Czech Foods Recipes

Bananas may not be the summeriest of all fruit, but dipped in chocolate, rolled in crunchy bits, and frozen, they beat any icy treat on a hot summer afternoon. A brief 40 minutes of slicing, melting, and rolling, a bit of freeze time, and a sweet kid-friendly treat awaits. I like it thawed out a bit, so the banana is soft, but others seem to prefer that cool banana center straight from the freezer.    In the past, I've whipped these up even faster by leaving the banana whole, dunking it in the chocolate, a quick roll through nuts, and to the freezy bin. Yet when sharing, the bites are soooo much easier to pass around. A great summer sweet-n-salty treat, and a very tasty way to reap some of those seed benefits: Vitimin E is abundant in sunflower seeds , and pumpkin seeds are little green packets of minerals - and great for men's health . It's no wonder banana bites have been dominating the blogosphere this year! Continue to Recipe... Recipe: Chocolatey Banana Bites Serves 3...

Quinoa, oats, nuts, and dried cranberries in a cookie makes them breakfast appropriate, post-workout ready, and diet friendly. And they are sweet enough that kids like them too! Whatever type of people are in your family, this is a cookie that works for all.   Sneaking protein-rich quinoa into baked treats boarders on genius, in my book anyways. I like a little bit of 'healthy' wherever I can get it. Dark chocolate chunks and plump dried cranberries give them a definite sweetness. Almonds are toasted before used, to intensify their crunch and flavor. They bake up nice and chewy, and make about two dozen very substantially sized cookies. I had two after a long run, which satisfied both a sweet tooth, and a need for a bit of carbs with staying power. They should keep well for a few days, but I doubt they will last that long. Quinoa, what else can we sneak you in? Continue to Recipe... Recipe: Choco-Cran Quinoa Cookies Adapted from Bon Apetit Jan 2012 Serves 2 dozen large cookie...

Who can resist a perfectly crumbly, gently sweet, wholesome breakfast muffin? And when that very same muffin promotes a certain, um, regularity..well, that is the added benefit of including both prunes and oats in the same muffiny package. Prunes get a bad rap in the states. Abroad they don't seem to have attained the same stigma of being just a bowl of something old and wrinkly next to grandma's bedside. Rather they can be a welcome addition to baked goods.  Anywhere raisins are present, chopped prunes can be used for a bit more tangy sweetness and moisture. In these muffins, toasted almonds give a bit of texture. Oats and a mix of white and wheat flour make them ideal for brekkie. Orange zest, cinnamon, and nutmeg give it a bit of zing. And it's all quite healthy with honey and Greek yogurt added into the mix.  Careful when they are warm, their addictiveness hides how filling they are. Perfect for a post-run / workout bite too! Continue to Recipe... Recipe: Dried Plum ...

Looking to liven up sandwich time? In an effort to stretch the mid-week dollar, tuna is ending up back on my plate. This is not at all as depressing as it might sound. In fact, I look forward to tuna sandwiches as a simple and quick lunch that offers me those omegas and other fishy goodies, all in a can with a pop-top. The saving grace, tapenade : a Provençal black olive spread. I simply cannot get enough of this tangy condiment. For years, a new jar would no sooner hit the shelf of my fridge before it was headed for the recycling bin...empty, and thoroughly enjoyed. Here, tapenade livens up whatever best-quality tuna one can procure, married with a bit of capers and mustard, topped with vine-ripened tomatoes and crisp arugula, all stuffed in a fresh slice of focaccia bread. Heaven. For lunch. On a plate. Continue to Recipe... Recipe: Tapenade-Tuna Sandwich Serves 1 - 2 Time 10 mins Adapted from Bon Appétit July 2008 1 large can (or 3 small) tuna 1 Tb red onion , minced 1 Tb capers i...

