I heard a beautiful saying once: cooking is a way of showing love. Not without reason it is said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. It works also for women. A man in the kitchen is sexy, even if he makes a mess.

This year I have used strawberries for all kinds of dishes. I don't remember a year when I ate so many strawberries. When I'm fed up with them, I remind myself that I will have to wait until June next year for more fruit, and then I buy another basket.

Today I would like to share with you the recipe for easy starters which could be the beginning of a romantic evening. You need only strawberries, cheese (I used goat cheese, but blue cheese would be excellent), pistachios, balsamic vinegar and a few basil leaves.

Ingredients:
10 big strawberries
2 slices of goat cheese
2 tablespoons of balsamic
a fistful of pistachios
leaves of basil
salt and lemon pepper

Do you remember the cake with the apple halves and vanilla fromage frais? I'm sure you do. This cake was very popular a few months ago and every housewife prepared it. Today I would like to share with you the recipe for a new approach to this easy and yummy dessert. Instead of apples I used peaches and raspberries. I prepared lemon icing and sprinkled the cake with chopped pistachios. We liked this new version of the cake. Prepare it in your own kitchen. Remember to use hard peaches, so they do not split apart while baking.

Ingredients (20×20cm cake tin)
dough
6 peaches
250g of flour
175g of butter
2 tablespoons of caster sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla essence
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 egg
100g of vanilla fromage frails
icing
4 tablespoons of lemon juice
8 tablespoons of caster sugar
2 fistfuls of chopped pistachios

Recently, my daughter stopped liking carrots, either fresh or cooked. Recently, meaning since yesterday, when I prepared a yummy, fragrant ginger-orange soup with new carrots. My daughter said that she had never liked carrots, but she is well-bred and didn't say so. Well... I don't know if it is good or not. Fortunately, I rarely prepare carrot soup, so she hasn't had to suffer much. For sure, she is well-bred, because even though she doesn't like carrots, she ate the soup without fussing. My son said that the soup was excellent. He still likes carrots... for now 

The soup looks like a ray of sunshine, which is a good reason to remember this recipe. It can lighten the dark November afternoon. The soup is fragrant, but not too spicy and warms you up nicely. I prepared some crunchy parsley-garlic croutons for the soup.

Ingredients:
soup:
1kg of new carrots
1 small onion
2-cm piece of ginger
100ml of orange juice
0.5ml of vegetable stock
0.5ml of milk (or sweet cream)
1 tablespoon of butter
salt and pepper
croutons
5 slices of bread
2 tablespoons of butter
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley

Gardeners know that wild strawberry bushes can't grow and bear fruit near strawberries or raspberries. They like the company of lavender or chives. Maybe they know that next to strawberries and raspberries – the queens of the summer - they look inconspicuous. It is not true. We all know that there is nothing better than wild strawberries, garden-fresh in grandma's garden on a summer day.

Today I bought a small basket of fresh, ripe wild strawberries. This fruit doesn't keep for long, so you need to eat it fast. So I prepared a yummy dessert with wild strawberries. I didn't cook them, because they are so delicious fresh. We ate them fresh with stracciatella cream and almonds.

Ingredients (for 2 people)
200g of wild strawberries
100g of 30% sweet cream
100g of mascarpone cheese
100g of chocolate drops
2 teaspoons of caster sugar
a couple drops of vanilla essence
a couple of cantucini
a few almonds

When I saw in the newspaper a photo with a shortbread croissant with sweet cottage cheese and fruit I thought it must be yummy and excellent idea for a holiday breakfast. Only during the holiday can we celebrate breakfast prepared slowly and eaten with relish. You don't need to hurry yourself or your children. You can sit down to a beautifully set table and enjoy the delicious delights. I replaced the shortbread croissant with larger breakfast croissants and I used fresh fruit in season. You may use your favourite bread. Brew up your favourite tea, or maybe you prefer cocoa or fragrant coffee. A glass of freshly squeezed orange juice complements the perfect breakfast. You must admit that it sounds great.

Ingredients (for 2 people)
2 big croissants
150g of cottage cheese
100g of natural yoghurt
2 teaspoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of peanut butter
2 fistfuls of favourite fruit