I have just discovered a Dungeness Crab!
I found it at Costco last weekend and had it for dinner on Sunday. It was already cooked, so I just warmed it up and enjoyed its delicious sweet meat!!!
I had other types of crab before, but I really really like this one. My husband was excited about this new addition to our diet too, so I will be looking for it again soon :-)
26 Mar 2013
25 Mar 2013
THE HOME OF THE HUSKERS
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinucUxPkLqjwpHI3WcBigUK1mhVdagODt3CpMWb4YU6ObjoaYZ-CogKDCrk96LWE59DUnt1ttXhud7dcsyUn2ZIIbI9hEXQ8zpdzycVdzkN-GhJ6K9Zr5LkhTYwEuVXTO9wYEAlrSDaWsg/s200/cornhuskers.png)
The Huskers or The Cornhuskers is the name associated with a football team (for the Europeans: 'football' here means American football. 'Football' is called soccer in the USA... and the UK) and the home of The Huskers is the US state of Nebraska. You will see this logo and the coulours everywhere.
Nebraska and its capitol city of Lincoln became also my home for one year.
This state was crossed by many historic trails and the most important was the California Gold Rush trail, but before that many Native American tribes lived in Nebraska : Omaha, Missouria, Ponca, Otoe, Pawnee, Lacota (Sioux). Nebraska became a state in 1867.
Ethnically, the largest group of people in Nebraska are German-Americans and Czech-Americans which I have to mention because I am Czech.
Well, I would hear so many times "I am Czech too!" when I mentioned I was from the Czech Republic, but don't expect the person to speak Czech or know much about the Czech Republic, many of them still call it -Czechoslovakia-. To be fair, I did meet some people which knew a lot about their ancestors' origins, even visited the country, but there were not many.
On another Czech note, there is a town in Nebraska called Wilber, it is the official 'Czech Capital of the USA' and it hosts an annual Czech festival.
Lincoln was my first home here in the USA as my husband worked there on a project.
I had visited other parts of the USA before I moved to Nebraska, but it was on the east and the west coast. So, what was waiting for me here was a big shock.
It wasn't so much of a cultural shock ( I love to explore other cultures) as it was an 'environmental' shock for me. I will not be lying, it was a very traumatic experience.
Nebraska is part of the region called the Plains and it is part of the Great plains region that can be described as a land covered in prairie, steppe and grassland.
I come from the region of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and lived in the wooded mountain range region of the Black Forest in Germany, Midi-Pyrenees region with its range of mountains The Pyrenees in France etc. In other words, totally different environment.
What I am trying to say is that I am an outdoor person (...with many other interests) who loves hiking, cycling etc. and I wasn't settling well in this part of the world. Some locals called it a "cows and corn" place and that pretty much describes it. The only outdoor activity that you could possibly participate on was hunting and fishing and I am not big on these.
The summer and winter temperatures are not pleasant and get ready for possible tornadoes and violent storms too.
Also, I am sorry, but Lincoln isn't particularly an international hub either and after living in London for example, it wasn't an easy transition in any sense. Not to mention that everything/anything was so far away....I felt like a prisoner, from many angles.
It was definitely the most difficult relocation for me (for other reasons as well) and I don't want to remember much about that time, but I tried to make the most of it and do have some amazing memories even from Nebraska.
One of them is the Annual Spring Migration where estimated 500 thousand, about 80% of the world's population of Sandhill Cranes pass through the Platte River valley when they are heading north every year and make a stopover near Grand Island and Kearney. I was lucky to witness this spectacle.
I will add more pictures from Nebraska in my next posts.
Labels:
Czech,
Expat Experience,
Nebraska,
Outdoors,
USA,
Where is home?
22 Mar 2013
LITTLE WHITE LIES - ' Les Petits Mouchoirs '
I have seen another French movie "Little White Lies".
The original French title is Les petits mouchoirs which means 'the small handkerchiefs'. The title of the movie is based on the French expression mettre dans la poche avec le mouchoir par dessus - ' to put something in your pocket covered with your handkerchief ' and means that you want to hide something or don't want to think about it.
