QUICK HOME MADE SPREAD FOR BREAD

Not too long ago I had to bring to our art opening reception (it was a group show) a spread. I remembered how my mom used to make a spread for our bread from farmer's cheese. I can still taste the warm delicious bread from our famous local bakery with heaps of the spread in my mouth. Actually, I am imagining those long lines to buy the bread. The bakery was so popular that anyone who was driving by from Czech part of the republic to Slovak part never missed an opportunity to stop there and patiently wait in line. All the baked the bread was usually sold in about 4 hours.

After one of us would bring the bread home my mom would pull the farmer's cheese from our fridge along with couple other ingredients and in 10 minutes we were "stuffing our faces", so to speak. I do miss that bakery.

When I came to America I discovered cream cheese. So, I would take my mom's recipe and instead of the farmer's cheese I used cream cheese. And that is what I did for the above mentioned art reception. Several people asked who made the spread and if I could share the recipe. That is why I made THIS video - you can "cook" along. It is a quick preparation..... and yummy. Enjoy your meal/snack. 

HOW TO PEEL YOUR GARLIC

A friend of mine pointed out a great video "How to peel a head of garlic". If you need to use whole cloves of garlic, or even if you need to slice them, this video will teach you how to do it fast. I never tried it, but when I do, I will upload my video to prove to you it is true :-)

Enjoy 2 different videos.

MAKE YOUR OWN YOGURT - Vyrobte Si Svuj Jogurt

Czech-o-Slovaks are very handy people. If they can do something themselves they will do it. Majority of women from this European "corner" know how to hold a hammer and use it (my American husband knows). And NO !!! they do not use it on their husbands. They use it what it is made for.

Czech-o-Slovaks are also quite creative in the kitchen too, and are willing to learn anything. They still follow the tradition of making stuff from scratch, that is if it is good for them and their families or guests. So, I followed our "make from scratch" tradition and decided to learn how to make my own yogurt. You know the homemade one, from scratch. I did a huge research, read many articles, went on discussion forums and found out, that I probably will never eat yogurt made by companies. The thickeners, additives and chemicals they put in them are making some people actually quite sick.

I bought Wallaby Organic Yogurt and made my first batch. Then I made another batch from my leftover of my first batch. But when I tried to do a third batch, my yogurt culture died. I didn't give up. I bought another yogurt (this time Brown Cow), which had more bacteria cultures in it, and made my new batch. And I have been reusing my new yogurt culture from each batch ever since (already at least 7 times). Never had to buy another yogurt, yet. But different people used different brands - like Danon, Stoneyfields etc. When you are buying your yogurt, make sure it has several 4+ live and active cultures of bacteria and that it is PLAIN.


I came across a great page with different brands of yogurts and culture content, but I never saved it into my bookmarks. Unfortunately, I cannot find it. But if I'll ever do, I'll edit this text.

I got so excited (and addicted to my own yogurt) that I had to make a VIDEO for you all. So if you want to watch how I do it, and would like to try making your own yogurt CLICK ON THIS LINK.

And here is a link to an interesting blog about yogurt - many great explanations

Next time I will try to do my own apple sauce. I hear it is quite easy.

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Ctenari, kteri nerozumite anglicky - prosim pouzijte GOOGLE TRANSLATOR (Google Prekladac) - okopirujte text a vlozte jej do okynka na prekladacske strance, zvolte prvni jazyk English a druhy jazyk kterym hovorite (ie Czech, nebo Slovak) a kliknete na TRANSLATE.

SAUTEED CHICKEN WITH KOHLRABI - Dusene Kure S Kedlubnou

My family used to visit my uncle in a small village back in my old country. He used to grow most of his produce and whenever we visited, he gave us many vegetables and fruits. One of them was kohlrabi. He grew two types - one in a light green color and one in a purple color. I really never knew any difference, but as children we used to peel it and eat it raw. It was delicious.

