Pages

Friday, September 18, 2015

Hungarian Food

Food, food and food

So here we are again in the food department. Everybody eats, everybody likes taking pictures, looking at videos of making and serving food all the time. I am one of them. Most of the people and accounts I follow on Instagram and Facebook are food bloggers or people who have gardens and that way somehow are connected to food and cooking. 
One of the things that we miss the most from Hungary is obviously the food. No matter what I cook here in Miami, it will unfortunately never taste or even look like what I might have made from the `same` (well, nothing is the same) ingredients in Hungary. 

The following pictures are some of the food, meals we created, assembled and then ate while we were in Hungary. I wrote the names and sometimes additional notes for mostly those who might not be completely familiar with the ingredients, the dish in the pictures or simply want to know more about Hungarian cuisine.



Simple vegetables from the garden with bread, cheese, Hungarian salami (the wider pieces) and Hungarian spicy, smoked sausage (the thinner ones).
*I just realized that there is a shot glass with homemade `palinka` from Erdely in the picture. Well, we drank a lot. There should be a shot glass in every picture...


We cooked the gulash outside in the backyard garden for hours.

  


We used beef but you can basically use any type of meat (except chicken and turkey because these cook too fast). Main ingredient were: beef shoulder and beef legs, potato, onion, carrot, leek, fresh parsley, Hungarian mix of spices and plenty of time and patience.


Preparation for roasting thick pork bacon on fire: thick pork belly bacon, tomatoes, red onions and white Hungarian peppers. 


White bread with everything. Literally.



We use the same firepit for all outside cooking. We roasted the pork belly bacon on open fire until the juices (liquid fat) started to slowly leave the piece of bacon. Then we kept `touching` the bread with the juicy bacon and flavored it with the smoked grease. I know it might sound `yucky` for some but believe me, it is delicious.

 

My husband`s creation: `lecso` with hot peppers and smoked Hungarian sausage.

 

Preparation for barbecue.




You can see that my husband is American. He always does barbecue for my family.


Now everyone is hungry enough so let`s not waste any more time looking at pictures. 
Go and eat something!

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Summer vacation in Europe - Part 3: The Garden

Days in the garden

I decided to dedicate a post for my forever hobby, gardening, in my `Summer, 2015 in Hungary` series. I snapped these photos by my parents` house and in the vegetable and fruit garden in the back.
They always have abundance of fruits and vegetables there, and my mom has many planted seasonal flowers too by the house. When we were there is August, it was unusually hot and dry so I am sure that everything could have been even in a prettier form bearing more produce but I think they were cute enough this way too and was worth taking pictures of them that remind you of the past seasons.

Enjoy!














Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Summer vacation in Europe - Part 2: Matra Mountains

A day trip to the Matra Mountains


Today I am sharing some of the picture we took in Hungary when we visited the Matra mountains. We went to Sasto which is Hungary`s highest situated natural lake. They had finished the reconstruction and the cleaning process and now everything looks pretty fabulous there. 



Map with the village where I am from


Some pictures with the old lake





The tower


I (kind of) tackled my fear and climbed up in the tower as high as the third level. Then headed straight down.





Nice view from the tower


















Friday, August 28, 2015

Summer vacation in Europe - Part 1: Budapest

A one day trip to the capital - Budapest



We spent a fantastic day in Budapest while we were having a great time in Hungary this summer. The trip was short but it brought back many good, old memories basically from the day I started working in Budapest, through the great months we spent together with my husband in the city while he had his internship in 2009, ending with our long and exhausting struggles of me getting my K-1 visa to the U.S.



We definitely know that at one point in our lives we will get back and probably live there again. Until then, here is a glimpse (perfect if you only have some limited time to spend in Budapest) of the city`s great tourists spots from a Hungarian`s point of view.






The Hungarian Parliament
They finally finished the outside maintenance of the building and it looks really modern to me. I personally preferred the old architecture but oh well, this will do too. 


They built in some new water sprinklers/mist sprayers by the Parliament that amazed me. I haven`t seen this refreshing idea (I mean the mist coming from the bottom) by any tourist attraction before. It was really cool: a modern European capital feeling.


We visited the Belvarosi Piac (Market in the Heart of the City) which had also been nicely renovated. I found their website too, here is the link. They have a very good coffee spot that offers different coffees from basically all over the world. Check out the picture below, and see how content my husband was with his double espresso. FYI: this was not his first time there. :) He actually had dozens if not more espressos made by the lady who works there while he was working for the American Embassy nearby in 2009. That was the reason we had to revisit the place and get his favorite brew.





St. Stephen`s Basilica
Honestly, one of my favorite spots in Budapest. It reminds me of my years teaching Business English nearby and also the hours waiting for my K-1 visa interview at the Embassy that I spent in a cafeteria right by its corner. 





Matthias Church in the Castle Quarter
It was soooo hot there. Actually everywhere that day. No. Everywhere during those two weeks we spent in Hungary. Funnily, it was hotter in Hungary than in Miami at that time. It was 104F in Hungary while `only` 90F in Miami.



The Fishermen`s Bastion




View from the Fishermen`s Bastion.


Matthias Church from a distance.


My husband had to stop for a beer at every single place. Obviously.



The Castle District, the Royal Palace and the Hungarian National Gallery





Gorgeous views of the Danube from the Castle. 


Clark Adam Square, Budapest
Virtuti Confido - My Confidence in the Ancient Virtue