Simple Vegetarian Meal

Potatoes with Buttermilk.  So simple.

This is the type of recipe which kept the people of Poland going during hard times; peasants and fasting Catholics during Lent and other seasons.

Potatoes with Buttermilk is the sort of recipe that transports my Tato and myself back to our childhoods.  When I made it yesterday, I could tell it made him miss his mother, my amazing Babcia.  This truly is one of few dishes I would dare to call comfort food, a title I do not give to just any dish.

Ingredients:

6 or so Potatoes, red or white, scrubbed, boiled and skinned
Dill
Salt
Butter
Buttermilk

Optional:2 sliced and caramelized Onions
Bacon, cooked and diced

Place potatoes in large bowl, drizzle with butter, top with dill.  If using onions and/or bacon, top with that as well.

Serve with a tall glass of cold buttermilk for each family member.

Notes:

If you can get "new potatoes", this very simple recipe becomes even more delicious.

You could also mash the potatoes with a bit of the buttermilk, if you like.

Polish Mama Nutrition And Language Lesson:

This meal actually has more nutrients in it than you might think at first glance.

Potatoes, boiled, skinned

Ziemniaki (Zee-ehm-nee-ah-key)
A "a good source of Vitamin B6, Potassium and Copper, and a very good source of Vitamin C."  This is why during the Irish Potato Famine, many suffered from a Vitamin C deficiency when corn was given in substitute of potatoes.
They also have as much fiber as an average serving of typical grocery store mass produced American white loaf bread.

Dill, fresh

Koper (Koh-perr)
A "good source of Dietary Fiber, Niacin, Phosphorus, Zinc and Copper, and a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium and Manganese."
It is has fiber.

Koper is also safe for diabetics to eat.


Buttermilk, low fat

Maślanka (Mahsh-lahn-kah)
A "good source of Potassium, and a very good source of Protein, Riboflavin, Calcium and Phosphorus."


Onions, Sauteed

Smażone Cebuli (Smah-szoh-neh Tseh-bool-ee)
A "very good source of Vitamin K".
It also has fiber.


I won't count the bacon because we all know that it's loaded with protein but also saturated fats and salt.



All in all, with or without bacon, this can be a filling, frugal and quick meal for the family on Meatless Fridays or during days of fasting. 

Smacznego...

Related Posts:

Baba Kartoflana

Polish Potato Salad

Ruskie Pierogi or Potato and Cheese Pierogi

Kanapki 101

In Poland, sandwiches are called Kanapki (pronounced Kah-Nahp-key) and are similar to Canapes.  The sandwiches tend to be open faced, on good bread and with various toppings.

Here is just one example of a kanapka I've made for the kids.

Pumpernickel bread, mayonnaise, hard boiled egg, diced red bell pepper, curly parsley, salt and pepper.

Kanapki use up whatever ingredients a cook might have in her kitchen. 



Here are some suggestions:

Rye bread, farmers cheese, thin slices of radish, diced green onion, pepper, paprika

White country bread, butter, morski cheese, slices of bell pepper, dots of ketchup

Rye bread, slice of ham, lettuce, slices of polish dill pickle, dot of horseradish mustard

Rey bread, slices of gypsy kielbasa, pickled tomato slices, slices of yellow cheese, dots of mayonnaise

Country bread, cottage cheese, chopped curly parsley, hard boiled egg, green onion



Kanapki are very easy to make and can cost as much and take as much effort as you like.  They make an excellent idea for a platter at a party.  My cousins and I have always spent a few short minutes in the kitchen quickly and effortlessly whipping up some kanapki to pass around for all to nibble on.

I hope you try this for your Easter table or next gathering.  Or, do as I do at lunch time, present them to your children as fancy Polish tea party sandwiches, pinkies out of course.

Na razie...



Related Posts:

Polish Potato Salad or Sałatka Warzywna (Vegetable Salad)

A Gyro in Wroclaw

Home Made Cheese

Polish Potato Salad

Polish Potato Salad is called one of several different names in Polish.  Why so many different names?  I'm not sure but they each are different yet similar.  But if you look for a recipe for any of the different names you will find a million variations for each name.

It can be called Sałatka Warzywna (Vegetable Salad), Sałatka Kartofli or Sałatka Ziemniaczana (two different ways to say Potato Salad), Sałatka Zydowska (Jewish Salad, although the ingredients don't seem particularly specific to Jewish food traditions), or several other different names.