I was happy when I discovered kohlrabi in stores in the US. I would occasionally buy kohlrabi and eat it. My husband never ate it, so I decided to use it to cook dinner for him tonight. I didn't want to push the kohlrabi on him raw, since it was not his custom. I searched the recipes on line and found one Italian recipe, which actually could pass for a Czech recipe too. Both of us would enjoy this food, I thought.

However, I didn't have 3 ingredients at home, so I tweaked the recipe to fit what I had in my "frigidaire".

3 chicken breasts
2 kohlrabis, including leaves

olive oil

few saffron threads

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp ground coriander

5 spring onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves crushed

1 can of diced tomatoes

salt

pepper

1 and 1/2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup parsley
1/2 lemon

Rinse chicken breast and cut into slices. Heat about 2-3 Tbl olive oil in a big pan add chicken, sprinkle it with salt and pepper and brown chicken slices. Peel kohlrabi and cut into small squares. Rinse kohlrabi leaves and cut them  into thin strips (set aside, they will go last with parsley). Remove chicken from pan and add 2 Tbl olive oil, saffron, turmeric and coriander and cook them on low heat for few minutes. Add green onions and garlic. Cook for for 3-4 minutes until soft. Add chicken back to the big pan, add tomatoes and kohlrabi squares. Sprinkle with salt and pepper again. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add chicken stock, bring to boil then reduce heat to a low simmer and cook covered for 10 minutes. Add kohlrabi leaves and chopped parsley. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 more minutes. Squeeze 1/2 the lemon as soon as the Chicken Kohlrabi is cooked. Serve with rice.

It took me less then one hour to cook it - start to finish. And it is a healthy too.

Brown Chicken

Some spices used in my recipe

Cut up kohlrabi, kohlrabi leaves, onion, garlic

cook saffron, turmeric and coriander

add onion and garlic

saute onion and garlic

add chicken, kohlrabi and tomatoes

cook for couple of minutes

add chicken broth

parsley

add parsley and kohlrabi leaves and cook 10 more minutes

ENJOY YOUR HEALTHY MEAL

CRANBERRY SAUCE FROM SCRATCH - Brusinkova Omacka

Over the years our family developed the Thanksgiving dinner menu that became our tradition. We totally love it and we cannot picture changing it. We usually make Pimiento Bisque for soup, then we make our stuffing from scratch (we bake our own corn bread and mix it with various items), we make yams and scalloped potatoes, green beans with almonds, cranberry sauce, my famous (and flaky) apple strudel, pumpkin pie and of course roasted turkey.

Before I moved to United States, I ate cranberries only once. They were wild and I was not too crazy about them. (Although, I loved wild blueberries, which I used to pick when we would go hiking with my family in the forest.) So when I came to America and was introduced to cranberry sauce that came from a can I took liking to it. One day my husband and I were looking through the cook books and found a cranberry sauce recipe, which we tried. It didn't take that much time to make and you get the real deal without any fake additives. We loved it and over the years I "tweeked" it a bit to my liking and so here it goes:

1 bag of fresh cranberries

water

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of red wine

1 TBSP of Rum

2 TBSP of Orange liqueur
butter to your liking 

1. rinse cranberries and pick out any stems or bad berries
2. put cranberries into a medium pot and add water so cranberries are immersed about 1/2 to 3/4 way (it depends how "liquid-y" you would like your sauce)
3. add sugar, stir and bring all ingredients in the pot to boil
4. lower the heat and cook about 15 minutes
5. add red wine and cook another 10 min on low heat
6. finally add rum and liqueur, stir and turn off the heat
7. add about 1/4 to 1/2 of the stick of butter into the sauce and stir until butter melts

I usually make this sauce one day ahead, because my husband likes it cold. I love it so much that I can eat it warm or cold. I make it not only for Thanksgiving dinner, but anytime I see fresh cranberries in the store and I want to roast a pork or chicken.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE!

HALLOWEEN COOKING AND DECORATING- Halloweensk-e Menu

Happy Halloween 2011!

