Category — Desserts

It’s Carnival season around these parts – before Lent the shops are decorated, kids’ costumes are on the racks, and doughnuts – sišky, fánk, or vdolky, depending on where you are – seem to be frying up everywhere you turn. [Read more →]

I love desserts with poppy seeds, and I do not understand why are they popular only in Central Europe. Here poppy seeds are associated with sweets. Across our borders it is usually salty stuff, like crackers, rolls and bagels that get poppyseeds, just on top. It is time to let the world know about the real destiny of the poppy seed. [Read more →]

Have you ever eaten a Chinese steamed pork bun? Imagine a sweet version, and you pretty much have buchty na páře (in Czech) or parené buchty (in Slovak). Instead of spicy meat, the fillings here are usually jam, sweetened poppy seeds, sweetened cheese (tvaroh), or chocolate. [Read more →]

If you visit Central Europe, you are almost certain to come across one of the few symbols from the socialist era that remains beloved today: the Little Mole, known variously as Krtek, Krtko, Kisvakond, Krecik or die Maulwurf. Our kids love to watch Little Mole cartoons on YouTube, and since the vast majority of them are short, sweet, and dialogue-free, they’re OK with me too. (There are a few peculiar exceptions that I generally don’t show the children.) The mole and his friends have fully embraced capitalism and now are emblazoned on t-shirts, toys, games and books, and are part of the wave of fashionable nostalgia that hit this region a few years ago.

[Read more →]

You know you’re in love when your heart’s aflutter waiting to see if you’ll get a big gaudy gingerbread heart from the fair. What, that’s not the sure sign you were thinking of? At least then you’re spared the anxiety over whether you should save that cookie to gaze upon rapturously with thoughts of love, or just eat it. Sadly, many of the goodies sold at the local fairs just aren’t that tasty. Made for sturdiness rather than flavor, they might outlast your romance anyway. Here’s a cookie recipe that will satisfy lovers of spicy sweetness; you can always write Miľujem ťa or Szeretlek on it to satisfy any other lovers.

[Read more →]