Lemon Spanakorizo – Greek Spinach Rice

Date Published: Feb 23rd, 2024 | Last Updated: Feb 23rd, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: sides, easy, healthy, low cal, vegetarian
Serves: 6 as a side | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 30 mins

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Spanakorizo is a traditional Greek spinach rice dish that is lemony and savoury with hints of salt from the feta crumbled on top. It’s flavourful enough on its own, but would pair well with a fish or pork roast. Alternatively, you can mix in some shredded rotisserie chicken and make it a complete meal!

I discovered this dish through my weekly email subscriptions of a foodie website and as soon I saw it, I knew I had to make it. I researched a few different recipes and most of them were very similar with a few differing factors, so I combined a couple of different recipes based on their reader reviews and came up with this one! (Through my research I also learned of a tomato version of a spanakorizo that looked just as good – you can check out the recipe here).

Tomato Spanakorizo – Greek Spinach Rice

Lemon Spanakorizo – Greek Spinach Rice

This recipe uses a LOT of spinach, which is perfect if you find yourself in abundance over the growing season. You can use regular mature spinach or baby spinach. It’s currently winter time in NYC and fresh mature spinach is hard to come by, so I bought the big box of baby spinach from Costco for this recipe – it’s actually the perfect amount!

This recipe does make quite a bit, so if you’re only cooking for 2-3 people, I’d recommend halving the recipe.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced small
1.5 cups (290g) medium-grain white rice, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup packed (23g) fresh dill leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup packed (20g) fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
450g (1 lb) of fresh spinach, chopped coarsely – I used the big box of baby spinach leaves from Costco, but if you’re using mature spinach, make sure to chop it into smaller pieces so you don’t get stringy cooked spinach in the end
2.25 cups (560ml) chicken or vegetable stock, or more as needed
1/3 cup feta cheese, or more for sprinkling

Directions:

Remove lemon zest in large wide strips using a peeler or paring knife. Set aside.

In a large pot on MED heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the garlic and onion together until the onions are soft.

Next, add in the rice, lemon zest (from step 1), dill, mint, salt and pepper. Sauté for 30 seconds, then add in the spinach and chicken broth. It will seem like a LOT of spinach at this stage, but continue to stir it through and the spinach will wilt down. Once the spinach has all wilted, let the liquid come to a boil them simmer on LOW heat for 25 minutes with the lid on.

After 25 minutes, take off the lid and stir it around. Taste and if the rice is a bit under, add a splash of chicken broth and cook a little longer with the lid on until cooked. When the rice is cooked, turn off the heat and use a fork to fluff up the rice. Remove the pieces of lemon zest and let the rice sit without the lid for 5 mins to absorb any remaining liquids. Drizzle a bit of fresh lemon juice and a sprinkling of feta cheese over before serving. Taste and adjust salt as needed. Enjoy!

Summarized Recipe:

Lemon Spanakorizo – Greek Spinach Rice

Ingredients:

1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced small
1.5 cups (290g) medium-grain white rice, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup packed (23g) fresh dill leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup packed (20g) fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
450g (1 lb) of fresh spinach, chopped coarsely – I used the big box of baby spinach leaves from Costco, but if you’re using mature spinach, make sure to chop it into smaller pieces so you don’t get stringy cooked spinach in the end
2.25 cups (560ml) chicken or vegetable stock, or more as needed
1/3 cup feta cheese, or more for sprinkling

Directions:

Remove lemon zest in large wide strips using a peeler or paring knife. Set aside.
In a large pot on MED heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the garlic and onion together until the onions are soft.
Next, add in the rice, lemon zest (from step 1), dill, mint, salt and pepper. Sauté for 30 seconds, then add in the spinach and chicken broth. It will seem like a LOT of spinach at this stage, but continue to stir it through and the spinach will wilt down. Once the spinach has all wilted, let the liquid come to a boil them simmer on LOW heat for 25 minutes with the lid on. After 25 minutes, take off the lid and stir it around. Taste and if the rice is a bit under, add a splash of chicken broth and cook a little longer with the lid on until cooked.
When the rice is cooked, turn off the heat and use a fork to fluff up the rice. Remove the pieces of lemon zest and let the rice sit without the lid for 5 mins to absorb any remaining liquids. Drizzle a bit of fresh lemon juice and a sprinkling of feta cheese over before serving. Taste and adjust salt as needed. Enjoy!

February 23, 2024February 23, 2024

Abby1 Comment

Segedínský Guláš – Czech Pork Sauerkraut Goulash

Date Published: Feb 14th, 2024 | Last Updated: Feb 14th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: Czech, easy, mains, soups
Serves: 4-6 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 1.5 hours

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This is one of Toby’s favourite Czech dishes (next to svičkova), so of course I made it a personal challenge to try and make the best segedinsky goulash I could. After 3 tries, I think I did it. Not to toot my own horn, but this is pretty fucking good and Toby would agree. It’s a hearty goulash with pork as its main protein and it’s slowly simmered in bacon, paprika, and sauerkraut, then topped off with a little sour cream. I’m not usually a fan of sauerkraut (unless it’s a sweet braised version), but when it’s cooked into a savoury stew like this, it adds a nice texture and just a hint of tartness that balances it out nicely.

Toby has no idea why it’s called “segedinsky” since it doesn’t translate to anything in Czech. After a little googling, I learned that this dish has a few possible origins but the most popular two explanations are: 1) a Hungarian dish from the city of Szeged in Hungary that is known for their paprika, or 2) from a Hungarian writer Jozsef Székély who came to a restaurant that ran out of food at closing and requested the leftover goulash and sauerkraut to be mixed together to make a meal. Whatever the true origin, there’s no doubt it has Hungarian roots and has been widely popular in surrounding countries including Czech and Germany!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

200g (roughly 6 slices) smoked thick-cut bacon, sliced small
900g (2 lbs) pork shoulder, cut into 2.5cm pieces
1 tsp caraway seeds, crushed
3 medium (~1.2kg) onions, diced
1 Tbsp sweet ground paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 cups (720ml) beef broth
300g sauerkraut, without the liquid
1/2 cup (100g) sour cream
Salt to taste

Directions:

In a large pot on MED heat, add a light drizzle of oil and the bacon. Cook for 5-8 minutes to let the bacon fat render and release its oils. It’ll be done when the bacon is lightly browned and starting to get crispy. Make sure to regularly scrape the bottom of the pot so the brown bits don’t stick. Once done, remove just the bacon from the pot and set aside (leave the oil in the pot – you’re going to use this to cook the rest of the dish).

In the same pot, turn the heat up to MED-HIGH and add in the pork shoulder pieces and sear each side for 1-2 minutes until it’s browned on the outside (you do not want to cook the pork through at this stage, just sear the outside). Remove the pork from the pot and set aside (leave the oil in the pot).