My friend Mia, who is a fashion stylist/etiquette educator/interior decorator from Europe, knows how to celebrate a true American Halloween. First, she gets her AHA! idea, then decorates the house. After that, she finds interestingly looking foods on internet, or creates her own menu for the table. And guests can start coming to the "Boo Party"!

Mia, a very talented lady from Atlanta, GA (not to be confused with Mia Guzman), helps clients in Atlanta with their fashion style, teaches their children (and adults) proper etiquette for any function or occasion, or even helps to decorate their home.

Mia and her family celebrate Halloween in style:

Halloween table decoration

Halloween-sky nazdobeny stul

Drink from lychee (canned) which is filled with blueberries and floating in pomegranate juice
Drink z lychee (iz konzervy) plnene boruvkami v pomegranat-ovem dzusu

Halloween Appetizer - small sausages with pistachio shells drizzled with a specially mixed food coloring

Predkrm z mini parecku a slupek z pistacii

Halloween Main Course - chicken wings in soy sauce colored with food coloring and drizzled with black sesame seeds

Halloweenske Hlavni Jidlo - kureci kridla, v sojove omacce (plus trochu cerne potravinarske barvy) sypane cernym sezamem

And finally Halloween Dessert - "Bones" from meringue. Pipe the mixture into bone shape, bake on very low temperature and then let dry overnight in the oven.

Halloween-sky Dezert - pusinky ve tvaru kosti

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP - Dynova Polevka

This soup is very easy to make, it is very smooth and tastes great!

20 oz. butternut squash, cubed
4 oz. baby carrots
1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 pc. Rapunzel vegan vegetable bouillon
1/2 cup of heavy cream
3 tablespoons of cream cheese
3 tablespoons of sour cream

Put butternut squash and carrots into a pot big enough that it is only fits 1/2 way. Add enough water just to cover the butternut squash and carrots. When water starts boiling, add bouillon and lower the heat. Cover and cook about 20 minutes. When cooked, smooth in blender in several batches. When smooth, put the mixture back to pot, and put to boil again. Add spices, heavy cream, and cream cheese. Keep stirring until cream cheese melts and soup starts boiling again. Add sour cream and keep stirring so the soup doesn't curdle. Cook for 3 more minutes. Serve.

Below: Rapunzel vegan vegetable bouillon

(credit: iHerb.com)

Below: butternut squash 

(credit: http://howtocookbutternutsquash.maiardesign.com)

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600 g dyne nakrajena na kosticky
100 g karotka
1/8 kavove lzicky koreni (mix noveho koreni, skorice, hrebicku a muskatoveho orisku)
3 kosticky bouillonu
1/2 hrnicku smetany
3 lzice smetanoveho syru
3 lzice kysele smetany

Tato polevka je jednoducha na vareni, je velmi jemna a je take velmi chutna.

Dyni a karotku dajte do vetsiho hrnce a nalejte tolik vody, aby vse bylo ponoreno ve vode. Kdyz se voda zacne varit, pridejte bouillon a snizte plaminek na nejnizsi. Varte pod prikrytou poklickou asi 20 minut. Kdyz jsou dyne a karotka uvarene, rozmixujte velmi dobre po castech v mixeru. Dejte zpet do hrnce. A uvedte do varu na mirnem ohni. Pridejte koreni, dobre promichejte. Pak pridejte smetanu a smetanovy syr a opet dobre promichejte aby se smetanovy syr rozpustil. Jakmile se polevka zacne znovu varit, pridejte kyselou smetanu a za neustaleho michani povarte jeste 3 minuty. Kdyz je polevka hotova, muzete servirovat.

