Category Archives: baking

baking, Christmas, Czech traditions, Uncategorized

Czech holiday traditions

December 20, 2021 emmapalova 1 Comment

This is our 32nd Christmas living on the North American continent. We have kept most of the Czech Christmas traditions. Let me start with the oldest ones. The no. 1 undisputed Czech holiday tradition is baking. Recipes are passed from one generation to the next, sometimes perfected, sometimes left at their best.

Most women and girls start baking at the beginning of December and the reason is simple; cookies like Linzer and marzipan have to soften over time for the best taste.

I usually bake the third week in December, this year was an exception as I baked with our granddaughter Josephine for the first time ever. So we started early last Saturday before the power went out due to high winds. I passed on the baking tradition to our kids, Emma and Jake, now it’s our grandkids’ turn.

Somewhere in an old shoebox, I have print photos of Jake standing on a stool wearing black sweatpants and a blue shirt making Christmas cookies long before Facebook’s existence. I remember buying him a baking tool set the next year for Christmas.

And cook books is where I start no matter how long I’ve been baking. That’s the sacred rule no. 1. Like most women I have hundreds of recipes in hundreds of different formats and hiding in hundreds of different places. You name it, I have it. From original cookbooks in Czech and Slovak languages to Czech cookbooks in English from the ZCBJ Lodge in Bannister, magazines in Czech and English to priceless hand-written recipes in Czech from my best friend’s mother and even from my own grandmother Anna.

Not to mention the greatest baker of all my mother Ella whom I consider baker extraordinaire. Mom has baked for weddings and for any occasion you can think of, all the way to Sunday afternoon desserts. Now, in her 80s, mom Ella still bakes to this day. As of this year, mom has again baked Czech kolache for us before my parents left for Florida at the beginning of December. I froze them for Christmas Eve. I have just found out that we are celebrating Christmas at our house. That’s good. I don’t have to transport all the food to Hastings.

A long time ago when I first baked in the Czech Republic as a kid, my uncles always cracked the walnuts for us for hours before we started baking. We harvested our own walnuts and had to peel them from their thick green skins, which left our fingers brown and with a bitter smell. My favorite recipes are made with nuts. I like nuts either in the filling or in the dough. The best recipes have nuts in both- the cream and the dough.

So this year I made Russian nuts and nutty baskets filled with a nutty creme. My daughter-in-law Maranda says that Czech cookies are a lot of work. Yes, they are, but the result is what I call “Unicorn Heaven” when you’re floating on the sweet taste of love. BTW, I still have to finish baked batches of both desserts.

For the Russian nuts, I use the following recipe (in metric measures) from Libuse Sustalova’s “Cookbook: Baking with Success.”

Don’t forget to buy the forms that look like nutshells. The refrigerated dough goes into the forms, bakes for 22 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit.

Recipe for dough

500g of flour, 350 g of butter, 150 g of powdered sugar, 150 g of ground walnuts

Recipe for creme filling

10 dkg butter, 3 yolks, 8 dkg powdered sugar, 6 dkg nuts, 3 dkg breadcrumbs

Beat the yolks with the sugar, add butter and nuts. Spread the filling on the baked nuts and stick two together. Cover with chocolate. Inspired by my mother Ella, I add vanilla pudding to the buttery creme to lighten it. It is optional. If you choose to use it buy instant vanilla pudding.

You can buy the forms at Czech and Slovak Ed. Center and Museum by going to their website:

http://czechandslovakmuseum.org

Czech traditions to be continued……the bizarre live carp tradition.

author events, baking, festivals, local authors, Uncategorized

I love summer

July 16, 2021 emmapalova 1 Comment

Summer 2021 brings new gigs, metiers

By Emma Palova

Lowell, MI – I specifically used the French word metier for specialty or having a knack for something. We are excited to have our French granddaughter Ella here in the USA for the summer after last year’s pause due to COVID-19.

Every day, I learn something new from her and vice versa. Ella is fully bilingual due to her summer stays with us. Previously, she has attended St. Pat’s Summer Care in Parnell, but this year Ella is going to the YMCA at the Cherry Creek Elementary.

In the morning, we brave the construction workers who have invaded the area with huge asphalt trucks and the smell of fresh tar.

“They had the entire pandemic to do this,” Ella said.

I had a little confrontation with one of the workers who accused me of flying through the construction zone.

“Sir, I don’t fly,” I said. “I drive. You can ask anyone who knows me well.”

That being said, it’s good to know that we’re finally going to have our “damn roads” fixed, as Gov. Whitmer would put it. Apparently, it has become a long-awaited priority.

