Czech Food

Fifteen years ago, when I first put a Czech fork to my lips, I gained 15 pounds in the one month we were here - the combination of my love of Czech food and Czech grannies' love of cooking.  Well, we are not staying with any grannies this time around so we are not consuming 2000 calories meals on a daily basis, but we have eaten almost all of the classic Czech dishes.  Here is a summary...

Pork (vepřove), cabbage (zeli), dumplings (knedliky)
This is the Czech national dish.  The pork is roasted.  The cabbage (white or red) is cooked with bacon grease and vinegar (like you would get rot kohl at a German restaurant).  The dumplings are shaped as logs that get sliced up.  Kristine always packs a little of all three unto each forkful. We have not had this dish yet on this trip.  The young families we hang with don't eat such heavy food so much.  Also, we have only eaten out a very few times and the places did not have this (which shocked us).  I make the cabbage, but have only heated up pre-made dumplings (which are not bad).  We have had those as sides with other things, I have yet to try making pork roast here. 

Svičkova
This is Kristine's favorite dish.  It is a beef roast that first marinates in vinegar (similar to German sauerbraten) and vegetables.  The vegetables and roasting juices get made into a sauce with heavy cream.  It is eaten with knedliky.  The kids have had this already, but not Kristine nor me - until today.  I am making it with homemade dumplings.  Unfortunately for my pride, our friend Jana made svičkova today and brought some over at lunch time.  So, Kristine will go from hers to mine just five hours apart. 

Rižek
Known as milanesa in Argentina and wienerschnitzel in Austria this is meat dipped in breadcrumbs and fried.  I always make mine with chicken.  It's quick and tasty.  It also travels well (they sell milanesa - made with beef - sandwiches at bus stations in Argentina).



Duck
Expensive in the US this bird is very reasonably priced here.  And you can't go wrong roasting something with that much fat.  I'll have to try to convince Kristine's dad to keep a bunch of ducks so we can roast one now and again.

Rabbit
Had it before, but not yet on this trip.  It's in the meat section of most stores.  Some people still have the hutch out back where they raise them for food.  In fact, a fellow at the farmers' market sells young rabbits.  I almost bought one as a pet for Silas.

Carp
This noble fish is farmed in big ponds all over the place.  The kids have had it in school, but I have not yet (here).  The tradition is to eat carp and potato salad on Christmas.  I'll let you know how it turns out.
 
Klobasa
This is the generic term for sausage.  This is common fair, especially at any festivals.  Lots of varieties.  Good, as long as it is not cold.

Mushrooms
We talked about this one before.  Best fried up in butter and mixed with cream for a sauce over knedliky.  It looks like the season is over as I did not see the mushroom man at the farmers market.

Fruit dumplings
Imagine a steaming pile of boiled dumplings with juicy seasonal fruit (strawberry, blueberry, apriocot or plum) inside, topped with powdered sugar, ground up poppy seeds, hard grated cottage-flavored cheese, and drizzled in melted butter.  The best part - this is not dessert - it's dinner.  We make these successfully back at home with strawberries or blueberries in a yeast dough.  Last week we finally made our own plum dumplings in a potato dough.  We got some tips from friends on how to improve them, so, next fall, you are all invited for plum dumplings at our place.

Fresh Veggies
While Czech men do not normally eat vegetables willingly, it is common to slice up red peppers (inexpensive here) or cucumber or other seasonal veggies to take along on trips to the country and snack on them. 

Beer
We've talked about this before also, but a post on food would be incomplete without it.  We have developed a taste for the Bernards Non-alcoholic Plum Beer.  Most men here say it tastes like juice and not beer, but we like it.  It is also seasonal and we will not be able to get anymore in a month or so.

Bread
One of the delightful aspects of life here is fresh bread.  We get it fresh most days.  Nice, brown crusty loaves that would be labeled "artisan" in the US.  Or little rolls in white or whole wheat.  Many mornings I eat just bread and butter for breakfast.

Well, the svičkova got cooked.  It was okay.  The beef got a little dry.  The sauce could have used a little more lemon.  The dumplings were ugly as sin and a little slimy, but they had a fine flavor.  I'll keep working on it and hopefully get it figured out before we leave.

