Soda maker

Ever since we got here, we have been consuming at least a bottle (1.5 litter bottle) of sparkling water a day. And, the other day when we visited Jana's place, she showed me a device which produces soda water instantly; right there in front of you! Later I did some research on the product, and it seems it is fairly commonly used in Europe. I also found out that similar products are sold in the US and Japan as well. Nevertheless, it was the first time for me and my hubby to learn about such a device.

So, we bought it! We went to an electronics store to find a bag of coffee filters (strange to say, but we cannot find it anywhere else but in that particular electronics store), and there it was. They were having a demonstration booth. We talked to a lady who was presenting different kinds of devices (and amazingly she spoke English!) and made the purchase.

The device has been so useful. We just fill the bottle that came with the device with tap water (yes, everyone I met here in Brno told me I can drink tap water and in fact it is very good, so I switched from mineral water to tap water recently). Push a button to inject some gas, and in a matter of 5 seconds, you get a very bubbly water. Unlike the bubbly water you get at the store, bubble stays for a long time. I am very happy with the purchase. The device only cost us about $100. It came with a small canister of gas and a bottle of orange flavor, which you can mix with water to make orange soda juice.

And the greatest benefit is that I no longer have to carry heavy bottles of water home every day from the store!

Mimicking American-Mexican food

Since I haven't yet mastered how to deal with the slabs of meat you get here, it has been rather difficult to be creative about our dinner menu only with the kinds of meat that I know how to cook - basically chicken and ground pork or beef :-(
One thing that I tried was mimicking Mexican food, such as Taco Salad and Quesadilla. I bought salad leaves, beans (can't find black beans here, though...), ground beef, onions, tomatoes, hot peppers (found some in Interspar), tortilla wraps, limes, lemon, koriander, avocado, a block of cheddar cheese (found in TESCO), and a bag of shredded mozzarella cheese.
Then I made salsa using chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, and chopped hot peppers mixed with lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and koriander. And made guacamole with mashed avocado, chopped onion, chopped tomato mixed with sour cream, salt and pepper, and lemon juice. Let them rest in the frig while you make the other stuff.

Taco salad is fairly easy as I found some Taco seasoning mix. :) I just sauteed ground beef with the seasoning mix, and dumped it on a bed of salad leaves. Then top with the salsa, cubed avocado, and shredded cheddar (using a shredder). Sprinkle chopped cilantro on it, and add some sour cream. Done!

Quesadillas are also very easy. Spread olive oil very thinly on the surface of tortilla wrap, top it with shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese, and sprinkle chopped cilantro and hot peppers on top. Cover it with another tortilla (brush some olive oil on the surface facing down). Heat up a frying pan with tiny bit of olive oil and cook the Quesadilla until the surface gets crispy on both side. That's it. Serve it with the homemade guacamole.

My cheese lover hubby loved the Quesadilla.

Fish shop found!

It is that time again. I started to experience a major craving for fish! If you were raised near the ocean, you probably have felt the similar symptom as mine. It has been a challenge to find decent-looking fish in any of the grocery stores here in Brno. So, I spammed a corporate social networking site at a company where I was recently hired as a consultant and asked about fish stores in Brno. Everyone was so helpful despite the silly question that I posted. Finally, I got a lead about a fish store near our apartment!

So, I went there. It is a tiny store probably only 6ft wide with just a single counter as you walk into the store. On the right hand side of the counter, there was a small glass display case on top of the counter which had several marinated fish. That was not what I wanted, and I was going to leave, but then when I looked at the left hand side of the counter (which is used for the cash register), I found some uncooked freshwater fish in a shallow metal oven pan.

I was a bit reluctant as it was just sitting there on the counter but figured maybe it was out as the previous customer was buying the fish. So, I decided to take a stab at buying it as well.

That night, I cooked the fish in butter and oil, topped with garlic and shallot sauce, and it was perfect!

I also found an organic food store near the fish store. I got a bag of quinoa, which you can't find in regular grocery stores here. I made quinoa mixed with sauteed pinenuts and onion.

The dinner made us happy :)

Thanks for the great lead!!