Kale is a kind of cabbage. It contains the biggest amount of calcium of all the vegetables, and it also doesn't contain oxalates. It is a valuable ingredient in preventing osteoporosis. Kale can be fried, baked or blanched, and the young leaves are great raw. It is excellent as a filling ingredient for pies and soups.

Today I would like to share with you the recipe for an easy salad, served hot and prepared with a few ingredients. It will excellent for lunch in the office. You only need to heat it up a bit.

Ingredients:
100g pearl barley
1 clove of garlic
2 fistfuls of kale
150g of small mushrooms
a couple of black olives
a few pistachios
1 tablespoon of butter
1 egg
salt and pepper

I usually make glamorous desserts and big cakes during the weekend. In the week my children eat lunch at school, so desserts aren't possible. Sometimes on school days I prepare puddings or kissel. I don't have enough time to prepare anything else.

A way out of this situation is a dessert which you can prepare in stages. Muffins which don't need baking are an excellent fit. I prepare the bases in the evening and leave them in the fridge. The rest usually only takes a moment. I recommend muffins which don't need baking for rushed and busy people. Everyone deserves a bit of sweet pleasure.

Ingredients (6 muffins)
300g of crunchy biscuits
100g of butter
400g of cranberries
1 big orange
3 tablespoons of maple syrup
250g of mascarpone
100g of 30% sweet cream
2 teaspoons of caster sugar

Today I would like to share with you the recipe for a cookie hit which accompanies us during Saturday board games. There are rarely enough cookies to reach the end of our game. They disappear in no time and I always promise that next time I will prepare more.

Recently we ate "goosey feet" when we played "Black Peter", and suddenly I reached for the cookies and there weren't any left. At that same moment my son did the same. We had equally shocked expressions on seeing that the plate was empty. You have to believe that it is difficult to resist these sweet, crunchy sweetmeats.

Ingredients:
320g of flour
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons of caster sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla sugar
200g of cream cheese
150g of butter
sugar for coating the cookies

Each of us has their own favourite types of apples. Some like them tender and sweet and some like apples which are hard to bite into. To this day I remember the taste of the apples which grew in our garden. Many of these old types aren't there anymore. Now there are new ones, but I remember with affection the September packed lunch when I got a sandwich with a crunchy roll and a garden-fresh apple.

We like hard juicy and sweet apples. Such apples are excellent for the salad which I would like to recommend today. The recipe for this dish comes from the monthly "Moje gotowanie" ("My cooking").

Ingredients (for 2 people)
half a butternut pumpkin
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of chopped chili pepper
1 tablespoon of rosemary
2 apples
1 fennel
2 fistfuls of mixed nuts
4 tablespoons of chopped parsley
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
salt and pepper

Until now I have used beetroot for dinner dishes or salads only. We like the strong colour and mild taste of cream of beetroot soup or the best-of-all-time Easter beetroot soup with eggs, horseradish and sausages. I often prepare salad with baked beetroots and feta cheese or grand beetroot carpaccio with goat's cheese and walnuts.

Today for the first time I used beetroots for dessert. I prepared chocolate muffins with beetroots. My family can't believe it, but since I once prepared muffins with courgette, why not beetroot muffins too? Day by day my family grows accustomed to new things on our table.

The recipe for the beetroot muffins comes from www.jadlonomia.com.

Ingredients:
1 big banana
250ml of vegetable milk
1 tablespoon of cider vinegar
125g of brown sugar
½ cup of beetroot purée
80ml of oil
175g of flour
3 tablespoons of cocoa
1 teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of baking powder