It is about a group of old friends and how they are dealing with secrets, rivalry, personal problems and conflicts after an accident leaves their friend in the hospital.
I enjoyed the movie, but give it some time in the beginning. It is a very long movie and it takes time before you start to understand the story.
20 Mar 2013
SPRING EQUINOX - EASTER IS COMING
As I don't belong to any religion, to me and many other people, Easter is the time to celebrate Spring , but Easter
is definitely religious holiday with its customs and traditions.
Over the years, the Christian festival moved in date slightly from the Jewish Passover, so they don't now have the same date, but sometimes they are very close. The Christian date for Easter also follows the moon, so it aslo changes every year. To make things even more complicated, Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter, like Christmas, on a different day to Catholic and Western Christians.
Easter officially starts with Lent. LENT is the period of 46 days before Easter (Lent last for 40 days but you don't count the Sundays). It starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Day - Easter Saturday. It is a time to prepare for Easter. The last week of Lent is called Holy Week.
The day before Lent is SHROVE TUESDAY which is also known as MARDI GRAS in other countries.
Mardi Gras begins on or after Epiphany and finishes on the day bofore Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras season is festival season, also known for eating richer, fatty foods before the fasting rituals of Lent. It means 'fat Tuesday' in French.
HOLY WEEK starts on Palm Sunday and finishes with the celebration of Easter Sunday. In many churches, during Holy Week, special services are held on everyday up to and including Good Friday. Holy Week is a special time for Christians. Although every day is important, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday are very special.
PALM SUNDAY is the first Day of Holy Week. It is called Palm Sunday because the people were so happy to see Jesus, they took branches from the Palm and Olive Trees and waved them in the air. Today, to remember that day, Christians all over the world go to special Palm Sunday Church Services. They often receive small crosses made from Palm leaves or other local woods.
GOOD FRIDAY is a very important day when Christians remember that Jesus died for everyone. The 'Good' in Good Friday comes from old English when Good meant Holy. So you could call Good Friday 'Holy Friday'. There are parades all over the worls to celebrate and remember Good Friday.
EASTER EVE or HOLY SATURDAY is the day between Good Friday and Easter Day. It represents the one full day that Jesus was dead. It is also sometimes known as Holy Saturday. Most churches do not have any services on Easter Eve until the Midnight service to start the celebrations of Easter Day. It is also the last day of Lent. This day si also sometimes incorrectly called Easter Saturday. Easter Saturday is the Saturday following Easter Sunday, not the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
EASTER MONDAY is the day after Easter Sunday and is a national holiday in many countries. In some places it is called Ball Monday.
Rabbits and hares, eggs and chicks are often associated with Easter because, in Pagan times, they were signs of fertility and new life.
Here are some of the Easter traditions and customs I remember or was told about when I lived in:
GERMANY
Germans enjoy a very long Easter weekend. Good Friday (Karfreitag) and Easter Monday (Ostermontag) are public holidays and banks, offices and shops are closed. The schools are closed for usually two weeks around the Easter weekend.
Egg races (Eierlauf) are held in some villages on Easter Monday.
Frohe Ostern! Happy Easter!
FRANCE
Different regions have different traditions, but one in common - children Easter hunts for eggs hidden in the gardens, homes and playgrounds. Children prepare nest in their gardens and houses for the Easter bunny (le lapin de Pâcques) who will arrive during the night, bringing chocolate eggs. On Easter Sunday the children look for the eggs left by the Easter bunny.
Joyeuses Pâcques! or Bonnes Pâcques! Happy Easter!
UK
Special Easter parades are held as well and the Battersea Park parade in London is a very popular one.
Easter Monday is a favourite day for funfairs with rides and roundabouts, one of the oldest is held on Hampstead Heath in London.
Morris dancing is a traditional English form of folk dance which is also performed in other English-speaking countries such as the USA and Australia. The roots of the dancing are probably dating back to the Middle Ages. In the dance men dress up in costumes with hats and ribbons and bells around their ankles and dance through the streets.
Easter bunny made it to the UK as well :-). Also here, the eggs are painted, decorated or dyed, and then hidden around the garden for an Egg Hunt. Egg rolling competitions take place too.
