Rohlík on the Run: Vodka aisle

Another Rohlík on the Run sighting! This little guy was spotted wandering all the way across the supermarket looking for a tipple. Looks like he never made it back to his breadbasket.

I haven't received any emails or comments of any other spottings, so if anyone comes across this Czech icon out of its element, feel free to snap a pic and give me a holler :)

Dobrou Chut'/ Enjoy!
-- Jo

Friday is for Fish (Tacos, that is)

Growing up in Wisconsin meant that Fridays were for fish. You know, the good 'ol tavern fish fry. It was usually perch or cod, if memory serves, all battered-up and eaten with fries, tartar sauce, and coleslaw. During Lent we ate this in the church cafeteria. But throughout the rest of the year, taverns competed to offer the best in the region. 

Then I moved to Seattle. I fell under the salmon spell for awhile and abandoned all thoughts of our river fishes. One day, I came home to my roommate who announced she had whipped up some fish tacos. What? Fish can be in a taco? My naivety shown through at that moment. Since then, however, I've been a full convert. 

Here is a recipe with the Wisconsin influence: beer-battered fish tacos with a coleslaw-like topping and a tartary sauce. It's my winter fish taco version since the tomatoes I use for a Pico de gallo salsa taste like cardboard right now.

Continue for Recipe...

A Muffin Pan Has Landed

I lied to my mum. It wasn't intentional. And I might clarify by saying it was more of an over-exaggeration really than a lie.

We talk about once a month on skype. Given her eratic nurse-in-a-hospital schedule and my equally unpredictable English-teacher-at-large schedule, add in the time zone difference between Wisconsin and the Czech Republic, and you've got yourself a monthly skype date.

During these long chats I sometimes gripe about the lack of availability of certain americanesque things. (Yes, I know, if I made the trip up to Prague I'd have better luck finding an array of international goods, but I live in Brno - the second city.) Like the time my hubs and I told her there are no crackers here (lot's of sweet biscuits for tea, but no Triscuits or even water crackers.) "Then what do you put your cheese on?!" she cried out in response. The hubs still gets a good chuckle over that one.

When we last talked, I mentioned that there were, like, absolutely no muffin pans to be found in this whole damn country. You see, it's not a lie, per se, but a gross over-exaggeration. They are simply not as prevalent in the shops as in Wisconsin, that's all. She emphatically gasped and said she could mail one right away. Now, the image of my mum spending more on postage than on the pan was enough to correct myself. "Well, I mean, they do exist here, of course, they're just a bit harder to find. And more expensive." There. Postage ripoff diverted.

Since then, I've had my eye out for a muffin pan. I haven't come across any great deals in the last month, so I finally sucked it up and splurged on what I feel to be slightly over-priced one at Marks and Spencer. Well, at least it's got the little silicone handles. But there are seams in the cups (it's not from one sheet of metal) which may prove to be hard to scrub clean post-baking. We'll see.

To break this baby in, I whipped out my much adored Nigella Express book and tried her Pear and Ginger Muffins. I think I may have discovered the perfect breakfast muffin. Not too sweet, but they rock that ginger/pear combo that I can never get enough off. Next time, I might try a subbing half the white flour with a nice whole wheat one for a bit more health. Maybe some ground up flax seeds too.




Muffin recipe in metric can be found here.
Muffin recipe in U.S. units can be found here.


And I'll be sure to reassure my mum that I'm able to find all my kitchen needs in my new homeland. Maybe I'll even get ambitious and try out the water cracker recipe I found recently. I wonder if they would survive the postal route to my folks' house. A little something for her Wisconsin cheese, perhaps?

Dobrou Chut'/ Enjoy!
-- Jo

Recipe: Chocolate Pudding - Italian Style (Budino Di Cioccolato)

Switching to the metric system is a serious pain. Hopping over the pond, as the expression goes, requires conversion tables of all sorts. Clothing sizes, highway speed, temperature (I mean, when someone remarks, 'man, it's gotta be 35 degrees out there!' it takes a newbie awhile to start thinking in Celsius), and of course cooking.

There are tables for weight, volume, and even the concept of a tablespoon can be different! (I believe the Aussies have a got a 20ml tablespoon, compared to the standard 15ml, and according to some cooking sites it may even be more complex than that.)

But once you master the metric, a whole new world opens up. All those cookbooks I paged through but stopped myself from buying as soon as the milliliters and grams appeared under my gaze are now at my disposal. And, Nigella, thank you. Your cookbooks, laden with the now unintimidating metric, have re-inspired me to crank up my teeny-tiny Euro oven and play with food ideas I hadn't even heard of back in the states.



One common desert in her books is pudding. And I do know pudding. Chocolate pudding specifically. So when I stumbled upon the Forever Nigella blogging event this morning 'Seduced by Chocolate' I knew it had to be pudding. Of course, regular pudding has little seduction power, but deep rich Italian pudding Budino Di Cioccolato, well, the seduction just flies out of those words.

I called the hubs, poor guy was working on a Sunday, and put in my post-work grocery stop order: heavy cream, full fat milk, and the best dark chocolate he could find. The sweet reward to follow was implicit. He needed no convincing.

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"7 Nights of Tapas" Recipe: Spinach (Almost) Vegetarian Empanadas

 
I call this my antioxidant empanada bomb. 

It's got everything we hear is good for us, but is encased in a savoury buttery pastry pocket so you don't feel like such a goody-goody. 

We've got here some tomatoes, with all their lycopene, spinach and its lutein for your peepers, and garlic with a gamut of good-for-you stuff. 

