Körözött is a Hungarian classic and every household makes it differently. It is kept in the fridge for moments when you do not have the mood to make lunch or dinner, or when your offspring is going to school and you just barely tumbled out of bed. You reach for a slice of bread and körözött. Eat it with good tomatoes and Hungarian wax peppers and you are instantly transported to the Hungarian countryside – close your eyes and you will find yourself on the beach of lake Balaton while staring at the sunset and soaking your feet in the lake’s warm water. And if by any chance you will hear your washing machine going trrrrrr, you and your bread with körözött might take you on a friendly Hungarian train ride, where snacks appear on the table as soon as the conductor blows the whistle. [Read more →]

It is time to drink yourself to death in order to celebrate the new year. At least that’s what we do in central Europe. Along with huge amounts of alcohol we also serve plenty of food and we blow ourselves up with firecrackers and fireworks.  We have a  saying: “as it is on New Year’s Day, so it will be all year”. Maybe that is why Hungary has one of the highest suicide rates and Slovaks and Czechs are heavy drinkers. [Read more →]

This morning we decided to do something special, something very Slovak. With this post I would like to introduce you to a great meal and also to the Slovak “miracle”, bryndza. Bryndza is an EU-trademarked Slovak ricotta-type sheep cheese. Recently it went through thorough tests and the health benefits were surprising. Bryndza apparently helps to lower cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure; it contains 20 types of probiotics in huge quantities (yogurt only has 1-2), vitamins B complex, and almost three times as much calcium as cow’s milk. It is a boost for your immune system. [Read more →]