used in Mexican cuisine. A simple combination of fresh tomatoes and onion, serrano or jalapeno chilli peppers, lime juice and coriander, generously seasoned with salt, is also called salsa fresca, salsa Mexicana or salsa cruda. You can enjoy Pico de Gallo with tortilla crisps, Totopos, tacos or quesadilla. Make it a few hours in advance to let all-natural juices combine and marinate together, providing the salsa with more flavour.  For those who can’t stand fresh coriander - use parsley instead. Find the recipe here...

These little buns are light and fluffy, and their dark sweet-sour filling makes your fingers and smile dark blue. I always bake them in summer when wild blueberries are in season. Sweet little cushions are made with yeasted, buttery dough, stuffed with aromatic wild fruits, and a little crumble on top. They are the best straight from the oven, dusted with a pinch of icing sugar, for breakfast or as a dessert. Find the recipe here…

I could live on this beverage this summer. Watermelon Lemonade is delicious, naturally sweet, refreshing and has a beautiful vibrant pink colour. It’s better than anything you will find in the store! The lemonade is easy and quick to blend up. You need fresh and ripe watermelon, lemons, sugar or agave syrup for extra sweetness and sparkling water. Use sparkling wine instead of water, and you will get a fantastic watermelon cocktail.  Find the recipe here…

You will need a bit of practice rolling the waffle cones - most of them will crack or break at the beginning. But don’t give up; the whole process is worth trying because the homemade ice cream cones are divine. They are crunchy, flavourful, aromatic, not too sweet and totally free of food additives. An electric waffle cone maker is necessary for this recipe, but these machines are now relatively cheap and available online. The cone waffle batter is easy to prepare and consists only of a few simple ingredients. Find the recipe here.

Ratatouille is a traditional Provençal vegetable stew, fragrant with garlic and thyme. It is excellent to have it on hand for a quick lunch or as a side dish for dinner. You can serve it warm or cold, on rice, with roast meat or a baguette. Aubergine, courgette, onion and pepper must be cooked separately in olive oil before being combined with diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chopped garlic, and herbs and stewed until all vegetables are tender. Use the vegetable at the peak of the season; then, you will get the perfect flavourful Ratatouille. Find the recipe here

Wild blueberry pie or wild blueberry dumplings served with sour cream were a staple of summer cuisine in Poland. My mother and grandmother bought them at a summer farmer's market, but they were also sold on little stalls by the roads in woodland areas. Wild Blueberries were delicious, funny – they made our smiles blue, always expensive, and their health benefits were appreciated in healthy juices and jams consumed in winter. But Wild Blueberries also make delicious ice cream of creamy texture, naturally sweet-sour flavour and beautiful vibrant colour. Find the recipe here…

A traditional polish delight is served usually on Christmas Eve. This meatless dish can be eaten on its own with a slice of bread or fill other traditional Christmas Eve meals – pierogi z grzybami (dumplings with sauerkraut and forest mushrooms). Sauerkraut is always prepared at least one week in advance as all flavours need time to combine and develop. We use porcini - the most delicious and aromatic wild mushrooms, a few dried prunes to balance the sour taste of fermented cabbage and a large glass of red wine that deepen the flavour of the dish. Find the recipe here…

Keks is a sponge cake with a high content of unsalted butter, packed with dried fruits and almond flakes. It’s baked in a loaf tin and then served generously dusted with icing sugar. Dried fruits – apricots, black currants, sultanas and raisins are soaked in a warm mixture of orange liqueur and orange juice with the addition of orange zest. Keks is buttery, sweet and moist, taste amazing both freshly baked and after a few days. The cake can be prepared in advance and kept tightly wrapped in baking paper and aluminium foil. Find the recipe here…

Vegetable Salad is a staple dish of Polish cuisine, served on many occasions and holidays. It's a delicious medley of root vegetables, complemented by sweet garden peas, crunchy apples, eggs, sour brine cucumbers, pungent leek, all blended with homemade mayonnaise. The salad is quite simple to make, but the whole process involves a lot of fine dicing: the finer dice, the better taste. Vegetable Salad is served cold, usually with sliced meat and bread for breakfast or lunch. Find the recipe here…

