Category: Food

Pilgrimage: Second Bulgarian Cooking Lesson

A week after my first lesson, I had my second lesson last Friday evening at the home of Yana, my hostess. I had found her class on the Air B&B site, and we had “talked” by e-mail as she wanted to customize the class for me. She had also asked about allergies and related, which was very much appreciated. It is done in her home, which is in one of the newer parts of Sofia, which also allowed me to see more of the city as I made my way there.

I don’t have a lot of photos as she took photos of me so I could see and remember what I did during the lesson. We are still in the process of sending such as we have gotten tied up on some other things. More on that in a minute.

Again, we did banitsa; but, this time we did the dough from scratch. It isn’t hard, but does take a bit of time to make your own filo dough. Worth it though! We started with the banitsa first as it would take the longest time to cook.

Our second bit of cooking revolves around a stew cooked in a special clay pot. There are a multitude of variations, and you can cheat a bit if you want to. We did a little bit of a “cheat” to keep the cooking time reasonable. We cooked the chicken, vegetables, and some of the spices on the stove top rather than doing the several hours at low temps normally done. Along the way, I was given a host of suggestions and advice, especially as I now have an individual sized pot that I can practice with here in the apartment.

We also cooked up some of the Bulgarian version of polenta. The stew I mentioned can be served straight out of the clay pot, or, it can also be served over the polenta. Now the polenta does cook quickly, and it is finished by melting butter and roasting some smoked paprika in it to release the oils and flavors. That really did make that dish!

Yana knows her cooking, and her food history. I learned about where and when certain foods show up in Bulgarian history, and how they have changed over the centuries. For example, the rice used in the rice and meat mixture for stuffing peppers and cabbage leaves is a fairly recent thing. It used to be that bulgar wheat and raisins were the prime ingredients in the stuffing as they were inexpensive and easy to find.

Salads are another recent introduction to Bulgarian cuisine, having become popular about a century ago. Today, there are about three “main” salads, with a host of variants, that are a key element of a traditional meal. The one you see above is an Easter variant, and a little closer to Pascha you would see several decorated eggs as a part of it. The pink items are home-pickled radishes that give a bit of color. The dressings are usually lite, mainly oil and vinegar.

Again, I can’t recommend Yana and her “class” highly enough. She knows her food, she’s been cooking at home all her life, and she knows the history of her food. She’s also a charming young lady who is happy to share the techniques and food she learned from her grandmothers and mother. More than that, she is kind enough to open her home to her guests and make them feel at home. Highly, highly recommended.

Now, non-cooking, it turns out both she and her boyfriend know a fair bit about, and are very interested in, space exploration and science. We ended up having some far ranging and long conversations, examining everything from personalities (Elon as one example) to types of research and the “why” behind doing some things. I’m afraid we stayed up very late (especially by my standards).

One conversation also turned into something a bit more that I will likely discuss more later. Short version for now, she mentioned that a relative on her mother’s side was a monk who had spent time on Mount Athos, and was now in charge of a monastery just outside Sofia. Would I be interested in visiting? Yes. The rest of the tale comes soon. 🙂

Again, I can’t recommend this cooking event highly enough. I can’t believe more don’t do this, and urge you to take it if you come to Sofia. You will not be sorry.

If you would like to help me with this trip, seminary courses, and more, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. I’ve added Cash App ($CliffPow7) and Venmo (@Clifford-Powers-5). There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. Getting hit by lightning is not fun! It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Pilgrimage: First Bulgarian Cooking Lesson

I’ve mentioned it, but it is time to share more about my first Bulgarian cooking lesson. I actually started working on this lesson about six months ago, after seeing an ad for it on Tripadvisor and contacting the hostess with some questions. I got back in touch with her a few weeks ago, and discovered she was heading out of town on extended business.

However, it turns out she is Orthodox and since I was coming on a pilgrimage, she offered to do a solo class for me before she left. She also made a number of introductions and suggestions to me in regards my pilgrimage.

Mariela is a neat lady, and no that name is not a traditional Bulgarian name. One of her grandfathers was Bulgarian, who among other things left her with some very good recipes. Her other grandfather was named Batista, and was overthrown by Fidel Castro. She’s lived at different times in Cuba (still has family there), in Bulgaria, and in a few other places along the way. Today, she also has a television show here in Sofia (we were stopped more than once by fans) where she cooks with the people she’s interviewing.

