Liebster Award

Thanks to roodonfood for recently nominating me for the Liebster Award!  Wonder what this is about? Here are the rules:

• Post 11 random facts about yourself.
• Answer the 11 questions made by the person who nominated you.
• Create 11 questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.
• Choose 11 bloggers to pass the award to and mention them in your post.
• Go to their blogs and let them know that they have been nominated.

Let’s start with the random facts about myself:

1. I drink a lot of soda.
2. I don’t drink beer.
3. Unlike what you may think reading my blog, I do travel in countries outside of the Eastern Bloc — most recently Canada, Germany, India, France, and the U.K.
4. I also like cuisines other than Eastern European — Indian food in particular.
5. I used to spend summers in Saint-Malo.
6. I have a 2 1/2 year-old daughter.
7. I have an original poster of Stalin in my dining room (my daughter calls him Uncle Joe).
8. In my youth I was banned from various food and beverage establishments for, shall I say, divergence of opinion.
9. Even though I am not the other Florian Pinel, I like skiing.
10. I have a lot of piercings but no tattoos.
11. I’m currently learning Czech.

… and my answers to roodonfood‘s question:

1. What is your absolute favorite meal?
   Caviar, game meat, kebabs, pizza, lobster, oysters, brains, steak, chocolate… I don’t really like the idea of having a favorite this or that.
2. What is your favorite spice?
   Saffron. But see answer to previous question.
3. What place would you most like to visit?
   It’s hard to single out one new place. Let’s say Lapland.
4. What do you do to relax?
   Watch movies, read books — really original! When possible, go to a sauna.
5. Where do you live and what is the coolest place there?
   New York City. Discussing the coolest place in NYC could be the subject of a whole blog of its own.
6. What was your proudest moment?
   When I received the Liebster Award 😉
7. What is your dream job?
   Traveling a lot, cooking a lot, and being paid lots of money for it. Prospective employers may contact me through my About page.
8. What are your favorite TV Shows and movies?
   I don’t really watch TV shows, but my most beloved movies include Underground, The Piano Tuner, Damnation, Suspiria, Conspirators of Pleasure, Martyrs, Singapore Sling. There are many more.
9. What is your favorite book or author?
   I recently enjoyed books by Olen Steinhauer and Andrey Kurkov. There are many more.
10. What is the best recipe on your site?
    All my recipes are great!
11. What super power would you most want and why?
    The ability to learn any skill I like in no time. Why? To learn any skill I like in no time.

My turn now:

1. Where do you live, and can you give me the name of a good Eastern European restaurant there?
2. Have you been to the Eastern Bloc? What place did you like most?
3. What is your favorite brand of vodka?
4. What are 3 dishes you love best?
5. What are 3 ingredients you love best?
6. What camera, lens, and other accessories do you use to take the pictures on your blog?
7. How long do you typically spend writing a post on your blog?
8. What is your favorite blog?
9. What’s your favorite recipe on my blog?
10. Is there any specific recipe or topic you would like me to write about?
11. If you met Vladimir Putin, what would you ask him?

And my 11 new nominees for the Liebster Award, in no particular order, are:

• Dawid Rutkowski
• Freelance Journalism from Moscow [Andy in Russia]
• Beyond Prague
• Caravanserai 230
• Eurasia 2013
• Keith McInnes Photography
• While Chasing Kids [Russian Mom Cooks]
• The Art of Uzbek Cuisine
• The Goulash Train
• eYakutia
• The Prague Days of Summer [Shaina Bowen]

Congratulations! I’m looking forward to your answers to those 11 questions!