Hot cross buns were first baked in Englang to be served on Good Friday. These sweet yeast buns contain raisins or currants and sometimes chopped candied fruit. Before baking, a cross is made on the top of the bun. The cross is filled with sugar icing after baking. I really like them.
USA
I am sure that everybody have heard about Mardi Gras in the New Orleans which features lots of fun activities.
Otherwise, the Easter traditionas are very similar to the ones in the UK and Germany.
Easter egg hunts and egg rolling are two popular traditions. The White House Easter Egg Roll, a race in which children push decorated, hard-boiled eggs across the White House lawn, is an annual event. The first official White House egg roll occurred in 1878.
I believe that top-selling Easter candy have been the marshmallow Peeps which are coloured marshmallows in the shape of chicks.
The Easter tradition is not so popular in the cities anymore, but in the country and regions with strong folklore like Moravia, where I come from, it is very different.
What saves my Easter is the art of egg decorating which I really enjoy. There are many ways to decorated them. You can dye egg shells different colours if you hard boil them in water with differnt things in it. 'Spinach leaves' make them green, 'beetroot' red, 'tea bag' dark brown, 'onion skin' yellow and 'red cabbage leaves' light blue. You can also use food colouring powder, but this is more fun.
If you want to keep the decorated eggs, you first have to empty them by blowing the content in a bowl through small holes that you make on both ends of the egg with a needle or a pin. Hollowed eggs can be decorated in so many beautiful ways!
We also bake a cake shaped like a lamb, and Mazanec which is a sweet bread made with rum soaked raisins and topped almonds.
Vesele Velikonoce! Happy Easter!
I hope you enjoy your Easter! I am looking forward to Spring!
Generally I love traditions, but I am just about to make a
statement here. I hate Easter time, well particularly one Easter tradition in
the Czech Republic where I come from. Before I tell you about it, I would like
to talk about Easter in general and the traditions of other countries I also lived in -the
UK, Germany, France and now the US, so that you understand that it was really
nothing to look forward to – FOR A GIRL! when I still lived in the Czech
Republic.
Where does the word 'Easter' come from? It is believed that long ago some people in Europe worshipped the Goddess of Spring 'Eostre' and that Easter got its name from her. They thought that the sun died in winter and was born again in Spring and the goddess brought the spring and with it the sun would get stronger. Others believe that the word comes from two old pagan spring festivals. The old European pagan festival of 'Ostara' that celebrated new life and Arabian Sun festival of 'Ishtar'.
The early Christians took over the festivals and turned the pagan festivals of new life to mean the new life that Jesus gave the world when he rose from the dead.
Easter is the time of the Christian year when Christians remember the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Unlike Christmas, when Jesus's births is celebrated, Easter is celebrated around the same time of year that Jesus was killed. This is because Jesus died at the time of the Jewish Passover festival. The fist Jewish Christians added Easter celebrations to the Passover festival and because Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday, Easter Day became the first Sunday after Passover.
Over the years, the Christian festival moved in date slightly from the Jewish Passover, so they don't now have the same date, but sometimes they are very close. The Christian date for Easter also follows the moon, so it aslo changes every year. To make things even more complicated, Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter, like Christmas, on a different day to Catholic and Western Christians.
Easter officially starts with Lent. LENT is the period of 46 days before Easter (Lent last for 40 days but you don't count the Sundays). It starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Day - Easter Saturday. It is a time to prepare for Easter. The last week of Lent is called Holy Week.
The day before Lent is SHROVE TUESDAY which is also known as MARDI GRAS in other countries.
Mardi Gras begins on or after Epiphany and finishes on the day bofore Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras season is festival season, also known for eating richer, fatty foods before the fasting rituals of Lent. It means 'fat Tuesday' in French.
HOLY WEEK starts on Palm Sunday and finishes with the celebration of Easter Sunday. In many churches, during Holy Week, special services are held on everyday up to and including Good Friday. Holy Week is a special time for Christians. Although every day is important, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday are very special.
PALM SUNDAY is the first Day of Holy Week. It is called Palm Sunday because the people were so happy to see Jesus, they took branches from the Palm and Olive Trees and waved them in the air. Today, to remember that day, Christians all over the world go to special Palm Sunday Church Services. They often receive small crosses made from Palm leaves or other local woods.