Dried Fruits Beverage is one of 12 traditional dishes served on Christmas Eve in Poland. This is a naturally sweet drink, which distinctive flavour comes from dried apples, pears, apricot, prunes and fragrant spices: cinnamon, cloves and star anise. Dried fruits, prunes, in particular, give the kompot enough natural sweetness; however, if you need to have it sweeter, add honey to the cool mixture. My Dried Fruit Beverage also contains thick slices of fresh orange, making this traditional drink even more Christmasy and citrusy. Serve cold with cooked fruits on the side. Find the recipe here...

They are a popular dish served at Easter breakfast in Poland. They also make a delicious appetizer we are used to eating several times a year. Stuffed Eggs in Shells are delicious, comforting and simple to make; however, getting empty shells without breaking them is the most tricky part. The entire unpeeled egg is cut in half lengthwise after being hard-boiled, and the insides scooped, finely chopped and seasoned. The eggshells are stuffed back, topped with bread crumbs and fried in butter. They are best served hot with a slice of fresh bread. Find the recipe here...

They are extremely light, puffy and soft, filled with homemade plum jam and dunked in the lemon glaze. Polish traditional doughnuts - pączki (pronounced PAUNCH-key) - are our national treasure.  These sweet creations are made from enriched yeasted dough consisted of flour, eggs, fat, milk, then deep-fried (in oil or lard), stuffed with a sweet filling, glazed or sprinkled with powder sugar and eaten the same day. They're traditionally made for Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent fasting begins. Everyone must have at least one doughnut on Fat Thursday. Find the recipe here…

We can’t imagine the Christmas Eve table without herring. It's usually served pickled in vinegar or oil with onions or with soured cream and finely diced apple. Herring tartare is a great option for having herring this Christmas differently. The tartare consist of Matjes fillet pickled in salted brine and soaked in water, gherkins, shallots, pickled mushrooms, spring onions, all combined with mustard and citrus sauce. The sour capers and red hot peppers give this small dish a kick. The herring tartare tastes great served on dark rye bread. Find the recipe here…

These buns are totally festive, perfect for a holiday table such as Thanksgiving or as a Christmas morning treat. Soft inside, light, reasonably sweet, full of dried cranberries and chopped walnuts, they taste delicious served warm, with chilled unsalted butter that melts on their tops. The yeasted dough is comprehensive and can be baked as a simple loaf or braided in Challah bread style. Cranberry-Walnut Buns are also great as festive burger buns served with turkey patties, vegetables and cranberry sauce. Find the recipe here…

Mincemeat needs at least two weeks to macerate before using in mince pies. Dried fruits, almonds, spices and orange zest have enough time to soak beautifully in sherry, and their flavours become rich and complex. Although I’m not entirely against store-bought mincemeat as you can buy a very good one, but when is homemade its taste is completely different. Homemade mince meat is easy and quick. Cooking takes only 10 minutes, dried fruits, almonds are available at grocery stores, and you can control the amount of sugar which may be important. The homemade mincemeat can be made up to six months in advance. Find the recipe here….

The trick to this salad is to julienne vegetables thinly – the thinner stalks, the better taste - and homemade whole-egg mayonnaise sauce, free from unhealthy ingredients. Winter Root Vegetable Slaw is crunchy, flavourful and its sweetness comes from rich in minerals carrot, parsnip, celeriac and beetroot, so there is no need to add extra sugar. It’s delicious to serve with meat, burgers and sandwiches. For a vegan version of the salad, use vegan mayonnaise. Who says you can only make a coleslaw with a cabbage? Find the recipe here…

This soup blends perfectly the flavours of fresh garden tomatoes, white onion and garlic. It’s very aromatic, velvety, comfy and healthy. The tomatoes are roasted to perfection in the oven as roasting brings out the sweetness and adds a ton of flavour to the soup. I serve this tomato soup with a dash of cream to create extra texture. French Comtè Gougères make the soup elegant and add an extra flavour to the dish however, it tastes great with a slice of toasted sourdough bread, a freshly baked small bun and sprinkled with grated Parmesan or Comtè. Find the recipe here.

