Slovak Foods Recipes

Cheat's beef and barley soup It started snowing last night and, by morning, we had 7 centimetres of the white stuff . The heavy snow caused burst water mains, power failure in some areas because of fallen trees, etc. Roads were blocked and traffic lights were not working in some intersections. As it snows so seldom in Vancouver, many drivers have little experience of winter driving. It is frightening to be out on the road with cars skidding and worse. We opted to stay home. But staying home doesn't mean staying indoors. Mr. KC was outside shovelling the driveway and working up a good appetite. So basically, this is a thinned sauce with bits of vegetables and barley. But my, the soup was delicious. The wine sauce gave the soup a rich flavour. Ingredients: 2 cups of sauce from beef stew and any leftover meat One cup of barley, cooked One cup of frozen peas, carrots and corn 4 cups of soup stock or water Method: Cut the meat into small pieces and put...

Tisane of thyme In the spring I bought some 4-inch pots of herbs and planted them in a barrel. They thrived. This is through no skill on my part as I don't have a green thumb but I had put the planter in a spot that suited the oregano and lemon thyme very well. There is a bee among the lemon thyme Lemon thyme, Thymus citriodorus It is such a pleasure to be able to drink infusions made with my own, home-grown herbs. It is so simple to do, it is just like brewing a pot of tea. Ingredients: Some sprigs of thyme from the garden 4 cups of boiling water Honey or any kind of sweetener Method: Put the thyme in a pot (I used a Pyrex carafe with a lid) Pour boiling water over the herbs. Cover the pot and steep for about 5 minutes. Strain into a pretty glass, add sweetener if you like, and enjoy this soothing drink. I like mine without any sugar. Lemon thyme has antispasmodic properties. It soothes coughs and relieves muscle spasms. It is an ingredient in...

Scotch broth Scotch broth is a delicious, hearty soup that is a meal in itself. It is usually made with bits of things thrown into the pot. For my soup, I had a bit of leftover roast leg of lamb and pan drippings to throw into the pot. Barley is traditionally used but my barley was over two years old so I used Farro instead of my rancid barley. Faro , the food of the Roman legions Ingredients (for 4 - 6 servings): For soup stock: One bone from a leftover roasted leg of lamb (cut the meat into small pieces and chill it. Save the pan drippings too) One onion, cut in quarters One large carrot, cut in big chunks Three stalks of celery, broken in thirds A few bay leaves A few black peppercorns Water to cover the ingredients - about 6 cups For Scotch broth: Strained lamb soup stock Half a cup of yellow split peas A cup of farro Half a cup of dried vegetable flakes Salt and pepper to taste Garnish: chopped parsley Method: Make the soup stock by simme...

White bean soup My late mother-in-law loved my white bean soup. She would ask me to make large portions so that she could give some to her friends. I became famous among the seniors set for my bean soup. They said that they had never tasted anything like it. What was my secret? White bean is usually made with a ham bone. As I seldom had a ham bone on hand, I made the stock with roasted pig's feet that are sold in Chinese BBQ shops. The pig's feet give a very rich and delicious taste to the soup. I think that was what they meant. I was making bean soup so often that I started taking short cuts. It didn't affect the taste at all. No one noticed. I didn't use canned beans. I still soaked and boiled the beans but I stopped all the prep work with fresh vegetables and used dried vegetable flakes that I bought from the bulk foods section of the supermarket. Roast pig's feet To make the stock: Cook the pig's feet in a pot of water. Add s...

Trecce dell'orto alla contandina I don't know how it happens, but I always have plenty of pasta on hand. I seem unable to follow the very sensible "use it up before buying new" rule. Now I'm trying to use up the dried pantry goods before year end. So that I can start the New Year with fresh stuff! Ha!Ha! What do I have here? Fattora pasta A package of multi-coloured pasta called Trecce dell'orto. Google translate says it is " Braids of the garden". Don't you just love the poetic names Italians give their pasta? The manufacturer describes these braids as "Durum wheat semolina pasta with vegetables, spices, aromatic grasses and squid ink". Close up of Trecce dell'orto, Braids of the garden I have never used this type of pasta so I decided to try the recipe printed on the package. It is in Italian but that is not a big problem. Not when there is translation software. Let's start with the name of the ...