Slovak Foods Recipes

Pasta with grilled vegetables In Vancouver we have rain and more rain in the winter so I really look forward to summer. I don't want to be in the kitchen. I want to be outdoors - to grill food and enjoy our meals outside. We can really enjoy it because we don't have mosquitoes in Vancouver. There is the odd wasp or two but it isn't a problem I love grilled meat and vegetables. Preparing vegetables for grilling is easier than making a salad - just marinate the veggies with some chopped herbs, garlic and olive oil and put them on the grill. In fact, grilled vegetables are my latest craze - the zucchini tastes so sweet. When grilling vegetables, put more vegetables on and use them with pasta the next day. I am just giving you a general idea for the dish. The ingredients are: Pasta - any kind you like. I used penne. Grilled vegetables - You may grill whatever vegetables you like for this dish. I had grilled zucchini, onions, red pe...

Vegetarian rice rolls, 素腸粉 Lent has begun and it is the time for simple, meatless meals. One Lenten dish I like to make is vegetarian rice rolls. Chopped cilantro is spread on rice noodle sheets which are rolled up and streamed. I bought fresh rice noodles from a local noodle shop, Hon's. They are uncut and sold in 2 lb or 5lb packages. Fresh rice noodles in slabs, 沙河粉 Ingredients: Sheets of fresh rice noodles Chopped cilantro Sesame oil Garnish: Toasted sesame seeds Method: Open the slab of rice noodles carefully and peel off a sheet. Put the sheet on a cutting board and cut into rectangles about 6" long. I used the folded edges as a guide for the width. Spread the chopped herbs on the rectangle and roll it up like a jelly roll. Place the roll, seam side down on an oiled plate. Continue rolling as many as you need. Place the plate in a steamer and steam for about 5 minutes until the noodles are soft and translucent. Drizzle some sesame oil ov...

Drunken spaghetti I fell in love with Italy when Mr. KC and I visited the beautiful country a couple of years ago. The food was just wonderful. I have been trying to recreate the delicious Italian food at home. I have been watching David Rocco's show on TLN and also Lidia's Italy. A friend scoffed at David Rocco, calling him an idiot. Well, she doesn't cook and didn't see beyond the goofing. In my view, David Rocco is an excellent cook. He is a natural. I don't know if he is a trained chef or what but he has the cooking sense. Cooking sense is what distinguishes a good cook from one who just follows recipes exactly. The latter isn't cooking; it is just learning by rote. This is a show I would recommend to beginning cooks because of the relaxed, casual way DR cooks. Cooking shouldn't be stressful. Plus, the dishes he makes are delicious. I saw him make Drunken Spaghetti and tried it myself. It was so easy I made it from memory but, if y...

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...