A trip to the other side of Europe:

PRAGUE:

Prague: an Eastern European city full of beer, bread, and dumplings. Who could possibly ask for more? We got there around 9 or 10 on a Wednesday night, and we were still tired from out trip to Mallorca and our Spain field trip (more on that later). As a result, we decided to begin the trip with a laid-back night of sushi and absinthe cocktails at the Buddha Bar Hotel, a small boutique hotel located right in Prague City Center. We woke up the next morning and had a traditional Czech breakfast of cabbage, dumplings, and beer (or "pivo," as the Czechs would say), and then we were off to explore.

We met the nice fellow in the picture above at a market near the Paladium Shopping Center. What an incredible musician. He was singing the Beatles and Zeppelin and fading in and out between the two. He told us that he's always flattered when Americans appreciate his music, so we shared a beer, and he told my friend Liza that she inspired him. The market was adorable. There were booths selling flowers, veggies, beer, and, my favorite, all the bread a girl could possibly want. I wish we had more markets like this one in the states.

Anyways, back to the reason for this post. We happened to be in Prague while the Eurocup was going on, and fortunately for us, they had a fan zone set up in Old Town Square, with a big screen to watch the games, live music, and food vendors. It was really awesome. One of the nights we were there, we decided to stop at Caffrey's Irish Pub, which was located in Old Town Square, before we headed off to watch the Czech game. I ordered Magner's Hard Cider and colcannon as a snack. Although it's traditionally an Irish dish, I decided to include it along with a post on Prague because that was the first time that I had it, and I liked it. I came up with my own recipe for it. Hope you like it:

IRISH COLCANNON:  

 

Ingredients:

10 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

3/4 cup green cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup baby carrots, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chives, chopped (optional)
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup plain almond or soy milk
1/2 cup Earth Balance buttery spread or olive oil
Garlic salt, to taste
Dash of black pepper

Serves 4.

Total cook time: about 30 minutes.

Instructions:

1. Boil potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, and garlic on medium-high heat until tender, 11 to 12 minutes. Drain and return to pan.

2. Stir in almond milk, Earth Balance or other vegan buttery spread, salt and pepper. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or fork. Be careful not to mash the carrots (you might want to separate them before mashing the potatoes, and then adding them back in). Top with chives.