We’ve recently gone dairy-free, again. I keep trying dairy in the hopes that it will magically be alright, but most of us have various indications that we’re better off without. I have nothing against (pastured raw/cultured) dairy, in fact, it’s my favourite food group. I’d rather give up gluten than dairy. It’s such an easy real food, ready to eat yogurt or cheese for a quick snack. Click to continue reading
Borscht is a soup or stew containing beets (beetroot), which turn the soup its characteristic maroon colour. Each region seems to have it’s own particular way of preparing it. My sister in law’s mother in Belarus first boils her beets separately and then grates them into the soup just before serving to maintain a richer colour (sounds lovely, too much work). At a wedding in Poland, the borscht was a broth (yum, but not very filling). My own mother would only make borscht with lamb (not sure the last time I saw lamb meat) and my mother in law thickened hers with flour (what? no!). Even though borscht is a Slavic dish, I can’t say it’s common in western Slovakia. Click to continue reading
Despite the abundance of walnut trees in Slovakia, both feral and domestic, walnuts are still a precious commodity. Cracking the shells by hand is tedious and difficult work. Once I cleaned a couple kgs of walnuts to sell; by the end the tips of my fingers were reduced to shreds. At least, that’s what it felt like.
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Sometimes I come up with an idea that I think is genius, like putting molasses in a smoothie. Then I google pumpkin gingerbread smoothie, to see if anybody is as brilliant as I am. A lot of people are, it turns out. Even if I’m not so special after all, my recipe is not quite the same as any I found. This is simpler: fewer ingredients mean less work, in my opinion.