Choux buns are usually used for profiteroles, French choux pastry balls filled with sweet and moist filling such as whipped cream, pastry cream or ice cream. But they also wonderfully hold savoury fillings and make amazing finger food or canape. My choux buns with a polish accent and a Middle Eastern twist have been filled with kielbasa, courgette with harissa paste and topped up with bean hummus. Seasonal and exotic party food. Find the recipe here…

This small dish brings together fresh flavours of seasonal vegetables: new potatoes and garden green peas. It can be served as a side dish, starter or partner food that tastes great with potatoes. Excellent cold but can be eaten warm. The recipe uses new potatoes which have a waxy structure and holds their shape when cooked, however, Jersey Royals or Charlotte Potatoes are good as well. Fresh garden peas still can be spotted in supermarkets or farmers markets but you will easily replace it with frozen petite poir. Find the recipe here…

There're many ways in which courgettes can be prepared and used. I like them baked, stuffed, fried, in pasta, casseroles and salads with other summer vegetables such as peas, broad beans, tomatoes and herbs. So versatile and so delicious. Courgettes are available in supermarkets all year round but are at their best from June until September. This Gratin of Courgettes Rice Garden Peas and Cheese is a dish itself, however, pairs beautifully with many meaty mains. It’s creamy, flavourful and hearty, great for lunch or party. It can also be the star of a vegetarian meal. Find the recipe here…

This summer risotto uses pearl barley in the place of rice for a nutty flavour and interesting texture. It’s light, creamy and stuffed with seasonal vegetables such as yellow courgette, sweet garden peas and broad beans, finished with unsalted butter and Parmesan cheese. The pearl barley is a healthier substitute for Arborio rice used in traditional risotto. Rich in fibre, protein and nutrients, is substantial enough to be the main course for light summer lunch. Find the recipe here

This is basic homemade ice cream, very simple and natural. It’s a silky, luscious and classic custard-based treat, ideal for any accompaniment - chocolate, caramel, peanut butter. I enjoy Sweet Cream Ice Cream topped with fresh fruits or fresh fruits sauces because its natural sweetness makes a perfect combination with the semi-sour taste of fruits and both create an ideal contrast of flavours. This simple Sweet Cream Ice Cream can also make a fancy dessert, just needs elegant company – Picota Cherry and Red Wine Sauce. Find the recipe here…

I've chosen Picota cherries to make this delicious sauce. They are sweet, firm and have the unique flavour that comes from their stones and easily blends with red dry wine and spices – cinnamon, clove and lemon grass. The sauce is reasonably sweet but very aromatic and the combination of these ingredients makes it very elegant.  It’s great served with chocolate cakes and panna cotta, perfect as a topping over cream or vanilla homemade ice cream, for any fancy dessert you may think of.  One of my favourite things to make with Picota cherries lately. Find the recipe here…

Pepper semi-confit is exceptionally versatile in the kitchen. It can be used as a topping for toast and as crostini spread, in sandwiches, omelettes, pasta sauces, tarts and quiche. It’s great over grilled fish and with roasted meat or potatoes. Pepper semi-confit is sweet and very aromatic because the olive oil used for this condiment is infused with thyme and garlic. Confit should be refrigerated before serving and can be kept in the frige for 2 weeks. Find the recipe here….

