Wild Poppies (and their seeds)

I didn't really have anything to do with this besides being the enthusiastic spectator and creepy photographer. In any case, the fact that my flatmate went for a hike in the country and came back with wild poppies is pretty neat, I think. The fact that she then made opium, I mean, lemon poppy seed cookies with the wild poppies is even cooler. I guess we can find/grow lots of this stuff in the States, but it seems much less common for anyone I know in the States to come home with poppies, walnuts, chestnuts and/or pears collected during a walk home from work, while this kind of foraging is pretty common in the Czech Republic. Maybe it's just because I grew up in the suburbs, though I live in a city here (Prague) and that doesn't seem to stop anybody.

Nature is awesome.


Poppy seeds in their home!:




My flatmate with her victims:


Things my flatmate "foraged" on her way home from work. For awhile we had a pretty large collection going...



Oh yeah, the cookies were pretty good too. If I actually made them I'd put a recipe up here, but I really just partook in the eating.

For reference, this is what a poppy flower looks like, because when she brought these dried poppies home I was really flabbergasted and confused as to the life of a poppy flower plant:

Vegan Prague Guide!

It's been awhile. I haven't been very creative, though I just bought a food processor for $25 on the Czech equivalent of eBay. Unfortunately, right when this happened, I realized I lost my camera battery charger. You win some, you lose some.

Anyway, I'd mentioned making a Prague vegan guide based on what I've learned. Here it is. Not much here because I don't really care to re-iterate stuff you can find on other websites or happycow.net. This is the stuff I found out the hard way. For example, the literal translation of "nutritional yeast" into Czech is something that does not exist. I'll be adding to this as I go, so check back. If you have any questions or additions please comment and let me know as well!

Coffee Shops in Prague with Soymilk

1. Coffee Heaven (http://www.coffeeheaven.cz/praha.php)

This place has 5 billion locations, but is quite expensive. $6.30 for a large soy latte expensive and the soymilk costs about a dollar of that price. At least they have free wi-fi. They do have lots of fun toppings though, like toasted coconut, cocoa powder, raspberry powder (this one's not vegan, I think), cinnamon, etc.

2. Starbucks (http://www.starbucks.com/retail/find)

Starbucks is the same everywhere, which can sometimes be comforting. A tiny bit cheaper than Coffee Heaven, you can get an iced coffee with soymilk for 60kč ($3ish).

3. Mamacoffee (http://mamacoffee.cz/kavarna/)

This place is priced reasonably and all their coffee is fair-trade. Three locations, I've only been to the one on Londýnská street by the I.P. Pavlova metro station because it's near where I live (Vřsovice). Small place with about 3 tables inside and 6 outside in warmer weather, this place has lots of different coffee roasts to choose from.

4. Bakeshop (http://www.bakeshop.cz/our-story-en.html)

I haven't been here yet, but someone on the expats.cz forum mentioned they have soymilk. I just e-mailed them to confirm and they replied within 20 minutes! Here's what they said: "yes, we make a coffee with soy milk. We will be very happy be part of your soy milk list. We make also some vegan salads and breads. If you are interested about more informations feel free to contact us on 222-316-823." Sounds good to me! With a quick and great reply like that, I will definitely be headed there soon.

Vegan Brunch!

1. Radost FX (http://www.radostfx.cz/restaurant/index_en.htm)

Good for hungover mornings. A bit pricey at like $12-15 an entree, though, which wouldn't be so bad if I were being paid in dollars. It's a vegetarian restaurant/lounge, though they have some fish, and a club downstairs at night. I hear the restaurant is open until late along with the club, but I haven't tested this theory.

Vegan Buffet (by weight):

1. Country Life (Melantrichova 15, 110 00 Praha 1)

You fill your plate from the buffet and they weigh it and you pay. They have vegan ice-cream here! I love this place. Pretty reasonably priced for what you get and the atmosphere is nice. No-smoking allowed inside which I love. So tired of inhaling everyone's second-hand smoke. The best part about this place is they have free water, a luxury when you have to pay for water most everywhere else. This is why the statement "Beer is cheaper than water" is true.

Nutritional yeast (Lahůdkové Droždí):

1. Country Life (http://www.countrylife.cz/index.php?id=120)

Also a chain of health food stores, Country Life is pretty awesome. There's about 4 locations you can find on the website and they also have a cosmetics store. Nowhere near as big as Whole Foods or something, but still pretty quality. The one on Melantrichova street has a bulk foods section.

2. Eden Tesco (U Slavie 1527/3 10000 Praha, organic grains section)

Tesco is a huge grocery store chain from England. There are a few massive ones in Prague and this one is my favorite (and closest to my flat). After scouring the city for a month to find nutritional yeast, realizing this Tesco has it was a bit embarrassing. Oops.

Vegan Mayo

1. Tesco

F'realz, even Tesco has this. See? Being vegan in Prague is not so bad, so stop complaining. It's in a small purple/pink tub with a peel-away aluminum cover. I'd post a picture if my camera worked. It's by the company Kalma and says "VegaVital Sojanéza" on it in yellow. There's another type called "Tofunéza" in a smaller blue container, but I don't like how it tastes.

2. Country Life (http://www.countrylife.cz/index.php?id=120)

Same brand as above, though they also have soy tartar sauce, which I think is pretty neat. I like to put it on french fries, as seems to be the Czech way.

