Rehovot

Seems like it could be the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park?

Right--fresh lemonade, ice, and a big handful of mint, whizzed together. Whenever I had it, it had the consistency of a Slurpee.

If there's room to freeze things, maybe granitas would work? Affogato... A scoop of ice cream and a shot of espresso (or coffee). Lemonade (U.S. style) blended with crushed ice and mint (aka "limonana," in the Middle East). Any pulpy fruit juice or fruit-juice concentrate blended with ice and soda water or a fizzy drink... And something with cucumber would be refreshing.

I thought the March Foodblog from smallworld (Amy) was pretty amazing--especially the home cooking! ETA: (Sorry, I just saw that nakji mentioned it.)

Cold buckwheat salad with rhubarb and pecans. (And golden raisins.) Eggplant-wrapped potatoes and goat cheese. (And pecans!) Griddled rhubarb with goat cheese. (Can you mix rhubarb and fennel/fennel seeds? I know they're not on your list, but I'm free associating, anyway. ) Smoked eggplant. Smoked goat cheese studded with rhubarb and pecans. Can you smoke buckwheat? That was fun.

There are also some great ideas in this thread: "Easting on the cheap!" As others have mentioned, one crucial tip is to move away from building meals around meat. You can work wonders with fresh/roasted/grilled vegetables + beans (sauteed, marinated for salad, whizzed into a dip) + rice/pasta/bread/bruschetta.... Lots of little dishes to choose from also do a good job of tricking your mind into thinking that there's more bounty than there really is. This way, without spending a fortune on meat, there's usually money in the budget left over to spread around outside the main dishes--some starters (even if it's just crudites and dip), wine for the week, and some kind of dessert (even nuts, chocolate, and dried fruit); that way, you still feel like you're eating well.

Thanks for all the good wishes. Given the preponderance of cake in this blog, I feel obliged to note that we ate a hyper-healthy dinner, tonight: white-bean dip, tomatoes, and green-pepper strips to start, and leftover Chicken Paprikash, wild rice, and steamed spinach, for the main dishes. (The strawberry dumplings are for later.)

Thanks, Sandy... I'm not sure what the equivalent saying is, but I'm sure it sounds almost identical to that; Polish and Czech are very close. At a dinner with Polish clients, I was shocked to be able to understand some of what they were saying... But then we were talking about food, so maybe that explains it. Glad you liked it... Funnily enough, I managed to buy things in our local Russian supermarket--when we lived in Israel--by speaking Czech. (And pointing.)

I forgot: one startling food-related moment of my afternoon came when I was walking down Na Prikope street on my way home from the cafe and I saw a well-known Czech chef, one of the guys who does the "Kluci v akci"("Boys in Action") cooking show--(I learned Czech and culinary Czech during the first few weeks we were here by watching that show). I'm not sure how I would describe their show except to say that it's like Jamie Oliver's early shows--very casual and well paced, with a complete meal (appetizers, salad, main dish, dessert) that's devoured by friends at the end. What I love most about the show is that they have a great balance of international dishes along with more traditional Czech foods updated to focus on high-quality ingredients and regional specialties. They also run a (hobbyist) cooking school in town, and if I were more fluent, I'd sign up for a class.

Yes, as you know, I make anyone who comes to visit bring Ziploc bags. Or Cadbury eggs. Ziploc is one of those things like peanut butter: if you didn't grow up with it, you might not get it... (And if you did, and then move away, you're obsessed with it. Ask me about tortilla chips.)

