Before I prepare any dish with new ingredients I look for information on it. I'm interested in what kind of seasoning I should use, what ingredients I should use, and finding the best way to prepare the dish. I treat this information as tips from the masters, who know better and have tried out a lot of possibilities. Sometimes I like to take a chance and try something new. I think that a lot of traditional dishes were created in this way. Somebody had to experiment or make a mistake for the first time and that's how they made new dishes.

It was in such a way that I made my lamb stew with carrot, ginger and brandy. I took a risk in the choice of ingredients and I made a meal fit for a king. It is worth taking a risk ... sometimes . I recommend it.

Ingredients (for 4 people)
500g of lamb stew meat
2 carrots
2 parsley roots
a piece of leek
3 cloves of garlic
chili pepper
1 onion
a piece of ginger
2-3 tablespoons of coconut milk
100ml of brandy
500ml of bouillon
2 tablespoons of oil
1 teaspoon of butter
1-2 tablespoons of flour
half a teaspoon of cumin
half of teaspoon of ground coriander seeds
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
salt and pepper

I wonder if anyone else is thinking about Easter? I can't wait for spring – my favourite season. I hope that winter won't play any tricks on us, and we won't have to go with our baskets to church by sledge... Cursing the current season and impatiently waiting for the spring sun, I prepared a meal which you can use for your Easter menu. You will agree that it looks really amazing and you have to believe me that it tastes the best. Devilled eggs with avocado is delicious, looks great and preparing it is really easy. Maybe it is worth inviting your children to the kitchen?

Ingredients:
5 eggs
1 big avocado
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
salt and pepper
lettuce and smoked salmon for serving

Basbousa comes from Egypt. It is also served in Greece, Azerbaijan, Israel, Armenia and other countries of the Middle East. It is made with semolina and aromatised with rose water or water with orange flowers. The ingredients of this dessert are different in every country. I used desiccated coconut and almond in my cake. I also added some lemon juice to make the cake less sweet. It was really yummy, even though it was different from the original.

Ingredients:
dough
170g of semolina
30g of desiccated coconut
40g of brown sugar
100g of butter
150g of natural yoghurt
a small teaspoon of baking powder
almonds
syrup
150g of brown sugar
125ml of water
lemon juice

In my family home, as well as traditional pasta, groats and rice, my mum sometimes prepared dumplings made with a spoon. She served them often with stew or beef cutlet. Recently, I remembered these dumplings when I was looking for inspiration for a quick lunch. I didn't have time to prepare meat, but I served them with onion and fried bacon. My daughter said that it was delicious and asked for another helping. Fortunately, this dish is really quick and it looks and tastes really wonderful.

Ingredients (for two people)
180g of flour
1 egg
a pinch of salt
100ml of water
150g of smoked bacon
half an onion
2 cloves of garlic
chili pepper
a couple of cherry tomatoes
a couple of capers
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
pepper

It is difficult to believe that the carnival is over. I feel like I have only just bought gifts for Christmas, but soon we will be preparing Easter eggs and the Easter basket. Probably the sweetest day of the year is just in front of us. Fat Thursday is usually full of doughnuts and angel wings. This year I decided to break away from the traditions and honour Fat Thursday with a small chocolate-currant cake with pomegranate. I don't know if we will also be tempted to eat some delicious, fresh doughnuts, but we can make this day a cheat day...

Ingredients:
dough
175g of flour
3 tablespoons of cocoa
75g of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of blackcurrant jam
1 tablespoon of vinegar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
75g of melted butter
250ml of water or milk
cream
150ml of 30% sweet cream
200g of mascarpone cheese
100g of chocolate
1 teaspoon of cocoa
4 tablespoons of blackcurrant jam
fruit and chocolate for decoration