# Czech fest



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Yesterday was Czech fest in south STL, lunch was duck, goulash or sliced pork....option of sour kraut, dumpling with gravy, mashed potatoes or green beans.....came with a dab of apple sauce, slice of rye from a bag, cookies (poppyseed/nut/apricot/prune selection) and a cup of coffee.....I went for the goulash, dumpling and sour kraut....my plate looked brown.....but the woman behind me said with a gleem in her eyes that this was great comfort food for her.

So, after buying lace to go in the lace box that will one day be used I wandered into a cooking demonstration room and sat next to the man who had made the goulash. He went through the recipe with me.....really interesting....cook a mirapoux with peppers, add stew meat and Spainish paparika (they did not know if it were hot/sweet/smoked).....tasted sweet.
no stock, no wine, no tomatoes, no spices.....they cooked til the meat was tender removed the veg and pureed. it was good.

Then this lace aproned clad plump baba came in with soft white/grey curls and hand made apple strudel, poppyseed and nut babavoka....yeast dough rolled around nut or poppyseed filling....the nut was wonderful. What I learned was that 900-1200 people eat lunch with pastry/cookies...there are 10 seventy-five year old women making all the cookies/pastries. Not one of the audience was younger than 40 most were 60ish for the baking demos. What's going to happen when the baba's pass....? 

Watching this woman make strudel with such ease was inspiration......the dough has always been alittle intimidating but after watching her it seemed like a breeze.


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## momoreg (Mar 4, 2000)

That's what seems so wonderful about your work-- Working with an ever-changing roster of cooks who have something exciting to teach. It must've been an inspiring day.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

yep it was, not work though but play ....oh wait, normally work is play.


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