Category Archives: Herbs

Lightly Salty, Naturally Fermented Dill Pickles

September 3, 2015 by Food Polka

Growing up in Poland, I fell in love with homemade sour pickles – especially ones that were naturally fermented. The pickles sold in America are cucumbers preserved in vinegar. My idea of a pickle is a cucumber that’s been naturally fermented in a brine solution. The most common place to find them in the U.S. is at Jewish delis or overpriced foodie spots, but these places usually only give you one, or even just half of a pickle, so I’m […]

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Categories: Apetizer, Black Pepper, Cabbage, Cucumbers, Culinary Writing, Dill, Dinner, Editorial, Food Photography, Food Styling, Garlic, German Cuisine, Herbs, Lunch, Pickles, Polish Cuisine, Privet Chef Events, Resourceful Cooking, Salad, Salt, Snack, Spices, Thai Chili, Vegan, Vegeterian, Yellow mustard seeds • Tags: art director, creative director, creative food stylist los angeles, dill pickles, fermented cucumbers, fermented food, food photographer, food photographer los angeles, food polka, food styling los angeles, food stylist, food stylist los angeles, home fermented cucumbers, home food fermentation, home made pickles, home preserves, jemwiecjestem.com, jewish deli style pickles, marta fowlie, marta smolczewska, personal chef LA, Polish Carnival, Polish chef, Polish cuisine, polish cuisine is us, polish pickles, published by Marta Fowlie, sauerkraut and pickles

The springtime dinner ala Food Polka

June 10, 2015 by Food Polka

What the springtime in Poland taste like? It tastes like a new vegetable garden. It tastes like tiny, creamy new potatoes boiled with the skin on, tossed in fresh butter or buttermilk, and topped with fried, runny yolk egg. It tastes like fresh, chopped dill. It tastes like miniature, pale but the sweetest baby carrots and fresh green peas. This is the only time of the year when you can get all these flavors and combine them into one dinner […]

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Categories: Breakfast, Butter, Carrots, Communism, Culinary Writing, Dill, Dinner, Eggs, Food Photography, Food Styling, Green Pea, Lunch, Marta Fowlie, Marta Smolczewska, Polish Cuisine, Potatoes, Published by Marta Fowlie, Vegetarian, Vegeterian, Yogurt • Tags: art director, baby potatoes recipe, creative director, creative food stylist los angeles, food photographer, food photographer los angeles, food styling los angeles, food stylist, food stylist los angeles, healthy breakfast, kuchnia polska w USA, memory of communism in poland, personal chef LA, polisg spiring dinner, polish food, polish immigrants, Polish immigrants in US, privet chef in LA, published by Marta Fowlie, recipe develoer los angeles, Recipe Development, springtime dinner

Tomatillo, Jalapeno, Lime, Cilantro Make a God Damn Good Handmade Gift Jam

May 30, 2015 by Food Polka

Last March my mother reminded me about my grandma’s 90th birthday in April. She thought I perhaps should send her a special card or a little gift. So, since I am the biggest fan of handmade gifts, I decided to make something special for her. And… since I am into food I instantly thought that maybe I could make a cool preserve that could be put in a jar and shipped to Poland. I don’t think my grandma’s pallet is […]

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Categories: American Cuisine, Breakfast, California Cuisine, Cilantro, Condiments, Dessert, Food Photography, Food Styling, Honey, Jelapeno, Lime, Published by Marta Fowlie, Sauce, Snack, Tomatillos, Vegan, Vegetarian, Vegeterian • Tags: art director, creative director, creative food stylist los angeles, easy breakfast, food photographer, food photographer los angeles, food styling los angeles, food stylist, food stylist los angeles, hand made gift, healthy breakfast, personal chef LA, privet chef in LA, published by Marta Fowlie, socal preserve, souther california flavors

Everybody Pesto! Pumpkin-Arugula, Pesto!

May 18, 2015 by Food Polka

I’m sure you’ve tried pesto before. That classic Italian sauce made with basil, pine nuts, and Parmesan—it’s delicious, isn’t it? But did you know that you can easily make it at home in about 5 minutes? Well, you can, and so can this version of pesto, which may not be as classic as the Italian prototype but is just as delicious. This new pesto recipe is made with arugula, pumpkin seeds, and Asiago cheese. While the ingredients may differ from […]

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Categories: Apetizer, Arugula, Asiago cheese, California Cuisine, Dinner, Food Photography, Food Styling, Garlic, Lemon, Lunch, Olive Oil, Privet Chef Events, Published by Marta Fowlie, Pumpkin seeds, Recipe Development, Resourceful Cooking, Snack, Vegeterian • Tags: art director, arugula pesto, creative director, creative food stylist los angeles, different pesto, easy sauce, food photographer, food photographer los angeles, food photography, food styling, food styling los angeles, food stylist, food stylist los angeles, personal chef LA, pesto, published by Marta Fowlie, quick sauce, sauce for red meat

