Things to do in Poland

Buy or make cheesecake (Sernik)




Although I am an avid Cheddar lover, I never was fond of cheesecake but for some unknown reason that all changed once I moved to Poland. On my first day in Poland I met my Magdas' family in Szklarska poreba and being extremely nervous my appetite was not at its greatest but I was presented with plate of cake - homemade cheesecake! - upon sitting in the front room. Being the tremendously polite gentleman I am I put a brave face on (and stomach), and started to force it down while face-acting to my best ability. To my surprise though it was really rather tasty and my love affair with Polish cheesecake or sernik began.

These two beauties can be found in Spar which was only 5mins away from our flat in Zielona Gora. The cake selection was the only redeemable quality that Spar possessed as I always thought that no one had a clue what there job was or it was not important. Perhaps the manager of this particular branch had gone for a cigarette break a couple of years ago and none of the staff have bothered to check if he has come back. I think I might be bitter because I used to buy the lotto here and never won!

If you want to try and make one (Magdas' mothers own recipe!) visit http://www.polishfoodrecipes.blogspot.com/

It is very easy but an unforgettable taste which has been receiving much praise I assure you.

Polish passion for sunflower seeds

When I was a child I would feed my rabbit something that resembled muesli with many bits and bobs in it that I did not recognise. One thing I remember Bosco particularly liked were these striped seeds that were the first thing to run out as I used to feed them individually to him (I had a lot of free time as a kid). It was when I came to Poland and I saw people with bags of them or carrying round a huge sunflower that I realised these striped seeds were sunflower seeds and also realised they were edible (I used to pick out some for me before the rabbit could gobble them all out of curiosity. Also most striped things are poisonous or dangerous so there was a tinge of adrenaline charged excitement as I continued to up my dosage with my increasing courage).

Anyway I found out they were sunflower seeds on my 30 hour coach ride to Poland when only one of these was my food for the entire trip (I got that feeling I had forgot something originating from my stomach!). Furthermore they are an incredibly powerful aid when giving up smoking probably because they are so fiddly to open and not filling at all that people's minds are taken off wanting to smoke. I see people everywhere from bus stations to pubs resembling my rabbit as they battle with and nibble at them. Of course becoming addicted to these is a problem also, it's only a substitute. Instead of ashtrays or the floor being saturated with fag butts, there are millions of the empty seed cases which look just as bad. I gave up smoking while living in Poland and I am thankful that I did not take up the sunflower habit because I would hate the thought of robbing more rabbits of the most tasty part of their meal in the future to literally feed my habit.

Polish festyn

It was Sunday, we were bored but luckily there was a festyn on down the road at the local church. I was very holy as a child being brought up a Catholic and being a skillful altar boy for many seasons, however this all waned as my teenage years kicked in.

A festyn is a church charity event to raise money through selling cakes, food, raffles etc. Not being a practising Catholic, I have since had a fear I will be grilled as to why I have not attended Mass every time a priest is in my vicinity or I attend anything religious in England. However my apprehension about this festyn being slightly uncomfortable disappeared as soon as I saw a monk on some kind of music equaliser system mixin' a tune!

In fact there was a monk band from Krakow who played instruments and sang while in their robes. They were actually good with songs resembling reggae intermixed with rock and indie. The place was rockin'. There were hand actions to one song in which everyone got involved. I have not uploaded the videos to you tube yet but I will soon so you can hear the saintly songs yourself.

Of course one thing I was looking forward to was trying the food on offer and I was not disappointed. I had just eaten breakfast but nothing was stopping me from trying bigos and pierogi ruskie but unfortunately I did not have room for kielbasa :( The food was delicious, the little girl in the picture was not strapped in for safety, it was to stop her nabbing the cakes!

We won a variety of prizes including two skipping ropes, and elephant and a green Copernicus hat (the hat was not only practical in the bright sun, but also educational because I learnt Copernicus was Polish!)

For recipes on Polish cuisine visit my site about Polish food and recipes and look for bigos and/or pierogi ruskie!

www.polishfoodrecipes.blogspot.com

My version of krokiet (meat filled pancakes fried in breadcrumbs)

Coming in one night and being absolutely famished I looked in the fridge and found what looked to be rolled up wraps (flour tortilla rolled around fillings) and ate a few. They were delicious straight out of the fridge but I did not find out what they were until the next day. They were Polish krokiet (information and recipe for krokiet) but I had eaten them before they were finished and luckily enough the meat filling is not raw otherwise I would be talking about a way never to eat this food. Now I always them before the breadcrumb layers are applied and fried (see link above). Essentially they are just cold crepe pancakes filled with minced meat but they are lovely and great when you are in a hurry and don't have time to finish the recipe. Of course the Polish family here think I am crazy for changing the traditional way of doing things but the English have a stereotype of being eccentric so I might as well live up to it.

My favourite Polish dinner

My all time favourite Bigos, Bigos Bigos. This meal is the national dish, basically bacon and cabbage (but much better than the Irish version). It has such a unique taste and tastes better the longer it is reheated and the longer it is left. I can't recommend this enough and I have written down the recipe that my adopted bapcia (grandmother) Ania uses to make the Bigos I eat. This site also has all the recipes and information about Polish food that I pick up while I am here. Have a look and try some of the recipes yourself. I learnt much of this by watching babcja Ania with a limited ability to communicate and I have consequently cooked some of these recipes for my family and friends in London. Of course they loved this food.

The link is:

http://www.polishfoodrecipes.blogspot.com/

Kotlet schabowy - yummy obiad

Polish food is a large part of the culture and I am willing to reflect this through my breakfasts (sniadanie) and dinners (obiad). There are other meals such as second breakfast (first breakfast can be a chore as I'm not usually hungry), but they are no way near as important.

This particular dish are pork cutlets in breadcrumbs which are then fried and traditionally served with kiszona kapusta (sour raw cabbage) and ziemniaki (potatoes, usually skinned and boiled). The dinner I had which is the photo below varies in that I had salatka (salad pronounced sawatka) and frytki (chips).

I know it looks like battered cod and chips here but I promise you it's a genuine kotlet schabowy!

I have heard that these are good for building muscle, being high in protein and calories and that one kotlet is the equivalent of one piwo (lager, pronounced peevo). However it is obviously high in fat being fried in oil in combination with a considerable insulin spike from the breadcrumbs and if you worry about the measuring tape then you should avoid regularly eating large amounts of carbs and fats together in one meal. Of course that is not an excuse to pass up the opportunity to eat this wonderful hearty foodtuff which adapts equally well to breakfast the next day, cold on a kanapka (sandwhiches but fillings are not between slices of bread, they are on one and eaten in a similar manner to e.g. cheese on toast).

In case anybody readding this is getting hungry, I will lay out a method of making these nutritional nuggets.

1. Clean thin cutlets of pork removing fat and grisle.
2. Pound the meat with huge tenderiser hammer to ensure the pig has definitely passed on.
3. Season with salt
4. 'Deikata' (Special spice but you should find it in Polish shops) is mixed with breadcrumbs.
5. Dip meat in egg yolk/white and then into breadcrumb powder mix.
6. Repeat coating until you have the desired thickness of breadcrumb coat.
7. Fry in olive oil until golden brown.

Easy peesey lemon squeezy!!!! You do not have to use pork though, it can be chicken,turkey or fish (don't like them).

There are many versions of this in other countries e.g. German schnitzel and when I have gone visited each country and tried them all I will put together THE definitive guide with ratings and everything!

Anglik rating: 8

If I still smoked I would enjoy it extremely after a couple of these beauties.