More apricots

We have got a really kind neighbour, she lives alone and has got a huge garden full of vegetables and fruits. We always get something from her because she cannot eat everything alone. She has a lot of relatives either, one of them keeps free range chickens, from him we can buy wonderful eggs and pheasants as well. These eggs has a different flavor and smell, not talking about the yolks. Yolks has a real natural yellow colour but when I stir in something, what a difference!

Some time ago I have found near to us a farm too, they produce bio milk, and they deliver the milk very cheap. So I can make yoghurts, panir, fresh cottage cheese or ricotta and even butter.

And has left some more apricots...

Apricot Lavender Muffins

• 250 g flour
• ½ pack of baking powder
• 130 g cane sugar
• 2 eggs
• 50 ml oil
• 100 ml milk
• 2 tbsp Amaretto
• 1 tsp dried lavender flowers
• 250 g apricots, chopped

Preheat the oven to 180 °C, line a muffin tin with paper cups.

Combine the flour, baking powder and lavender together. Stir the oil, the milk, eggs, sugar, Amaretto well together in an other bowl, then add to the flour along the chopped apricots. Stir well and fill paper cups with the mixture and bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

The sun in a fruit – apricot

I love apricots, their colour, flavour and fragrance. My dad brought quite a lot apricot home. Most of it we use to make palinka, but I could pick some to make preservings. To make these you have to use completely healthy and ripe but yet tough fruits.

Apricots in Spicy Syrup

• 1.8 kg apricots
• 375 ml white wine vinegar
• 500 ml water
• 1 kg sugar
• 5 tsp salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sticks of cinnamon
• 2½ tsp koriander seeds
• 20 cloves
• 2 tsp allspice
• 16 kernels of apricot pits

Wash apricots well, discard pits (except those 16 which you crack open with a hammer to get the kernels), and place the fruits in to big preserving jars quite tightly. Add the kernels as well.

Then make the syrup. Pour vinegar with the water in a saucepan, add sugar and spices and bring to a boil stirring to melt the sugar completely. Take off the heat and pour syrup over the fruits filling the jars. Close jars tightly and stand on top for 5 minutes.

The kernels give your preserved apricot an almond-y flavour.

After 1-2 weeks you can use apricots garnishing roasted duck or chicken, or cut in stripes and add to salads.

Apricots in Whisky Syrup

• 1.8 kg apricots, pits discarded
• 700 g cane sugar
• 700 ml water
• 100 ml apple vinegar (I used apple vinegar with sea-buckthorn)
• 12 cloves
• 1 stick of cinnamon, broken in pieces
• 2 whole cardamom’s seeds
• 2 tbsp vanilla essence
• ½ pack of citric acid
• 125 ml whisky

Pour water and vinegar in a bigger saucepan, add sugar and spices, add the citric acid and bring to a boil stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the fruit and when syrup boils again take out apricots immediately with a colander and place in preserving jars.

Simmer the syrup for about 20 minutes until reduces to ¾. Take off the heat, leave cool a bit and pour in the whisky, stir well. Pour the syrup on fruits filling the jars. Close them tightly and stand them on the top for 5 minutes.

Edible flowers in the kitchen 3. – Elderflower

Next edible flower in gardens and nearly everywhere which blooms in spring, the elderflower. My grandma dipped the little flower umbrellas in pancake mixture and fried in hot oil. We ate them sprinkled with vanilla sugar. But I like it to eat with strawberry or raspberry jam. You can use acacia bunches the same way.

Elderflower Syrup

• 60 big elderflowers
• 1.5 liters water
• 9 tbs sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• ½ pack of pectin
• juice of 1 lime
• juice of ½ lemon

Shake well the flowers because there may be little insect hiding among the tiny flowers. Do not wash flowers unless they loose the pollen and fragrance!

Cut flowers off the green stalks, put in a stainless pan. Pour onto the water. Mix sugar and pectin, add to the flowers with vanilla paste. Bring to the boil and moderate the heat. Simmer until reduced to ⅔. Strain the flowers, squeeze and discard. Add the lime and lemon juice and pour the syrup in bottle which you can close thightly.

Edible flowers in the kitchen 2. – Acacia

Next edible flower after the lilac in the spring was acacia flower. I wanted to make jelly of it too, but because of the bigger amount of lemon juice it didn't want to gelled, so I use it as syrup. For example in a wonderfully fragranced muffin.

Acacia Syrup

• 5 liters acacia flowers
• 2.5 liters boiling water
• 250 g sugar
• 2 pack of pectin (50 g)
• 2 tsp vanilla paste
• 4 whole cardamom
• 125 ml lemon juice

Take the flowers off the stalks, put in a big jar, pour onto the boiling water, close and leave it stand for 6 hours.

