Recent Posts

Eat

Hamburger buns – Hamburger zsemle

I’ve been baking a lot in my life, even with yeast, but savory breads and their like were not very often a part of my repertoire.  In my quest to replace the commercial, store bought, you can squeeze it into a flat paper-like substance by the time you are done with eating your burger type of bun, I searched and found a doable recipe for homemade hamburger buns.  I adapted the recipe from Making Fresh Bread, a cookbook of the brand “Love Food” of the British publisher Parragon which promises to “create bread in your home with perfect results”.

Eat

Pumpkin muffins – Sütőtökös muffinok

In many countries throughout the world, November 1st is observed as All Saint’s Day.  I grew up with this tradition in what was then Czechoslovakia.  After I moved to America, I learned that here and in some other parts of the world, it is October 31st, Halloween that is celebrated with its interesting activities like kids trick-or-treating or adults attending costume parties.  And there is pumpkin carving, and contests in pumpkin carving, and decorating with pumpkins around houses.

Travel

Unexpectedly in New York – Váratlanul New York-ban

Don’t you like it when something good comes from something bad? When I learned that to renew my almost expired Slovak passport I needed to submit my application in person in New York, I couldn’t believe this was happening to me.  My first reaction was “Oh, no, I don’t need a trip now, my life is already too busy with work, and the timing is simply not good!”

Eat

Baked apples with rolled oat crust – Zabpehely kéreg alatt sült alma

After a long absence from my blog, I hope my presence will become more regular after I settle into the routine of the new school year.  Developing the routine is taking a little bit longer than usual – more about this in a future post.  Today I present this easy and wonderful way of preparing apples under a crispy sweet crust of rolled oats.  I adapted the recipe from The Whole Foods Market Cookbook.  You can use almost any type of fruit, or you can mix different fruits together.

Plant

May flowers if I may – Májusi virágok

May is an amazing month.  Not just because both my birthday and anniversary are in May, but because lots of my favorite flowers are in full bloom this time of the year.  Do you have stories of why certain flowers are your favorites?  Here are some of mine.

Teach

Farewell to the 110 – Búcsú a 110-től

I find it amazing that sometimes when I read something it is so relevant and perfectly timed to what is happening in my life.  This school year, for the first time in my long teaching career, I teach only seniors.  One hundred and ten of them.  I have only eight more school days with this group of talented young people.  What do I tell them as my farewell?

Make

Easter postcards – Húsvéti képeslapok

Over the years, before the era of e-mails and social media, there were traditional postcards sent to us by family members and friends.  From my personal collection, here is a sample from the seventies and eighties from Czechoslovakia and Hungary, and from the nineties from Slovakia.