Eat your way around the world
I never expected a picnic to be so difficult. There's a Polish saying, "Bez pracy nie ma kołaczy," which means "Without work, there won't be supper." This was most definitely the theme of our week at the Polish Global Table. For starters, I spread out the cooking of each dish over the course of three days, slowly making each one when I could find the time. When I finally finished cooking, we took the apple pie to the park to share with friends. Keith didn't catch much of "the … [Read more...]
Misery. When I get out of a steaming hot shower in the icy heart of winter and frost settles onto my damp neck before I can towel off. When I eat too much food at the fair and go to bed immediately afterwards. When my feet are tired and hot after a long, long day but - for whatever reason - I can't take my shoes off yet. When I eat cucumber salad? I feel fresh. Happy. Not exactly miserable. But misery is the Polish name of this crunchy, creamy cucumber salad made with sour cream, dill, a … [Read more...]
We don't always do what's expected in my family. We laugh in the face of drama. We cry whenever happy. We eat pizza for breakfast. And we're generally 10 years out of fashion (note: I'll never slip into skinny jeans, so don't hold your breath on that one). P.S. We never had normal birthday cakes. I liked to have the unusual and highly troublesome (in the best possible way) German Tree Cake on my birthday. Half the time my brother Damien requested apple pie for his. If we were Polish, … [Read more...]
At any given moment I'm an arm's reach from my cellphone. It's not just a phone, it's a laptop, a GPS, and - when my daughter tells it "I love you" - a female voice replies with almost lifelike bashfulness "You are sweet." Frankly, I'm frightened. That's why, when I receive mail - real mail, bundled up in cardboard and clear packing tape - I get so excited. Cardboard boxes don't talk back. The postage stamp doesn't double as a GPS when I'm fifteen minutes late for a show. It simply sits … [Read more...]
Have you ever heard the saying "All the goats jump onto leaning trees"? ("Na pochyłe drzewo wszystkie kozy skaczą.") It's Polish. The saying means goats know to make due with what they are given - they leap to take advantage of the opportunity that presents itself. Real practical, those goats. We should be more like them. Which brings me to our menu. This week, this beautiful week of October, we are given ruddy apples harvested fresh from the orchard, comforting potatoes with dirt still … [Read more...]
Among the cool, rolling hills of Central Europe, which stretch like green tomcats beneath the blue sky, lays Poland ... where waters run clear from the city's industrious lip, all the way to the edge of her spiny mountains. Situated between Germany and Belarus, the best Polish food can be summed up by that which is hunted, foraged, or fished. Under the filtered forest canopy, mushrooms are not just dinner, but a hobby. Fish, straight from the river, is a way of life (think herring, carp, … [Read more...]