Pour the whole thing in a stainless pan. Mix sugar and pectin, add to the flowers with the crushed cardamoms and vanilla paste. Bring to a boil. Simmer it until reduces to ⅔. Then with a colander strain the flowers, squeeze and discard.

Meanwhile enjoy the fragrance of One Thousand and One Night.

Add the lemon juice, boil 1 or 2 minutes and pour in little jars.

I was really curious how this syrup tastes in cookies or cakes, so I tried in a simple one, in a muffin.

Redberry and Black Cherry Cupcake

• 250 g flour
• 80 g sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 125 g butter
• 2 eggs
• a handful of dried redberries
• a handful of pitted dried black cherries
• 125 ml acacia syrup
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Line a muffin tin with paper cups.

Combine the flour, baking powder and fruits together. Melt the butter, add sugar and vanilla extract and whisk. Add eggs, whisk again. Add the buttery cream to the flour, stir well.

Fill the paper cups with the muffin mixture. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

Edible flowers in the kitchen 1. – Season of lilac

The first edible flower which I've used in the kitchen in this year was lilac. The lilac is rather delicate because it can easily become bitter during the processes. Use only the flowers, you can pull them easily out of the green things.


You can make for example lilac fragranced sugar. You need a 500 ml jar, 1 cup lilac flowers and sugar. Just make layers with lilac and sugar, close tightly the jar, shake well and after 2 or 3 days you have to sift the sugar unless it won't be fragranced rather smelly because of the dead flowers. Don't wait until the flowers loose their colour.


I've made a lilac jelly either.

Lilac Jelly

• 4 cups lilacflower
• 3 cups boiling water
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I used 1 pack of Bourbon vanilla sugar)
• 1/2 pack of pectin (12,5 g)
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar

Put lilac flowers in a big jar, pour the water over and leave for 6 six hours. Then strain squeezing the lilacs, discard the flowers. Pour the infusion in a stainless pan, add lemon juice and vanilla. Stir the pectin in the sugar, add to the fluid and bring to the boil. Boil vigorously for 2 minute. Skim, if you would like. Pour the jelly into little jars.

Pasta every week – at least

I could eat pasta every day if I wouldn't think of the others in the family. Everybody likes pasta dishes but not every day. But week doesn't pass away without pasta. These meals are indefinitely variable, easy to make and delicious fast food, but not junk food. Usually I make pastas without recipes only to use ingredients what we have got at home.

Chicken and Mushroom Fusilli Bucattini

• 2 chicken breast fillets, cut into little cubes
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 500 g champignons, sliced
• 25 g butter
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 150 ml dry white wine
• 200 ml cream
• salt, freshly milled black pepper
• 1 little bunch of parsley, chopped
• 500 g fusilli bucattini

Boil the pasta in a big saucepan al dente. Meanwhile heat the butter and oil together in a big pan, sauté the onion and garlic for a few minutes. Drop in the the meat and stir until well coated with the butter. Fry until its changes colour, then add the mushroom, stir in and fry 2-3 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper, pour onto the wine and simmer until wine reduced. Pour in the cream and simmer 1-2 minutes, sprinkle with chopped parsley. Drain the pasta and serve with hot ragu on top.

Two very simple heartwarmings

I love cappuccino or café latte in every form. My new obsession this very simple café latte. I have found at KicsiVú on one of my favourite Hungarian blog. She made it with rather lot of sugar and maple syrup, I have found it too sweet so reduced the quantity.

White Chocolate Café Latte

• 200 ml milk
• 50 g white chocolate
• 2 tbs cane sugar
• ¼ tbs vanilla paste
• 1 portion strong espresso

Make a strong espresso, meanwhile heat the milk with white chocolate, sugar and vanilla. Make it hot. Foam the milk with a foamer and pour into a mug. Spoon in the espresso slowly, do not stir. First it will be more coffee-ish at the beginning with the contrast of the sweet vanilla milk foam and at the end the wonderful white chocolate-vanilla and slight coffee flavour... Yum!

The other very simple heart-warming meal is a cream soup, what else. Here is very windy the weather now, cold and strong arctic wind blows. We aspired to a good soup yesterday.

Broccoli Cream Soup

• 1 kg broccoli
• 25 g butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 l chicken stock
• 200 ml cream
• salt, freshly milled pepper

Heat the butter in a bigger saucepan put in the onion and garlic, sauté for a few minutes. Cut the broccoli put into the saucepan and stir well. Pour onto the stock, just cover the broccoli. Season with salt and pepper, put a lid on and simmer gently for about 10-15 minutes, until the vegetable is completely tender. Take off the heat, pour in the cream, blend it with a hand mixer until smooth. Put back on the heat but do not simmer only re-heat. Serve immediately.