HOW TO COOK DOUGHNUTS - Jak Usmazit Koblizky

I was born in Czech Republic and grew up eating either delicious doughnuts or "kolaches" almost every Sunday. It was a great treat. When I came to the United States and ate my first American doughnut, I was quite disappointed. They are good but they do not taste as delicious as the European doughnuts. Any American, who visited Europe will agree with me.
So every time I visit Europe, my first steps lead to the stores that sell the "real doughnuts", some "great Czech kolaches" and "Vetrniky".
The other day friends talked about doughnuts and how to make them, so I googled "how to make doughnuts" and after some heavy research I came across THIS interesting website. A lady named Pam took her time to write the recipe down and take images just to show visitors how to make doughnuts. Reading the text and seeing the images reminded me of the time when my Mom and I were making our doughnuts at home. We made a lot of mess the very first time - we put the filling into the dough before frying, but the doughnuts opened up and preserves came out into the oil. However, they sure were just as delicious as the ones in store.





















Jako dite jsem mivala temer kazdou nedeli koblihy nebo kolace. Kdyz jsem se prestehovala do Ameriky, uz jsem tak dobre koblizky nenasla. Kazdy American, ktery navstivi Ceskou Republiku a vyzkousel ceske koblizky nemuze jinak nez souhlasit.Kdyz jedu na navstevu za rodinou, tak moje prvni kroky vedou do obchodu, abych si koupila prave ceske kolacky (i kdyz ty uz umim velice dobre upect), koblizky a nase povestne vetrniky.
Nedavno jsme se s devcaty bavily o koblizkach a tak jsem sedla a zkusila jsem zagooglit - a nasla jsem TUTO zajimavou webovou stranku (bohuzel je v AJ). Na teto strance pani Pam popisuje postup koblizku a doplnila tento postup skvelou fotografickou dokumentaci. Pri cteni teto stranky se mi vybavilo detstvi, jak jsme s maminkou smazily koblizky a bohuzel se nam vyplavil dzem pri smazeni. No nadelali jsme celkem "neporadek", ale koblizky byly "mnamozni" - jako z obchodu.

WHICH POTATOES TO USE FOR... - Ktere Brambory Pouzit Na.....

English Version (Czech Version below)

Did you ever wonder if it matters which potatoes you should use for your mashed potatoes recipe, for your potato salad or soup? Yes, it matters.

• POTATOES WITH HIGH PERCENTAGE OF STARCH

Russet and purple potatoes are the best for mashed potatoes, for baking and for frying. The high content of starch is very beneficial at this type of cooking. Do not use for potato salad - potatoes will come apart while stirring it with other ingredients.

• POTATOES WITH MEDIUM PERCENTAGE OF STARCH

Round "white", long "white"and yellow are potatoes for any type of cooking. You can use them almost for any type of recipe.

• POTATOES WITH LOW PERCENTAGE OF STARCH

These are so called wax potatoes. They are dense and their shape will not change by cooking. They are best for soups, potato salads and for roasting. Potatoes with low percentage of starch are red and new potatoes.

Credit: the image is linked from http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com website.

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Czech Version


Mivate take dilema, ktere brambory jsou nejlepsi na bramborovou kasi, a ktere na bramborovy salat?
Podle toho co chcete uvarit, tak take podle toho musite vybrat spravny brambor.

• BRAMBORY S VYSOKYM PROCENTEM SKROBU

Russet a Fialove brambory maji lehkou moucnou kvalitu. Jsou nejlepsi na peceni, stouchani, nebo smazeni. Tato moucne-nacechrana kvalita je prave nejlepsi pro vyse uvedene druhy vareni, ale nejhorsi jsou v bramborovem salate, protoze se rozpadaji pri vareni.

• BRAMBORY SE STREDNE VYSOKYM PROCENTEM SKROBU

Kulate bile, dlouhe bile a zlute jsou vsestranne brambory. Mohou se pouzit pro temer vsechny druhy receptu.

• BRAMBORY S NIZKYM PROCENTEM SKROBU

Jsou velmi casto nazyvany voskovymi bramborami, ponevadz jsou hutne a jejich tvar se nemeni. Jou vhodne pro polevky, bramorove salaty a roastovani. Kulate cervene a nove brambory jsou druhy brambor s malym mnozstvim skrobu.

