Svacina Project

Yesterday was my father's 71st birthday and we celebrated him last Sunday with a lunch at his house. He asked to have beef stew (recipe below), corn bread and lemon pie. There's nothing traditional about these foods except that my mother's been making them fantastically for years. But on this occasion, I did revive a tradition from my childhood for my kids and my Dad. George Kallus, my maternal grandfather, died in 1979 when I was about 12.  For much of my childhood before that, my parents, brother and sister and I lived out of state… Ohio, Georgia (twice), New Jersey, Connecticut. So, I don't have strong memories of my grandfather and the ones I do have…  well, we know how memories are. They could be accurate or not. My dapper grandfather, George Kallus. My grandfather was very tall. He was kind. He had a sweet smile and a dimpled chin. I have no memories of him anywhere except in his home in Hallettsville which he and my grandmother bought in the late 1930s;...

My son lining up the chocolate coins St. Nicholas left in his stocking. Celebrating St. Nicholas Day (December 6th) has been a tradition in my family since my grandparents were small and, one can assume, since their parents and their parents and their parents, etc. were children, too, in what is now the Czech Republic. My younger son's anticipation of St. Nicholas coming, shopping for what goes in the stockings, and watching my sons open them are highlights of the Christmas season for me. So is the feeling that I kept a cultural tradition alive for at least one more year, hopefully strengthening it's memory in my children's minds. My niece with the fake moustaches she got in her stocking. I wrote about some of my memories of St. Nicholas Day and what my sons get in their stockings in a blog post in 2012. This year was no different, though I found candy cane-flavored Pop Rocks to add (not Czech but really fun) and blown glass ornaments from the C...

It's the last day of Czech Heritage Month. I went to so many events that, between them, I was too busy taking care of 2 boys, a full-time job, fundraising for the Texas-Czechs exhibit , and life maintenance to do any blogging about them. To je skoda because it was a banner month for Texas-Czech food in my life. Any one of the events that I mention below deserves it's own blog post (and they may still get it), but in order to feel caught up culturally, I thought I would recap the whirlwind 31 days of October with my Top Ten Favorite Food Moments of Czech Heritage Month 2013.  Hang on for the ride. 10. Pickled Beets in my Inbox I got this email and the photo below from my parents on the 26th... "Just finished 18 pints & 1 quart. Aren't they beautiful?" In a phone conversation the next day, my mother told me that after putting up one batch, they were so pleased, they bought more beets and put up another. Now there will be plenty for the Thanksgiving and Chri...

Happy October! Counties all over the state are once again proclaiming it Czech Heritage Month in Texas. This type of official recognition of the importance of Czech influence and history is always validating. However, it will never take the place of individuals and families prioritizing activities that support or actively pass on Texas-Czech traditions to their children. If the community wants to be recognizing anything other than history during this month in a generation or two, we members have to be deliberately and consistently making Texas-Czech traditions a part of our daily (or weekly or monthly) lives. I challenge you to celebrate your Czech-ness this month by taking these words to heart. And, most importantly, remember that recognition and innate love of heritage starts at home... early. If you act like it's important, your children (and grandchildren, nieces, nephews) will, too. If you don't have children, support activities and...

Today in the mail I received my copy of the latest newsletter of the Texas Czech Genealogical Society publication, the Cesky Stopy . My father signed me up as a member of the organization and though I don't take advantage of the conferences they hold or resources they make available, I enjoy reading the Stopy four times a year. My dad has really become interested in our family genealogy in the true sense of the word - researching one more generation back in the family line, then another, then another.  He's serious about our heritage, both Czech and Polish. See his brand new custom made boots at left with both country's flags and, below them, the earliest date our ancestors immigrated from each. He's a proud man; there's no way I, the oldest child, could not be affected by his love of history and of Texas. My dad was recently moved to write the article below, which I was pleased to  turn to on page 12 of the Cesky Stopy edition that arrived today.   I...

When my 14-year-old son asks to bake something (himself), especially something from his ethnic heritage, well history, nostalgia, and pride tell me to say yes. My oldest son asked to make cheese rolls (or buchta in Czech) which is one of his favorite sweets. We didn't get started until late on a Friday night, after dinner out, after going to see the new Percy Jackson movie, after a trip to the grocery store to get the ingredients because I hadn't planned well. But we did it. How could I discourage such an urge? My grandmother, maybe around the same age my son is now.  Cheese rolls are not dinner rolls with cheese on them; they are jelly-roll type sweets of yeasted dough filled with sweetened cream cheese. We used my grandmother Anita (Morkovsky) Kallus' recipe, which is below. A buchta can actually have in it some of the same things that kolaches are filled with... poppyseed, apricots, cream cheese, but also pecans, brown sugar, raisins or whatever else might s...