My grandma used to say that only stupid people like labour. Unfortunately, I'm one of these people. I can't lie about. I can always find something to do. Sometimes after cleaning all the windows in my home, I decide to prepare stuffed cabbage leaves for the next day's dinner.

However, this doesn't mean I can't appreciate satisfying dishes called "eintopf", which are enough for a whole dinner. One such dish is goulash soup. You can prepare it with your favourite meat. I think that the one of kind of meat I don't use for goulash soup is chicken, but maybe I should think again? Recently I experimented and made this soup with turkey leg. It was excellent and cooked more quickly than with other meat.

Ingredients (for 2 people)
500g of meat of turkey leg
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 carrots
1 parsley root
half a red pepper
5 potatoes
5 sprigs of rosemary
2 teaspoons of sweet paprika
1 teaspoon of hot paprika
2 tablespoons of flour
4 bay leaves
4 juniper berries
oil
salt and pepper

Nobody is perfect. Even though we count the calories and eat healthily, sometimes we need to let go and allow ourselves a little self-indulgence. Today I would like to share with you the recipe for a dessert which is neither light nor lacking in sweetness. Instead it is simple, yummy, beautiful and very chocolaty.

I prepared two versions: the first one with desiccated coconut and blueberries and the second with dark chocolate and strawberries. Choose your favourite dessert or go crazy and make your own version.

Bright dessert

Ingredients (for 2 people)
200g of white chocolate
100g of blueberries
200ml of 30% sweet cream
200ml of mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons of desiccated coconut

Almost every woman likes girl talk. We have our kindred spirits who we can speak to for hours about any subject over coffee, tea, or good wine. Even little girls whisper their biggest secrets into each other's ears. Sometimes a friendship which is put to the test breaks up and life throws somebody else in our way. Sometimes neither time nor distance changes our relationships. This kind of sworn friendship is beautiful and worth caring for.

Such girl talk held by two clever and close women was recorded in "Darling. Conversation across the ocean" a book by Małgorzata Kalicińska and Basia Grabowska. They are separated by an ocean, time difference and a whole generation, but they are joined together by love, trust, intelligence and a similar sense of humour. Two loving woman – mother and daughter – use their computer keyboards to chat about daily life and important and trivial matters. We can read about memories from their family home, their favourite dishes, affections and the most final of things.

Every conversation lets us see things from two different viewpoints: from the mature mother's and the younger daughter's point of view. Each chapter gives us food for thought and allows us to compare their points of view with our own take on the problem. They also make a lot of interesting references to literature and culture. You may or may not agree with the views of the authors, but for sure you cannot accuse this book of a lack of sensitivity, tolerance or feelings or say that the authors are unwilling to discuss every subject.

What should a Sunday dessert be like if it is to disappear as soon as it has been served? In my home we need two things: chocolate and fruit. These ingredients usually ensure my culinary success. Recently I used them to prepare muffins with blueberries and white chocolate. They were yummy, fluffy inside and crunchy outside, and it was possible to smell the sweet, chocolate fragrance in the corridor outside our flat. As usual, some of them were packed in boxes for my children's packed lunch.

Ingredients (12 muffins)
300g of flour
3 tablespoons of cocoa
150g of butter
170ml of milk
160g of brown sugar
2 eggs
2 flat teaspoons of baking powder
½ teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
12 bars of white chocolate
blueberries

When we want to eat something simple, we often make a sandwich. When we prepare a fast supper, we often choose a sandwich. For breakfast when we have overslept? – a sandwich. As a result, thinking about sandwiches kills our appetite. This might not always be so bad, but sometimes we really need to eat. Today I would like to share with you a recipe for a slightly different sandwich. Instead of traditional vegetables, I recommend strawberry salsa, and rather than a slice of ham – a golden grilled slice of Halloumi cheese. Only one thing is missing – a fresh and fragrant bread roll.

Halloumi is a Cypriot cheese made with sheep's milk or a mixture of sheep's, goat's and cow's milk. It is semihard and so flexible that it is excellent for frying and barbecuing, and it is great fresh too.

Ingredients (for two people)
2 fresh rolls of your choice
2 big lettuce leaves
4 slices of Halloumi cheese
2 teaspoons of butter