Ward Goes to Poland, Food

 
Ward recently took a trip to Poland, and he is sharing some of his experiences here. 

This was a family sampler (otherwise known as the "Trough of Variety) we had in Wadowice. There was more food than the four of us could eat.

I didn't know anything about Polish food before I went. Still don't know much, except what I saw in restaurants where we ate most of our meals. Here's a summary of my restaurant adventures.

Pierogis are considered the national food of Poland. You'll find these on _every_ menu in _every_ restaurant. Pierogis are dumplings, always boiled, then sometimes baked or sauteed. They are made with unleavened dough, wrapped around a variety of fillings, including potato, cheese, sauerkraut, different meats, mushrooms, and more. Sweet varieties have fruits or berries. The dough sometimes includes mashed potatoes for a smoother consistency. Savory pierogies are often topped with bacon bits, sour cream, or caramelized onions. They are typically served six on a plate with toppings. My favorites were the sauteed pierogis.

Typical plate, this was a variety plate with two each of meat, mushroom and sauerkraut filling. I cut them in half so I could tell which was which.

An interesting side note on the pluralization of the word pierogi:

• one pierog (PEE-er-oog)
• two or three or four - pierogi (pyeh-ROH-ghee)
• five or more - pierogow (pyeh-ROH-goo)

A family member described it like this - Mr. Pierog, Mr. and Mrs. Pierogi, or the extended Pierogow family.

These are larger than normal.

Another meal I frequently encountered was goulash with potato pancakes. The goulash (stew, usually pork) is sometimes served on the potato pancakes (see photo above, across the table), other times separately in a bowl (see photo below).


We got a lot of soup and had it at almost every meal. It was usually either tomato or a traditional sour rye soup that is sometimes served in a sourdough bread bowl.

There was a hard-boiled egg in the soup.

When we stopped for lunch in Kielce on our way to Łomża, I had what may have been the best tomato soup I've had on this trip (even though I've been pleasantly surprised with pretty much every meal I've had on this trip).

And schnitzel was a common option on most menus. Basically, country-fried steak, either chicken or pork.

I think a lot of Polish words translate to "salad". This plate had schnitzel, French fries, salad, salad, and salad.

We got vegetables at every meal. Not surprising except for breakfast (in my experience). Hotel breakfasts include scrambled eggs with bacon, sausage (looked like boiled hot dogs), sliced tomato and cucumber, sliced breads (toasted if you like), and butter.

We ate very well on our trip, and I liked all the food I had. Surprisingly, none of us gained any weight. I guess it was all the walking we were doing. The only thing I really missed and wanted to have when I got home was a good burger. I rarely saw hamburgers on the menu.

Until next time...

P.S. Can't leave without mentioning the "Kremowka z Wadowice" aka "Pope Pies". Before he was Pope John Paul II, Karol Wojtyla was a priest in Wadowice, and he loved these pastries from a particular bakery in town. Then, after he was Pope, he mentioned that in an interview, which resulted in the bakery becoming famous for its Pope Pies.

Pope pies

Tuesday 4, Let's Cook!

 This week's Tuesday 4 is about cooking. Play along if you like. 

If you've read here for very long, you know that cooking is not my thing. I know how to cook, but it's just like the laundry. It's a necessary thing that I don't mind doing, but so many other things are more interesting. Also, I'm not really into the big eating experience. All my life, I have eaten small amounts frequently. My mother said I was born that way and I never really grew out of it. What that means, is that I'm full before the appetizer is done. This causes problems sometimes because people/restaurants think I don't like their food because I'm not eating much of it.

So the questions this week are harder for me to answer than some other prompts have been. But read along, anyway, if you're interested.

1.What is/are your favorite meal(meals) to eat and to cook?

I'd say that my favorite meals are heavy on fresh vegetables. I like them prepared many ways, but the carnivores in the house like them best roasted, so we do that a lot. I like them that way, too, especially because they are easy to prepare. When I was growing up, we got to pick the supper menu on our birthday. I usually chose creamed chicken and biscuits. And when I got a little older, that was my favorite meal to make. 

2.How often do you cook at home and what kind of  meals do you make? 

We get take out once or twice a week, and eat in a restaurant once a month or so. The rest of the time we tend to make easy meals in large quantities so we can eat the leftovers for a couple of days. Big pots of stew and casseroles lend themselves to this. My husband is a fan of Costco chicken (big rotisserie chicken for $4.99), so he tends to buy those a lot.

3. When you go out to eat what foods do you find yourself ordering most?  

When we are in an actual restaurant, I tend to order salads or vegetarian entrees. The carnivores can get their big piece of meat and everyone is happy. And I have been known to be one of those people who eat the fries off of other's plates.

4. Can you recommend a restaurant in your area?  Why do you like it?

I'm not a foodie, so I'm just as happy with a Subway sandwich or a Domino's pizza (tomatoes and feta cheese) as anything else. 