We actually met in front of the Presidential Palace/Residence, where we walked through a vehicle entrance so she could show me a church inside the area. We then toured the Roman ruins of ancient Serdika and got me to start downloading some software that displays what the area used to look like 2000 years ago. More on that in another post soon.

Our next stop was the old Central Market (these days a Kaufland grocery store) to get a few things, then on to the Women’s Market for a few more and introductions to some of the vendors. Once we were done shopping, we caught the Metro (subway) to her home and began cooking. And cooking, and cooking, and yet more cooking. She told me about the food, showed me how she did some of the prep work, and shared about some previous classes as she has had everyone from celebrities on to just regular people take them over the years.

Then, I was made to sit and the feast began. We started with an appetizer that used one of her Bulgarian grandfather’s recipes. I know I said it once before, but that is not catsup on there, but a Bulgarian condiment made from paprika peppers (and I think is much, much tastier than catsup/ketchup). That’s some nice Bulgarian cheese in between for nibbling.

The next step was a cucumber and yogurt soup. Bulgarian yogurt can be from cow milk, sheep milk, or goat milk. So far, it’s all been good. Know there is a goat’s milk yogurt I can get at home that I may use for this.

Then we moved on to stuffed paprika peppers and cabbage rolls stuffed with a rice and meat mixture

And finished with a cheese pie (banitsa) that we made.

In addition to the link above, you can also catch Mariela on Facebook. We had a great time, and I highly recommend her to you.

By the way, the meal was so good the local mob boss wanted a share. 🙂 Just so you know, he’s elderly, quite deaf, and very sweet. Hard to blame him for wanting to take part.

If you would like to help me with this trip, seminary courses, and more, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. I’ve added Cash App ($CliffPow7) and Venmo (@Clifford-Powers-5). There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. Getting hit by lightning is not fun! It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Pilgrimage: Bulgarian Wine Tasting

As you get into this, I ask you to remember that I promised to try to do some videos. I never said a thing about doing good videos. What I will say is that you can tell this is the first I’ve done in a decade or so. There were issues on-site as I learned how to operate the new equipment, so there are some gaps but the core information is there.

The tasting of Bulgarian wine and cheese was fantastic, and I highly recommend Alexander to those of you lucky enough to travel to Sofia. You can get information and sign up through Air B&B or go directly to the website for his shop, Coupage Wine & Cheese. The man is personable, professional, and knowledgeable — and it shows both in the video and even more in person. Spending time at one of his tastings, be it wine or other, is time well spent and at a price that is a steal.

I’m going to let him speak for himself in the video, but will note that we tried two whites and three red wines. The wine and the cheese that accompanied the wines were all from Bulgaria. I’m beginning to seriously question why Bulgaria is not more of a food destination, as I’ve found the cuisine to be robustly complex and the quality of the ingredients to be high indeed. The cheeses in particular hold their own, and there is a wide variety from which to choose. The local wines and spirits do so as well, and I’m reminded of both Australia and South Africa when they were new to the world when I deal with Bulgarian wines.

Again, I’m going to let his comments speak to the individual wines we tried, but will share the following. The white wines we tried were solid, and I would cheerfully have them again and pair them with a variety of foods. That said, it wasn’t a particular wine that moved me; rather, it was two variety of grapes unique to Bulgaria that rocked me.

Wines from the Rubin variety of grapes are solid, rich, and complex. They should pair incredibly well with everything from Italian dishes to ham and other strong dishes. The color is dark indeed, and both the nose and the taste feature a complex array of spice, tobacco, leather with a depth that would put a lot of cabs to shame.

The second variety of grape is Mavrud. The color reminds me of dark garnet or ruby. In the nose and taste, I caught blueberry for a delightful moment, then black currant, blackberry, and similar notes. It is unusual in that it is a dry wine, but incredibly fruity. In some ways it reminds me of an old vine zinfandel, but kicked up a couple of orders of magnitude. It is an incredibly complex flavor, with a solid mouthfeel where tannins come out on the sides of the tongue even as leather and tobacco take center stage on the palette. It is quite good with beef and I’ve found it to work well with a variety of foods.