Peter 

Me got bout for something

I forgot to mention my favorite Silasism of them all...

"got bout for..." = forgot about

I chuckle every time he says that.

If you have not seen the other Silas phrases and video, be sure to check out yesterday's post. Here's a photo from a trip Silas and I took to Rudolfov today. We got off the bus, bought bread, found out the mining museum is closed, ate our bread on a bench, froze, and caught the next bus back.

From Silas

Silas

From Silas

Our little Silas (aka Chico or Silašku) turned three on Sunday.  Since folks back home are not getting to see him at this most entertaining of all ages, here are a few Silas stories to fill the gap.

Remember how Silas would immediately engage other kids in play, especially wrestling older boys in the halls at church?  Well, language is no barrier.  He wrestles the kids at church and those that come here for English lessons.  In Tabor he would attack anyone carrying a wooden sword like his (some engaged him and some quickly made an escape).   He's pretty good about following the prime directive - never attack an unarmed person.

Silas has learned several Czech words (e.g. mič = ball, houby = mushrooms, dobry večer = good evening, dobro noc = good night).  I am not sure if he understands that most people do not speak English as he just keeps on talking to them telling him about his day.  Even those that speak English very well are unable to understand him with his toddler grammar and energetic use of accenting words.

When we first got here Lucy taught him to sing, "I'm a barbie grill, in a barbie world.  So fantastic, me made from plastic.  You can brush mine hair, dress me anywhere.  Come on barbie, let's go barbie. Ah ah ah ah ah." 

Other phrases...
"Ooh dat gross" though he uses this even when things aren't necessarily gross
"tummy cake" tummy ache
"mine cute bum" or "mine butts" when referring to his posterior
"why mom?" he says this ALL THE TIME
"mnam mnam puppy" this comes from a commercial for Bobik yogurt treat with a catchy video
"our guy" referring to the individual or team for whom we are cheering at the moment
"not {insert verb here}" e.g. "not me gonna do it" or "not eat mine chocolate"

Silas has a good imagination and maintains several characters that occupy our home.  He is often Robin Hood and me Little John (even when we are fighting each other).  Also, Swiper the Fox (from Dora the Explorer) is a frequent antagonist, but occasional friend.  He also like to take on the role of Fireman Sam and puts out fires everywhere.

Silas likes to fight with Lucy (or is the other way around).  He climbs on Caleb (who gets irritated when it is during World of Warcraft time).  He climbs on Kristine (who gets irritated when it is yoga time).  He likes to feed us our treats and save us from eating "bad parts" by consuming them himself.  Below is a video of him helping make strawberry dumplings...

From Silas

Finally, his birthday.  There is a bakery shop on the main square that has a display cabinet out on the sidewalk.  Over a month ago he saw a cake and declared he wanted it for his birthday.  We agreed.  So every time we went by he wanted to see his birthday cake.  Last week we ordered it.  And, at long last, we had some friends over Monday night to help him enjoy it...

From Silas

He drains our energy and keeps us young. We're glad to have him.

Another Weather Imposed Quiet Weekend

Another quiet weekend.  We had planned to stay at a little cabin in the Šumava with our friend Madla, but, due to heavy snow, the train could not go through to the nearest little town.  We would have had to carry all our gear and Silas several kilometers through a foot of snow. So, we stayed home to enjoy our sixth straight day of gray skies and rain.

At the farmers market yesterday one vendor was selling gigantic yellow mums.  I bought as many as I could carry because they look like the sun.

The older kids and I went to a climbing gym with Aleš and his kids.  That was great fun.  Lucy forced herself to be brave and climbed all the way to the ~25 foot high ceiling.  Caleb climbed all over.  The biggest excitement for me was falling.  Caleb was belaying me and when I suddenly fell trying to execute a move, he was yanked off his feet and slammed into the wall before his weight and friction stopped me.  People came running around corners to see so it must have been a pretty big crash when he hit.  Then, adding insult to injury, when we stopped for ice cream afterwards, our inability to communicate effectively ended up with him getting a single scoop of ice cream while everyone else had two scoops.  Poor kid.

From 2009-10

Today, we saw the sun and I was about to report that there was no rain, but the clouds just broke.  They are saying this is the coldest October in 30 years - we must have brought a little Minnesota with us.

