Soups are rarely missing from a Slovak table, no matter what time of year it is. Sometimes they are clear meat or vegetable stocks with pasta added towards the end of cooking. These are usually served as starters or appetizers. At other times, they can be filling enough to stand as the main course, like … Continue reading Creamy Kohlrabi Soup
Putting together a cookbook during a global pandemic wasn't as easy as you might think. True, I had enough time for writing and testing recipes. I spent hours in the kitchen, and I didn't complain. Quite the oppostite, it was relaxing, sort of therapeautic. Doing online research was less fun, because we were all overloaded … Continue reading The Winter Book is already at the printers
First things first - you wouldn't hear about a starter or a dessert a hundred years ago, when kashas were part of each and every Slovak wedding. There was no wedding menu as we know it today, neither was there a written seating plan or candles or confetti. Yet there were quite a few norms, … Continue reading An old-style Slovak wedding kasha – was it a starter or a dessert?
In the third book of A Taste of Slovakia series, which I'm planning to publish towards the end of September, there will be a chapter on Slovak weddings. When researching online sources and numerous books of Slovak folklorists and ethnologists, I came across recipes and ancient photos of cakes that you won't see on wedding … Continue reading What it takes to make an old-style Slovak wedding cake
Just six kilometres north of the historical town of Bardejov - one of the Slovak UNESCO sights - lies a spa resort of Bardejovské kúpele. Set amid rolling hills and lush woodlands, it is a place of exceptional beauty, peace and calm. No wonder that some historical documents list it as 'the spa of tranquility'. … Continue reading Life and delicious smells have returned to the spa town of Bardejov
Springtime brings fresh herbs to our forests and meadows. Many of them are edible and we not only use them to flavour food, but also cleanse our bodies and boost our immune systems after winter. Wild garlic, or bear garlic (medvedí cesnak), as we call it in Slovak, appears in our latitudes towards the end … Continue reading Millet Stir-Fry with Walnuts and Bear Garlic
It's been a while since I last posted here, but the reasons were sound and many. First, I've been working on the third book of A Taste of Slovakia series and wanted to get the first chapter ready for Jana - the graphic designer. I'm planning to publish the Winter Book towards the end of … Continue reading Natasha’s Borscht
In the Winter Book of A Taste of Slovakia series, which I'm planning to publish later this year, there will be a chapter on Slovak wedding and our most popular wedding cakes. To bring you the best from the field, I joined forces with Jana, a skilled baker who creates all sorts of cakes and … Continue reading Punch-Soaked Sponge Slices
I'm sure you've noticed it. As you approach someone's home, whether it's a house or a flat, you feel a smell, or more precisely a mix of smells that only belong to that particular place. Plants have their specific aromas and so do animals. We, humans, are not different. Our home is a melange of … Continue reading Smells of our homes
I'm busy working on the third book of A Taste of Slovakia series, which will include lots of Christmas recipes and traditions linked to my country's winter season. It's going to be a very rich volume packed with fascinating photos, folk tales and, of course, timeless dishes - like opekance. Opekance (pronounced as opekantze) are … Continue reading Opekantze with Ground Poppy Seeds and Honey
cookslovak 