When this cake appears in our tea-time menu it means we have just started to think about Christmas. The ginger cake smells of cinnamon and cloves which are very Christmassy, is deliciously sweet, very rich moist and sticky. Ginger – fresh and ground - makes the cake a bit spicy and warms up beautifully. The cake is great freshly baked and even better after a few days if you manage to save some. Let it cool completely before you serve it, sprinkle with the icing sugar. Find the recipe here…

Sausage Rolls are a staple of British food. They are a very popular snack available from bakeries, take-aways and supermarkets. One of the popular british bakery chains sell 2.5 million sausage rolls per week! An early version of the roll with pork filling was popular in London during the Napoleonic Wars and then recognized as an English dish. The sausage rolls are the best party food. They can be served with drinks, either straight from the oven or cold, with vegetable dips or relish. Great and easy snack for a coming Christmas party or Christmas. The sausage rolls can be prepared and cooked in advance, kept in the fridge and warmth through in the oven. Find the recipe here…

We all love apple muffins for a number of reasons. They are quick and easy to make, delicious both straight from the oven and after two days. Great for breakfast, an afternoon tea time and when you have a sweet tooth. The muffins can be made with any apples you can found in a store, however Golden Delicious, Granny Smith or Bramley Apples make them exceptionally delightful and flavoursome. My Apple Muffins are full cinnamon, ginger, walnuts and apple pieces thus they are moist, fragrant and fresh for a few days after baking. Find the recipe here…

This is a menu for a casual come-and-go gathering on Halloween Night or after Trick-Or-Treating. Neither creepy nor spooky but frightfully delicious and based on seasonal and autumnal products. Here there are Orange Vivid Squash Soup served with Hot Parmesan Biscuits that warms up, filling Hot Pork Empanaditas, delicious Mushroom Tartlets for foodies and sweet aromatic Apple Muffins that are loved by everyone and always turn out well. The courses of the menu are quite simple but need some time to be prepared. Some of them can be made in advance. Find the recipes for perfectly arranged Halloween Dinner Menu here…

I must admit this is not my favourite soup – it’s hard to find one because I’m not a soup enthusiast, however, squash is in season and even soup opponents should eat it at least once a year. Autumn calls for warming and comforting dishes and my Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Banana Shallot is one of them. Sweet, velvety and vivid orange home-made soup has a nutty flavour, tastes best with crunchy croutons or Parmesan biscuits and warms up beautifully. The butternut squash is botanically and technically a fruit but usually used as a vegetable because is prepared like one. It's also versatile and makes sweet and savoury dishes. Find the recipe here...

There are a million versions of gazpacho out there. Most of them call for garlic, oil and white bread blended with the vegetables. I prefer a lighter version of the Spanish cold soup, made of very fresh ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion and red pepper seasoned well with salt, cumin and sour cider vinegar. My refreshing gazpacho is served ice-cold with the vegetable garnish, a splash of extra virgin olive oil, Milano Salami and crunchy crackers or freshly baked white bread. The gazpacho is very good on its own, can be a good start to the main meal or as a light lunch on a hot summer day. Don't try to make the gazpacho in the winter as you will get the flavourless salad vegetable puree. Find the recipe here…

We can’t imagine wintertime without homemade tomato passata. It forms the base of many delicious recipes, can be turned into comforting soups or pasta sauces. Tomatoes are in season now – sweet and fragrant, so this is the best time to capture them and close in bottles. The best passata is made from San Marzano tomatoes (obviously!) which come from the Campania region in Italy but they are quite expensive and difficult to spot. Ripe red Plum and Roma tomatoes are good as well as Polish tomatoes which are low in water content and rich in flavour. Making tomato passata at home takes a lot of effort and time but it’s definitely worth because its flavour can’t be compared to any store-bought puree. Find the recipe here…

Beetroot soured juice, also called beet kvass is naturally fermented liquid, slightly sweet, salty and tangy, a little earthy. This very nutritious and health-boosting drink is famous for its cleansing properties. Beet kvass is also the main ingredient of red borscht (in Polish barszcz) – traditional Polish soup served at Christmas Eve's Supper. Easy to make at home red beet kvass calls only for firm beetroots, salt and water, however requires a bit of patience because the fermentation process lasts at least one week. Natural, healthy and extremely delicious, free from sugar and preservatives red liquid makes barszcz the best Christmassy soup in the world. Find the recipe here...