The Melnik/Melnik 55 wines are quite good as well, and I suspect will more than hold their own on the world stage. That said, I think anyone who gets wines from the Rubin and Mavrud varieties onto U.S. menus and palettes is going to make bank. Add in some of the Melnik wines as a base tier, keep all of them as limited editions/non-bulk, and it should be a slam dunk.

Yes, there are some junk Bulgarian wines. I’m sure there is a version of ‘no wine before it’s time which was five minutes ago’ wine out there. By sticking to these grapes and avoiding the standard varietals (Syrah, cab, etc.) I’ve had some very good wines at a very good price. Again, think of Bulgarian wines as you would have Australian wines 20-30 years ago, or South African wines a decade ago. The better Bulgarian wines are a solid addition to any cellar.

Largest problem you are going to have with that is that very little is exported overseas for now. There are some efforts underway to get Bulgarian wines into the U.S. market, but those are hampered by the fact they are not mass-produced, which limits interest from the big importers. Which is why I think a smaller operation will make bank on them by keeping it small and good, and going for quality rather than quantity.

More to come, as I also did a Rakia tasting with Alexander. Oh, and if you are wondering about why he (we both, actually) kept looking away, it was because of things going on outside his store or when customers came in. It is a working store with a small footprint, and made for a relaxed experience. I would go so far as to say that it added a special charm to things you won’t get in a more sanitized and isolated corporate event.

One of the things I’ve very much enjoyed on the Pilgrimage is that things can be a bit more relaxed here. It is nice to pull up a table outside, have a nice hot or cold libation (the weather has been interesting, with days in the 40s or in the 70s and nights staying in the 30s), and just watch the people and critters. Being able to sit back and be relaxed with Alexander meant a much deeper and rewarding experience, as he was able to digress into discussions of regions, varietals, and other topics that were of interest but seem never to get covered in more formal events.

So, if you get the chance to visit Alexander and take part in one of his tastings, do so! They are also a great opportunity for a small group event (5-7 people). Highly recommended, especially if it is your first visit to Bulgaria as you can learn a lot about the country and it’s wine.

If you would like to help me with this trip, seminary courses, and more, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. I’ve added Cash App ($CliffPow7) and Venmo (@Clifford-Powers-5). There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. Getting hit by lightning is not fun! It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Pilgrimage: Second Very Full Day

Local mob boss demanding a cut of the lesson

My second day was, in many respects, even fuller than the first. Again, I will have to split some things off into separate posts to do them justice.

Appetizer course, topped with Bulgarian “ketchup” which is made with pimento peppers and not tomatoes. Delicious.

My morning began early with a brisk walk up to the “Russian Church” (which is a stone’s throw from the Patriarchal Cathedral). A new friend was supposed to meet me there and provide introductions to the priests; but, they had something work-related come up such that they could not make it. So, we did a mix of in-person (me) and remote (them) introductions and I was allowed to attend the liturgy and partake of the Eucharist. Love their music tradition and they are not afraid of the bass…

Cucumber and yoghurt soup with toasted fresh bread

Being Saturday of Bright Week, it was a bit more than a normal service. Towards the end, everyone filed out and we processed around the church where various blessings and such were performed. The lead priest for the service (Father Seraphim?) was quite enthusiastic about blessing the crowd with Holy Water on a slightly rainy morning, evoking a good bit of good-natured laughter.

Pimento peppers and cabbage stuffed with a meat and rice mixture

Once that was over, I walked over to the Presidential Residence where I met the lady who was to give me my first Bulgarian cooking lesson. It was much more than that, with a tour and history lesson thrown into the mix. We shopped at both the Central Market and then the outdoor farmer’s market, went back to her apartment and cooked up quite the meal. Much more soon, including links to her info.

Cheese pie made with filo dough

More on this soon, but I have to get to the Patriarchal Cathedral for this morning’s service. Once that is done, I have to finish my midterm exam for the seminary course, and then I may just rest up a bit. I’ve been putting in a lot of miles walking, along with a lot of doing. It has been amazing, fun, and something very positive that I can’t fully describe. Thank you all so very much for helping make this happen.