I personally call it Sałatka Warzywna, or around my non Polish friends and family, Polish Potato Salad.

Polish cuisine includes many such recipes using bits and pieces in the kitchen to make different delicious sides and salads.

One rule I follow in making this salad is making sure that the potatoes in my salad are no more than 1/2 of the amount of vegetables. 



Ingredients:

2-3 Red or White Potatoes, skins scrubbed, boiled in jackets
1-3 Carrots, peeled and boiled
1-2 ribs of Celery
3-4 Dill Pickles
1/2 Sweet Onion
2 Sour Apples
1 can of Sweet Peas, drained
3 hard boiled Eggs, peeled
1/4 cup Mayonnaise (more, if desired)
1-2 tablespoons fresh chopped Dill
Salt and Pepper to taste

Optional: 
1/2 Leek
1/2 lb. diced Ham
Replace part or all of the Mayonnaise with Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt



Peel and dice the potatoes in 1/4 inch cubes.

Dice all other vegetables (except peas) to about the same size as the peas, smaller than the potatoes.

Mix all together. 

Garnish with another hard boiled egg, dill or parsley, if you like.

Serve with Polish Pickle Burgers or other cookout foods. 

Smacznego!




Polish Mama Nutrition: 

If you use celery in the salad, you typically do not need to season with salt, since celery naturally contains salt and yet, is much more healthy for you.  Also, digesting celery burns more calories than you take in from it, which is why it is often recommended in weight loss plans.
If you use Apples in the recipe, you don't need to season with sugar, as some recipes recommend. 

If you make sure that your proportion of vegetables is larger than the potatoes, you are taking in more fiber and nutrients per bite, as well as more flavor.

This recipe is a great way to hide vegetables from kids, helping you raise Future Foodies.




Related Posts:

Bean and Pickle Salad

Our Easter Table (We serve this salad every Easter)

Buckwheat Risotto from "Cuisine PL"

I received a print copy of Cuisine PL in the mail, a cookbook "published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland in the framework of the Polish Presidency in the EU Council (2011)".  You can view the free digital copy in English and Polish.

The first recipe I needed to try from this cookbook was the Buckwheat Risotto (by Kurt Scheller of Akademia Kurta Schellera/Warszawa).

If you are looking for a new recipe to try, I recommend this recipe.

It took about 25 minutes total to make, with only prep work and gently frying the vegetables for about a minute before adding the water to steam (off heat) and then adding the cheese and a little bit of butter.  Extremely easy and could be made on a workday without stress.

Before adding the water and cheese...

This recipe turned out to be perfect as a bed for over easy eggs and some wilted kale.

Kasha Nutrition:

Polish Mamas will tell you "Kasha is good for you."  And it's true. 

Kasha is chock full of nutrients and fiber and a must have in the Polish kitchen.  In fact, in American kitchens right now, many Chefs and Mamas are searching for new grain and carbohydrate ingredients to experiment with and embrace in place of refined bleached flour.  Kasha, in my opinion, should be one of those grains more should try cooking with. 

Of particular interest now for many people is the gluten-free diet, which Buckwheat can fit into nicely and as an inexpensive pseudograin. 

Here is the FDA's breakdown of nutritional information in 100 grams of Buckwheat groats.




Final Verdict:

Did the family love it?  Yes.  It is now a new family favorite.  The preschooler and Kindergartener both ate all of their Buckwheat Risotto gladly and my American husband did not complain as he ate it either.

Smacznego...



I was not in any way compensated for this post and wrote it because I wanted to share with you a recipe I found which we enjoyed and which I feel with confidance that your family will as well.

Pierniczki or Polish Gingerbread Cookies, Not Torunski Version

I love Pierniczki (pronounced Pee-er-neetsh-key).  I personally enjoy them with no icing and a cup of coffee.


Because we made this batch of Pierniczki yesterday late afternoon, we will probably be putting the frosting on Thursday in time for Wigilia-if they last that long. 


The Bezy have been made twice thus far and, while I lack concrete evidence, I suspect the Krasnoludki ate them all.  Nobody else is confessing to it. 


A small explanation, these are not actually gingerbread cookies, as there is no ginger in them.  This is a different version of the traditional Torun Gingerbread cookies.  I will share that recipe another time.