I worked for a while at Cafe Slavia, this afternoon--until I realized that I was getting powdered sugar all over my work... A REALLY blurry photo, from the entryway of Kavarna Slavia... Their case of cakes, strategically placed about two inches from the front door. Very persuasive. I've seen grown men turn into little boys, at this very spot. There's usually a big pile-up in the doorway while everyone deals with their cake issues on the way in or on the way out... But look how good they are--fruit-filled, cream-filled, chocolate...etc. etc. More cakes--numbered. If, after you get to your table, you don't remember the number of the cake you saw and fell in love with, you'll be walking back to the cake case, again. It's rather embarrassing, since you have to walk all the way back to the front of the cafe, past the table with seventeen supermodels and their one piece of apple strudel... I tend not to order stuff that requires me to exercise while still in the restaurant. So I ordered babovka (Czech cake with grated chocolate and, often, nuts). (The numbers on the cakes remind me of birthday candles...and who can resist a cake with candles? Very clever marketing... Actually, their cakes are usually very good. No marketing necessary.) Deconstructed desserts are not really trendy, here, yet... I just started eating it, before remembering to take a photo. I forgot that it's not one normal slice of babovka but three slices with a mound of whipped cream. In a burst of all-out decadence, I ordered Cappuccino Libuse, named for Libuse, the "patron saint" of the city of Prague. (She envisioned the city before it existed, according to Cezch mythology.) Cappuccino Libuse is flavored with cardamom and cinnamon. Incidentally, here's Slavia's spring menu... (Scroll down for the English version.) The rabbit is really appealing! This lady was lost in thought, looking out at the castle. Later, a grandmother and her teenage granddaughter occupied this table and talked quietly over strudel. Sunday-night dinners are usually haphazard affairs, at our house... Usually, we've eaten a big Sunday lunch (done) and are out if the weather is nice (which it is, this evening). If anything exciting develops concerning dinner, I'll let you know. Meanwhile, it's been fun. Thanks for reading.

Obligatory fridge shots... The stuff in the red tube (in the top left side of the photo) is called "Cervene Zlato", or "Red Gold." It's Hungarian. And it's super-fiery-hot red-pepper paste. ("Stingingly hot!", the label reads, or something to that effect.) I haven't quite figured out how to use it, except to put it sparingly on quesadillas and (in a small amount) in lentil salad. There's also goat cheese, chili sauce, and Tyrolean apple cider in there. And that's where the Vermouth lives, too. This was taken earlier this week, and I'm not exactly sure what all is in there... A bottle of champagne, jam, cheese, unidentified bags of things... Lookin' a little bare. I should've taken it today, when it's filled to the brim. The thing I love most about our fridge is its built in wine rack. The thing I hate is that it makes piercing whiny noises in the middle of the night, sometimes. The freezer is on the bottom and consists of two drawers that pull out... That's where colonies of leftovers, nuts, frozen homemade stock ice cubes, and coffee live.

Breakfast was poached eggs, toast, and tomatoes with goat cheese. After breakfast, I ran to the store to get more sauerkraut, as the one I picked up yesterday leaked all over my bag... On the way back, I noticed these flyers, near our mailbox. They're for the frozen-foods man, whom I mistakenly assumed was the ice-cream man when I first heard the truck broadcasting ice-cream-man music...until I saw him hand over a bag of green beans to someone. Twice a week or so, the "Family Frost" truck slowly roves around our apartment building and then parks for a few minutes to take orders and dispense frozen goods (including ice cream). I'm not sure if this is a European thing, or a suburbs thing, or a Prague thing...but I've never seen a Family Frost truck near where we used to live, about ten minutes' walk from downtown. If you're a working mom or dad, though, and you don't have a car, and you don't feel like paying the higher prices at the local small shop across the square, then I'd imagine that this is a good deal. I also picked up these chocolates to take to work, tomorrow, but didn't realize until I got home that they're called "Sweet Passion." Maybe I should just make some cookies, instead. I started pounding pork cutlets for Vienerschnitzel, after I got back from the store. Perhaps it's time to buy a meat mallet, instead of whacking at things with the risotto jar. Schnitzel set-up... When Mr. R's father arrived, I lost the camera among the bags of goodies, so there are no final schnitzel photos. For lunch, though, we had breaded and fried pork cutlets with lemon slices on top and sauerkraut on the side. (And by "sour," I mean "SOUR"; there are at least two kinds of sauerkraut in a jar, here: plain, pickled white cabbage (with caraway seeds) and VERY, VERY sour pickled white cabbage.) Guess which kind I got? My father-in-law brought a very good pear tart for lunch, too. His recipe was, "It came from Paneria." This afternoon, I still have work to do, so I'm off to Cafe Slavia, where I hope there's an empty table with a view of the river and Petrin hill.

I'm committing this tip to memory... Thank you!

Thanks! I hope they showed some good food things (like fried cheese and other things I forgot to photograph)!

Yes, the cups matched the cafe's decor... Alchymista is really well put together. I'll have to go back and sample more of their cakes and other things; a couple next to me spent twenty minutes choosing teas from the menu, so they must have more than what's on offer on the pastry shelves (and that's a lot).