Still in the same pot, turn the heat down to MED and add in the caraway seeds and onions. Sauté for 5-8 minutes until the onions soften and start to brown.

Add back in the bacon (from step 1), seared pork (from step 2), paprika and garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds until the garlic becomes fragrant, then add in the flour. Continue to sauté together for another 30 seconds to 1 minute until all the flour is mixed well. Pour the beef broth into the pot and stir everything around, making sure to scrape up anything that stick to the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat up to HIGH to bring it to a boil, then simmer on LOW covered with a lid for 30 minutes.

While you’re waiting, put your sauerkraut into a strainer and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Roughly chop the sauerkraut into smaller pieces and set aside.

Once the broth has finished boiling, add the chopped sauerkraut into the pot, stir it around, then let it continue to simmer for another 30 minutes or until the pork is cooked, with the lid on. Try not to overcook your goulash or else the sauerkraut starts to lose its texture.

Once the soup has finished, turn the heat off, add in the sour cream and taste to adjust salt to preference. Serve hot with bread or potato dumplings!

*Note: If you’re going to double the recipe for a batch-cook, you’ll have to simmer the soup longer. This is because when you double the ingredients, you’ll end up with more moisture overall so your soup will be more dilute and simmering it longer will reduce the amount of liquid and concentrating the flavours. I’d recommend simmering it longer before you add in the sauerkraut so you don’t overcook the sauerkraut.

Summarized Recipe:

Segedínský Guláš – Czech Pork Sauerkraut Goulash

Date Published: Feb 14th, 2024 | Last Updated: Feb 14th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: Czech, easy, mains, soups
Serves: 4-6 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients:

200g (roughly 6 slices) smoked thick-cut bacon, sliced small
900g (2 lbs) pork shoulder, cut into 2.5cm pieces
1 tsp caraway seeds, crushed
3 medium (~1.2kg) onions, diced
300g sauerkraut, without the liquid
1 Tbsp sweet ground paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 cups (720ml) beef broth
1/2 cup (100g) sour cream
Salt to taste

Directions:

In a large pot on MED heat, add a light drizzle of oil and the bacon. Cook for 5-8 minutes to let the bacon fat render and release its oils. It’ll be done when the bacon is lightly browned and starting to get crispy. Make sure to regularly scrape the bottom of the pot so the brown bits don’t stick. Once done, remove just the bacon from the pot and set aside (leave the oil in the pot – you’re going to use this to cook the rest of the dish).
In the same pot, turn the heat up to MED-HIGH and add in the pork shoulder pieces and sear each side for 1-2 minutes until it’s browned on the outside (you do not want to cook the pork through at this stage, just sear the outside). Remove the pork from the pot and set aside (leave the oil in the pot).
Still in the same pot, turn the heat down to MED and add in the caraway seeds and onions. Sauté for 5-8 minutes until the onions soften and start to brown.
Add back in the bacon (from step 1), seared pork (from step 2), paprika and garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds until the garlic becomes fragrant, then add in the flour. Continue to sauté together for another 30 seconds to 1 minute until all the flour is mixed well.
Pour the beef broth into the pot and stir everything around, making sure to scrape up anything that stick to the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat up to HIGH to bring it to a boil, then simmer on LOW covered with a lid for 30 minutes.
While you’re waiting, put your sauerkraut into a strainer and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Roughly chop the sauerkraut into smaller pieces and set aside.
Once the broth has finished boiling, add the chopped sauerkraut into the pot, stir it around, then let it continue to simmer for another 30 minutes or until the pork is cooked, with the lid on. Try not to overcook your goulash or else the sauerkraut starts to lose its texture.
Once the soup has finished, turn the heat off, add in the sour cream and taste to adjust salt to preference. Serve hot with bread or potato dumplings!

February 14, 2024February 14, 2024

Abby1 Comment

Vepřo knedlo zelo (pork, dumpling, sauerkraut) – a Czech national dish

Date Published: Feb 14th, 2024 | Last Updated: Feb 14th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: czech, mains
Serves: 4-6 | Prep time: 3 hours (mainly to wait until the potatoes cool) | Cook time: 3 hours

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Vepřo knedlo zelo is Czech’s national dish (or at least one of them – I couldn’t find an official source to state what the official national Czech dish is, but most sources have pointed to this one (another source claims it to be svičkova)). Regardless of whether or not it’s the true national dish, it’s definitely very popular and found in most Czech restaurants.

The name of the dish directly translates to the 3 components that make up the dish: vepřo = pork, knedlo = dumpling, zelo = sauerkraut. Disclaimer: this page is not a recipe page of all 3 components, but rather a guide to making all 3 components in order with links to each of their dedicated recipes. I’ve chosen to split it up this way to make it easier for the reader to navigate rather than writing it all in one monstrously long recipe post with a million photos. Each component is also delicious on their own that you can pair it with other dishes instead of just in a vepřo knedlo zelo.

1. Vepřo = pork

The pork portion is usually a pork shoulder, which can be roasted or smoked. The first time I had this dish was at babička’s place and she served it with a smoked pork shoulder. She was cooking away with it for hours that the whole apartment smelled like smoked ham – I’m pretty sure my jacket still has a hint of it 4 weeks later 😅. When I set out to recreate this dish, we visited the lovely little Polish butcher a block away from us and found that they sell beautiful already-cooked smoked pork shoulder! We couldn’t resist and bought a few hundred grams (it was delicious). We still go back there when we’re feeling too lazy to cook and heat it up with sauerkraut and dumplings.

Instead of a smoked pork, a roast pork is the other version of this dish. When I first made it from scratch, I didn’t expect much since the steps were so simple and straightforward. I also don’t usually cook with pork much so my experience with making pork roasts is very limited, but I’ve gotta say, it came out really fucking good – even Toby approves! Although the smoked pork is good and easy, the roasted version is a lot juicier in my opinion. The recipe for the roasted pork shoulder is below.

Vepřová Pečeně – Czech-style Pork Roast

2. Knedlo = dumpling

Knedlíky are Czech dumplings. There are a few different kinds of Czech dumplings, but in this particular dish, it’s commonly served with either the bread version (houskové knedlíky) or the potato version (bramborové knedlíky) (you can find out more about the difference here). I personally prefer it with a heavier dense potato dumpling, but it can be served with the lighter fluffier bread dumpling version too. In this guide, I will reference the potato dumpling version (which happens to be easier too!). Here are links to both types of dumplings:

Czech Potato Dumplings – Bramborové Knedlíky

Czech Bread Dumplings – Houskové Knedlíky

3. Zelo = sauerkraut

You can serve this dish with whatever style of sauerkraut you like, but I prefer it with a sweet smokey version like this one here. Since this is my favourite sauerkraut, I will also be writing this guide in accordance to that recipe. Fun fact: I actually liked this version of sauerkraut so much that I needed to find a meat dish to go with it which is how I got onto making a vepřo knedlo zelo in the first place. I never would’ve made this dish if I hadn’t succeeded in making the sauerkraut 🙃.

