Pizza and the Farmer's Market

 
Hi Everyone,
Today we're having some chilly weather in Prague, but after the onslaught of the heat last week, it's nice to feel a bit cooler.  The weather is also cloudy, with the sun peaking in and out at various moments, and periods of rain.  I really don't mind as the cooler weather helps my asthma to ease up, and I'm feeling dryer, too, rather than constantly wet from the heat and humidity.  

Last night Jiri and I traveled out to one of the suburbs of Prague, Zlicin.  It was a nice trip, but for the tropical downpour!  We wanted to see something different and also to stop by Globus.  Globus is a huge grocery store on the order of Tesco and Walmart.  They sell more than just groceries, including clothing, sporting goods, and electronics.  Globus also has a very nice selection of wheat- and gluten-free products.   

One of my favorite products there are the pizza crusts by Schar.  They are rice crusts, but taste just like "real" pizza.  The crusts, when cut into regular pizza wedges, actually hold together, unlike other pizza crusts I've tried.  It's possible to eat the pizza just holding it...and this makes me feel like I'm actually eating "real" pizza.  Very good stuff for the soul, but maybe not the waistline.  Tonight I'll be making a pizza with homemade sauce and toppings, using the Schar pizza crust...and it will be heavenly...I can already smell the pizza cooking in the oven, and picture the cheese all nice and molten and melted to a golden brown on top, with tomato sauce oozing out just slightly near the edge of the crust...I can't wait! 

The Farmer's Market

Farmer's Market in Prague

 The market was crowded, in spite of the weather.

 Families were enjoying a bite to eat. The 

food smelled wonderful!

People of all ages enjoy the markets. 

This morning, while out running errands, I stopped by a farmer's market.  These markets are becoming ever more popular here, in Prague, and around the rest of the country.  People seem to be tired of the drab fruits and vegetables we see in the large supermarket chain stores.  The farmer's markets usually have stalls, and each stall has an awning hanging over the front with the name of the city and the product for sale.  

The market I attended today had farmers from all over the Czech Republic selling everything from fresh vegetables, homemade liquor, to handmade wicker baskets and meats.  Just walking through the market was a pleasure for me.  The smells and scents of the fresh vegetables, breads and meats was enough to drive me crazy!  The market was filled with people, and the prices were great.  

I stopped at the stall with the wicker baskets and was shocked to see a price of 185 CZK on a medium-sized, oval basket with a handle.  That's a very good price for a handmade wicker basket.  The wicker was natural, too, not made from plastic.  I did a little bit of shopping and bought a small fresh basil plant, along with some wonderful, cherry red roma tomatoes and some fresh cucumbers.  Can't wait to try them!

That's all for today--I hope you all have a great weekend!

God bless,
Sher :0) 

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Photo Credits:
Pizza:  italiancuisine on Photobucket
Farmer's Market:  S. Vacik


(c) 2010 by czechoffthebeatenpath

Busy Summer

Hi Everyone,

My life has been very busy since the last post!  Jiri and I took two trips, one to Pardubice (here in the Czech Republic), and a trip to Zurich, Switzerland.  In the midst of those two trips I also had a small project to work on, dealt with my normal health issues, and have worked on some other writing, along with a guest post on Expat Harem.  My Czech Off the Beaten Path Zazzle shop also made its first payout--that's a very nice feeling!  I'm also a year older since my last post. :0) Right now I'm in a "calm" time, and so have some time to update you about things here!

I will be posting about the trips to Pardubice and Zurich, but today I wanted to tell you about our "International Day" last weekend.  Jiri and I were very busy with some foreign visitors on Sunday.  Our church, St. Clements Anglican-Episcopal Church, often times has tourists visiting, especially during the spring and summer months.  Last weekend, we had a tour group, from the States, come and worship with us.  This group, of about 40 Americans, contacted our chaplain, Rev. Ricky Yates, and said they would like to invite some members from the congregation to lunch and discussion after church.  What a great invitation!  I volunteered to be one of those who had lunch with this group, and I was not disappointed at all.   

We visited  u Benedikta, a small restaurant/pub not too far from church.  The restaurant was just big enough to hold our group of 40 Americans, plus 6-8 members of the congregation.  I sat at a table with three ladies.  They were very nice and we had a wonderful conversation.  I must say we didn't only discuss Prague and religion in this country, but I was also asking them about their lives and their trip. This group's trip took them from Germany, to Prague, and then on to Budapest.  We had a fun visit and we even exchanged contact information.  I'm looking forward to hearing from these ladies about how the rest of their trip went.  And I have to say I enjoyed visiting with this group from the States; it was a very lovely touch from home. 

While I was to lunch with the Americans, Jiri was with a couple of visiting colleagues--one from Germany, and one from Israel.  He took them on a sightseeing tour of the old parts of Prague.  They had a great time visiting the old Jewish cemetery and synagogues, Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, and more.  After my lunch with the American tour group, I stopped by the store to pick up a few things for dinner.  We were hosting Jiri's two visitors for dinner at our house.  Anyway, Jiri and his colleagues had a great time. When they were finished sightseeing, they proceeded to our flat, where I had just finished getting everything ready for our supper.  We had such a great visit with Jiri's colleagues.  They are all collaborating on a project, and it was fun to hear them discuss that, along with the state of world and many other topics.  

So, Sunday was an "International Day" here at our house, and a very good one, at that.  I enjoyed every part of the day---from the visit with the Americans in the morning, to our dinner guests in the evening.  It was busy, but very fun and insightful.  You always learn to see your home from a different perspective when you have visitors.  And you learn more about yourself, too.  I learned I'm becoming a bit more comfortable with people from different countries and backgrounds.  This is one of the changes that has come about in my life since becoming an expat almost four years ago.  I'm also becoming a bit more flexible in my own thinking and beliefs.  That's not a bad thing...and I hope this process is making me into a better person overall.

That's all for now...my next post will be about Pardubice--a very pretty city in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic.  And I'll have another post from our trip to Zurich!

Have a great day!

God bless,

Sher :0) 

Czech Off the Beaten Path Website

Czech Off the Beaten Path T-shirts & More

Sher's Stuff

Photo credit:  limabeanlover on Photobucket

(c) 2010 by czechoffthebeatenpath