• Autumn,  Czech Republic,  Herbalism,  Lifestyle

    Mushroom Foraging on St. Wenceslas Day

    “Our Czech forests are overflowing with mushrooms.” — an actual line from a local news report St. Wenceslas Day (Sv. Václav) is one of my favorite Czech holidays. It’s right after the official turn to autumn, the school year’s right about to get into the usual swing except for this last holiday weekend to enjoy the simpler things about the start of the season. Normally, I like to visit some sort of happening to watch folk-dancing, browse the craft markets, have a glass of wine or if I’m lucky, burčák (Federweisser aka “fermented alcoholic grape juice” – a wine byproduct). I had every intention of doing that as we started…

  • Summer

    spring awakening + wild garlic pesto recipe

    hi all! we have just had a glorious month of april here in the czech republic and the constant warm weather and sunshine just seems never-ending! sometimes there are rumors of a thunderstorm but they always seem to pass our sunny little corner of bohemia by. oh, i have been busy! with all good things. as many people, i’ve been taking full advantage of the beautiful days and weekends with plenty of trips to the forest  and the annual malše river trip. we didn’t bring our little dog as he pretty much hates water and the idea of him hanging out in a raft that has been splashed with water…

  • Summer

    weekly meal planning + how i do it

    this might be cool or lame, i’m not sure which, but i cook five or six nights a week at home.  you might be thinking: am i at the right blog? it’s called ‘adventurings’, right? well, by home of course, i mean in the czech republic, and this adventure includes learning how to cook and doing it well! hooboy! (are you still with me? haven’t checked out yet? …. okay, good.) i might be a thirty year old married person with no children and a little doggie, but somehow i feel it so strongly as my duty to do this. cook, i mean. i can’t even tell you where that…

  • Summer

    sunday cookin’: spicy & sour zucchini stir-fry

    (okay, i’m aware it’s not sunday this time, but i hope this brings a bit of that sunday feeling to your day!) last summer, we started getting loads of zucchinis in our csa share box “bedynka”, as it’s called here in czechland. they are definitely not one of my favorites, in fact, they induced a few groans to see them week after week. alex was pretty happy, having no problem with this vegetable, because i would never buy them before. so i thought: how can i make these as appetizing as possible? answer: sauté them in soy sauce and some other delicious ingredients and serve with asian-style noodles. so, i…

  • Summer

    january noms

    //i have been continually surprised by the amount of excellent meals i’ve been cranking out these days, if i do say so myself. i haven’t even felt particularly inspired or full of ideas, but day after day i’ve found myself plating up some serious photo-worthy meals. woohoo! (unfortunately, the photos aren’t turning out so worthy of the meals)the beginning of the month took us on a trip to globus where we stocked up on some serious mexican ingredients. oh, refried beans! cilantro! real salsa! how i’ve missed thee! i cranked out this huevos rancheros type meal one sunday brunch and felt pretty dang proud. so full of flavor… and enough…

  • Summer

    june noms

    ah yes, the time of the month i like to talk about food is here. june has been so inspirational to me in terms of cooking. perhaps it’s all the fresh produce available… or the retrograde in mercury… or the warm weather! whatever the reason, i’ve finally had a healthy dose of inspiration to make a bunch of fun recipes. all of them were alex tested and approved, and he put up with all this food photography. what a guy. mushroom & caramelized onion risotto: a healthy favorite of mine made with the two vegetables alex formerly disliked. i used no butter and only a tiny amount of milk to make…