Braised Bacon & Mushroom Sweet Sauerkraut

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the guide! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Directions:

1. Make the pork roast first. This is the most time-consuming and will take 2.5-3 hours to cook. Although lengthy, all this time is literally waiting. There’s nothing else that needs to be done with the pork once you pop it in the oven which makes it the perfect time to prepare everything else. When it’s done, measure it with a meat thermometer to ensure that it’s cooked and slice it. Easy. If you’re not ready to serve it yet while you finish the other components, leave it drenched in the drippings/oils from the pan to keep it moist and soaking up flavour.

2. While the pork is roasting in the oven, start making the potato dumplings. It only takes about 15-20 minutes to put the dough together and once the loaves are formed, it takes about half an hour to cook each batch. If you have extra stove space and extra pots, you can get two pots going at the same time so you can cook them all at once to save time rather than waiting for back to back 30 minutes. Make sure you set timers so you don’t forget about them.

3. When the dumplings are boiling, start making the sauerkraut. It takes about 30-40 minutes in total including two 15 minute braising times during the process, so while you’re waiting you can intermittently check on the dumplings.

4. Once everything is done, plate it up and serve. Enjoy!

Recipes used:

Vepřová Pečeně – Czech-style Pork Roast

Czech Potato Dumplings – Bramborové Knedlíky

Braised Bacon & Mushroom Sweet Sauerkraut

February 14, 2024February 14, 2024

Abby3 Comments

Vepřová Pečeně – Czech-style Pork Roast

Date Published: Feb 14th, 2024 | Last Updated: Feb 14th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: czech, mains, easy
Serves: 4-6 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 3 hours

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Pork is one of the more common proteins seen in Czech cuisine – in fact, it’s part of their national dish: Vepřo knedlo zelo (= pork + dumplings + sauerkraut). This recipe is for a Czech-style roast pork (vepřová pečeně = “pork roast”) and is the star component of the Czech national dish. You can follow the links below if you’d like to make a full vepřo knedlo zelo.

I originally started researching making a Czech roast pork when I discovered a new found love for sweet sauerkraut that Toby’s babička made. When I perfected the recipe for the braised sweet sauerkraut, I needed a protein to go with it so I looked into making the roast pork that commonly accompanies it. I found a simple recipe at first, and after some tweaking, a beautiful caramelized glistening juicy hunk of meat was born. This pork is so good that it is worth making on its own. It’s flavourful enough to have it by itself or you can pair it with sauerkraut, a rajská sauce, mashed potatoes…anything you want! The best part is that this dish is SO easy to make with minimal ingredients. The ONLY downfall is that it takes about 3 hours, HOWEVER, it’s 3 hours of waiting and you literally do not have to do anything other than wait for the timer to go off and double check that it has cooked through with a meat thermometer. To make it even easier, you can marinate the meat in the rub the night before and the next morning, just pop it in the oven a few hours before lunch time and when it’s ready, just slice and serve. 😊

If you want to make the full vepřo knedlo zelo dish, the recipe for the potato dumplings (bramborové knedlíky) can be found here and the sauerkraut can be any sauerkraut, but I prefer to have it with a sweet sauerkraut like this one. You can also find a guide on how to put it all together here.

Vepřo knedlo zelo = roast pork + potato dumplings + sauerkraut

Czech Potato Dumplings – Bramborové Knedlíky

Braised Bacon & Mushroom Sweet Sauerkraut

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

1/4 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 tsps caraway seeds, crushed
2.5 Tbsps kosher salt
2 x 900g (2 x 2 lbs) pieces of pork shoulder, get ones with marbling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 160˚C (325˚F) on “roast” setting if you’ve got the option, or otherwise ‘bake’ will be fine.

In a small bowl, make the seasoning rub by mixing together: olive oil, garlic, crushed caraway seeds, and salt. Tip: to easily crush caraway seeds without the mess, you can put it in between a sheet of baking paper and use a rolling pin to crush it by rolling over it a few times. Crushing the caraway seeds releases its flavour.

Use the rub and massage it evenly around the entire pork shoulder. Tip: To save time, you can do this the night before and let the pork marinate in the rub in the fridge overnight in a sealed container. When ready to cook, take it out of the fridge half an hour beforehand to let it come to room temp.

Place the pork in the middle of a lined baking tray. Bake in the preheated oven for 2.5 – 3 hours (or until the middle of the pork measures 62˚C and the juices are no longer pink).

Now is a good time to make any sides that you want to serve with the roast pork. The most common is with a sauerkraut and Czech potato dumpling/knedliky like in a vepřo knedlo zelo.

When the pork has finished, take it out of the oven and let it rest on the counter for 5-10 mins before slicing. After slicing, drench each slice in the drippings/ oils from the baking tray before serving. Enjoy!

Summarized Recipe:

Vepřová Pečeně – Czech-style Pork Roast

Date Published: Feb 14th, 2024 | Last Updated: Feb 14th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: czech, mains, easy
Serves: 4-6 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 3 hours

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 tsps caraway seeds, crushed
2.5 Tbsps kosher salt
2 x 900g (2 x 2 lbs) pieces of pork shoulder, get ones with marbling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 160˚C (325˚F) on “roast” setting if you’ve got the option, or otherwise ‘bake’ will be fine.
In a small bowl, make the seasoning rub by mixing together: olive oil, garlic, caraway seeds, and salt.
Use the rub and massage it evenly around the entire pork shoulder.
- Tip: To save time, you can do this the night before and let the pork marinate in the rub in the fridge overnight in a sealed container. When ready to cook, take it out of the fridge half an hour beforehand to let it come to room temp.
Place the pork in the middle of a lined baking tray. Bake in the preheated oven for 2.5 – 3 hours (or until the middle of the pork measures 62˚C and the juices are no longer pink).
- Now is a good time to make any sides that you want to serve with the roast pork. The most common is with a sauerkraut and Czech potato dumpling/knedliky like in a vepřo knedlo zelo.
When the pork has finished, take it out of the oven and let it rest on the counter for 5-10 mins before slicing. After slicing, drench each slice in the drippings/ oils from the baking tray before serving. Enjoy!

February 14, 2024February 14, 2024

Abby1 Comment

Braised Bacon & Mushroom Sweet Sauerkraut

Date Published: Feb 13th, 2024 | Last Updated: Feb 13th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: sides, Czech, easy
Serves: 4-6 (large bowl) | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 40 mins

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I’m not a fan of sour foods in general (unless it’s sour patch kids 😜) so its no surprise that sauerkraut has never been something I’ve wanted to try and make…until now!