Writing away

Caledonia, MI – So, I got a new gig with the Caledonia Living Magazine by Best Version Media. My new title is Content Coordinator, which is a new word for editor. It’s a monthly magazine with a regular family feature, a business profile and events calendar.

Submit your ideas and news items to me for the magazine.

Where to find me

Virtual BookFest in Detroit. My virtual booth is:

Author Emma Palova

I will be at the Island Fest in Grand Ledge on Aug. 31

Island Art FairSat, 9 AM – 4 PMLedge Craft Lane, 120 S Bridge StGrand Ledge, MI.

https://www.facebook.com/IslandArtFair/

Holland Art Festival in Holland on Aug. 7.

See you there.

baking, food, inspiration, Uncategorized

Happy Valentine’s Day

February 14, 2021 emmapalova Leave a comment

Have a great Valentine’s. Treat yourself and your loved ones to some good food and sweets or a trip to the wineries of Grand Traverse area. Stay tuned for a story. “Grand Traverse Rediscovered.”

Featured cake by

http://jkarmaskova.wordpress.com

Great Lakes fish provided by DMS Fish Supply of Midland, MI. For more info about DMS click below:

https://emmapalova.com/2020/08/28/the-fishmonger/

baking, book signing, culture, Czech events, Czech food, Czech heritage, dance, festivals, fiction, local author, Shifting Sands Short Stories, Uncategorized

Czech Harvest Festival

August 3, 2018 emmapalova Leave a comment

Summer brings heritage festivals and fairs

By Emma Palova

EW Emma’s Writings

Lowell, MI -I am really looking forward to this weekend. First of all, it’s going to be hot again, and I love that.

Contrary to what the promoters of “Back to School” pump out, summer is not over. For me summer is over when I have to swap my flip-flops for closed-toed shoes, usually with the first snow.

Summer always stays in my heart year-long.

Other than my author event at the LowellArts gallery tomorrow from 1 to 3 p.m. during the Captured photo exhibit, I can’t wait to go to the Czech Harvest Festival “Dozinky” in Bannister this Sunday.

This is our annual treat and a tribute to our Czech heritage. Every year, I get my hopes high that I will run into a Czech-speaking person at the festival in the middle of nowhere.

Over the years of going to Bannister, I’ve met probably a total of eight people who knew some Czech. The fun part about this event is that I get to sing three anthems that I know: American, Czech & Slovak.

The third-generation organizers Tom & Diane Bradley of Czech origin have done a fantastic job of preserving the “Dozinky” event as it truly happens in the Moravian and Slovakian villages in the old country. The dancers wear original costumes, the band of accordions plays Czech polka and the singers sing Czech songs.

The Czech & Slovak dance group.

I marvel at this effort, because the festival passes the Czech heritage onto the younger generation. The dance troupe involves kids ages three to unlimited. The festivities open with the shortest parade in the world; it’s even shorter than the parade in Hubbardston on St. Pat’s Day.

The parade route is past the ZCBJ Lodge to the small field with a concrete platform for the dancers. The dancers and singers march in the parade with rakes and scythes, symbolizing the original harvest of wheat.

Usually, a polka band plays inside the hall after the dance troupe is done outside. I’ve never been to that part, because it runs later in the afternoon when we have to head back home for a long drive through the fields.

The best part of the event is the original Czech food. For ten bucks, you get to eat like in a fancy Czech restaurant without leaving USA. The buffet features, ham, chicken, dumplings, sauerkraut, cucumber salad, mashed potatoes, biscuits and a dessert.

Czech “kolache”

However, one thing you will not get here, is the traditional Czech “kolache” pastry. One of the editors of the Fraternity Herald asked me to share the origins of this festive pastry.

So, I asked my mother Ella, while she was still in Venice. Growing up in Moravian small town of Vizovice, she could trace the humble origins to the villagers.

“They used all the ingredients available to them in their households,” she said. “This included the cottage cheese they made themselves, butter or lard and eggs. The only thing they bought was sugar and flour. They had everything else including the plum butter.”

The popularity of “kolache” as a signature pastry at all events and festivities, skyrocketed over the years, as the city folks discovered them while touring villages.

“Kolaches” are to Czechs what pizza is to the Italians,” mom said. “They too use the ingredients available to them; olives, pasta sauce and such.”

There are hundreds of recipes for traditional “kolache” varying according to the region.

However, they all have in common the following: golden crust topped with plum butter with sugary crumbling and filled with cottage cheese mixed with raisins.

