For me, menu planning is a delightful pastime. I love getting cozy on my living room couch with a cup of tea in hand and browse through the local store ads, cookbooks, and my own notes and recipes. As I jot down a menu for the upcoming week, I couldn't be happier. "Ah, this is the life...." I say to myself. I love being a homemaker and Menu Planning is one of my favorite chores.
I don't always have the time to indulge in this relaxing pastime of mine, so most often I'm jotting down a menu quickly when I have some free time at work, while we're driving somewhere with my husband, in the waiting room of the doctor's office, etc. If all else fails, I will sit in the car and take 10 minutes to figure out my menu plan right before hitting the grocery stores.
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We are enjoying spending the holidays with my family in New York and hope that you all are enjoying this festive time as well.
A whole cake is great, but smaller, individual cakes are so much more fun! I wanted to create a tender and soft texture cake, so I used the same recipe that I used for the Mini Orange Bundt Cakes, and for the flavor, I used my husbands favorite combination - Lemon Poppy Seed.With a tangy and sweet glaze to top it off, what a beautiful gift to give someone for Christmas, New Years' or any time of year. I included these little cakes in the collection of sweets that I gave as Christmas gifts to family and co-workers this year. You can even make them as muffins, a whole bundt cake or small mini bundt cakes. 
In my family, we love to share Christmas cookies with family, friends, co-workers and many others. This year was no exception, and I thought I'd share what I did with you, just to give you some ideas. I do it differently every year, this is just how I happened to do it this time. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you already saw sneak peaks of my baking marathon:). 
How many of you can relate? It's around that hectic, flustering time of day - dinnertime. Some days, you've just been too busy to plan what you'll be feeding yourself or your family. Other days, you just don't feel motivated to cook and maybe you're in a rush to get somewhere (any night shifters, here?). Yes, we all need to be rescued by magical dinner options, like this Butternut Squash Pasta dish. Not only does it come together in no time, it's also so filling and looks stunning too, just look at all the gorgeous autumn colors. The creamy sauce has that distinctive autumn flavors of pumpkin, with bacon and cheese adding extra heartiness and lots of scrumptious flavors. You can even make this a vegetarian option by omitting the bacon and using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. I also really appreciate that not only does this dish just "breathe" cozyness, but also isn't heavy, since the vegetables and fresh herbs perk it up with freshness. That's the kind of comforting food that I like, I still want to feel great after eating it. 
Ever since I was a little girl, the plight of the orphan has tugged on my heartstrings like nothing else. The thought of children without parents to love and take care of them, really bothered me. I was born into a loving family with incredible parents, and my 5 siblings and I were brought up knowing the meaning of belonging, security and unconditional love. 
We were also nervous and anxious, since we were also speaking at two of the sessions. We spent weeks getting the material ready and we were looking forward to it with anticipation and trepidation. It was a relief when it was over, but we both love to speak and especially when we do it together, so it was very gratifying.
I have a great relationship with vegetables. We are best buddies, actually. I try to include them in just about anything that I'm making because I like them so much. There is such an endless variety of options to create different flavors, textures and combinations. I am especially fond of roasting vegetables. First of all, it's so easy. Stick it in the oven and let it cook. Second of all, it brings out the natural sugars in the vegetables, charring them slightly as they soften. Char = flavor, in my opinion.
Coconut has such a distinct flavor. It certainly is assertive enough to be make it's appearance known, but is also mild and delicate in it's own way. This coconut cake is absolutely divine. When I first saw the recipe on 
Editing this recipe is a surreal moment for me since it's the first time I'm doing such a familiar task with a baby in my arms. For those of you who follow me on 
Dress up a cake with a gorgeous chocolate border all around it, also known as a Chocolate Cage. I personally think it looks like a fancy fence. 
I am not a very artistic person, so when I find designs that are really easy to execute, I am so stoked. Doesn't this design look like a million bucks? If I saw this cake somewhere, I would definitely be impressed, but it took about 10 minutes to decorate and was SO easy. You'll see exactly what I mean. 
My family is very close and we love sharing everything with each other. It's not unusual to discover my phone with 27 group text messages coming in. We like to send pictures, news, funny anecdotes, etc. and share it with everybody via text messages. It's awesome to live in the age of technology. I can watch my nieces growing even though they live so far away; I can see what new nail polishes my sisters are wearing and get excited that the cherry tree in my parents backyard actually grew cherries this year.
Most of us buy fish fillets at the store with all the work done for us - no skin, bones or attachments. Wouldn't you love to know how to start with a whole fish and be able to fillet it yourself?
It's even worse when you bring that beautiful slab of meat home and don't know how to approach it. Should you cook it low and slow or quickly over high heat?
My fellow night shifters, this post is for you!
My taste buds are loyal to my Slavic roots and this "cake" is a great example of it. We call it a "zapekanka" - Творожная Запеканка. This is my absolute favorite simple dessert. The best way I can think of to describe it, is to say that it reminds me of a combination of a cheesecake and a coffeecake. It's made with farmer's cheese, (tvorog) which gives it that creamy, cheesy texture and flavor and the addition of butter and eggs elevates it to a cake. I used semolina, (farina or mannka) instead of flour. If you're Slavic, you probably grew up eating it as a porridge for breakfast. It really contributes to give this Zapekanka a really awesome texture.
Fast paced lifestyles are sometimes an excuse for poor eating choices. That does not have to happen to you, though! This is one of my favorites - pasta with a creamy tomato sauce. In the time that it takes you to boil a pot of water and then cook some pasta, the rest of the dinner will be cooked and ready to be served. You might as well have one of your family members set the table as soon as you start cooking, because dinner will coming right up. I am absolutely in love with recipes like this, super quick and simple, but packed with freshness and flavor.
These beautiful treats remind me of dressed up little ladies, all ready for a party. The only difference is they are so simple to prepare, unlike the hours of primping in front of the mirror for the ladies and the room left in shambles after trying on different outfits.
Oils are an essential part of cooking. We use them for cooking, baking and as a finishing element in food.
If you follow me on 
Zucchini proves a cook's creativity and resourcefulness. For some reason, this vegetable, more than anything else in the garden, starts to exponentially multiply and before you know it, you have so much zucchini, you don't know what to do with it. If you don't have a garden, you probably notice grocery stores have great prices this time of year for zucchini. Right about now, most people are racking their brains and search engines with ways to use up the zucchini. Let's take advantage of the bountiful summer harvest.
If you visit one of the Eastern European countries in the summer, chances are that you'll see many street vendors selling kvas. Usually, they are vehicles with barrel or tank like attachments parked in many different locations in the city. As you come up to buy yourself this treat, the seller will pour you a cup of this cold, foaming and sweet treat right out of the spigot. In the past, kvas was mostly sold in the summer, but now you can buy in year round, in bottled form in grocery stores.
I associate grilling with simplicity and relaxation. Most likely because my husband is the one who actually does the grilling part of the process:). Besides that, preparing food for the grill usually involves only a few really basic steps.