Ingredients:

3-3 1/2 cups Flour (I used 1 part whole wheat to 3 parts unbleached)
1/2 cup Honey
1 teaspoon Orange Zest (Optional)
1 tablespoon Cinnamon, ground
1/2 tablespoon Cloves, ground
1 teaspoon Nutmeg, ground
7 tablespoons Butter
2 Eggs
1 cup Powdered Sugar
1 teaspoon Baking Soda, diluted in 3 tablespoons Water


Sift Flour.  While sifting, add in the spices to incorporate.

My Babcia's Flour Sifter...

Melt honey in small saucepan.  Mix with orange zest. 

Mix with Flour/Spice mixture.

Add Butter.  Allow to cool.

Add eggs and sugar.

Add diluted baking soda and mix well.

On a lightly floured surface, knead dough until it has the same consistancy as pasta dough*.  Roll to about 5 mm thickness (2/5" thickness).

Cut into shapes, such as circles, stars, Christmas trees, Sw. Mikolaj, church bells, etc.

At this point, if you want to hang them later on your Christmas tree, use a straw to cut a hole about 1/2"-1" from edge in the shape.  You can later string ribbon through these to hang them.

Place on greased cookie sheets, leaving about 1" space between the cookies.

Bake 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown.

Allow to cool completely.



Remember:  Gingerbread men and women and any other creatures made from this dough are very likely to run away if you turn your back on them while they are cooling.  Have a child stand guard and keep an eye on them as they cool.  And you clean up the mess from cooking or prepare the icing.  Of course, the child will be very excited and at some point, turn to see what else is going on and a cookie will likely walk away.

Before icing, you can see the bits of Orange Zest in the cookies...

 

Store in airtight container.

Ice right before serving.

Smacznego!



Notes: 

* If you have never made pasta dough, the dough should be somewhat elastic and not too sticky or runny that you cannot roll it out and shape it.

The thinner the cookies, the better.  I had my 6 year old help roll the dough and cut the shapes.

You could also make this recipe without Butter and with 1 cup of Honey instead of 1/2 a cup.

A Lesson in Using Dried Mushrooms

I shared this picture yesterday on Twitter and Facebook.

Isn't it beautiful? 


Yesterday, I was making Busia's Sauerkraut for Thanksgiving and decided to add two pieces of dried mushrooms to the dish.  Mushrooms picked wild on the mountainsides of Poland.


To properly use dried mushrooms, always soak in very warm water for at least 15 minutes.  Then, if you plan to use the water from soaking the mushrooms as I do, be sure to drain the water slowly, carefully, to prevent any sediment from getting into your food.


What sediment, you might ask?  I'd found pine needles, bark, grass, fur from who knows what animal, and often times the plant above.  It's not a big deal but definitely not something you need in your food.


By the way, I plan on putting the tiny plant above in a small mason jar with some dirt and spritz it with water to make a terrarium.  Eventually, if it works out, I will be getting a piece of a fern my father got as a gift that came from Poland as well.  It would be like Poland in a jar.


Na razie...



Related Posts:

Bigos At My House

Pork Chops in Sauerkraut or Schab w Kiszonej Kapuście


Early Christmas Shopping Idea With a Polish Flavor


Busia's Mushrooms (Thanksgiving)

Stuffed Porkchops, One Way

By now, I'm sure you are aware that we Poles love to stuff our foods.  Stuffed cabbage, stuffed peppers, stuffed chicken breasts, stuffed rolls, we even like to stuff under the skin when roasting a chicken.

For dinner last night, I decided the thick cut pork chops I had were begging to be stuffed. 

The review by my father was "Good idea!  Like stuffed peppers.  Next time, we put some green peppers chopped in it maybe."  My husband thought it was delicious.  My toddler gobbled it all up but my elementary school aged daughter hates tomatoes and didn't enjoy it.  Sadly for her, I will continue to feed her dishes with tomatoes in it.  Because I am raising two future foodies.



Ingredients:

3 thick cut Pork chops
1 to 1 1/2 cups cooked Rice
2 Carrots, peeled, finely chopped *
5 dried Polish mushrooms, crumbled
1 Egg
1 tablespoon, Parsley
1 teaspoon, Marjoram
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 can Tomato Sauce


Slice a pocket into each pork chop, using the bone as a guide to the back so that you don't cut all the way through.

Mix together the rice, carrots, mushrooms, egg, parsley, marjoram, salt and pepper.

