The first day of spring this year wasn't a spring day at all. Freezing wind, rain followed by snow, and mud underfoot. You don't want to kick the proverbial dog out of the house. Unfortunately, my real four-legged friend needed to go for walks and at least one very long one. After coming back home the only thing I dreamed about was a bowl full of hot aromatic soup. Fortunately, the preparation of pepper soup with parmesan is very quick and you can relish the warmth spreading inside your body. Whoever invented soup was a very wise man.

The recipe for this soup comes from the TM cook book, but you can easily prepare it in a typical pot. Serve it with herby toasts. For us it tastes better this way.

Ingredients:
150g of yellow pepper
150g of red pepper
1 shallot
100g of grated parmesan
1 tablespoon of butter
1 teaspoon of tomato concentrate
500ml of vegetable bouillon
2 teaspoons of sweet smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of spicy paprika
50ml of 30% sweet cream

We like all kinds of cutlets, even those which only look like cutlets but inside they don't have a single gram of meat. For a few years I haven't needed to hide the ingredients from my children. They like vegetable cutlets just as much as I like them. Sometimes I serve vegetable cutlets with fresh salad, and sometimes, just like this time, I serve them in tomato sauce. I love the kind of lunch when I can eat to my heart's content and without remorse. If I make a lot of cutlets I serve them cool the next day. There is never a shortage of cutlet lovers.

Ingredients:
cutlets
100g of dried millet groats
1 shallot
2 cloves of garlic
1 carrot
2-3 tablespoons of chopped parsley
1 egg
2 tablespoons of parmesan
1 teaspoon of smoked sweet paprika
½ teaspoon of curry powder
1 teaspoon of butter
salt and pepper
bread crumbs
oil for frying
sauce
500ml of passata
1 yellow pepper
1 onion
1 teaspoon of butter
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 chili pepper
1 teaspoon of oregano
a fistful of black olives

Today I would like to share with you the recipe for my favourite soup – Ukrainian borscht. My children like red borscht, but they don't like the Ukrainian version of this soup. It is soup in the "it is good but don't make it again" category . So I prepare Ukrainian borscht when my family is away. Ukrainian borscht is soup prepared with beetroot, potatoes, onion, cabbage, mushrooms and beans. In Ukraine borscht with beans is called czernihowski borscht. You may serve it with sour cream or yoghurt. I like it without them but I add a lot of chopped parsley.

Ingredients (for 4 people):
2 big beetroots
1 carrot
1 parsley root
a piece of celery
1 stem of celery
4-5 potatoes
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
200g cooked white beans
2 big leaves of savoy cabbage
3 tomatoes
1 tablespoon of tomato concentrate
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
4 dried mushrooms
2 bay leaves
4 allspices
1.5l of meat bouillon
1 tablespoon of butter
salt and pepper
sour cream
chopped dill or parsley

One day after making stuffed cabbage, I had some leftover cabbage. Because I don't like to throw food away I prepared a small portion of stewed cabbage with tomatoes. It was so delicious that the next day I went to the store and I bought another cabbage, so I could make another portion of this dish, this time in the right amount. Stewed savoy cabbage with tomatoes is a dinner dish for me. I serve it with crunchy bread. If I prepare it for lunch, it is best with fresh new potatoes with dill. Choose your favourite sides or eat the cabbage straight from the pot. This is the way my husband likes it the most.

Ingredients:
1 savoy cabbage
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
150g of smoked bacon
250g of sausages
1l of vegetable bouillon
2-3 tablespoons of tomato concentrate
1 bay leaf
2 allspices
salt and pepper

My family like muffins much more than cakes, which need to be cut into slices. You can quickly grab a muffin and eat it on the way to the office. Eaten this way, this dessert is for sure less caloric than when we eat it at the table . It is the reason why muffins like today's forest moss taste better in the form of mini muffins. Besides, don't such little green cupcakes look cute in the springtime?

Ingredients
dough
450 g of fresh spinach
180ml of oil
150g of sugar
3 eggs
260g of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
creme
250ml of 30% sweet cream
250g of mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons of caster sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of lemon peel