CZECH RISING DUMPLINGS - Ceske Kynute Knedliky

When I moved to America I missed the European flour, because with the American kind I could not bake kolaches or cook dumplings. But one "nice soul" told me about WONDRA. This flour is perfect for making both, kolaches and Czech "knedliky" (dumplings). "Knedliky" are served for example with gulash (beef stew).

Also, from this recipe you can make knedliky with fruits. Czech people eat those as a meal, but Americans consider them a desert. The recipe below is my mother's. Enjoy!

Step-by_Step Directions:

2 a 1/2 - 3 cups flour Wondra
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 tsp sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1 egg


Heat up milk in microwave oven for about 20 seconds. Add sugar and yeast and stir. Let sit for few minutes. In a large bowl (I use this type - it is heavy and easy for me to hold while stirring) mix flour and salt.  Add milk/yeast mixture and the egg and kneed into a medium firm dough. Divide into 3-4 parts and roll out into oval shape dumpling. Let sit in the warm area to rise for about 1/2 hour. Place into boiling water into a big pot and cover with a lid.  Cook covered, and gently for about 20-22 minutes. The tricky part to great dumplings is in "pulling" the dumplings out of water. As soon as you open the lid you must poke all the dumlongs with fork to make holes so the steam escapes from them, then you have to quickly pull them out and as you do that poke them with fork several time more in different places. This way the dumplings will not "shrink". After they cool, cut with knife. My mom used to cut the dumplings with a thread. Serve with a gulash.

Kdyz jsem prijela poprve do Ameriky, mela jsem problem upect kolac nebo uvarit knedliky. Muj anglicky kmarad, velmi dobra duse, mi prozradil, ze mohu pouzit mouku WONDRA, kterou muzete pouzit na oboji - kolace i knedliky. Recept mi dala maminka. Tak hura do toho!

2 a 1/2 - 3 hrnky polohrube mouky WONDRA (v Americe se tato mouka pouziva na zahustovani omacek)
trochu soli
1 hrnek mleka
1 lzicka cukru
1 a pul lzicky sucheho drozdi
1 vajicko

Postup:

Mleko malinko ohrejeme v mikrovlnce (asi 20 vterin), rozpustime v mlece cukr, pridame drozdi a zamichame. V misce zamichame mouku a sul. Jakmile vzejde kvasek nalijeme ho do mouky, pridame vajicko a vypracujeme stredne tuhe testo. Zaprasime moukou a nechame odlezet asi pul hodiny. Varime na mirnem ohni asi 20-22 minut. Nezapomente pri vytahovani sisek rychle hodne propichat vidlickou, at se knedliky nesrazi. Po vychladnuti nakrajet a servirovat s gulaskem. Mnam.

CANADIAN PANCAKES - Kanadske Livance

This batter makes about nine 6 inch pancakes.

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons unsalted melted butter, plus 1/2 teaspoon for griddle

Step-by-Step Directions:

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, mix wet ingredients in another one. Then mix together. Cook on griddle. Drizzle with maple sirup.

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Z tohoto testa vytvorite asi devet 6 inch-ovych livancu

2 hrnky hladke mouky
2 lzicky pr-do-pec
1 lzicka soda bikarbona
1/2 lzicky soli
3 lzice cukru
2 vejce - lehce uslehane
3 hrnky kyseleho mleka (buttermilk)
4 lzice rozpusteneho masla, plus trochu masla na pomazani panve

Postup:

Suche produkty smichame v jedne misce, v druhe misce smichame tekutiny, a pote smichame dohromady. Varime na maslem pomazane panvicce. Polevame Maple sirup-em.

COOK (BOOK) FROM SLOVACKO - Kucharka Ze Slovacka

I found a great website about recipes from Slovacko region. However, it is written in the Slovacko dialect, but my American readers could try to translate it via google translator.