A nontraditional salsa in a traditional way. Fruit salsa reigns supreme in summer on either chicken or fish. Or even just with chips and blended drinks. Whatever fruit is laying around, mix it up with a bit of jalapenos/chili peppers, lime, red onion, cilantro and/or mint. Add a tomato or some corn if you fear straying too far away from the salsa tradition. Let flavors mesh for a few hours. Devour. In a salsa, anything goes. Yet concerning the temperature of it, I am a bit more of a purist. I prefer the cool freshness of a salsa atop my meat. Others may enjoy it heated with the meat for the final few minutes. Either way, bring on the fruity spiciness that is mid-summer. Continue to Recipe... Recipe: Spicy Plum Salsa Serves 4  Time 20 minutes Eat with Muller-Thurgau 10-15 small plums, sliced and diced, 1 1/2 cups 1/2 small red onion large handful cilantro a few leaves of mint 3 jalapenos, (seeds removed in half) juice of half lime Finely chop everything and mix. Refrigerate at leas...

Some might splash in a little Baileys in their morning coffee. Jokes all around of tapping into ones Irishness. Living as an American abroad, I sometimes find myself tending to downplay such Euro familial connections, and instead, head straight for what America stands for. This morning, that happened to be maple syrup and bourbon.  Yes, banana nut muffins livened up with some mapley-bourbon goodness.  The muffins are fairly straightforward, with only a hint of maple and bourbon. But the glaze that transpired a few hours later, well, that makes them worthy of bringing to work. For the first time, I used a bit of gelatin in a glaze. I think it helped the structure a bit. If you've got the extra ten minutes to wait around for it to 'bloom' in the water, I say give it a go. Otherwise, skip it, and the glaze should be a bit thinner, but still work out if the muffins aren't traveling far. The deep maple-bourbon flavor marriage is grounded with a bit of whole-wheat flour and o...

It's good. It's bad. It's in, and then it's out. Leading up to Valentine's Day, it's always in. Chocolate . Prevents heart disease, lowers blood pressure, minimizes risks to cancer, and maybe even turns us on. Chocolate . Films have been made. Books have immortalized it. Blogs are founded on the stuff. Histories have been charted. Wedding fountains spout gallons of it. Chocolate . Flavenoids. Antioxidants. Caffeine. Dark. Milk. White. Have wars been started over it? Here's hoping a history buff is reading and can attest to that. It snowed in Rome last weekend. And the city shut down. Paralizzato was the word heard for days. I tucked myself away and played with chocolate. Returning from Castroni , which is Rome's premier cloud nine for all foodies, I had a good-quality half kilo bar of 60% chocolate. By the time the snow hit, I was scanning the kitchen for assorted bits to roll up into truffles. Three ways were found: Marsala-Prune-Honey , the sweetest ve...

  Quick bites during this busy time have become my mode du jour . Here is one that kind of rocked my socks off, created from assorted leftover bits. It started with an avocado and green pea spread lightened with lime juice. The kicker is the topper - a pangrattato of toasted pumpkin seeds, Parmesan, and thyme. It adds the perfect savoury crunch atop the rich and creamy spread. Easy, healthy, and tasty. With some fresh fruit or snacking veggies, it's a great light lunch! Continue to Recipe... Avocado Toasts with Pumpkin Seed Pangrattato Serves 2 It's a fusion of two different treats inspired from Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver (Cook with Jamie pg.349). olive oil 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds 1/8 cup breadcrumbs 1 dried chili a pinch dried thyme 1/4 cup grated Parmesan salt / pepper 1 avocado 225g frozen (or tinned) peas (drained and room temp) juice of half lime half a small clove garlic 1/4 tsp salt whole-grain bread 1) In a pan over med-low, heat the olive oil gently and add in t...

Oh this big 'ol basil plant of mine, what more can I do with you? Pesto, caprese, pasta - oh so passé. This summer has seen a number of novel uses of basil pop up in my kitchen. I'm working on a dessert post featuring a basil syrup, but until I manage to finish that, here we have a quick post-work snack. Or brekkie when I've got 15 minutes to spare. Basil. Peaches. Brie Cheese. Tortilla. Delish. What's more, is it's just one more justification for that electric grill machine hanging out on the counter. And for quesadillas you don't even need to coat the grill with oil. Which means if you were strategic enough in your cheese placement and it doesn't ooze out, no cleaning the thing afterwords! And since this month's Monthly Mingle theme is stone fruit, I'll send this post over to Sips and Spoonfuls . Looking forward to checking out all those fruity recipes soon! Continue to Recipe... Recipe: Peach and Brie Quesadillas Adapted from Cooking Light Jun...