Did you notice the strange fact that during Christmas the extra centimetres around the waist grow easily and nicely, but losing them takes much more time, needs effort and is not so pleasant for everybody.

After every period of feasting comes the moment when we have to get back to daily life and lighter dishes. Fortunately, it doesn't mean that meals are less tasty or beautiful. I would like to share with you the recipe for a light and grand dinner, which will make the return to a normal diet really yummy and pleasant.

Ingredients (for 2 people):
200g of fusilli pasta
2 tablespoons of butter
3 cloves of garlic
half a chili pepper
200g of courgette
300g of fresh spinach
200g mozzarella cheese
8 walnuts
2 sprigs of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
2 tablespoons of nigella
salt and pepper

The end of 2017 was meant to try our patience. One after another we got ill and I was fed up with it. Fortunately, at least during Christmas we were healthy and we were able to spend this time with the whole family. We had to spend New Year's Eve with wipes, raspberry juice and ascorbic acid.

To warm up and fortify our weakened strength I prepared garlic soup. Smooth and mellow with crunchy croutons, it was really good. I recommend it.

Ingredients (for 4 people)
soup
2 heads of garlic + 3 cloves of garlic
3 big potatoes
1 onion
2 bay leaves
3 allspices
1 litre of vegetable stock
2 sprig of thyme
1 tablespoon of butter
100ml of 30% sweet cream
salt and white pepper

In my home there are particular dishes which command great enthusiasm in my children. They are pancakes, crepes, meatloaves and cutlets. Sometimes I take advantage of this when preparing these dishes by smuggling in ingredients that they don't really like. To the question 'what did you prepare for dinner?' I can with a clear conscience say that they are frikadelles, without giving any details of what I added to them.

This time there were frikadelles for dinner. On the sly I can tell you that they were with tuna and chickpeas. This part of the scheme was not detected. I couldn't hide the spinach, because the colour of the dish blew my cover. Nevertheless, the dinner was eaten without fuss and to the last crumb because they were really excellent.

Ingredients
1 tin of tuna (200g)
250g of spinach
1 tin of chickpeas (400g)
2 cloves of garlic
half an onion
half a chili pepper
2 teaspoons of butter
2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
4 tablespoons of breadcrumbs
2 eggs
salt and pepper
breadcrumbs and oil for frying

Tomatoes and sauerkraut? This combination, which I saw on Karol Okrasa's TV programme, seemed very eccentric to me. I don't remember what the MasterChef added to it, but I promised to try it someday.

In my soup, together with sauerkraut and tomatoes, I had smoked bacon, onion, chili pepper and bulgur. The soup was perfect for winter days: strong, warming and satisfying. It could be excellent as a rich one-course dinner.

Ingredients (for 2 people)
1 small onion
150g of smoked bacon
1 clove of garlic
150g of sauerkraut
300ml of vegetable stock
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tin of tomatoes (cubed)
half a chili pepper
3 tablespoons of minced chives
100g of bulgur

Jerusalem artichoke, also called sunchoke or earth apple, has been known in Poland since the first half of the XVIII century. It is a vegetable especially recommended for diabetics because it reduces the amount of blood glucose. Those who would like to lose weight should also reach for it. Jerusalem artichoke contains a lot of potassium so it reduces blood pressure, and inulin which reduces high cholesterol.

I have looked suspiciously at the packaging of Jerusalem artichoke a few times. Only the soup I ate in a Warsaw restaurant convinced me to buy it. I prepared my own version of cream of Jerusalem artichoke. I found the recipe at www.zakochanewzupach.pl. However, I used my own spices. I served this soup with mushroom crisps and parsley olive oil. It was really excellent.

Ingredients (for 4 people):
500g of Jerusalem artichoke
200g of potatoes
1 big onion
2 tablespoons of oil
500ml of vegetable stock
400ml of coconut milk
2 mushrooms
fistful of parsley
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and white pepper