Halloween – the ghostly holiday celebrated at the end of October is very controversial in Poland. We are not sure where it comes from. It probably originates from the Celtic ceremony of saying goodbye to summer and welcoming winter and at the same time worshiping the dead. Good ghosts were invited into houses and bad ones were scared away with masks and scary costumes.
I have heard that due to sanitary reasons this year kids in Belgium can't go from home to home and "scare" their neighbours. Well we can disagree with that, but we should probably take note and wait till the next "trick or treat", so we won't remember Halloween 2020 badly. As well as scaring outside the house, we can always create a Halloween mood with costumes, decorations and creepy treats. Today's offer is gruesome cookies called "witch's fingers". You can also use the recipe from last year for scary mummy-cookies. And of course you need a jack-o'-lantern, pumpkin soup or pumpkin pancakes and it is time to have fun 

Ingredients:
130g of cold butter
60g of caster sugar
2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
160g of flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
a pinch of salt
peeled almonds

Cold and rainy autumn days mean that we want rich, hot dinners. The first thing that comes to mind is broth, which I love. Unfortunately, my family says that we can't eat it seven days a week, so I have to be creative and cook different soups. Today I made homemade pea soup. Thick, aromatic soup with lots of vegetables and of course smoked bacon has been prepared in my home for many years using the same recipe. Some time ago you had to soak peas during the night, so you won't have to spend hours cooking the soup later. Today I buy peas that don't require soaking, which reduces the cooking time.

Ingredients:
500g of smoked bacon
350g of deshelled peas
2 carrots
2 parsley roots
a piece of celery root
a piece of leek
5 potatoes
2 onions
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon of butter
2 bay leaves
4 allspices
4 pepper seeds
2 tablespoons of dried marjoram
salt and pepper

Today I offer you a very autumnal cake with pears and lots of caramel. Some people call it tartini tart or upside down tart, but it doesn't matter what we call it, because it will still taste amazing. Thin cake, fresh and crispy pears and everything put in a golden caramel sauce. If before serving it you sprinkle the cake with a bit of lemon juice and add vanilla ice cream or a spoonful of yogurt you will get a dessert fit for a king.

Ingredients:
dough
160g of flour
1 tablespoon of sugar
120g of butter
a pinch of salt
75ml of very cold water
Chop the butter with the rest of the dough ingredients. Add the cold water little by little and quickly knead into a smooth dough. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for an hour.

filling
50g of butter
150g of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of honey
4 pears
1 lemon

In general I don't make preserves for winter. Maybe that's a mistake, and I should put some summer-autumn treasures into jars, but how would I find the time? My day is too short. During our last trip to the mountains, for breakfast our housekeeper served us an amazing jam with an even more amazing white curd cheese. We had no idea what it was made from. It turned out it was made from courgette. I can say that I had made a lot of dinner dishes and desserts using courgette, but never jam. Encouraged, I made it at home. Some bread, delicious white curd cheese, and a breakfast fit for a king is ready. The jam will have the same colour as jelly, to which you should add: lemon, pineapple, gooseberry, peach... The texture depends on the temperature. After taking it out of the fridge it will be jelly. Just heat it up a bit and it will be semi-liquid again.

Ingredients:
1.5kg of courgette
200g of sugar
1 instant lemon jelly
juice and lemon peel

I haven't made muffins for a long time, even though my children and I really like them. The best are probably with fresh fruit. They are moist inside, crunchy on the outside. It's nice to pack a small surprise for school. This is what I did with the last two cupcakes which were left over after Sunday dessert. Vanilla muffins with red currants, white chocolate and macadamia nuts were a delicious bonus to vegetables, fruit and tortilla with ham. My children's smile was the best reward.

Ingredients:
250g of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
150g of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
250ml of milk
60ml of oil
1 egg
2 fistfuls of red currants
2 fistfuls of macadamia nuts
12 pieces of white chocolate
a pinch of salt