Toby likes his sauerkraut so I usually give him my portion, but during our last trip to Czech to visit his grandparents, babička made a sweet and creamy version with caraway seeds and the sourness of the sauerkraut was minimal. Needless to say, it was DELICIOUS paired with the smoked pork shoulder that she made – we nearly ate the whole pot! Before we left, she gave me verbal recipe instructions with ‘guestimated’ ingredient amounts (you’re not an OG if you measure when you cook) and when we got home to Brooklyn, I was determined to recreate it ASAP while the flavours were still fresh in my mind. Sadly, the guestimated measurements did not yield the same beautiful sweet sauerkraut she made 💔. Mine somehow came out too sour and yet too sweet at the same time lol, no idea how I achieved that. Although disappointed, I was still determined to learn how to make a sweet sauerkraut and in my search of other Czech-style sauerkrauts that might be close to babička’s, I found a sweet braised version from Cook Like Czechs that was intriguing. When I made it for the first time, it was actually – dare I say it – better than babička’s 🤐 ! The sweetness level was exactly the same but this new version had bacon in it! I made it a second time with some minor tweaks and added in some leftover mushrooms I had in the fridge and it was somehow even more AMAZING. This is now my favourite sauerkraut hands down, and I’m going to show it off – to you 😛.

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

450g sauerkraut, without the liquid
350g portobello mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/2 Tbsp of pork lard, or olive oil
2 large (~1.1kg) onions, diced small
130g smoked thick-cut bacon, sliced into small pieces
1 tsp caraway seeds, crushed
1.75 Tbsps (25g) granulated sugar
2 Tbsps (25g) all-purpose flour
Salt to taste

Directions:

Place the sauerkraut in a strainer over a bowl and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. If you prefer your sauerkraut on the more sour side, save this liquid for later (I prefer mine on the sweeter side, so I just discard this liquid). Set aside.

In a pan on MED heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the mushrooms with a pinch of salt for 3-4 minutes or until cooked. Put the mushrooms into a bowl and set aside until the end.

In the same pan on MED heat, melt the pork lard and add in the onions. Sauté until the onions soften and become lightly browned (5-8 minutes).

Add in the caraway seeds, bacon, and sauerkraut. Continue to sauté for another 5 minutes.

Add in half cup of water (or the sauerkraut liquid from step 1 if using) then turn the heat down to LOW and cover with a lid. Let the sauerkraut braise for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, add in the sugar and flour. Mix together thoroughly then let it braise on LOW heat with the lid on for another 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, add in the cooked mushrooms from step 1 (do NOT add in any mushroom liquid that may have accumulated during this time, just the mushrooms). Stir until heated through then turn off the heat. Taste and adjust salt and sugar to your preference. It’s meant to be a sweet, smokey, and slightly sour sauerkraut with a kind of creamy texture. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Summarized Recipe:

Braised Bacon & Mushroom Sweet Sauerkraut

Date Published: Feb 13th, 2024 | Last Updated: Feb 13th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: sides, Czech, easy
Serves: 4-6 (large bowl) | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

450g sauerkraut, without the liquid
350g portobello mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/2 Tbsp of pork lard, or olive oil
2 large (~1.1kg) onions, diced small
130g smoked thick-cut bacon, sliced into small pieces
1 tsp caraway seeds, crushed
1.75 Tbsps (25g) granulated sugar
2 Tbsps (25g) all-purpose flour
Salt to taste

Directions:

Place the sauerkraut in a strainer over a bowl and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. If you prefer your sauerkraut on the more sour side, save this liquid for later (I prefer mine on the sweeter side, so I just discard this liquid). Set aside.
In a medium pot or pan (make sure you have a lid) on MED heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the mushrooms with a pinch of salt for 3-4 minutes or until cooked. Put the mushrooms into a bowl and set aside until the end.
In the same pan on MED heat, melt the pork lard and add in the onions. Sauté until the onions soften and become lightly browned (5-8 minutes).
Add in the caraway seeds, bacon, and sauerkraut. Continue to sauté for another 5 minutes, then add in half cup of water (or the sauerkraut liquid from step 1 if using) then turn the heat down to LOW and cover with a lid. Let the sauerkraut braise for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, add in the sugar and flour. Mix together thoroughly then let it braise on LOW heat with the lid on for another 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, add in the cooked mushrooms from step 1 (do NOT add in any mushroom liquid that may have accumulated during this time, just the mushrooms). Stir until heated through then turn off the heat. Taste and adjust salt and sugar to your preference. It’s meant to be a sweet, smokey, and slightly sour sauerkraut with a kind of creamy texture. Serve warm. Enjoy!

February 13, 2024February 14, 2024

Abby4 Comments

Czech Potato Dumplings – Bramborové Knedlíky

Date Published: Feb 13th, 2024 | Last Updated: Feb 13th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: Czech, sides, breads, vegetarian
Serves: 8-10 | Prep time: 1 hour | Cook time: 1.5 hours total (20-30mins per dumpling)

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What are Czech Dumplings or Knedlíky?

Knedlíky or dumplings are a staple side dish in Czech food. I see it as THE carb in a Czech meal. Similar to noodles in Asian food or pasta in Italian food, if there’s something rich, saucy, or soupy, you bet it’ll be served with a knedlíky.

There are a few different kinds of dumplings, but the two most common ones I’ve seen in Czech are the fluffy bread dumplings (houskové knedlíky) and the denser potato dumplings (bramborové knedlíky). The lighter bread dumplings are made with a yeast dough so it’s fluffy but still with a bit of structure and chew and best served with a saucy dish such as svičkova to soak up all the flavours whereas the potato dumplings are much more dense and is like eating a side dish of potatoes that can balance the richness of a dish such as something served with sauerkraut like a vepřo knedlo zelo. Of the two, the bread dumplings are more commonly seen and you can very easily buy them at the supermarket in Czech instead of making them fresh, but I don’t think anyone will be angry if you use them interchangeably. This recipe is for the potato dumplings (bramborové knedlíky). If you want to make the bread dumplings, you can find the recipe here.

Bread Dumpling / Houskové Knedlíky – lighter, fluffier

Do I need to use a special type of flour?

These dumplings are traditionally made with ‘sharp flour’ or ‘continental flour’ which is a coarser flour made from hard wheat that is common in Europe, but actually super difficult to find in regular grocery stores. As a result, this recipe uses a 3:2 ratio mix of all-purpose flour and farina/cream of wheat to achieve the same texture.

Although these dumplings are pretty easy to make, please allow enough time to cook them all. If you don’t have a big pot, you may have to cook them one or two at a time (which is what I always end up doing) and it takes 20-30 mins each time (allow 1.5 hours to cook all 4). If you’ve got extra pots and the stove space, boil them all at once in separate pots so they’re all ready at the same time! I don’t know why it took me so long to think of this.

