Below is the last recipe with meat in it that I'll be posting for a month. Last Saturday I pledged to go meat-free for October, which is National Vegetarian Awareness Month. (I was a vegetarian for about 10 years - throughout my 20s - so I know what it entails. I stopped because I missed sausage.) Why am I doing it? Because I've been thinking a LOT about my health and how what I eat affects it.
Last year, my mother almost died from colon cancer. I'm not saying she developed cancer because she ate meat, but what happened to her reminded me that there's overwhelming evidence that a plant-based diet increases your chances of not developing all kinds of bad conditions and of living longer. And now, two of my three siblings have had colonoscopies that found pre-cancerous polyps. That makes me want to take even more precautions with my health. But I've committed to writing the cookbook, which involves testing lots of meat recipes... fried chicken, pork cutlets, pickled tongue, barbecued brisket, jitrnice, prezvurst, head sausage, summer sausage, pork cheeks, picnic stew, liver dumplings, wieners, roast duck, klobasniky, homemade bacon, jelita, roast pork, and the list goes on. One of my cousins used to eat homemade bread spread with lard for lunch! (I won't be adding that to the cookbook, I don't think.)
Interestingly, in rural Moravia in the 19th century, people hardly ate meat at all because it was just too expensive. I know the same was at least partially true when my 95-year-old grandmother was growing up because of stories about her mother making one chicken stretch to feed their whole family. (My grandmother was one of 11 children.) If they weren't all eating a quarter of a chicken each, they had to have been eating something... vegetables and grains and breads? If so, why aren't there more of those recipes than meat recipes easily found in community cookbooks, church newsletters, small town newspapers? Research, research, research....
So, I'll take a one month break from all the pork products that are staples of the Texas-Czech diet and try to explore the rest of the traditional plate. I think being vegetarian actually makes people more creative cooks. I'm looking forward to searching for the elusive Texas-Czech salad, dairy, vegetable, fruit and grain recipes. Two are below, actually.... potato pancakes and a kohlrabi salad. (My comments about all the recipes are in italics.)
Pork Roast with Caraway Seed
Barbara Rozacky Hill
from the Travis-Williamson Co. Czech Heritage Society Cookbook, 1996
3 to 4 lb. shoulder or loin pork roast
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. caraway seed
salt and pepper, to taste
1 c. water
Sear roast in a hot pan on top of the stove. Turn often to keep from sticking while the meat forms its own juice. Mash garlic pod with salt, using a table fork. Add garlic, salt, pepper, water and caraway seed to the meat. Cover pan with liid and put into a 350 degree oven. Bake until done.
Note: Best when baked the day before serving. Refrigerate and remove excess fat from the broth. Slice meat while cold. Make a thickening paste, using flour and water. Add to pork broth and cook until thickened. Add sliced meat (and simmer a while) and serve.
* Ms. Hill was absolutely correct in her note. I did exactly as she instructed and the roast was juicy and tender after simmering in the gravy the next day. I am not the biggest fan of big hunks of meat and have great memories of my mom's fall-apart roasts, so I had high expectations, too. We added vegetables to the pot (carrots, onions, turnips) after the roast had been in about an hour, which worked well and made the broth we used for gravy even more flavorful.
Potato Pancakes
by Dorothy Bohac, Willa Mae Cervenka
from the Travis-Williamson Co. Czech Heritage Society Cookbook, 1996
2 to 3 lb. potatoes
salt to taste (1 tsp.)
1 to 2 T. margarine
3 to 4 T. milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. flour
1/2 to 3/4 c. shortening (We used canola oil.)
Peel potatoes and cut into fourths. Place potatoes into a saucepan filled 3/4 full with water; add salt. Cook potatoes into done, or soft. Drain off liquid. Add margarine and milk to potatoes; mash potatoes with a potato masher; let cool. Place eggs in a separate bowl and beat. Add salt and pepper to tast. In another bowl, place the flour. Place shortening in skillet and heat until shortening is hot. Make small pancakes from potato mixture; place in flour and cover potato patties with flour. Next, dip into beaten eggs until covered. Drop into hot shortening and fry at medium heat until both sides are golden brown. Serve hot. Serves 4-6.
May be served as a meatless meal or with cottage cheese, or as a vegetable with a meat dish.
Variation: Willa Mae Cervenka adds 3 cloves of garlic or grated onions, 1 teaspoon sweet marjoram and a pinch of caraway seeds. Peel and grate the potatoes and pour 1 cup of hot milk over potatoes so they do not turn brown.
*My son's comment after tasting these almost straight out of the pan was "Oh, man, those are GOOD!" You would have to know how picky he is to appreciate the comment, but it was really welcome. These were actually mashed potato patties rather than grated potato patties, which was a nice change. We added the garlic cloves like in Willa Mae's variation and they were so scrumptious (that's the best word). We served them with the pork roast and veggies so they got dipped in the yummy gravy, too. A practicality.... I thought it was strange that the egg would be last on the steps of dipping the patties. Next time, I'd try ending with the flour to see if it made a difference in how brown or crispy they got.
Brukvory Salat (Kohlrabi Salad)
from Domaci Kucharstvi (The Art of Home Cooking) by the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church, Dubina, TX, 1990
4 young kohlrabi (I have no clue how big a young kohlrabi is, so I used one large one.)