GOOD FRIDAY is a very important day when Christians remember that Jesus died for everyone. The 'Good' in Good Friday comes from old English when Good meant Holy. So you could call Good Friday 'Holy Friday'. There are parades all over the worls to celebrate and remember Good Friday.
EASTER EVE or HOLY SATURDAY is the day between Good Friday and Easter Day. It represents the one full day that Jesus was dead. It is also sometimes known as Holy Saturday. Most churches do not have any services on Easter Eve until the Midnight service to start the celebrations of Easter Day. It is also the last day of Lent. This day si also sometimes incorrectly called Easter Saturday. Easter Saturday is the Saturday following Easter Sunday, not the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
EASTER MONDAY is the day after Easter Sunday and is a national holiday in many countries. In some places it is called Ball Monday.
Rabbits and hares, eggs and chicks are often associated with Easter because, in Pagan times, they were signs of fertility and new life.
Here are some of the Easter traditions and customs I remember or was told about when I lived in:
Germans enjoy a very long Easter weekend. Good Friday (Karfreitag) and Easter Monday (Ostermontag) are public holidays and banks, offices and shops are closed. The schools are closed for usually two weeks around the Easter weekend.
Several days before Easter you will see spring flowers on
display and traditional Easter trees – decorated with hanging eggs. The eggs
are hollowed and decorated in many different styles.
There is a custom of boiling eggs, the symbols of new life, which
began in Germany. The bright colours represent sunlight and growth. Nowadays,
the Easter eggs are also exchanged as presents.
Other symbol is the rabbit – Easter bunny (der Osterhase)
which symbolizes fertility (It was imported to America as Easter bunny by Dutch
settlers in Pennsylvania). The first edible Easter bunnies were made in Germany
around 1800.
Easter Sunday is the
most important of the holiday weekend. Families gather for the Easter lunch
that includes coloured eggs and a lamb-shaped cake among others. In the morning, parents hide baskets filled
with coloured, hardboiled eggs, chocolate bunnies, sweets and other little
presents for the kids and many families attend an Easter service. I is a good
day to visit a local market in search for arts and crafts.
Egg races (Eierlauf) are held in some villages on Easter Monday.
The celebration of Mardi Gras is called Karneval, Fasching or Fastnacht
and the most famous parades are in Cologne and Düsseldorf. Easter
bonfires are lit in the north regions of Germany to chase away the winter and prepare
for the spring.
Frohe Ostern! Happy Easter!
FRANCE
Different regions have different traditions, but one in common - children Easter hunts for eggs hidden in the gardens, homes and playgrounds. Children prepare nest in their gardens and houses for the Easter bunny (le lapin de Pâcques) who will arrive during the night, bringing chocolate eggs. On Easter Sunday the children look for the eggs left by the Easter bunny.
The
children also throw the raw eggs up in the air
and catch them so long until someone drops one. Sometimes the raw eggs are
rolled down a gentle slope and the surviving egg wins.
Some traditional food are doughnuts (les beignets) , pancakes (les crepe) or waffles (les guagres).
Church bells do not ring on Good Friday or Easter Saturday. Sometimes children are told that the bells have gone off to see the Pope. The bells ring again on Easter Sunday and children are sometimes told that they are coming back to deliver their eggs on Easter morning. So, in the candy shops you can also find chocolate flying bells.
There is also something else you
can find in the shops around Easter – a chocolate fish - poisson d’Avril - April fish.
It is not originally related to Easter , but to the 1st of April –Fools
Day. Children try to stick a paper fish onto the backs of adults and run away shouting
“Poisson
d’Avril !”
UK
Special Easter parades are held as well and the Battersea Park parade in London is a very popular one.
Morris dancing is a traditional English form of folk dance which is also performed in other English-speaking countries such as the USA and Australia. The roots of the dancing are probably dating back to the Middle Ages. In the dance men dress up in costumes with hats and ribbons and bells around their ankles and dance through the streets.
USA
CZECH REPUBLIC
So, the German, French, British and American kids seem to have lots of fun during Easter…..and Czech girls... well they get whipped!