How do I freeze leftover knedlíky?

Every recipe for knedlíky I’ve seen always makes WAY more than what you need. My guess is that since you’re going through all the effort of making them, you might as well make a bigger batch and freeze them to have on hand. This recipe is no different. If you follow the instructions, you’ll have enough knedlíky for 8 – 10 people. I had thought about halving the recipe when I was writing it, but then remembered how well they keep in the freezer and how easy it is to have dumplings in a pinch when you’re short on time or too lazy to put in the effort, so I left the proportions alone.

I find it best to freeze leftover dumplings in slices rather than a log so it defrosts quickly. You can either freeze them in single portions or altogether in a bag, but make sure you separate the slices a little so it’ll be easier to separate when you only want to defrost a few slices. I freeze them in a ziploc bag or you can wrap it up in cling wrap individually.

To defrost and reheat: The best way to get the best texture is to steam them, especially if you are reheating from frozen. However, I’m lazy and I take out my desired portion and leave it in the fridge the night before then microwave them with a sprinkle of water before serving.

*Note: This recipe and its instructions have been adapted from Cook Like Czechs (who’s got way more beautiful-looking dumplings than I could ever achieve – check it out).

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

900g yellow/Yukon gold potatoes
260g (1.5 cups) all-purpose flour
160g (just under 1 cup) cream of wheat/farina
1/2 Tbsp cornstarch or potato starch
1 tsp kosher/cooking salt
1 egg, whisked

Directions:

Prepare the potatoes (make ahead of time): Boil the potatoes with the skin on until soft and easily pierced with a fork (20-30mins). Drain the potatoes and let it cool down completely (1-2 hours, or overnight). Once cooled, peel and discard the potato skin and use a hand grater to finely grate (use the small grating hole) the peeled potatoes into a bowl and set aside.

To save time, boil the potatoes the day before and let it cool overnight then peel and grate it the next day. Don’t peel or grate it too early or else the potato will start drying out.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, cream of wheat, corn starch, and salt. Add in 1 whisked egg and the grated cooked potatoes. Use your hands or a stand mixer and work the dough until you get a smooth, soft, homogenous dough ball. Add a little extra flour if the dough is too sticky.

Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces (roughly 330g each), each formed into fat logs (see photo). Make sure the length of your log does not exceed the diameter of your pot. Don’t worry if they’re not perfect logs. You’ll hardly notice when you serve them as slices.

Lightly boil a pot of water. Gently lower 2 logs into the water (if you have a small pot, you may want to cook just one at a time to not overcrowd them). Let them boil for 25 – 30 minutes. Occasionally move them around in the water to ensure they are not stuck to the bottom of the pot. They will start to float when they’re roughly halfway cooked. To check if they’re cooked, you can slice off a piece and try it – you should get a dense bread-y texture with a little bounce.

Tip: To save time and if you’ve got extra pots and the stove space, boil them all at once in separate pots so they’re all ready at the same time!

Once cooked, remove each log from the water onto a cutting board or drying rack and stab it a couple times with a chopstick or a fork to release the steam. Let it sit for a few minutes to slightly cool down, then slice into 1.5cm slices and serve!

Some examples of knedliky served in traditional Czech dishes:

Summarized Recipe:

Czech Potato Dumplings – Bramborové Knedlíky

Ingredients:

900g yellow/Yukon gold potatoes
260g (1.5 cups) all-purpose flour
160g (just under 1 cup) cream of wheat/farina
1/2 Tbsp cornstarch or potato starch
1 tsp kosher/cooking salt
1 egg, whisked

Directions:

Prepare the potatoes (make ahead of time): Boil the potatoes with the skin on until soft and easily pierced with a fork (20-30mins). Drain the potatoes and let it cool down completely (1-2 hours, or overnight). Once cooled, peel and discard the potato skin and use a hand grater to finely grate the peeled potatoes into a bowl and set aside.
- To save time, boil the potatoes the day before and let it cool overnight then peel and grate it the next day. Don’t peel or grate it too early or else the potato will start drying out.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, cream of wheat, corn starch, and salt. Add in 1 whisked egg and the grated cooked potatoes. Use your hands or a stand mixer and work the dough until you get a smooth, soft, homogenous dough ball. Add a little extra flour if the dough is too sticky. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces (roughly 330g each), each formed into fat logs (see photo). Make sure the length of your log does not exceed the diameter of your pot.
- Don’t worry if they’re not perfect logs. You’ll hardly notice when you serve them as slices.
Lightly boil a pot of water. Gently lower 2 logs into the water (if you have a small pot, you may want to cook just one at a time to not overcrowd them). Let them boil for 25 – 30 minutes. Occasionally move them around in the water to ensure they are not stuck to the bottom of the pot. They will start to float when they’re roughly halfway cooked. To check if they’re cooked, you can slice off a piece and try it – you should get a dense bread-y texture with a little bounce.
- Tip: To save time and if you’ve got extra pots and the stove space, boil them all at once in separate pots so they’re all ready at the same time!
Once cooked, remove each log from the water onto a cutting board or drying rack and stab it a couple times with a chopstick or a fork to release the steam. Let it sit for a few minutes to slightly cool down, then slice into 1.5cm slices and serve!

February 13, 2024February 11, 2025

Abby6 Comments

Healthy “Creamy” Mushroom Broccoli Soup

Date Published: Jan 15th, 2024 | Last Updated: Jan 15th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: < 30mins, easy, quick, main, vegetarian, soups, appetizers, healthy, low-cal
Serves: 4-6 (as a main) | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 20 mins

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Keeping on the new years resolution, here’s another recipe to add to the healthy vault! This creamy soup hits the spot for something hearty on a chilly day yet won’t break the calorie bank. Coming in at only 252 calories per serving, there’s no actual cream in this soup at all – the creaminess of the soup comes from the puréed potatoes and oat milk. This soup is so easy and quick to make and is packed full of broccoli and mushrooms. You can whip it up in under 30 minutes and have lunch for the rest of the week.

Without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

2 + 1 cloves garlic, minced
300g white or portobello mushrooms, sliced
Pinch of dried thyme leaves
1 yellow onion, diced
2 medium sized Yukon gold potatoes, washed and diced into 2cm cubes
2 large heads of broccoli, washed and cut into florets
4 cups (1L) chicken stock
2 cups of oat milk or soy milk
Salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
Croutons (optional)

Directions:

In a medium sized soup pot on MED heat, add a drizzle of olive oil. Add in 1 clove of minced garlic, sliced mushrooms, dried thyme, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté for 3-5 minutes until cooked. Turn off the heat and remove the mushrooms and any liquid. Set aside.