Along with the change in weather came another change in my feelings.  Our first two weeks were all about asking why we did this and frankly missing the routine and rigors of my job.  Then I got a bike, got in shape, and felt like I was in paradise, prompting me to brainstorm on how to extend my joblessness perpetually.  Now, cold, wet, and unable to run due to a pulled muscle, I have returned to reality.  Though I'll bet that a nice Grandma Summer (their term for Indian Summer) will have me once again with my head in the proverbial clouds. 

Finally, if you are wondering about Silas' birthday, yep, it's today.  But, because we were going to be gone, we planned to celebrate on Monday.  We ordered a special cake for him that won't be ready until tomorrow, so we'll hold the course there and we'll have a special Silas Edition tomorrow.

Brrrrrr

Just as I was reveling in NOT being in Minnesota for the early autumn snow, it turned chilly here too.  As a matter of fact, it turned cold at 2:51 p.m. Monday afternoon - about 21 minutes into a two hour biking quest for plums to make dumplings.  The chill has continued accompanied by rain on Monday, sleet on Tuesday, and snow on Wednesday.  Here are a couple of little stories of the cold.

Undaunted by our lack of success Saturday, Caleb and I went south to where there were confirmed sightings of plum trees along the roads.  The plum dumpling made with a potato dough is a classic late summer peasant food.  During the trip we were hit by high winds and waves of light rain.  But when we finally made it the 14 km (8.6 miles) to Opalice, we found that the only remaining plums were high in the trees  Just then, it started pouring.  Hands stiff from the cold, muscles chilled, we limped home with a single plum.

Tuesday, Lucy and I were walking about running some errands when we got caught in a sleet downpour.  We were lucky.  We would have been soaked had it been rain, as it is we just got very wet.  We ended the trip by purchasing the last nice looking fresh strawberries we could find and had strawberry dumplings instead of plum.

Wednesday, Kristine and I were both truly penitent that we had gloated about avoiding the Minnesota weather as the temperature hovered around 0 degrees Celsius (32 F) and snow was falling.

We're gearing up now for a trip to the Šumava - a low mountain (big hill) range along the border with Germany and Austria - this weekend.  We will be staying at a cottage with our old friend Madla, her mom Maruška, sister Lucinka, and two nephews.  It will be cold.

Peter

Quiet Weekend

We had a quiet weekend for the first time this week.  A good soaking Saturday morning led us to alter our plans.  We had intended to go to what may arguably be the most beautiful city in the Czech Republic, Česky Krumlov.  However, since Silas is outlawed from going on any castle tours, he and a keeper would have to spend the whole time outside.  Since everything was wet and there was a chance of more rain, we decided to stay local.

Our fun started Friday night when Lucy went to a Primary ice cream party and spent the night with a family from church.  They watched an American movie in Czech with English subtitles. It was Alvin and the Chipmunks.  Meanwhile, back at home, the rest of us watched a Czech movie in Czech with Czech subtitles and Kristine giving a running commentary.  We were quite a sight - Kristine, Silas, Peter all snuggled up on the couch watching delightedly and Caleb on the far end of the couch, his head propped up by his hand with a look of utter boredom.


Anyway, on Saturday we took the #19 bus to the end of the line, walked past a most creeping looking old apartment building (there were no flowers in any window boxes or plants on any decks), and entered the woods.  Our goal was a complex of small lakes that had been excavated from marshland starting in the 15th century for carp production. The shallow lakes, some of which had numerous small islands, are host to an amazing quantity of waterfowl.  The dikes between the lakes are lined with old oak trees, forming a canopy.

Small aside...These are the sorts of roads that really appeal to me.  When I was little we had a print hanging in our living room that showed a country road with trees lining it.  I used to sit and imagine where it led.  Now, when I am on roads like this, I find myself in a most remarkable spot where I am simultaneously reminiscing, enjoying the present scene, and imaging future possibilities.  These roads are magic for me.

We had a small lunch (I left the chocolate bar at home so I was fired from packing the food again) and headed back.  Silas fell asleep on the stroll and napped on the bus ride back home.

