Sometimes I am intrigued by recipes for salads with a minimal amount of ingredients. Two or three items blended with a dip make an incredible and surprising dish. Reportedly, the most difficult thing is to come up with the simplest ideas.

Today my proposal for a salad contains only a few ingredients. Its secret is grilled peach, which has an interesting flavour and looks very decorative. Remember to choose ripe but hard fruits. They must be sweet, but they shouldn't break up when grilled. Nuts are excellent extras. I chose walnuts but you can use pecan nuts or roasted almonds.

Ingredients (for 2 people):
300g of green beans
100g of blue cheese
1 peach
10 walnuts
dip:
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 clove of garlic
3 tablespoons of minced parsley
salt and pepper

Imagine your child has a little guest. He is healthy, doesn't have any allergies or intolerances and is hungry. You would like to prepare something yummy to make him feel good in your home. Usually, tomato soup, sausages with ketchup or spaghetti do the trick. Likewise, crepes and crumpets guarantee success. You can nearly always find a version, sweet or with vegetables, which your guest will relish. However, every mum knows that sometimes you can encounter with wonder a child who doesn't like either ketchup or spaghetti. Let us suppose optimistically that your guest isn't my son 

Today I propose a recipe for express crumpets in the American style called "pancakes". Sometimes, I don't know why, they are confused with crepes. In contrast to crepes, you have to use baking powder, baking soda or yeast. Pancakes can be prepared with milk, buttermilk or kefir, and are served with maple syrup, yoghurt sauce and with fruit or jam.

Today I chose pancakes with kefir, and my children wanted maple syrup and blueberries. If it wasn't for my lack of time in the morning, pancakes could be an excellent idea for breakfast. In my home it is more suitable for cream tea. I don't know wherein lies their secret, but in my opinion pancakes could be prescribed by the doctor to improve your mood. In times of autumnal depression, I recommend adding a bit (or a bit more than a bit) of whipped cream.

I observe with great interest that in many cities there are culinary places which are impossible to forget. Fortunately, the time when every restaurant or café looked the same has sunk into oblivion, and in every city we can find interesting, original spots managed by amazing people. Bored or grumpy waitresses who offend the patrons, unattractive menus and not too fresh products don't exist in places like this. Nowadays, cafés compete in preparing sophisticated desserts, their cakes entice us with their beauty and taste, and the coffee is so redolent that it draws us in from the other end of the street. Apart from bodily pleasures, you may count on nice conversation with the owner or staff, WiFi and the possibility of charging your mobile phone.

We found just such a café in Tarnów. In one of the streets leading off to the market street we saw a tram carriage. It didn't have long rails or electric traction, it didn't screech or ring, and it didn't want to take us on a trip; instead it tempted us with excellent coffee, ice cream and seasonal cakes. We had found our way to Café Tramwaj.

A conversation with the very nice owner revealed a couple of details about this amazing and atmospheric café. The Ladybirds (which is what trams were called in Tarnów) travelled on their 2.5 km routes starting from 1911. Apparently, similar electric trams were in circulation in Galicia only in Kraków and Lwów. Every 6 minutes, from 6 am to 10 pm, six trolleys carried people hurrying to work, home or to a meeting. It is difficult to believe that in 1927 they carried over 1 million passengers. The trams stopped running in Tarnów at the behest of occupying forces in 1942. In 2012, the ladybird once again appeared on the streets of Tarnów. This handmade replica of a carriage from before the war is decorated with original elements like rails, undercarriage, bell and lamps. Great attention to detail makes it difficult to believe that it is only an excellent replica.

When I was a child, apricots were not my favourite fruit. The soft ones with sweet flesh and fluffy skin were at the end of my list of fruit to eat. I definitely preferred juicy nectarines, peaches and plums. Today I appreciate the uniqueness of apricots, and I use them in my kitchen both as fresh fruit and as conserves and ingredients of desserts and meat dishes.

Arboriculture of apricot trees isn't easy. They are fickle, tough and unpredictable. The trees sometimes bear fruit every year, but sometimes for no specific reason they have a yearly break. They are sensitive to frost and cool wind, which destroys their beautiful scented flowers. They don't like a lot of different things like drought, excess moisture and fertilizers.

It is said that apricots allow us to live longer. Their nutritional value was appreciated by the Chinese. This fruit was a permanent ingredient of their diet. Apricots are a rich source of antioxidants, which delay the human aging processes. Oil from apricot seeds is used for creams, masks, tonics and milk – especially for oily and acne-prone skin.

Today I used some apricots to prepare a fluffy cake that is excellent for a weekend cream tea or a school packed lunch.

Ingredients:
12 apricots
100g of almonds

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.