There's also tuna with its omegas to keep your heart happy, almonds with some polyphenols, and eggs, which must've done something to earn that incredible edible egg bit.

It does take a bit more effort (actually, more like pre-planning really) than the other tapas presented here, but in my book they are sooo worth it. The dough I tried out worked perfectly. Crispy and flaky, with a slight tang - didn't get soggy a bit, even in the middle under all the filling.

Hopefully you'll find this recipe worth the wait (as yes, I know, the week stretched on and on while waiting for the 7th night of the 7 Nights of Tapas. "Bad, bad blogger!" says the voice in my head.)

To be honest, I normally dread making pastry dough, and I wanted to do it during the daylight hours to optimize photographing them, as I didn't think they'd look too pretty and be able to handle evening conditions.

With this pastry recipe though, I'm all for making them often. It came together really easily, and heated up in the oven later on perfectly. They could totally be a do-ahead party item (in smaller pockets). Partygoers might appreciate more decadent and meaty filling. Then I'd definitely go with a chorizo and roasted red peppers.  

7 Nights of Tapas:

1. Garlic Shrimp
2. Garlic Mushrooms
3. Spiced Roasted Almonds
4. Garbanzo Beans with Chorizo
5. Marinated Black Olives
6. Figgy Manchego and Jamon Toasts
7. Spinach (Almost-Vegetarian) Empanadas

Continue to Recipe...

"7 Nights of Tapas" Recipe: Figgy Manchego Cheese and Jamon Toasts

Sweet and Salty. I never gave it much consideration past the occasional, 'Hmmm, cute granola bar marketing phrase'. I never thought myself, or 'my people' to have a predilection towards this combo. But, seeing that it seems to have not permeated the Czech boarders, I reckon that I, or we, must have such a distinct fondness.

I mean, really: peanut butter (equally at home with chocolate or atop a saltine), breakfast sausage tinged with maple syrup, or kettlecorn? I don't think one can stroll the American supermarket aisles without being bludgeoned with at least one irresistible 'Sweet n Salty' slogan.

It all changed when I met my Czech mate. It was literally a kitchen checkmate. My French toast has been forever referred to as 'French eggs' and taunted for being 'sweet eggs, when everyone knows eggs like salt.' Czech food likes to have salt on their salties, and sweet on their sweets. No mixing please. I can't win here. I'm simply outnumbered.

Being that it's Valentine's day, I'm trying to be extra considerate of my valentine today, by not unwittingly serving up nibbles that'll be politely declined for it's sweet/salty ratio. This includes all my favourite ways to snack on smoked or other meaty leftovers. Turkey and cranberries, chicken and mango chutney, sweet n spicy beef jerky, or dry cured ham with fig preserves. You name it, prosciutto, jamón serrano, or even German black forest ham. Whichever is available, paired with good bread, a fig (or quince) spread, and firm aged cheese makes for a fantastic no-cook spread.

And being Valentine's day, no-cook night nibbles can come in handy.

7 Nights of Tapas:

1. Garlic Shrimp
2. Garlic Mushrooms
3. Spiced Roasted Almonds
4. Garbanzo Beans with Chorizo
5. Marinated Black Olives
6. Figgy Manchego and Jamon Toasts
7. Spinach (Almost/Vegetarian) Empanadas

Continue for Recipe...

"7 Nights of Tapas" Recipe: Marinated Black Olives

I'd like to start with a story. Let's title it "Return to the Dark Side". 

Moving to the Czech Republic can change a girl's eating habits. Sure, I eat items I had only heard about and had erroneously imagined to be something different than they actually are (I'm thinking about dumplings here, which I always believed to be strictly a pouch wrapped around filling, not thick bready slices). Besides this, I've also tried more parts of the pig than I've ever imaged, and my vegetable content has plummeted in the winter.

One thing I hadn't expected was changing my preference towards olives. I grew up preferring the black variety. The big bulbous cheap kind that fits perfectly on the fingertips when I should have been helping during family pizza night. Then, kalamatas stormed into my young adult life. Green olives were always strictly for cocktails, BBQs, and Packer games.

When I moved here my shopping trips tripled in time. I had to re-examine EVERYTHING. It was all different. Different products, brands, prices...and all in this new language. I had to learn what was expensive here. Of course the import aisle with the maple syrup, peanut butter, steel cut oats and tapenades were to be a luxury. But other things surprised me. Beef tenderloin was disproportionately pricey, while pork tenderloin was lower than I remember.

Then we got to the olive aisle. Black olives were four times the price of greens! And this is just the cheap fingertip kind. Kalamatas don't exist outside of some import sections, and I've never even seen any niçoise here.

I switched. I went to the green side. No longer just a garnish, but I began learning how to cook with them. Now, cauliflower and green olive penne is one of my favourite pasta dishes. Once, I even mashed some greens up into a tapenade to eat with carrots and goat cheese. I got used to the higher brininess of the greens, and now I crave it.

Except for this week. This week, I'm consumed with all things Spanish. I'm escaping this wintry week with my very own Seville fantasy. I want hot hot hot exoticism. Green olives have become mundane for me. But black, well, I haven't had black since I don't remember when. So to cater to the fantasy, I've now got a jar plump full of marinated black olives in the fridge. It's Back to the Dark Side.

7 Nights of Tapas:

1. Garlic Shrimp
2. Garlic Mushrooms
3. Spiced Roasted Almonds
4. Garbanzo Beans with Chorizo
5. Marinated Black Olives
6. Figgy Manchego and Jamon Toasts
7. Spinach (Almost/Vegetarian) Empanadas

Continue to Recipe...