Many years ago a vademecum of information for young housewives was "Polish Kitchen". This book contained not only recipes for typical Polish dishes, but also more exotic meals with game, fish and seafood. The authors also inserted recipes for homemade liqueur and herbal medicine, and suggestions on how to decorate your house and look after your home.

The book enjoyed a good reputation and it had many reprints. The last edition focused admittedly on recipes, but it is still worth using it. Every housewife has her own favourite sources of recipes and home advice. This could be newspapers, cookery books or webpages.

For me the most interesting is the Lidl cookery book. I know that the recipes are aimed at promoting their own products, but I like to look up some tasty suggestions anyway. Sometimes I try to accurately recreate them, but other times I treat them only as inspiration.

This time the Lidl cookery book didn't disappoint. I found a recipe for a salad with lentils, pear and feta cheese. At first glance the ingredients don't seem to go together, but the combination surprises us with its interesting flavour. I added to the salad's ingredients some almonds and parsley. In my opinion they enriched its flavour.

When the school year was finished my daughter moaned that she didn't want to be on holiday. When the holiday was finished she moaned that she didn't want to go back to school. It is difficult to please young people. It is good that at least my little son is distinctly happy starting school. Maybe because for the first time he will cross the doorstep of the school and he doesn't know what he should anticipate.

I wanted to sugar the pill of the school year starting, so I prepared some almond-orange cookies in chocolate. My effort was appreciated. Spanish cookies suggestive of florentynki (in Poland, cookies with nuts, almonds and honey) are crunchy, and the orange aroma is clearly discernible. Chocolate, almonds and orange are definitely a perfect trio.

The recipe comes from the Lidl cookery book.

Ingredients:
3 oranges
150g of sugar
250g of almonds cut into pieces
200g of milk chocolate

Ipomoea batatas called sweet potatoes come from Central America. They were brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus, then the Portuguese relocated them to Africa and India. Now the main producers of these vegetables are India, Vietnam, Japan and China.

Though we most often buy orange sweet potatoes, there are about 400 known varieties, from white and yellow to red and purple. Depending on their colour they have different nutrients and composition and they also have another properties.

The red variety is recommended to fight against heart diseases, whereas the purple one contains strong antioxidants, so it is an ingredient of an anticancer diet. The yellow variety, which contains lutein, is recommended for people who need to look after their eyes.

You may bake, boil and grill sweet potatoes. They are excellent ingredients of puree, spreads and soups. Reportedly, you can also eat the leaves, not only the tubers. They are used in Chinese, Japanese and Filipino restaurants. Today in my kitchen sweet potatoes and carrots were soup ingredients. I served it with bacon and smoked goat's cheese rolls.

Today I would like to share with you a recipe which you may prepare in two ways. The first way is the traditional one with whipped cream and mascarpone cheese, and the second one is a bit lighter. I use natural yoghurt and slightly creamy white cheese (you may use mascarpone cheese, but not necessarily) to make a dessert with a mellow consistency. I admit that I prefer the second version of this dessert (maybe because it is less sweet). I leave the option open which dessert to choose.

One thing in both of the desserts is the same. The blackberries – beautiful, so navy blue they are almost black, glossy, juicy and slightly sour – in one word: incomparable. As well as the excellent taste and beautiful look, blackberries have a lot of health properties. They are rich in anticancer nutrients, aid the circulatory system, control blood sugar levels and even buffer PMS and menopause symptoms.

In our home my daughter likes blackberries the most. My son doesn't like them, but after today's dessert he said that "maybe he will like them"  When I served today's dessert my son said that the blackberries looked like they had been dipped in fresh white snow.

Even while travelling as tourists my children insist on slightly less touristic food. I try not to "cook" powdered soup or meatloaves from a jar (although sometimes these dishes rescue the situation on the table), but a four-course dinner with a starter and dessert rarely comes into the picture.

To prepare today's dessert you must have a hand blender for whipped cream, but it is only one slight touristic necessity. The rest is typical shopping and seasonal fruits. If you have everything, you should prepare a smooth fruit mousse and after a while you will serve a dessert which may decorate a table not only for tourists.

All year round we can't wait for raspberries, so if they are available at markets we buy them in bulk. Remember that raspberries should be quickly washed just before serving. Otherwise you serve an unappetising paste instead of beautiful, summer, fruity treasures. If you don't like raspberries, use blueberries or strawberries. They taste great and look equally beautiful.

Ingredients (for 4 people):
500g of raspberries
500ml of 30% sweet cream
4 tablespoons of caster sugar