If you would like to help me with this trip, seminary courses, and more, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. I’ve added Cash App ($CliffPow7) and Venmo (@Clifford-Powers-5). There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. Getting hit by lightning is not fun! It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Winter 26 Bleg

I hate to do this, as your kind gifts over the last 4.5 years have kept me going. Right after I was hit by lightning that June, and things started going South rather rapidly, quite a few of you stood up and helped me out as I dealt with health issues, health bureaucracy, and general bureaucracy. At that time, I wanted nothing more than to get better and move to the desert SW. As I look out at the roughly inch of snow that fell here this morning, there is a part of me that still very much wants to move there.

That said, about 3.5 years ago, I found a new Church home and my desire for a new life took on a new meaning. It was something long building, as I had for years thought there was something I was supposed to be doing, though I wasn’t sure what it was that I was to do. It literally took getting hit by lightning to have a moment of clarity, and to slowly (I am a bit thick and slow) realize that the end doesn’t matter, only the path. Bit more on this later in the post.

It took more than three years to get a small monthly stipend going, and during that time your gifts literally allowed me to live as I had no real income during that time. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate those gifts, and all the prayers that came with them. Both mean more than I can ever truly express. Which is why I hate to ask for more, but my stipend is not huge and while things are improving, there is more to do than I can cover.

So, I’m going to do a formal Bleg. Haven’t done this in a while, but here’s what I’m looking at over the next year or so.

First up, keeping the blog up and the lights on costs about $500 right now. I’ve got some fairly stable hosting that at least sorta-handles Instalanches and the like. There are support services that help keep the spam at bay, and things running smoothly (or at least relatively so). I would not mind doing a bit more, and expenses could go up if I start doing more video and the like as planned.

Second, I am doing an experiment right now by taking a seminary course as a remote-learning non-degree student. I will note that if I do change to pursue a degree or certificate, everything should count towards that. The last round of neurological testing done last year said I should be able to take a course and pass it. I will also note the doctor who did the testing and I had an interesting side talk on the fact that I can still form new memories, but that the conditions to form new memories are not always there. So, trying some things, including something told to me by a fellow lightning strike survivor to aid in creating those conditions.

I will admit right now the class is wonderful, I’m truly enjoying it (its on the theology behind the Liturgy, the main worship service for Christians). It is also sometimes overwhelming and almost always like trying to drink from a firehose. It is testing my compensation systems for life, and I’m having to devise new stratagems for handling the loads. Which is good, very good, don’t get me wrong; but, it is not easy and I look back at being able to breeze through some courses with a degree of envy.

It is also expensive given my budget. Right now, looks like the total cost is going to be around $2k for the course. A couple of you have stepped up and covered registration and such, and it is much appreciated. Now, if I do okay with this course, I would like to try again this fall with another course, which will be another $2k (bit more). If that goes well, I would then try two courses, and if that goes well, and I have the blessing of my Priest, I would consider seeking a scholarship and try full-time. That’s in the future, but for this year alone having $4k would be a huge help.

Now, as my regular readers know, I have the opportunity to go on a pilgrimage this spring. I am Eastern Orthodox Christian, and belong to the Bulgarian Patriarchate which means my home Church is in Sophia, Bulgaria. So, I will be going to Sophia and basing out of there. The trip is for spiritual development and discernment, and as such I will be visiting Churches and monasteries (and possibly a seminary) in Bulgaria; will be going up to Bucharest, Romania for a visit (and cooking lessons, more in a bit); and, will be going to Mount Athos is Greece to spend some time there.

For those who don’t know, Mount Athos is one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. Short version: fairly soon after the start of Church, Christian hermits took up residence there; and, when monastic life became a thing, monasteries were established there; and, during various times of persecution and such, those monasteries became a refuge and many items were stored there.

Getting to visit requires getting a “visa” via an office of the Greek government on the mainland, as Mount Athos is accorded as it’s own territory, almost it’s own country in some ways. You then have to contact the monasteries to arrange to visit. I’ve been approved for my “visa” though I am attempting to change the dates of my visit. My Bishop (our Church has one Bishop for the USA, Canada, and Australia btw) has invited me to join him at one of the monasteries for a special service, and I’m now waiting to hear from the ‘visa office’ on my request to change the dates of my visit.