Navstivila jsem webovou stranku "Kucharka ze Slovacka" a velmi ocenuji mnoho hodin stravenych na techto webovych strankach. Recepty doprovazeji fotky jidel. Velmi hezky udelana webova stranka o Slovacke cuisine. Urcite z ni neco doma uvarite. Ja urcite ano.

LINK/ODKAZ to KUCHARKA ZE SLOVACKA

HOW TO PEEL POTATOES THE EASY WAY - Jak Oloupat Brambory Jednoduse

This is a great video about peeling your potatoes that you boiled with the skin on (ie. for potato salad).

Skvele video o tom jak oloupat jednoduse brambory varene ve slupce (napr. na bramborovy salat).

CZECH/SLOVAK HAM (WELSH) SALAD - Cesky/Slovensky Vlassky Salat

In the Czech and Slovak Republics "Vlassky Salat", loosely translated Welsh Salad, is very popular. It is very common to serve to your friends sliced French baguette with "Welsh Salad" as topping and decorated with other condiments, such as sliced egg, cut up pickles and a small piece of grilled red pepper. It is also sold in every deli as "chlebicky" - little bread. I did a search why it is called "Welsh Salad", but so far I realized that this type of salad has nothing to do with Wales or real Welsh salads. In America it is called "Ham Salad", but then again American ham salad has a different taste as I read recipes on the internet. It is made with sweet relish, which I am not very fond of, perhaps because I did not grow up with sweet pickles. Below is the Czech/Slovak recipe for Czech/Slovak Ham Salad. It is really "delicioso", if you do not mind the mayo.

1  1/2  lb ham cut into thin short strips - I prefer Boar's Head Ham
1/2 cup finely cut up baby dills (pickles) - I use Vlasic Kosher Baby Dills
1/2 small onion finely chopped
canned peas - rinsed and well drained
1 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
Mayonnaise (I like Real Hellmann's Mayo) + salt + pepper according to your taste(you do not need much salt, so be careful)


Mix all ingredients together, refrigerate for about 2 hours and serve with French baguette.Yummy!

1 and 1/2  lb. sunka nakrajena na nudlicky - ja kupuju Boar's Head Ham
1/2 hrnku okurek nakrajenych na male kousicky
1/2 mensi cibule na jemno nakrajena
1 hrnek hrasku z konzervy
1 lzice Worcestershire Sauce
sul + pepr + majoneza - podle chuti (soli neni treba mnoho, takze davejte pozor kolik osolite)

Smichejte vsechny potraviny dohromady, dejte do lednicky na 2 hodiny a servirujte s bagetou. Mnam.

POTATO SALAD WITH MAYONNAISE - Bramborovy Salat s Majonezou

Potato  salad is very popular in the Czech and Slovak republics, in Germany and Austria. I think that the most popular way to serve the potato salad is with Wiener Schnitzel, which is a thinly sliced breaded veal and then deep fried. My mom served potato salad at Christmas time with breaded and fried carp.

2 lb. potatoes cooked with skin on, then peeled and diced (I prefer red potatoes for this particular salad - read HERE why)
5 hard boiled eggs - 4 eggs for the salad, 1 egg for decoration
1/2 cup diced pickled dills + couple dills for decoration - I use Vlasic Kosher Baby Dills
1/2 cup sliced hard salami or ham
1/2 small onion - finely chopped
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables (green peas, carrots, corn...etc.) - cooked for about a minute
2 tsp mustard - I like THIS kind
Mayonnaise
Salt
Pepper
optional: 2-3 TBSP juice from Dills if you like your potato salad more sour

Combine all ingredients (salt, pepper and mayo to your taste). Top with a thin layer of mayonnaise and decorate with eggs and dills. Let sit in your refrigerator for few hours until all the flavors mix.

