Daily

Run, I'll be waiting for you at the cross!

I feel so good! Most of all… I “blame” myself for that beautiful summer. Also myself for stopping working like crazy. Also Davídek, who enjoys me when we run around the field together, play football and I let him wear a Spiderman suit or whatever he likes wherever he goes. And I “blame” our dinner at seven for that joy. It wasn’t always like that.

It can't have been that long ago, over scrambled eggs for dinner, my husband said: "Hey, everyone is jealous of me because I have Dita P." I didn't respond to that irony with a single sentence. Well, just one: "Tomorrow at seven at the table."

Our world stopped “tomorrow.” And it stops every night at seven.

In a minute seven I take off my apron, the table is set, always nicely, on my-our Embroidered Porcelain. At that moment I hear Mark kicking off his shoes in the hall: “What does it smell like in here” and I watch David cleverly climbing onto his chair. I’m telling you about these ordinary things that you probably have in your house too. We only had them sometimes. Until recently, David ate porridge, I ate “something from the fridge” and Marek ate what was left over from Sunday or some quick meal. Each at a different time and alone at the table. One snort over the fried eggs woke me up. I’ve had this beautiful ritual under my skin forever!

I don't know if I remember "since I was a child", but I've known since I was three that at five minutes to half past four, my mother and then Marika were standing at the bus stop for bus 190 and at exactly half past four, my father got off. He came from work. He had a brown bag hanging on his shoulder... we went on our bikes, grilled sausages, and rode down the artificial hills that grew in Jižní Město from the excavated foundations of apartment buildings on a baking tray. And then we went home.

It probably wasn't at seven, like it is now in our country, because Marika and I were already watching Večerníček in our pajamas. Mom must have had dinner prepared in advance, even though it wasn't anything complicated: French fries, pancakes, potato salad and so on. For me, those dinners together were nothing special back then. I sat next to my dad and didn't really enjoy talking while eating. Marika and I wanted to giggle, poke each other under the table and everything... Only when I grew up and remember that time, do I realize the meaning of our ritual dinners: they gave all four of us security, we are together at the table now and again tomorrow. We are at home. It doesn't matter what's going on outside, because we have dinner on plates with forget-me-nots, on a red tablecloth, it's warm and fun.

That's how it is at our home in Letná or at our cottage. Until now.

We sit together, Davídek will remember for the rest of his life that he ate from a plate "with lots of blue flowers", that he sat at the head of the table and had his mother on one side and his father on the other. And I enjoy our new anchor in the middle of the world so much that I secretly drag our table on a cart into the fields, cook and set it among the grain. I did that and then - just before seven - I called the boys: Run, I'm waiting for you at the cross.

I feel so good! The most...

Bruschetta with tomatoes

You will feel the real Italy, I promise you. These beautiful "breads" are more than enough for a summer dinner, for example after a light soup.

6–8 servings
Preparation 20 minutes

light Italian country bread, cut into 2 cm slices
extra virgin olive oil
fine sea salt
1 kg very ripe to overripe tomatoes from the garden or farmers market that have never been refrigerated

I heat up the grill in the oven. I spread the breads on a baking sheet and lightly toast them on both sides. Sometimes I toast them on a grill pan, but it's best on a grill over hot ashes.

As soon as they are toasted, I drizzle them with a thin drizzle of the best olive oil. I like it very pungent, almost burning in the throat and smelling like freshly cut grass. Then I sprinkle the breads lightly with fine sea salt.

I let the tomatoes warm up in the sun for two or more hours. I cut them into small pieces and layer them on hot bruschetta, or serve them on the side in small bowls. Everyone then salt them to taste.

Basil pesto

Pesto is my favorite and I would also say it's the best in the world. I learned it in Italy, where basil grows right next to the sea and they really know how to make it.

4 servings
Preparation 15 minutes

3 tablespoons pine nuts
1 clove of garlic
2 large handfuls of basil, washed and dried
100 ml olive oil
2 tablespoons pecorino, finely grated
6 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, finely grated
a pinch of sea salt

In a mortar and pestle, I pound the pine nuts into a smooth paste. I add the garlic and grind again until smooth. I add a pinch of salt and basil leaves and grind again. When the basil starts to release green liquid, I pour in the olive oil and continue grinding until the oil is absorbed. Finally, I add both cheeses and mix until a creamy pesto is formed.

And I use it for everything, I spread it on bread, add it to salad dressing, brush it on potatoes when baking, but I like it best with pasta.

Salad with strawberries and caramelized nuts

I expected my boys to say: "Hey, what's this - strawberries and peelings?" They said, but they finished the salad bowl.

4–6 servings
Preparation 20 minutes

For the caramelized pecans:
2 tablespoons butter
110 g pecans, can also be walnuts
2 tablespoons dark sugar
a small pinch of salt

For the poppy seed dressing:
60 ml olive or avocado oil
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground pepper

For the salad:
200 g baby spinach or any green salad, it is great to add at least two handfuls of arugula
500 g ripe strawberries, preferably freshly picked, washed and chopped
1 ripe avocado, cut into thin slices or small pieces
1/2 red onion, sliced very thinly
110 g fresh goat cheese

First, I make the caramelized pecans. In a heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the pecans and mix well. Sprinkle in the brown sugar and a pinch of salt, and stir until the sugar has dissolved and coated the pecans. Finally, I spread them out on a baking sheet and let them cool.

In the meantime, I'll prepare the dressing. I'll whisk all the ingredients together carefully and set them aside for now.

I put the salad ingredients except the goat cheese in a large bowl, add the dressing and mix thoroughly. I sprinkle the salad with goat cheese pieces, caramelized pecans and serve.

Pistachio cake with strawberries

For those of you who love change, and a very surprising one at that, this cake will be a great delight. You will get a totally divine blend of flavors that – as cakes should be – tastes sweet and somewhere in the background you will smell something special, new. Those pistachios!

8 servings
Preparation 25 minutes
Baking 25 minutes

200 g shelled, unsalted pistachios + for garnish
120 g butter + for greasing the mold
130 g caster sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
6 eggs, yolks and whites separately
a pinch of salt
250 ml whipping cream
2 tablespoons honey
strawberries for decoration
butter for greasing the mold

Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Grease a 20 cm cake tin with butter.

I put the pistachios, butter, 100g caster sugar and vanilla sugar in a food processor and blend for about a minute until it forms a smooth paste. Then I add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing each time. Then I transfer the pistachio mixture to a large bowl.

I put the egg whites in a large bowl and beat until they start to foam. I add the salt and continue beating. I gradually add the remaining 30 g of sugar and beat until a firm, smooth snow forms, which I carefully fold into the pistachio mixture.

Pour the resulting dough into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the cake and let it cool completely on a wire rack.

I pour the cream into another bowl and whip it into a stiff cream. Then I mix it with the honey.

Spread whipped cream on the body, decorate with strawberries and chopped pistachios.

Cherry bubblegum

I will never forget my classic, because I believe that summer would not have started without it. And it treated us to the hot setting sun right after our beautiful dinner.