Nomnomnomnomnom

In honour of all those Czechies who claim to hate peanut butter (until they've sampled a Reeses' after someone's business trip), I've been whipping these up for lucky coworkers...

Peanut Butter Bits

Ingredients:

125g unsalted butter
123g powdered sugar
180g smooth peanut butter (use Skippy, it’s the yummiest annnnnd you can even buy it in Albert!)
60g unsalted butter
90-100g chopped chocolate (go crazy)

Directions:

1.    Line an 20x20cm square pan with foil, leaving enough to hang over the sides, then butter the foil. Set aside.

a.     If they do not make 20x20cm pans, then I don’t know what to tell you. I’m converting everything from our ridiculous imperial system. Just use common sense. Also, I forgot to butter the foil, but it’s nonstick anyway, so I feel like this is just unnecessary. Don’t bother with it.

2.    In a medium saucepan, melt the 125g of butter over low heat. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in the powdered sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter until completely combined and smooth. Spread the peanut butter mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Lick the spoon. And maybe the pot, as it needs to be cleaned out anyway.

3.    In the now-empty saucepan (because you licked it clean), melt the 60g unsalted butter over VERY LOW heat. Add the chocolate and stir until almost completely melted. Remove from heat and continue stirring until completely melted. Pour the melted chocolate over the peanut butter layer and smooth into an even layer.

4.    Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to set. Remove from the pan using the foil overhangs and place on a cutting board. Use a pizza cutter to slice into 16 bars. If you don’t have a pizza cutter, I’m pretty sure you’ll still be able to manage. If not, I think we have bigger issues to tackle than your cooking skills. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Or just eat it all, then you don’t have to worry about storing anything.

Please note that I accept no responsibility for weight gain or dentist’s bills. Dobrou chut!

Everything in moderation, including moderation.

                                                                        -Julia Child

Une Nuit à Paris

In Part Deux of our 12 Dates in 12 Months schtick, Donut and I "went" to Paris for Valentine's Day. Well, I knew we were going for Valentine's Day. Donut, in his Czechy practicality, doesn't appreciate VDay like us Americans, so for him this was just Thursday. With dinner. And a theme.

I picked up some macaroons from Paul for dessert as I feared French pastries were a bit beyond my means.

You gotta give a little love

10. There are lots of spots in Prague that are designated expat hangouts. There are also lots and lots of pretentious expats who will vilify these places, spouting off lines such as "You'll never get a true Prague experience if you only hang out with other Americans," or "Well I only go to truly Czech places because I like to immerse myself in the culture."  Well, bravo for you. I like to go to places where I can get a damn good cheeseburger. Fraktal's one of them. It's super close, modestly priced and has a friendly staff. And even though their menu changes have taken my beloved Fraktal BLT and turned it into something no where near as good (bring back the English bacon!!!), there are still lots of yummy new things, so one can't get too mad. 

Patterns, pssssshhhht.

Blender is back where it belongs, and soup has been pureed into a smooth, velvety, veggie goodness:

The best laid plans...

It's taken me until this weekend, more than halfway through January, to really get into the new year spirit. I finally feel like big things are gonna happen, it's time to turn over a new leaf, and all of the other things that one is generally supposed to feel the first two or three days of the month, not in the second half of it. This explains why my Pinterest is full of new pins on exercise routines and healthy meals, week one of a C25K podcast is downloaded and going on my iPod (to be busted out when the snow goes away), there is a bowl of big juicy grapes next to my bed where the chocolate bars usually live, green tea in my coffee mug (mehhhh...) and my lesson stuff has been reorganized into individual folders in a lovely shade of aqua (there is no point being organized if it doesn't look nice). This may have something to do with the fact that I can no longer continue to blame Mom's fancy American dryer for shrinking my clothes and will just have to face facts that I'm getting pudgier than I care to be. Donut keeps quoting Despicable Me:

Sometimes, I Really Miss America

Especially when grocery shopping. I miss the wide aisles and the selection and the readable signs and the fresh vegetables and fruits and bahhhhhhhhhh. I got a bit frustrated. In general, my behavior the past few days can generously be summed up as Mephistophelean, so attempting an after work shopping trip was probably not the greatest idea, but I was desperate. Yesterday I had spaghetti with garlic and herb salad dressing on it. That's how desperate things have become.

But I battled on and managed to scrounge up some essentials, including enough things to throw together something vaguely resembling chili. Super easy and came out delicious, so if I can do it, you can too.

You will need...