Because Silas had an early, short nap he was ready to go do stuff in the afternoon so Caleb, Silas, and I went on a little bike ride.  The plan was to go a little west of town and hope to find some plum trees along the side of the road so we could make plum dumplings.  Three and half hours later we returned.  No plums, but we had a small bag of pears (there are fruit trees planted along the side of the road that you can just pick from) and had seen a lot of the countryside, including the town of Lipi three times.  At one point, biking on a narrow lane, through trees, along a fishpond, I asked Caleb if he could understand why I would like to never have a job again and just stay here.  He said, "Yeah, I understand.  I hope you understand why I want to go back and be with my friends!"

We finished the evening with another movie and a pear crumble. 

Today for church we watched the videos of the semiannual General Conference that took place last week and then had the missionaries over for Mexican food.

All in all it was a weekend much like we would have had in Minnesota, but no sign of snow here.

Peter

Getting Lost

Šikovny - is a Czech adjective used to state that somebody is able or talented.  Well, I can't speak Czech.  And I can't get a job.  I can't even carry a tune.  But, there is one thing I can do very well - get lost. 

Tuesday is the day reserved for me to take advantage of living in cycling paradise.  So, I asked Kristine to give me a destination.  She picked Zlata Koruna, the site of an old monastery.  I put on my bike shorts, filled a water bottle and loaded my fanny pack with a set of tools, a tire patch kit, a pump, 25 Czech Crowns ($1.50), and a cell phone.  There was no space for a map, but all I needed to do was follow Trail #12 all the way there.  Easy.

The distance to Zlata Koruna on the map was about 17.5 km (10.5 miles).  Having read some of Benoit Mandelbrot's paper How Long is the Coast of Britain, I knew that in real life the distance would be greater because all the twists and turns are not captured at the scale of the map.  It also looked like it would be mostly road, but some dirt trails.  The map did not have contours, but I could expect some hills.  Leaving at 10:00 a.m., I was planning to be home at noon for lunch.

Within a few minutes I was on Trail #12 riding south along the Vltava River.  It was a beautiful day.  It had rained during the night, but the clouds were slowly giving way to sunshine.  The temperature was perfect for shorts and tee shirt if out in the sun and working vigorously.

I rode to Boršov nad Vltava.  We were here on Saturday so I knew right where to go.  On the south end of town, I followed the sign for Trail #12 onto a road I had never been on.  Three hundred meters later, on a steep incline, there was a fork in the road and no sign.  Having no better means of selecting a route, I went with the LDS Primary song Choose the Right.

At the top of the hill there were some small, dirt crossroads, but no sign indicating which way for Trail #12.  I figured I'd probably gone the wrong way and could bike back down and get on the correct road in no time at all.  But then my genetics kicked in.

Among the traits I inherited from my mother, one of the most pronounced is this inclination to just keep going forward.  It's tough to describe, but obvious to family members.  It involves a willingness to fly by the seat of one's pants and a disdain for backtracking, with an utter confidence that things will work out.

So, while I could have gone back on that road, I knew the general direction I needed to go and was pointed that way, so I rode on.

Okay, here is where I admit that at this point I had yet to arrive at even a single intended destination on my solo bike rides outside of town.  Yeah, I can make it to the town square to buy tomatoes at the farmers market.  And with Lucy we even went on an 18 km ride one day and didn't get lost.  But whenever it has been just me, somewhere along the way the bike route signs are absent from a critical intersection and I keep going until I figure it's time to get back.  I still try to avoid backtracking on my returns from these trips, however.

In the course of the morning I made two more wrong turns.  The most stunning of which resulted in me climbing a steep bluff pulling myself along from tree to tree dragging my bike behind me. 


Fortunately, Kristine called and was able to find my location on a map and give me some good advice.  Although it was getting late, she encouraged me to ride on and make an adventure of it.  I was glad to. 

Finally, I got back on Trail #12 and took a nice paved trail at high speed down a breathtakingly beautiful ravine that spilled out on the Vltava River floodplain and revealed the glory of Zlata Koruna.  I took a triumphant lap through the charming little village and set back out, determined to stay on Trail #12 for the return trip.

I tell you, they don't put trail marker signs at critical intersections.  Eventually I made it back.

Peter