In the same pot on MED heat, add another drizzle of olive oil and sauté the remaining 2 cloves of minced garlic and diced onion. When the onion has softened and turned translucent, add in the potatoes, broccoli, and chicken stock. Stir, then turn the heat up to HIGH to bring the soup to a boil, then turn it down to MED heat. Put on a lid and let it boil for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove 2 ladles of the ingredients in the pot (without any liquid) into a separate bowl and use a spatula to quickly break up the ingredients into small bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

Add oat milk into the pot and bring the heat back up to HIGH to reach a boil, then turn the heat off.

Use a stick blender (or regular blender) to purée everything in the pot. If you want a creamier soup, turn the heat back on and simmer the soup until desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add back in the removed ingredients from step 3 and also the cooked mushrooms along with any of its liquid. Taste and readjust salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot with croutons. Enjoy!

Summarized Recipe:

Healthy “Creamy” Mushroom Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:

2 + 1 cloves garlic, minced
300g white or portobello mushrooms, sliced
Pinch of dried thyme leaves
1 yellow onion, diced
2 medium sized Yukon gold potatoes, washed and diced into 2cm cubes
2 large heads of broccoli, washed and cut into florets
4 cups (1L) chicken stock
2 cups of oat milk or soy milk
Salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
Croutons (optional)

Directions:

In a medium sized soup pot on MED heat, add a drizzle of olive oil. Add in 1 clove of minced garlic, sliced mushrooms, dried thyme, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté for 3-5 minutes until cooked. Turn off the heat and remove the mushrooms and any liquid. Set aside.
In the same pot on MED heat, add another drizzle of olive oil and sauté the remaining 2 cloves of minced garlic and diced onion. When the onion has softened and turned translucent, add in the potatoes, broccoli, and chicken stock. Stir, then turn the heat up to HIGH to bring the soup to a boil, then turn it down to MED heat. Put on a lid and let it boil for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, remove 2 ladles of the ingredients in the pot (without any liquid) into a separate bowl and use a spatula to quickly break up the ingredients into small bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
Add oat milk into the pot and bring the heat back up to HIGH to reach a boil, then turn the heat off.
Use a stick blender (or regular blender) to purée everything in the pot. If you want a creamier soup, turn the heat back on and simmer the soup until desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add back in the removed ingredients from step 3 and also the cooked mushrooms along with any of its liquid. Taste, and readjust any salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot with croutons. Enjoy!

January 16, 2024

Abby2 Comments

French Onion Spinach Dip ‘Cob Loaf’

Date Published: Jan 15th, 2024 | Last Updated: Jan 15th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: snacks, appetizer, <15mins, easy, sauces/dips, snacks, vegetarian
Serves: 4-6 | Prep time: 10 mins + chill overnight | Cook time: 20mins

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Toby has a bad habit of leaving the microscope on at work and the nurses kept calling him out on it. Eventually they started a tally and if he left the microscope on 5 times, he had to make the clinic a cob loaf. He actually lasted a good few weeks until he reached five 😂. We had no idea how to make a cob loaf and came upon this recipe from Taste.com.au when we were looking it up for the first time. The recipe was ridiculously easy and the results were SO GOOD. We’ve made it 5 more times since and it has become a part staple for us! I guess you just can’t beat a classic.

What is a Cob Loaf?

A “cob loaf” is a round loaf of bread. I had never heard the term ‘cob loaf’ until I came to Australia. The term cob loaf is used interchangeably here as the definition of the round bread loaf but also as a dish where a dip is served inside the round loaf of bread. So when someone says they’re bringing a “cob loaf” to the party, they mean that they’re going to bring a dip that is served inside a carved out round loaf of bread. It took me so much longer than I’d like to admit to figure all of this out 😂😂😂. Upon further research for this post, I’ve learned that a cob loaf has been consistently the most popular party food in Australia and has been around for 100 years! 😮

The traditional and most popular “cob loaf” dip is a spinach dip consisting of cream cheese, spinach, and french onion soup mix. The other common type I’ve seen is a bacon and cheese cob loaf. Cob loaves have evolved over the years and pretty much any type of dip served in a round bread bowl is considered a cob loaf. This recipe is a traditional cob loaf.

You can either buy the pre-made French onion soup mix powder from the shops, or make your own. I’ve done a blind taste test trial with Toby and he couldn’t tell the difference between the two. So if you’re feeling extra lazy, just buy the prepackaged mix. I prefer making my own mix for a number of reasons: A) more cost-effective if you already have all the pantry ingredients, B) there aren’t any preservatives or synthetic ingredients when you make the mix yourself, C) the flavour will be consistent time after time in case you can’t find your favourite french onion mix or if you’re travelling and it’s not a commonly available item in the shops, and D) you can tweak the ingredients easier for a personalized flavour.

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

Spinach Dip:
- French Onion seasoning mix (or you can buy a 40g packet pre-made French onion soup mix):
  - 1/4 cup onion flakes
  - 1/2 tsp onion powder
  - 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  - 1 beef bouillon cube, crushed into a powder
  - 1/2 tsp dried parsley
  - 1/4 tsp celery salt
  - 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 250g frozen spinach, thawed
- 250g cream cheese, softened
- 300ml sour cream
- Salt and pepper to taste
1 cob loaf (any round bread loaf)

Directions:

Defrost the spinach and squeeze out all of the water.

Put all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until completely mixed through, making sure you get rid of any clumps: french onion soup mix (or spice blend), spinach, cream cheese, and sour cream. You can put it all in a food processor to make it easier.

Place the mixture into an airtight container and chill for 4 hours, or best if overnight.

The next day, pre-heat oven to 180˚C (or 160 fan-forced).

Prepare the cob loaf by cutting the top 1/4 off and slicing it into large pieces. Then cut a hole into the remaining bread bowl and remove the bread inside. Tip: if you have a particularly large bread, don’t remove as much bread from the inside or else your dip won’t fill up the bowl nicely and it’ll look too ’empty’ when serving.

Pour the spinach dip into the bread bowl. Serve cold or warmed in the oven (I personally prefer it warmed so the flavours come out better).