Bulk nuts, seeds, dried fruits

1. Diana—The Empire of Nuts (http://www.diana-company.cz/shops.aspx?l=1033)

Haven't been here yet, but once I get a paycheck I might go buy lots of raw nuts here to use as ingredients with my new food processor.

Bulk Spices

1. Farah Oriental Market (http://www.ita.cz/farah)

I originally came here to find hummus. I succeeded, but canned hummus is gross so don't make the same mistake I did. On the bright side, this place has about 100 bins filled with bulk spices. Pretty great.

Useful Czech food words:

1. Lahůdkové Droždí = nutritional yeast
2. Celozrna psenicka mouka = whole wheat flour
3. Cizrna = chick peas
4. Kukuřičný škrob = cornstarch
5. Hladka mouka = fine-grained flour (svetla is bleached and polosvetla is unbleached)
6. Lepek = gluten
7. Sojové mléko = soymilk
8. bez = without

9. s, se = with

The only thing I haven't been able to find here is vital wheat gluten (gluten flour), so my Mom is shipping me some soon. Then I can make vegan cold-cuts and life will be good. I also plan to fly over to London to visit friends and bring over a Tofurky for Thanksgiving from the Whole Foods in Kensington, I believe the only Whole Foods outside of America.

Again, this is a work in progress! Send me questions/comments/suggestions and your own additions if you've been to Prague!

Vegan Tartar Sauce

It seems like every country has their own way of doing french fries. In America, it's ketchup. Canada, mayo. In the Czech Republic? Tartar sauce. You heard me. My favorite drunken food, I was sad to discover one night that my fries (or should I say, hranolky) were covered with ketchup and an unknown white subtance that did not look vegan. Since then, I've felt a little left out. I want to try this strange combination too!

Luckily, today I was wandering around one of Prague's little health food chains, Country Life, and found this gem: Soyová Tatarka or, soy tartar sauce. Success! I just moved into my new flat and I'm a little embarassed to say that frozen french fries with tartar sauce were my dinner. I'm still in that too flustered and unsettled to cook much stage, but eventually I'm going to bust out some quality noms. Until then, I expect a lot of posts of random ass vegan products I find around Prague.

I want to start a list or website or something listing all the vegan shit in Prague I find like coffeeshops with soymilk, nutritional yeast, etc. Maybe that will be in the works once I compile more info as I couldn't find anything like this myself in English and could've really used it. Luckily, my flatmate just pointed me in the direction of some nooch, which pretty much made my life. Would a list like this be useful to anyone?

She lives!

I'm alive. I swear there will be updates eventually, I've just moved to Prague and am taking a month long intensive TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course and it is eating my life. Once it's done, expect some posts featuring how the heck I'm managing to survive as a vegan here. Not only is Prague not quite as vegan-friendly as other places I've lived, but most of the time my limited knowledge of Czech prevents me from even reading the ingredients lists at the grocery store. Alas! I have survived somehow thus far. I just have a terrible craving for hummus that isn't canned (even that took a trek to a Middle Eastern grocery to find) and I can't quite satiate this urge until I move into my new flat and track down some tahini. There are vegan restaurants here though and even some coffee shops that have soymilk. I'll make it.

You see, in a week or so, I'll be back!

Basic Sourdough Bread

It's a wonder I haven't committed this recipe to memory yet. I'm not really sure why I haven't posted this yet, but this is the recipe I use to make my basic sourdough loaves. I've come a long way from my first attempt, let me tell you, which was not much more than a bread-shaped brick only edible right out of the oven. I hadn't quite mastered the art of making sourdough starter at that point. Speaking of, if making your own sourdough bread items strikes your fancy, let me direct you here.

Anyway, I only fussed with the original recipe a bit, making it a whole wheat and white flour fix and sometimes adding a bit of vital wheat gluten to add to the texture, though this is optional and I'm still not sure if I can tell the difference as it is mostly my family who gobbles this up after I make it.

ONWARDS.

Basic Sourdough Bread

- 3 1/2-4 cups good quality white flour (King Arthur works)
- 1 1/2-2 cups good quality whole wheat flour
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 cup sourdough starter (unproofed)
- 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

In a large bowl, combine the water, sourdough starter and 4 cups of flour (2 wheat, 2 white is what I usually do). Mix well and cover with plastic wrap in a warm place 8-12 hours (I do it over night).

The next day stir in the salt and sugar, then add vital wheat gluten (if using) and flour 1/2 to 1 cup at a time to make a very stiff dough and knead until smooth. Cover and let rise 2 to 2-1/2 hours.

After 2ish hours, punch down and divide in half. Knead till smooth and form into rounds. Place on a greased baking sheet (I put them on a baking sheet covered with finely ground corn meal and then transfer them to my baking stone for baking). Cover lightly (I use plastic wrap coated with a bit of olive oil so it won't stick) and let rise till double and puffy (1 to 1-2 hrs).

While this is rising mix the 1/2 cup water and 1/2 tsp cornstarch in a small bowl and microwave till boiling, remove from heat and let cool. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and carefully place a small pan of hot water on the bottom rack of the oven.

When done rising, cut two slashes across each other on top of each loaf. Bake for 10 minutes. Pull out the rack and baste each loaf well with the cornstarch mixture, then close the oven and allow to bake another 20-25 minutes. Loaves should be a light golden color and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Allow to cool for 2 hrs to develop the sourdough flavor fully if you can wait that long.