For all I am working to do this on the cheap, there are still expenses. I got a fairly good deal on the airfare; but, with all the fees and taxes added on it ended up about $1,800. I’ve found some short-term studio apartment rental in Sophia that look good, have stoves and oven, wifi (my seminar class will be finished while on the pilgrimage), and such, for about $33 a day, or a total of around $1,800 with taxes and fees. Several of them offer a service to pick me up and take me back to the airport even. While I’m in Bulgaria and Romania, I want to take some cooking lessons, one of which is Romanian country cooking in the Carpathian mountains. Right now, looking at about $750 for doing those. When one visits and stays at monasteries, they do appreciate donations and so I am budgeting $900 for that. I also want to budget for some hotel expenses as I can’t always stay at monasteries and such, so am adding $700 for that. I’m also budgeting $500 for trains, busses, and other transport. Sadly, given age and the joys of having been hit by lightning, I am having to get trip insurance that includes hospital and medical evacuation. That looks to be $800 (possibly a bit more). So, looking at about $7,250 for the trip itself.

Oh, for the record, if I die or am killed while on the pilgrimage, I’ve given instructions that I am to be buried there. No need to bring me back here, let me rest where I fall. This constitutes full legal notice to any and all parties who may (or may not) have a claim on my estate.

Now, there are some expenses that are not a direct cost, but also need to be considered. First up, a new cell phone. I have a non-numbered model senior-citizen special right now. I would like to upgrade that so I can handle a particular translation app and take better pictures and videos. Several have already asked if I will post pictures and videos, and I actually hope to do so daily. I really want to video some or all of the cooking classes, and various explorations of Churches and more. From the Carpathian mountains to Mount Athos, we are talking some beautiful country and I want to share it with you. Given that my phone won’t even trade in on a new mobile, am budgeting $1,500 for that. I also need a new pair of prescription sunglasses. Insurance will cover part of that, but I’m still going to be out roughly $500 simply because of my prescription (rarely can be ground in store). Not looking for super high end, just a solid pair of glasses and yes I’ve already priced some out. Now that physical therapy and massage therapy have me walking more normally, I need a new pair of Redwings, and those will be about $135. For all that I feel their quality has slipped, these shoes are incredibly comfortable, can handle rough terrain at need, and are safety shoes — which can come in handy. Now, I also am looking at some specialty clothes, including a vest that a priest I know speaks highly of that can even be worn with a cassock (not an issue for me at present) that is pickpocket and RF resistant. Also looking at a couple pairs of pickpocket proof pants and such, and some decent travel pants that can be line dried at need (several of the apartments have washers, no dryers). There are some other miscellaneous things, including the backpack I bought that does not put weight on my artificial shoulders (app $450). So, budgeting about $300 for the miscellaneous (excluding pack). Which makes this part about $2,435.00.

So, I’m looking at a goal of $14,185. That’s a lot, though I admit it should probably be rounded up to $14,500. Heck, the marketing types would probably suggest that or more, but I would be grateful for any of that. Everything helps and is very much appreciated.

Now, I know some people may not want to donate money as that can be misspent, misused, etc. So, I’ve put as much of the clothing and other items for the trip on my Amazon Wish List and made them highest priority, so they should show up first. And, yes, I hope to ship over some things in advance (supplements and other supplies) so I don’t have to carry them in my luggage.

Now, to go back to something mentioned earlier. I am on a path of which I do not know the end, when it comes to this new life. I’m helping at my Church, taking this class to see how well I can handle it, and to, if possible, to push on down that path. It has several possible destinations, from monastic life to the priesthood. I have faith I will be guided to the destination that is right for me. This trip is a part of that process and I am thankful to my Priest and my Bishop for their help, encouragement, and guidance on this journey. And I appreciate your help, your prayers, your gifts in allowing me to make this journey.

Before I forget, I did promise to say more on the cooking lessons. I’ve already contacted and made tentative arrangements for one cooking lesson in Sophia, which will provide an introduction to Bulgarian cooking. There are some other possibilities there as well, but nothing scheduled yet. In Bucharest, I actually may have the chance to take three different classes: one introductory course to Romanian cooking, a cheese-making class, and one where I will be taken into the Carpathian mountains and learn Romanian country cooking. I’m hoping for more really, particularly in Sophia but we will see.

If this goes well, and there is any money left over, I am already thinking about a possible trip to the Holy Lands. Just an idle thought for now, as we need to see how well I do on this trip first, but it is there. And if I can go, I will be reaching out to some people for help in doing a bit more than the normal, as there would be at least three graves I would like to visit that are tied to October 7.