To serve it warmed: Place the bread bowl with the dip inside on a baking tray and the sliced bread pieces around the bowl and bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Summarized Recipe:

French Onion Spinach Dip ‘Cob Loaf’

Ingredients:

Spinach Dip:
- 40g packet French onion soup mix OR:
  - 1/4 cup onion flakes
  - 1/2 tsp onion powder
  - 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  - 1 beef bouillon cube, crushed into a powder
  - 1/2 tsp dried parsley
  - 1/4 tsp celery salt
  - 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 250g frozen spinach, thawed
- 250g cream cheese, softened
- 300ml sour cream
- Salt and pepper to taste
1 cob loaf (any round bread loaf)

Directions:

Defrost the spinach and squeeze out all of the water.
Put all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until completely mixed through, making sure you get rid of any clumps: french onion soup mix (or spice blend), spinach, cream cheese, and sour cream. You can put it all in a food processor to make it easier.
Place the mixture into an airtight container and chill for 4 hours, or best if overnight.
The next day, pre-heat oven to 180˚C (or 160 fan-forced).
Prepare the cob loaf by cutting the top 1/4 off and slicing it into large pieces. Then cut a hole into the remaining bread bowl and remove the bread inside.
- Tip: if you have a particularly large bread, don’t remove as much bread from the inside or else your dip won’t fill up the bowl nicely and it’ll look too ’empty’ when serving.
Pour the spinach dip into the bread bowl. Serve cold or warmed in the oven (I personally prefer it warmed so the flavours come out better).
To serve it warmed: Place the bread bowl with the dip inside on a baking tray and the sliced bread pieces around the bowl and bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

January 16, 2024

AbbyLeave a comment

Steak & Blue Cheese Salad

Date Published: Jan 1st, 2024 | Last Updated: Jan 1st, 2025
Author: Abby |Category: salads, mains, healthy, easy, <30mins, low-cal, on the go
Serves: 2 large salads as a main | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 6 mins

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HAPPY NEW YEAR! I can’t believe it’s 2024 already. 2023 flew right by! It seems like just yesterday we moved to Brooklyn from Australia and I still feel like we haven’t completely settled in. There’s so much good food around us that I haven’t had as much inspiration to cook in the kitchen this past year, despite FINALLY living in our own space and having all of my kitchen things all in one place. Welp, all this eating out has been catching up to our bellies, so we’re starting 2024 eating healthy and getting our weights down (original, I know).

This steak and blue cheese salad is a copy cat from the one at Panera’s which has since been discontinued. It was my all time favourite salad and I was heartbroken the day they took it off the menu. This salad has been on the back of my mind for a LONG time, but I never quite got it right to make it just like Panera’s. Their cabernet reduction sauce still remains a mystery to this day. After many years, I’ve given up on making it exactly the same, but I managed to make a quick and easy version that satisfies the craving. This recipe is so easy and cooks up quickly, great for a busy evening.

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

400g Sirloin steak(s), room temp
Salt and pepper
1 large romaine/cos lettuce heart, washed and chopped
Half a red onion, sliced thin
1.5 cups of cherry or grape tomatoes, washed and halved
1.5 cups of fried onions/shallots
1.5 cups blue cheese/gorgonzola crumbles
Fresh ground black pepper
Balsamic vinaigrette glaze (also works with balsamic vinaigrette if you don’t have the glaze on hand)

Directions:

Salt and pepper the steak(s) on both sides. Set up your grill or grill pan to HIGH heat and add a drizzle of oil. Cook the steaks on HIGH heat until you get a nice sear on both sides and cooked to medium rare (roughly 2.5 – 3 minutes on each side, cook times will vary depending on the thickness of your cut). Once the steaks are done, remove from the pan and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

While the steak is resting, assemble your salad: evenly divide the lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions/shallots, and blue cheese crumbles between two salad bowls. Add a sprinkling of fresh ground black pepper to each bowl then place the sliced steak over the salads. Drizzle the balsamic vinaigrette glaze over both salads. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Summarized Recipe:

Steak & Blue Cheese Salad

Ingredients:

400g Sirloin steak(s), room temp
Salt and pepper
1 large romaine/cos lettuce heart, washed and chopped
Half a red onion, sliced thin
1.5 cups of cherry or grape tomatoes, washed and halved
1.5 cups of fried onions/shallots
1.5 cups blue cheese crumbles
Fresh ground black pepper
Balsamic vinaigrette glaze (also works with balsamic vinaigrette if you don’t have the glaze on hand)

Directions:

Salt and pepper the steak(s) on both sides. Set up your grill or grill pan to HIGH heat and add a drizzle of oil. Cook the steaks on HIGH heat until you get a nice sear on both sides and cooked to medium rare (roughly 2.5 – 3 minutes on each side, cook times will vary depending on the thickness of your cut). Once the steaks are done, remove from the pan and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
While the steak is resting, assemble your salad: evenly divide the lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions/shallots, and blue cheese crumbles between two salad bowls. Add a sprinkling of fresh ground black pepper to each bowl then place the sliced steak over the salads. Drizzle the balsamic vinaigrette glaze over both salads. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

January 2, 2024January 2, 2024

AbbyLeave a comment

3 Days in Washington, DC

Travel Dates: June 24-27, 2023

Finally, a long weekend road trip getaway to explore this grand nation! Since moving to the US 3 months ago, we’ve been so busy settling in and exploring our neighbourhood that we haven’t had any time to do any road trips. This long weekend we finally decided to plan one and as our first American road trip, we chose to visit Washington, DC – the capital of the nation! I’ve been to DC a couple times in the past but this was Toby’s first time. He was more than excited to see all the famous buildings, but most importantly the Air and Space museum!

For our first time hiring a car in NY, Toby did a lot of research into finding the cheapest option for rental cars and settled on a small local shop. When we went to pick up the car the day before, it was less than ideal. The entire car had stains, scratches, and I swear the little holes in the seats looked like cigarette burns. I’d post pictures, but let’s not start off our happy weekend vacation blog on a bad note. Just believe that it was gross 🤮. It was so gross that I had to quickly Amazon cheap car seat covers and luckily had them delivered the same day in time for our trip (gotta love Prime). You can just see the car seat covers in the photo looped around the head rest 😂. It was a 4.5 hour drive to DC from our home in Brooklyn. Luckily Washington is a pretty walkable city, so we parked our car in the hotel lot and didn’t have to touch it until it was time to go home. 😅 Needless to say, this would be our first and last time hiring from this company.

We stayed at Hotel Washington. It was a beautiful fancy hotel that Toby chose because it was near the White House, Washington Monument, and restaurants. They were filming the next Captain America movie just outside! 🤫 Unfortunately we didn’t get to see any celebrities during our time there and missed out on all the times they were filming. The valet told us that one of the main stars of the movie was staying at our hotel though – too bad he couldn’t remember his name.

It never ceases to amaze me how huge the buildings are in DC!

I’ve always been impressed by the sheer size of the buildings in Washington. Many of them take up an entire block!

Things to Do: The National Mall

When you visit Washington DC, the main sights can be broken up into 3 categories: 1) Monuments and Memorials, 2) Government Buildings, and 3) Museums. All of these surround a large walkable grassy area that is grouped together known as The National Mall. The map below outlines this grassy area and if you have a good pair of walking shoes, you should be able to hit all the memorials in one day, which is what we did!

Our itinerary:

Day 1 (red): We arrived around lunch time and after checking in, we started at the White House (right across from our hotel) and headed towards the Washington monument then did a circle to the Lincoln memorial, around the Jefferson memorial, then back up past the Washington monument and back to the hotel for some dinner.