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2 lb brambor, uvarit ve slupce, oloupat a nakrajet na kosticky
5 vajec natvrdo – 4 do salatu, jedno na ozdobu
1/2 mensi cibule najemno
1/2 hrnku nakrajeneho tvrdeho salamu nebo sunky
1 hrnek zmrazene zeleninove smesi (hrasek, mrkev, kukurice atd.) - lehce povarena
1/2 hrnku pokrajenych okurek
sul, pepr, majonezu podle chuti
mate-li radi kyselejsi salat, pridejte 2-3 lzice laku z okurek

Veskere prisady dejte do velke nadoby (misy) a zamichejte. Namazejte povrch tenkou vrstvou majonezy, ozdobte vajickem a okurkou nakrajenou do vejirku a dejte do lednicky odlezet, aby se vsechny chute "spojily".

MY OWN LENTIL SOUP WITH GREEN CHARD - Moje Osobni Cockova Polevka Se Zelenym Chard-em

I had few friends over, and besides having a great time together we were exchanging tips on knitting and crocheting and other stuff. The fire in the fireplace was cracking and made us very cozy. To make the wintry day feel even better I served to my dear friends a lentil soup with greens. I just made up my own recipe as I was making it and everyone loved it so much that I was asked for a recipe.

I made it from the pink lentils, which I tried for the very first time about two years ago and I loved them. I do not buy other kind anymore. These lentils are very tiny and I would say they are more orange than pink. Nutritionally they have high amount of vitamins like - Copper, Folate, Iron, Phosphorus, Vitamin B6, Zinc, Thiamin, Magnesium, Niacin, Riboflavin and Calcium. And that I call a meal full of vitamins, please. You do not even have to take your daily vitamin pill if you eat this healthy.

Anyway, I do not want to bore you with too much information about pink lentils, so let's get cookin' my own lentil soup.

For about 6-8 people

4 TBSP of olive oil
1 small onion - chopped
1 clove of garlic crushed
1 package of green chard (preferably organic) - there were 4 big leaves in my package, which I cut into small pieces
8 oz. water
4 cubes of Rapunzel Vegan Vegetable Bouillon (I love this organic kind - I will not cook with anything else)
one medium carrot - sliced

1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning (in any store)
1/2 tsp salt (bouillon is made with sea salt and some people may like it little more salty)
black pepper to taste
2 cups of pink lentils (I bought them loose at Whole Foods)

Cook onion and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat for couple of minutes (I love my onion to be cooked golden). Add green chard, and cook for couple of minutes. Add water and the cubes of Vegetable Bouillon. When the water strarts boiling add carrot, seasoning, salt and pepper and rinsed lentils. Cook 10 minutes and voila - hearty lentil soup is done. These lentils cook fast and get lighter by cooking. Enjoy.

If you make it - write a comment if you liked it. If you don't then you can take these organic vitamin pills - for men and for women.




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Prisly me navstivit kamaradky, a krom "strykovani" a hackovani, jsme se bavily i o ruznych "dulezitych" vecech. V krbu nam horel ohynek, a nam se sedelo tak pohodlne a tak krasne se nam "tlachalo". Aby moje kamaradky nehladovely, tak jsem jim naservirovala cockovou polevku z ruzove cocky. I kdyz si samy privezly proviant - domacky pecenou babovku. Recept na polevku jsem si vymyslela v hlave, kdyz jsem nakupovala cocku v obchode.

Tato cocka ma hodne vitaminu, jako Copper, Folate, Iron, Phosphorus, Vitamin B6, Zinc, Thiamin, Magnesium, Niacin, Riboflavin and Calcium. Clovek ani nemusi brat vitaminove pilulky jestli se stravuje takto zdrave. Ale abych vas nenudila, pojdme varit.