Lists

 Remember the Book of Lists by the Wallechinski-Wallace family? It was a big hit when it first came out in 1977 and contained lists of all kinds of obscure subjects like the breeds of dogs that were most likely to bite to people suspected of being Jack the Ripper. They have published four more list books since then, although it's been years (maybe decades) since I've seen one. I like lists as a way to help organize my thoughts and as a way to remember things. So today, I'm going share some random lists that are bouncing around in my head.

When I wasn't making lists, Ward and I took a walk at a local
Audubon bird sanctuary yesterday.

What we had for Thanksgiving Dinner:

1. Smoked turkey

2. Make ahead mashed potatoes

3. Cuban cranberry sauce

4. Ward's stuffing, June's stuffing (Ward and I grew up with very different kinds of stuffing, so we made some of each.)

5. Roasted butternut squash and peppers

6. Green bean casserole

7. Apple pie

The names of all of the Tawney-Shreve kids:

For a few years when I was growing up, we had a large family living across from us who had nine kids. Just for the heck of it, I've been trying to remember all of their names in birth order.

Jimmy of onion-eating fame. June Ann
liked to eat them that way, too.

1. Sissy (Shelia)

2. Sheryl

3. Jimmy (Rhonda, who liked to eat raw onions like they were apples)

4. June Ann (skinny, cross-eyed girl who later became a model)

5. Sharon

6. Billy

7. Bobby

8. Richard

9. John (named after his dad).

The mother, Opal, was living in her mother's tiny house with her second husband. I didn't understand it all, but I knew that they were all afraid of the first husband/father. I am so lucky that just across the street, I lived with a very stable family and no one was afraid (except maybe when we didn't do our chores or do something we shouldn't have). 

Countries I've visited outside of the US:

Wally celebrated his 1st birthday in Guatemala 
with his great-grandmother and others.

1. Canada-during a trip to Niagara Falls

2. Guatemala-visiting Ward's relatives

3. The Netherlands-with with Ward on a business trip, The first Gulf War started when we were there and getting a plane back became iffy, but obviously it worked out.

4. Brussels-an excursion from the Netherlands, a lot of good French cooking there

4. Japan-visited Miss Landers who was working there. 

I think travelling outside of the country is very important because it gives a different perspective on how the rest of the world lives. It has helped me realize how thankful I am that I was born in the US. With all of that being said, I don't have the travel bug and am a happy to explore what is around me close by. 

On my To Do list for today:

This picture is from a couple of weeks ago when there were still
some flowers around that had survived the frosts we'd had. 
Now they're pretty much all dead.

1. Clean flower beds, collect seeds for next year

2. Pick turkey carcass and make soup

3. Help Ward put up Christmas lights

4. Start writing Christmas letters

5. Finalize gift list

Well, these lists are not nearly as interesting as the ones in the Book of Lists, but it is a post to let you know that I'm still alive and kicking.

Until next time...

More Meals in a Box

Recently, I reported on our experience with Blue Apron that my son, Wally, had been given as a gift. Since then, we have tried a couple additional Blue Apron meals with him which were coordinated with the Weight Watchers (WW) Freestyle program.

Independently of this, Miss Landers decided to try Green Chef, another meal service that is very similar to Blue Apron but focuses on organic ingredients and current diet trends including keto, paleo, and gluten free. She gave us a couple of those to try.

Below are some of the meals we've made.

This is the meal we tried from Green Chef- barramundi fish with lemon, caper sauce. Miss Landers signed up for a pescatarian plan because she is trying to incorporate more fish into her diet. 

The pan fried fish was topped with lemon caper sauce and came with sides of roasted potato wedges and sauteed carrots and onions. It was all quite good, but took a while to prepare with lots of chopping and different cooking steps.

As chance would have it, the next day Wally gave us another fish with lemon caper sauce meal to try. This one was talapia and part of a WW Freestyle meal.   It was served with zucchini and pepper orzo. Both fish meals were good and the crowd was divided between the two as to which one they liked better. For those of you keeping track, this meal had 15 WW Smart Points per serving and a couple hundred more calories that the barramundi meal.

Wally decided that preparing these meals was more than he wanted to do by himself, so we cooked more of them together. This was an orange chicken stir-fry. Lots of chopping but a good flavor (although Theo wasn't sure about the orange pieces in the dish) and a low point value for anyone on the WW program. This was 4 points per serving.

Another Blue Apron meal of creamy shiitake risotto. I had never cooked risotto before or used carnaroli rice, but may try it again. This was also tasty, but higher in WW points, 12 per serving.

On deck. Another one Miss Landers is sharing with us from the Green Chef. This will probably be made tomorrow.

As you might have guessed, there has been more food preparation going on in our kitchen recently than there has been in a long time. While we have enjoyed all of these meals, we will probably not sign up for one of these plans. All of the meals have been flavorful, but often use onions and peppers which not everyone here likes. Also, as I have mentioned before, they involve a lot more prep than I (and Ward and Wally and Theo) want to do.