Day 2 (blue): We headed to Capitol Hill and took some photos outside, walked through the US Botanic Garden, then finished off at the Air and Space Museum.

Day 3 (green): We spent all day at the massive Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

How Many Days Do You Need?

It depends on what you want to see and how much time you’re willing to put in. If you only want to see the major monuments and memorials and the outside of the buildings, you could easily finish it all in 1 day.

If you want to go inside the government buildings such as Capitol Hill and The White House and join a tour, I’d recommend adding on an extra day or two, depending on your tour times and how packed you want your schedule to be.

Washington is home to MANY museums and it would be a shame to leave without at least visiting one or two. The two most popular ones are the Air and Space Museum and the Museum of Natural History. Each of these museums are quite large and can easily take up nearly an entire day. If you want to visit both, add on an extra 2 days. Apart from these two, there are also a variety of other museums that are free of charge that can easily add on to your itinerary.

For us, we spent a total of 3 days and saw all the major monuments and memorials, saw the outside of the White House and Capitol Hill but didn’t attend any tours, and went to the Air and Space Museum as well as the Museum of Natural History. This was just enough time for us to enjoy everything without feeling too rushed. If we have a chance to visit again, I’d book some walking tours inside the government buildings and maybe visit the Museum of American History which has a lot of cool famous historical items.

1) Monuments and Memorials

Washington Monument

You can go inside for free, BUT tickets have to be reserved at least 30 days in advance or released at 10am the day before. You can find more info at recreation.gov. We didn’t end up going inside during this trip, but I went in a few years back and I remember it being a small museum of the history of the monument and photos documenting the building process.

World War II Memorial

World War II Memorial looking back to the Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial

View of the Washington Monument from the top of the Lincoln Memorial

Korean War Veterans Memorial

I’ve been told that this memorial is also cool to check out at night!

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

It was a longer walk to get to this memorial but the stroll along the water was beautiful and there were tons of geese!

2) Government Buildings

The White House

This was the best photo I could get of the White House. If you get too close to the White House you end up with bars and gates in your photo and its hard to see the entirety of the building. We didn’t end up going into the White House because it is a HUGE process to organize. First, you have to book your tickets at a minimum of 21 days prior to visiting but no longer than 90 days. Second, in order to organize your tour, you have to contact your member of congress if you’re a US citizen, or if you’re a foreign citizen, you have to contact your embassy in DC. More information here. I definitely did not plan early enough for this trip to make this happen and the amount of effort it took was a bit too much for us. Maybe next time.

Capitol Hill

You can visit Capitol Hill free of charge, but it has to be with a guided tour. Tours last roughly an hour (more info here). We didn’t end up going in during this trip because we were a bit short on time. I mainly wanted to see the outside of the building, however sadly during our trip, it was under renovation. 😦

United States Botanic Garden

This wasn’t originally on our list but we happened to walk past it on our way to Capitol Hill and checked it out. It was a lot larger than we expected they had a large display of unusual orchids on display at the time!

3) Museums

There are a TON of museums in DC and the best part is that they’re all free! The Smithsonian museums are HUGE and takes a lot of time to get through but there are some really cool things in them. Due to popularity, remember to check online to see if you need to book tickets ahead of time. We almost didn’t get to see the Air and Space museum because we didn’t know you needed a timed ticket!

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

https://airandspace.si.edu/

This is one of our favourite Smithsonian museums in DC. There are a lot of original famous historical items here including the original Wright brothers’ plane and also original parts from the space shuttle missions. The museum goes through a chronological history of air and space in time starting with the invention of planes and ending with space travel. Tickets are free, but you HAVE to buy them early and there are timed entries. If you don’t buy them early, same-day tickets are released at 8:30am and if there are any leftover, they are re-released at 12:30pm. Toby and I (and many other tourists) learned this the hard way. We rocked up at 12:15pm and stood outside in the super humid heat and waited until 12:30pm until online ticket portals were open and quickly snagged two tickets. Not everyone was so lucky and had to come back another day. It was also super busy, so I’d recommend planning early and booking the first ticket of the day so you’re not rushed to get through everything in time before closing. We JUST managed to get through everything but didn’t have time to see any of the short films.

Right at the entrance, you’re initially greeted with the original model of the Enterprise they used in the Star Trek TOS opening scenes!!!

Toby’s mind was blown when he saw that they had the original Wright brother’s plane!

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

https://naturalhistory.si.edu/

This was our second favourite museum in DC. This museum is HUGE and tickets are not required beforehand. Entry is free and it will likely take you all day to get through it all. This museum has the largest collection of dinosaur fossils that I’ve ever seen and there are a TON of things to see here. Definitely worth a visit!

You can see what you’d look like in prehistoric times

Smithsonian Castle

This was also not on our list of things to do, but we happened to walk by it on our way to the Museum of Natural History. There was a beautiful garden to walk through and the building is the Smithsonian Castle, which is temporarily closed.

Things to Eat

We weren’t really expecting a big foodie trip, so we just googled nearby restaurants to our hotel and found the two top rated ones and spent most of our meals there 😅.

Joe’s Seafood, Prime Rib and Stone Crab

https://www.joes.net/dc/

Joe’s is a chain restaurant with locations in Chicago and Vegas. They specialize in seafood (esp stone crab) and prime rib. Over the course of two separate meals, we ordered the crab cakes, steak tartare, lobster, prime rib, and stone crab. The prime rib was meh, but the crab cake was delicious (although pricey) and the stone crab was out of this world! We had never had stone crab until now and we were HOOKED. We went back the next day just to have the stone crab again. Oh boy!

The stone crab was SO freaking good. I’d come back to DC just for these babies!

Old Ebbitt Grill

https://www.ebbitt.com/

This restaurant has historical significance – it is Washington’s first saloon, opened in 1856! It’s now owned by a corporate restaurant chain but they’ve preserved the interior very nicely and the place has a great ambience to it. They pride themselves on being a ‘scratch kitchen’, making everything from scratch including all the sauces. The food was decent but nothing mind-blowing (the crab cakes were better at Joe’s), but the atmosphere was great and it was always busy during dinner time, so make sure you make reservations!

VUE Rooftop (inside Hotel Washington)

https://www.vuerooftopdc.com/rooftop-bars-dc

This rooftop bar was located inside of our hotel which was nice. It has great views of the Washington monument as well as the White House in the distance. The drinks are decent and the vibes were lovely at sunset. There’s a whole restaurant area but we already had dinner at this point so we only had drinks and dessert.

We drove home early next day to make it back in time to unwind and do laundry before work started the day after. Thanks for reading! If you have any tips or suggestions for DC, I’d love to hear them!

December 31, 2023October 7, 2024

Abby4 Comments