Gastronomic Highlights of Prgaue

My class and I spent a week in Prague at the beginning of October. Sure we visited 13th century castles and cathedrals, but I really enjoyed exploring the food culture. In no particular order, here are my 10 favourite gastronomic treats I tried while Prague.

1. Potato Pancakes

The Czech version of a hash brown are even better than the ones I buy frozen from the supermarket. Firstly because their not frozen nor do they come from the supermarket. Secondly because they are served with wilted red cabbage. They go down excellently with a glass of Budweiser.

Potato Pancakes

2. Budweiser

The Czech Republic is the orginal home to the now very American Busweiser. At $2 a pint, it is sure to be your friend while in Prague.

Bubweiser

3. Czech Pastries

These strange dough things pictured below are known as "Trdelnik". They are wound around a heavy metal pin, rolled in sugar and cinnamon, then spit roasted over gas flame. Another pastry highlight was the fresh jam doughnuts at the local corner supermarket. 20 cents. WORD.

Trdelnik

4. Mulled wine

Czech country is probably home of mulled wine. There are mulled wine kiosks set up at many street corners, you can grab one on the way to the tram.

5. Roast duck with sauerkraut and dumplings

Very typical Czech dish. Very delicious. Czech dumplings are like the steamed buns you get at yum cha, except you dip them in the gravy and sauerkraut and there is no bbq pork inside.

Roast Duck

6. Maitrea Vegetarian Restaurant

The most amazing vegetarian restaurant I have visted. The rooms are Feng Shui, which means that they are set up in a way which promotes harmony with nature. Whatever that means! The food is amazing, make sure you save room for desert! They also make fresh juices, I recommend the pear juice with extra ginger.

Maitrea

7. Golash 

A soupy beef stew usually served with traditional Czech dumplings, available everywhere, always tasty, usually cheap.

8. Becherovka 

Makes a great souvenir for visitors to the Czech Republic to take home. This bitter herb liqueur is used for its "curative properties" apparently it is supposed to aid with digestion. Any excuse will do! It is flavoured with 34 herbs including anise and cinnamon, I thought it was rather delicious.

Becherovka

9. Starbucks

It is a really lame/sad of me advertise a rich American company in my gastronomic top ten. However... having a caramel frappacino after 4 months of frappacino free life was a like eating freshly baked bread, having a hot shower or sleeping in clean sheets. It was heaven.

10. Ureleneho Cafe

It was so cosy to visit in this small cafe, that we visited it twice. They have an amazing selection of teas, and it is tucked away on a cobbelstone street only 5 minutes from the Charles Bridge. We drank data masala; a yogi tea, similar to chai and I would highly recommend it.

Ureleneho Cafe

Hannah's Bucket List 1.0

My pals and I at Folkehøgskole have been talking about life, old age and death. Some 2 am discussions included how we want to die and what we would like to do in our old age. As an old lady I would like to work at an op shop, knit, make marmalade, and take the occasional outing to a night club just to scare the young folk. Of course if I am a spinster I will live with Alex Taucher in an old wooden house in Fremantle too. As for my death, I would either like to die really peacefully i.e. in my sleep or really epicly, like being eaten by a lion or attacked by a kangaroo. At least my friends and family would have a cool story to tell people. My friends and I have even decided to be written into each others wills. I get Sigrunn's hand knitted beanie if she dies before me. She will get my computer. Let me know if you would also like to have some of my stuff.

Have you noticed how I love to make lists? Here is a list of some of the things I would like to do before I die. My list is here to be added to, hence the one point zero. Please tell me if you think there is something I should add.

1. Learn to knit socks. 
2. Do the splits. And sod it, if I can learn to do the spilts I can learn to do a bend back too.
3. Get my scuba divers licence. Then go diving at Ningaloo.
4. Visit the salt planes of Bolivia and take eye deceiving perpective photographs.
5. Smoke a cuban cigar in Cuba.
6. Streak down a street.
7. Learn to make nalesniki. Polish pancakes with cottage cheese filling.
8. Take a boat through the Amazon.
9. Make the perfect pad thai with Alex M.
10. Make the perfect cupcake with Alex T.
11. Make the perfect cheesecake marble brownie with Ella.
12. Make the perfect boller with mor mor.
13. Become a rosetta master. Thats the fern shape on top of a flat white.
14. Own a house.
15. Be a mother.
16. Name my son Macchiato.
17. Have a vege patch.
18. Help my community in a significant way.
19. Fall in love. That would be SO sad if I died without falling in love.
20. Make my own jam from my fruit trees.
21. Go back to Morocco and take a road trip with Laura, Daniel and Alex.
22. Take a cooking course in Thailand.
23. Learn how make Chinese steamed pork buns.
24. Own a shiny red mix master, and use it to make hummus, red velvet cupcakes, and chocolate caramel slice.
25. Set up a couple.Then they get married. Then getting the honour of being the godmother to their first child.
26. Drive across Australia.
27. Save up for an SLR camera. Then buy one. Then take a photography class.
28. Take my SLR on safari in South Africa. Or any other African country.

Sweet Rides of Prague.

Show me your BOLLER.

Sigrunn is very serious about boller baking.

Like brun ost, boller are a very important part of being a real Norwegain. There is even an offical boller day every February known as Fastelavn, where you eat boller with cream before you start lent. Every other day of the year boller can be bought in supermarkets, petrol stations and bakeries. The best ones though are made by Grandma. My Grandmother makes them plain, but I love them with raisins or with chocolate chips. It is also nice to add some cinnamon or some cardamon.

They look boring, but they taste far from it. I suppose they are like the Norwegian scone, simple, but delicious.

Alex Taucher says "Boller are SUPER, they just taste so good".

Ingredients

500 gm plain flour

150 gm sugar

100 gm butter

275 ml milk 

1 packet of fresh yeast

1 egg

Handful of raisins or chocolate, or both.

Method

Heat oven to 200 degrees.

Rub butter and flour.

Add sugar, milk, egg and raisins to flour mix.

Kneed until it's a nice smooth dough.

Place dough in a warm, sheltered place to rise.

When dough has doubled in size, roll 12 boller.

Rise boller again.

Bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees until golden brown.

Best consumed fresh and warm, with friends.