I like cream cakes. They are uncomplicated and swift. Maybe they aren't as glamourous as a birthday cake, but sometimes we need something ordinary, in the best sense of the word, and simply yummy.

You can use all kinds of fruit for these cakes. They make the cake moist, fluffy inside and crunchy on the top. This time I added blueberries and strawberries. It can also be a great way to use up slightly overripe fruit that we don't want to throw away. They go really well in this cake.

Ingredients (20-cm cake tin):
320g of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
half a teaspoon of baking soda
120g of sugar
1250 ml of oil
300ml of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
3 tablespoons of lemon peel
16 small strawberries
2 fistfuls of blueberries
caster sugar

I bought the last bunch of asparagus spears of the season. I decided to prepare a smooth and fragrant risotto with them. To change my dish and make it more colourful, I added a bit of saffron.

Saffron is the most expensive seasoning. It makes the meal yellow and orange. Don't add too much of it or the dish will be bitter. Saffron is excellent with rice, vegetables and seafood, so it is often added to pilau, risotto and paella.

Ingredients (for 2 people):
150 g of rice arborio
a pinch of saffron
1l of asparagus bouillon
1 bunch of white asparagus spears
1 shallot
1 clove of garlic
150ml of dry white wine
3 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of parmesan

Everybody who has even once planted peppermint on the balcony or in the garden knows that from a little seedling grows a big bush. Next year we will have a few bushes in the garden. Peppermint grows on my balcony every year. I add it to lemonade, which is excellent on a hot day. Peppermint leaves are a beautiful decoration for desserts and cakes.

Today I used peppermint leaves for preparing a refreshing pesto for bruschetta. This swift snack looks beautiful and tastes excellent. I added goat cheese, but mozzarella and feta cheese are also great.

Ingredients:
2 big slices of bread
2 fistfuls of peppermint leaves
1 fistful of parsley
2 tablespoons of pistachios
1 small clove of garlic
2 tablespoons of parmesan
100 ml of olive oil
salt and pepper
for decoration:
cherry tomatoes, bilberries and pistachios

With difficulty I saved a piece of tuna steak to take a photo for this blog. If I hadn't been stubborn, my husband probably would have eaten it straight from the pan. He fried it, cut and ate, fried, cut and ate. Actually, I didn't blame him. The fish was simply excellent. When my children saw it, they said that it must be brontosaurus steak. The name was accepted, and to this day my children call every big piece of meat the same.

Mexican pico de gallo is a tomato salsa. You can add coriander, peppermint or simply parsley. It is easy to prepare, I always have the ingredients in my kitchen and the flavour is great for fish dishes. I recommend it also for meat steak, cottage cheese and nachos. It is very versatile, isn't it?

Ingredients:
tuna steak
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
pico de gallo
3 tomatoes
3 tablespoons of chopped parsley
2 tablespoons of diced onion
1 clove of garlic
chili pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
salt and pepper