Easter in the Czech Republic lasts two days – Easter Sunday and Monday.So, the German, French, British and American kids seem to have lots of fun during Easter…..and Czech girls... well they get whipped!
The Easter tradition is not so popular in the cities anymore, but in the country and regions with strong folklore like Moravia, where I come from, it is very different.
Girls make Easter eggs and boys make Easter whip (pomlazka) which is made of willow branches and decorated with colourful
ribbons. Its original meaning is to chase away illness and bad spirits and to
bring health and youth for the rest of the year to the person who is whipped
with the young willow twigs. On Easter Monday (Velikonocni Pondeli) young boys would whip young girls lightly on the legs and
in some regions douse them with water which has a similar meaning. As a reward, the girls would give boys
decorated eggs (kraslice) or candy.
The whipping should be symbolic, but let me tell you, I
still remember “the symbolism” on my legs. We are not talking only about young boys.
Anybody of the male gender can participate on this. Unfortunately, today the men
are also given shots of plum brandy (slivovice)
and as the men progress through the
village, by early afternoon, they don’t seem
to remember anything about the symbolic meaning of the tradition. So you stand
there with the fake smile on your face waiting to be whipped and then reward
the men with eggs, alcohol and nowadays even
with some money.
How would you like this tradition?
![]() |
"Mazanec" |
18 Mar 2013
NAPERVILLE
I currently live in Naperville in the US state of Illinois,
located in DuPage and Will counties. Naperville is a suburban city of Chicagoland
with population of 140 thousand inhabitants. It was first found as Naper’s
Settlement after Joseph Naper who arrived at the west bank of the DuPage River
with his family and friends in July 1831.
DuPage County was split from Cook County in 1839 and Naper’s Settlement became the DuPage county seat and was incorporated as the Village of Naperville in 1857 (population 2000 at that time). It became a city in 1890.
I like Naperville downtown mainly for its Riverwalk, especially in summer time. Riverwalk was built in 1981 to commemorate the city’s 150th birthday and has won state and national awards. I am not surprised as it is a really beautiful area with bridges, fountains and pretty landscaping.
DuPage County was split from Cook County in 1839 and Naper’s Settlement became the DuPage county seat and was incorporated as the Village of Naperville in 1857 (population 2000 at that time). It became a city in 1890.
I like Naperville downtown mainly for its Riverwalk, especially in summer time. Riverwalk was built in 1981 to commemorate the city’s 150th birthday and has won state and national awards. I am not surprised as it is a really beautiful area with bridges, fountains and pretty landscaping.
There are outdoor concerts, paddle boat rides, you can stroll along the river, jog, have a picnic, admire sculpture art or just sit on a bench, feed a duck :-) and enjoy the moment.
TOFU "EGG" SALAD
I was having lunch at Whole Foods www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/naperville one day and their cold buffet was offering, apart from other yummy
dishes, "egg less" salad with tofu. It looked interesting and as I am
always keen to discover new flavours, I decided to give it a try. I loved it and
immediately started to think that I wanted to make it at home.
I have found this recipe on the Internet. You can adjust it to your own taste. I personally use a bit less of Dijon mustard and leave out apple cider vinegar altogether as I find it acidic enough just with the mustard. I love to add the nutritional yeast which I also get at Whole Foods, and sometimes I use chives instead of scallions.
As for the directions bellow, I don't bother to toss the tofu first with the dry mix. I combine everything in a bowl and then add tofu which I cut in really small cubes.
I am not a vegan, nor am I a vegetarian, but I like to eat healthy food and this recipe definitely belongs to that category.
It is great on a slice of fresh bread or just as is!
1 tsp celery seed
I have found this recipe on the Internet. You can adjust it to your own taste. I personally use a bit less of Dijon mustard and leave out apple cider vinegar altogether as I find it acidic enough just with the mustard. I love to add the nutritional yeast which I also get at Whole Foods, and sometimes I use chives instead of scallions.
As for the directions bellow, I don't bother to toss the tofu first with the dry mix. I combine everything in a bowl and then add tofu which I cut in really small cubes.