• 1 kilo (2 lb.) ground beef (at least I think that's what that was)
• two small onions, diced
• three garlic cloves, diced
• 1 can of black beans, not drained
• 2 cans diced or chopped tomatoes
• 1 can of "Texas" style corn, not drained (this is really just a "fancy" way of saying corn with some black beans mixed in)
• 1 sweet bell pepper
• 1 packet McCormick mild chili seasoning
• 1/2 packet McCormick taco seasoning
• salt

For those of you who don't have the pleasure of dealing in metric or with Czech markets, our canned vegetables generally come in 400g (14oz). For those of you not blessed to be doing your grocery shopping in the US, I don't know where you can get McCormicks packets. May you be as lucky as I am to know people willing to mail them to you. 

Basically, it's about as easy as it gets. Brown the beef with the onions and add in the garlic to let that brown up a bit. Drain the fat. Add everything else and bring to a boil. Cover and let it simmer for about 10 minutes or until you are too hungry to wait any longer, stirring occasionally (and sampling, obviously). Slap it in a big bowl, top with a dollop of sour cream (or, if you are me and are still unsure of what's Czech for sour cream after one year, a glob of greek yogurt) and burn your tongue trying to get it down. Dream about how fantastic it would be to have corn bread to go with it. Make mental note to ask Donut to help you find cornmeal. Try not to spill. Hope you enjoy it, because it will be the only thing you are eating for the next week as you now have enough chili to feed an army. 

Would have included a picture, but we all know my pictures look awful and it's chili - who cares?! It all looks the same, regardless of what you put in it. Besides, I was too busy scarfing it down (see above). 

And with that, I'm off to finish my big cup of cappuccino and try to keep my eyes open long enough to get myself back on schedule. Goodnight lovelies!

I hereby declare...

I was right, this jet lag is killing me. After a brief nap, I'm now wide awake at 3am. Rats.

So then, lets get to it. Here are my grand plans for 2013.

- mail actual birthday cards. Mapping out calendar reminders tomorrow. Ability of recipients to understand said birthday cards highly questionable. Ability of myself to even recognize that said cards are in fact meant for birthdays also dubious.

- put that sewing machine to good use. One new craft a month, documented.

- learn some more basic Czech. Be able to have a conversation with Donut's parents.

- find a new job. Stop being lazy and get on it. Preferably one with things like benefits and a salary that puts me above the poverty line.

- expand circle if friends here. Our group has shrunk considerably in the last six months, and it can be quite lonely with the Jersey three holding things down. Reminds me, must email dinner party group and tell them will host. Now, what typical American food can I make without a grill?

- be a better blogger. This is mainly an outlet for me to fill in family and friends about what's going on, but I enjoy it a lot and want to push myself to be more diligent about keeping up with it. So hold me accountable.

- be happy and healthy and blah blah blah.


Also, quick little recipe care of Donut's dad for fast and easy hot wine (let's face it, after Christmas it's the only thing winter is good for): pour yourself a mug of your favorite red (a nice Pinot noir, a scrumptious cab Sauv), add about one inch of cinnamon stick, two or three cloves, and two teaspoons of sugar. Zap it in the microwave for two minutes, slurp away, refill with more wine when needed. Each spice mix is good for at least two glasses, so glug away as you count down the days until spring.

The Year in Review

It's time to evaluate how I did with last year's goals. I think all in all I had an excellent year, and I hope that reviewing these don't make me think otherwise!

Feed the Body:

• Master the art of Czech "kitchen". Armed with my copy of The Best Czech Recipes, I'll be turning out Moravian Sparrow and Stuffed Kohlrabi in no time. As soon as I find out what a kohlrabi is. (Update: German turnip). Nottttttt so much. Add this to 2013. 
• Stop just randomly pinning every nom-worthy thing that I see and actually make something. Two new recipes a month (though given how my shopping trips have been going, this is likely to be much higher simply due to the creativity needed when you can't find what you're looking for). This one I nailed. Tried out a whole slew of Pinterest recipes with resounding success.  Here are some of what I believe to be the best...
• Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake
• Lemon Brownies
• Cream of Mushroom Soup
• Spicy Thai Noodles
• Cheesey Mushroom Pull-Apart Bread
• Eat like an adult. It is no longer acceptable to eat Ramen for 5 days straight... for breakfast. It's time to get reacquainted with vegetables other than mushrooms and potatoes (usually in fry or pancake form), or eat 17 cookies in one sitting (unless it's Christmas. Then all bets are off.). Am I swearing off grilled cheese and chips forever? No. (In fact, think I may go make a grilled cheese sandwich right now.) But it's definitely time to step up the game and hit a little closer to that food pyramid.  Definitely got better at this one thanks to trying out new recipes. Still not the healthiest diet in the world, but one needs a bit of fat... staves off wrinkles. 
• Put those running shoes to use for something other than trotting over to the pizza place. Stick 'em on, lace 'em up, and get over to Stromovka for some less polluted than city center fresh air. Did very, very well with this for a while, until I went back to the US in the summer and then became a lazy bum again. But not completely as Donut will not let that happen. 
• Get more sleep. Teaching means you have a whacky schedule. There are days when I start at 7am, and days when I won't start until 3pm. Usually, this means that on the days when I have a 7am class, I am a zombie and dead on my feet for the rest of the (lonnnnnng, lonnnnnnnnnnng) day. We all know I am not a morning person; I will never be a shining ray of sunshine at that ungodly hour. But I do need to start turning out the lights earlier rather than staying up til the weeeeeee hours of the morning reading A Place of Yes. Done. Old lady bedtimes and all. 

