czechmatediary.com

These are my (Michael’s) impressions of Ceska Republika, truly the heart (and possibly the soul) of Europe.

Fields of Yellow (Pole Zlutych) … and not just pale yellow but as my wife exclaimed “botanical sunshine”. We first see these as we land at Ruzyne airport and even the Czech woman sitting next to us does not know what flowers or crop this is. No one knows though we ask and ask. It takes my wife googling some odd set of words later to find out that these are likely fields of rapeseed to be grown as a sort of biofuel source. The site also suggested that this was not without its detractors within the country (perhaps a separate Czechmatediary expose). These fields stayed with us through rain or shine, brightening each day no matter the weather until near the end, the flowers were almost gone from the plants. (more…)

I know how everyone of us poor Czech/Slovak souls living abroad, suffer without real Czech bread and that is why I went on a recipe hunt. And I found one. When I first read it though, I thought I was going to either faint or have an anxiety attack. It looked so complicated!!! “Well, I will at least give it a try, just for the heck of it”, I told myself. And I have to tell you, it was actually a lot of fun! Sure it takes couple of days to prepare the sourdough, but it really takes up like 1 minute per day - very easy and very worth it! When my first loaf came out of that oven I just couldn’t believe the fact that it looked like a real loaf of bread! And when I tasted it I became even more amazed as it not only looked but also tasted like a REAL Czech bread! (more…)

Krupice is great the ultimate comfort food. Are you depressed? Did you just break up with your boyfriend? Did your favorite show on TV just get canceled? Make some Krupice!

Krupice brings a lot of childhood memories to me. They used to serve it to us in the kindergarten/pre-school cafeterias (I think they finally stopped serving it to us at the university). What was also cool about this product that the box you would buy it in had a little “puzzle” on it. (more…)

Did you know that prices of some food items in the Czech Republic went up 20 - 30% since the beginning of the year? That’s outrageous! I thought we had it bad here in the United States with the ever-climbing gas prices. The magazine Radio Praha digs deeper to find the cause of this Czech groceries crises (click here)…

CZ: Vite, ze vetsina ceskych potravnin je od pocatku tohoto roku o 20 - 30% drazsi? Kolik ted vubec stoji Fidorka? 50 kourn, nebo i vic?? Ja tady v Americe placu nad cenami mistniho benzinu, zatimco v Cechach to maji mnohem horsi. Nad duvody teto potravinarske krize se pozastavuje magazin Radia Prahy (kliknete zde).

Source: http://www.radio.cz/en/article/103977

Summer is almost here so let’s get ready for it! Besides Bublanina, Ovocne knedliky (Fruit Dumplings) are definitely the signature Czech (and Slovak) summer dish. Dumplings in general are eaten by a variety of cultures ranging from the Armenians, Chinese and Jamaicans to the Dutch, Irish and of course the Eastern Europeans. They can taste sweet or savory - both equally good choices. The Ovocne knedliky belong to the sweet-tasting dumpling family as they are filled with fruit. One can stuff them with any kind of fruit imaginable; if you want to you use kiwis, go for it (although I am not sure about the taste)! The strawberry dumplings are the best though and that is what am I presenting to you today. (more…)

The “My Czech Republic” website did a poll on people’s favorite Czech meal and here are the results:

1. Beef goulash with dumplings (Hovezí guláš s knedlíkem) - 18% [27 people ]
2. Beef sirloin with dumplings and vegetable cream sauce (Svícková na smetane, knedlík) - 21% [ 32]
3. The winner: Roast pork, dumplings and sauerkraut (”vepro-knedlo-zelo”) - 28% [42 ] (more…)

Bramboracka is the Queen of all the Czech soups. It’s amazing what a little potato can do when mixed with some vegetables and herbs! I tried to look up the history of Bramboracka but with no luck:-(. There are zillions of styles of bramboracka, this recipe seems to be the most authentic one.

BRAMBORACKA

Ingredients:

• 3 large potatoes, diced into cubes
• 6 cups of water
• 1 onion (more…)
  If you liked this post buy me a coffee! (Suggested:$3 a latte $8 for a pound) Thanks!

PERNIK

Pernik (Czech-style gingerbread) has been considered a fancy pastry ever since its beginnings and used to be prepared only for special occasions. Where did pernik come from? No one really knows…some sources point to the ancient Greece and Egypt where it was used as a sacrificial food for various gods. The first pernik was more of a honey-sweetened bread than how it is  known today. In the Czech Republic the word “pernik” was first documented in 1335 in the town of Trutnov. The Mid devil pernik recipe called sometimes for more than 90 different types of spices! The most expensive pernik was made with honey - hence the name - the “white” pernik. In the 18th century the bakers  were making 4 types of pernik:

1. Marcipan
2. Pernik
3. Cerne sisky (black clumps) - used as a sweetener (more…)
   If you liked this post buy me a coffee! (Suggested:$3 a latte $8 for a pound) Thanks!

I love good coffee. I love it so much that I worked (slaved) at Starbucks for 3 years. I love it so much that every time I go back to Prague I am willing to travel miles to taste a good cup. I am now going to tell you about the best coffee shop in Prague (or at least the outskirts) that I have found so far. The atmosphere is great, the service is very friendly and most of all, the cappuccino is out of this world. The place is called the Kavarna u Zlateho koralku (”Coffeehouse by the golden pearl“) and it is located in Jilove u Prahy. True, it is not in the center of the city, it takes about 30 - 45 minutes to get there via public transportation, but it is well worth the travel. The coffee shop itself stands in a former 16th century cellar and before that the same space belonged to a monastery. Now back to the coffee business: if you order a cappuccino the espresso shots are never burnt, they taste creamy and sweet, never overly acidic. The milk is steamed to perfection and the beverage is topped with a wonderfully thick foam. (more…)

A famous British chef and a former soccer champion, Gordon Ramsay, is known by the American audience mostly by his reality show called the Hell’s kitchen. In his homeland, however, Gordon is currently one of the three chefs whose restaurant is rated with 3 Michelin stars. He owns 11 restaurants in the UK as well as 11 restaurants worldwide. And now he is opening one in Prague. (more…)