Lecho is a Hungarian dish known in Slovakia, Ukraine, Germany and the Czech Republic. The vegetable version with lightly fried fatback is served in Hungary as a side dish for meat or as a single course. You may add sliced sausages as well. Sometimes we prepare lecho with courgette or aubergine, making the dish similar to Provencal ratatouille.

Lecho and Breton style beans reminds me of school time when we had to cook something tasty, cheap and ... a lot of it. An additional asset was the possibility of reheating the dish without losing the quality and flavor.

Ingredients (for two people):
4 sausages
1 red pepper
1 courgette
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of oil
1 tin of tomatoes (cubed)
1 teaspoon of paprika
2 tablespoons of oil
salt and pepper

I went to Radziejowice with my husband who was taking part in the Chełmoński Run. Since a 10 km run takes a while and I was there with our children, we had to pass the time somehow while waiting for Dad. It turned out that the park-palace complex in Radziejowice is very well suited for that. We found a Greek revivalist Palace, neo-Gothic Castle, Larch Manor House, Swiss House, an old forge and a huge park with numerous ponds.

The name Radziejowice originates from the name of its first owner – the Radziejowski family, which settled there in the 15th century, building the oldest family residence. The grounds, together with all its buildings, have changed hands many times over the course of time. The families of Prażmowski, Ossoliński and Krasiński used to live here. In the 17th century the palace was visited by the baronage, priesthood and kings Zygmunt III Waza, Władysław IV and Jan III Sobieski. The ambition of the Krasińskis – especially the primate Michał, the last of the Krasinskis – was the creation of an intellectual and cultural Warsaw venue in Radziejowice. Among others, the socialites who frequented the place were: Narcyza Żchowska, Wojciech and Juliusz Kossak, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Henryk Sienkiewicz and Józeł Chełmoński. In 1928 the first movie adaptation of Adam Mickiewicz's "Pan Tadeusz" was shot in Radziejowice.

The main attraction of the palace's museum is Poland's largest exhibition of Józef Chełmoński paintings and a collection of the great painter's remembrances. Even though he did not live in Radziejowice but in nearby Kulkówka, he used to be a frequent visitor here.

The current appearance of the palace does not resemble the old baroque residence of the Radziejowski family. Rebuilt at the end of the 18th century and completed at the beginning of the 19th century, it acquired a Greek revivalist character. Museum halls, galleries and visitor apartments can all be found here. The oldest part of the complex constitutes a castle rebuilt from ruins back in the 19th century, consisting of a kitchen and 2 historical apartments.

Easter is a time of hope, of Spring waking up for new life; hope for a more peaceful and brighter time, and hope for fulfilling our dreams.

I wish you time with your family at a table rich with food, some time for reflection with a cup of coffee and a piece of mazurek (Polish traditional Easter cake). I wish you sunshine, luck and a bit of courage during the walk on Wet Monday. Relax, enjoy your time with family and friends, without haste, cares or grief.

Just before Christmas, while watching a TV cooking show, my attention was drawn to a quite simple recipe for Swedish chocolate cake. I was intent on making this presently, because everybody in my family is a fan of chocolate. "Presently" turned out to be too optimistic, as I had to search for the recipe in the recesses of the internet. Found in a Lidl cookery book and printed, it went into my collection of recipes.

In my opinion, this cake is another type of brownie. It melts in the mouth and tastes best just after baking – still hot. According to the recipe, you should sprinkle the cake with caster sugar. I made chocolate glaze. Adding juicy fresh fruit also hit the spot.

Ingredients:
200g of butter
200g of chocolate
200g of sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon of vanilla sugar
250g of flour
chocolate glaze and fresh fruit for decorating

Do you like cakes and desserts which don't need baking? Baking is for me always hit and miss. Sometimes, even though you do everything according to the recipe, the cake is too dry or underdone. Gas ovens bake things differently from electric ones, so following old recipes is a toss-up.

Today's proposal is a caramel-banana cake with chocolate and whipped cream. When I make this dessert again, I will spread the cake with plum stew. I think that the slightly sour taste will go well with sweet caramel and banana.

The recipe comes from www.kuchnialidla.pl

Ingredients:
300g of biscuits
150g of melted butter
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
400g of fudge
120g of dark chocolate
200g of mascarpone cheese