Feed the Mind:

• Put that Rosetta Stone to good use. Brush up on my French & Spanish, and start learning German (and some important Czech. Pivo is not cutting it anymore.). Get a language buddy (bonus points if it happens to be a tall, hot German). Take a class through school. Use it. Be global and fabulous. Explain to me, language school that I work for, why you cannot offer language courses to your staff? Absurdities. Fear I cannot push off learning Czech much longer so this one will also have to join 2013's list. 
• Go somewhere new and cultural each month. Easy enough in a city like Prague, smack dab in the middle of Europe. (Must try to save harder so can actually leave the city!) And remember my camera, so you can actually see what I'm talking about.  Did fairly well with this one and crammed a lot of culture (outside of the pub!) into the past year. Check. 
• Put those charcoals and paints to good use and get creative. This is a beautiful city. My photography does not do it justice, but maybe I can make something that does. (Please note that hours after reading this, I did something cultural [yay, knocking that resolution outta the park] and of course, forgot my camera) Our apartment is now full of the "art" that is the result of painting Sundays with Peej. Now that I'm armed with my sewing machine, this will only get better. 
• Read the classics - Pride & Prejudice. Emma. Sense & Sensibility. Jane Eyre. Anything else people recommend. AKA, all the books that are on my Kindle because I got to download them for free, but have been put on the backburner so that I could read things like Spying in High Heels (excellent, by the way). Also, watch the classics. Casablanca. Breakfast at Tiffany's. The Godfather movies. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Really, any movie where people look at me and go "Whaaaaaat? What's wrong with you? How have you not seen that movie?!?! It's, like, the greatest movie of all time." (Except for Sci-Fi. This is supposed to be enjoyable. I suffered through Avatar, and that was enough.) Negative. No time for movies, and much prefer my thrillers and chic lit. This is something I will just have to accept. 

The Social Network:

• Put myself out there. Get into one new social situation a month. Find out where the non-trolls are hiding. Report back to other Prague girls. Done - networking events, mingles, speed dating, supper clubs, life in general. This one was an easy one. 
• Join a club - drawing, books, volunteer stuff, whatever. But do something that is interesting. I absolutely love volunteering for Pink Crocodile. It's a great cause to work for and everyone is really lovely and I've gotten to do a lot of really cool stuff because of it. Wins all around. 
• Write more letters. Who doesn't love mail? I love mail. I can't seem to get mail, but it would be lovely if my mailman actually read the addresses on envelopes and I got some. So will write them instead. (Also, this gives me a perfectly valid excuse to go buy nice monogrammed stationary, which you all know I love.) I will say that I spent the year poking in and out of papirnictvis looking for stationary which I could not find, so that will be my excuse as to why no one other than my grandparents and my cousins got a handwritten postcard from me this year. 
• Keep a journal. I try to be fairly open on here, but let's be honest. There are just some things that I don't want to share with all of you. But this is going to be a fantastic year, and I really want an honest collection of all the craziness that's about to ensue, for my eyes only. This one I did try, but gave up when I realized that I only remembered to write in it after a few drinks and then couldn't understand anything anyway, so gave up on that one. 

Okay, so I think I did fairly well. Better to have a gazillion resolutions and succeed at a couple than make one blanket one such as "I will get healthy" and then retract that after one week at the gym. Feel fairly successful. Have a few ideas kicking around for 2013 ones, so I'll have to finalize them and get them out to you tomorrow (knowing how badly I've screwed up my sleep patterns in the last 48 hours, something tells me I will have a lot of time tonight to get it done!). 

So what are your resolutions? How did you do with yours last year? Success? Failure? Calling it a draw?