So, with reluctance and hope I make a winter bleg to you. I will be pinning this to the top, or reposting every day, to keep it available this week. I hope to do other, regular, posting as well, but want to push this while I can.

Thank you all for all you have done. I could not have made it this far without your help, your prayers, and your gifts. Your love, if you will. My hope for all of us is that there is much more to come.

Thank you.

UPDATE I: My thanks to G for using Zelle in the Bard’s Jar. You were the first too do so; I hope it went well for you; and, I did get it and it is applied to the trip. Thank you so much!

UPDATE II: First and foremost: THANK YOU to everyone who has donated to my Winter 26 Bleg! Particular thanks go out to Vodka Pundit for his post at Instapundit that brought most or all of you here. In addition to the automated thank you, I’ve hopefully sent a quick thank you to everyone I could. To all of you who donated anonymously, please accept my thanks! I also very much appreciate all the comments of support, prayers, and more that have been given. I also want to thank JC and LB for sending me something off my Amazon Wish List. I’ve made all the items needed for the pilgrimage highest priority, so they should show up first. All the gifts, all the prayers and thoughts, and all of YOU are very much appreciated. Please help spread the word, as there is still a ways to go. THANK YOU!

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, and to start a truly new life, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Kapustnica

This last Sunday, we celebrated the feast day of the saint for whom our Church is named: Joy of All Who Sorrow. This is, of course, the Theotokos, known to many in the West as Mary the Mother of God. Being a feast day and not during a fasting period, it means there was a lot of good food at our “coffee” after the service.

While it is called a coffee (and there is some excellent coffee to be had as one of our members has a relative who owns a coffee roasting business), it usually is something of meal. That is because we generally fast from all food and drink (even water) starting no later than midnight Saturday night before partaking of the Eucharist. Some even do longer periods. Technically I’m exempt because of health and now age, but other than enough water to go with the medicines and such I have to take (and I take them about 0300 so that at least six hours have passed before service begins) I do my best to keep the fast.

Since becoming a Chanter, I haven’t been able to cook or do as much with food as I would like to do. There were also some issues that came up with kitchen access where I rent, but those are getting resolved (and I’m developing alternatives). For this day, however, I really wanted to do something nice. So, I had seen a recipe for an Eastern European soup that sounded good, and would be a good (close enough) ethnic fit. That soup is called Kapustnica.

The picture above really doesn’t do it justice, especially since my version really was more a stew than a soup. It is technically a sauerkraut soup; but, reality is that is a bunch of sausage and smoked meats cooked with some sauerkraut, mushrooms, and onions. With good sauerkraut, it is also extremely tasty. Here’s what I did:

To start, I diced a huge white onion medium fine (not coarse, not fine, in between), and sliced three large cloves of garlic as thin as I could. The onion, garlic, and three fresh bay leaves (use dried if you can’t get fresh) then were cooked/sauteed until tender (clear) in a mixture of lard and bacon drippings (a few T, didn’t really measure it). Three tablespoons of sweet smoked paprika were then added and the mixture cooked until the paprika turns dark and roasted.

As I was cooking the onion, I prepared my crockpot. Into the bottom I put the sauerkraut (I used a jar of Polish sauerkraut with some carrot included, mild and good) and a bag of dried mushrooms that I had rehydrated using white wine for a couple of days before use. In this case, I used a white wine from Romania as it both fit the spirit of the recipe and the deli where I got the meats and sauerkraut had it at a decent price. My own take is that a slightly sweet, not dry wine, is best. This one really worked well.

The onion/garlic mixture then went on top of the mushrooms and kraut. On top of that, I chopped up a couple of different types of Eastern European sausage (I picked two that looked good from the meat case), pretty much a whole smoked pork loin, and a small chunk of smoked cured beef. The beef is the only thing I would do differently, as the cure made it hard and it still wasn’t quite tender even after cooking. To be honest, at the meat case, I had just pointed and said: one of those, one of those, one of those, one of those… I went with what looked good.

Since I had drained the kraut (not much draining was needed to be honest), I put in some bone broth and some vegetable broth as liquid to get the cooking underway. I didn’t fill to the top as I had to transport the crockpot to Church, and a full pot will spill. Kept it roughly a couple of inches from the top, but was more than enough to cook the mixture.

