From: motto@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (mary.rita.otto)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.czecho-slovak
Subject: Re: "Bohemian"
Date: 23 Jul 92 17:08:22 GMT
Organization: AT&T

In article <45418@shamash.cdc.com> slc@a2.cim.cdc.com (Steve Chesney x4662) writes:
>In article <l6m5erINNgcr@news.bbn.com>, rnewman@bbn.com (Ron Newman) writes:
>|> Does anyone know how the word "Bohemian" got its current
>|> English-language meaning referring to starving writers and
>|> artists with unconventional lifestyles and political opinions?
>|> 
>|> -- 
>|> Ron Newman		rnewman@bbn.com
>
>I understood that ethnic Gypsies came to Western Europe or England from
>Bohemia - thus were termed "Bohemian".  Later, variant lifestyles were
>compared to Gypsy life ("free and wandering - Keruoac's "Road"), and incorrectly
>title Bohemian.
>

As I understand it, during the Napoleonic war, the gypsies who traveled
about Europe providing the only decent entertainment were persecuted as
spies and sought refuge in the mountains of Bohemia.  There many of them
settled into the society, bringing with them a lot of creativity and
exuberance and great parties.  After all, what other people, when
given a chance to elect their own president for the first time in
decades would select a POET?  So, maybe we are special.

Now, for the promised Kolachy recipe.


Kolachy

Cream together a pound of butter and nine ounces of cream cheese until
smooth.  Add four tablespoons of sugar.  Mix well.  Blend in 4 cups of
flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to make a thick dough.  Roll the dough
until it is about 3/8 inch thick (grandma would say "until it is the
right thickness for Kolachy").  Cut small circles using a whiskey glass.
(A whiskey glass is about 1.5 inches in diameter, for the uninitiated.)
Put the kolachy on a baking tray.  They can be placed close together,
since they shrink while cooking.  Using Solo fruit filling (grandma only
used Solo) put a dolop of fruit in the center of each kolachy.  There
is no way to measure how much - you must use trial and error because each
type of fruit will take a different amount.  The blueberry, in particular,
is notorious for running.  Use, in grandma's words "enough so that you
don't look cheap, not so much that it runs off the edges".  Bake in a
400 degree oven for between 8 to 12 minutes, depending on how it goes.
They should get brown around the edges but not look toasted.  When you
take them from the oven, allow them to cool for a few minutes, then
remove to a platter and dust with powdered sugar.  They are incredible when
warm.  If any survive, you might want to re-dust them just before serving.
They also ship well, if you layer waxed paper between layers of kolachy
and cover them heavily with powdered sugar.  (Do you know how hard it
is to write this?  My mouth is watering and my stomach is growling!)  They
also freeze well, so it is possible to make a huge batch for Thanksgiving
and then have them for all the pre-Christmas parties (but you always make
fresh ones on Christmas day).

Peace,
Mary
>Steve Chesney                                    slc@a2.cim.cdc.com     
>Control Data Corporation                         612-482-4662 (voice)
>4290 Fernwood Avenue                             612-482-4001 (fax)
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