For one of the many kolache recipes visit the

Mazac Family Genealogy blog:

https://mazacgenalogy.wordpress.com/2012/12/04/czech-moravian-kolache-recipe/

baking, Christmas, ethnic, Uncategorized

The scents of Czech Christmas

December 22, 2017 emmapalova 1 Comment

A Czech Christmas in America

By Emma Palova

Lowell, MI – I landed at JFK on this day 28 years ago to live permanently in the USA with my family. We had two days to get from NYC to Big Rapids to be home for Christmas. My dad Vaclav Konecny, former math professor at Ferris State University, did all the driving through New York City and on the treacherous turnpike to Michigan.

I will never forget this road trip in mom’s station wagon with frozen formations on the windows across five states.

My mom Ella in anticipation of our arrival from former Czechoslovakia did all the prep work in the kitchen. This included the traditional Christmas Eve dinner that consists of a mushroom soup, fried fish with potato salad and traditional Czech pastries.

I knew immediately what I missed. Since everything was ready, there were no smells in the suburban house, no scents of Christmas. I associate Czech Christmas with the aroma of vanilla crescents, hot chocolate that tops all filled pastries and browned mushrooms from the soup.

Since the Czechs put up their Christmas trees on Christmas Eve, you also get the smell of a fresh-cut pine tree.

After 28 years, I try to keep up with all the traditions of a true Czech Christmas. The only one that I had permanently dropped is putting up the tree on Christmas Eve. Other than that we adhere to the ritual of fasting on Dec. 24th in order to see the golden pig on the wall according to an old legend. Mom bakes kolache for the Christmas Day breakfast, daughter-in-law Maranda and “recreate” traditional Czech pastries like chocolate covered “baskets” and Linzer cookies. We open up gifts on Christmas Eve and we go to the midnight mass with carols.

Christmas Prague

Our son Jake plays Christmas songs on the saxophone, I accompany him on the piano. On Christmas Day, we mostly eat and drink, just like everyone else. around the world. We do the visiting on Dec. 26th which is the official second holiday of Christmas known as St. Stephan Day in the old country.

With this rather brief account of a traditional Czech Christmas, I would like to wish everyone a truly peaceful holiday season.

I have to run to bake some vanilla crescents, so I have the scent of a Czech Christmas in the house. Plus Jake called that they ate all the Christmas cookies Maranda had made.

Hohoho.

A sincere thank you to all my friends and fans.

Merry Christmas.

Emma Palova

baking, Christmas, Uncategorized

Traditional Czech holiday baking

November 27, 2017 emmapalova Leave a comment

Traditional Czech holiday baking is a lot of work, but the tiny desserts are delicious. They are not too sweet, and quite often they are filled with apricot marmalade & cream, chocolate or vanilla.

My cousin Marta Krajcova made these. Kudos to Marta.

For recipes and more info go to CJ Aunt Jarmilka’s Desserts at http://jkarmaskova.wordpress.com

You can find both on Facebook.

baking, celebration, food, newsletter, women's, WordPress, writing

Cervencove novinky CJ Tety Jarmilky

July 16, 2015 emmapalova 1 Comment

Cervencove novinky CJ Tety Jarmilky.

Subscribe to CJ Aunt Jarmilka’s newsletter. This is EW’s sister publication newsletter for July. Sign up for great recipes and info about Czech baking, canning and cuisine.

baking, blogging, business, Easter, events

Spring equinox

March 20, 2015 emmapalova 1 Comment

Spring sojourns

By Emma Palova

EW Emma’s Writings

Lowell, MI- Watch for a story on spring sojourns in Venice, Florida on the Gulf Coast, locally in Michigan, and globally in Europe.

Today, March 20th, is the spring equinox. It is called equinox because the length of day and night are nearly equal.

It is also the day of the total and partial solar eclipses depending on location, according to timeanddate.com

The first day of spring is traditionally associated with many customs like Easter and Passover. It is also a time for new beginnings and new life. Thus the symbol of the rabbit, a lamb and eggs.

Czech Easter lamb baked like a pound cake with decorated eggs.

In many Christian cultures, Easter eggs are synonymous with Easter. Also known as Paschal eggs, these are usually decorated chicken eggs that symbolize fertility and rebirth. They can be quite exquisite, and in many cases are considered an art.

Many Easter related events feature the Easter egg as the central theme. Traditional games like egg hunts, where colorful Easter eggs are hidden for children to find, egg rolling, where eggs are rolled down a hill, and egg dancing, where eggs are laid on the floor and people dance while trying to not damage them are held all around the world.

related links http://www.timeanddate.com

baking, celebration, Christmas, Uncategorized

Silver Sunday traditions

December 12, 2014 emmapalova 1 Comment

Silver Sunday ushers in Christmas

By Emma Palova

EW Emma’s Writings

Silver Sunday is the second Sunday before Christmas that literally makes the Christmas holiday fever rise by several degrees even though it is usually cold outside at this time of the year. It is also the third Sunday of the advent in the catholic religious year.