1/2 onion chopped (I only used 2 Tbl. and would thinly slice them next time)
2 egg yolks
3 Tbls. oil (I used olive but flavor might have been a little overpowering. Maybe canola?)
salt and pepper to taste
lemon juice
parsley
Peel kohlrabies and cut into strips. Mix with chopped onion. Cream egg yolks and oil with salt to make a thick mayonnase. Dilute with a little lemon juice. Add kohlrabies and onions. flavor with pepper and parsley.
*I've never seen another kohlrabi recipe in the Texas-Czech community and never heard of anyone growing it so I was really intrigued. If anyone has comments about this, I'd love to hear them. I loved this salad... crunchy and creamy at the same time. Kohlrabi has a cabbage-y flavor and a jicama-like texture. The bright parsley and lemon juice balanced the rich egg yolks. I loved the raw onion in it, however my partner, Mark, probably didn't eat it because of the raw onion. To each his own.
Last year, my mother almost died from colon cancer. I'm not saying she developed cancer because she ate meat, but what happened to her reminded me that there's overwhelming evidence that a plant-based diet increases your chances of not developing all kinds of bad conditions and of living longer. And now, two of my three siblings have had colonoscopies that found pre-cancerous polyps. That makes me want to take even more precautions with my health. But I've committed to writing the cookbook, which involves testing lots of meat recipes... fried chicken, pork cutlets, pickled tongue, barbecued brisket, jitrnice, prezvurst, head sausage, summer sausage, pork cheeks, picnic stew, liver dumplings, wieners, roast duck, klobasniky, homemade bacon, jelita, roast pork, and the list goes on. One of my cousins used to eat homemade bread spread with lard for lunch! (I won't be adding that to the cookbook, I don't think.)
Interestingly, in rural Moravia in the 19th century, people hardly ate meat at all because it was just too expensive. I know the same was at least partially true when my 95-year-old grandmother was growing up because of stories about her mother making one chicken stretch to feed their whole family. (My grandmother was one of 11 children.) If they weren't all eating a quarter of a chicken each, they had to have been eating something... vegetables and grains and breads? If so, why aren't there more of those recipes than meat recipes easily found in community cookbooks, church newsletters, small town newspapers? Research, research, research....
 |
| Pork roast baking. |
Pork Roast with Caraway Seed
Barbara Rozacky Hill
from the Travis-Williamson Co. Czech Heritage Society Cookbook, 1996
3 to 4 lb. shoulder or loin pork roast
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. caraway seed
salt and pepper, to taste
1 c. water
 |
| Pork roast simmering in gravy. |
Note: Best when baked the day before serving. Refrigerate and remove excess fat from the broth. Slice meat while cold. Make a thickening paste, using flour and water. Add to pork broth and cook until thickened. Add sliced meat (and simmer a while) and serve.
* Ms. Hill was absolutely correct in her note. I did exactly as she instructed and the roast was juicy and tender after simmering in the gravy the next day. I am not the biggest fan of big hunks of meat and have great memories of my mom's fall-apart roasts, so I had high expectations, too. We added vegetables to the pot (carrots, onions, turnips) after the roast had been in about an hour, which worked well and made the broth we used for gravy even more flavorful.
Potato Pancakes
by Dorothy Bohac, Willa Mae Cervenka
from the Travis-Williamson Co. Czech Heritage Society Cookbook, 1996
2 to 3 lb. potatoes
salt to taste (1 tsp.)
1 to 2 T. margarine
3 to 4 T. milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. flour
1/2 to 3/4 c. shortening (We used canola oil.)
Peel potatoes and cut into fourths. Place potatoes into a saucepan filled 3/4 full with water; add salt. Cook potatoes into done, or soft. Drain off liquid. Add margarine and milk to potatoes; mash potatoes with a potato masher; let cool. Place eggs in a separate bowl and beat. Add salt and pepper to tast. In another bowl, place the flour. Place shortening in skillet and heat until shortening is hot. Make small pancakes from potato mixture; place in flour and cover potato patties with flour. Next, dip into beaten eggs until covered. Drop into hot shortening and fry at medium heat until both sides are golden brown. Serve hot. Serves 4-6.
May be served as a meatless meal or with cottage cheese, or as a vegetable with a meat dish.
Variation: Willa Mae Cervenka adds 3 cloves of garlic or grated onions, 1 teaspoon sweet marjoram and a pinch of caraway seeds. Peel and grate the potatoes and pour 1 cup of hot milk over potatoes so they do not turn brown.
 |
| Potato pancakes about to warm in the oven while more were browned. |
Brukvory Salat (Kohlrabi Salad)
from Domaci Kucharstvi (The Art of Home Cooking) by the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church, Dubina, TX, 1990
4 young kohlrabi (I have no clue how big a young kohlrabi is, so I used one large one.)
1/2 onion chopped (I only used 2 Tbl. and would thinly slice them next time)
2 egg yolks
3 Tbls. oil (I used olive but flavor might have been a little overpowering. Maybe canola?)
salt and pepper to taste
lemon juice
parsley
Peel kohlrabies and cut into strips. Mix with chopped onion. Cream egg yolks and oil with salt to make a thick mayonnase. Dilute with a little lemon juice. Add kohlrabies and onions. flavor with pepper and parsley.
*I've never seen another kohlrabi recipe in the Texas-Czech community and never heard of anyone growing it so I was really intrigued. If anyone has comments about this, I'd love to hear them. I loved this salad... crunchy and creamy at the same time. Kohlrabi has a cabbage-y flavor and a jicama-like texture. The bright parsley and lemon juice balanced the rich egg yolks. I loved the raw onion in it, however my partner, Mark, probably didn't eat it because of the raw onion. To each his own.
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