Stuff into the pork chop and pour the remainder around the outside area of the pork chops in the baking pan.

Pour the tomato sauce on top of everything.

Bake covered with aluminum foil on 350 degrees until pork inside temperature is about 170-175.  About 45 minutes to an hour.

Finished baking...

Served with a roll of Whole Wheat Cottage Cheese bread, which I baked earlier that day...

Smacznego!



* Because I sneak vegetables in my family constantly.

Other Posts:  Rice Keugel

Polish Tomato Soup Made by My Tato

If you liked this recipe, consider making a donation:

Placek, Kuchen, Coffee Cake, Delicious

A recipe that my mother sometimes made when I was a child called Placek (pronounced pwah-tsek and basically means a yeast cake) was always for eating with coffee with friends while the children snacked on fresh fruits. 

I would always be envious of those Polish Mamas at the thought of them getting to eat such tasty sugary treats while we children would nibble on fresh peaches we had bought at the local farm.  Of course, the peaches would end up being delicious and extremely juicy and we would all end up outside enjoying the tastes and laughing as peach juice would run off our chins and down our arms.

My brother would always end up flinging his arms around and trying to direct the mess in my direction.

When the guests would leave, my brother and I would each get a piece of the Placek my mother had made and I would drink "coffee" (weak tea with sugar and milk).

This recipe makes 2 cakes so you can top each with different fruits or cheese.


Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose unbleached Flour
3/4 cups whole wheat Flour *
1 package active dry Yeast
3/4 cup Milk
1/3 cup Butter
1/3 cup Sugar
1/2 teaspooon Salt
2 Eggs
1 beaten Egg
3 tablespoons Half and Half (light cream or milk or evaporated milk would also work)
1 cup Sugar
2-3 cups thinly sliced Fruit (plums, peeled apples**, peaches) or
2 cups Cottage Cheese, Ricotta Cheese, or Twarog
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon or 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves, if using fruit


For Dough:

Combine 1 1/2 cups of flour and the yeast.  Set aside.

In a saucepan, heat and stir the milk, butter, 1/3 cup of sugar and salt until warm and the butter is almost melting (120 to 130 degrees).

Add warmed milk to flour mixture.  Add the two eggs.  Mix well together with spatula or wooden spoon for about a minute.  Beat with mixer on high speed for 3 minutes.  Remove from mixer and add in the remaining flour with a wooden spoon.

Divide flour in half.  Be sure to grease your fingers a little bit with oil to avoid the dough sticking to your skin.  Press each piece of dough evenly into two greased baking pans (I used two glass 8 x 11.5 x 2 pans).  Make sure to press the dough up the sides a bit.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside somewhere warm until the dough is risen to double the size (about 45 minutes to an hour).



For Topping:

Combine the Half and Half and beaten egg in a bowl.  Stir in the 1 cup of sugar and the cinnamon or cloves, if using fruit.

If using fruit, arrange on top of raised dough.  Evenly spoon cream-sugar mixure over the fruit.

Plums (3 different varieties) called Placek ze Sliwkami

If using cheese (Twarog, etc.), mix into cream-sugar mixture and spoon evenly onto dough.

Cheese topped (I tried with cinnamon this time) Placek z Serem

Bake 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Allow to cool a few minutes before cutting.  The cream-sugar mixture will still look very wet on top but will soak into the cake as it cools.  Serve warm. 


Smacznego!





* The proportion between the all-purpose unbleached flour and whole wheat can be changed.  I have found this one over the years to work when serving people who don't regularly eat whole wheat bread and it has worked enough to make them change their minds and try whole wheat after that.

** Apples should be peeled, cored, sliced and simmer in water for about 2 minutes covered until softened a bit.  Drain well and place on top of dough.  Be sure to use baking apples.

If you liked this recipe, consider making a donation

"Polish" Roasted Chicken

We are finally starting to feel better in my house so I am going to share this roasted chicken recipe I had made a few days ago and head out to a local farm for some Autumnal fun with the toddler.

My "Polish" Roasted Chicken recipe is just one version of the same idea.  Certain ingredients are quintessential in Polish cuisine (can you spot them in this recipe?) and many typical recipes in the USA are either influenced by the large mass of Polish immigrants over the years or by another country's immigrants who share similar styles.

The recipe for Roasted Chicken is always very easy and comforting for many.