If I keep talking about food in this blog, I'm going have to figure out how to take food pictures. Still not sure what's the best angle or lighting.

F is for Food Rules

Are you as confused by all of the advice out there these days on the best way to eat to live forever? I am. However, I found a book that explains good eating in terms I can understand, Food Rules, an eaters manual by Michael Pollen. He wrote the book in 2009, but I think it's still relevant today.

Here are a few of his rules:

No. 13  Eat only foods that will eventually rot.

No. 19  If it came from a plant, eat it: if it was made in a                 plant, don't.

No. 20  It's not food if it arrived through the window of                   your car.

No. 45  It's not food if it's called by the same name in                       every language
              (Think Big Mac, Cheetos, or Pringles.)

No. 25  Eat your colors.

No. 36  Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color                 of the milk.

No. 39  Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.

No. 45  Eat less.

And my favorite:
No. 64  Break the rules once in a while.

Do you have any rules you try to follow for eating?

Thankful Sunday--July 3, 2016

I am thankful for family and food.

Theo has been staying with us for the last couple of weeks. Since he is self employed, he brought his work here and has been helping out as Ward is recovering from surgery. He was available for care giving in the early days while I was at work, and for heavy lifting these days when my skinny arms can't quite manage a big chore. We are very happy that he is here.

And an added bonus to all of this is that Theo has been cooking. We do a bit of planning together, but he initiates and does most of the meal prep. I act as his sous chef. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate someone else taking the lead in the kitchen. As most of you know, cooking is not an area that I'm much interested in. One day I came home from work and there was a hot lunch waiting. I was almost giddy. And the Irish hash we had last night was one of the best things I've had in a while. 

So for this time with my son and the meals he is preparing for us, I am very thankful.

Adventurous Eating

I am not an adventurous eater. While I wouldn't call myself a picky eater because I like a lot of different things, I don't venture out of my comfort zone very often to try new things. Especially if they contain one or more ingredients that I don't like. But last night I did.

Caviar  (Photo source)

Ward and I went to a dinner at a friend's house. We thought we were going to a casual open house, but as it turns out we went to a traditional Russian birthday dinner for our friend. I say traditional, but I'm not sure. When I was in the Russian club in college, our traditional dinner was borscht and a doughnut. This was a little different. There were 30 people there and there were more dishes than there were people. We sat down to a beautifully spread table with copious choices, many of which, we weren't sure what they were. The mostly Russian crowd tried to help us as we were handed one dish after another. There were many kinds of sushi, beet dishes, salads, pate, scalloped potatoes, beef and mushrooms, meat and cheese platters, and fish, fish, fish. Everywhere you look, another fish dish. And did I mention caviar?

Ward and I and the couple of other uneducated eaters, sampled this and that until we were getting pretty full. Then one of the informed diners said that this was only the cold course--like hors d'oeuvres. The hot course was still to come. What?!! Our eyes bugged out of our head and got almost as big as our stomachs were at that point. If we'd known earlier, we would have paced ourselves a little better. But more steaming dishes of salmon, chicken, beef (tongue), pork, and vegetables came out of the kitchen to fill our plates. I had to pass on some of this because I only had so much room. However, Ward was enjoying it all.  He leaned over at one point and said that this reminded him of when we were in Japan. (That's a story for another day.)

Then the food slowed down. We wondered if there would be a dessert. We thought maybe when there was this much food in the main meal, they don't have a dessert. However, later, several kinds of cake, fruits and chocolates came out. And during the whole evening, there were many toasts made to the birthday host, who was running around coordinating everything. (Remarkably, the host put almost all of this together herself. She said that shopping for it took the longest.)

So when the evening was over, I was still walking around astonished because I couldn't imagine how someone puts together a meal like that in an average size kitchen.  I was also pleased with myself for going out of my comfort zone and trying so many new things especially since I don't like fish.  But the lure to try caviar for the first time was all the motivation I needed. I've had it now, so you can sign me up for the "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", but you better do it quick, because I didn't like it. Too fishy. :)

(I wish that I had gotten some pictures because each dish was beautifully served, but whipping out a camera at someone's dinner table seemed rude.)

National Archives Food Exhibit

The National Archives

Recently, Ward, Theodore, and I went to the National Archives to see an exhibit on how the government has influenced our food over the last couple hundred years. We all found it very interesting --even Theodore who would have preferred to stay at home.

 

Pictures were strictly forbidden, but here are a couple of things from the web site that we saw on display.

This is when they started to fortify white flour with B vitamins. 
Doughnuts are made with flour so...

Notice that butter has it's own food group.

Lady Bird Johnson's Chili Recipe

An interesting and fun exhibit

Note: Besides the food exhibit, we also saw the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, and the tally sheet from when George Washington was elected president. Amazing!