Pro 6-8 osob budete potrebovat:


4 polevkove lzice olivoveho oleje
1 mala cibule - nakrajena
1 rozdrceny strouzek cesneku

1 "balicek" green chard (ja koupila organicky) - v balicku byly 4 velke listy ktere jsem nakrajela na kousky
8 oz. vody (2 litry)

4 kostky Rapunzel Vegan Vegetable Bouillon (Miluji tento druh a jiny uz nekoupuji)
1 stredni karotka- nakrajena na kolecka

1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning (v jakemkoliv obchode)
1/2 tsp salt (bouillon je vyroben s morskou soli, a nekteri lide maji pocit, ze to neni dostatecne slane)
cerny pepr podle potreby
2 hrnky ruzove (=oranzove) cocky (koupila jsem ji v Whole Foods)

Na olivovem oleji zaprazime cibulku a cesnek. Pridame green chard a chvilinku podusime (asi 2 minuty). Pridame vodu, bouillon, karotku, italske koreni,  sul a pepr. Jakmile se voda zacne varit, pridame cocku a varime jeste 10 minut. tato cocka se nemusi dlouho varit - pozor neprevarit. A navic zmeni barvu - zesvetla. Dobrou chut.

Pokud vyzkousite, rada si prectu jak vam chutnalo. A jestli se vam nechce varit, tak si muzete koupit organicke vitaminy - pro muze nebo pro zeny.

CHEESE DUMPLINGS - Tvarohove Knedliky

8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese
1 egg
1 TBS heavy cream
2 TBS sugar
9 oz flour Wondra 
1/2 tsp salt

Step-by-Step

Mix cream cheese, one egg, sugar and heavy cream in a larger bowl with a mixer, then add to it mixture of Wondra flour and salt. Let sit in your refrigerator for about 1/2 hour. Boil water in a big pot. Roll out about 12 "ping-pong" size balls. Add them all at the same time to the boiling water. Cook 10 minutes.

Pour strawberry sauce (mash strawberries with sugar and quickly cook in the pot - however I like it mashed or pureed with sugar au naturel), top with cottage cheese and sprinkle with little melted butter.

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8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese - v cesku tvaroh
1 vejce
1 polevkova lzice slehacky
2 polevkove lzice cukru
9 oz flour Wondra (v cesku 250 g polohrube mouky)
1/2 lzicky soli

Postup:

Cream cheese (tvaroh), vejce, slehacku a cukr rozmixujeme, pridame mouku a sul a uhneteme. Nechame odpocinout  v lednicce asi 30 minut. Uvalime kulicky velikosti ping-pongoveho micku a varime ve varici vode 10 minut (az knedlicky vyplavou).

Jahodova omacka - rozvarime jahody s troskou cukru, rozmixujeme mixerem a polejeme knedlicky. Na jahodovou omacku dame cottage cheese a rozpustene maslo.

MY MOM'S DUMPLINGS - Maminciny Kynute Knedliky

Na tyto knedliky jsem pouzila americkou mouku WONDRA

1 cele baleni polohrube mouky "Wondra"
trochu soli
3/4 kavovy hrnek mleka
1 lzicka cukru
1 a pul lzicky sucheho drozdi
1 vajicko

POSTUP:
Mleko malinko ohrejeme v mikrovlnce (asi 20 vterin),  v mlece rozpustime cukr, pridame suche drozdi a zamichame. V misce zamichame mouku a sul. Jakmile vzejde kvasek nalijeme ho do mouky, pridame vajicko a vypracujeme testo stredne tuhe. Vytvorime tri sisky. Zaprasime moukou a nechame odlezet asi pul hodiny na teplem miste. Varime na mirnem ohni asi 20 minut. Nezapomente sisky pri vytahovani z vody rychle hodne propichat vidlickou, at se vam knedliky nesrazi.


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entire package of "Wondra" flour
salt
3/4 coffee cup milk
1 tsp sugar
1 a 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 egg

STEP-BY-STEP:
Heat up milk to a lukewarm temperature, add sugar, dry yeast and mix - let stand few minutes. In the bowl mix "Wondra" flour and salt. Add milk mixture, and egg. Kneed the dough. Divide into three pieces and roll it out into an oval shape. Cover with clean cloth and let sit about 1/2 hour. Steam the dumplings in big pot (covered with a lid) for about 20 minutes. When done, poke it few times immediately with fork, so steam can escape from the dumplings and so it doesn't shrivel. Serve with goulash.