Ingredients:

1 Chicken for roasting, rinsed well inside and out
2-3 Garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 a stick of Butter
1 tablespoon Paprika
Salt and Pepper


Stuffing:

enough Bread for stuffing (depends on the size of the chicken, this one only held 4 slices)
1 Egg
1 tablespoon of Marjoram, Curly Parsley, or Dill
1 chicken liver, chopped finely
1/4 stick of Butter or 2 tablespoons of chicken broth or bacon fat
Salt and Pepper


Prep the chicken:

Preheat oven to 400-425 degrees. 

Sprinkle salt, pepper, and paprika all over the outside of the chicken. 

Rub the inside cavity with the garlic cloves and place inside. 

Place pats of butter under the skin next to the breast meat.



Prep the stuffing:

Mix the ingredients together. 

Stuff inside chicken. 

Use a very thin slice of bread end, if you like, to help seal in the stuffing.  This is a trick my grandmother-in-law, our Busia, used to use. 

Truss the chicken if you do that.  I usually just tuck in the wings because I have two small children and never enough time.



Place stuffed chicken in roasting pan with a little bit of water on the bottom.  Add washed potatoes and onions around the outside, if you like.

Bake for about 15 minutes then turn down the temperature to 350 degrees and roast for an additional 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken.  The meat should reach an internal temperature of 180 degrees.

A trick my mother taught me to know when a chicken was done was to see how the drumstick felt.  If it felt as though you could easily pull it right off to eat, the chicken was definitely done.  I did this trick and my older daughter started squeaking right away for the drumstick.

You can serve this with a basic gravy made from the juices in the bottom of the pan if you like or a Hunter's Gravy (pictured here, recipe to come later) or mushroom gravy.

Smacznego!

Forgive the less than perfect photos, I was dealing with a croupy toddler and feeling under the weather myself.

If you liked this recipe, consider making a donation

Photos of Some of Our Cooking Last Weekend

We are battling a nasty bout of croup at my house at this moment.  I hope you will forgive me as I will today just be sharing photos of some of the items I cooked here the past few days.  Recipes will be shared as we start feeling better.

"Glazed Porkloin", also known as Applesauce Pork Roast or Pieczony Schab

"Polish" Roasted Chicken stuffed and baked with potatoes and onions

The drumstick my 5 year old stole off the chicken before I could photograph it all together...

Cheese bread

Kuchen or Placek made with three different plum varieties and a new recipe I found in a handwriting I don't recognize...

Cheesecake stuffed Carrot cupcakes...

My Tati (Dad's) Polish Tomato Soup...

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and have a wonderful week. 

Na razie...

Basic Golabki (Polish Cabbage Rolls)

Golabki (pronounced Gow-omp-key and the i at the end makes it plural) are the perfect cool weather dish.  In English, they are Stuffed Cabbage rolls and are so easy to make and not nearly as time consuming as many believe, if you know the right tips and tricks.



Ingredients:

1 Head of Cabbage
1 large Onion, chopped
1 pound ground Beef
1/2 pound ground Pork
1 Egg
1 1/2 cups cooked Rice
1 to 2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon black Pepper
1/2 tablespoon Marjoram
Oil
Pinch of Salt



Freeze the head of cabbage *.  Defrost on counter.  By doing this, there is no need to boil the head and peel a couple of leaves off at a time, saving a great deal of prep time as well as energy, an added bonus.

Reserve the large tougher green leaves.  Line the bottom of the baking pan and up the sides with some of these leaves.

Prep the soft inner leaves (not the smaller most inner leaves, these can be used for making fried cabbage instead) by cutting off the ridge of the vein, if you like.  This is not always needed, however.

Mix the onion, meats, egg, rice, garlic, salt, pepper and marjoram in a bowl thoroughly.

Using a 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup (depending on how large you want your golabki stuffed, I prefer 1/4 cup) measuring cup, spoon out the meat mixture.

Place on inside of cabbage leaf toward the bottom of the leaf.  Roll the leave over once, tuck in the ends, and continue to roll until closed.  Place in baking pan, making 2 rows.

After filling the baking pan, drizzle a tablespoon or two of the oil on top of the golabki and sprinkle the top with a pinch of salt. 

Cover completely with the rest of the large tougher green leaves.

After baking, to show how to cover with leaves...

Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes, or until filling reads 160 degrees on meat thermometer.

Serve with either a simple tomato sauce, or brown gravy or mushroom sauce.

