Czech Foods Recipes

A lot of the new dishes that are tried out in kitchens are the result of a lack of imagination by the cook. Not a lack of culinary imagination, no, not that. Rather, the inability to imagine a flavour combination that is described in a new recipe. This is the case for me, and some friends as well. When I hear a new recipe, and simply cannot imagine how the various flavors work together, but I know I adore all the dish's components (although, there are few tastes that I don't adore), it must be made. Late one night, watching an Italian cooking show (my preferred method of learning the language) there was a segment on Linguine con ceci e calamaretti. The title seemed reasonable, but then I saw rosemary on the chef's counter. Really? Rosemary and calamari? Hmmmm...intrigue was set. A friend made it for me later that week, and I was amazed. The chickpeas are blended together with lemon juice to create a creamy base in which to coat the linguine, and no cream! And the rosemary d...

  Hazelnuts and green beans adorning the Thanksgiving table is a given. But in summer? Not usually the first thought. There are three excellent reasons why this makes a fantastic summer dish: 1) It's picnic perfect. Stick in the freezer for a few hours and it can withstand an afternoon at the beach. By the time your stomach is ready, it will have reached a perfect temperature. And no creamy dressing or bacon makes it sun-safe and won't frighten your bikini-clad companions. 2) Hazelnuts rock.  Summer is witness to an abundance of almond-focused dishes. Any why not? They are great with fruit, grilled fishes, and so on. Yet health wise, hazelnuts pack in just as much good stuff as their almondy counterparts. While there are many dangers of the summer, what with sharks and UV rays, finding oneself in an almond-rut should also be warned against. The prevention: from time to time, reach for hazelnuts. 3) Less carbs and time to cook than pasta. Self-explanatory. Yes, both produce the...

Once, there was a recipe that looked oh-so-very-tasty. It was a pasta with a fava pesto sauce. Fava beans were beautifully photographed in the half-shell. Scattered across the brown paper bag they were purchased in, the green, slightly fuzzy, pods had been discarded and a steaming plate of pasta was in the forefront. I made it within days. And it sucked. I mean, it was so bitter even copious amounts of cheese (my usual fix-it) left me feeling pretty disappointed. Still, ever curious about the world of favas, I did some asking around. Illumination my friends, pure fava illumination. There is a double shell. Yep. Now, if you want to eat them raw, snack-style, the double shell need not be removed. In fact, one doesn't even notice it. But if you want to cook them, even slightly, the outer jacket of the fava bean has got to go. The way to do this is get a pot of water boiling, and in the meantime, start popping the fava beans out of the pods. Then toss in the pot and boil for 1 minute. ...

Heart Healthy Foods   (from MedHelp ) Whole Grains Oatmeal Beans Fish Olive oil Cinnamon Pistachios Walnuts Flaxseed Tomatoes Avocados Oranges Blueberries Cherries Tea (3-6 cups of black/green) Coffee (2-4 cups) Red Wine (1-2 glasses) One can hate it, or embrace it, but it is near impossible to simply ignore Valentine's day . Living abroad, I find myself having to defend Valentine's day year after year. Not that I want to, or even that I feel as a good American expatriate that I necessarily have to. It just ends up that way. Comments on the holiday from my past Czech students were overwhelming focused on the forced emotional element . We'll see about the reactions tomorrow among my new Italian students. Differences? A large part of the negative image I believe stems from all the usual side effects of an exported holiday. Other cultures see the overpriced junk in the shops, and the nauseatingly clichéd displays of overdone emotion on the sitcoms. They are missing the pers...