Shed the Winter Lbs with this Garden Salad Recipe

March 7, 2015 by Food Polka

Seasons are changing and clothes are getting shorter and tighter. Many ladies have been hiding from the snow under a big cashmere sweater with a big bowl of takeout. It’s time to get our Summer bodies back and it’s possible by just eating clean! Here’s a simple garden salad recipe with an easy dressing made from scratch. Let’s get back on our healthy grinds during the weekend, not after. Garden Salad with Avocado-Wasabi Dressing Shopping List (serves 1): Salad Dressing […]

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Categories: Apetizer, Avocado, California Cuisine, Cilantro, Cucumbers, Diary Product, Eggs, Green Onions, Lemon, Lettuce, Lime, Lunch, Mint, Olive Oil, Published by Marta Fowlie, Radish, Romain Lettuce, Salad, Snack, Tomatoes, Vegan, Vegeterian, Wasabi, Yogurt • Tags: art director, creative director, creative food stylist los angeles, dressing made from scratch, food photographer, food photographer los angeles, food styling los angeles, food stylist, food stylist los angeles, helathy salad, home made dressing, lean cuisine, light food, personal chef LA, privet chef in LA, published by Marta Fowlie, refreshement

Black is the new green in this black olive appetizer

March 5, 2015 by Food Polka

I’m not a big fanatic of olives, but I always have a jar or a can of this popular delicacy in my kitchen. Why? For several reasons: 1) Almost every person I know likes olives. 2) They are cheap. 3) Don’t go bad fast and store in a can or jar, always taste just as good. 4) They do not need a long time to process or cook. 5) They are the perfect accompaniment to other dishes like meat, pizza, […]

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Categories: Apetizer, Balsamic Vinegar, California Cuisine, Cucumbers, Food Photography, Food Styling, Garlic, Lemon, Lunch, Mint, Olive Oil, Privet Chef Events, Published by Marta Fowlie, Recipe Development, Resourceful Cooking, Snack, Tomatoes, Vegan, Vegeterian • Tags: art director, creative director, creative food stylist los angeles, food photographer, food photographer los angeles, food photography, food styling, food styling los angeles, food stylist, food stylist los angeles, healthy snack, party dish, party snack, perfect potluck dish, personal chef LA, potluck appetizer, privet chef in LA, published by Marta Fowlie, quick appetizer, quick olive recipe, refreshement, vegan snack

Polish cabbage rolls bring love and sexual potency to your life

December 13, 2014 by Food Polka

So you are an immigrant. Perhaps Polish, like myself. You landed in a foreign country. You fell in love with the place, culture, and people. You decided to stay and settle down. You got a job. You made yourself a cozy home. But something is still missing. You can’t put your finger on it. Perhaps it’s that special someone missing in your life? That person you have always dreamed about, but you haven’t had time for? The person you can […]

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Categories: Balsamic Vinegar, Black Pepper, Cabbage, Cabbage Rolls, Dill, Dinner, Garlic, Green Onions, Ground Beef, Ground lamb, Holidays, Lunch, Marjoram, Pearl Barley, Polish Cuisine, Salt, Sauce • Tags: art director, art prints, Carnival, christmas dinner, christmas dish, creative director, creative food stylist los angeles, date dinner, food art for sale, food photographer, food photographer los angeles, food polka, food styling los angeles, food stylist, food stylist los angeles, gołąbki, jemwiecjestem.com, Karnawał, marta fowlie, marta smolczewska, match.com, new years date dinner, Polish Carnival, Polish chef, polish cuisine is us, polish date dinner, published by Marta Fowlie, sophisticated polish food

Carnitas a’la Food Polka a.k.a slow roasted pork with lots of marjoram

June 5, 2014 by Food Polka

Being Polish means being in love with pork. It feels like a serious offense or a sin in Poland to refuse to eat pork. Seriously, I have never met a person in Poland, other than my vegetarian friends, who wouldn’t eat that meat. So, after I moved to California I had to find some pork! Although it isn’t America’s meat of choice, it wasn’t hard to find because of the “omnipresent” Mexican cuisine. I was quickly introduced to Carnitas and […]

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Categories: Black Pepper, Carnitas, Dinner, Garlic, Herbs, Lunch, Marjoram, Mexican, Polish Cuisine, Pork, Pork Butt Shoulder, Salt, Spices, Vegetables, Wheat Flour • Tags: art director, caraway, Carnitas, Coriander, creative director, creative food stylist los angeles, cumin, dinner meal, dinner meat, fall apart pork, food photographer, food photographer los angeles, food styling los angeles, food stylist, food stylist los angeles, garlicky meat, marjoram, meat, meat for burritos, meat Mexican, Mexican, Mexican cuisine, Mexican food, Mexican meat stuffing, polish cooking, Polish cuisine, Pork, pork butt shoulder, pork Mexican, published by Marta Fowlie, roasted pork, slow roasted pork, taco meat, taco stuffing, tacos

I know. It’s cheesy but I miss Polish farmer’s cheese

May 18, 2014 by Food Polka

Do you want to know the food products from Poland I miss the most? Polish-style farmer’s cheese. During my childhood, this was my favorite food and it was relatively easy to get, unlike most other food products. During the 80s most food items were rationed per person. However, this cheese was never rationed.I would walk into the often bare market and get the whiff of that unique sour smell the cheese produced, especially strong when there was no A/C. I […]