BIBLIOGRIND
The Life of a Wordsmith — Read … Live … Write
Archive for May, 2011
May 29, 2011 at 12:00 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
The Cake Factory, otherwise known as Asia’s Kitchen … is where she has made a traditional Polish cheesecake. It’s a bit different to what Americans are accustomed, lighter and more moist. Although you wouldn’t know it by the ingredients list: 1 kilo cream cheese, 3 cups of sugar, 1/2 lb of butter, 8 eggs.
This cake is Asia’s “practice cake” as she’ll star the cheesecake at our Sept wedding celebration (yeah!). We used a newly-bought cake pan, this one twice as deep as our cookie pan. The cake turned out perfectly, quite moist and oh so cream-cheeseeee.
While baking, the true cheesecake maven waits patiently for her creation to come alive.
We started out with a piece eaten in the traditional style (I had chocolate milk on the side)
And then, later, I added fresh strawberries and a drizzling of honey (“No, no … we don’t do that in Poland,” I was told. But then I gave Asia a bite with the strawberries, and guess what? Yes, you got that right, brother!)
Przy okazji … panie WÅ‚adku, czy jest pan gÅ‚odny?
May 27, 2011 at 7:37 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco. A roiling (but consistently bland) history of that secret society which is the grand conspiracy history has never proved existed. You know, the one that actually rules the world. At first the story had some pizzazz. But then the author’s obvious need to push the story, rather than find the characters in their own story, became a question & answer session which released huge tracts of history in place of story. The characters became faceless and lifeless, only used to push the author’s agenda. Another best seller which has flumoxed me as to why.
On Beauty by Zadie Smith. And here is the antithesis of Eco’s cartoon. Smith has human’s populating this story of identity, marriage, academic drive (or stasis), coming of age, and love. In so many forms, beauty is examined to see if it holds up: up to modernity; up to argument; and up to definition.
Ravelstein by Saul Bellow. Abe Ravelstein is an aging academic, but age isn’t what kills him. Nevertheless, his stature as professor of political theory to droves of students who became statesmen and leaders and thinkers, is celebration itself. And his biography is left to be written by his old friend, Chick. This story is an often hilarious, and always intellectual, view of people who live the inspected life, the unordinary existence that most can only dream of or read about.
May 25, 2011 at 8:14 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
Name Day’s are big in Slavic countries. Basically, its a day in the year that corresponds to your given name. Asia’s (Joanna) was yesterday. And we CELEBRATED.
For lunch, I brought home chlebickou [kleb-itch-ko] (the Czech open-faced sandwiches) for a treat. Meg was able to celebrate this unusual (for Americans) day, and this delicious food.
I asked Asia if Name Days had corresponding songs for which people sang to the lucky Named One. She claimed there wasn’t, but I’m not sure I’m getting the entire story on that. 
At dinner, I had a surprise package in the center of the dining table when Asia got home. She was very surprised, and very pleased. And I wouldn’t let her open it until we were finished eating dinner. Otherwise she would have wanted to eat the delicious treat I’d brought home (the Brat).
So after dinner Asia opened the package and found three slices of Medovnik, the Czech honeycake that is like a national treasure here. It’s a dry sweet cake with cream inter-layers. Very good. Goes well with both coffee and tea.
Afterwards, we took a walk to Riegovy Sady to watch the sunset behind Prague Castle.
And then we finished the night with a little beer in the big beer garden.
Now Asia wants a Name Day on every day of the year. I believe the quote I heard was, “If I want to have it every day, I can!”
May 25, 2011 at 7:18 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
Meg took advantage of a 15-day bus pass and dropped into Prague for a 3-day visit on Sunday.
We tramped through THE PRAGUE on a hot day, saw the good sites, and went to Vysrhrad to walk the ramparts.
Last night was a beautiful evening with sun and clouds for a stupendous sunset.
Then we stopped in at the beer garden for a tall one. Great time, good eats, deep & swift talks.
May 16, 2011 at 5:10 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
Yippie!!!
No more long-distance journeys without ME ;-0
May 14, 2011 at 4:25 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
the Cat Gets Fat….
I had a taste for Indian food.
After somosa, chicken vindaloo, lamb byriani, and nan bread … I no longer have an appetite.
(( I have leftovers!!!!!!!!!!!! ))
May 13, 2011 at 5:53 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
Asia needs to come home.
Pronto!
May 13, 2011 at 5:51 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
I ate well the other night, having found a nice looking package of deep red beef. So I made hamburgers.
This one was particularly good.
May 8, 2011 at 8:22 am · Filed under The Prague Blog
This month marks 30 years since I graduated from East Leyden High School. The time seems not so far away, as so many other events of my life feel, these days. Perhaps this is because I didn’t necessarily like high school (the boredom, the little-bit-of-learning, the idiots I knew and some I called “friends.”
But the other times are memorable: the tennis team, driving to school (after driving mom to the train station), English & lit & speech classes, some history classes, and having 2nd semester Junior year (and all of Senior yr) with 3 classes each semester. At the end of Senior year, the last semester, I started school at 10:15 and was finished at 12:40. Now that was fun!
I no none of my classmates anymore, not even as FaceBook friends. The closest one to come there is Frank Vac, a year behind me, also my next door neighbor. So, as some famous personage once said, “High School friends should remain just that.”
May 7, 2011 at 4:05 pm · Filed under The Prague Blog
Yesterday I invented a Moroccan Chicken dish that is tasty, sweet & savory, and filling like all get-out. Plus: it’s healthy.
The ingredients list has 16 items: oregano, cilantro, paprika, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, salt & pepper, garlic, tomatoes, peanuts, figs, dates, chickpeas, green olives, and chicken. Once cooked, you serve it over cous-cous w/sliced spring onion greens. I like to serve red wine with this dish, although white is an excellent choice, and a good beer will complement the spices also.
I made the dish as a send-off for Asia, who’s now on her way to Gdynia for her nephews first communion, and to commune with Ewa & Wladku … The food is my way of showing my fiancé which direction home is next week.
Tonight I’m having beef burgers with slices of onion & tomato on hard rolls, with a side of potato chips. Wow! I’ll be gaining on my Polar Bear weight in no time.
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