I am not a vegan, nor am I a vegetarian, but I like to eat healthy food and this recipe definitely belongs to that category.
It is great on a slice of fresh bread or just as is!
Tofu "Egg" Salad
18 ounces (500g) firm or extra firm tofu, squeezed dry with paper towel/diced into cubes
1/2 cup vegan mayo
1/3 cup Dijon mustard 1 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp black pepper - fine
1 tsp maple syrup
1 cup chopped scallions
2-3 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (optional)
Directions:
1. Prep veggies, dry and cube your tofu - toss in large bowl
2. combine/whisk dressing and add to large bowl
3. Toss well
4. Chill until ready to serve!
12 Mar 2013
THE REVENGE OF GEOGRAPHY
I have just finished a book by Robert D. Kaplan "The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About
Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate"
It was such an interesting read. I have lived in several countries and I am very interested in foreign cultures and history, so this book caught my attention. I am so glad it did. I don't think that I will look at the world with the same eyes from now on.
It was such an interesting read. I have lived in several countries and I am very interested in foreign cultures and history, so this book caught my attention. I am so glad it did. I don't think that I will look at the world with the same eyes from now on.
11 Mar 2013
BAOBABS
I love trees. Baobab tree of Madagascar is one of my favourite. So, when I decided some time ago to try a new form of art, I chose to paint a baobab landscape for my watercolour project. I used a picture from National Geographic Magazine. I haven't been to Madagascar, so I haven't seen Madagascar baobab in real life, but I would love to one day!
This is the result of my attempt.
About Baobab:
Genus name - Adansonia
There are eight species, six native to Madagascar (it is the national tree of Madagascar), one to Africa and one to Australia.
There are eight species, six native to Madagascar (it is the national tree of Madagascar), one to Africa and one to Australia.
They are also called "bottle trees" or "upside-down trees". They can reach up to 30 metres (98ft) and trunk up to 11 metres (36ft).
It is difficult to verify the age of the tree as it does not produce annual growth rings, but it is believed that some baobabs are many thousands of years old.
The Baobab tree is also known as the "tree of life". It can store hundreds of litres of water and the bark is fire resistant. The leaves are used in medicine, the fruit - called "monkey bread" is edible and rich in Vitamin C.
9 Mar 2013
THE INTOUCHABLES - 'Intouchables '
This was the best movie I have seen in months. Must see!!!
I knew about the movie and was sort of avoiding it for a while because of the topic. I was under impression that it would be a sad movie, about a man who had a terrible accident. Well, his condition is still sad, but what an amazing true story! I loved every minute of the actors' performance. The humour was unforgettable.
I think I enjoyed it even more, because I could follow it in it's original French version, well kind of. I lived in France for a while, but I am forgetting the language and it was an opportunity to practice again.
http://www.theintouchables.com
"An irreverent, uplifting comedy about friendship, trust and human possibility, The Intouchables has broken box office records in its native France and across Europe. Based on a true story of friendship between a handicap millionaire (Francois Cluzet) and his street smart ex-con caretaker (Omar Sy), The Intouchables depicts an unlikely camaraderie rooted in honesty and humor between two individuals who, on the surface, would seem to have nothing in common."
8 Mar 2013
White
This year the winter
arrived in March. We have had hardly any snow in Chicagoland this winter and we
certainly didn’t expect snow to arrive now, especially when we are waiting for
the real estate market to pick up so that we can carry on with our house search.
So, we weren’t happy about the forecast at first, to be honest we were
annoyed, but only until the day when the snow started falling. It was actually
such a beautiful day, for my husband and me anyway. It was just about 0 °C
(32 °
F), wasn’t blowing like crazy for a change, which is quite typical for Chicago
area, so we couldn’t wait to get out and enjoy ourselves!
The pictures are from the area where Naperville and Bolingbrook neighbourhoods meet - between Knoch Knolls Park and River Crest Estates Park. We were following the DuPage river this time.
What a great walk in the woods!!!
The pictures are from the area where Naperville and Bolingbrook neighbourhoods meet - between Knoch Knolls Park and River Crest Estates Park. We were following the DuPage river this time.
What a great walk in the woods!!!
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