It did cook faster than I expected, even on low in the crockpot. Figure about four hours as good. I ended up cutting it off a bit after seven when I went to bed, and around midnight it had finally cooled enough to go into the refrigerator. Once I had it at the Church, I plugged it back in, set it to low, added the water (and took the picture) and then let it go. Some wonderful people got it to the serving table for me, and I did make it to the kitchen in time to get the sour cream out of the refrigerator so people could add a dollop to top the bowls of soup if they wanted.

I will note that it is a rich soup/stew, and adding the sour cream is tasty but may be gilding the lily a bit. It was a hit, and I have very little cleaning to do of the crockpot. I also picked up a box of Russian chocolates to go with the other sweets. Someone did some meatballs, there was homemade fried chicken, and someone did some very nice cabbage rolls as well. Lots of other food, but tried to stay mostly keto.

So, Kapustnica is fairly quick and easy to do (couple of hours on the stove top in a big pot), and is also quite tasty and filling. If you don’t have a good Eastern European deli nearby, use some good smoked sausage (without corn syrup, Meijer brand here is good for that) and whatever other smoked meat you can find nearby. Or, heck, smoke some of your own on the grill or in a smoker and use that. I will simply say that the better the kraut, the better the soup/stew. Don’t have dried mushrooms, use fresh. Thing is, have fun and enjoy.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, and to start a truly new life, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. If you want to know some of what it is going for, read here. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

A Good Day

I caught a Lyft ride up to the Carmel farmer’s market this morning to get my chef’s knives sharpened. There is a professional knife sharpener (two actually most days) who can sharpen my good knives without voiding my warranty. They even give me the industry rate, which is good because it usually is seven or so knives.

Bacon on a stick, about a quarter inch thick or better

While I waited, I shopped as there are several vendors there I like. I did eat a bit as well, as seen with the deep-fried (I think) bacon-on-a-stick above. There’s a local charcuterie place that honestly is as good as some I’ve had in Europe; a farm that has amazing eggs and good meats; lots of other meat, veggie, and even mushroom vendors; lots of ethnic food; and even a local mead maker is there.

I tried to be good, but did come away with eggs, meat, a huge thing of fresh basil (plan to make pesto Monday or Tuesday for freezing), fresh garlic, local goat cheese, and a few other delights. I also had good coffee and enjoyed an arepa filled with shredded chicken and avocado (cold).

Sadly, was starting to overheat and dehydrate a bit so did not get back to a favorite: a Vietnamese lady who does Vietnamese egg rolls. She doesn’t seem to speak a lot of English, but that’s okay as she has help that handles that while she makes and fries some amazing traditional egg rolls.

A good way to spend a morning, and now most of my knives are ready for a “new year” of cooking. Want to find someone at the Church to tag-team with so I can do some chicken souvlakia, salad, and a blueberry moz dessert. If I can get a good recipe (and maybe some native guidance), hoping also to do some Pho this fall. I can do cooking on Friday and Saturday, but need someone to reheat and/or get things out on Sunday as I really can’t leave during the service to do that. Besides, if they have a car and can get me to Restaurant Depot or other, all the better.

Home now, dealing with package delivery issues (have one package lost in the purgatory-or-worse that is the new USPS center that is a black hole for mail, that needs to be a column). I did get my new driver’s license today, sans donor status. Now in my wallet. I’m also imbibing water and electrolytes, and enjoying the cool. I’ve been using LYTEshow electrolytes with biking and other activities, and really like them. No sugar or artificial sweeteners or flavors, just electrolytes. Tangy, but tastes pretty good and works.

More soon. Hope you all have a good weekend.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. If you want to know some of what it is going for, read here. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Whew!

After posting yesterday morning, I went and joined a friend in the Church kitchen to help them cook for a social that night. What I walked into was a pile of groceries completely covering the work area, and a real-life version of “Chopped.” As in what do you make out of all these ingredients that will be tasty, fun, and enjoyed by an unknown number of people? And, no, we had no idea of how many were showing up for dinner so winged amounts and also had to consider special diets as a possibility.

So, we brainstormed a bit even as we started prep. The only two things he had planned were underway (a brisket in the oven and a big pot of borscht he was starting). We bounced ideas off each other and things took off. We actually changed plans on the fly a few times: something you really aren’t supposed to do, but it was just us and we rolled with the improvements.