I had some work to do, this morning, so I went back to Letna (on the north side of Prague) and found the Alchymista bakery. On the way, I found a Korean foods shop (off of Charles Square), which is on one of my routes home! (There's another good Korean, Thai, and Japanese store--the best in town--in Vinohrady.) Next to the tram stop where I caught a tram for Letna is this very small rychle obcerstveni (fast food) place (attached to the Masarykovo train station). It seems to have emerged, completely intact, from circa 1982...much worse for the wear. Most foods are under the equivalent of $1; beer and wine--as the menus posted outside show--are less. It makes a sharp contrast with the Cukrarna Alchymista... This bakery and cafe is about 100 yards or less from a large soccer stadium. It was named as the best bakery in the country by a Czech culinary magazine, last month. All the staff were practically beaming with pride...and deservedly so. It's a great find. The sign outside advertises a new dortik (little cake): Whiskey Cream, but I ordered a slice of (great) carrot cake, and espresso. I came home and told my husband that we have to move to Letna. The ceiling of the cafe... It was very quiet when I was there, but it began to fill up around 2:00 pm. A building around the corner from the bakery... We're sorting out schedules for the evening and trying to see where dinner comes in; meanwhile, I'm snacking on some sauteed spinach...and recharging camera batteries. In the umpteenth change of plans, this week, tomorrow's lunch is here and not in my father-in-law's kitchen... (He's coming to help us with some apartment fix-it projects.) We'll do Wienerschnitzel (aka vidensky rizek, aka pork schnitzel), sauerkraut, and those strawberry dumplings. And maybe vegetables to start, because I freak out if there's nothing green and crunchy. So that's my birthday lunch, tomorrow. I also have to buy some chocolates to take to work on Monday, as it's traditional here to bring cake or sweets to give to your colleagues on your birthday and name day. And I hope there'll be time to visit one last cafe (Louvre or Slavia) before finishing; unfortunately, I didn't get to do some of the things I intended to, this week. The big Vietnamese market, the trip to Karlovy Vary, and chlebicky are still on my list....

Hi, Sandy... The wafers are filled; the ones I bought have a hazelnut filling, but there are also three-layered ones with vanilla filling--and that's just by this brand; I've seen other kinds. The filling is fairly sweet, but very thin... They're deceptively light-looking.

Breakfast was waffles with yogurt, jam (rhubarb and ginger, and homemade blueberry), and bananas, with bacon on the side. (A few years ago, I guess I might have find the combination of waffles, yogurt, and jam to be pretty bizarre...but it's quite good, and makes a nice change from syrup. Not to mention that maple syrup here is about $20 for about 5 ounces... ) I'm off to track down the Alchymist bakery in Letna.

Sorry I didn't get to post pictures, last night; we returned home kind of late (and tipsy). I met my husband and father-in-law at the Muzeum Hlavniho Mesta Prahy, for the exhibit on the world of Prague cafes. The exhibit was great--rooms full of photos of old cafes, old coffee tins, urns and silver snack bowls (with card faces engraved on them) , and all sorts of other cafe paraphernalia. The first room had an enormous map of Prague with lights for the hundreds of cafes in existence during the early 1930s; you picked a cafe, dialed its number on an old-fashioned phone, and were told about its history. One wall of the exhibit was papered in reproductions of phone-book pages listing cafes from 1901, 1930, 1936, and 1939... Cafes used to be categorized as large, medium-sized, and small. By 1939, cafes hosting intellectual gatherings began to be shuttered. The photo on the right shows old menus from Cafe Nuselska; I'm not sure if it still exists. There were so many cafes during this era, but I only recognized about six names still operating (or operating again). The Louvre, Slavia, and Hotel Pariz are definitely thriving...but Kavarna Union, Cafe Corso, and Kavarna Akademicka are long since gone. At the end of the exhibit (past the wall documenting waiters' races), there was a real cafe (run by Cafe Louvre) true to 1930s style, with #14 Thonet chairs, Meinl coffee, and jazz music... We went around the corner from the exhibit to the Pivovarsky Klub, but since they're now mentioned in every article about Prague and beer, they were full and it was only 6:00 pm... So we went to an old haunt of my husband's, U Sani ("at the sign of the bobsled" ) and had dinner. Mr. R. had chicken in tarragon sauce (which I forgot to photograph) and potatoes (which I did photograph, 'cause they're pretty ); my father-in-law had already eaten; and I had tycinky (fried bread) with Niva cheese dip. (Niva is the local blue cheese, from caves near Cesky Krumlov.) (I once took a bunch of college students here and I thought the owner was going to kill us, because no one ordered food...just soft drinks and beer.) The interior of U Sani; it's your average dark and smoky Prague pub. Afterward, I had wanted to stop by Bokovka (which means "sideways" in Czech ), a wine bar near Charles Square...but it was closed. So we walked across the river to Cafe Savoy, one of my favorite places. We spotted this sign near Zofin Island; Zofin is an old Prague institution and a beautiful palace (with a restaurant)... They're having their 2008 Asparagus Festival on May 15th. (The castle and St. Vitus Cathedral are on the right.) Kavarna (Cafe) Slavia and its coveted river-view windows... Cafe Savoy gives places like the Louvre and Slavia a run for their money... I love all three places, but Savoy has excellent service, and, of course, very good apple strudel. You can also peer into their pastry kitchen. I was looking at the wine list; my husband settled on tea and a slice of orechova babovka (cake with nuts). Savoy's case of chlebicky (little sandwiches), and one with filled doughnuts and other pastries. (It's already Saturday and I forgot to mention chlebicky, the little snack sandwiches that you can find at any deli... Will try to remedy that, today.) I had a glass of rosé. A shot of Cafe Savoy, with their buzzing drinks and espresso station, during the day...

