My Early Christmas present to myself!

I  enjoyed Beata Zatorska's first book the beautiful Rose petal Jam and have been waiting for the promised sequel Sugared Orange.

 

I was delighted to get my copy from Amazon a few days ago and have been savouring it every time I have a moment spare. Beata's first book was a memoir of her journey one summer to her homeland Poland. She now lives in Australia  working as a doctor and now she and her husband have made  another journey to Poland in the depths of winter.  Both books are full of recipes ,family photographs, poetry and the glorious scenery of her country.

She tells her family story with great love and nostalgia. The new book carries this story further into the cold Polish winter when icicles  hang and the woods are shrouded in snowflakes.

More stories of her beloved Granny, Mother, Aunts, her childhood and the food that marked all their lives.

Some of the images she uses are paintings by Olga Boznanska a polish painter of the 19th century .

Olga's self portrait.

Beata uses this delightful painting of a sleeping child by another Polish painter,

He was also a writer and designer and spent some time in the company of Gauguin.His work reminds me a little of some of Carl Larsson's work.

 Another gentle study by Olga

This unusual  pose is by  Stanislaw.

I love this one.

So you see my self indulgence has brought me to some delightful paintings and a journey in winter to a romantic land of old  lamplit cobbled streets,cafe society and snowy landscapes not to mention the scrumpious recipes and beautiful poetry that leap from the pages of this truly exquisite book.  I can almost hear sound of a plaintive gypsy violin escaping into the frosty air and rising into a black starry night.

I can only hope Beata will visit her homeland again in the spring and autumn!