Served with a boiled red potato, mushroom sauce, and fried cabbage (see tip #14 about raising adventurous eaters)...

Smacznego!



*  I, like many, enjoy munching on the raw cabbage core so I cut out the core of the cabbage before freezing the head.


Check out my recipe for a version of Meatless Golabki

A Different Version of a Polish Poppyseed Roll

In my house, we love Makowiec so I decided to try this carrot version called Marchwiak (pronounced Mahr-veeahk). 

Let me tell you how I came across it, as it isn't a family recipe.  I was online looking for inspiration for what to do with the 20 lbs of carrots my husband recently bought.  I've already made a massive dent in it with my Polish twist on a stuffed carrot cupcake and a few other recipes.  This recipe I found on Milk and Pumpkin sounded interesting.

I used the recipe I had used 4 times before for the dough, which is a different version than the one Ewa from Milk and Pumpkin offers.  But I'm sure both doughs are tasty. 

I also was measuring out ingredients for the dough in the midst of dealing with my two daughters wanting snacks.  So, I accidentally measured out too little butter for my own personal taste.  I prefer 1 1/2 sticks of butter but instead used 3/4 of a stick. 

The dough was delicious, just not as buttery as I like.

I also split the filling into two rolls since I added raisins and a tablespoon of butter to the filling.  Next time, I will double the filling since my husband likes his rolls to have a more equal amount of filling to dough.

The children loved eating this and my father and husband both thought it was interesting and delicious enough to try again with the above modifications.  I will be adding this to our family recipes quite happily.



Ingredients:


Filling (per roll):

3/4 cup grated Carrots
1 handful Poppy Seeds
tablespoon of Butter
handful of Raisins, soaked in hot water or warmed rum for 10 minutes
1 Egg White


Dough (for two rolls): 

1 .25 oz packet active dry Yeast
1/4 cup warm Water
3 cups all-purpose Flour, unbleached
2 cups whole wheat Flour
1-2 tablespoon wheat germ or milled flax seed *
1 1/2 sticks Butter
2 Eggs
2 Egg Yolks
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Powdered or Regular Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons grated Lemon Peel, if you like


Glaze:  (optional)

Powdered Sugar
just enough milk to be able to drizzle



Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Proof the yeast in the warm water and a teaspoon of sugar or flour for about 5 minutes.   You can skip this step and just add to the dough if you like as well.

Combine ingredients for filling.  Set aside.

Combine the two flours and wheat germ.

Cut the butter into the flour blend until the mixture resembles course crumbs.   Add the salt and sugar.

Mix in the yeast, eggs, egg yolks, sour cream, vanilla extract, and lemon rind.

Mix until it forms a ball of elastic dough, turn out onto a work surface and knead for 8-10 minutes (or use a stand mixer to knead for 5-8 minutes) until the dough is smooth and satiny.

Cut dough in half, roll each piece out into a rectangle, and smear with egg white (a tip from Milk and Pumpkin's recipe that I found to work well in helping to keep from having gaps between dough and filling.  My Ciocia said was something she did as well on the phone Sunday).

Place on baking sheet.

Add filling, allowing about a half inch to inch border around so that the dough is easy to seal.

Roll dough, seal well, place in a warm place covered with a moist clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for about 1 1/2 hours.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until the exterior is golden brown. Allow to cool.  You can either serve as is or add a glaze.

Smacznego!



Notes:

Butter, Eggs, Egg Yolks, Sour Cream and all other ingredients should be at room temperature to help the yeast roll to rise better.

*I have returned to adding a tablespoon or two of either wheat germ or milled or whole flax seeds to all my dough recipes or to fillings. 
The reasons are because of the many added health benefits:  added fiber, protein, iron, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, Lignans, Alpha-linolenic acid (Omega-3 fatty acid).  
Because the benefits are so many and it's so simple to add just a tiny bit and make a positive impact on our health, this Polish Mama would recommend this simple step to anyone. 
While these ingredients may seem expensive, you only need to add a very small amount and the benefits will make a large impact on you and your children's health for a long time. 



Other Recipes You Might Like:

Carrots in Cream Sauce

Cold Carrot Salad


Also, if you enjoy my recipes (and perhaps the stories, photos and other topics on my blog) it would be really appreciated if you donated whatever you felt comfortable with using the Donate using the PayPal button on my sidebar.  Every little bit helps.  Thank you.