Thanks, Alisuchi. Glad you like the blog. I wouldn't say that the Chicken Paprikas recipe I was working with was Czech... I think I originally saw it a couple of years ago in the San Francisco Gate's cooking section of the paper. What's the Serbian version of this dish like? Perhaps I had better come clean about the dumplings served with savory dishes, here... Unless I have to eat them (on holidays and at big family gatherings ), I don't. The sweet versions, like the fruit-stuffed ones I bought today, are the kind I like.

I discovered that I didn't have the yogurt I needed to make the Spanish raisin and almond cake, so I had to run across the square, around noon, to our local market...and then I found some other things to bring home, too, for the weekend. Those are strawberry-filled dumplings on the far right. Traditional cakes with tvaroch (cream cheese) and jam are on the left, and there are hazelnut oplatky (spa wafers), under those. These are very good, incredibly thin wafers with a nearly transparent cream filling. They produce a shower of crumbs when you bite into them. Bacon alert, lower left... Tyrolean ham, destined for tomorrow morning's breakfast (with waffles). Then I started to work on a cake from last month's Apetit. A friend at work helped me with the translation; the recipe does use weights for flour, almonds, etc., but also teaspoons and tablespoons (lzicky and lyzicky, respectively...I think ). I forgot to grind the almonds... So... Raisin and Almond Cake with Sherry: The magazine notes that this is a typically Spanish recipe, with its use of yogurt, raisins, and almonds. You're supposed to let it sit for three days while it soaks in sherry. I give it 24 hours, max, before it winds up on a plate for an afternoon snack. It's supposed to be dusted with powdered sugar, before serving. I'm now addicted to this magazine, although I still can't get over how many cooking magazines there are on the Czech market. Baking makes me hungry... And then I realized I hadn't had any coffee, yet. The last piece of green chocolate from Wednesday's visit to the organic shop. I'm off to town for a historical-cafe exhibit and dinner. (That is, later... It's only 3:00 pm, but I worked and baked through lunch, which explains why I'm now focused on dinner.)

Definitely... That's all there is to it, although I think I should have sliced the onions more thinly. I just place the chicken pieces (in two batches) on the onions (after they've sauteed with the paprika) and let them cook for a few minutes, skin side down... Then everything gets covered and it cooks on low for about 45-50 minutes. The chicken comes out and the skin comes off; a bit of flour goes into the sauce. (Stir it around for a minute or two.) Then you add about a cup of sour cream and stir it in. The chicken goes back in to get coated one last time in the sauce. I should make this more often; it's very easy and takes minimal prep. Hope yours turns out well! By the way, someone asked if Mr. R. cooks... The answer is: only in dire emergencies. But he does do very nice omelets. And, more importantly, the dishes.

Breakfast... A toasted kaiser roll with cream cheese and honey. Dried pears and chai on the side. This flower-blossom honey from Brno is very good. Something involving dates + mascarpone + this honey + bacon would be great. I'll have to think of how to do that.

Last night, I made Chicken Paprikas, using some amazing homemade paprika that a friend from work gave me. I like it better on the second day, to be honest...so maybe we'll have it tonight or for lunch, tomorrow. (Or maybe for lunch, today, since work has eaten my vacation. ) The sour cream went in after that second row of photos. My plan for this morning is to bake...finally!