Outdoor Christmas markets in most European cities on major squares, are in full swing by now, and they will be open until Dec. 23^rd & some on Dec. 24^th. The rush is on for everything from nuts and poppy seeds for baking purposes, wooden toys and other crafts, apples and dried fruits, ornaments and keepsakes.

Christmas markets in Czech Republic. Photo by Adela Kobylikova

It’s also time to get a Christmas tree. Although back in Czech Republic most families decorated their tree on Christmas Eve, here in US our family has adapted to the custom of putting up the tree at least two weeks before the magical day. Christmas Eve is a magical day, but a lot has been lost in the translation of the feast of Adam&Eve that falls on Dec. 24^th in the Czech name day calendar.

In Czech language, that magical day is called “Stedry Den” which translates exactly as Bountiful Day. Families open a bounty of presents in the evening. I will write more about the customs of that day next week as we draw closer to Christmas.

And even though, I miss deeply some of the customs in Czech Republic, I have replaced them with new ones here in USA.

We cut our Christmas tree early and decorate it before Christmas Eve. Last year we took Ella with us to carry on the new tradition.

Ludek & Ella cut the Palova family Christmas tree at Horrocks Nursery

I couldn’t remember where the tree farms in the area are, so I looked it up on Google Christmas farms in Ionia County and found Horrocks Nursery Farms just north of the city of Ionia.

This year we don’t have our tree yet and I haven’t baked yet either. But my daughter-in-law Maranda Palova made our traditional nutty baskets with filling. I plan on baking chocolate flutes and chocolate mini Ischel cakes. Some Czech and European recipes come with a history. This one comes from the spa town of Ischel in Austria. The story has it that the Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Josef used to frequent the bakery that made them in Ischel.

As with many recipes there are many variations of the mini Ischel cakes. My grandma Anna used to love them, so I always made them for her. I like to keep that tradition going.

Czech nutty baskets — Christmas nutty baskets

Now is also time to send and get cards even in the era of the web. Over the 20+ years here on the American continent, I’ve received hundreds of them, but kept only a few.

One of the few precious ones, a definite keepsake, is a card from Brno with a nativity scene and a score to a Christmas carol. One of the most precious cards that I had sent out was made from a photo at the Meijer store in Cascade.

Although I can’t find it now, I remember precisely what was on it. We were picking blueberries as a family on a farm near Ludington in the 90-degree heat. We’re all holding blue pales and shielding our heads from the scorching sun with funny hats. My daughter Emma was wearing a t-shirt with a Polar bear on it.

“Happy holidays,” the card with mistletoe clip art and snowflakes said.

Speaking about passing on traits and such; both my daughter and I have the same sense for juxtaposition.

For more information on Horrocks Christmas Tree farm go to http://www.horrocksnursery.com

To be continued with Golden Sunday

baking, celebration, Christmas, wedding

Festive memories

November 30, 2014 emmapalova Leave a comment

Festivities, wedding create memories

By EMMA PALOVA

Lowell, MI- I feel like I have a writer’s block after all this festive pomp. I am still finding memorabilia from the Pala Ruegsegger wedding in October. Each thing I find brings back a memory.

I find things like frozen dough in the freezer for the wedding desserts, Pebbles cereal that no one wanted, taquitos, tops, panties and pantyhose. Samuel’s blue onesies “Star Baby” brought a smile to my face, as well the Barbie doll and sister-in-law’s hair color. Then, there are tons of souvenirs and gifts that I have received from my guests.

And of course, the greatest of all are photos.

Common Gentry Carriage Rides — Now newlyweds Jake Pala and Maranda Palova last year on sleigh ride in Sparta.

I told a friend at the local Meijer store while shopping for Thanksgiving that we survived the wedding.

“And now you’re moving right into the holidays,” he laughed.

Yes, it’s all going by quick. We spent a quiet Thanksgiving at my parents Ella & Vaclav Konecnys in Big Rapids. We had the traditional fare with bonus cream puffs from CJ Aunt Jarmilka’s.

“I am not baking for Christmas this year, mom,” I said with the wedding abundance still in mind.

I did teach my son Jake Pala and his wife Maranda Palova how to make traditional Czech Christmas desserts such as filled baskets covered with chocolate and vanilla crescents.

Horrocks tree farm in Ionia — Ludek & Ella at horrocksnurseryfarm.com

“I’ll let them bake this year,” I said.

“I can’t blame you after all that wedding turmoil,” mom said.

So, I guess in a big way I already had my Christmas in October. I made new friends, strengthen old bonds, gained a new daughter-in-law and a few pounds, but created sweet memories.