Czech Foods Recipes

One of my favorite fruits harvested in the summer is raspberries and blackberries. A good hearty outcropping of these fruits during July makes for great time out snacks when tending to the garden or yard. Those berries that remain uneaten at the source are eventually picked and find their way to the freezer for later use. Aside from being used as a pastry filler and coffee cake ingredient, I like to occasionally prepare a blackberry sauce as an accompaniment to palacinka (crepes), pancakes, cheesecake topper, or simply drizzle over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Frozen berries work just as well as fresh when it comes to making a sauce, and some cooks will give the sauce a slight kick with the hint of Chambord or private label berry liqueur. I usually leave those additions out as I am preparing desserts that include my children. The recipe is so easy to follow and will keep for a day or two so there is no need to prepare too much. Left over sauce can be used as syrup for pancakes or a ba...

Every so often I get some really awful coffee and tea stains on the coffee cups. Cleaning the cups via the dishwasher or even good old fashioned elbow grease via manual washing usually do not succeed in removing these unsightly stains. Well I have a few tips or tricks that are pretty effective at removing coffee stains from cups and some of these are green methods. I use these tricks not only with the coffee cups, but also with the coffee pot and ice tea maker that build up stains over time. I try to stick to the more “green” methods of cleaning by use of safe household products; but every once in a while resort to more extreme measures using tougher cleaning compounds. Baking Soda Surprise, surprise. You knew when I said “Green” you would see baking soda somewhere on this list. Take your assembly line of dirty cups and fill each cup with a dose of baking soda and hot water for four to six hours and then give it a good scrub. Vinegar Ah yes. Can’t mention baking soda without vinegar ca...

I just wanted to make a quick post to announce that I have created a consumer blog called the Fork in the Road. This blog was set up as a result of my “brand x” purchasing behavior influenced by the outrageously inflated food prices that have hit our household budgets hard. While I still consider certain brand labels as my primary choice for purchasing, I have substituted several items on my grocery list that provide just as good if not better results than the brand name alternative. My trial and error experiments with purchasing generic or store brand foods from Target, Meijer, Jewel, and ALDI influenced me to set up a blog to journalize the results. Feel free to stop by my new blog at http://www.brandxfoodreviews.blogspot.com/ With respect to this site, I plan on moving forward with my Czech recipe blog business as usual with some upcoming fun fall family recipes and cooking tips to share. Once we get a cool snap, I will be getting back into the kitchen to make several batches of my ...

One of the best ways my grandparents would use up their summer excess of cucumbers pulled from the garden was the creation of peeling, slicing and adding to a generous portion of sour cream. There is no extreme culinary work at play here, other than a cool summer dish that goes extremely well with a pork roast (veprova) or as an accompaniment to grilled polish sausages or bratwurst. The sour cream sauce tastes amazingly flavorful especially when it comes into contact with a neighboring svickova gravy or a pork gravy. I prepared some garden fresh cucs tonight to go with some nice hearty cheddar brats that were on sale at the market this weekend. For the past few days, my grill endured a decent workout as I prepared two racks of ribs on Saturday with sausages cooked off this evening. I may have to take several runs this week to work off this excess eating (and drinking). Anyway I am pleased to share this family recipe with you all and highly recommend this with several Czech meat dishes ...

A happy Friday to all. The weather is still steamy hot in Chicago with a change of cooler temperatures anticipated for the rest of the Labor Day weekend. I am gearing up for three days of outdoor flames which include use of my grill and the fire pit. I am looking forward to preparing a meal of barbecue ribs, chicken and if all goes well……setting the fire pit ablaze and making a batch of s’mores with the kids. S’more time is quality family time and allows everyone a role in preparing his or her own dessert courtesy of a good fire. Making s’mores together will create long lasting memories for all that participate in the fun. The s’more process is simple enough as the heated marshmallow is placed between two graham crackers and the small block of Hershey bar. S’more ingredients are typically those three items, though there are times when those items are scarce or the campfire group wants to change things up for something different. Here are several alterations to consider when deciding to...