Along the way we produced the following: a Thai-style chickpea curry, chicken korma, grilled chicken, grilled salmon, grilled thin ribeye steaks, a rosemary and lime ‘stuffed’ sirloin, grilled lime corn on the cob, grilled asparagus, grilled peppers, an amazing ham and potato salad, two huge bowls of green salads, baked potatoes (the ones not used in the potato salad), and of course the borscht and brisket. Pretty sure I’m leaving out a couple of dishes.

Thing is, I can’t really say how much fun it was. My mind hasn’t really worked that way since the lightning strike, but doing it engaged more of the creative side than the logic side. The bouncing of ideas off each other worked, and forced my brain to work in some ways that haven’t gotten a lot of stimulation. Somewhere along the way, I found myself just doing some things I used to know to do first, like mixing up batches of various seasonings: a general purpose ‘steak’ seasoning I like as a base, a mix for the salmon that used both dry spices and fresh minced dill, and some various herbs that were likely to be needed.

Tried something new with the corn (why not!), in that I covered it in lime juice before putting my ‘steak’ seasoning on it. As the ears roasted on the top rack in the grill, I had a stick of butter I would rub over them after turning them for even cooking. I did put a bit of Tajin on three of the ears as they grilled, though you couldn’t tell it by service. Only thing I would do differently is to put more lime juice on for a longer period of time, as I think it worked well flavor-wise.

I’m exhausted, and even hurt a bit, but it was and is so worth it. My friend is crazy in all the right ways, and playing a giant game of “Chopped” with a social event was indeed crazy, and crazy fun. Even better, the food was enjoyed. Two reactions that made me smile were comments from a somewhat picky “customer” who raved about the salmon; and, a little girl just starting in on solid food who loved the ribeye steak.

One trick I did on the salmon was to put pats of butter on top when I put it skin-side down on the grill. As it cooks the butter melts and keeps that top side moist even as it adds nice flavor to go with the dill. The step-by-step is squeeze fresh lemon juice on the fish, generously season with your chosen spices/rub, throw on some extra dill on top of that, and put pats of butter on top. Grill and enjoy.

So, don’t expect much out of me today unless things really blow up. Be safe, be alert, and enjoy the day. I think I’m going to do some voice exercises and practice singing. Other than that, it’s a good day to relax a bit.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

No Irish Products Need Apply

Part of my family is from Ireland, and I appreciate Irish contributions to the world. Heck, the enclosed Catholic confessional came from the Irish I’m told (by an Irish priest no less). However, there comes a time when you have to let rubbish go; and, to call the current leadership and government of Ireland rubbish is to insult every midden heap and landfill in the world. They are a disgusting lot, and you should pay attention to the ethnic and religious makeup (and how few generations they’ve been in Ireland) of many of them.

As I noted in the previous post, the despicable fascista midget serving as president had Jews removed from the Holocaust Memorial service yesterday, with his goons dragging a pregnant Jewish woman out by the arms. My understanding was that he has been asked by the Jewish community not to attend, but did anyway just to be the largest anti-Semitic ass he could possibly be. Suspect he’s more than happy that many Jews are fleeing Ireland (and I strongly suggest they do as this guy would be right at home in the Third Reich and I suspect he mourns that they no longer exist).

Made the decision a few weeks ago to stop buying Irish products, but decided to go public with it after yesterday.

Kerrygold butter? Not any more. Plugra is as good, costs a little less, and is made here in the US I think.

Alcohol? On the stout front, America as a large abundance of good stouts, not to mention craft beers, that are flat-out better than Guinness. It may be heresy to some, but Guinness mostly coasts on reputation. Diageo is the owner and is not Irish, but promotes it as an Irish brand. Had just been introduced to an independent Irish distiller, but Irish whiskey is off the list. Frankly, lots of small independents to explore here, and I would offer that Scotch was the better choice usually. Again, easy choice to make and I won’t suffer for doing without.

Irish wool and fabrics? Eh, check out this U.S. company that I’ve heard good things about. Again and again there are a lot of good options here to check out, and you would be helping small U.S. businesses.

Seriously, it may not make a huge difference but it is something I can do. I don’t have to support Nazi-loving politicians. I can instead invest in American products and small American businesses. Hope you join me in so doing, as if enough of us do, it might help make a difference.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.