Budapest-Inspired Strudel

Budapest has a thriving cafe culture that has lasted from the days of Austro-Hungarian empire, and wasn't touched by the double occupation. The number of beautiful (or sometimes decrepit) old coffee houses and "etterems" around Budapest is staggering, and quite of a few of them have some delicious little pastry on offer. The ones that tempted me were always layers of golden puff pastry encasing juicy sour cherries, slices of apple, or rich poppyseeds resembling millions of caviar. What could be more stylish to eat then one of those and a small cup of expresso?

Cafe Szimpla, in the Jewish Quarter

I decided to try my hand at the delicacy and gave it a shot using the recipe for "Black Forest" strudel from The Joy of Vegan Baking.(Although "Black Forest" stuff is usually German... oh well.) It turns out that making a strudel is a delicate process, but not at all time-consuming or difficult. You have to brush thin layers of thawed philo dough with soy-butter, then wrap them around your filling... and then a few minutes later, you have the world's best coffee accompaniment!


I can't wait to try this with other fillings (apple! sour cherries!) but I think I'll hold off on the intense poppyseed ones... for now.

In other news, did anyone see this story about a guy who got fired shortly after his boss found out he was a vegetarian? Apparently he called him a "vegetarian homo." Putting aside for the moment the legal questions here (most likely diet-based discrimination IS acceptable in the workplace under the law... ) I'd like to just point out how ridiculous it is that vegan/ veg men often get overly taunted for their diets. Eating meat does not make you a man. And making fun of other people for their humane lifestyle is such a sad way to hide your own insecurities.

Song of the Day: Golden Age- TV on the Radio